The Buffalo Sabres could be the most talked-about team in terms of players being on the move prior to the NHL trade deadline, but whether anything comes to fruition will be up to the quality of offers GM Kevyn Adams receives before 3 pm Friday.
While there continues to be chatter that the Sabres are talking to pending unrestricted free-agent wingers Jason Zucker and Jordan Greenway about contract extensions, defenseman Henri Jokiharju has been healthy scratched for the second straight game, leading to speculation that he could be moved.
Both TSN’s Darren Dreger and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned on Monday that the Sabres have received numerous offers for the likes of JJ Peterka, Dylan Cozens, and Alex Tuch, but Dreger indicates that most of the offers involve future draft picks and prospects and that Adams continues to look for hockey deals involving roster players.
The difficulty for Buffalo is that most of the contending clubs looking to add a final piece to the puzzle do not want to deal young players currently on their NHL roster because they are inexpensive and part of their current club. Friedman indicated on his 32 Thoughts podcast that the Pittsburgh Penguins remain interested in some of the Sabres young players and named Peterka specifically.
Dreger echoed Adams’s refrain from last month that the Sabres have confidence in their young pipeline of talent and are not looking to add draft picks and prospects. If they cannot find a suitor for a big move, Buffalo may be relegated to dealing off a few expiring contracts and waiting until the summer to make major changes to their roster.
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