Jason Robertson is the kind of swing the Sabres almost never get to take.
Buffalo’s slide to seventh in the Atlantic Division has been easy to pin on goaltending, but that only tells part of the story. The bigger issue is that the Sabres are sitting 18th in the league in goals per game, and if no help arrives in net, that number has to climb. With Connor Hellebuyck now in New Jersey, the focus shifts somewhere else.
That opens the door to a far more ambitious target than the usual midseason patch job: Robertson, the unprotected scorer in the Western Conference who could change the look of Buffalo’s offense in a hurry.
He looked like a player headed out of Dallas this past offseason, but he wouldn’t agree to a massive extension with the Seattle Kraken, and that killed the trade talks to the Pacific Northwest. Buffalo may not always be the easiest sell for a player with options, but it could be more appealing to Robertson than Seattle.
For now, he’s on a one-year deal with Dallas so he can keep playing while he waits for either a long-term extension or a trade to a team where he’d accept a contract. The Stars can’t sign him to a new extension until January 1, which leaves them with a tight window to decide whether to keep him, move him, or risk losing him for nothing in the offseason. He was a restricted free agent this past offseason, and he becomes unrestricted in 2027.
Dallas dealing one of its top scorers would be a tough sell for a contender, but it could also be the kind of hard choice a team makes when it’s trying to get the most out of an asset before the clock runs out.
The Sabres have the pieces to get involved, and if they wait until the offseason, they may avoid giving up assets. But that also brings more teams into the picture. A deal before the deadline could let Buffalo get ahead of clubs that might not have the trade chips now but will have cap space in July.
Robertson’s production is exactly why this would be worth the gamble. He’s been a 40-goal scorer three times and is tracking toward another 45-goal season after his Tuesday night hat trick.
Tage Thompson has also hit the 40-goal mark three times and is on pace to do it again, but before that, the last Sabres player to reach 40 was Thomas Vanek in 2008-09. Players with that kind of scoring punch do not come available to Buffalo very often.
And Robertson doesn’t look like the sort of star who will spend his time chasing one of the league’s usual landing spots. He also doesn’t have the Team USA connection that seems to keep funneling players toward the same four or five teams.
The Sabres haven’t been directly linked to him, but Kekalainen can still work the phones on a secret blockbuster. After what Buffalo showed last season, why wouldn’t Robertson want to join a team that was a goal away from reaching the Eastern Conference Final?
In Other News...
Lindy Ruff Just Put A Sabres Leader On Notice
Colten Ellis did enough in net to give Buffalo a chance, turning aside 28 shots in a 2-1 loss to Ottawa, but the Sabres could not make the most of their looks at the other end. The offense again had trouble finishing, and a game that stayed within reach slipped away in the kind of tight contest where one mistake can tilt everything.
Rasmus Dahlin was at the center of that final stretch, and Lindy Ruff did not hide his frustration with the way the Sabres handled some of the late-game choices. For a team trying to tighten up its details and protect leads, the message was clear enough: the margin for error is thin, and the captain's decision-making is now under a brighter spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Lindy Ruff Calls Out A Sabres Problem Fans Know Too Well
The Sabres three-game winning streak disappeared in a 2-1 loss to Ottawa, and the postgame mood was familiar for a team still trying to find consistency at home. Lindy Ruff did not sugarcoat what he saw, pointing to a performance that fell short in the areas that usually decide tight games, especially when Buffalo is trying to build momentum in its own building.
Buffalo has spent much of this season struggling to create the kind of chances that can turn a close night in its favor, and the Senators game fit that pattern. The faceoff battle was especially lopsided, and Ruffs frustration underscored a larger issue the Sabres have not shaken yet, one that keeps showing up whenever they need a cleaner, sharper response after a win. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Made Their Hellebuyck Decision With One Bigger Need In Mind
Buffalos interest in Connor Hellebuyck never really got to the point where it could crowd out the rest of the offseason agenda. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen made it clear the price was too steep, and for a team still trying to reshape its roster, paying that kind of premium for a goalie did not make sense when larger needs remain elsewhere.
The Sabres have been comfortable enough with their current goaltending group to keep moving on that front, especially with Alex Lyon nearing a return from injury and the club expecting to get back to its three-goalie rotation. The bigger pressure point is still up front, where Buffalo is continuing to search for a true No. 1 center to help lift an offense that needs more punch. [Read more 🡒]