BHN Daily

Sabres Daily: Cost To Get Pesce Will Be Steep; Calgary Exodus

Published

11 months ago

June 23, 2023

What would the Buffalo Sabres have to give up for a long-term solution on the blueline before next season? In a column predicting perfect trade scenarios by Max Bultman and Harman Dayal of the Athletic, the cost to acquire an experienced top-four defenseman such as Carolina’s Brett Pesce would be Sabres 2022 first-rounder Noah Ostlund and Philadelphia’s second-round pick (45th overall).

THE @CANES OPEN THE SCORING! 🌪️

Brett Pesce off the faceoff and through allllll the traffic.

🇺🇸: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/QbbRkrKzkY
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet ➡️ https://t.co/uEVY6yXLpz pic.twitter.com/Xtrjk86JJl

— NHL (@NHL) May 3, 2023

Numerous reports indicate that Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams top priority is to add a defenseman capable of playing on the top two pairs to take some of the burden off of youngsters Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, and Owen Power. Pesce is a responsible two-way defender in the final year of his contract making just over $4 million, and as the piece points out, the Hurricanes are loathe to sign players approaching 30 to long-term extensions and Pesce changing agents to Judd Moldaver of Orr/Wasserman (the same agent as Auston Matthews) may be a hint that he is looking to get paid on his new deal.

Adams has to be prepared to give up a significant asset to bring back an established blueliner, whether it be Pesce or some reasonable facsimile since they clearly do not want to pay big money for a free-agent defenseman like Radko Gudas or Scott Mayfield. 2022 first-rounders Matthew Savoie and Jiri Kulich may be untouchable, but Ostlund, 2021 first-rounder Isak Rosen, or the 13th overall pick next week in Nashville might be the price the Sabres GM will have to pay.

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Fleeing The Flames

Noah Hanifin is another defenseman that has been mentioned in connection with Buffalo. The 2015 fifth-overall pick has made it clear that he will not sign an extension with the Calgary Flames and is expected to be moved before the start of next season. On Thursday, TSN’s Chris Johnston reported that Flames winger Tyler Toffoli has requested a trade. The veteran winger scored 34 goals last season and has one year left at $4.85 million.