NHL Draft: Sabers cancel trades, add Konsta Helenius to crowded prospect pool

LAS VEGAS — Moments before the Buffalo Sabres were to be selected in the first round of the NHL draft, the tension was palpable at their table at the Sphere. 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.

Adams began the offseason by declaring that “the time has come” for the Sabers to take the next step and end their league-record playoff drought. He said the Sabers are in a different phase of their development, one in which they can afford to make moves for now, 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 generate the anticipation typical of Sabres fans. The biggest question wasn’t which prospect Adams would draft, but whether he’d be able to trade his pick for a proven NHL player.

But Adams’ efforts to get a trade failed, and Sabres officials stepped up and drafted Finnish center Konsta Helenius with the 14th pick. Helenius is a player Sabres scouts are excited about (they had him ranked in the top 10 of the class). Adams is, too. But he’s also made it clear he’s trying to make a trade to improve Buffalo’s roster right now. That didn’t happen in a first round that didn’t include any player trades around the league.

“We were aggressive and there were no trades that we could convince the other teams to have,” Adams said.

As the draft approached, Adams began to get the feeling that deals wouldn’t happen.

“I thought we made some really good offers and when that didn’t come through,” Adams said, “as we were going into the draft here, I was like, ‘OK, this is the year teams won’t be willing to trade a player for a pick or package. »

He said some of those potential trades involved picks made Friday, so those negotiations could fall through. But Adams expects to continue the 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 impact veteran comes the other way.

Because there’s a lot to like about Helenius. He has 42 points in 57 games in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league. He’s 5-foot-11, 189 pounds, and he plays bigger than that. He’s strong on the forecheck, creates turnovers in the offensive zone and plays smart away from the puck. His coach in Finland, former NHLer Olli Jokinen, thinks he could make a push for an NHL spot as early as next season. Adams hasn’t necessarily shied away from that idea, either. He thinks that because Helenius played against men and then played for Team Finland at the world championships, he might have a quicker path to the NHL.

“We’re open to those things,” Adams said, referring to the fact that Zach Benson joined Buffalo’s roster as an 18-year-old rookie last season. “We always balance and make sure we put a player in a position to succeed. But he’s a player we have very high expectations for, and we think he’s closer rather than further away… He’s a player we’d like to have here as soon 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. That’s why Adams will be scrutinized in the coming days. The draft and free agency are both prime opportunities to add veteran players to the roster. The Sabres have two second-round picks after moving up from 11th to 14th overall. Do they really need to make those two 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 seeing how the board would shake out. It turned out that Sam Dickinson and Zeev Buium, two highly regarded defensemen, were available at No. 11. That will add even more skepticism to the trade unless Adams can use that extra second-round pick to make a deal that helps Buffalo’s roster.

But are these deals feasible? The first round of the draft was a spectacle at the Sphere. Team staffers gaped at the giant screen. Celine Dion and Michael Buffer were among the celebrities who announced their draft picks. The league even had a garish graphic and sound effect for the trades. However, the transactions were only pick swaps. The activity in the league did not match the excitement on the stage.

Perhaps Adams can make a move with one or more of his eight picks on Saturday. Or maybe it’s time for him to part ways with some of these top prospects. It’s not worth judging the Sabres’ offseason on one night. The only major trade 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 did other potential trade targets such as Nikolaj Ehlers and Pavel Buchnevich. This will continue to be an obstacle for the Sabers in trades until they reestablish their franchise reputation.

Until then, Adams needs to target different players and find creative ways to improve the roster. Nobody says it’s easy, but it’s work. And this will continue over the coming week. Because while it’s exciting to add more young talent to the roster, the Sabers need help now.

“We’ll continue to work on it, but it takes two to make a trade,” Adams said.

(Photo by Konsta Helenius: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)