The NHL's trade deadline remains about a month and a half away, but talks in front offices across the league are likely heating up. A couple of big deals have come down already - Ryan Johansen to the Predators for Seth Jones, Vincent Lecavalier and Luck Schenn to the Kings for cap relief - and more are certain to come in the next few weeks. The Buffalo Sabres and GM Tim Murray, dedicated sellers head of the trade deadline, know what they're all about at this point - acquiring "younger assets or future assets for some of our veterans, especially veterans on expiring contracts," as Murray put it to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun on Wednesday.
And the list of names LeBrun is hearing out of Buffalo being associated with trade talks include some of the expected - Jamie McGinn, Mike Weber - and at least one of the unexpected - Tyler Ennis.
Ennis is a former first-round pick of the Sabres with three 20-goal seasons to his name. He's in just the second season of a five-year, $23 million deal at a cap hit of $4.6 million.
The 26-year-old Ennis has only three goals and 11 points through 23 games this season, but is coming off seasons of 21 goals and 43 points and 20 goals and 46 points, the past two years.
He's currently out with an upper-body injury, listed as "week-to-week."
With the Sabres in 29th and chasing the top spot in the 2016 NHL Draft, it wouldn't be surprising to see Murray enact a major selloff in the next month or so. Ennis may be the biggest name currently available, but he certainly won't be alone in the Sabre trade rumor mill.
