Report: Sabres In Pursuit Of Canucks Pettersson

The Buffalo Sabres poor performance on their recent Western road swing has served to solidify their position at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and as a likely seller before the March 7 trade deadline.

GM Kevyn Adams will once again be in the position of dealing off pending unrestricted free agents like wingers Jason Zucker and Jordan Greenway, defenseman Henri Jokiharju, and goalie James Reimer, and possibly acting as a middleman to facilitate deals for other clubs, but there is a sense that Buffalo would like to make a more impactful move involving some of their core players.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated on Saturday that the Sabres are among several clubs in pursuit of Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson. Pettersson is 26 and is in the first year of an eight-year, $92.8 million contract ($11.6 million AAV) and has been rumored along with teammate JT Miller to be on the trade block.

The Canucks reportedly have not been happy with the offers they’ve received for Miller and are open to trading either or both, and the fact that Pettersson has no trade restrictions and seven years remaining on a contract is attractive to the Sabres, who have had difficulty attracting free agents to Buffalo.

Friedman in December indicated that several NHL clubs had been “sniffing around” Sabres center Dylan Cozens, who is in year two of a seven-year, $49.7 million contract ($7.1 million AAV) and does not have any no-trade protection. There have also been rumors of the Canucks having an interest in defenseman Bowen Byram, who is from Cranbrook, BC, and played his junior hockey for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

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