Trade Buzz: Sabres set up to be buyers, 'shows that we're a really good team'

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are five days remaining until the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline (Friday, 3 p.m. ET). Here's a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:

Buffalo Sabres

This could be the year for the Buffalo Sabres to go for it ahead of the Trade Deadline.

The Sabres have won three straight and are second in the Atlantic Division after a 6-2 win at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. They're four points behind the division-leading Lightning with Tampa Bay having two games in hand. It's a tight division, with the Montreal Canadiens one point behind the Sabres and the Detroit Red Wings one point behind the Canadiens.

"This shows that we're a really good team," said forward Josh Norris, a 2025 Deadline acquisition, after defeating the Lightning.

The Sabres have not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011 and are set up to be genuine buyers for the first time in a long time. Perhaps the most important decision for them is the future of Alex Tuch, who could become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and who was discussed as a trade chip before the Sabres established themselves as a contender this season. 

Given Buffalo's push to the playoffs, Tuch could be staying put, even without a contract extension, per Elliotte Friedman on the "32 Thoughts" podcast this week.

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild would love to add before the Deadline, a center in particular, but will be smart about it.

"I just want to approach it like I've approached everything else, and that's do my homework, rely on the people around me and make a smart, informed decision to try to put us in the best chance to win," Wild general manager Bill Guerin told The Athletic. "I don't want to say like, 'Hey, I've got to do something.' I don't ever want to put us in a bad spot, either, for now or the future. I want to make sure what we're doing is right and smart, and helps."

The Wild are in third in the Central Division, seven points behind the Colorado Avalanche and one behind the Dallas Stars in perhaps the toughest division in the NHL. They already made the biggest splash of the season when they acquired Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 12 and signing Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year, $136 million contract (average annual value of $17 million) Sept. 30 that will begin next season.

"There's a cost to everything, too," Guerin said. "I have to determine if that cost is worthy of what we're going to get for the now or the future, so I have to take all that into account."