Phase 2 of the Sabres remodeling

While some fans want to blow up the Buffalo Sabres and pretty much start from scratch, I don't see the Sabres going down that path. And while I'd love to see the Sabres use the 4 picks that they have in the first two rounds of June's draft, I'm expecting that they could use those picks in trades to upgrade the NHL roster during the off-season.

With that in mind, here are some things to watch for.

Sabres Needs:

The Sabres need to bulk up the NHL roster. It shouldn't be too surprising that the Sabres have one of the smallest lineups in the NHL today. That will likely be helped with Marcus Foligno and Brayden McNabb being in Buffalo next season. But, the Sabres not only need to get bigger, but they could use to get tougher. The good thing is that the top three players in the NHL this season in major penalties are UFAs this summer in Ottawa C Zenon Konopka, Boston LW Shawn Thornton, and NY Rangers LW Brandon Prust. Ottawa defenseman Matt Carkner is a 6th/7th defenseman type that would bring some toughness to the Sabres back end for a reasonable price on the UFA market.

The Sabres need to upgrade over Derek Roy with regards to the other top 6 center to go with Cody Hodgson moving forward. Derek Roy is entering the final year of his contract and is slated to be an UFA in 2013. It will be interesting to see if his $4 million price tag and expiring contract will be highly marketable this off season for a team that may have budget constraints and a better, and higher priced, center. Another option to consider would be shopping Thomas Vanek to a team that has depth at center and needs help on the wing. Kind of like the Kassian for Hodgson deal, just on the veteran front. With all the attention that Rick Nash was getting, one would think that plenty of teams would be interested in Vanek.

The Sabres need to replace Paul Gaustad on the PK and at the faceoff dot. One UFA-to-be that could potentially bring a lot of what Gaustad did is LA Kings center Jarret Stoll, although he doesn't get huge PK minutes in LA. Colorado center Jay McClement is 2nd in the NHL in SH TOI per game and he could be a cheap UFA pick up.

The Sabres would do well to add to their young core of 25 and under NHLers.

Teams to watch:

Colorado Avalanche - Colorado has both depth at center with Paul Stastny, Matt Duchene, and Ryan O'Reilly and they have a very interesting cap situation with 8 RFAs (including Duchene & O'Reilly) and 6 UFAs to deal with this summer. If Colorado has cap or budget issues after getting their RFAs re-signed, they could shop Stastny who counts $6.6 million per year against the cap. He isn't the ideal center to target, but he could be available this summer.

Florida Panthers - I mentioned them running up to the trade deadline and nothing changes here. They still have a ton of center prospects, including Nick Bjugstad. This could potentially be a team that might want a guy like Thomas Vanek if he were on the market and Bjugstad would be a great addition to the Sabres.

San Jose Sharks - The Sharks were reportedly interested in Rick Nash, likely because they traded away high scoring winger Dany Heatley to the Minnesota Wild in the offseason. Logan Couture is likely untouchable. But, Joe Pavelski is a guy that would be a great addition to the Sabres as a compliment to Cody Hodgson.

LA Kings - The Kings are interesting as they would appear to be a team that could be in the midst of a culture change with the addition of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter since the end of last season. Center Anze Kopitar and captain and  heavy hitting RW Dustin Brown are two guys that would look good in Buffalo. The question is whether Vanek as the centerpiece of a package could get Kopitar and what the Kings would want for Brown [if he's made available].

Philadelphia Flyers - The Flyers were able to get two of the better young centers in hockey over the summer when they traded Richards to LA and Carter to Columbus in Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn. Couturier is a the type of young center that I'd love the Sabres to get their hands on. It would be interesting to see if the Sabres had the assets to offer Philadelphia to get him.

Washington Capitals - The Capitals are another team that could go through a culture change if they miss the playoffs with a roster that was expected to challenge for the Stanley Cup this season and had their coach fired when things weren't going well. I doubt Nicklas Backstrom would be available. But, you never know.....

Pittsburgh Penguins - I am going to leave the best for last. A year from now, the Penguins could have a real dilemma on the hands as Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal are both slated to become UFAs on 7/1/2013. Crosby's issues with concussions over the past year have to have the Penguins wondering what to do with Crosby and whether they need to do whatever it takes to retain Staal. Although, if Crosby recovers from his concussion over the summer and he has a strong, and injury-free 2012-13 campaign, they could re-sign Crosby to a deal that makes it hard to re-sign Staal. Whatever happens, the whole NHL will be watching.