The Buffalo Sabres have needed to make a trade since July 1, 2018.
The moment general manager Jason Botterill traded Ryan O'Reilly to the St. Louis Blues, they needed a second line center.
That's not where their needs begin and end. Scoring, in general, has been a weakness for the team in Botterill's time as general manager.
TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger joined Howard Simon and Jeremy White on Wednesday morning and said that Botterill has been trying to make a trade for a long time. The worrisome thing about that is that plenty of good scorers that could've helped the Sabres this season have been dealt elsewhere around the league.
- Feb. 20, 2019: Boston Bruins acquirs center Charlie Coyle from the Minnesota Wild for forward Ryan Donato and a fifth round pick
Coyle has been a very good third line center for the Bruins since being acquired before last year's trade deadline. Coyle was a player that was talked about in Buffalo as an idea for the Sabres long before he was traded to Boston.
Coyle only has 29 points this season for the Bruins, but with expanded ice time in Buffalo, he would've been an upgrade to the Sabres' top-six and their depth at center.
- Feb. 25, 2019: Nashville Predators acquire center Mikael Granlund from the Minnesota Wild for forward Kevin Fiala
The Granlund side of this deal is the bigger missed opportunity for the Sabres, but both he and Fiala have been productive in their careers.
This season, Granlund has just 11 goals and seven assists, but is only 27-years-old and has been between 40-70 points every year of his career. He's the best center that's been traded in the time that's passed between the O'Reilly trade and now.
Fiala is only 23-years-old and has 30 points in 47 games this season.
This probably would've been the toughest one for the Sabres to get involved in. The Predators needed a center, and the Wild got a good young winger. Obviously though, both players were available.
- June 22, 2019: Vancouver Canucks acquire center J.T. Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning for goalie Marek Mazanec, a 2019 third round pick, and a 2020 conditional first round pick
Miller has been phenomenal on the Canucks' top line with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. He has 53 points in 54 games, and has four years remaining on his contract at a $5.25 million cap hit.
The Sabres had an extra first round pick and two highly drafted goalie prospects in the system. That deal was there and, cap wise, could've been more production for the money than Marcus Johansson.
- June 27, 2019: Carolina Hurricanes acquire center Erik Haula from the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Nicholas Roy and a 2021 fifth round pick
Haula got dealt for pretty much nothing. This one would've been incredibly easy for the Sabres. A nothing draft pick and a low-level prospect for a 28-year-old scorer with one year left on his contract at , $2.75 million.
Haula has been injured, but has produced with 11 goals in 33 games for the Hurricanes. Injuries was the risk here as he also missed 67 games last season. In his last full season in 2017-18, Haula had 29 goals for Vegas.
- June 28, 2019: Colorado Avalanche acquire forward Andre Burakovsky from the Washington Capitals for forward Scott Kosmachuk, a 2020 second round pick and a 2020 third pick
A low risk acquisition for the Avalanche, Burakovsky has flourished in an expanded role this season. The former first round pick set his career-high in points against the Sabres on Tuesday. He has 17 goals and 39 points in 48 games.
Burakovsky, who's only 24-year- old, wouldn't have been very expensive on the cap either. His contract is just a one-year deal worth $3.25 million before he becomes a restricted free agent again this offseason.
- July 29, 2019: New Jersey Devils acquire forward Nikita Gusev from the Vegas Golden Knights for a 2020 third round pick and a 2021 second round pick
Gusev carried risk as he is 27-years-old and never played in the NHL before this season. He was playing great in Russia as one of the best players in the Kontinental Hockey League. Gusev was always going to be traded because he wanted more money than Vegas could afford.
The Devils stepped up and gave him a two-year deal worth $4.5 million per-year. In 49 games this season, Gusev has 31 points.
- Oct. 7, 2019: Ottawa Senators acquire center Vladislav Namestnikov from the New York Rangers for defenseman Nick Ebert and a 2021 fourth round pick
Namestnikov could've been another scorer down the middle for the Sabres this season for basically nothing. Ebert is just an AHL defenseman, and the Senators gave up a fourth round pick.
This has been Namestnikov's most challenging season as of late. He has just 22 points in 48 games. He had 31 points in 2019 and 48 points in 2018.
Namestnikov's contract is just for the rest of this season at a $3.25 million cap hit.
- Dec. 16, 2019: Arizona Coyotes acquires forward Taylor Hall from the New Jersey Devils for center Nick Merkley, defenseman Kevin Bahl, center Nate Schnarr, a 2020 conditional first round pick and a 2021 conditional third round pick
This is the largest deal that was made in the NHL since the O'Reilly trade, and maybe the most risky. I made my case for the Sabres making this deal way back in the summer. You can read what I had to say here.
Other players dealt since the Ryan O'Reilly trade:
- Alex Kerfoot (TOR)
- Nazem Kadri (COL)
- Robby Fabbri (DET)
- Andrew Shaw (CHI)
- Mark Stone (VGK)
- Max Pacioretty (VGK)
- Victor Rask (MIN)
- Ryan Strome (NYR)
All this to say, that Botterill may very well being trying to get a deal done. My hope would be that "trying" doesn't simply mean looking for the next Jeff Skinner trade. You're not going to find teams that give you talented players like that on the cheap very often.
"Trying", as Dreger stated, doesn't appear to be enough lately, so maybe it's Botterill's idea of what value is that needs to change for the Sabres to get the trade they need.
