The 2022 NHL trade deadline is tomorrow at 3:00 PM EST. We’ve already seen big names such as Josh Manson, Brandon Hagel, Claude Giroux, and Hampus Lindholm move to new clubs over the past week.

There are still plenty of names that remain in the rumor mill and the Buffalo Sabres themselves have five unrestricted free agents that they could look to move by tomorrow afternoon. They kicked things off today by sending Robert Hagg to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 2022 sixth-round pick.

This piece will set you up for tomorrow. I’ll tell you who I think will stay. Who will go and where they could go. Lastly, I’ll drop a few things the Sabres could target by the deadline.

Who Will Stay

Let’s kick it off with who is going to be around after 3:00 PM tomorrow. It’s unlikely that we’ll see all six of the free agents and a few other names in the rumor mill be off the team.

Victor Olofsson

Olofsson is the one player that is not an unrestricted free agent that is being tossed around for trade discussion. The 26-year-old has had an underwhelming season and part of that is due to a nagging injury he suffered early in the season.

He’ll be 27 in July and is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer. It’ll be an interesting situation if it goes to arbitration because of his scoring history that has some big numbers, mixed in some extended droughts. It’s possible the Sabres don’t have interest in paying him roughly $4-$4.5 million from an arbitration award. They’re not in a position to worry about cap space, but it could be higher than the value they have on the player.

Also, they have young players such as Jack Quinn, that can stop into his roster spot. Not only would Quinn fill the roster spot, but he could give similar production rates on a cheaper contract.

At the end of the day, I think Olofsson stays with the Sabres for the remaining of the season. They’ll probably hope he can rebuild some value with a strong finish to the season and see what the market is for him in the offseason.

Craig Anderson

Anderson has been good for the Sabres on and off the ice. His name has come up in trade discussion as of late, but the sentiment is that this will be his decision. If the Sabres get a fair offer and he wants to go then he will. If he wants to remain in Buffalo, then he will.

It’s not complicated. I feel the Sabres have a high price on Anderson to move him and the odds are still strongly in favor of him remaining. It will get interesting in the next 24 hours with how the Marc-Andre Fleury situation unfolds. It’s possible a desperate team could come calling.

Mark Pysyk

Moving Pysyk may not be popular among Sabres fans. Many would like them to bring him back next season. They’re obviously short on right-shot defensemen in the organization. On the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman mentioned that he has heard his name out there.

I feel as though the club will see more value in hanging onto him than moving him for a late-round pick. He adds value to them on and off the ice. They’ll need a veteran defenseman on the blue line for the remainder of the season. Especially with young players such as Owen Power and Ryan Johnson joining the team in the next month.

Who Will go and Where

There are three remaining unrestricted free and a few other assets that I feel will be moved by tomorrow.

Colin Miller

My gut tells me that Colin Miller will be the next unrestricted free agent that is on the move. He has missed most of this season with an injury and returned the other night against the Edmonton Oilers. They held him out against the Calgary Flames on Friday because they didn’t want him to play on back to backs. In theory, he would play again tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, but we’ll see.

Miller sits as one of the top remaining right-shot defensemen available in the market. The injury is a shame because he was having a strong season from a production standpoint.

With how the market is currently unfolding, the Sabres could have conceivably pulled a second-round pick for him. Now, they’re likely looking at something in the neighborhood of a third or fourth-round pick.

Potential Landing Spots: Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, and Pittsburgh Penguins

Vinnie Hinostroza

It has been quiet around Vinnie Hinostroza. Not a lot of trade chatter, but I still believe that he’s moved by tomorrow afternoon. Its hard to acquire an asset for a pending unrestricted free agent when we’re seeing Nic Deslauries being dealt for a third-round pick in this market. Calle Jarnkrok, a player of similar skillset, was traded for three draft picks.

The other part of this is that the Sabres need to open some spots on their roster to get Jack Quinn and eventually JJ Peterka into the NHL. Like Miller, I would think the return for Hinostroza would be in the range of a third or fourth-round pick.

Potential Landing Spots: New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, and Los Angeles Kings

Cody Eakin

I’ve just had a feeling for over a month now that Eakin is going to be one of the players moved. He has a reputation as a bottom-six goal scorer, wins face offs, and can kill penalties. These are things that playoff teams are out looking for to fill in the bottom of their roster this time of the year.

There was some chatter a few weeks ago that the Rangers were showing interest in Eakin. They could use some more depth in the bottom of their lineup and it’s an area that Chris Drury as shown he values with his previous moves.

Potential Landing Spots: New York Rangers and Washington Capitals

Anders Bjork

It saddens me to do this because most of you know I was the conductor of the Anders Bjork train after he was acquired last season. This season, however, he has been one of their most disappointing players. He has one more year remaining on his contract with a $1.6 million cap hit.

I would think that the Sabres would be looking to get out of the final year of that deal to clear space for younger players on the roster. I could see him being added to a trade with one of the unrestricted free agents to boost the return.

Sabres Cap Space

The Sabres are running out of options with Claude Giroux and other big contract players already on the move. However, multiple reports have made it known that they’ve told teams around the league that they’re willing to be a “broker” to hold some cap space in return of an asset.

A Marc-Andre Fleury trade may be their last opportunity to cash in on this, but perhaps another player is moved with a big contract that we’re not expecting.

Targets

The Sabres don’t have to be just sellers over the next 24 hours. It’s possible that they could bring in a player to help them in the future. It’s well-known that they’re out searching for a veteran right-shot defenseman.

Jack Roslovic

I don’t think there’s much here anymore, so I’m not going to spend a lot of time on Roslovic. The only reason I’m mentioning him because I was told they had some interest a little over a month ago. I haven’t heard much since and it doesn’t seem like the Columbus Blue Jackets have interest in moving the player right now.

Jakob Chychrun

This is another one that I have some skepticism on. One, I don’t like the idea very much. It’s not because of the player, it’s because I’m not sure they need to pay the heavy price for another left-shot defensemen.

However, rumors are rumors. I believe that they’re among the teams that have shown interest in the 23-year-old defenseman. I’m not trying to be Mr. Insider here, but sharing some information I heard for all of us to discuss. I wasn’t told how far they are in on the player or any cost associated with the acquisition.

Usually these types of moves don’t happen at the deadline. They get done in the offseason. It seems like the smoke around Chychrun has begun to clear a little over the past week.

Damon Severson

No tea on this one, just a player that makes sense for them from a logical standpoint. He fits the mold of the veteran right-shot defenseman that they’re searching for. He’s 27-years-old and has one more year remaining on his contract

You can see in Micah McCurdy’s isolated impact chart above that he’s a positive impact player at both ends of the ice in his career. The price wouldn’t be cheap, but I rather use the assets on him than a deal for Chychrun if it were up to me.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Today has already been a busy day and it’ll likely continue throughout the night as teams get desperate.

Data via: Cap Friendly, Evolving Hockey, and Hockeyviz.com

Photo Credit: Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images