Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray will be headed into the Olympic break--and the eventual trade deadline--with a plethora of players that playoff-bound clubs will find attractive.
Goalie Ryan Miller and scoring winger Matt Moulson are obvious candidates to fill high-profile needs like goaltending and scoring while gritty veteran Steve Ott would provide intangibles like sandpaper and leadership to go along with tangibles like faceoffs skills, hits and secodary scoring.
Others who might be on the block would be defenseman Hank Tallinder and Zenon Konopka. Tallinder as competent depth in a #4/bottom-pairing role and Konopka in a fourth-line/key defensive faceoff role will get plenty of looks from Cup contenders looking for quality depth.
Defensemen Alexander Sulzer is another possibility for a team looking for a #7 defensemen.
All six of the above mentioned players will be unrestricted free agents at season's end and all would get the Sabres something in return. Even Sulzer.
It's certain that draft picks will be involved in some of the trade scenarios, but it's getting to the point with the Sabres that they'll need to get themselves a prospect or three back as well. And this is where Murray's player evaluation background will come into play.
Having been in the business for over 20 years focused upon scouting and player evaluation, Murray has seen an abundance of players from every team and he will be expected to do what former GM Darcy Regier was mostly unable to do--add worthy NHL-ready prospects.
Rumors of inflated asking prices abound at this time of year. With six weeks to go before the deadline sellers are certainly going to set the bar high. But, when it comes to the deadline it's simply needs, supply and demand.
And if Stanley Cup playoff teams have needs, by jove, the Sabres can help.
Want a #1 goalie (St. Louis, Washington?) How about Ryan Miller?
Need some sniping from the wing from a bonafide 30-goal scorer (San Jose, Los Angeles, Columbus, St. Louis?) Matt Moulson has proven that he doesn't need John Tavares to score goals.
How about a hard-hitting, third-line character-guy who adds sandpaper, can score and is extremely adept at faceoffs (Montreal, Vancouver, Phoenix, Chicago?) Steve Ott is the man, plus he's a leader and he's playoff hungry.
Who wants a veteran depth defenseman (Anaheim, Detroit, Phoenix, Washington, Pittsburgh, Columbus?) Tallinder can still play 18-20 solid minutes while Sulzer can be an insurance policy.
And how about a gritty fourth line faceoff guy (Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago, San Jose'?) Konopka can fill that role.
Team needs and wants will become clearer in the weeks surrounding the Feb. 9-25 Olympic break, while in Buffalo it will likely not be a case of who will be traded as much as what the return will be.
Here are some players in other organizations that may be worth following for the next six weeks. Many of them are top-prospects who won't be going anywhere. But then again, strange things can happen at the deadline, especially if any desperation and/or temporary insanity creeps in (see Paul Gaustad to Nashville):
LAK--Valetin Zykov (Baie-Comeau-QMJHL) 29gp, 15g, 19a, +15
WAS--Evgeni Kuznetsov (Chelyabinsk-KHL) 22gp, 7g,7a, -7
CHI--Tuevo Teravainen (Jokerit-Finland) 29gp, 3g, 14a
STL--Dmitri Jaskin (Chicago-AHL) 24gp, 10g, 8a, +8; Ty Rattie (Chicago-AHL) 36gp, 12g, 7a, -2
DET--Teemu Pulkkinen (Grand Rapids-AHL) 39gp, 13g, 17a, +17; Tomas Jurco (Grand Rapids-AHL) 32gp, 13g, 19a, +10: Anthony Mantha (Val 'd Or-QMJHL) 34gp, 37g, 38a, +14
CBJ--Oliver Bjorkstrand (Portland Winterhawks) 42gp, 28g, 33a, +17
ANA--Nicolas Kerdiles (Wisconsin Badgers) 15 gp, 8g, 9a, even
SJS--Chris Tierney (London Knights) 43gp, 26g, 36a, +38
VAN--Niklas Jensen (Utica Comets-AHL) 29gp, 5g, 4a, -3
With three first-rounders and six second-rounders stocked up for the next two drafts, one would think that prospects would be more attractive to Murray, but one can never dismiss the possibility of another first-rounder (or more) coming to Buffalo in a trade.
Any way you slice it, this rebuilding Sabres organization still has some very valuable trade chips in their possession if they chose to move any number of the above players.
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