It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. We’re almost at the Stanley Cup Final, but teams that didn’t make the postseason are looking ahead to next season. Some clubs are coming off of a disappointing regular season, and looking to make some big moves heading into next season. One team is looking to potentially shake up their core before training camp.
That team is the Buffalo Sabres. This edition of NHL Rumours deals with their interest in trading some of their core players.
NHL Rumours
Sabres Core Shakeup Could Be On the Way
Rumour: Frank Seravalli made some interesting comments on his podcast this week, the DFO Rundown. Saying players are getting frustrated with the organization. Leading to General Manager Kevyn Adams making calls looking to shake things up. Implying that every player of the Sabres core could be on the trade block this summer.
Analysis: Players are frustrated, that makes sense. But not one Sabres player has publicly requested a trade. If a blockbuster deal happens, it won’t be because a star player demanded it. It will be because management, led by Kevyn Adams, believes change is the only path forward. That’s what makes this moment so telling. It’s not a crisis sparked by a disgruntled player. It’s an internal reckoning, one where the front office may finally be admitting that what they’ve built isn’t enough. A Sabres core shakeup may be the only solution.
Why It Makes Sense
Change of Pace for the Front Office
The Sabres are known for being reluctant to make any big changes. Epitomized by retaining Kevyn Adams as general manager, and failing to bolster the front office so far this offseason. Kevyn Adams might be looking to shift that narrative. And when you look at what has happened in Buffalo the past few years, maybe some changes to the core might not be the worst idea.
The Sabres finished one singular point out of the playoffs in 2022-2023 with 91 points. Then finished with 84 points the following season. And finally had 79 points this season. Players have every reason to feel frustrated, they came so close years ago. Taking steps backward in the following seasons has been incredibly tough. It hasn’t helped the Sabres front office has kind of just done the same thing in the past few off-seasons.
The Sabres front office hasn’t made a significant signing or trade outside of depth pieces. Jason Zucker, Ryan McLeod, Erik Johnson, all good players at the time of trade/signing, but not going to move the needle. Players are inevitably going to want out of an organization if they’re taking steps backwards in the standings and the front office isn’t doing anything about it.
Both Sabres players and management have motivation to potentially shake up the core. But, the report from Seravalli seemed to be a stretch.
Why It Doesn’t Make Sense
Name Drops Feel Exaggerated
This is the tweet summarizing what Seravalli said on his podcast. While there are some big names that could potentially get moved this offseason, such as JJ Peterka and Bowen Byram. Both of those moves would make sense, given they’re pending restricted free agents in need of big contracts. And will be the targets of many teams. Matias Samuelsson has struggled, and could benefit from a change of scenery.
If the Sabres trade Alex Tuch or Owen Power, everyone in the front office should be fired. If they publicly demand a trade, then there’s a scenario where that happens. Anything outside of that, why would you move on from Tuch, the best defending forward on your roster that just had 36 goals? In what world are you trading a 22 year old defender who is in the first year of a long term contract. Also the player you used a first overall pick on. This part of the report makes no sense. Yes, the Sabres failed this year, but trading away your most promising defender and second best forward is not the way forward.
Most Likely Scenario
This report from Seravalli is likely to be true. Kevyn Adams is probably making calls seeing if he can make the team better right now. However, I think the idea the Sabres would go deep into their core and make a trade seems unlikely to happen.
The Sabres have work to do before they’re a playoff caliber team but they aren’t that far off. They scored a lot of goals, finishing 10th in scoring. When you factor in they had a 23rd ranked powerplay, that’s a lot of goals. They need to focus on bolstering the defence in hopes it helps the goaltending as well.
If a Sabres core shakeup is coming, Adams will have to execute these trades very carefully. The Sabres need NHL players in return. Picks and prospects won’t cut it anymore. It has been 14 years of no playoffs and fans are probably more upset than the players right now.
Kevyn Adams got the nod from ownership to steer this ship into the playoffs in 2025-2026. There’s a lot of work to do. There could be a shakeup to the core coming. Stay tuned, there will be more to come throughout the summer.
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