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Sabres ‘trying hard’ to get another first-round pick

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The Buffalo Sabres will pick second overall at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft on June 27 but, to hear GM Tim Murray explain it, that isn’t the only time Buffalo wants to be at the podium on opening night.

The Sabres are looking to acquire another first-round pick, Murray said on Thursday.

“I have been trying hard to do that,” he said. “The people I’ve talked to haven’t said no, but nobody’s called back and said ‘yeah, let’s do this deal.’

“I’ve got a lot of potential deals out there that have a first [round pick] coming back, where it’s in the 20s or the teens.”

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise -- earlier, reports surfaced that Murray would take on a team’s onerous contract and use a compliance buyout in exchange for a first-rounder -- and, per Buffalo’s WGR 550, it seems the organizational blueprint is to rebuild the club through two drafts, hence the desire to add picks:

Murray maintained that it’s going to take two drafts to build this team. He admitted they are not a Stanley Cup team this year so the draft has to be the focus. Murray thinks he may be able to acquire another 2014 first round pick. He said getting a 2015 first rounder will be much harder. In his discussions with other teams, 2014 first round picks are available. Murray knows he has to get to the salary cap floor so he’s not afraid of taking contracts on from other teams if he can get what he wants at the top end of the deal. It’s just absorbing a contract that another team can’t.

It’ll be interesting to see how (or, if) Murray will be able to get into the first round again. Aside from taking back a bad contract, he could package some of his other picks -- in addition to the No. 2 overall selection, the Sabres hold the No. 31, No. 39, No. 49 and No. 61 picks.