The Buffalo Sabres have likely undergone the biggest offseason facelift in the NHL. It started at the trade deadline in March when mammoth blueliner Tyler Myers and forward Drew Stafford were used to acquire Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian from the Winnipeg Jets and it continued into the summer as the recently-drafted Jack Eichel is set to join Kane and trade acquisition Ryan O'Reilly as main cogs in Buffalo's new-look top-6.
Only, don't think that Sabres GM Tim Murray's proactive offseason approach is set to end anytime soon.
Murray, per John Vogl of The Buffalo News, still has sight set squarely on adding a left-handed defenseman and more specifically, Johnny Oduya, most recently of the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks.
"He hasn't signed anywhere yet, so I haven't moved on," said Murray. "We've looked at everybody we feel are going to need waivers. We're still talking trades with teams. We're still talking about a couple guys that are still out there, but there's no hurry."
As it stands right now, Josh Gorges, who appeared in just 46 games for Buffalo last season, and Rasmus Ristolainen, a first-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft who totaled 78 games played, eight goals and 12 assists for the Sabres in 2014, likely sit atop the defensive depth chart - or at least have their names written in erasable marker.
Former second-rounder Mike Weber is probably penciled in on the second pairing with Bogosian, but it's likely an addition like Oduya would potentially throw Murray's blueline into uncertainty.
Oduya, 33, would bring a strong veteran presence and Stanley Cup pedigree to a Sabres blueline that hasn't been up to snuff in recent seasons. Last year for Chicago, Oduya appeared in 76 regular season games, potting two goals and adding eight assists. In 23 postseason contests, en route to Chicago's third Cup victory in the past six seasons, he notched five assists.
Hawks GM Stan Bowman referred to Oduya's status as something of a "fluid situation" earlier this offseason and apparently hasn't ruled out bringing him back, but cap constraints have forced Bowman to tighten the purse strings already this offseason and likely means more changes are on the way for the Cup-winners.
Per Vogl, Oduya's preference also is to remain in Chicago, but that simply may not be in the cards for a team that, even after trading away budding power forward Brandon Saad, has just about $1.3 million in cap space.
