Still trying to dig out from the recent organizational tanking on their way back to contention, what might the Buffalo Sabres have to offer Seattle's nascent NHL team?

(My guidelines for the exercise, as always, are here and hockeydb.com and capfriendly.com are invaluable)

Since "digging out" usually means being a fairly young team, let's see who Buffalo still has under contract that might be available for the 2020/2021 season for Seattle to draft.

Forwards: Jack Eichel, Kyle Okposo, Patrik Berglund

Defensemen/Defencemen: Rasmus Ristolainen

Goalies: Carter Hutton

Okposo and Berglund have modified No Trade Clauses, though the latter recently waived his to be traded to Buffalo from St. Louis. No one else here has language restricting their movement.

Eichel is quite possibly the most important skater in franchise history, he's not going anywhere. He and Ristolainen are also the only players of these five under 30. Hutton was signed earlier this week, though his walk year would coincide with the first season of the Seattle NHL team we're hypothesizing about here. Every other contract goes at least one year past that.

Even if he's no longer the most talented rearguard named Rasmus on Buffalo's roster, Ristolainen is still too important to see leaving via expansion draft. Hutton might very well be signed specifically to be exposed in the draft after holding the fort down in goal between now and then, but I'm sure Buffalo would prefer he plays well enough to justify a second contract there to that scenario.

So, to me it comes down to Okposo and Berglund. And while I can see where the $6 million per year Okposo makes would be more attractive from a monetary standpoint to move on from, I'm going to go with:

Patrik Berglund (Center/Centre/Left Wing)

Why Buffalo Would Make Him Available: As many young forwards as Buffalo has, as some point he'd probably be blocking someone else from a job in Buffalo. Right now, he's a decent upgrade over recent middle-six options but that won't be the case for very long if enough of their top prospects continue to progress.

Why Seattle Would Want Him: Being a center and left wing, Berglund would bring some utility to the roster. Only being signed for two years (as opposed to Okposo at three years) might also make him easier to trade if that's deemed the best use for him. Okposo also being an assistant captain makes me think that Buffalo would be less likely to move on from him the franchise starts to contend again.

Also, perhaps Berglund's time in a consistently successful locker room in St. Louis and helping to foster one in Buffalo would help Seattle start from scratch in building their own.