Report: Sabres to make a major trade this offseason

It was another season of disappointment for the Buffalo Sabres.

The NHL's longest suffering fanbase was forced to go through another failure of a season with the Sabres missing the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season. At some point things have to change for this team, right?

The Sabres have so much young talent and so much promise, but they just can't seem to bear down when things really matter. They took a giant step forward in 2022-23, but then another giant step backwards again this past season. Heading into 2024-25 with Lindy Ruff back behind the bench, this is a team that will be expected to qualify for the post-season. Failure to do so probably means serious changes to the team's overall management group. In other words: GM Kevyn Adams is liable to be a desperate man this offseason.

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reports that he expects Adams and the Sabres to be busy this offseason. Specifically, Friedman reports that Adams and the Sabres are looking to get aggressive at the Draft later this month and are shopping their 1st round, 11th overall, on the trade market.

“I believe Buffalo’s [first round pick] is [in play to be traded]… There’s a lot of talk around Buffalo," Friedman said on The Jeff Marek Show. "I think the Sabres’ front office knows this is a make-or-break year for them.”

Adams has been fairly aggressive in previous seasons in trying to overhaul his roster, but only made one real key move this past year to help his team. Acquiring Bowen Byram from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt was a bold move, but the Sabres will need more bold moves to make meaningful changes on the ice next season. Flipping this 1st round pick for some immediate scoring help could be the move that this team has needed for years now.

The Sabres could also look to get aggressive on the free agent market this offseason, but that route hardly helped them when they managed to score Taylor Hall as a free agent back in 2020.