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Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mark Pysyk. Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Trade deadline preview: Buffalo Sabres

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Cam Lewis | Last updated 2/2/22

As the trade deadline approaches, we’ll be doing a team-by-team look at who should be buying and selling and which players might be on the move. Today, we have the Buffalo Sabres.

The Situation

General manager Kevyn Adams has already done a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to the Buffalo Sabres’ blow-up, but there’s still work to be done.

Buffalo tried to be competitive in 2021, signing Taylor Hall in free agency and trading for veteran Eric Staal, but the team fell flat and posted a miserable 15-34-7 record. It marked the 10th year in a row that the Sabres missed out on the playoffs.

At the end of the season, a visibly disgruntled Jack Eichel came out and said that there had been a disconnect between him and the organization in regards to how his neck injury was handled and that his top priority was to “get healthy and be ready to play hockey next year, wherever that might be.”

After that comment, it became clear that Eichel and the Sabres were headed for a divorce and that the team would be diving into a full-on rebuild.

While all eyes were on Eichel, the Sabres traded away a couple of other former top draft picks over the summer. Sam Reinhart was moved to the Florida Panthers for a first-round pick and prospect Devon Levi and Rasmus Ristolainen was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers for Robert Hagg and two draft picks.

Finally, in November, after stripping him of his captaincy and stashing him on the Long-Term Injured Reserve, the Sabres moved Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and three draft picks.

Next up? The Sabres have a whopping 14 pending unrestricted free agents on their roster, so they should be a very busy team leading up to the trade deadline. Not everybody is going to be moved, of course, but Adams will surely be looking to get value for anybody who isn’t going to be a part of the long-term solution in Buffalo.

Players to Watch

A major priority for the Sabres this season has been pumping the value of some of their impending free agents.

Colin Miller is seeing significantly more power-play minutes than he did in either of his first two seasons in Buffalo and he’s already matched last year’s point total of 12 through just 32 games. It isn’t quite the production Miller had when he was with the Golden Knights, but he’s proving that he can still be a quality producer from the blueline.

On the flip side of that, Robert Hagg, who the team got in return for Ristolainen last summer, is seeing more time on the penalty kill than ever before in his career. Hagg is logging 17:21 per night all told, the most since his rookie season with the Flyers in 2017-18.

Veteran Mark Pysyk has also been given an increased load this season. Pysyk is playing an average of 18:49 per night, well above the 11:43 per game he logged with the Dallas Stars in 2021. Though he only has eight points, Pysyk is the only regular on the Sabres with a positive plus-minus.

Buffalo’s defenders are likely the ones who will garner the most attention leading up to the trade deadline, but they have some quality depth forwards who could be of interest to contending teams.

Vinnie Hinostroza is on a cheap deal worth just $1.05 million and has 17 points (16 of which are at even-strength) through 36 games. Cody Eakin hasn’t produced much offensively since leaving Vegas, but he can kill penalties and win face-offs. He could be a quality addition if the Sabres are willing to retain some of his $2.25 million cap hit.

Finally, goaltender Craig Anderson could be a solution for teams in need of a veteran back-up goaltender. Anderson just came back after missing nearly two months due to injury. All told, the 40-year-old has a .917 save percentage over eight starts.

This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission.

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