LAS VEGAS — In the moments before the Buffalo Sabres were on the clock in the first round of the NHL Draft, their table on the floor of the Sphere appeared tense. General manager Kevyn Adams was deep in conversation with assistant general manager Jerry Forton. Coach Lindy Ruff got up from his seat and walked around the table to join them.
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Adams started this offseason by saying that “the time is now” for the Sabres to take the next step and end their league-record playoff drought. He has said the Sabres are in a different phase of their build, one in which they can afford to make moves for the present, even if it means spending future assets.
So the draft, an event built around the delayed gratification that comes with drafting 18-year olds, didn’t carry the typical anticipation for Sabres fans. The question most were wondering about wasn’t which prospect Adams would draft, but rather whether he would be able to trade the pick for a proven NHLer.
But the effort Adams made to swing a deal came up short, and the Sabres’ brass took to the stage and drafted Finnish center Konsta Helenius with the No. 14 pick. Helenius is a player the Sabres’ scouting staff is excited about (they had him ranked in the top 10 of the class). Adams is, too. But he also was clear that he was trying to make a trade to improve Buffalo’s roster right now. That didn’t materialize in a first-round that included zero player trades across the league.
“We were aggressive and there weren’t trades we could get other teams to agree to,” Adams said.
In the run up to the draft, Adams started to get the sense that deals weren’t going to happen.
“I thought we put together some really strong offers and when that didn’t end up happening,” Adams said, “as we got into the draft here, I just thought, ‘OK, it’s the year teams aren’t going to be willing to move a player for a pick or a package.”
He said some of those possible trades involved picks that were made Friday, so those negotiations might fizzle out. But Adams expects to continue dialogue on other potential trades throughout the weekend. The Sabres now have a surplus of prospects, and the addition of Helenius should make it even easier to part with a top prospect if an impactful veteran is coming the other way.
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Because there’s plenty to like about Helenius. He had 42 points in 57 games playing in Liiga, Finland’s top pro league. He’s 5-foot-11 and 189 pounds, and he plays bigger than that size. He’s strong on the forecheck, creates turnovers in the offensive zone and is smart playing away from the puck. His coach in Finland, former NHLer Olli Jokinen, thinks he could push for an NHL roster spot as soon as this coming season. Adams didn’t necessarily shy away from that idea, either. He thinks that because Helenius played against men and then played for Team Finland at the World Championships, he could have a quicker path to the NHL.
“We’re open to these things,” Adams said, making reference to the fact that Zach Benson made Buffalo’s roster as an 18-year old rookie last season. “We always balance and make sure we’re putting a player in a position to succeed. But this is a player we have really high expectations for, and we think is closer rather than further away … This is a player we’d like to get over here as fast as possible.”
The Sabres also can’t count on Helenius to help their NHL roster this season. They have too many holes in their forward group and already have a young roster to begin with. That’s why Adams will be facing heavy scrutiny over the next few days. The draft and free agency are two prime opportunities to add veteran players to the roster. The Sabres have two second-round picks after trading down from No. 11 to No. 14. Do they really need to make both of those picks when they’ve already selected 31 players since the start of the 2021 draft?
Adams made that pick swap with San Jose on Thursday before he saw how the board would fall. As it turned out, Sam Dickinson and Zeev Buium, two highly regarded defensemen, were available at No. 11. That will add further skepticism to the trade unless Adams can use that additional second-round pick to make a deal that helps Buffalo’s roster.
But are those deals out there to be made? The first round of the draft was a spectacle at the Sphere. Team staffers were gawking at the massive screen. Celine Dion and Michael Buffer were among the celebrities to announce draft picks. The league even had a gaudy graphic and sound effect for trades. The trades were only pick swaps, though. The league activity didn’t match the sizzle of the scene.
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Maybe Adams will be able to make a move with one or more of his eight picks on Saturday. Or maybe it’s time for him to part with some of these top prospects. It’s not worth judging the Sabres’ offseason on one night. The only trade of significance this week that would have made sense for Buffalo was Washington acquiring Calgary forward Andrew Mangiapane for a 2025 second-round pick. But Mangiapane had a no-trade clause, as do other potential trade targets such as Nikolaj Ehlers and Pavel Buchnevich. That will continue to be a roadblock for the Sabres in trades until they repair the reputation they have as a franchise.
Until then, Adams has to target different players and find creative ways to upgrade the roster. Nobody is saying it’s easy, but it’s the job. And it will continue through the week ahead. Because as exciting as it is to add more young talent to the pipeline, the Sabres need help now.
“We’ll keep working at it, but it takes two to make a trade,” Adams said.
(Photo of Konsta Helenius: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
