The Buffalo Sabres are projected to have approximately $21.4-million in salary cap space to use this summer. Much of that money will have to go to the Sabres' RFAs, but Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams has an intriguing tool at his fingertips -- an offer-sheet for another team's up-and-coming young player.

As we saw with the St. Louis Blues last summer, teams can make successful moves with offer sheets, as the Blues acquired a pair of Edmonton Oilers youngsters -- defenseman Philip Broberg and center Dylan Holloway -- by offer-sheeting both players. The tactics turned out to be excellent for St. Louis, as Holloway posted 26 goals and 63 points in 77 games for the Blues this season, while Broberg generated 21 assists and 29 points in 68 games for St. Louis. The moves didn't require the Blues to give up any assets other than draft picks and cap space, and in return, they got two players on the verge of entering their prime. That's a big win for St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong, who didn't worry about losing friends in the GM community. He made a cold-blooded choice to improve, and the Blues now have two assets to fit as pieces of their puzzle.

That said, should Adams and the Sabres focus on doing something similar? To be sure, there are RFAs out there this summer who would be terrific additions to the Sabres' roster. For instance, Toronto Maple Leafs left winger Matthew Knies -- who had a breakout season, with 29 goals and 58 points in 78 games -- would do wonders for any team's roster. But for argument's sake, let's say Buffalo did tender Knies with an offer sheet. Do you think Knies would want to join a team that hasn't made the playoffs in 14 years? And do you think the Maple Leafs wouldn't immediately match the offer sheet to retain Knies' services?

To ask those questions is to answer them. Knies loves playing in Toronto, and he knows he's going to be a key component of the Leafs' plans for the foreseeable future. There's no way he'd accept a Sabres offer sheet. All Adams would be doing is driving up the price for Knies, but with the NHL's salary cap ceiling rising to $95.5 million next year, the Maple Leafs have more than enough cap space to keep Knies.

Now, this isn't to say the Sabres can't acquire RFAs. But the main way they'd do so is by trading for them. That way, they can have cost control over a targeted player -- but more importantly, they'd acquire an asset who may not have Buffalo at the top of their list of cities where they'd want to set up shop for the next four or five years. But by trading for an RFA, Adams and the rest of Sabres management and coaching could prove to a youngster that the team is on the rise, and that Buffalo would be prepared to give them healthy raises.

The Sabres also could trade for veterans whose contract status has them already locked up for many years. Cost certainty is a big factor for teams aiming for a competitive turnaround, and trading for players may be the only way those type of teams can acquire difference-making talent. Sure, an offer sheet may result in a situation like the one the Blues have orchestrated, but the more proven road to improvement is either by signing a UFA or trading for talent. And that's what Buffalo  should be doing.

Sabres' Off-Season Must Radically Shake Up Team Culture The Buffalo Sabres' off-season has many priorities, includng getting the team's seven RFAs signed to contract extensions. But the overarching change for the franchise is clear: there has to be an extensive culture change, one that charts a new course for an organization that has flailed often as it tries to end what is now a 14-year stretch without any Stanley Cup playoff action. 

The other way to acquire a Knies-esque talent is...drumroll please...to develop your players in-house. Let's remember that Knies was drafted with the 57th-overall pick in the 2021 entry draft. The Sabres, and 30 other NHL teams, could've selected Knies well before Toronto did. But the Maple Leafs were the team that made a savvy move by drafting Knies, and now Toronto has a power forward for the next decade-and-a-half. The Leafs will happily give Knies a great raise this summer, because he deserves it, and because the Buds know how important he is to their future.

So while it's nice for Buffalo fans to imagine Knies wearing a Sabres uniform, the reality is it's not going to happen. The Sabres have many avenues to improve by, but offer sheets more than likely aren't going to be one of them. Their losing aura, and other teams' winning aura, means Buffalo has to take different approaches to improving. And throwing out offer sheets almost assuredly won't get them to where they want to be.