29-year-old center played with Ottawa, New York, and Tampa the last two seasons
The Buffalo Sabres face a season where accountability will be stressed under head coach Lindy Ruff and areas of need will have to be addressed by GM Kevyn Adams for the club to snap their 13-year playoff drought. We have been taking a look at players who could be potential trade targets this summer over the last few weeks in advance of a year that has to be considered playoffs or bust, but now we will take a look at who the Sabres could potentially be pursuing.
Buffalo is not likely to pursue big-ticket players like Jake Guentzel or Elias Lindholm, as they will be pursuing long-term big-money contracts, but they will be looking for role players with size and two-way ability that can be signed for a lesser term and cap hit.
Tyler Motte – Center (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Stats: 9 points (6 G, 3 A) in 69 games, 1 point (1 G, 0 A) in 5 playoff games
2023-24 Salary -$800,000
In Adams pursuit to remake the Sabres bottom six to provide more experience, energy, depth, and sandpaper, he will need to have the cap space to compete for hot free agents like Dakota Joshua, but he'll also need to find some bargain veterans on one-year deals who can plug in fourth liners. Motte is one such player, coming off two straight seasons where he signed short-term deals with Ottawa and Tampa Bay.
A 2013 draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, Motte played three years at Michigan and split time between the Hawks and the AHL in his first pro season before being dealt to Columbus along with Artemi Panarin in 2017. He was dealt to Vancouver later that year, and had his longest stint with the Canucks (almost five seasons), before being traded at the 2022 trade deadline to the Rangers. After signing with Ottawa as a free agent, he was traded once again at the 2023 deadline to New York. Last summer, he signed on with Tampa Bay and served as an effective depth forward and penalty killer.
Motte is only 29 and his skills have not diminished, which will make him attractive on July 1, but if offered multiple years, he could be the type of depth forward that fits in nicely into Lindy Ruff’s system.
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