Insider hints at potential trade fit between the Jets and Sabres.

The National Hockey League finds itself in a very unusual holding pattern at the end of August, one in which many of this year's biggest free agents still remain unsigned. Although it is obvious to everyone by now that the holdouts of players like toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner and Winnipeg Jets star forward Patrik Laine have limited the ability of their respective teams to make moves this offseason, it is easy to forget that these holdouts could be negatively impacting other teams as well.

This week Buffalo Sabres insider Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News touched on the fact that the Buffalo Sabres, a team that has signed all of their free agents already, are currently struggling to make moves due to the prohibitive nature of the unsigned restricted free agents on opposing teams. Specifically Harrington commented on how the trade market for Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, a very skilled defenseman, is virtually non-existent due to the uncertainty teams have regarding their cap space.

"It is the unknown," admitted Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill as per Harrington. "You look at the fact the cap maybe didn’t go up as much as some teams expected or probably the industry expected and it made it tighter. You look at the fact these are significant contracts and as much as it’s a difficult process going through salary arbitration, at least we get our players signed and at least we know a month going into camp we have our guys signed up.

That being said though Harrington believes that there is one team out there that could use the boost that Ristolainen would bring to their blue line. Interestingly enough the team mentioned by Harrington as a potential landing spot is one with 2 restricted free agents, the Winnipeg Jets.

From the Buffalo News:

The market for Rasmus Ristolainen does not appear to be large and, based on what Botterill and coach Ralph Krueger said at Fan Fest, the Sabres aren't completely against the idea of going into the season with Ristolainen still on their roster. Still, Winnipeg needs help on the blueline and seems like a good destination for Ristolainen but the Jets can't do anything without some resolution of their RFA dilemma.

The Jets of course need to get both star forward Patrik Laine and forward Kyle Connor inked to new deals but it is also worth noting that they lost both defensemen Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba over the summer. They could certainly use Ristolainen on their blue line, and perhaps one of the aforementioned RFAs could be used to acquire such a player. Harrington hasn't hinted at what the Sabres might want in return, but it is clear he believes the Jets are the most likely destination for Ristolainen.