Last year's No. 1, the Sabres still have a good pool, with five legit prospects and quantity that runs deep into the teens.

One Elias Pettersson is at the center of the Vancouver Canucks' trade drama. The other is a feel-good story and an addition to the NHL's history of players with the same names.

With the Buffalo Sabres’ season all but lost at the halfway point, as their play continues to look steadily worse and worse as each game passes, the time eventually comes that they need to assess the talent pool that they have sitting in the minor leagues.

The Sabres have the assets to entice Vancouver into a trade. The bigger question is what, exactly, Buffalo might have to give up.