Sabers GM Kevyn Adams open to first-round pick

The 2024 NHL Draft is almost a week away next Friday and Saturday at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

There is a lot of speculation about whether or not the Buffalo Sabers will trade their first round pick (11th overall) after the team failed to qualify for the playoffs again this season last.

Sabers general manager Kevyn Adams, in a news conference Thursday, said moving up, down or out of the first round altogether are all options on the table.

He says the goal this offseason is to prepare the team to win now.

“If we end up making pick 11, we’ll be happy about it, but it won’t be for lack of effort to see what else there was to do,” Adams said. “I’ve told other GMs this is year one. In my mind, you’ll always have conversations, you’ll always look for different ways to improve your roster, but this year in particular is the first time, I would say that we are most comfortable with where we have built our prospect pool and that if the right opportunity presents itself, we will be ready to do it.

The Sabers have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011, the longest active playoff drought in the NHL.