The Buffalo Sabres are in a bad way, starting the season 0-3-0. After years of missing the playoffs and getting no closer to the postseason than at the beginning of the rebuild, some are talking about blowing up their talented roster. The New Jersey Devils are uniquely equipped to give them what they need to restart a rebuild.
The Devils have a lot of prospects and draft picks in the coffers. The Sabres have some really good young defensemen in Owen Power, Bowen Byram, and Rasmus Dahlin, but if they move Dahlin during this rebuild, they will want the future of the position to look bright. With players and prospects like Simon Nemec, Seamus Casey, Anton Silayev, Ethan Edwards, and Topias Vilen, the Sabres will want to do business with the Devils.
On top of that, they still have Lindy Ruff as head coach. Maybe that doesn’t last long, but if they want Ruff to help with the transition and develop the next head coach, they could get him some players we know he already likes. Ruff was the Devils’ head coach from 2020 to 2024.
Ruff got the best out of some players on this roster, including Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, and Dougie Hamilton. Even though some of these players are overpaid on a rebuilding roster, they make sense if the Sabres are going to remove other money from the roster.
Knowing the Sabres will want to do a deal with the Devils, who should the Devils target if the Sabres sell?
1. Tage Thompson
Tage Thompson is the obvious target for the Devils. He’s a center-winger hybrid who would immediately fit next to Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. He’s the ultimate finisher who could score 50 goals next to them. This is obviously where the conversation would begin, and it’s a conversation we’ve had on the Let’s Go Devils Podcast when talking about who the team should target.
The contract also makes things much easier. He’s not cheap, but he’s definitely underpaid. He’s making just over $7 million per season. If the Devils move Palat in a deal with the Sabres, they could so easily make a Thompson deal work under the salary cap. Even with the team currently in LTIR due to the Luke Hughes extension, they can address that with other moves.
Thompson is signed through 2030, four more seasons after this one. His contract actually lines up with Jack Hughes’s current deal, so the Devils can go all in for these next five seasons trying to win a Stanley Cup.
Thompson is also huge, and he isn’t afraid to get into a scuffle. With him and Timo Meier in the top six, the Devils would have plenty of protection for their skill guys. He would cost a ton because most of the teams in the NHL will target him, but the Devils might be willing to overspend in the trade to make it happen.
2. Alex Tuch
Alex Tuch is the one people have been talking about for weeks. Mainly because the Sabres haven’t been able to sign him to an extension, and the forward is in the final year of his contract. Tuch was the centerpiece of the Jack Eichel trade, giving the Sabres a foundational piece to build their future around.
Tuch has been good with the Sabres. He had his second 30+ goal season last season, finishing with 36 goals and 31 assists. That’s obviously an output the Devils would love.
Finding a price for Tuch on the trade market is more complicated than for Thompson. The Sabres obviously want the best possible return, but Tuch needs a contract. He also turns 30 before that contract goes into effect.
This isn’t a reason for the Devils to avoid a deal entirely, but it’s something they should keep in mind. A four-or five-year deal makes more sense than a seven or eight-year deal. That's something they can address if they get there.
3. Peyton Krebs
The Devils are still a very young team, and getting young talent makes sense. It’s not like Thompson (27) and Tuch (29) are old, but they are definitely players considered in their prime, and the Devils will be expected to pay top of market value because of it. A player who is still growing, like Peyton Krebs, could come at a major discount.
That’s because Krebs never lived up to the hype he brought with him from Vegas. Krebs has a career high 10 goals at this point, which he hit last season. Injuries really impacted his development, and he has settled into a bottom-six forward with upside.
Can the Devils find that upside? It’s basically another bet on a bottom-six forward who could eventually grow into the top six. Krebs was expected to be an incredible player coming out of the NHL Draft, but it just hasn’t landed where anyone expected.
This would be an interesting deal for the Devils. What would it actually cost them? Would Krebs do much better in New Jersey with better talent on the bottom six? It is worth a shot.