There's a bit of a familial connection between the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres - Bryan Murray, the Senators general manager, is the uncle of Sabres general manager, Tim Murray.
While that may not mean much in a nepotistic sport where knowing people is often half the battle of getting hired somewhere or swinging a deal; in this instance it may in fact mean something.
The Murray's are talking trade, with a potential deal centering on seemingly not-long-for-Buffalo forward, Chris Stewart.
"The back and forth with nephew Tim Murray in Buffalo has been that, it's been an ongoing process," TSN's Darren Dreger said recently on an episode of Ottawa's TSN 1200 as transcribed by NicholsOnHockey.com. "But Tim Murray, when he got the job with the Buffalo Sabres, I'm sure was quick to call Bryan to ask if the Sens had any interest in certain guys. I know that Chris Stewart is certainly on that list, but not at the expected return from Buffalo's perspective. So for Chris Stewart to become an Ottawa Senator, the asking price is likely going to have to drop and I don't know what it is, based on the last time they even spoke of Stewart."
The Senators are very interested in adding depth to their forwards, and Buffalo is apparently very interested in dealing some of their assets.
The impediments to a deal seem to be the Sabres' asking price for Stewart and the Senators' reluctance to part with young talent to improve for the short term.
"But yeah, I think that Ottawa would like to add in their top-nine, as most teams who are kind of battling for a playoff spot would and they'd like to change what they've got defensively. But is Bryan Murray willing to peddle away some of his young assets to do that? It's still relatively early in the season, and the asking price for players is always high at this time of year."
As the trade deadline approaches, look for the Sabres' asking price on Stewart to drop and, if the Senators are able to make a playoff push, their potential offers to increase.
