The Buffalo Sabres thought they'd turned a corner as a destination for NHL players in trades, but St. Louis Blues D-man Colton Parayko did not waive his no-move clause to join them.
It looked like the Buffalo Sabres had, at long last, turned the corner as a franchise and became a buyer before the NHL's March 6 trade deadline.
A TSN report detailed the Sabres' attempt at a trade that would acquire veteran defenseman Colton Parayko from the St. Louis Blues – but there was one catch: Parayko had a no-trade clause in his contract, so he had to give the green light to any deal.
Unfortunately for Buffalo, Parayko chose to veto a trade to the Sabres on Thursday, according to multiple reports.
It goes to show you how difficult it is for a franchise that's had so many losing years to emerge as a destination players would happily choose to be moved to. And regardless of Parayko's reasoning for the veto – he's been heavily involved in the St. Louis community, as former NHLer Pat Maroon said on Morning Cuppa Hockey Thursday morning – that stark reminder slapped the team in the face.
Now, some fans and pundits have argued that it's a good thing for Buffalo that Parayko didn't accept a trade. The 32-year-old has four years left on his contract at a $6.5-million cap hit, and his production has dropped.
But Parayko logs heavy minutes, blocks more shots than anyone on the Sabres have, and is still effective in the defensive end.
Certainly, Parayko would've been better served, competitively speaking, to accept a trade to Buffalo. Had he joined the Sabres, he would've been part of one of the best defense corps in the Eastern Conference, if not the entire league.
But he has a right to exercise his no-trade clause, and Buffalo just didn't do it for him at this time.
Sabres management hasn't led this team to success over the past decade-and-a-half, trading away players only for them to become stars and win the Stanley Cup elsewhere. And fans have had to suffer through it all.
But current Buffalo GM Jarmo Kekalainen now has to pivot out of this declined trade and find a way to address his clear desire to improve his group of defensemen – and for that matter, to find veteran players who aren't going to reject a trade to his team.
Meanwhile, Kekalainen will now also have to mend fences with prospect defenseman Radim Mrtka, who was reported to be part of the price Buffalo was prepared to pay in exchange for help right now.
Unless Kekalainen includes Mrtka in another deal, he's got to smooth things out with the youngster and make him comfortable knowing he's an important part of the Sabres' future. Otherwise, this failed trade is even worse for the Sabres.
Former Sabres GM Kevyn Adams was criticized for basically acknowledging Buffalo was not a destination of choice for players because of taxes and a lack of palm trees. But we're seeing, in real time, that reality playing out as Kekalainen strikes out on Parayko.
The way the Sabres have played for much of the year is an important step forward for Buffalo, but as Parayko has shown us, there are still many steps the Sabres need to make before they can assure themselves any player they try to trade for will accept a deal to Western New York.
There's obviously still life for the Sabres after the Parayko deal fell through. But Buffalo fans are fooling themselves if they believe the Sabres will suddenly become a destination point for players of note. All the years of losing has left a stain on the Sabres, and as Parayko has shown, that stain isn't easy to scrub off.
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