It has been nearly two months since the start of the new league year in the NHL, and a lot remains unknown. On top of the obvious uncertainty surrounding the start of the 2020-21 season, there are several teams with outstanding salary cap issues. At the moment, there are nine clubs above the salary cap threshold, who will inevitably need to make moves before the season begins.

This is a rarity, especially two months removed from the start of free agency. Even more bizarre is the remaining talent left on the free agent market in players like Mike Hoffman, Mikael Granlund, and Anthony Duclair.

Once the re-start date is announced, we’ll likely see a “second wave” of transactions. With that in mind, we wanted to examine who we would pursue if the Buffalo Sabres could add one more asset before the 2020-21 season commences. To get things kicked-off, Chad DeDominicis decided that he would pursue Arizona Coyotes netminder Antti Raanta.

Goaltending is certainly the most pressing deficiency on the Sabres roster, and Raanta is the best of the “reasonably available” bunch. If a deal for a goalie cannot be worked out, and Buffalo is stuck with Carter Hutton as Linus Ullmark’s primary backup, they should look to pursue a reinforcement for the left side of the defense.

I decided to examine who could fill this void. Like Chad, I too landed on the Coyotes roster to find my ideal, realistic addition on the blue line. Quite frankly, there are very few teams who are a strong match for Sabres on the trade market. At the moment, Arizona appears to be the most compatible, and they should be looking to shed some salary as they re-tool their roster.

Enter Niklas Hjalmarsson. Given that the Coyotes are currently $3 million over the salary cap, the 33-year-old seems like an ideal trade option for Arizona to free up some space. Even though the Coyotes’ cap overage will be resolved once they move Marian Hossa’s contract to LTIR, they are a budget team. Since they made no real push to obtain new talent this offseason, it’s pretty safe to say that they don’t expect to be a cup contender next season.

For a small-market club, operating close to the cap limit doesn’t make a lot of sense in this scenario. That’s part of the reason why Hjalmarsson’s $5 million cap hit is something they would probably be happy to shed. Let’s first take a look at the Sabres’ current defensive situation on the left side, and then examine how the Swedish shutdown specialist might fit into the picture.

It’s no secret that the Sabres had far too many NHL-capable defensemen on the books in 2019-20, particularly on the right side. Not only did they lose promising lefty, Lawrence Pilut to the KHL, but they also retained all of their right-shot assets. This certainly isn’t the outcome fans were hoping for.

As it stands, Rasmus Dahlin and Jake McCabe are the only two natural lefties in the defensive top-six. Conversely, the Sabres’ three highest-paid defensemen, (and Henri Jokiharju) play on the right. Arizona has the opposite problem. Five of the seven NHL-capable defensemen on their roster are left-handed shooters.

On top of the logistical fit in terms of respective team needs, as a player, Hjalmarsson is actually a perfect candidate for the Sabres to pursue. Over the last decade, few if any NHL defenders have posted similarly impressive defensive impacts. It goes without saying that he would serve as a strong presence for a more offensively-capable partner, which the Sabres certainly need.

While Hjalmarsson’s reputation is that of an excellent defensive defenseman, it is worth noting that last season was the worst of his career, and as he approaches his mid-30’s, it could be a sign that his best play is behind him. On the other hand, he only played 27 games as he missed a lot of time (43 games to be exact) with a cracked fibula.

In the two years he spent with the Coyotes prior to his shortened 2019-20 campaign, his metrics were sensational on defense (as they had been since he emerged with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009-10). In fact, of the 168 NHL defensemen who played at least 1,500 minutes from 2017-19, he held the eighth-best xGA/60 rate at 1.98.

In terms of a partner fit, Hjalmarsson looks like a good partner for a player like Brandon Montour, or even Rasmus Ristolainen. His defensively solid approach would allow a puck-carrying entity like Montour to take some more risks, and perhaps help his strong transition game translate to something more tangible. As for Ristolainen, Hjalmarsson’s presence could help mitigate the Finnish workhorse’s inability to exit the defensive zone and allow him to try and contribute a little more on the attack.

Over the past few seasons, and historically, Hjalmarsson has experienced positive xG rates alongside a wide variety of different partners, ranging from Kevin Connauton to Alex Goligoski. Prior to last season, very few players ever really saw a statistical decline as a result of having him at their side. His impactful consistency over the years is truly unrivaled.

A tertiary benefit of having Hjalmarsson in the fold is that it would almost inevitably result in McCabe getting bumped down to third-pairing duties. For years, Sabres fans have been aware of McCabe’s strong defensive impacts while lamenting the fact that he is consistently overused (at times, out of necessity).

So, let’s talk about trade logistics. The Sabres have about $3.5 million in cap space right now (per CapFriendly), and they would either have to send back salary as part of this trade (or alternatively, in a separate deal) in order to absorb Hjalmarsson’s $5 million hit. The good news is that the acquisition cost is probably very low. If the Coyotes want to shed his salary, there may not be many teams who are able to take on such a contract.

Perhaps a player like Montour would be of interest going back the other way. He too is only on a one-year deal, at a lower cost. If the Sabres are able to shed salary in a separate move, a younger cost-controlled player like Casey Mittelstadt could go back the other way as well. In both cases, Arizona would have to add something to sweeten their side of the bargain.

Kevyn Adams has assembled a mercenary squad of sorts for the 2020-21 season. Adding Hjalmarsson to the fold would give the Sabres 11 NHL assets with one year remaining on their contracts. This type of short term, low commitment risk approach is smart and gives Buffalo options as they approach the Seattle Kraken expansion next summer. If playoffs are the goal for 2020-21 (as it absolutely should be), this acquisition would fit that same mold as a low-risk reinforcement that can be acquired without mortgaging future assets.

Advanced Data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey

Photo Credit: Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images