The Sabres were near another big acquisition to add to their busy offseason.
According to Elliotte Friedman via the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Connor Hellebuyck was willing to move his no-movement clause to be traded to the Sabres. This comes from the respect they earned in the league, which Friedman said players used to not waive to say they wanted to play in Buffalo. The Sabres ended a drought where they missed the playoffs for 14 years. They won the Atlantic Division for the first time in franchise history, having never finished above fifth in the division before this season. Overall, Buffalo finished with 50 wins and 109 points en route to the postseason.
The Sabres, who were utilizing their goaltending by committee last season, would’ve had that same trio of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon, and Colten Ellis in goal, or they would’ve opted for Hellebuyck in tandem with probably Ellis. This was added in discussion with how Devon Levi ended up moving out of the Sabres organization.
Additional Notes:
- Vincent Trocheck, who was recently acquired by the Utah Mammoth, was interested in being moved to the Sabres as well accoring to Friedman. Trocheck originally had Utah on his no-trade list within his contract clauses while the Mammoth were attempting to acquire his services last season. After vetoing last season, Trocheck was willing to go out west after seeing the success they had this year around, eventually losing to the Western Conference Champion Vegas Golden Knights. In the Mammoth’s second season ever, they elevated to a 43-33-6 record for 92 points in 2025-26, which was three points better than their first season’s playoff miss with 89 points, finishing sixth in the NHL’s Central Division.
- The Nashville Predators have announced the hiring of Vukie Mpofu as Assistant General Manager. The 30-year-old has worked for four different NHL teams, most recently with the Penguins as a Director of Hockey Ops since 2023. Before his tenure in Pittsburgh, Mpofu was the Manager of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs with Los Angeles from 2021-23, where he worked for then-Kings GM and current Predators Executive VP of Hockey Ops, Rob Blake. Before that, Mpofu spent the 2020-21 season as a Hockey Legal Affairs Intern for the Vegas Golden Knights. “Mpofu will work alongside MacFarland in all facets of the hockey operations department, including player acquisition strategy; professional and amateur scouting; contract negotiations; salary cap and CBA compliance; roster and personnel decisions; and several other key areas of responsibility,” the press release said.
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Source: www.prohockeyrumors.com