In an ideal world, the Sabres could have Jack Eichel and Matt Duchene down the middle. In a nightmare scenario, Vladimir Sobotka is still getting third-line minutes.



In reality, either could happen.



It’s a thin line between success and failure during the offseason. Every team knows where it has holes, but there are only so many trades and free agents available. The best-laid plans could be destroyed by an opposing general manager with a bigger checkbook.



Buffalo is hoping to solidify the center position, add scoring on the wings and tweak the defense. Maybe Jason Botterill will do them all. Maybe agents and his GM counterparts will send his calls to voicemail.



With that in mind as draft-floor trades and July 1 approach, here’s a look at three scenarios that could play out. To ensure salary cap compliance, we used “Armchair-GM” on CapFriendly.com. Free-agent salaries came from @EvolvingWild’s contract projections,...