The Buffalo Sabres should be in the market for an impact top-six forward after dealing winger JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth for defenseman Michael Kesselring and winger Josh Doan. The opening weeks of free agency did not provide GM Kevyn Adams with an opportunity to replace Peterka’s production, and with the two-year deal signed over the summer with defenseman Bowen Byram, Adams will have to try to acquire a scoring forward with younger players, prospects, and/or draft picks. With just a few weeks before training camp, the odds are that an addition like that will have to happen during the season. 

New York Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau is someone that could be a potential target for the Sabres into the season, if Buffalo is looking for a veteran to play up the middle, based on the inexperience of Jiri Kulich or as injury insurance for Josh Norris. 

The 12-year NHL veteran played the first seven years of his career in Ottawa, and was traded at the 2020 deadline to the Isles, and has been remarkably consistent, scoring double figures in goals for 10 of the last 11 seasons. The 32-year-old has been part of three deep playoff runs with the Sens (2017), and New York (2020, 2021) and is entering the final year of a six-year, $30 million deal.   

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What Would It Cost?

Pageau would likely be an extremely sought-after rental at the 2026 trade deadline for clubs needing to add up the middle, especially a right-handed pivot who has played special teams and is good on faceoffs(59.6%).  Being in this pricy market would only be possible if the Sabres were in position to snap their 14-year playoff drought, which means Adams would have to be prepared to surrender his 2026 first round pick, and a significant prospect. With an aging Islanders blueline, a youngster like Ryan Johnson or Vsevolod Komarov would make sense. . 

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