BFHS 3/4/26: Blockbuster looming?
Kris Baker and The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn discuss everything Buffalo Sabres. Hit those like and subscribe buttons and be sure to read Matthew’s latest at The Athletic: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7085733/2026/03/04/buffalo-thompson-olympics-eichel-reception-playoff-atmosphere/
22 Comments
only thing that can stop buffalo right now is ww3
Hahahah Matthew doesn’t look like he wants to wake up this early and talk hockey
If Jarmo does trade for Thomas, there's no way he re-signs Tuch. 👍👍
They still have to win at least 14 more to end the drought with the way the entire Eastern division is going this season. Not a great performance last night but still got the 2 points. Still can't get over the incredible performance this year after decade long abysmal hockey. I'm waiting for Jarmo/ Bergevin to make a deal before Friday. Kris, please do a Sabres Prospects edition soon.
ostlund adds diemensions to that mid-6, an he will get better.. losing him would be a mistake. if they can use helenius to aquire whats basically an older helenius in thomas. win-win-win.
Do you really want to make a HUGE move like this with 20 games left ?Are they not worried about screwing up team chemistry not too mention you bring in Thomas then Thompson has to move back to the wing, is he good with this.
IMO all this team needs is a veteran 3rd pair D man with some toughness like a Luke Schenn , Brandon Carlo or dare I say it Rasmus Ristolainen. Also another move worth making could be trading Quinn in a package to Calgary for Blake Coleman , another vet who has won a couple of Stanley Cups.
Sorry but the price you guys quoted of picks & prospects is WAY TOO HIGH for Thomas.
For some Saber fans, they don’t wanna move the bar if be disappointed making the playoffs is their celebration as a wild card. What about finishing third division what about second what about first it’s all happening too fast. We’ve got a nice little club that plays well together don’t do anything stupid till we get in the playoffs no matter what moves they make because of the playoff format you could get bumped out round one easily nothing’s guaranteed don’t be afraid.
What a well thought out, grounded discussion about Thomas and the cost of acquisition. The best Sabres centric show by a mile!
Don't make changes to a team rolling like the Sabres are.
Landing Thomas without giving up Helenous, Osl or Power, stirs my hockey stick! Give them a 27 and 28 #1s , Rosen and a couple other prospects Boom! Things get extremely interesting!
I think forget about Thomas. Get another D-man. We are still well
stocked with blue Chip talent. Thank you Kevyn Adams…..
Noah Ostlund staying with the Sabres is definitely a win for Buffalo. Noah doesn't have the body type for a grinding game, but his skating and motor are superb. He maintains puck control with his skating to leave the defensive zone. Ostlund should be able to add muscle for the future.
These guys are wayyy off here. There is a reason why Thomas is on the block. Roster player, one prospect and a #1 pick ATMOST
Don’t wanna give up Mrtka think he’s gonna be one hell of player in a couple years. Anyone else you named can go though
Lot of moving parts. Not even going to try to predict what'll happen.
I'd guess there's a 33% chance the Sabres land Thomas, a 33% chance Utah lands Thomas, and a 33% chance the Blues hang onto Thomas, at least until the draft. If I were in the Blues' chair, I'd try to hold up the Sabres for Mrtka, Ostlund and Helenius. The Sabres' 1st-round pick in 2026 is likely to be in the 17-28 range, in what's talked about as a weak draft. I'd rather have the better-known quantities, who're a year or two closer to NHL-ready. Can Utah top that with three of Daniil But, Tij Iginla, Cole Beaudoin, Dmitri Simashev, &/or Maveric Lamoreaux? Maybe. Bill Armstrong (Utah) worked in personnel for the Blues before taking on the perpetual sell-off that was the Arizona job that morphed into the Utah job. Stands to reason that his taste in players is fairly aligned with Bill Armstrong and Steen in St. Louis.
The moving parts come in this summer. If you move out three guys who're under team control for awhile yet (see also: young and cheap), for one guy at the top of the lineup (and cap sheet), do you have the depth to fill in the lineup after the inevitable losses of guys in the summer.
Tuch (whom you're absolutely NOT getting for 5yrs/$8.125 AAV), Malenstyn, Dunne & Bryson are UFAs. Benson, Krebs, & Kesselring are RFAs. Quinn, Ostlund, Kulich, & Byram all become extension-eligible. The Skinner buyout hits it's peak ($6.444,444M). PuckPedia projects them to have a little over $14m to get all of that done with, without Thomas' $8.125M on their current cap.
They can't have/keep everyone.
Colton Ellis is part of the trade too, The Blues are going to unload Bennington
I'd rather keep Helenius and move Ostlund. Higher upside to Helenius than Ostlund
Buffalo currently has 1.5-2 million in cap space, not enough money to do anything at all except pick up Greenway’s twin brother for 4th line goon play…If Pegula and Adams spent to the cap in the previous 2 seasons we wouldn’t have any money to sign any of our own players or new players like Doan…I wonder if he still feels Pegula is so cheap now? Or maybe that was smart finishing last place with youngest team in league and not wasting it overpaying some 33 year old washed up veterans.
I personally would trade Power and 2 first rd picks for Thomas and if we win the cup give them another first rd pick, to win you have to be bold. I would pay a team to take Greenway and his terrible 4 mill cap hit next year, I would give up a lot to dump him so we can add to the team and sign Tuch…all you goofy guys loves greenway so much, yeah he’s so amazing lol, Buffalo’s PK is 100% better without him out there, McLeod and Tuch are way better. Look at Buffalo’s PK record with greenway the coaches Son, near last in league, bottom feeder on PK
I LIKE 👍 this podcast!!
Jack Quinn is a worthless player, slow, loses puck off his stick all the time, couldn’t even score in AHL playoffs, a choker, doesn’t backcheck, never goes near the net,issues net by 10’ all the time.
I'd send any prospect they asked for as part of a package, probably two of them. Do we want an established 26-year old #1 center under contract or do we want a prospect who has zero record of success in the NHL, regardless of the position they play? No brainer.