There was plenty of smoke last offseason with the Buffalo Sabres and Winnipeg Jets. Nothing came of it, but the two sides got close to a big move that fell apart. On paper, it looks like a good trade match. The Jets are in desperate need of a defenseman, especially on the right side. On the other side of things, the Sabres have a need at forward and the Jets have a few they could move.

Fast forward a year and the Sabres have two right-shot defenders to offer to Winnipeg this offseason. Rasmus Ristolainen and Brandon Montour will both be available for the right price. The Jets are still in need of help on their blue line and now know that they won’t have Dustin Byfuglien moving forward. They currently only have two right-handed defensemen under contract for next season in Tucker Poolman and Neal Pionk.

I would expect the two clubs to be connected again this offseason. According to a source, the two clubs have reignited some trade discussions over the last few weeks. It’s not to the point of any imminent trade, but we’ll see if they can finally get something done. With the Jets being eliminated last night, it’s possible talks could elevate.

Jets Offseason Outlook

2020-21 Projected Cap Space (via Cap Friendly): $15.5 million

Key Restricted Free Agents: Mason Appleton (arbitration-eligible), Jack Roslovic, and Sami Niku

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Cody Eakin, Dylan DeMelo, Laurent Brossoit, Nathan Beaulieu, Dmitry Kulikov, Mark Letestu, Luca Sbisa, and Nick Shore

Projected Needs: Defensemen and back up goaltender

Trade Targets

1. Andrew Copp | C | Age 26 | One-year, $2.28 million

For those of you coming hoping to see Nikolaj Ehlers at the top of the list, you’re going to be disappointed. That ship has likely sailed with his career season and performance in the play-in round.

Copp is the forward on the Jets that makes the most sense for the Sabres. The 26-year-old center isn’t going to wow you with his points, but his game is more than offensive production. He can provide some offensive impact, but his ceiling is around 30 to 35 points.

You can see above in Micah McCurdy’s isolated impact chart that Copp is a solid two-way center with positive impacts at both ends of the ice. The Jets increased his role this year from a bottom-six player to a top-six forward and he handled the promotion without any dip in performance.

Another favorable trait is his ability to play in all situations. As you can see in Micah’s impact chart above, he’s one of the best penalty killers in the NHL. An area of the game the Sabres could use some improvement. Copp can also step in with the man advantage. He showcased that in the Jets series against the Calgary Flames.

Copp would make sense for the Sabres as a short-term solution at second-line center that can play some more difficult defensive situations. That would allow both Jack Eichel and Dylan Cozens to focus on the offensive side of the game. He’s also the type of two-way center that Jeff Skinner has had success with during his career.

2. Jack Roslovic | F | Age 23 | RFA

Jack Roslovic was selected with the first-round pick that the Sabres traded to the Jets in the Evander Kane deal. The 23-year-old has been itching for more opportunity in Winnipeg and there was some talk of a trade request last summer, that his agent eventually denied.

The Sabres would be banking on Roslovic reaching his potential if they acquired him. They’d have to believe that in an elevated role in the top six with a play driving center can boost his production. At this point in his career, his impacts are nothing special, but he has shown flashes of his skill over the last few years.

3. Mason Appleton | RW | Age 24 | RFA (arbitration-eligible)

My understanding was that Mason Appleton was going to be part of the Ehlers-Ristolainen trade that fell through the cracks last summer. The Sabres have a new general manager, but they may still have some interest in the forward.

He hasn’t played a full NHL season yet, but he has shown early glimpses of being a decent two-way forward.

In limited minutes, Appleton was strong for the Jets in primary shot contributions this past season. In Corey Sznajder’s tracking data he was a volume shooter that also bordered on above-average primary shot assists. Research from Ryan Stimson has shown that primary shot contributions are a good indicator of predicting future performance.

Giving Appleton an elevated role with more offensive ability could unlock the Wisconsin-born forward as he hits his prime age of 24-years-old.

These two clubs will be interesting to watch in the offseason. Even if they don’t get together in a trade, both should be making some significant moves to improve their roster.

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

Photo Credit: Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images