All Activity

If JJ is staying, which makes sense, and signing a bridge, which also makes sense, it has to be Quinn out the door, there just isnt room for him Kulich Benson and Peterka, and I do think Quinn could get you a nice defensman like a Hague or Kesserling or the like The bridge deal i like too cause that should open cap space for us to make additions elsewhere

I’m excited to see him and Östlund battle it out for roles on this team.

Slow the F down. Helenius is in the AHL and is 18 (19 now) versus Peterka who's 23 and in the NHL. When Helenius gets to the NHL, you might be able to say this bolded. Suggesting that we have some mythical young piece coming that will be a 30g 60pt player while they're 4 more years out is how you end up in a perpetual rebuild. Yes I see the trade Peterka for Robertson part but we cant count on Helenius for anything yet.

Trading Mitts for Byram was smart. Trading Byram for a first now when you could sign him for two years, then trade him for that same 1st as rental, that would be stupid.

I almost guarantee Brierre lowballed Adams.

According to Chad D, the Sabres have no intention of trading Peterka either. He says they have fielded calls but nothing has gained traction and the most likely result is JJ signing a bridge. My question is if they are trading Byram for lesser pieces and not trading Peterka, how are the Sabres intending to get better this off-season? It's very clear that if they intend to add a forward, another forward has to go. It's not likely to be Thompson, Norris, McLeod, Greenway, or Zucker. Krebs, Malenstyn and Lafferty don't move the needle. They don't want to move Tuch and if they did it wouldn't be for an upgrade. That leaves Kulich and Benson (who nobody wants to move) and Quinn (who probably won't get a great return). Are we really running back the forwards?

I concur.

Correct. I suspect Philly has made this offer. Adams is likely just waiting to see who is available in the draft or if someone else will offer more. San Jose likely wants him as well. It would be another example of Adams failure. Mitts out, a one year D man rental in and then ultimately a low first is all we have to show for it. How would you have felt last year if Mitts was traded for a low first? This was all stupid from the start.

Perfect. We just increased his value for a now player.

The favored markets are for their tv revenues and future expansion. This is why they tried to prop up Phoenix so long. They definitely wanted exposure there. They will roll out the red carpet for Atlanta. This is also why they will not address the tax issue. They want more hockey in the south and Florida and Texas etc help feed that. They know hockey will not die in Canada so they don't care about any Canadian franchise. I also think teams like Buffalo are just taken for granted and they aren't really concerned about them. Bettman has been all about expansion and growth since day 1 and the owners love it as all their franchise values have skyrocketed and expansion fees are just gravy for them.

Good for you kid! See this is another reason I dont have a problem moving Peterka to get a Robertson or someone else, we have young pieces coming if we need them.

Calgary makes a ton of sense for either Rasmus Anderson or Kevin Bahl, I doubt Weegar, but you never know Rangers make sense too if they can move out Krieder, Schnieder for Byram as the base makes sense, I still think K'andre Miller for Sammy can make sense too

I'm saying I would. I'm not Adams. Adams is an idiot.

I think Byram would have been the highest scoring defenceman on multiple teams, and that’s without any PP time. Coupled with the fact he’s just entering his prime and Id say 3/4s of the league would have at least mild interest. Serious interest is a little harder to determine, but I’d be surprised if you couldn’t find a half-dozen teams where he’d be an upgrade on their current 3D. The insiders say the interest is pretty widespread. Not saying they’ve been linked to Byram specifically, but off the top of my head, Philly, San Jose, Calgary, Los Angeles, the Rangers, the Penguins, the Hurricanes, the Predators, and the Blues, are all teams said to be interested in adding a young puck-moving top 4.

After posting some background data that I think, mostly, supports the argument to not trade Peterka, I should share my opinion that I think the Sabres could trade him (and Byram) for lesser players AND actually get better. I don't think our issue is talent. I think our issue last year was a combination of being too young, too inexperienced, not having the right mix of skill and physicality and toughness, not having the right leadership on and off the ice, and generally bad coaching. I think if you swapped* (as examples) Peterka, Byram, Clifton, Luukkonen, for Bryan Rust, Cody Ceci, Mario Ferrero, and a healthy Thatcher Demko, that the Sabres could actually change their roster make-up enough to be a playoff team. Not a contender, but a 96-97 point Ottawa Senator or Minnesota Wild level WC team. (*Not straight up trades. The Sabres are moving the two best players in this example, and should also get back some significant futures.) Though, I should add, success is unlikely with a Lindy Ruff and Kevyn Adams HC/GM combo. Over their combined last 16 years in their respective roles (11 for Ruff, 5 for Adams), they have produced 3 winning and 3 playoff seasons, for around an 18% success rate. They could fluke a WC playoff spot (we are due for at least such a fluke), but until they produce two playoff seasons in a row, making the playoffs should be viewed with skepticism at it relates to potential long-term success. Both are bad at their jobs. So, any comments or thoughts on roster changes that I make should be considered in the context that I think there is limited possibility of a successful outcome, for reasons that go far beyond the talent level of the players.

He’s definitely proven himself. It also seems like he’s cut down on the absolute inexcusable turnovers that directly lead to opponent goals. He’s still good for one every game or two but I suppose if he’s playing 30 minutes a night, it’s bound to happen occasionally.

I totally get the trepidation over Norris’ health, and we all have different valuations on players, but I don’t understand why people don’t see a fit. They thought they had a long-term 2C in Cozens. They were wrong. They traded him for what they thought was the best replacement 2C available. I mean you needed a centre and you weren’t getting Sam Bennett for Dylan Cozens. Why doesn’t Norris fit? Or am I just misreading what people mean by fit and they actually just mean his health?

He’s more like a pitcher who tips his pitches with a lousy fastball.

Perhaps food for thought. Peterka just finished his D5 season (5th year post-draft). No current Sabre player who was drafted by the team, has had a more uniform and straight-forward rise. In his D1 he played well against men in Germany. In D2 he had an excellent AHL season. In D3 he played a middle 6 role in his rookie NHL season and played to a 34 point pace. In D4 he played a top 6 role and had 50 points. In D5 he played a top 6 to top-line role and played to a 72 point pace. He has improved year over year. Peterka was tied for 51st in NHL scoring this year. There are 24 players who are primarily wingers, who finished ahead of him in scoring; of those players, only Lucas Raymond is younger (by 2 months). I realize there are more factors that make up a player’s effectiveness than just points. Goals are more valuable than assists. Primary assists are more valuable than secondary. Defensive acumen needs to be considered. Attitude and leadership abilities are factors. Can a guy drop the gloves if needed? Will he “accidently” elbow the opposition goalie in the head while pretending to be pushed over in a playoff game? All factors. But, points are still, generally, a primary point of measurement for where a player is placed in the line-up and for how much he gets paid. Of the 24 wingers who had more points than Peterka this past year, here is the post-draft year that they first played to the 72 point pace that Peterka just played to in his D5 season (this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of elite wingers; for example, due to injury this past season, Kaprizov is not on this list). D1: none D2: Ovechkin* (There was no NHL season in Ovechkin’s D1) D3: Pastrnak, Rantanan, Marner D4: Robertson, Raymond D5: Kucherov, Kyle Connor, Guentzel, Konecny, Boldy, Peterka is in this grouping D6: Necas, Filip Forsberg, Bratt, Nylander, Keller, Caufeld, Kyrou, Panarin* (Panarin was not drafted; had he been drafted in his first year of eligibility, then he would have reached the 72 point or greater level in D6, which was also his rookie NHL season) D7: Marchenko, Rakell D8: Reinhart, Hagel D9: Kempe There are 7 players on this list who have been traded. Of those, there is only one example where the player had established himself as an NHL player and the trading team was intending to improve immediately, as a result of the trade. That was Necas, traded this season for a truly elite winger in Rantanan. Generally, teams don't trade players like Peterka when they are 23 years old.

Dahlin is the best defender in his own zone on the team. You can partner him with anyone competent.

Adams is a terrible poker player.

No way it’s only for a late 1st. And why target teams that have a second 1st? We want to make sure we don’t inconvenience teams too much in our trades?

Adams lacks 2 things. He's not smart enough to make moves 3 or 4 ahead. So he's a poor planner. And the 2nd thing he lacks ruthlessness and needs ppl to like him and he needs to like ppl. He doesn't understand the fundamental underlying truth, all pro sports are a 0 sum ruthless game. So he keeps players he likes personally in some loyal belief they'll work out and he makes moves without thinking how it will impact the next move and the next move and the next move.

Unless any draft pick received is intended to be part of a package to add good, NHL-ready players, ***** all the way off.