As they enter the second month of the NHL season, the Buffalo Sabres continue to perform inconsistently and after winning three games in a row, the Sabres lost their second game in a row on home ice against the NY Islanders on Friday.
With a 4-6-1 record and the NHL general managers meetings upcoming in Toronto, rumors of GM Kevyn Adams looking to make a trade (first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman earlier this week) may become more imperative.
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The Sabres have just over $7 million in available cap space (according to Puckpedia) and a significant stockpile of prospect and draft picks, which gives them more flexibility to make a move than most NHL clubs have, but Adams may be hesitant to bring in someone with term remaining based on the number of player contracts expiring after this season and the increasing amount of dead cap space the next two years from the buyout of winger Jeff Skinner.
Skinner’s buyout cleared all but $1.44 million of his $9 million salary this season, but next season the cap hit will increase to $4.44 million and in 2026-27 it will increase to $6.44 million. Center Ryan McLeod, wingers J-J Peterka and Jack Quinn, defenseman Bowen Byram, and goalie Devon Levi are restricted free agents, while veteran wingers Jordan Greenway, Jason Zucker, and blueliner Henri Jokiharju are unrestricted free agents.
Related: Are The Sabres Open To Adding Salary In A Trade?
With the salary cap going up, the Sabres should have room to sign the players they choose to, and have room to make additions to strengthen their club, but if Adams is looking only to make a deal to upgrade in the short term, a trade for a rental will likely not be available to them until the New Year.
Buffalo is hoping to avoid falling behind early in the year. That is what occurred last season when they struggled in October and could not maintain an over .500 record until after the trade deadline in March.
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