One of the NHL's best stories this season was the surge of the Buffalo Sabres.

After starting slowly and switching GMs, the Sabres roared for most of the season. They even managed to eliminate the Boston Bruins and make it to the second round.

For the first time in a very long time, the Sabres had a lot to be happy about.

While it's early days in the off-season, it has already been momentous for the Sabres.

On Tuesday night, Buffalo traded veterans Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway to the Chicago Blackhawks for a package that included the fourth overall pick in this year's draft.

On Wednesday, Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen traded pending UFA Alex Tuch to the Washington Capitals for a third-round pick and David Kampf, with Tuch getting a massive raise and signing an eight-year contract worth $10.5 million per year.

Clearly, the Sabres are turning a page this summer. But it feels like Kekalainen isn't done making changes to his team, because the No. 4 pick is attractive to a slew of teams.

"I've told all the teams that have inquired about the No. 4 pick that we're just going to listen for now, take notes and see what they think is the value of No. 4," Kekalainen told reporters on Wednesday. "We value that very highly ourselves. We know there's a great prospect available there, that's going to be two, three years away, or maybe even more, before they can make an impact on our team."

Kekalainen can now try creating a robust trade market for the fourth pick. If he doesn't like what he's offered, Kekalainen can keep the elite young player he gets at No. 4 and make them part of Buffalo's long-term picture. It's really a no-lose situation for the Sabres.

That said, the Sabres are at a win-now place in their competitive cycle, and the fourth pick isn't going to help them as much as an experienced, above-average player will.

They could get extremely ambitious and see whether the Winnipeg Jets would budge on goalie Connor Hellebuyck or whether the Dallas Stars would consider trading Jason Robertson.

Other potential trade targets to help on the wing include Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser from the Vancouver Canucks or Vincent Trocheck from the New York Rangers.

The third-rounder acquired in the Tuch trade isn't likely to be an addition that helps the team in the short term. But the cap space opened up by Tuch's departure means Buffalo now has about $10.8 million in cap space, and that's nothing to sneer at.

Kekalainen can't throw all his trade capital overboard to chase only one or two playoff appearances, so whatever moves he makes must help them win the Stanley Cup.

It's all very tantalizing for Buffalo. Kekalainen has been proactive with his Byram and Tuch trades, and he's now created enough cap space to add a couple of new veterans to put them over the top next season and into the Eastern Conference final and beyond. Even if they don't find those talents this off-season, they could have the financial flexibility to make an in-season trade or two.

Byram and Tuch were very good players in their time with the Sabres. But Kekalainen was looking for a better balance with his group, which meant dealing from a position of strength and trading Byram to help the forwards, especially knowing Tuch was leaving.

There's still enough talent for Buffalo fans to expect the team to return to the post-season. That's the bare minimum for this team. But the goal now for Kekalainen must be to convert some assets into fuel to help the team go further in the 2027 playoffs.

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