Back in June, the ol’ rumor mill was suggesting that the Buffalo Sabres were actively shopping Chris Stewart. Nothing came to fruition, but that doesn’t mean the rumors have quieted nor have talks behind the scenes involving Stewart ceased. A new report seen on Sportsnet.ca suggests that the Boston Bruins have spoken with the Sabres regarding Stewart, but the two sides couldn’t reach a deal.
Here’s the quote from Elliotte Friedman:
“Boston and Buffalo did talk quite seriously about Chris Stewart, but it doesn’t appear at this time to be a match. According to other teams, the Sabres want two young players (or a young player and a draft pick) for the winger and couldn’t reach an agreement with the Bruins. Buffalo won’t make the move early unless it gets what it wants.”
Stewart arrived in Buffalo when the Sabres traded Ryan Miller to the St. Louis Blues. The Blues believed they could part with Stewart as he was consistently inconsistent and often looked to be lacking any form of intensity out on the ice. Stewart went down with an injury shortly after arriving in Buffalo, but so far his time with the Sabres has been pretty unimpressive. He had zero points in five games in 2013-14 and is off to a slow start in 2014-15 with one point through seven games.
Despite his track record of having more slow and disappointing stretches than hot stretches, teams are still willing to gamble on him being able to put all of the pieces together. To be fair, when Stewart is hot he gets really hot. He scores in bunches. Unfortunately, all of the other times leave a lot to be desired.
For now, the price for Stewart is too high and he’s not doing much to build value. The Sabres are asking a steep price because time is on their side, but Stewart’s slow start isn’t doing them any favors. Though Stewart has labeled the Sabres as playoff contenders, look for the club to once again be active with trades assuming they continue on their current path toward the NHL’s basement.
