For the first time in many years, the Buffalo Sabres are heading into a trade deadline day on a high note. Coming out of the Winter Olympic break, Buffalo is riding a four-game winning streak.
The team continues to gain points as the 2025-26 regular season schedule nears a close. In recent years, the trade deadline has been a time for the Sabres to move players on expiring contracts for draft capital, as playoff hopes failed to materialize. Regardless of the outcome, reaching the postseason would be viewed as a major step forward, and the season would be viewed as a success.
While one approach would be to focus on simply reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Buffalo is looking to aim higher. Clearly, Sabres management is not simply looking to make a playoff appearance; they are looking to go on a run in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
Barring a monumental collapse in the last twenty games of the regular season, the Sabres are going to end the 14-year playoff drought the organization has been mired in.
The Sabres fan base is finally being rewarded with a team to be excited about on the ice.
Sellout crowds have returned to KeyBank Center. The city of Buffalo has been starving for playoff hockey.
The Sabres have been the hottest team in the National Hockey League since early December, and in Jarmo Kekalainen, Buffalo has a general manager who has a reputation for being aggressive at the trade deadline.
The team currently holds the second slot in the Atlantic Division standings. One deadline day strategy would be for the Sabres to stand pat. This school of thought would focus on the current group, which turned the season around after a very poor start in the first two months of the season.
But as Friday afternoon approaches, the signal has been sent that the approach of the Sabres will be to add talent to the current roster that can help the group achieve playoff success. According to top NHL insiders, including Darren Dreger, Buffalo has been linked in trade talks involving St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas and defensemen Colton Parayko.
Even if an exchange with the Blues is not finalized, Buffalo will continue to pursue potential opportunities to add a top-six forward and or an experienced blueliner to the lineup to reward the players and help better prepare the group for playoff hockey.
The Sabres management team will continue to aggressively work the phones until Friday’s three PM horn sounds.
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