Breaking down the Buffalo Sabres ahead of NHL Trade Deadline Day.
Deadline approach
The Buffalo Sabres will be: Sellers
Pending free agents
Unrestricted: 10 | Restricted: 12 | See full list
[teamleaders league=”nhl” team=”buf” season”2014″]
Sabres overview
If Buffalo’s 2013-14 season were a sound effect, it would be a sad, sagging trombone that ends in a fake fart noise. Entering the Olympic break, they were dead last in the Eastern Conference with a miserable 15 wins and 38 points to their name. They’re last in goals per game, scoring just 1.83, and 24th in goals against, coughing up an average of 2.95 per outing. Their power play is abysmal — 27th in the league and successful just 14.1 percent of the time. But their penalty kill is middle of the pack, so … hooray?
Possibly even more painful, they’re in ground-up rebuild mode with no end in sight, most of their key franchise components already shipped out of town or on their way. That’s a lot of cruelty for people who already live in Buffalo to withstand. About the best the Sabres can hope for is a plum spot in the lottery, but with no Grade-A Sidney Crosby-style entrée on this year’s draft menu, even that’s a bit of a punch in the gut.
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| Click player positions to see depth chart | ||
Areas to address
(UPDATE: Sabres trade Miller, Ott to Blues | Full story)
Funny how a team whose shopping list could be summed up as “we need a better everything” will in fact be a seller at the deadline. Matt Moulson is a pending UFA who will be an attractive garage sale purchase, and Ottawa has been mentioned as a possible destination for the 30-year-old winger. There’s a family and organizational connection that makes Ottawa and Buffalo likely trade partners. Ottawa GM Bryan Murray’s nephew — and, until January, his assistant GM — Tim Murray is now Buffalo’s top exec, giving him in-depth knowledge of Ottawa’s trade-bait prospects.
Recently-acquired goaltender Jaroslav Halak is also a free agent this summer, along with defenceman Henrik Tallinder. Given the fact that Buffalo is in painfully obvious rebuild mode, they’ll be looking for decent return on all of these pieces in the form of promising young prospects and/or draft picks.
Possible trade chips
Matt Moulson
Jaroslav Halak
Henrik Tallinder
