Why the Sabres Didn’t Go After Goaltender Anton Khudobin

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | Last updated 12/16/21

Even though they were considered a team that was actively looking to improve their goaltending and might have some interest in the waiver-eligible veteran netminder, do not expect the Buffalo Sabres to chase after Anton Khudobin, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

As per Friedman, it doesn’t sound like the Sabres are terribly interested in Khudobin. There was some thought they could be a team that would have inquired about the goalie in the past and/or excited about the prospect of him on waivers since no asset would have been given back to acquire him. If Friedman’s comments that the Sabres aren’t interested in adding Khudobin’s contract is true, it likely rules out either scenario.

Friedman reports that the Sabres are looking for another goalie but would prefer to find someone who is not close to the end of their career like Khudobin is. He’s got one additional season on his current deal at a price tag of $2.2 million per season ($3.33 million cap hit). It’s affordable, it’s fairly noncommital, but the Sabres want to find someone they can invest in over the long-term. It could be one of the reasons they traded for Malcolm Subban — a non-established backstop, but one that has some potential upside and is still young.

Without the Sabres being interested, there wasn’t much action on Khudobin who did clear waivers and was loaned to AHL by the Dallas Stars. As for what comes next, he’ll get some games in and the Stars can see if he’s rebounded from some pretty lousy play. If not, they’ll likely try to move him and will have to retain some salary to facilitate a trade. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports, “Teams have kicked tires on Khudobin so the Stars do have some interest out there. But obviously, teams would rather trade for him and have Dallas eat some of the salary or take a contract back.”

As for the long-term plans for the Dallas Stars, they’ve effectively cut down their goaltending roster by half. Ben Bishop’s career is over as he wasn’t able to return from an injury and Khudobin will likely spend more than a few games in the AHL, unless an injury or illness requires a call-up.

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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