Could Sabres acquire Connor Hellebuyck with newly added fourth-overall pick?

The Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks caught the attention of the rest of the league with a massive trade Tuesday night, as the Sabres sent defenseman Bowen Byram and forward Jordan Greenway to the Blackhawks in exchange for the No. 4 overall pick in this Friday’s NHL Entry Draft, along with a 2026 second-round pick and defender Louis Crevier.

While Chicago gets a top-four blueliner, Buffalo now has extra cap space with Byram and Greenway’s contracts off the books, plus a major trade piece in the fourth-overall pick. With the Sabres aiming to build off this spring’s playoff success, could they use that pick to acquire a superstar, perhaps a Hart Trophy-winning goaltender?

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discuss the Buffalo-Chicago trade and if there’s a chance the Sabres take a shot at Winnipeg Jets’ goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

Make sure you read Daily Faceoff writer Anthony Trudeau’s trade grades on the Sabres-Blackhawks deal

Tyler Yaremchuk: Buffalo has two picks in the first round, including No. 4 overall, and they’re a team in win-now mode. They also got out of Jordan Greenway’s $4-million cap hit that has one more year left on it.

The Sabres now sit here with two high-quality assets … and now they sit with $22 million in cap space. Maybe the door is not closed on Alex Tuch? They need to go long term with Zach Benson. They have $22 million and pretty much a full roster, and they have some room to make a splash somewhere else, including … maybe …

Do you dangle this fourth-overall pick for Connor Hellebuyck?

Carter Hutton: When you think about Winnipeg and you think about Hellebuyck, who now sees other superstars leaving teams and going into better situations where they’re ready to win. He doesn’t have that playoff pedigree, but I think that Olympic gold medal pushes him over the top.

On the outside looking in, look at Nikolaj Ehlers leave your team, and the next thing you know, you go from the Presidents’ Trophy winner to missing the playoffs. Now you’re thinking, “how are we ever going to get any better?” Winnipeg probably had their window of being as good as they could have been … where does it go for him?

Maybe if you’re the Jets and you’re GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and you could just move him out and get a big haul back? That fourth-overall pick may be a factor…

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…