The Buffalo Sabres completed a four-game home sweep on Tuesday with a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Key Bank Center, but although the club has played better in recent weeks, they still reside at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and remain a target of interest of contending teams looking to bolster their lineups before the March 7th trade deadline.
Sabres GM Kevyn Adams reiterated last week that his club is not looking to be sellers over the next month, that they are looking to get pending unrestricted free agents like Jason Zucker and Jordan Greenway signed to contract extensions, and that they would prefer to make ‘hockey’ deals similar to the Bowen Byram for Casey Mittelstadt trade they pulled off before last year’s deadline, but that has not stopped clubs from checking in on young core players like Dylan Cozens.
The club began to see an increasing amount of scouts since returning from their road swing through Western Canada, culminating with 13 clubs being represented on Tuesday, but over the four games, the club that was present for every game with multiple scouts was the Vegas Golden Knights.
It is unknown who specifically Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon is targeting, but Adams and the Golden Knights have a history, as the two clubs pulled off the massive Jack Eichel trade in November 2021. Cozens could be a possibility with Vegas center William Karlsson on injured reserve, but with the Golden Knights limited cap space and long-term commitments, a scoring winger like Zucker on an expiring contract could be an intriguing deadline add.
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