The Buffalo Sabres could go a number of different ways as the NHL enters trade season leading into the NHL Draft in two weeks, and the beginning of free agency on July 1. Based on a lengthy impasse between pending UFA Alex Tuch, most insiders are expecting the 30-year-old to sign elsewhere since there continues to be a considerable gap between what Tuch’s representatives are looking for and what Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen is willing to pay him. 

There is a slim possibility that Buffalo could get something significant in return for the Syracuse, NY native if they arrange a sign-and-trade, so that another club can have him on an eight-year deal and spread out the AAV to lower the cap hit, but with the likely scenario that he simply walks away when free agency opens next month, Kekalainen will have to pivot to fill the scoring gap. 

Over the next few weeks, we will look at potential options for the Sabres. Some of the possibilities are not going to match Tuch’s stats, that absence may have to be filled by youngsters like Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, or Noah Ostlund, but Kekalainen will potentially need to find a veteran winger to replace Tuch in the top six.

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Kekalainen ideally would like to replace the 60-to-70 point production that he loses with Tuch, and that would almost be a certainty with a trade for Knies, who posted a pair of 20+ goal seasons with the Maple Leafs, and a career-high 66 points (23 goals, 43 assists) last season, in spite of playing most of the season with knee issues. The Arizona native is also locked up on a long-term contract for another five seasons at an economical $7.75 million cap hit, which would beg the question why Toronto is shopping the 23-year-old. 

Leafs GM John Chayka is floating Knies name out there because he has no trade protection on his deal and is looking for a team to overpay. Toronto is looking for help up the middle, ideally someone who could move into the second line center role behind Auston Matthews, which would allow veteran John Tavares to move to the wing, and likely would expect more of a return from a division rival like Montreal or Buffalo, who were rumored to be in pursuit of the young power forward before the deadline. 

Like the rumored deals involving St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas and defenseman Colton Parayko before the deadline, youngster Konsta Helenius and 2025 first rounder Radim Mrtka would likely be the components of any deal involving Knies, but Toronto’s ask may be so much that Buffalo would balk and look for a less costly option. 

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