Sabres Atlantic Foes Hampered By Star Player Discontent

The Buffalo Sabres finish up their four-game road swing in Los Angeles, in an afternoon tilt against the Kings, who with a 4-6-2 record reside near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Buffalo is coming off a pair of victories against the young San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, and faces a Los Angeles roster that has the oldest average age in the NHL.   

In the aftermath of the Connor Hellebuyck melodrama, the focus of chatter throughout the NHL has shifted to a pair of the Sabres Atlantic Division foes, the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Wings have had an issue with former captain Dylan Larkin and defenseman Simon Edvinsson since the summer, but they were paralyzed after the firing of GM Steve Yzerman and the promotion of assistant GM Shawn Horcoff to interim GM. 

 Larkin, unlike Hellebuyck, reported to training camp and played 10 games after recovering from an injury, but earlier this week, the 30-year-old informed the Wings that he would no longer play for them and would await a trade, for which Detroit suspended him without pay.  

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The Sabres, according to both Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, have expressed interest in Tage Thompson’s Team USA teammates, but Larkin at this point is not willing to expand his trade list to include Buffalo or the Montreal Canadiens. The Wings also face a staring contest with RFA defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who has to be signed by December 1 or he cannot play for Detroit or any other NHL club this season. 

On Friday, a shock wave hit the league, as reigning Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov revealed that he will not be signing a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning and that he has requested a trade. Lightning GM Julien Brisebois’ reaction to the announcement was that he did not intend to trade the franchise’s leading scorer, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. 

Both situations will have a detrimental effect on a pair of the Sabres divisional foes, as moves such as this rarely result in the club moving a core player for equal value. Trading Larkin and Edvinsson, the Wings top center and one of their top pairing defensemen, could force Detroit into a second rebuild in less than a decade, similar to what the Sabres were forced into when Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and others asked out of Buffalo. 

With Kucherov, the ultimatum could be a tactical move made by the 33-year-old and agent Dan Milstein to force a trade and go to another team to get the payday he is looking for. If Brisebois is true to his word and keeps Kucherov for the rest of the season as an own rental, the reign of the Lightning as a top three club in the Atlantic the last decade is likely over.        

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