The Buffalo Sabres could go a number of different ways as the NHL is in the midst of trade season following the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency on July 1. With the departure of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram, GM Jarmo Kekalainen is expected to seek out offensive reinforcements to make up for the 44 goals lost by their departures.
We are continuing to look at potential options for the Sabres, now that veteran Patrick Kane has returned with Chicago. Some of the possibilities are not going to match Tuch’s stats, but any additions could provide some relief to the pressure that youngsters Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, or Noah Ostlund will be under to make up the deficit.
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Kekalainen ideally is looking for someone who could make up as much of the 60-to-70 point production that he lost with Tuch, or someone who can fill the leadership gap and/or add some snarl and sandpaper to the middle-six.
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A player who could be available for next to nothing in a trade is veteran winger Frank Vatrano. A Massachusetts native and product of the US National Development Program, the undrafted college free agent signed with Boston in 2015, but did not achieve any NHL success in three years with the Bruins and only blossomed after being traded to Florida in 2018.
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The 32-year-old has been remarkably consistent until last season, with seasons of 24, 16, and 18 goals with the Panthers, 18 with FLA and the NY Rangers in 2022, and 22, 37, and 21 goals with the Ducks. Vatrano’s scoring success ended last season, due mostly to a shoulder injury in late December that caused him to drop to five goals in 50 games.
As with Alex Killorn and Chris Kreider, Vatrano may be on the trade block because the Ducks are looking to shed salary to sign RFA winger Cutter Gauthier after Anaheim matched the offer sheet to Leo Carlsson. Both Killorn and Kreider are 35 or older and have a cap hit in excess of $6 million, but they are each entering the final year of their contracts.
Vatrano is younger, is more likely to bounce back from a bad season now that he is healthy, and his cap hit is $4.57 million, but he is signed through 2027-28. Another factor for the Sabres might be the salary deferral of $9 million ($3 million for each year of his three-year, $18 million contract extension), that is paid out at $900,000 annually for 10 years starting in 2035.
That factor could limit the cost to acquire the veteran winger to nearly nothing, but it might rule out the Sabres interest in Vatrano based on Buffalo’s fiscally conservative nature.
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