It is no secret the Buffalo Sabres have been on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs for the past number of seasons, and it appears this season will end up with a similar result. After a stellar 2022-23 campaign, the 2023-24 team has failed to live up to expectations and has drawn some ire from their fans as a result. With another season without playoffs likely (barring some miracle-level winning streak), general manager Kevyn Adams should be looking to improve his team on the more immediate front so the team can compete for the playoffs next season. Looking to trade for mid-level draft picks is all fine and good when the team is bad and the draft is the most exciting event of a team’s season, but this team has the potential to be great, and Adams needs to capitalize on having the talent pool to make the necessary moves.
Adams Should Not Be Afraid to Move Prospects
The Sabres have some of the best prospects in the league, and with a roster that is mostly under long term contracts, Adams will need to choose if he is going to part ways with roster players or prospects. If he decides to go the prospect route, they have plenty of talent that would be appealing to other franchises in order to have them part ways with some of their NHL-caliber talent (teams like the Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, and Philadelphia Flyers come to mind.) The Sabres most likely want to hold on to at least a couple of their top prospect talents so they still have a decent pipeline to pull from, but going down their depth chart, there are a few names that could garner some significant interest.
The top names that come to mind are Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich, Matt Savoie, Isak Rosen, and Noah Ostlund. These five forwarda all carry similar weight when it comes to value, but a few of them stand out as “keepers” versus trade bait. Benson is the easiest one to hold onto as he is the only one to be a regular on the Sabres’ roster. The value he brings the team outweighs what he could bring in a trade, so holding on to him makes sense. the other four could very much be up for grabs at the deadline, or even at the draft, but Adams needs to be willing to move on from one or more of them.
Up to this point, Adams has shown restraint in trading away top young assets, and even draft picks. So far the only significant capital he has moved out for a good return was when he traded a second- and fifth-round pick to the…
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