The Sabres are in the playoff conversation, but if they want to strengthen the roster in a meaningful way, they’ll have to give something real to get something real. For Buffalo, that trade chip is not Tage Thompson.
It isn’t one of the team’s three first-round picks, either. It’s center Ryan McLeod.
Buffalo sits with about $1.935 million in salary cap space right now, and if GM Jarmo Kekalainen leaves that room untouched, it projects to grow to $7.74 million by the trade deadline. Since teams don’t carry cap space forward, the argument here is straightforward: Kekalainen should use every bit of it to improve the roster.
If the Sabres want difference-making veteran help, though, they’ll have to part with value. That doesn’t automatically mean a first-round pick has to be off the table - the source point is that Buffalo is in win-now mode, and moving one could be part of the push if it brings back the right player.
But McLeod is the most logical piece to dangle.
The 27-year-old has raised his point total in each of his five NHL seasons, beginning with 21 points in 2022-23 and reaching 54 points this past season. He’s also on a highly favorable contract, set to make just $5 million per year for the next two seasons after this one. That combination - age, production trend, and cost control - is exactly why other teams would call.
There’s another layer that makes McLeod movable: Buffalo can deal him almost anywhere it wants. Over the final two years of the contract, he has a limited no-trade clause, with veto power over just five teams. That leaves 26 possible destinations, which gives the Sabres plenty of room to work.
That flexibility matters because McLeod’s value may not peak in the same way for every suitor. He has only three points in 12 games so far this season, and some teams will try to use that slow start against Buffalo in talks. Still, his age and contract should keep the Sabres in position to hold firm if a deal starts to get serious.
McLeod may still be figuring out his ceiling, but the source view is clear on one point: he’s not a first-line center. He has become a useful player at a position that every team wants, and if Buffalo can turn that into a stronger, longer-term piece in return, the Sabres should do it.
That could mean moving a player most fans wouldn’t immediately circle, but front offices see what matters here. McLeod is quick, useful, and the kind of center other teams believe they can push to a higher level. He also might have surfaced in a possible Winnipeg Jets scenario if Kevin Cheveldayoff had chosen Buffalo as Connor Hellebuyck’s new home, though there could be other situations where McLeod becomes the odd man out.
Buffalo has also used him across all four lines at different times, and the concern in the source is blunt: he just isn’t getting the job done. That’s why the Sabres need to think hard about whether holding onto him makes sense if there’s a chance to turn him into a better fit for the long haul.
McLeod hasn’t worn out his welcome. But if Kekalainen can spark a bidding war and land the kind of return that upgrades the roster, he has to seriously explore it. The Sabres need a bold move up front, and McLeod is their best path to one.
In Other News...
Sabres Line Shakeup Just Unlocked Something Huge For Tage Thompson
A late lineup tweak gave Buffalo a different look against Anaheim, and it paid off in a big way. Peyton Krebs was elevated into the first line mix and immediately helped tilt the ice, piling up three assists in the Sabres 7-6 win while Tage Thompson turned the change into one of his biggest nights of the season.
Thompsons hat trick and five-point performance were the headline, but the chemistry on that top unit was the real story for Buffalo. The Sabres got a glimpse of how dangerous that group can be when it clicks, and the way Krebs fit into the role left the coaching staff with a useful problem to think about once the lineup settles back down. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Playoff Push May Hinge On One Growing Concern
Buffalos early-season position has the feel of a team still trying to sort out what it is. The Sabres have shown enough to stay in the conversation, and the underlying numbers suggest there is more there than the standings show, but the path to the postseason is already crowded. In a conference where a few points can separate a handful of teams, every uneven stretch matters, and Buffalo has not yet put together the kind of run that can create breathing room.
The bigger concern is the one that keeps showing up in the same places: in net and on special teams. The Sabres have not gotten the steady goaltending they need, and the power play and penalty kill have also left room for doubt, which can erase the value of stronger five-on-five play. There is still time for the roster to settle in and for help to arrive later, but if Buffalo is going to turn its promising start into a real playoff push, those problem areas have to move in the right direction soon. [Read more 🡒]
Zach Benson Is Forcing A Bigger Sabres Question Up Front
Zach Bensons recent stretch has given the Sabres another look at their forward mix, and it has not been a subtle one. After Lindy Ruff bumped Benson into a more prominent role, the young winger has looked increasingly comfortable alongside Tage Thompson and Peyton Krebs, bringing the kind of energy Buffalo has come to expect from him through hard forechecking, clean support work and a knack for helping teammates find space.
The numbers have backed up the eye test, too, with that group tilting play in Buffalos favor while Benson has added to his point production. What makes it more interesting for the Sabres is how much less effective the same unit has looked in limited time without him, which turns Bensons surge into more than a nice individual run and into a bigger question about how Ruff wants to build the top of the lineup going forward. [Read more 🡒]