The Vancouver Canucks are reportedly interested in a couple of young Buffalo Sabres who might be on the trade block.
When making an appearance on Halford & Brough on Sportsnet 650 on Wednesday, Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli mentioned that the Canucks could be one of the teams interested in Sabres forward JJ Peterka, and might also be taking a look at defenceman Bowen Byram.
“I believe Vancouver is one of the teams that’s been closely following and has called the Sabres on the JJ Paterka file,” Seravalli said. “At varying points, I think they’ve had some interest in what a Bowen Byram deal could look like. So, that part has been ongoing.”
Peterka’s name has been circulating in trade circles over the past few days, as a potential extension for the German winger might not come to pass for the team in Western New York. He’s a pending restricted free agent after wrapping up his entry-level contract this past season, during which he achieved his best performance to date, scoring 27 goals and 41 assists for 68 points in 77 games.
The 23-year-old has a lot of upside to his game, showing that he can be a consistent scoring threat on a miserable Sabres team. With the Canucks recently losing a couple of key scoring pieces last season, and the unknown of what shape Elias Pettersson will be in next fall, they could definitely use a little more offencive punch.
It isn’t known if Buffalo is interested in simply trading his signing rights, or if it will be where the Sabres sign Peterka to an extension before trading him elsewhere (a la Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers).
If the Sabres do not make a move before July 1, they could be subject to seeing Peterka sign an offer sheet, and either be forced to match whatever the contract details are, or accept the draft capital in return.
Byram is an interesting case. The former fourth-overall pick is coming off the best season in his six years in the NHL. In 82 games with Buffalo, he registered seven goals and 31 assists for 38 points, good for third on the team in defensive scoring, with a plus/minus of +11.
Like Peterka, Byram is set to be an RFA in a few weeks, though he has arbitration rights. His latest contract carried an AAV of $3.85 million over two seasons, a bridge deal that would hopefully lead to a larger contract.
According to CapWages, the Canucks have a little less than $14 million in cap space next season, with only a few important names set to become UFAs on July 1.