They say it’s sometimes the trades that you don’t make that make the team better.
But other times, the trades you don’t make have a negative impact. And now that the trade for star goalie Connor Hellebuyck has been completed, we have to ask – why weren’t the Buffalo Sabres ready, willing and able to beat the offer the New Jersey Devils gave to the Winnipeg Jets to make Hellebuyck a Sabre?
Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen spoke out this week about his goaltending situation – almost as if he were doing some pre-emptive damage control. But when you look at the meagre trade package the Jets got for Hellebuyck – a mid-level forward in Dawson Mercer; a young prospect in Alexander Command; a couple meaningless draft picks, and a forward in Nick Bjugstad who may not play a game for Buffalo – it’s not unfair to ask, was that all it took to land a Hart Trophy and a three-time Vezina Trophy?
It’s true Kekalainen tried to make a major transaction last season when he attempted to acquire defenseman Colton Parayko from the St. Louis Blues. Parayko wound up kiboshing the trade thanks to his no-trade clause. And to be fair, he did pull off a heist when he traded defenseman Bowen Byran for the fourth-overall draft pick.
But failing to put together a trade package that would appeal to the Jets borders on criminal for Kekalainen and the Sabres. It’s not as if Buffalo is bereft of trade capital. The Sabres currently have some dynamic young players, and that’s great. But what they do not have is a superstar netminder with a track record for doing big things, both in the NHL and on the international stage.
And the thing that really ought to grind the gears of Sabres fans is that Hellebuyck is a cost-controlled asset on a very team-friendly contract paying him $8-million for another four seasons after this one. That contract is highly-likely to look better and better as the salary cap ceiling continues to rise in the coming years. And Buffalo’s inability to acquire a true difference-maker like Hellebuyck is an indictment of Kekalainen and a form of trade paralysis that doesn’t serve the Sabres well at all.
At some point, Buffalo fans are going to start demanding that a needle-mover gets acquired. Kekalainen can talk all he wants about trusting and believing in his current group of players. But fans are a different story, and long-suffering Sabres fans deserve to have a legitimate star acquired via trade. That just doesn’t happen, though, so it’s clear why Buffalo fans would be let down that the Sabres couldn’t beat the Devils’ offer.
Hellebuyck is a workhorse who would’ve easily amped up the confidence level of Buffalo players. Instead, it’s the same old story when it comes to acquiring an elite player – ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda’ – and Sabres fans are no doubt exhausted by all the excuses.
Sabres fans – the paying public – would’ve been elated to welcome Hellebuyck to Buffalo. And imagine how a Hellebuyck trade would’ve invigorated the Sabres’ dressing room. But now, seeing what the Devils gave up for him, it’s fair for Sabres fans to say ‘how come we couldn’t beat that offer?’ It’s not every day a top-level netminder comes available, and Buffalo could’ve swooped in at any point in the off-season or now with a strong trade package that Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff couldn’t say ‘no’ to.
Instead, the Sabres turned out again to be the bridesmaid and never the bride when it comes to acquiring a high-profile NHLer like Hellebuyck. And if Kekalainen doesn’t pull off a trade that brings a name-brand player to Buffalo, the Sabres will rightly be ripped by media and fans alike.
You can’t blame Buffalo fans to have been envisioning Hellebuyck in a Sabres uniform. And another GM – say, Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka – would’ve moved heaven and earth to acquire a player of Hellebuyck’s stature. But meek little Buffalo just shrugs their shoulders and plugs away with the cast they’ve got. If you’re a Sabres fan, it all feels so underwhelming. And not finding a way to beat New Jersey’s offer is a significant error and missed opportunity for Buffalo.