"Obviously, we're in a position where we need our young players to be learning and growing and getting better, but we just have to figure out a way to balance all that," Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams said Wednesday. "The veterans know that when you're in the situation that we are, there may be guys on the move and we'll see where it goes in the next couple of weeks."
The Sabres won for the first time in 19 games, since Feb. 23, on Wednesday, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1. The 18 straight losses (0-15-3) set the NHL shootout-era record for the longest stretch without a win (the shootout was implemented in the 2005-06 season, eliminating ties).
The Sabres (7-23-5) have several players who can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, including forwards Taylor Hall, Tobias Rieder and Riley Sheahan; defensemen Brandon Montour and Matt Irwin; and goalies Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark.
Buffalo traded center
Eric Staal
to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday for a third-round and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Adams said he was headed to Rochester, New York, to watch Buffalo's American Hockey League affiliate play Cleveland on Wednesday. Part of the reason for his visit was to evaluate and have conversations with prospects who could be on their way to the NHL.
Among them are center Arttu Ruotsalainen and forward Jack Quinn, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Quinn was the No. 8 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and had scored four points (one goal, three assists) in eight games. Ruotsalainen had scored eight points (three goals, five assists) in 10 games; Samuelsson had scored seven points (one goal, six assists) in 11 games; and Luukkonen was 5-2-1 with a 3.19 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.
The rest of the season could provide a chance for those players, and potentially others, to play in the NHL in a low-pressure setting with Buffalo building for the future.
"We know that we want to do that and that's part of the plan moving forward," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "The timeline has not been set but the motor is moving, for me certainly, and I'm excited for that. I think it's valuable time for players to gain some experience, internalize that experience. That's what we're about right now."
