The trade buzz around the NHL is already picking up, and the Buffalo Sabres are right in the middle of it. They’re off to a 4-4-2 start, the Columbus Blue Jackets sit at 3-5-0, and both clubs are staring up from below the playoff cut line with the season still young.
For Buffalo, the noise has already included a possible goalie shuffle, with Connor Hellebuyck linked to the Sabres and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen potentially headed out amid reported interest from the New York Rangers. Now another name has surfaced from Columbus: Dmitri Voronkov.
"Some teams calling with interest on winger Dmitri Voronkov. Not saying he will be traded for sure but CBJ listening," TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Thursday.
Voronkov has never played anywhere else. Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who ran the Blue Jackets’ front office from 2013 through 2024, drafted the 6-foot-5 winger in the fourth round in 2019 and later signed him to an entry-level deal in 2023.
The 26-year-old Russian has put up 115 points, with 58 goals and 57 assists, in 217 games over four seasons with Columbus. This season, though, he’s off to a quiet start with no goals and two assists in six games in 2026-27.
There is one part of his game that could catch Buffalo’s attention: Voronkov has scored at least six power-play goals in each of the past three seasons. The Sabres have been especially rough with the man advantage, a problem that’s lingered since Lindy Ruff returned in 2024 and the staff has not found a clean fix for.
Even so, Voronkov doesn’t look like the kind of addition that changes Buffalo’s trajectory. He carries a $4.175 million cap hit in the final year of his contract and is set to become a restricted free agent next summer, but the fit in Buffalo feels cramped.
The Sabres have not found their offensive rhythm through 10 games. They’re 22nd in goals per 60 minutes at 2.74, down hard from last season when they ranked fifth at 3.42.
The issue isn’t a lack of names on the roster. Buffalo has had at least one legitimate top-nine forward, most recently Ryan McLeod, buried on the fourth line because the group up front is crowded.
The real problem has been execution. The Sabres are 4.0 goals below expected, according to MoneyPuck, and that, paired with underwhelming goaltending from UPL, has left them with a 43.8% goals share despite a 50% expected goal share.
Voronkov’s power-play touch and a 20-goal season on his résumé give him value, but not enough to move the needle in a meaningful way for Buffalo. He’d probably land in the bottom six, and his arrival could bump one of the Sabres’ waiver-eligible forwards, maybe Konsta Helenius, to the AHL’s Rochester Americans. That’s a steep price for a modest upgrade.
If Kekalainen is going to be aggressive in the weeks ahead, the bigger swings are the ones Buffalo really needs. A proven goalie like Hellebuyck or a first-line center such as Dylan Larkin would fit the kind of difference-making move the Sabres can use. Voronkov, for all his useful traits, doesn’t really solve the bigger problems.
Kekalainen was never shy about making bold moves in Columbus, and he still hasn’t made that first major win-now push in Buffalo. At this point, that feels like the lane he needs to take.
In Other News...
Sabres Frustration Is Boiling Over As One Bigger Problem Emerges
The Sabres uneven start took another hit with a 3-1 loss to the Flyers, a result that left Buffalo at 4-4-2 and searching for the kind of complete game that has been missing far too often. The offense has not finished well enough, the special teams have lagged, and the overall frustration is starting to pile up because the problems are showing up in more than one area at once.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonens play has become a central concern as the losses mount, and the goaltending issues are now hard to separate from the broader slump. Even so, there has been at least one steady presence amid the inconsistency, with Jack Quinn standing out as Buffalos most dependable player so far and continuing to give the lineup a needed spark. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Face One Big Question As Hellebuyck Rumors Heat Up
Connor Hellebuycks name keeps circling back to Buffalo as the Sabres continue to search for more certainty in net. Their goaltending has been a concern this season, and that has only fueled the belief that the organization could still be in the market for a major move if the right opportunity presents itself.
The timing is getting harder to ignore, too. Hellebuycks suspension ends Friday, and the chatter around a possible deal has only grown louder as the Jets are said to be looking for a hefty return. Buffalo has already explored this path once, so the question now is whether the price finally comes into range or whether the gap between the two sides remains too wide to close. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Have Reached A Goalie Decision Point Fans Can't Ignore
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonens place in the Sabres crease is suddenly a talking point again, and not for reasons Buffalo hoped for after all the noise around its goaltending last season. His play this year has drawn criticism, with the underlying numbers pointing to below-average results in goals saved above expected, and that has only added more weight to a position the Sabres have been trying to stabilize for a while.
Alex Lyons looming return makes the picture even murkier, since Buffalo could soon have another option ready to step into the net. For a team that has been searching for consistency there, the next move carries real consequence, and the front office now has to sort out whether it wants to ride this out, reshuffle the depth chart or make a bigger change before the situation gets any harder to untangle. [Read more 🡒]