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Being the host team for the NHL draft carries a certain prestige, but for Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray, it doesn’t mean extra pressure to deliver a blockbuster deal that feeds the buzz.

"No, it has to be business as usual," Murray said over the phone Tuesday afternoon. "I can’t be worried about a buzz, really. You know, I’m always active, but if nothing happens, nothing happens. We’ll just go up and make our picks. That’s the important part of the weekend anyway."

The Sabres hold the eighth overall pick in Friday’s first round. They’ve talked to teams about their options.

"I’ve talked about moving up, I’ve talked about moving down," said Murray. "I haven’t really found anything solid or anything that I’m real fond of. So I’ll just continue to talk."

A primary need, whether that comes via trade or free agency, is on defense.

"Probably that’s the main one," said Murray. "If I could find a defenseman, left-shot D or right-shot D that can play the left side, then that is definitely a priority, for sure."

Meanwhile, as the Tampa Bay Lightning await a decision from pending unrestricted free agent star Steven Stamkos by the end of the week, so do other teams who will be able to call up his agent, Don Meehan, starting at one minute past midnight Friday night when the free-agent talking window for UFAs opens.

The Sabres have been mentioned as a potential suitor for Stamkos, given the deep pockets of owner Terry Pegula. Buffalo and the Detroit Red Wings seem to be the most talked-about teams as far as Stamkos suitors but no doubt a few more would emerge if indeed he doesn’t re-sign with the Lightning, which is also still possible.

Murray wouldn’t say either way, of course, because that’s tampering until Saturday's window opens.

But rest assured if a big name like Stamkos comes free, the Sabres are likely going to pick up the phone to at least inquire.

"If the best free-agent defenseman and the best free-agent forward call me and say they’d like to play for us, we’ll make it happen, you know?" said Murray, generally speaking and not specifically addressing the Stamkos situation.

In other words, the Sabres have the cash and desire to be players.

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Elsewhere:

Regardless of what Stamkos decides, I think the Lightning have a decision to make on their goalie if the board of governors, as expected, hands Las Vegas an expansion team Wednesday. With teams able to protect only one goalie in a June 2017 expansion draft, the Bolts I think would likely keep 21-year-oldAndrei Vasilevskiy over Vezina Trophy nominee Ben Bishop, 29, which is a tough thing but also reality. Bishop is entering the final season of his contract before becoming UFA in July 2017. Sure, the Lightning could wait until the trade deadline next season to decide its goaltending, but Bishop carries more value now in a trade than he probably would at the deadline when he’s that much closer to UFA status. Thing is, with Marc-Andre Fleury, Brian Elliottand Jimmy Howard also potential trade targets, the market is a bit flooded, too. Still, if I’m the Calgary Flames, who lost out on Frederik Andersen on Monday, the choice is pretty simple: Bishop or Fleury to fill that No. 1 goalie position.

Also, if I were a team looking at trading for Bishop, I would ask Tampa Bay if I could talk to Bishop about an extension before making the trade. That would give said team more comfort in owning him for more than one season but might also help the Lightning get a more fair return.