With the 2014 NHL draft mere weeks away, the Buffalo Sabres and general manager Tim Murray enter the next phase of their rebuild.
With Murray sitting on a pile of picks, the Sabres have plenty of options, but none have captured the attention of the general Sabres fan quite like the No. 2 overall pick.
With a number of highly touted prospects and a bunch of teams chomping at the bit to select them, the Sabres have plenty of options heading into the draft on June 27-28.
The Buffalo Sabres have some decisions to make in the coming months about whom they would like to bring back from the franchise’s worst team in its history.
General manager Tim Murray has 11 restricted free agents and seven unrestricted free agents to make decisions on in the next few weeks before free agency opens in the beginning of July.
Who will stay and who will go?
On Monday, the St. Louis Blues officially lost out on their pre-trade-deadline move with the Buffalo Sabres.
As widely reported, the Blues re-signed netminder Brian Elliott to a three-year extension, paving the way for former Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to hit the free-agent market in July.
This news immediately led to speculation of where Miller would land in a few months, including destinations that were discussed before he was traded this season such as Anaheim, Washington and Minnesota.
Realistically, you could sit here and poke holes in any and all destinations that are being floated around for Miller right now, but at this point it can and will only be speculation. Without a doubt, there will be a team in the NHL that signs Miller for a moderate term to start in net for them.
That team just won’t be the Buffalo Sabres.
On Tuesday, Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News essentially wrote a plea to general manager Tim Murray asking him to avoid re-signing Ryan Miller this offseason. In the article, Gleason speaks to how well Miller played this year for the Sabres and how he might be an intriguing option for Murray and his rebuilding team, but he opines that they should ultimately pass on his services.
Would the Sabres net be better off with Miller in it next season? Probably.
Does that mean Murray is considering bringing him back? No.
In free agency, mutual interest is important, and there is a strong argument to be made that no interest does or should exist between the Sabres and Miller.
Bob McKenzie of TSN Canada believes that Miller wants to play in California, specifically in Anaheim, in order to be close to his wife, actress Noureen DeWulf. However, Ross McKeon of the San Francisco Chronicle suggested on Monday that San Jose could be a good fit as well.
Anaheim may be a bit of a pipe dream, as John Gibson and Frederik Anderson have emerged as a scary tandem in net. However, San Jose is in need of some steady goaltending, especially after coach Todd McLellan’s game of rotating goalies during their collapse against the Los Angeles Kings in this year’s first round.
Beyond the California options, former Tampa Bay Lightning GM Brian Lawton reported a mere days before the trade this season that the Sabres wanted to re-sign Miller. Sure, the trade deadline is full of rumors and false information, but a former GM’s word has to mean something, and if what Lawton said is even remotely true, one has to think Miller wanted out to begin with.
And that brings us to the other side of the coin: do the Sabres want Miller back?
The only murmurs of Miller’s potential return have come as a result of Gleason’s aforementioned article. This in and of itself is telling, because the lack of information in cases like this can be information enough.
Ryan Miller no longer fits the Sabres’ plans, plain and simple.
Tim Murray is looking at a team right now that, assuming a Ville Leino buyout is forthcoming, will have about $37.5 million in cap space this offseason, per CapGeek, which is tops in the NHL. His blank canvas is upon him.
Could you make the case for the signing of Ryan Callahan or perhaps even the return of Steve Ott and Matt Moulson? Sure. They all would play a clear role on the team moving forward, and they would honestly help bring the team to the cap floor, which will likely be set at $52 million.
Yet the case is much harder to make for Miller.
The team is two to three years away from competing for a Stanley Cup, at best. Yes, they could squeak into the playoffs before truly competing for a championship, but they have a ways to go before even reaching that level. Miller probably has three to four years of high-level play left in him, leaving very little crossover between the two timelines, if any.
Signing Miller also means delaying the team’s ability to determine whether or not they already have their future netminder, something Sabres fans were able to see a glimpse of at the end of this season with Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth, and then—thanks to an unbelievable stretch of injuries—Matt Hackett, Nathan Lieuwen and Connor Knapp.
Ignoring the team’s position, Miller has been the subject of trade rumors for the last few seasons, with many thinking he would be moved last offseason. Yes, Murray replaced Darcy Regier, but he did end up trading Miller, so one could even make the point that he wanted to trade him more.
And the alleged attempt to re-sign him at the 11th hour should have little bearing on the notion of the team’s willingness to move Miller. Re-signing a player only ups his value these days, just ask the Philadelphia Flyers.
Basically what it comes down to is the fact that the Sabres have been trying to part ways with Miller for some time, and now it makes less sense than ever to bring him back.
The Sabres aren’t considering bringing him back now, because they probably never were.
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It’s no secret: The Buffalo Sabres have a lot of work to do to become a Stanley Cup contender.
There is no one way for the Sabres to reach their goal of the Stanley Cup, but there have been plenty of teams that have turned it around from perennial lottery pick to perennial contender.
An examination of recent history allows two teams to stand out in this regard: the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Chicago went from drafting first overall in 2007 to a Stanley Cup in 2010. It won again in 2013 and is in a great position to raise another banner this year.
The Blackhawks built their team by utilizing all avenues available to them. Yes, two of their biggest stars, Jonathan Toews (third overall in 2006) and Patrick Kane (first overall in 2007) came via high lottery picks, but they have found stars and solid role players in other ways.
Duncan Keith, a yearly Norris Trophy candidate, was drafted in the second round (54th overall in 2002), as was budding star Brandon Saad (43rd overall in 2011). Patrick Sharp came over in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. Marian Hossa was a coveted free agent when he signed long-term with the Hawks.
The core of these Blackhawks has been built over time and in various ways.
The other example many have talked about is that of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
For the Penguins, everyone points to the selection of Sidney Crosby first overall in 2005 as the beginning of their turnaround, but not even Sid could get the hapless Pens out of the basement during the 2005-06 season.
But Crosby wasn’t the only high-end prospect on the team.
From 2002-2006, the Pens picked no lower than fifth (2002), and picked first and second twice. That stretch netted them Ryan Whitney (fifth overall in 2002), Marc-Andre Fleury (first overall in 2003), Evgeni Malkin (second overall in 2004), Crosby, and Jordan Staal (second overall in 2006).
To put it simply: The Pens were rewarded for their struggles.
That core, coupled with some experienced veterans, brought the Stanley Cup to Pittsburgh in 2009. The Pens have not ended a season─not including a lockout-shortened 2013─with fewer than 99 points since 2005-06.
However, all is far from well in Pittsburgh.
Following the team’s disappointing second-round loss to the New York Rangers, Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Pittsburgh’s owners were likely to fire coach Dan Bylsma in the coming days. General manager Ray Shero has already been relieved of his duties.
How did this happen to a team that seems to be in the top tier year after year?
The answer may lie in a Brian Burke press conference from two seasons ago when he was still the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In that interview, Burke was asked to comment on the “Pittsburgh model” for rebuilding a team.
“What’s the Pittsburgh model? They [won] a lottery…and got the best player in the game. Is that available to me? Should we do that? Pittsburgh model my ass,” he said.
Burke’s words could not ring truer.
Beyond the guys they have picked at the top or the guys who have come from the trades they made with said top picks, the Pens have not done well in free agency, the draft or the trade market.
Kris Letang and Paul Martin are far from cornerstone defensemen, James Neal can’t stay on the ice, be it due to injuries or suspensions, Beau Bennett is their best forward prospect by a long shot and even Fleury can’t stop a beach ball in the playoffs.
This is the trap the Sabres cannot fall into.
Sabres GM Tim Murray is going to be busy in the next two drafts, especially scouting the top players. The second overall pick is a given this year, and next year looks like it will result in a similar outcome. Sitting back and thinking that will be enough is a grave mistake.
Sure, the potential of having Connor McDavid, who has been favorably compared to Crosby by Sportsnet, would instantly make the Sabres a much better team. However, to have him join the second pick this year and surround them with marginal talent is not going to bring a Cup to town.
Crosby and Malkin were able to push through when they had a stable full of role players supporting them, including younger players like Staal and Letang, and veterans like Bill Guerin, Sergei Gonchar and Petr Sykora.
The Sabres need a lot more than just two high-end talents in the draft to make them a Stanley Cup contender year in and year out.
It should be acknowledged that the Sabres have built a strong prospect pipeline without the next two drafts, recently taking the top spot in Hockey’s Future’s rankings. This is an advantage many teams in the same position do not have.
However, the purported Pittsburgh model is now shown to not only have its drawbacks, but to be a GM killer as well. Murray should feel great that he will be able to bring in a top-two talent this June, and potentially next June as well, but he has to ensure that he surrounds those players with talent as well.
Instead of the Pittsburgh model, he needs to take a good, long look at the Blackhawks over the rest of the postseason.
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The Buffalo Sabres had one of the worst seasons in NHL history this season. In the midst of the firing of their head coach and general manager, a general manager search and the hiring and resignation of a president of hockey operations, the Sabres were busy struggling on the ice.
While a season like that is sure to enliven the offseason rumor mill, here are the Sabres’ top storylines for their offseason.
Breathe deep, Buffalo Sabres fans. It’s almost over.
Only eight games remain on the schedule in what could arguably be one of the worst NHL seasons ever. They are 12 points behind the Edmonton Oilers, who are in 29th place, and if Buffalo was to win out, the best it could finish is tied for 27th.
What’s worse, the Sabres have been laughably bad since the trade deadline. While not unexpected in the least, it still is disconcerting seeing Ted Nolan’s team schooled up and down the ice on a daily basis.
The other night’s game in Nashville was an excellent example of this as the Sabres found themselves heading into the locker room down 4-0 after the first period with all four goals being scored as a result of less-than-stellar defensive play.
Sure, injuries have played a role. Sure, it’s likely the team has mailed it in as they’ve been just trying to get through the season since November.
Yet, it doesn’t seem like there is going to be much relief in the months to come.
This team is still very much in flux. Nolan signed his three-year extension Monday (via Sabres.com), but that’s only one thing off the list.
More major roster moves, including re-signing restricted free agents Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno and Cory Conacher are coming. More questions about who will play at the NHL level next year will need to be answered.
When all is said and done, the Sabres will likely look much different in October than they will on April 13 when they line up for the final time this season.
What that means above all else is the Sabres are likely to be in a similar position in the standings come this time next year.
Now, as a rebuilding team under the eye of a new general manager in Tim Murray, this may be a good thing in the long run. Murray has all but finished dismantling what Darcy Regier started last year with the trade of Jason Pominville.
A few “core” guys remain from the Regier era, most notably Drew Stafford, Ennis and Tyler Myers, but those seem to be, at the moment at least, guys that Murray is willing to move forward with. It’s certainly possible that he’s just waiting for a more receptive market place during the offseason than what the trade deadline provided, but for now, they remain a part of the team.
Yet, the questions surrounding the “old core,” or any Sabre for that matter, are unlikely to subside anytime soon.
Myers and Christian Ehrhoff were the discussion of rampant trade talk leading up to the trade deadline earlier this month. Both would require a return that, at the very least, would be termed “substantial.” Trading one of those two would significantly alter the makeup of the Sabres roster.
Chris Stewart, who played in parts of two games for the Sabres, was expected to be flipped before the deadline and was not. Ville Leino is almost certainly going to be bought out. John Scott will continue his “quest” to become a first-line player.
Basically, half of the Sabres’ top-six forwards next season are likely not playing for the team right now. Stafford, Stewart, Leino, Zemgus Girgensons and Cody Hodgson are the only potential candidates under contract for next year. Never mind Stafford and Stewart are trade candidates and Leino could be dropped off somewhere in-between Nashville and Buffalo today.
Hopefully, some free agents want to sign with the Sabres.
Funny thing is, they probably have to. The Sabres are currently projected to be upwards of $20 million under the salary cap floor of $52 million next year (via CapGeek).
Now, that shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish seeing as the Sabres likely have to bring up or sign about ten guys this offseason, but just bringing up rookies or signing bottom-six forwards or bottom-pairing defenseman will not get you there. You almost have to sign a Ryan Callahan to ensure compliance.
But even with a Callahan-type signing, this team has a lot of building and growing to do to be a consistent force night in and night out.
Luckily for Sabres fans, there’s light at the end of the tunnel in the form of the 2015 draft.
Assuming Murray doesn’t pull some wild deals this summer, the Sabres will be fighting for the top pick next year as well. And while this year’s draft has some top-end talent, it’s nowhere near the talent that next year’s will hold.
Some more heartening news: Also assuming the New York Islanders use their likely top-five 2014 first rounder, giving their 2015 first to the Sabres, the Sabres could be in a position to take two of the top talents since a guy named Sidney Crosby came out.
The pursuit of Connor McDavid is well known, but the top of the draft next year also includes two Massachusetts products in Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin who are flying under the radar.
Discussions about McDavid, Eichel or Hanifin are premature, especially seeing as the Sabres have yet to pick in the 2014 draft, but they will be important come this time next year.
So, despite the season coming to a close, a lot of questions remain: What will Murray do this offseason? Who will return, and who will be on the move? Will any free agents want to come here? Will the youth get a chance next year?
As the offseason progresses, some answers will be had, but for the most part, there’s likely to be no quick resolution to many of these. With that scenario, it’s likely that Sabres fans will not have much of a reprieve for the next 90 games, let alone the eight remaining this season.
Sabres fans just hope they’ll be able to look back on this in a few years and laugh.
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Suffering through one of the worst seasons in recent NHL history, the 20-45-8 Buffalo Sabres have an outside chance to become the NHL’s lowest-scoring team since 1936, per Drew Davis of Kukla’s Korner.
With 139 goals through 73 games, the Sabres are averaging a woeful 1.90 per contest, easily the worst in the NHL. The New Jersey Devils are second-worst in scoring with 177 goals through 73 games, which is good for 2.42 per contest and still places them well ahead of the Sabres.
Having long ago locked up their place as the lowest-scoring team this season, the Sabres hope to avoid matching the 1997-98 Tampa Bay Lightning‘s record for fewest goals per game in modern NHL history. The 1997-98 Lightning struggled to a 17-55-10 record, scoring just 151 goals in 82 games, or 1.84 per contest.
As bad as the Sabres are, this is one mark of futility they should be able to avoid. Doing so will require just 13 goals in the final nine games, which would be a given for any other NHL team.
Of course, the Sabres aren’t just any NHL team, they’re far and away the worst squad in the league. Avoiding this dubious record is clearly in the team’s best interest, but it won’t remove the sting from a truly dreadful season.
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Reports have surfaced this week that Ted Nolan’s three-year extension to stay on as the Buffalo Sabres head coach is being finalized (via Bob McKenize of TSN).
This is likely not a shock to most Sabres fans, as general manager Tim Murray has publicly stated he wanted Nolan to come back and they were working on an extension many times, especially since the departure of Pat LaFontaine earlier this month.
Yet Nolan staying shouldn’t be as much of a sure thing as it seems to be.
Nolan has done an admirable job with this team, given the position he was placed in by those who came before him. That goes without saying. However, a lot of questions about Nolan captaining the Sabres’ ship moving forward have started to creep into more and more discussions, and rightfully so.
We’ve discussed Nolan getting his chance and showing he can be the guy for a rebuilding team a few months ago. A lot of those points still hold true in that the community loves him and he has done a lot to make this team watchable, not including the past few games of course.
Yet the biggest question mark then still holds true now: Can he coach a team of young, talented players that need to be developed at the NHL level to reach their full potential?
The answer to that extremely important question is still very unclear.
You can talk about his unwillingness to play young guys over veterans or how cavalier he is with line combinations all you want, but what it boils down to is Nolan is not what many have termed an “X’s and O’s guy.” (Sorry to quote Mike Milbury.)
What that essentially means is Nolan is not going to draw up different systems or make adjustments in game to combat what the other team is doing. You’ll never see Nolan doing his best Kurt Russell playing a Herb Brooks impression with a Sharpie diagram on the glass asking his team what that particular play gives them (“Options!”).
In fact, Justin Bourne of the Score says it perfectly: “Nolan is one of those motivational guys who think if you’re losing, you’re not competing hard enough.”
Sorry folks, but it’s not that simple in the NHL.
Hard work can trump talent, but, as the Sabres’ record shows, talent wins out most of the time. You can have a roster full of guys like Matt Ellis, Zenon Konopka and Torrey Mitchell—guys that will play their hearts out every night—but unfortunately, that also won’t win you many games.
You need to do more than sit on your systems and hope that if you work harder, things will work out because the other coaches are making changes to ensure they will not.
X’s and O’s can make an average player good and a good player great, and the right coach should be able to put their players in the best position to succeed.
The most shining example of that may be Tampa Bay‘s John Cooper.
Cooper is brilliant and puts his players in the best position possible pretty much at all times. This post from Bolt Prospects pretty much says it all about him and his ability to not only coach, but to make the players he’s coaching better.
Consider this: Ondrej Palat, a seventh-round pick, and Tyler Johnson, an undrafted free agent, both technically rookies this season, have scored (or will score, in Johnson’s case) more points in their rookie year than Steven Stamkos did in his.
That’s not a coincidence.
Nolan needs a lot more Cooper in him to make this team what it can be. Demanding hard work is necessary for a coach, but it’s only a piece of the puzzle.
Of course, these concerns can be somewhat alleviated by having top-notch assistants at your disposal, something that Murray has likely insisted upon during negotiations, but is that a position a coach wants to be in? That would essentially turn Nolan into a glorified cheerleader.
The tricky part about all of this is Nolan is a great person to have in the organization. He has earned that much beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Yet, with a top-two pick all but in the bank and big-time prospects like Nikita Zadorov, Mark Pysyk, Joel Armia, Rasmus Ristolainen and Mikhail Grigorenko knocking at the door, the team needs someone that is not going to play them on the fourth line with John Scott and Matt Ellis because “it’s fair.” The future lies in those guys, and the guys that are a few more years away─see JT Compher, Hudson Fasching and Jake McCabe.
These guys need to be leaned on and used properly, and not watching from the bench as Matt Ellis steals another few minutes from them.
Basically what it comes down to is this: Nolan has a lot to prove to show he is the guy for next year, let alone three years. Realistically, let’s face it, next year isn’t likely to be much better either, and if Nolan is in place to lead the ship to wherever Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel is docked, so be it.
But to be content with a coach that just wants his team to work hard is only going to have the Sabres toiling for many more years to come.
Buffalo fans deserve a lot more than more Mike Milbury rants leveled at their coaches.
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What could be one of the most talked about days in the Buffalo Sabres‘ history has come and gone, and probably with a lot less fanfare than many had hoped for or expected.
Even if that is true, the Sabres ended up shipping out four roster players and an NHL-ready prospect over the course of the past few days in various moves that will change the makeup of the franchise in the short term for sure.
Last Friday’s deal with St. Louis for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott was the biggest for general manager Tim Murray and the Sabres, but three more deals came on Wednesday.
The first was a bit of a surprise as Murray moved Brayden McNabb, Johnathan Parker and a pair of second-round picks to the Los Angeles Kings for wingers Hudson Fasching and Nicolas Deslaurier.
The second and third deals were announced after the 3 p.m., deadline. One saw Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick head to the Minnesota Wild for two second-round picks and Torrey Mitchell, with the other seeing Jaroslav Halak and a third-round pick swapped with the Washington Capitals for Michal Neuvirth and Rostislav Klesla.
Many have scoffed at the return for Moulson, and it is lower than what many had predicted in the weeks leading up to Wednesday. Yet, as a number of writers have pointed out, including Sean Gentille of the Sporting News and Travis Hughes of SB Nation, this was not the seller’s market it was touted to be.
This is almost certainly why, as Hughes also pointed out, that other big names on the Sabres roster like Christian Ehrhoff, Tyler Myers, Chris Stewart and Drew Stafford also stayed put. All of those players have at least one more year left on their current contract, and there was no pressure on Murray to trade them for the sake of trading them.
Simply put, it’s going to take a huge package or a very good, very established player to pry Ehrhoff or Myers away from the Sabres, and Stewart and Stafford will likely require a good prospect a few years into his development.
Those were not the prices rival GMs were willing to pay Wednesday, something that typically changes around the draft.
So, where does all of this leave the Sabres moving forward?
In the immediate short term, meaning the final 21 games of the regular season, the Sabres may be spectacularly bad. The loss of Miller hasn’t been felt yet with Jhonas Enroth playing well, but neither he or Neuvirth are going to steal games the way Miller did this year.
Moulson was the team’s third-best goal scorer in his time here and was technically its leader if you count his six New York Islanders tallies.
The six-point lead the Edmonton Oilers have on the Sabres for 29th place as of Thursday afternoon is looking more and more solid, isn’t it?
Even with the three-game winning streak in their corner, the Sabres still have an 84 percent chance at finishing in last place, according to Sports Club Stats, with the next closest being the Oilers at a 12 percent.
With the guaranteed top-two pick last place gives them, the Sabres are able to address their thin forward corps with a player that should factor in immediately.
The only question is who the Sabres will take with that pick, and the answer may be getting a bit clearer.
The consensus is that the Sabres will look to Sam Reinhart, and Murray’s moves at the deadline may show his hand a bit as to the type of team he is creating, with the acquisitions of Fasching and Deslaurier speaking the loudest.
Fasching was a first-round talent that slipped into the fourth round because of a poorly-timed down year leading up to the 2013 draft. He is a beast on the walls and has a scoring touch, as shown by his excellent freshman year at the University of Minnesota.
He also was easily one of the best players for the United States at this year’s World Junior Championships in Malmo, Sweden.
Deslaurier is a bit further along in his development having played three years in the AHL with Manchester, but a recent switch from defense to wing has catapulted him ahead. At the time of Wednesday’s trade, he led the Monarchs in goals with 18 and is seen as a power forward-type wing that can help push the play into the attacking zone.
With the arrival of those two, plus a similarly suited William Carrier in the Miller deal, Murray seems to be building his team from the wing with big, skilled guys that can forecheck as well as score.
But skilled wings need skilled centers, and it looks more and more like Murray will look to address the pivot in the draft. Reinhart is the easy choice, but Leon Draisaitl fits the mold as well. Both stand at 6’1″, with Draisaitl outweighing Reinhart by about 25 pounds, but both have the puck moving abilities the skilled wings will need. Sam Bennett will also be in the conversation.
But, realistically, this part of the discussion is only addressing one of the four, possibly five, first-round selections that Murray has to work with in the next two drafts. There has been a huge influx of talent the past few days, and that trend looks like it will have no choice but to continue.
But, right now, it comes down to this: The Sabres will likely pick first or second in June’s draft. Beyond that, there is some uncertainty, but the Islanders’ failure to acquire a first rounder for Thomas Vanek likely means they will keep their 2014 first rounder and the Sabres will have the rights to their 2015 first rounder.
Couple that with the first-round pick the Sabres already own from St. Louis and next year’s draft may be even more important than this year’s despite the high pick.
But Murray seems to have a plan, and while the team certainly did not get better Wednesday, no one really expected that to happen. This team will get better piece-by-piece over time, and Murray was impressive in his first deadline.
Now let’s just get this draft over with so we can obsess about this guy a bit more.
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The Buffalo Sabres have reportedly agreed to send forwards Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick to the Minnesota Wild for yet-to-be-determined draft picks and forward Torrey Mitchell, rounding out a rapid day of deadline deals across the NHL.
The Sabres confirmed the trade:
John Vogl of The Buffalo News first reported the deal, citing sources close to the situation:
The NHL’s collective bargaining agreement requires all trades to be completed by 3 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, though the league allows some time for teams to call in to the league office.
Moulson‘s departure has seemed like a foregone conclusion for weeks. An unrestricted free agent this summer, the 30-year-old winger seemed unlikely to return with a Buffalo club going through a rebuilding project.
The Sabres came into Wednesday with an NHL-low 44 points and were working the phones hard to unload aging stars—especially over the past week.
They traded goalie and Team USA star Ryan Miller along with team co-captain Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues in the wee hours of Saturday morning, sparking a rapid-fire sale of top players nearing the open market.
Earlier Wednesday, Buffalo’s Twitter account announced that the team was continuing the rebuilding effort by sending draft picks and prospects Brayden McNabb and Jonathan Parker to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for highly touted youngsters Nicolas Deslauriers and Hudson Fasching.
Neither Deslauriers nor Fasching have played in the NHL yet, but they are among the best prospects at their respective positions.
According to Vogl, the Sabres also reportedly have another, unknown move awaiting league approval:
As for Moulson, this trade ends an almost nonexistent stint in Buffalo. Acquired 11 games into the season from the New York Islanders, Moulson was expected to give the scuffling Sabres an offensive boost that never quite came. He scored an okay 29 points in 44 games in a Buffalo uniform while being afforded his highest average ice time since 2010-11.
A three-time 30-goal scorer, Moulson has been more of a distributor in each of the last two years. However, when speaking with reporters earlier this week, he seemed hopeful that he could begin focusing on hockey again once the deadline was over:
“I’ve enjoyed my time in Buffalo, and I’ve been treated great by everyone,” Moulson said. “They have directions they want to take the team. They have to make business moves, and I understand that, so we’ll just see what happens.”
McCormick is certainly the lesser of the two acquisitions, but he could help the Wild in sporadic appearances. With the Sabres since 2010, the 30-year-old center has appeared in a total of 37 games over the past two seasons, scoring just five points.
Mitchell, 29, has mostly just been a guy who’s hung around for most of his career.
He spent four seasons with the San Jose Sharks from 2007-12 before coming to Minnesota before last season. He’s scored only 17 points over 103 games as a member of the Wild, but with the Sabres rebuilding, he could see an increase in playing time.
The important thing here for Buffalo is adding draft picks, which can help continue the franchise overhaul. Minnesota, in the midst of a playoff battle and in need of some offensive punch, had draft picks to spare and might be a contender to sign Moulson long-term.
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