Buffalo Sabres: 3 Potential Evander Kane trade destinations

New York Islanders

The highest profile trade rumors this side of Matt Duchene over the last few years have involved New York Islanders captain John Tavares.

The 27-year old center is regularly described as a loyal servant ready to settle down with one team. He’s just not sure if the Islanders – subject to decades of arena and relocation rumors – are that team.

Tavares currently makes $5.5 million per year against the cap, and his contract expires this summer. That’s not an outrageous amount of money for a player of his caliber. Tavares is a four-time All-Star who can play in any situation the Sabres would need.

Even better for Buffalo, he would provide a one-two punch with Jack Eichel. Eichel may forever be known as the man picked after Connor McDavid, but the second overall pick in 2015 is an elite center in his own right. A one-for-one trade would allow Buffalo to allocate resources throughout their first two lines rather than running out a top-heavy first line. Of course, a trade would likely have to involve both parties agreeing to long-term extensions. And there would have to be a ton of additional pieces heading to the Islanders as well.

Tavares isn’t the only piece in play here

The trade options don’t stop at Tavares.

While a heads up trade sounds neat and exciting, the Islanders are at a crossroads. General Manager Garth Snow has helmed the team for over a decade, and the organization has never quite taken the step forward toward contender.

He’s made seemingly bizarre moves like trading Travis Harmonic to the Calgary Flames for draft picks while trying to retain a franchise center entering his prime. He also committed an absurd amount of money to The Best Fourth Line in Hockey.™

The Islanders possess six draft picks over the first two rounds of the 2018 and 2019 drafts. Depending on what the Sabres are willing to accept, this is an opportunity for Snow to package some of those trade assets and shed absurd contracts like Cal Clutterbuck’s $3.5 million AAV. The Islanders don’t have the cap space to absorb Kane’s current deal (or an extension) outright, and that’s one way to open it up.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets are possibly the least interesting team in this article. There’s not an obvious one-for-one star player to trade for Evander Kane. They aren’t in the sort of salary cap hell that requires gymnastics to absorb his contract either. In fact, they could take on Kane’s contract in exchange for picks tomorrow and still come in under the cap.

The Blue Jackets did post a franchise record 108 points last year, winning 50 games in the process. They sent Brandon Saad back to the Chicago Blackhawks for fellow left wing Artemi Panarin. Sergei Bobrovsky has ascended to the goaltending elite. They were reportedly in on Duchene talks over the summer too.

The pieces

We mentioned that the Jackets don’t have the stud top end players to move. Short of shipping out Panarin – which seems unlikely given he just got there – their big contracts are closer to albatrosses than assets.

Still, there’s a trade to be made here. If Columbus is willing to double down on an established player like Kane over the potential of youth, they could send out an up-and-comer like Pierre-Luc Dubois or Oliver Bjorkstrand. The key would be shedding salary by packaging an aging forward like Brandon Dubinsky ($5.85 million AAV) or Nick Foligno ($5.5 million AAV).

Even if it requires eating some salary, that kind of move would open an already clean cap sheet up for a Kane extension and some big acquisitions down the road.

With Panarin in tow, left wing is far from a need for the Jackets. However, they have the pieces to make a Kane trade and have been looking to make a big move. Next we turn to a team that typically builds from within, but needs an offensive shot in the arm: the San Jose Sharks.

San Jose Sharks

As per usual, the San Jose Sharks are a team in transition.

The Sharks are entering another transition period. Joe Thornton is now 38 and skating on a surgically repaired knee. Patrick Marleau has had some fun in Toronto, but the Sharks rightfully did not match the Maple Leafs hefty contract. They need a jumpstart, and Evander Kane could be the man.

As much as the Puck Prose team endorses Sharks starting goalie Martin Jones, he can’t do it alone. On a recent four game winning streak, Thornton, defenseman Brent Burns, and captain Joe Pavelski combined for just four points (2-2–4) as Jones and backup Aaron Dell carried the load.

This week, they were thrashed 5-1 by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning as the rudderless offense couldn’t give Jones a night off.

Sharks lack assets, but great fit

This one is wish fulfillment. Evander Kane would be a perfect fit with the San Jose Sharks, but it’s hard to see what package they would put together for him.

At an average age of 28.5 years, the Sharks are among the oldest teams in the NHL. The eventual departure of Thornton will bring that number down, but they are committed to winning now. Long term deals on the blue line and a forward core in their prime mean this team has its sights set on playing in June.

Evander Kane would not put the Sharks over the top, but he would expand the window. He brings down the Sharks average age, and plugs into a top six with more questions than answers after Marleau’s departure. With Thornton’s contract off the books next year, they can easily fit an extension under the cap.

Kane slots into a top six that relies on Thomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi along the left side. He fits a post-Thornton era power play that would see Logan Couture slide into center alongside Pavelski on the right wing. The only reason this trade doesn’t work is that the Sharks and their bottom-tier farm system would struggle to put the pieces together.

Their best tradable NHL asset is winger Mikel Boedker. Signed for two more years at a $4 million AAV, he’s from the elite scorer Kane is, but still can skate big minutes for the Sabres. The Sharks are without second and third round picks in 2018, and need to build a package around Boedker or another NHL forward to entice Buffalo.

What do you think, Puck Prose readers? Am we reaching with the Sharks? Should the Islanders stay the course? Are we missing an obvious trade partner? Let us know in the comments.