Vegas Golden Knights: Buffalo Sabres are the ideal trading partners

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BUFFALO, NY – OCTOBER 5: Jake McCabe #19 of the Buffalo Sabres looks to control the puck during an NHL game against the New Jersey Devils on October 5, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won, 7-2. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /

2. Jake McCabe

On the other end of the spectrum to Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe is more of a reliable stay-at-home defenseman, who can lay the body on with his big 6’1″ & 204 lb frame, as demonstrated by this collision with New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall.

Pros

He’s responsible in his own zone – he has a plus/minus rating of +1 through six games this year – and he’s not going to produce any highlight reel plays but you are going to get solid defense from him in abundance.

And, like Ristolainen, McCabe is still young (26-years-old) so he’s just approaching his prime and is under control for another year after this season at a fairly manageable cap hit.

He would be an upgrade on someone like Nick Holden and could replace Deryk Engelland on the PK if the veteran does decide to hang up his skates after this year.

McCabe is a puck-eating machine having blocked 99 shots last year, in addition to dishing out 103 hits and logging an average of 18:57 minutes of total ice time a night, while that has increased to 21:48 this year.

BUFFALO, NY – OCTOBER 9: Jake McCabe #19 of the Buffalo Sabres skates during an NHL game against the Montreal Canadiens on October 9, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Stephanie Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Cons

McCabe won’t bring much offensive upside to the table having contributed just 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) last year, although that is what you have Shea Theodore and Nate Schmidt for.

Plus, if you paired McCabe with Nic Hague then that would allow the rookie to focus on his strengths which is a more offensive-based game.

The other caveat at play here is the fact that McCabe wears an “A” on his jersey this year, and he has established himself as a cornerstone piece on the Sabres’ revamped and refreshed blueline under new Head Coach Ralph Krueger.

So, as a result, the Golden Knights would more than likely have to give up a rather substantial package in order to make any trade involving McCabe for the Sabres worthwhile.

Which leads us to…

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