In the month of August, as the news in the hockey world slows to a crawl, we will be taking a look at the most consequential deals in Buffalo Sabres history (using the Hockey News Archives as source material) and ranking the 15 best and the 15 worst deals in the club’s 54-year history.
This required the input of a trio of veteran media members (Dave Reichert, Randy Schultz, and Pete Weber), as well as three lifetime Sabres fans (Chuck Bender, Todd Riniolo, Joe Schwartz).
February 11, 2015 – Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, and Jason Kasdorf from the Winnipeg Jets for Tyler Myers, Joel Armia, Brendan Lemieux, Drew Stafford, and a 2015 first-round pick (Jack Roslovic).
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The Buffalo Sabres under GM Tim Murray were on a quest to be the worst team in the NHL to have the best chance to draft Connor McDavid at the 2015 Draft in Sunrise, FL. That quest was a factor in the Sabres making a massive seven-player deal with the Winnipeg Jets before the trade deadline involving winger Evander Kane.
The Sabres were dreadful and headed for a second consecutive last-place finish. In 2014, Buffalo selected second overall and drafted Sam Reinhart. In 2015, finishing last would either result in drafting a future superstar in McDavid or a potential cornerstone center in Jack Eichel.
Buffalo was battling with Arizona for last overall in February, and Murray was focused on making the Sabres as bad as possible. One example was dealing starting goalie Jhonas Enroth to Dallas for a draft pick because he was winning games and playing too well.
The deal with the Jets was perfect in that he was acquiring Kane, a 24-year-old who had scored 30 goals in Winnipeg and was out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. Kane was someone who could help the Sabres the following year with a young core group, but what Murray ignored was the off-the-ice chaos that occurred with Kane and his Jets teammates.
The deal itself involved three former Sabres first-rounders; Drew Stafford (who scored 21 goals the following year for the Jets), Joel Armia (a big depth winger who played three seasons in Winnipeg and the last six years with Montreal), and Tyler Myers (a former Calder Trophy winner who never repeated his rookie success, but has been a solid top-four blueliner with the Jets and Vancouver the last nine seasons), along with feisty winger Brendan Lemieux (a well-travelled antagonist) and a late first rounder, which Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff used to select center Jack Roslovic.
The Sabres got in return Kane, Bogosian and prospect goalie Jason Kasdorf. Bogosian, a 2008 third-overall pick of the Atlanta Thrashers), spent just over five seasons in Buffalo but continuously struggled with injuries. In February 2020, the Sabres terminated the final year of his contract and he signed with Tampa Bay before the COVID shutdown and won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning.
Kasdorf played four years at RPI and signed with the Sabres in 2016. He played one game for Buffalo at the end of the season and spent two years splitting time between AHL Rochester and the ECHL, before heading to Germany in 2018.
Kane was the key part of the deal and on the ice produced three 20-goal seasons, but his off-the-ice antics (such as skipping practice to go to the NBA All-Star game, or getting arrested while out on the town during the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo) proved to be a detriment and a bad influence on the young club, which led In part to his being dealt to San Jose that the end of the 2017-18 season.
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