This is why the Sabres want Connor Hellebuyck originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

On paper, the Buffalo Sabres have a bunch of goalies.

None of them is named Connor Hellebuyck, though -- at least not yet.

And really, that's the whole situation. Are the Sabres content with what they've got? Or will they pull off the blockbuster trade that has been rumored for a while?

It seems obvious to understand why they'd want Hellebuyck, but it's actually a layered situation.

If the Sabres didn't make a goalie trade, they'd enter next season with solid options, but maybe without certainty.

Hellebuyck, more than anything else, would bring that certainty.

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Why do the Sabres want Connor Hellebuyck?

The biggest win of acquiring Hellebuyck for the Sabres, beyond getting a goalie of his caliber, is simply in knowing that he's their guy.

There'd be no more questions, like there were in this past postseason run.

The Sabres would sink or swim with Hellebuyck in net.

"Hellebuyck is a rare chance at a clear upgrade," The Athletic's Matthew Fairburn wrote on Wednesday. "In the sport’s most volatile position, Hellebuyck has been a picture of consistency... With five more seasons at a reasonable $8.5 million cap hit, Hellebuyck could make a major impact in Buffalo, where he would get a chance to win and play for the same franchise that once featured Ryan Miller and Dominik Hasek. The Sabres wouldn’t have to enter the playoffs wondering who is starting in net."

If the cost isn't prohibitive, there's no reason for the Sabres not to do this deal.

Although on the flip side, the reason it isn't done yet is probably because the cost is too steep for Buffalo at the moment.

It's clear, though, that getting Hellebuyck would be a win for the Sabres

7-foot-1 draft pick is impossibly tall