It would have been easy if the Buffalo Sabres came out of the All-Star Break definitively moving in one direction or another. When the Sabres returned from an elongated break which saw their "bye week" backed up against the All-Star festivities, Buffalo sat 10 points out of third in the Atlantic Division and 11 points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Although it was still a longshot to make the playoffs, the Sabres had 33 games left to play and nine of their next 10 games were at home where they were sporting a 14-6-3 record at the time.
If they could get on a little run during this home stretch Buffalo could conceivably be in the thick of a playoff race and with two games off the bat at home against the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens, neither of whom were powerhouses, getting off to a hot start certainly would fuel hope that they could pull something off in the 13 games leading up to today's trade deadline.
Whelp, it didn't go as planned. Buffalo put up a stinker in the 5-2 loss vs. Ottawa and although they were better against Montreal, they came up short, 3-1. However, even with those two losses, they still remained 10 points out of third place and 11 points out of the second wild card spot.
With the fan base clamoring for losses to offer a clear direction at the trade deadline while improving their 2020 draft lottery position, the Sabres got on a little roll going 5-2-1 to begin February. They had another game against Ottawa with an opportunity for their first four-game winning streak of the season and a big opportunity to pull within six points of the Toronto Maple Leafs with a game in hand after beating them the previous game.
Buffalo laid an egg at Ottawa and the doomsayers came out in full force once again calling for a full sell-off at the deadline. However, the Sabres complicated things once again as they went into Pittsburgh and soundly beat the Penguins 5-2 in a matinee and came home to defeat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 yesterday afternoon.
Fans in Sabreland were left to collectively beat their head against the wall this morning as their team went 7-5-1 leading up to today's deadline and are six points out of third place with a game in hand on Toronto and one team, the Florida Panthers, between them. And worse yet, Buffalo fans have been through this movie a hundred times already as both the Sabres and their beloved Buffalo Bills have raised their hopes only to dash them in the end.
So what should Sabres general manager Jason Botterill do at the deadline today? Should he sell? Should he buy? Will he make the token move of sending out a player for a pick and/or getting a pick for a player?
What we do know is that Botterill is not mortgaging the future for a rental as he neither has the a contending team to justify a move like that nor nor can they afford to ship out futures for two months of a player. Botterill is looking for a hockey trade that will use one of his excess defensemen and a future or two to bolster his top-six.
Although the easy thing for him would be to sell off multiple pending UFA's (of which he has six on the roster) for futures and bail on the season it doesn't make a lot of sense and would send the wrong message to his team. None of Michael Frolik, Conor Sheary, Jimmy Vesey, Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson or John Gilmour will fetch more than a mid-rounder, with Sheary and Vesey possibly landing a third, and as a group they're worth more to the team than any return.
Why are these third and fourth-liners more valuable than getting futures?
For one, the Sabres have depth problems. As shown when Jeff Skinner, Victor Olofsson and Kyle Okposo were out, Buffalo struggled. Although it's true that none of those UFA's are definitive top-six players, Vesey was at least able to step in for a bit while those remaining continued in their bottom-six roles which at least kept that area stable. Also, the Sabres are still lacking quality depth in the system. They have a player like Rasmus Asplund in Rochester whom they could call up but he's better served staying there to further his development. Casey Mittelstadt could get the call but they're doing a reset on his development. Shipping out too many UFA's puts the Sabres in a spot where they're moving out players, many of whom have found chemistry with their linemates, without suitable replacements and it more than likely would derail any momentum they've gathered as of late.
This team is starting to look like a team and they're playing well as a team. Yeah they've had the clunkers but it seems as if there's a bonding going on and as been mentioned here on many occasions, I believe Botterill should add to this team and let them take it as far as it will go. In fact, I believes he owes it to this group, especially their captain and head coach.
The Sabres have been sellers dating back to 2012 when they decided it was time for a full rebuild. And where has it gotten them? Eight consecutive seasons outside the playoffs which constitutes the leagues longest playoff drought. Captain Jack Eichel has been on four of those teams and for the first time in his career he's having a Hart-worthy season. He's the driving force on a team that's moving in the right direction in large part because of him. You can see in his play that he does not want to give up. Eichel has taken his leadership role to heart and he's pulling along everyone else on the team. Head coach Ralph Krueger has remained positive despite the struggles and it's safe to say that he has no quit in him either. To sell now would be against everything they've been fighting for all season. Sure it hasn't gone swimmingly, and the bottom could fall out as they have a tough, four-game road trip beginning on Wednesday, but those two leaders most assuredly would like see to it through.
There's the conundrum for Botterill in what really is the most crucial trade deadline of his short general manager career. He needs to walk a tightrope on selling just enough assets, while in turn creating cap-space, without disrupting what this team is doing, and he needs to add a quality piece to really show he's behind them and the team. The piece he needs to add will also need to fulfill his preference of landing a contributor with term.
It's a tough one, but it can be done.
The opinion here is that he should find a taker for Frolik, grant Evan Rodrigues' wish to be traded and land a top-six forward, preferably a center and the only one that may be in reach is the Anaheim Ducks Adam Henrique. Not sure what the cost of Henrique would be but he needs to get it done.
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