This First-Line Trade Target For The Buffalo Sabres Is An Offseason Must
- Dominic Konareski
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
The Sabres broke a decades-long playoffless streak, finishing the 2025/26 regular season with an Atlantic Division leading 50-23-9 record, making it to the playoffs after an 18-year hiatus and making it to the second round.
To continue being a playoff contender and establishing themselves as a Stanley Cup Contender, the Sabres will be faced with one of the most critical offseasons in recent memory. Buffalo already has a solid core in Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Bowen Byram – but the offseason search to upgrade their top line is a must, and it will become even more pressing if Alex Tuch ends up departing in free agency.
It was reported earlier this week by Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen that the New York Islanders are “exploring the market” on three-time All-Star forward Mathew Barzal.
Barzal has four years left on his contract with a $9.15M AAV through 2030/31 and the Islanders are looking to clear cap space. Barzal is coming off of a very strong 72 point 2025/26 campaign that featured 53 assists across 81 games. The 29-year-old was one of the best power play factors in New York’s arsenal last season, recording 20 points off of power plays alone.
The two biggest factors to this potential trade is that Barzal has a 22-team no-trade clause, and it’s not publicly known if Buffalo is on there or if Barzal would even consider a move to Western New York. The second factor is cap space, if a trade was to go down then Buffalo would have to work around their cap space as well. Potential Sabres that could find their way to UBS Arena are Josh Norris ($7.95M AAV) or Jordan Greenway, who has a year left with $4M AAV.
Barzal has notched 534 points in 611 career games, and has been one of the most reliable players that the Islanders have had in recent years. Of course it would be a commitment, considering Barzal is under contract till the turn of the decade, but he would be a great addition for Buffalo, giving them another core asset in what is a fast-moving tempo team.
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