5 best fits for James van Riemsdyk in NHL free agency

2. Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres are set to have a summer for the books.

After an abysmal season during which the team finished in last place, Phil Housley and Co. will look to take some progressive steps forward so as to ensure that a culture of winning ways is ushered forth as early as 2018-19. That the Sabres are set to secure the top prize of the upcoming Entry Draft, Rasmus Dahlin, is a sure sign that the franchise is heading in the right direction.

There’s little doubt that the organization’s next set of moves can potentially serve as a precursor to the club’s success — or lack thereof — in the years to come. The only question, therefore, is one of tactics. Do the Sabres really have what it takes to build a solid team around superstars such as Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly and the aforementioned Dahlin?

For Buffalo’s administration, translating dreams of triumph into a reality ought to be centered on the prospect of ensuring that the team’s ground is covered going forward. Contrary to popular belief, this does not start with nabbing Dahlin. Rather, it begins with a multidimensional plan — one that expands into the realm of secondary scoring.

Acquiring JVR would provide the Sabres with a talented winger whose penchant for clutch performances all but promises to ensure that the team’s goals for numbers is no longer the worst in the league. By extension, the fact that van Riemsdyk is among the NHL’s best players in front of the net would render him a deadly offensive force on both Buffalo’s scoring lines and the team’s power play, as blueliners like Dahlin and Rasmus Ristonlainen could benefit from the assistance of some of the best hands in the game.

With the Sabres set to have some significant money to work with, it’s reasonable for fans to expect multiple moves from GM Jason Botterill. Signing van Riemsdyk would ultimately gesture to the emergence of better days.