The right side of the Buffalo Sabres defense is arguably the organization’s weakest spot from a positional group standpoint. They don’t have much depth in their prospect pool and are basically nowhere at the pro level.

This is a position group that they’re going to need to attack in the offseason. The bad news is they don’t need just one right-shot defender. They likely need to go out and find at least two. Compounding things is the fact the right-shot defensemen carry one of the heaviest price tags in the league right now. Look no further than the acquisition cost of Rasmus Ristolainen last offseason.

Organizational Depth

Let’s quickly recap where the Sabres are currently organizationally. Colin Miller and Mark Pysyk are both set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. The assumption is that Miller will be moved before the March 21st NHL trade deadline.

Pysyk, on the other hand, there was some belief he could be part of the team moving forward. However, he was a healthy scratch today against the Montreal Canadiens. It could mean they’re not as high on him as we think. It could mean nothing. I guess we’ll find out, but at the very least it puts a little bit of doubt on his future with the club.

Henri Jokiharju and Casey Fitzgerald are the other two right-shot defensemen in the NHL. Jokiharju has had some struggles again for the second year in a row. I still feel he can be an NHL blueliner, but realistically he could be a third-pair guy on a good team.

The same could be said for Fitzgerald. His story is nice because he was a once forgotten about prospect. He has earned a look in the NHL, but his ceiling probably maxes out as a third-pair defender.

The last one playing at the pro level is Oskari Laaksonen. He’s in his second year with the Rochester Amerks of the AHL. The unfortunate news is that he’s having a similar year to what we saw from him as a rookie. That’s not a compliment, by the way.

He has some offensive ability to his game and does a good job running a power play unit. The Finnish defender continues to struggle defensively. Laaksonen can be a turnover machine at times and has not figured out how to defend in his end of the ice yet. The Sabres don’t need a power play specialist on the blue line that can’t defend. Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power will be handling the power play duties for the foreseeable future.

Free Agents

The cleanest way for the Sabres to find help at this position would be the free-agent market in the offseason. It won’t cost them assets, but it’ll likely cost them an overpay on a short-term contract.

Josh Manson

I’ll start with the pie in the sky idea in Josh Manson. The 30-year-old defender currently plays for the Anaheim Ducks and has been mentioned in some trade rumors. The Ducks will likely need to decide if they’re going to extend Manson or Hampus Lindholm. Both of their deals are up at the end of the year.

Manson will arguably be the most coveted defenseman on the market if he makes it there in July. He fits the mold of what the Sabres need in a right-shot defender that can play top-pair minutes. What that means is the cost of a new contract for him will possibly come in somewhere in the $7 million range.

No need to spend a lot of time here because this scenario is unlikely, but would be great if it did.

Justin Braun

Up next is 35-year-old Justin Braun. Don’t let the age scare you off. He could be a perfect fit to play with either Rasmus Dahlin or Owen Power next season. He’s having another good season on one of the worst defensive teams in the league. The defensive numbers for the Flyers with Braun on the ice against when he’s not are pretty stark, as you’ll see below in Micah McCurdy’s model.

He only makes $1.8 million this season, therefore, he shouldn’t cost the Sabres a lot in the market. Even if they have to overpay for one year, I wouldn’t expect anything over $3 million.

Chad Ruhwedel

Perhaps the Sabres should consider bringing back an old friend? He entered the NHL through the Sabres organization back in 2013. The now 31-year-old defender has spent the last six years with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He’s nothing more than a third-pair defenseman, but he is an effective player in the role that he’s asked to play. Ruhwedel’s best attribute is to be a strong defensive player. The Sabres need those types of players. They have a handful of players that can bring them some offense from the blue line. Ruhwedel would be a welcome addition to improve their defensive game.

Trade Targets

The trade market is going to be tough to find a right-shot defenseman, but there are a few options for the Sabres to explore that shouldn’t cost them a ton.

Ethan Bear

Bear is an interesting one to follow as the remainder of the season goes along. The Carolina Hurricanes acquired him last offseason from the Edmonton Oilers. However, he has found himself as a healthy scratch a few times this season due to a strong year from Tony DeAngelo.

Would the Hurricanes consider moving him to open up some cap space and get a piece in another position? He’s a restricted free agent at the end of the season and is making $2 million this season. The Canes are a club that has moved players because of not seeing eye to eye on restricted free agent value.

He’s only 24-years-old and he has shown the ability at times to be a second-pair defender. Bear is having a good year when you look at his isolated impacts in Evolving Hockey’s RAPM model.

My concern here is do the Sabres have something to offer back to the Hurricanes that would intrigue them? They moved Warren Foegele to Oilers in exchange for this player. They’d likely want similar value in return.

Radko Gudas

This is probably a player that some of you are familiar with, but not in a good way. Gudas has had some questionable hits in his past, but at the end of the day, he’s a good second-pair defender.

He has one more year remaining on his contract with the Florida Panthers that carries a $2.5 million cap hit. As of now, the Panthers are projected to have only $4.4 million in cap space in the offseason. I’m sure they’d like some more room to improve their roster in a Stanley Cup window. Gudas could be one of the casualties.

In my opinion, he would be a good partner for Dahlin next season.

Jett Woo

We’re starting to get to the thin pickings in the trade market. Woo is a former second-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks that has had his development become stagnant in the AHL. His point production isn’t impressive in the minors by any means. Making this move would be for depth and an opportunity to roll the dice on talent.

Conclusion

Some other names may come up between now and the offseason. There could also be some players out there that we may feel are not available.

The lesson we need to learn here looking at this list is that acquiring right-shot defensemen is not easy. Teams don’t move the good ones and when they do the price is outlandish. Putting together this list was hard enough to do.

That brings us to the 2022 NHL Draft. This conversation has been beaten to death on Twitter this week, but they need to be considering taking a right-handed defenseman with that pick in the top 10. There are two at the top of the draft at this point that stands out.

Simon Nemec is, in my opinion, the best defenseman available in the draft. I have him on a tier of his own. The 17-year-old is putting up some great numbers in the Slovakian pro league. You’ll see in Bryon Bader’s NHLe model below that he’s been impressive.

He’s currently playing in China for the Slovakian national team in the Olympics. He doesn’t look out of place and has all of the tools to be a good top-pair defenseman.

Simon Nemec showing off his mobility and awareness at the offensive blue line:#2022NHL pic.twitter.com/M7vx283ET6

— Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) February 4, 2022

The draft may be the only way for the Sabres to dig themselves out of the hole they’re in on the right side of the blue line. They shouldn’t fear investing more first-round picks if a player from that position group is the best player available on their board.

Data via: Evolving Hockey, Hockeyviz, and Hockey Prospecting

Photo Credit: Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images