A lot of if's go into statements like "If you want to be a buyer..." or "If you want to be a seller" at the trade deadline, but let me lay out the few you might like to consider if Eastern Conference playoff-run dreams are nipping at your brain.

We'll start with the buyer viewpoint...

If... you're thinking that the biggest part of the Sabres' massive New Year's meltdown was the injury bug that bit Derek Roy and Jaroslav Spacek amongst others.

If... you're thinking that special teams are key to any playoff run, and that Buffalo is one of only three teams in the NHL (Dallas and Detroit) in the top-ten in both power play (9th) and penalty killing (7th).

If... you're thinking that without Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, the Sabres are fifth in the NHL in goals-per-game, and Ryan Miller is finally putting his A-game together, while posting the best save percentage and goals against average of his young career.

If... you think Brian Campbell really does want to stay in Buffalo, and that upper management is genuinely interested in making that happen.

Then... you need to get two to three things (listed in order of importance).

—Face-off man
—Playoff-experienced forward
—Better insurance policy at goaltender

Suggestions: Chicago's Yanic Perreault, Tampa Bay's Vaclav Prospal, Los Angeles' Derek Armstrong.

Perreault has won an astounding 64.6 percent of his face-offs, and has scored 20-plus goals before, though his 21 goal season with the Leafs and Coyotes last year is a bit of deception, at least in my mind. He is, however, the premiere face-off man on the market, and might fetch more than the Sabres want to give up.

Not sure if there are knocks on Prospal's attitude or anything of that sort, but he would be available from a Tampa team that wouldn't hate unloading $1.9 million. He's a left wing, but has won 55 percent of the 150-plus face-offs he's taken. Prospal's got a Cup from his time with the Lightning, has scored 20-plus goals four times and has 51 points this year.

The fun of speculating is a guy like Armstrong, who may not be available, and isn't as good a face-off man as the other two.

Then again, the seller viewpoint...

If... you're thinking that 16 of Buffalo's remaining 26 games are against playoff teams, and the Sabres don't have the goaltending depth for such a robust schedule.

If... you're thinking the Sabres aren't tough enough, and that their playoff leadership would be too green, anyway.

Then... trade Campbell for a Peter Forsberg-esque package (two prospects, a first-rounder and a third-rounder). Also deal Tim Connolly and Dmitri Kalinin for prospects, and allow Andrej Sekera, Mike Weber and said prospects to learn the system next year. Then, we can have the same exact discussion one year from today.

Prospect suggestions: If you're giving up Campbell, better get someone who'll eventually make a fine blue-liner. Many of these names will be familiar to "Trade Campbell" fans, a group of which I do not belong:

Chicago's Cam Barker, Nashville's Ryan Suter, Washington's Karl Alzner (not happening), San Jose's Matt Carle.

When all's said and done, I'd be prepared to be a bit of a buyer, though nothing major. The East is so diluted that Buffalo sits 10 points out of first in the conference with a game-in-hand on Ottawa. They won't catch the Senators, but you'd have a hard time convincing me any other team is unbeatable in a seven-game series, and that's the fun of the playoffs. I could write some epic document stating why the Sabres would be better off dealing Campbell for prospects regardless of 2007-08 positioning, but I'm selfish — playoff hockey is my favorite thing in professional sports, and it's more fun when Buffalo's involved.

We're at the time of year where it's fun to deal in trade rumors. Got a proposed deal? Send it my way and I'll respond in this space. We can have a town forum of sorts...

E-mails: nick@wgr550.com