The Buffalo Sabres have a few weeks of reprieve to gather themselves as the Winter Olympics rage on. During that time, official trades and roster moves cannot be made, but handshake deals and discussions will absolutely be happening by NHL general managers around the league. With the Sabres currently in a playoff spot and wanting to do everything possible to maintain that position, GM Jarmo Kekalainen will need to look at his team and see what moves he can make to have some positions upgraded. For the first time in a long time, players on the Sabres’ roster are truly expendable, and these are the ones that should be looked at to be moved (along with other assets) for upgrades in their positions.
Sabres Can Afford to Trade Timmins
Since he arrived in Buffalo in the trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Conor Timmins has been a fantastic upgrade on the Sabres defense in the games he has played. His penalty-killing abilities and versatility to play on either of the bottom two pairings alongside Owen Power or Bowen Byram has given head coach Lindy Ruff a lot of flexibility. That is, until he went down with an injury on Dec. 18 and broke his leg, leaving him out until after the Olympic break at the very earliest.
Once Timmins returns, he would be an immediate upgrade to the fill-in options that have been playing in Jacob Bryson and Zach Metsa, but the Sabres should continue to look beyond him and upgrade even further. They continue to lack some edge and physicality on their blue line outside of Mattias Samuelsson, and using Timmins as a trade piece for an upgrade would be a great start for them. Moving his remaining contract of $2.2 million until 2026-27 should not be difficult.
Colten Ellis Is Not Needed Anymore
The Sabres have been running a three-goalie system for nearly the entire season. Some of it has been from the incompetence or hesitance of the prior management of Kevyn Adams, and some of it has been out of necessity. With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen going down with another injury just before the Olympics started, Colten Ellis had to remain on the roster as a backup option to Alex Lyon, and he has played decently. His numbers comparatively have not been spectacular (7-4-1 record, 3.11 goals-against average/GAA, .896 save percentage/SV%), and as the season draws closer to its conclusion, the Sabres will want that extra roster spot to use beyond a third goaltender.
Moving on from Ellis is not a huge deal. He served his purpose and won enough games, but he has not looked like a steady-enough NHL goaltender to warrant keeping him long-term. Especially when Luukkonen and Lyon both have played well, and when their supposed “goalie of the future” Devon Levi is waiting around primed and ready to go in Rochester for his first call-up of the season. The Sabres’ goaltending depth is plenty fine without Ellis. They can afford to trade him as a part of a package deal, or even waive him if the need presents itself.
Jack Quinn’s Value Has Never Been Higher… Move Him
One of the biggest surprises of this season has been the play and numbers of winger Jack Quinn. He is shooting the puck more, skating much stronger and faster than he has in a long time, and he looks confident. These adjustments that have shown up in his game have translated to the scoresheet as he has 12 goals and 37 points in 57 games so far this season. The 25 assists are already a career high for him, and with plenty of games to go, he is on pace to break his highs in points (39) and goals (15) from the 2024-25 season. With his production meeting the standard that is expected of him, the time may be best to move him and upgrade.
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Using a trade chip like him to land a better upgrade piece from a non-contending team is the perfect match. Quinn has a cheap contract, sitting with a $3.375-million cap hit until 2026-27, and any team would gladly take a chance on a 24-year-old point-scoring winger budding into their potential.
Long term, Quinn likely does not fit into the team’s plans with other young players like Noah Ostlund, Jiri Kulich, and/or Konsta Helenius eventually needing full-time roster spots, but in the short term, he could be the perfect trade piece to get a second-line winger to go alongside Josh Norris when he returns from injury. Making moves and not being afraid to trade out pieces that are expendable will make the Sabres’ playoff run much more legitimate. Kekalainen just needs to work some magic and get the deals done.
