The Buffalo Sabres season continues to drown and so the names of some of their higher quality players continue to pop up in trade rumors.
While most of those rumors to date have been focused on inconsistent defensive behemoth, Tyler Myers, there is another player that has been garnering significant interest from a multitude of teams across the league: forward Chris Stewart.
The 27-year-old right-winger is in the final year of a deal that pays him $4.125 this season, according to CapGeek.com, and will be a free agent next summer. The team has been fielding calls on him for some time now, according to TheFourthPeriod.com, with the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers showing the most interest.
It has apparently reached the point in Buffalo where the expectation now is that Stewart will be traded at some point this season.
Stewart is a quality player who brings grit and a fair amount of skill to the lineup, but his price tag has most likely been affected by an extremely poor start to the year. He has one goal and one assist in 21 games this season, according to Hockey-Reference.com. It is hard though, to expect anyone to put up big numbers playing on a team as currently dysfunctional as Buffalo.
No word yet on what the Sabres are hoping to get in return for Stewart's rights, but for a team facing a serious rebuild, they're most likely looking for picks or prospects.
