‘The Sabres could have afforded Mittelstadt, especially on a bridge contract like the one he received from Colorado, and he expressed interest in signing a long-term pact to be a franchise pillar with Thompson, Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and others. But General Manager Kevyn Adams preferred to take advantage of a robust trade market for Mittelstadt to acquire the young, top-four defenseman Buffalo has coveted the past two seasons.’