The Buffalo Sabres are “actively dangling” forward Jack Quinn in trade talks, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported today. Buffalo appears to be aggressively pursuing upgrades to its roster this summer, and Quinn represents one of the team’s most valuable trade chips. The Sabres acquired the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 draft as part of the Bowen Byram trade, but ultimately picked WHL defenseman Daxon Rudolph rather than trade the pick for immediate help. That leaves Quinn, who scored 20 goals and 51 points last season, as one of the team’s most attractive trade assets.
Given that the draft happened just a few days ago, the Sabres might find building trades around players, rather than draft picks, to be an easier proposition. That could be why the team’s focus on Quinn as trade bait appears to have intensified. Financial motivations could be playing a role as well. The Sabres have shelled out significant cap space in the past few weeks, signing players such as Zach Benson and Beck Malenstyn to long-term extensions. Quinn is set to become an RFA next summer and will likely require a significant raise over his current $3.75MM cap hit. If the Sabres don’t think they’ll have the room to re-sign Quinn next summer, and would rather turn over his role to a younger, cheaper prospect such as Konsta Helenius or Jiri Kulich, trading Quinn with one year left on his deal could be the wisest strategic move.
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
The New Jersey Devils are nearing an agreement on a contract extension with pending RFA forward Arseni Gritsyuk, reports James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. According to Nichols, Gritsyuk’s new deal “should be wrapped up soon,” perhaps in the next few days. The Devils drafted the 25-year-old in the fifth round of the 2019 draft, and he finally crossed the Atlantic to make his NHL debut after a half-decade playing in the KHL. The former SKA St. Petersburg star potted 13 goals and 31 points in 66 games for the Devils, and has lined himself up for a substantial raise over the $925K cap hit of his entry-level contract.
Although the Ottawa Senators did not extend a qualifying offer to netminder Samuel Ersson before today’s deadline, the team still hopes to re-sign the goalie for the 2026-27 season and beyond, per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. According to Garrioch, it “would be surprising if [Ersson] doesn’t get signed.” The reason the Senators did not qualify Ersson appears to be arbitration – had he been qualified, Ersson would have been able to file for arbitration. Arbitration can hand a significant amount of leverage to an RFA in negotiations, or at least remove some control over the compensation owed to the player out of the club’s hands. The Senators’ decision signals that the club would still like to keep Ersson after trading a fifth-rounder for him last week, but aren’t willing to accept the level of risk that comes with a potential arbitration filing.