Rasmus Dahlin Takes a Puck to the Face at Practice

The Buffalo Sabres have 20 games left in the 2023-2024 season. They remain 10 points out of a playoff spot, which means they will in all likelihood miss the playoffs.

It would be the 13th straight year the Sabres miss the postseason -- tied for the longest playoff drought in the four major North American sports (New York Jets).

The 2024 NHL trading deadline is Friday afternoon. The Sabres will be making moves, the question is what kind of moves and how many are traded off the roster.

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Kyle Okposo, Zemgus Girgensons, Erik Johnson and Victor Oloffson are trade candidates. Then there's the possibility for "hockey trades," which means player for player or prospect for prospect.

One player we know will not be traded is Rasmus Dahlin. The star defenseman signed a huge contract extension last year and will be a captain candidate once Okposo leaves.

Dahlin made news on Tuesday for the wrong reason. He accidentally took a puck to the face during practice. He was forced to wear gauzes in his nose.

The Sabres need to bring up the likes of Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen from the Rochester Amerks. Both have proven they are ready for the NHL and it would be great to give them some NHL games towards the end here.

That would happen with Okposo and Girgensons being traded away.

The Sabres next game is at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday evening. That's another ESPN+ game. We will see if Don Granato goes with UPL in net again or finally gives Mike Comrie a start against a high-powered offense.