We’re only one game into the 2014-15 season, but there’s already some serious trade rumors swirling around the Buffalo Sabres.
On last night’s Insider Trading segment on TSN, ace reporters Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger reported that Tyler Myers name is (quietly) on the trading block, and that the Detroit Red Wings have expressed interested in the big blueliner. They also mentioned that Sabres GM Tim Murray might be interested in acting early on a few of his impending unrestricted free agents.
Here are the comments from Dreger and McKenzie. You can watch the video on TSN here.
Dreger: Tyler Myers of the Buffalo Sabres. His name is out there now. The Sabres are downplaying it, but reality sucks sometimes and the reality for the Sabres is they’re going to be real bad this year. So why not improve your chances in the draft. Detroit believed to be interested. They’ve had talks with the Red Wings about trade, and perhaps Anaheim as well.
McKenzie: And the Buffalo Sabres have a coulple of guys that will be unrestricted at the end of the year. Teams are looking at Chris Stewart, Drew Stafford. Tim Murray, the general manager in Buffalo, might want to parlay one of those guys who is going to be unrestricted into a young prospect. Travis Moen from Montreal Canadiens, his name is out there. Eric Brewer from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Healthy scratch in their opener. He’s also out there.
Regardless of whether this rumor has any teeth to it – it was reported by two of the best in the biz, though we’ve also been hearing this same rumor for almost two years now – it’s important that Tim Murray at least explores these options to their ultimate conclusion.
It’s never too early to talk trade, especially for the Sabres. If there truly is a deal out there that will make the team better in the long-term, then why wait until the trade deadline to do the deal? So much could happen between now and then that it doesn’t make sense to risk a potential deal falling apart simply because “it’s not time yet.” And if Tim Murray is a believer in the tank (and I’m not saying he is, or at least that he would publicly admit it) then it might not be a bad idea to make a trade that makes the team worse this year, but better in two or three years.
Murray has proven himself to be a man with conviction, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make a bold move like this, early in the season though it is. Don’t set your Myers jerseys on fire just yet, but GMTM should act swiftly if a deal is in place that he thinks will make his team better in the long run.
It might not be time for trade season yet, but with the Sabres in the unique position they are, it doesn’t have to be.