The Buffalo Sabres need more than just Jack Eichel to turn around their franchise.
According to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News the Sabres’ main focus this summer will be to upgrade in net.
“We would love to trade for a ‘youngish’ goalie,” Sabres GM Tim Murray said at the team’s pre-draft press conference. “If that doesn’t work, we would trade for a real good short-term goalie who is older. If we could sign the best or second-best free agent goalie, we would be happy with that too. We’re working it every day.”
The Sabres have only one NHL goalie, Chad Johnson, under contract for the 2015-16 season. Johnson, who was acquired in a trade this past March, is scheduled to carry a salary cap hit of $1.3 million.
A handful of current backups including Martin Jones of the Los Angeles Kings, Cam Talbot of the New York Rangers, or Ottawa Senators goaltender Robin Lehner were mentioned as possible trade targets for the Sabres.
If the Sabres prefer the free agency route, the options aren’t as appealing. The top names on the market include Antti Niemi, Karri Ramo, Viktor Fasth, and Devan Dubnyk.
