Fansided

5 NHL teams that need to make a trade to save their season

By Derek Grochowski

ST. PAUL, MN - FEBRUARY 15: Alex Stalock #32 of the Minnesota Wild skates by Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild as he tends to his creese before a game with the New Jersey Devils at Xcel Energy Center on February 15, 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota.(Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - FEBRUARY 15: Alex Stalock #32 of the Minnesota Wild skates by Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild as he tends to his creese before a game with the New Jersey Devils at Xcel Energy Center on February 15, 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota.(Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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BUFFALO, NY – FEBRUARY 15: Kevin Hayes #13 of the New York Rangers defends against Jack Eichel #9 of the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game on February 15, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Sara Schmidle/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY – FEBRUARY 15: Kevin Hayes #13 of the New York Rangers defends against Jack Eichel #9 of the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game on February 15, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Sara Schmidle/NHLI via Getty Images) /

3. Buffalo Sabres

There was a stretch of the season where the Buffalo Sabres were the best team in the Eastern Conference. They went on a ten game win streak and raced up to the top of the standings. Things have not gone well since. The Sabres crashed out of the Atlantic playoff spots and fell all the way through the wild card. They now sit outside of the playoffs. They have not made the playoffs since the 2010-2011 season and the time to make the push is now.

Rasmus Dahlin has been great, Jack Eichel has delivered and Jeff Skinner is one of the best goal scorers in the NHL. General manager Jason Botterill has the pieces to be aggressive and put his team over the top. He can spend big with three first round picks in his pocket or be conservative and pick up a few rental pieces for the stretch run.

Realistically the Sabres are performing where they should be, a fringe playoff team a few pieces short of seriously contending. But blowing the points they gained on the streak would leave this season feeling lost. They need to make a move at the deadline to address their lack of scoring depth to help their chances.

In a perfect world, the Buffalo Sabres do not trade any of their first round draft picks. Depending on how certain trade conditions fall they will have three first rounders this year or two this year and two next year. This is still a team that needs to get younger and will need to be salary cap conscious in the near future. There are plenty of rental options that likely wouldn’t need a first in return. Michael Ferland, Wayne Simmonds and Charlie Coyle are all options that carry different price tags but fill a similar need. The Sabres have very little talent outside of their top two lines. Any of these three would be a huge boost to the lineup.

Every season there is one name that surfaces in trade rumors that surprises everyone. This year Jonathan Huberdeau appears to be that player. Things haven’t gone to plan for the Panthers this year making Huberdeau available. He is just under a point per game player, Botterill could spend some of his picks and maybe a prospect or two to bring him in. Bringing in a player like him would provide a huge offensive boost to a lineup that has been extremely inconsistent in Buffalo.

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