Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres: NHL Trade Value Rankings Part 3
By Brad Vos
(40) Steven Stamkos – TB (Age: 30/Cap Hit: $8.5M/4 Years Left)
Steven Stamkos is a remarkably consistent player who has averaged better than a point per game over his 12-year NHL career. He is leaving his prime years but still had a great 2019-20 season, in which he scored 29 goals and 66 points over 57 games.
An injury and core muscle surgery have kept Stamkos out of the playoffs this season, and he will not play at all in the Eastern Conference Finals. This may cause people to forget how dominant a player the Markham native truly is.
With four years left on a contract that pays $8.5 million annually, Stamkos is a relative bargain. As he ages, he may well fall down or off of this list entirely. But for now, Stammer is a very valuable trade asset.
(39) Rasmus Dahlin – BUF (Age: 20/Cap Hit: $915K/1 Year Left)
We have reached our first Buffalo Sabres player in the young defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. Buffalo selected him first overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, and the Swede has not disappointed.
In two NHL seasons, Dahlin has recorded 84 points over 141 games and is one of the best young defenders in the league. He is one of the few bright lights in Buffalo and should be a cornerstone on the team for years to come.
Dahlin heads into the final year of his entry-level contract and will make just $925,000 in 2020-21, which is an absolute steal for the Sabres. After that, he is going to get paid handsomely.
(38) Jordan Binnington – STL (Age: 27/Cap Hit: $4.40M/1 Year Left)
Jordan Binnington was a really tough player to place on this list. After coming out of relatively nowhere to lead the St. Louis Blues to their first Stanley Cup in 2019, the 27-year-old struggled mightily in this year’s playoffs.
In 2019-19, Binnington recorded a 1.89 goals-against average, and .927 save percentage over 32 regular-season contests. He kept it going starting all 26 playoff games where he recorded a 2.46 GAA and .914 SV%.
Binnington’s regular-season stats were still stable in 2019-20, but he was brutal in the playoffs, with a 4.72 GAA and a .851 SV%. So which player is he more like? The Blues are betting on the former after shipping out Jake Allen to see precisely what they have in the last year of the netminder’s deal.