One of the names that will come up often ahead of the March 5 trade deadline is that of Buffalo Sabres captain Steve Ott.
Ott is in the final year of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent over the summer. As John Vogl of The Buffalo News shares, he’d rather stay in Buffalo than be dealt.
“I told them I want to be here,” Ott said. “We’ll see where it all goes. I am professional enough to know the business side of things and what the situation is here as well. We’ll see how it all plays out in the next two weeks.”
One of the main reasons he wants to stay with the Sabres is how he’s been treated by the organization, as Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald shares. That said, his style of play and the intangibles he brings to teams might cause other teams to pony up big for his services down the stretch and potentially into the postseason.
Ott’s game is a physical one and one that disrupts how opponents play. In 57 games this season he has 20 points and 55 penalty minutes so he can add a little bit offensively as well. Players like that that could be had at the deadline are rare which puts Sabres GM Tim Murray in a good position to cash in.
