Veteran winger Jason Zucker has 18 goals for the Sabres this season.
As the NHL 4 Nation Face-Off moves to Boston and reaches the end of the preliminary round, NHL clubs will begin to ramp up toward the remaining one-third of the regular season on Saturday. The Buffalo Sabres first practice on Tuesday will not be focused on the remaining 28 games on the schedule, but towards the 17-day countdown to the NHL trade deadline.
The Sabres are firmly entrenched in last place in the Eastern Conference, with less than a one percent chance of qualifying for the post-season, and a 9.5% chance of selecting first overall for the third time in seven years. In spite of Sabres GM Kevyn Adams pronouncements of not being a seller before March 7th, the club may be forced to deal off players with expiring contracts such as Jason Zucker, Jordan Greenway, and Henri Jokiharju if they cannot get them signed to team-friendly contract extensions.
"We're not looking to be sellers. There's deals that you have to do for the organization, depending on certain things, but we're trying to add to our team. We want to make our team better," Adams said earlier this month. "I'm approaching this as more of if there are deals out there, we're wide open. We have to be willing to look at everything, especially where we are in the standings, but are there hockey trades to make?"
Zucker has been one of the few players who exceeded expectations this season. The 32-year-old was signed to a one-year, $5 million deal last July after splitting time between Arizona and Nashville, and is currently third behind Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch with 18 goals. Adams indicated that he would like to re-sign the veteran winger and that he spoke to him and his agent during the Sabres recent Western road swing.
"I sat down with Jason in Seattle and just talked about where he's at and where he sees himself fitting in. I like to have those conversations and then actually had a couple hour meeting with his agent in person out there. He reiterated that he thinks that we can do something special here. He wants to be part of it and I reiterated to him that we'd like to keep him and let's try to figure it out.” Adams said. “If we can't, it has to work for both sides, but that's why you start these conversations early, and hopefully we'll be able to work something out, but if we can't, then we'll have to go from there."
If the Sabres cannot get a deal done, they could reap as much as a conditional first-round pick for Zucker if the club retains salary. Although Adams has said that he is looking for players who can play for the club now and not future assets, adding a high draft pick could be used to acquire a player with an existing contract from a club looking to shed cap space.
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