The Sabres should not sign or trade for Mitch Marner or Auston Matthews

The Toronto Maple Leafs were embarrassed on home ice last night, losing to the defending Stanley Cup Champs, the Florida Panthers, 6-1. This was the Leafs' chance to make the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 20+ years.

With Toronto now losing its seventh straight game seven, and failing to make the conference finals in nine straight playoff appearances, a shakeup will be coming. Mitch Marner has his foot out the door in Toronto as he will be getting a massive payday in free agency, and the Leafs have been open to trading Auston Matthews.

Tweets and Instagram posts have gone out saying the Sabres should bring a star into Buffalo, and I am here to say the Sabres should NOT sign or trade for one of these two players.

Regular Season success does not translate to Playoff success

Marner just put up 100 points this year for the first time in his career, and Matthews eclipsed the 400-goal mark this year. However, I couldn't care less what these guys accomplish in the regular season, as neither of them has experienced any sort of playoff success. 

If either of these guys ends up in Buffalo, would we expect anything different? Sabres fans are one of, if not the most loyal, fan bases in all of hockey. If the team isn’t doing well, they will let you know about it. Would these guys not feel the pressure of ending a playoff drought and winning a playoff series in Buffalo as well? 

After these last 14 years, Sabres fans have been chomping at the bit to make the playoffs, and bringing in a player who can’t win in the playoffs will not fix the issues. Marner or Matthews has shown little emotion or resurgence during their time in Toronto. 

It took Marner until his last game as a Leaf to finally show that emotion, as his foot was already out the door. They put contending teams, after contending teams, around these guys, and they have consistently failed. 

The last thing Buffalo needs is a guy like Marner or Matthews who will just be Jeff Skinner 2.0. The Sabres need to focus on their issues at hand, such as their defensive corps for next season and their goaltending situation. Their offense is one of the best in the league and will only improve. 

If the Sabres try to take a chance on either one of these guys, I think it would be a grave mistake for this team moving forward.