On Sportsnet’s 31 Thoughts: The Podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek, they talked about some players that could be on the move by the February 25th NHL Trade Deadline. During their conversation they briefly discussed the possibility of a veteran Buffalo Sabres forward being available for trade.
After discussing the Edmonton Oilers, Friedman dropped in a quick note about the availability of Sabres forward Jason Pominville.
“But another name I heard today was Pominville from Buffalo, he’s in the last year of his contract. He hasn’t played a ton, a bunch of game lately where he’s been under 10 minutes so I wonder if he gets another crack to go somewhere and make another run.”
The 36-year-old winger got off to a hot start this season playing with Jeff Skinner and Jack Eichel. He scored nine goals and 18 points in his first 20 games of the season. Since then, he has one goal and three points in his last 24 games played.
As Friedman mentioned he’s played the least amount of minutes for forwards on most nights over the last few weeks. He also was a healthy scratch last night in Dallas.
Pominville will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and carries a $5.60 million cap hit. The Sabres will likely need to retain salary in any move involving him and will also need to navigate his 10-no trade list under the agreement of his modified no-trade clause.
We’ll see if the Sabres look to get Pominville the opportunity to chase another Stanley Cup or will let him ride out the rest of the season in Buffalo. If he’s moved you would have to believe the Sabres approached him and got his approval on a deal. He’s earned that respect from the organization.
You can listen to the full 31 Thoughts podcast right here via iTunes.