Trade Brewing Between Two Atlantic Division Teams, Per Elliotte Friedman
The Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings have both underperformed in 2024/25, and now it appears they could be working a trade with their seasons slipping away.
This season has been a fantastic one thus far for the NHL, with many incredible surprises and great teams around the league, and with the trade deadline drawing near, things are only going to ramp up from here.
Two teams to keep a close eye on are the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, who have both struggled thus far despite entering the year pushing to end the NHL's two longest Stanley Cup Playoff droughts.
Now, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has revealed a shocking report, noting that these two teams continue to scout each other, and with the pieces to make a deal between them, they certainly make fantastic trade partners.
Not only that, but Friedman also noted that the two parties pushed to make a deal happen before the roster freeze on December 20th, but now that moves are able to be made once more, they could indeed push to get something done.
Following a 14 game losing skid, the Sabres have posted an incredible 13 goals over their past two games, and while they may still be too far out to make a playoff run, there's optimism once more.
As for the Red Wings, they made the change to bring in Todd McClellan as the new year approaches, but given the lack of star power on their roster beyond their core players, it's clear that a change in the playing group needs to be made.
It's unclear when these two teams could push for a deal or what exactly the framework of a potential trade could be, but given that both are leading the NHL in active playoff droughts, expect them to continue talking as they look to shake things up.
| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 29 | 191 ANSWERS Trade Brewing Between Two Atlantic Division Teams, Per Elliotte Friedman Will these two teams make a deal sometime this season? | ||
| Yes | 101 | 52.9 % |
| No | 90 | 47.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Filip Forsberg | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Clayton Keller | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jaden Schwartz | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jason Robertson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Blake Coleman | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Logan Cooley | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jonathan Drouin | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Seth Jones | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Casey Mittelstadt | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| David Pastrnak | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Wyatt Johnston | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kaapo Kakko | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Quinn Hughes | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 46 | 31 | 10 | 5 | 67 | |
Jets | 47 | 31 | 13 | 3 | 65 | |
Oilers | 46 | 29 | 14 | 3 | 61 | |
Golden Knights | 46 | 29 | 14 | 3 | 61 | |
Maple Leafs | 47 | 29 | 16 | 2 | 60 | |
Wild | 46 | 27 | 15 | 4 | 58 | |
Devils | 48 | 26 | 16 | 6 | 58 | |
Stars | 45 | 28 | 16 | 1 | 57 | |
Hurricanes | 46 | 27 | 16 | 3 | 57 | |
Avalanche | 47 | 28 | 18 | 1 | 57 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||