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The Buffalo Sabres have two tracks they can go on after finally snapping their playoff drought.
They can continue chugging along with their rising young talent, recognizing that there could still be some growing pains along the way to hoped-for bigger things.
They could also choose to accelerate the timeline and trade youth for experience in the hopes of winning soon.
There are likely arguments to be made on both sides, but the reality is that if the Sabres do want to speed things up, they'll have to give up a player the fanbase won't love losing.
Local reporter Matthew Bove suggested in a post on X on Thursday that it'll be one of four youngsters that would move in such a trade:
If the Sabres are going to make a big move this offseason it’s almost certainly going to include at least one of these players:
- Konsta Helenius
- Noah Ostlund
- Jiri Kulich
- Radim Mrtka
Rank them in order of most open to trading to absolutely not moving them.
MORE: Sabres' story of this season is about all the chapters along the way
It seems like from a recency bias perspective, Helenius and Ostlund are two guys the Sabres won't want to move. They both looked comfortable in the playoffs, and trading them away would likely get a bad response from the fanbase.
Kulich would be a risky guy to deal as he comes off a season lost due to injury. His value might not be that high, but he also could rebound elsewhere rather than in Buffalo if he's sent away.
Mrtka has gotten the least chance to play in the NHL so far, but that doesn't automatically make him the answer, either.
Really, these all feel like players the Sabres ought to keep, at least a little longer. Maybe that means patience is still a bit required in Buffalo -- but there's always a chance the Sabres' front office is feeling impatient and chooses to trade away the talented but inexperienced players to get something different.
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