Poor Core Trades Started Sabres Drought

The trades of Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, and Ryan Miller not only dismantled the core of the Buffalo Sabres but set them back for years to come.

A year following their first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011, the Sabres were faced with tough decisions regarding the roster’s future and the future of its core players. Buffalo was five years removed from the 2007 offseason fiasco that saw co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury leave the team with no returns. The mishandling of top assets could not be repeated, and, as the losses piled up, the Sabres pursued trades of its top talent.

Rebuilds, or “re-toolings” as many teams like to call it, happen all the time in the NHL. Teams reach a point where aging stars simply aren’t worth the big long-term contracts they demand, forcing general managers’ hands to try to acquire younger talent in return to fit a better timeline.

The Sabres ran into this issue with the remaining stars from the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 teams. The team was regressing in the standings and contracts were up for the aging core. Trades were likely, if not inevitable, but the deals Sabres management agreed to set the team into a downward spiral they have not been able to recover from.

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Derek Roy

Derek Roy was the first to go, as he was dealt for forward Steve Ott and defenseman Adam Pardy in the 2012 offseason.

Ott eventually was named captain of the Sabres, but that was his biggest contribution to the team. His penalty minutes tripled his point totals in his two seasons in Buffalo. Pardy was a non-factor in Buffalo, playing only 17 games for the club.

Roy’s career dwindled after the trade, but he still outvalued the compensation the Sabres received in return.

Jason Pominville

Sabres top-line wingers Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek were the next trades in 2013. Pominville was dealt at the 2013 trade deadline for then-prospects Johan Larsson and Matt Hackett, as well as a 2013 first-round pick and a 2014 second-round pick. Larsson played parts of seven seasons in Buffalo, never proving to fill more than a fourth-line role. Hackett only won one of his 12 starts with the Sabres, rendering his development a bust.

The best part of the Pominville deal was the 16th overall draft pick in 2013 used to select defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Zadorov became a key piece in the trade to Colorado for center Ryan O’Reilly. The second-round pick was used to take Vaclav Karabacek, who never made it past AHL Rochester.

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Thomas Vanek

Regier shipped his star left winger, Vanek, early into the season for forward Matt Moulson, a conditional first-round pick, and a 2015 second-round pick. Moulson scored 11 goals in 44 games before being shipped to Minnesota at the trade deadline.

The trade was facilitated by then President of Hockey Operations Pat LaFontaine. He sent Moulson to the Wild, along with Cody McCormick, for forward Torrey Mitchell and two second-rounders that turned into, when all was said and done, two failed draftees, Eric Cornel and Brycen Martin, and defenseman Josh Gorges.

The Sabres re-signed Matt Moulson the ensuing offseason, getting more value from the trade. Still, Vanek went on to play six very productive seasons after his departure.

The conditional first-rounder acquired in the deal was traded for goaltender Robin Lehner and forward David Legwand. The second-round selection in 2015 was used to take defenseman Brendan Guhle.

Ryan Miller

Regier was fired in November of 2013 shortly after the Vanek trade, paving the way for new general manager Tim Murray to put his imprint on the team. Ryan Miller was the first big casualty, becoming the last standing member of the Sabres’ core from the 2000s to leave the team.

Miller was traded at the 2014 trade deadline, along with Ott, for goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart, then-prospect William Carrier, a 2015 first-rounder, and a 2016 third-rounder. Halak notoriously dressed for one game as Buffalo’s backup before being flipped to the Washington Capitals for goalie Michal Neuvirth and defenseman Rostislav Klesla. Neuvirth started 29 games for Buffalo, and Klesla refused to report to the Sabres.

Stewart had 25 points in 66 games for the Sabres before being flipped for a 2017 second-round pick that turned into Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Luukkonen’s strong season last year for Buffalo after a long seven-year development plan is the redeeming nugget from the Miller trade tree.

Carrier went on to become the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft selection after playing 41 games in Buffalo. He settled into an effective fourth-line role with the club.

The 2015 first-rounder was a part of the trade to bring forward Evander Kane and defenseman Zach Bogosian to Buffalo, and the 2016 third-rounder was paired with Mark Pysyk to acquire defenseman Dmitry Kulikov. Each of those deals could be analyzed separately, but, in essence, the picks were used as trade chips.

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The Aftermath of Sabres Trades

A successful rebuild has to bring in a percentage of “wins” in trade deals, especially ones involving top players. The only Sabres “wins” in the trades of Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, and Ryan Miller were trade chips used in other deals. This includes Stewart turning into Luukkonen and Zadorov as part of the O’Reilly acquisition.

Failed draft picks, poor NHL returns, and mismanagement of the other acquired assets fumbled the transition into the Sabres’ next chapter. Following the lineage of the trade trees, here’s all the Sabres currently have to show for these deals:

Derek Roy, Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek Trade Tree

• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
• Stiven Sardarian

Since Ott was paired in the Miller trade, Roy and Miller’s trade trees fall under the same umbrella. Luukkonen is the only current player to show stemming from those two trades, thanks to flipping Stewart for the second-rounder used to select the Finnish netminder.

Vanek’s trade tree merges with Roy and Miller’s thanks to Evander Kane. The first-rounder acquired in the Miller deal was included to trade for Kane, who was then flipped to San Jose for the first-rounder used to acquire Brandon Montour. Guhle, also a part of the Montour deal, was selected with the 2015 second-round pick acquired in the Vanek trade.

Montour was traded to the Florida Panthers in 2021 for the third-round pick used to select prospect Stiven Sardarian, currently playing collegiate hockey.

Jason Pominville Trade Tree

• Tage Thompson
• Ryan Johnson

Don’t let the presence of Tage Thompson on the Pominville trade tree fool you – the Sabres still whiffed on the deal with Minnesota. Fortunately, the pick used to select Nikita Zadorov was included in the deal. The Russian defenseman hardly had an impact playing for the Sabres and became a trade chip instead.

He, along with Mikhail Grigorenko, J.T. Compher, and a 2015 second-round pick were traded to Colorado for O’Reilly, who was eventually dealt himself to St. Louis in a deal that returned Tage Thompson and the pick used to select Ryan Johnson.

For a time last season, it looked as though Thompson was the only remaining relevant piece of the Roy, Pominville, Vanek, and Miller trade trees. The recent emergence of Luukkonen provides more hope, but 95% of the Sabres’ attempt at restocking the roster in the early 2010s fizzled into worthless pieces towards the future.

If you’re looking to pinpoint the reason for the 13-year Sabres drought, it’s fair to point at Darcy Regier, Pat LaFontaine, and Tim Murray’s dismantling of the core as the beginning of the continued suffering.