All Activity

What happened to the Montour trade? I wouldn’t have made that deal either. Nor would I have acquired Stillman, I would have extended Ullmark and Reinhart to long-term deals instead of letting Ullmark walk and the Reinhart trade. I wouldn’t have traded Mitts for Byram since he was a redundant asset. I would have kept Robinson over trading for Malenstyn. The Norris trade is a complete unknown. I wouldn’t have signed Hall for 8 mill nor would I have given him such a deal with a full NMC. We got so little for Hall because of Adam’s terrible contract construction. The Eichel mess is not something I’m sure about. I like Tuch and the other assets were ok given the circumstances. Ultimately, Ristolainen, Greenway, and McLeod are the only deals I’ve made for sure. Also Zucker is his only good FA signing.

They could easily have afforded Mitts and McLeod’s salary this season if Byram isn’t on the team. If they wanted to stay lean, then don’t sign Lafferty. McLeod still would’ve been the 3C/PK specialist of the bunch. edit: It would have meant Joker was a top-4 D man all year though or another guy would’ve need to be brought in aside from Gilbert.

Hmm. Idk, I think Frondell and Desnoyers are really liked by teams. McQueen, Smith are wild cards. It could happen, his U18 performance was dominate so maybe Martin does go early. Really is awful we dropped 2 more spots.

It all depends on McQueen and whether a team really likes a defenseman not named Schaefer.

@dudacek none of this info changes the facts that none of our D are good defensively away from Dahlin. As I’ve stated many times, I’d trade Power and keep Byram. I think Byram is the better player who at least makes an effort defensively and is willing to be physical. Power makes no effort defensively and will never be a physical player. I have also stated that there was no way the Sabres would or could keep both Byram and Power. Now that a Byram trade is more likely, I think we are kind of beating a dead horse. The Sabres have to fix the defensive skills of our D group and moving on from Byram is the first step, whether we agree with Adams or not. The next steps are sending our other D failures, Clifton and Samuelsson, packing as well.

The Kings bottomed out but they kept Kopitar. And Quick. The Sabres had ROR but never let him play a game with Dahlin. They had Eichel. And they jettisoned Miller way back when (granted, he alone probably keeps them out of the McDavid sweepstakes, but still) and Ullmark later. The Kings were smart about keeping top end players to show the way.

Is it true? Yes. Is it a joke? Debatable. Most teams have a POHO or someone in a role above the GM. I think Adams 100% needs someone above him to make decisions. He clearly sucks at it and if uncle Terry is unwilling to move on, bring in someone with more experience and credibility than Eric Staal. Rick Dudley, Jim Rutherford, whoever just get somebody that has a chance to right the ship.

Yeah Brady Tkachuk was the apple of many Sabres fans eye a year ago. I think he’s cemented himself as their centerpiece and core player. I doubt any package not involving Tage or Rasmus wouldn’t be good enough for him. As far as who else is available, if I’m KA (I know bear with me here), I’d call every team asking about their grittiest most intense actually good hockey player under 30 and see if some semblance of a deal can get done with Byram/Power, Quinn, Rosen, 9 OA whatever it takes.

I’m leery of Brady Martin still being there at 9. If I was drafting 5-8, he’d be my target.

Blake gives you example of accountability. He will get another job, his team produced points. Looking at the two rosters is hard to reconcile the different roads each team took. Kings average 102 points per season and replace the GM because of first round playoff losses and the GM supports the move. The Sabres gut a roster full of potential All Stars, fail another rebuild, and the GM spends several days "presenting" why he should stay. Expectations? Culture? Leadership? Roster management? Coaching? Back to expectations? All of the above.

You know who else who had terrible underlying stats away from Dahlin? Jake Sanderson and Mortiz Seider For a little apples to apples: These are Byram's numbers with Dahlin GF% 70, xG% 53.1, SA% 54.2% These are Byram's numbers with Power GF% 50, xG% 42.6, SA% 51.7% These are Byram's numbers with Clifton GF% 50.4, xG% 46.4% SA% 41.8% These are Sanderson's number with his #1 guy, Zub GF% 47.4, xG% 56.3, SA% 51.2 These are Sanderson's number with his #2 guy, Hamonic GF% 23.8, xG% 46.2, SA% 47.3 These are Sanderson's number with his #3 guy, Jensen GF% 49.3, xG% 57.1, SA% 49.4 These are Seider's number with his #1 guy, Chiarot GF% 49.2, xG% 47.1, SA% 46.6 These are Seider's number with his #2 guy, Edvinsson GF% 62.5, xG% 51.6, SA% 53.3 These are Seider's number with his #3 guy, Holl GF% 0, xG% 60.7, SA% 56.6 Young D playing 1st-pairing minutes on mediocre teams don't typically have great analytics. For some reason Byram is held to a different standard. 🤷‍♂️ Exactly

I’m trying to think of who this magical top forward is? The only guy I can think of is Elias Pettersson. I know Barzals/Dobsons names have come up but there is no clear indication that they’re actually available or that the Islanders are looking to rebuild. I know Brock Nelson was dealt but he was older and expensive so who knows.

Wrong sitcom. I can't believe I found this from Feb. 4, 2011. To the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies theme song: "Come and listen to my story 'bout a man named Peg A poor Scrantoneer, to start a business had to beg And then one day he was frackin' at the earth And up through the dirt come a gaseous burp Natural gas, that is -- rock wind, pay dirt! Well the first thing you know Old Peg's a billionaire The kinfolk said, Peg move away from there Said New York State is the place you wanna go So they loaded up the minivan and moved to Buffalo Clarence, that is Swimmin' pools... hockey players The Buffalo Hillbillies!"

There are potential positives that he can bring. The main problem is that the role he's hired for is for players to learn the front office/hockey ops. It's an apprentice. He's there to learn from Adams. In Colorado, it's Andrew Cogliano (retired just last year) -- but Sakic and MacFarland are well-established and have loads of success. But that's a top team. So, let's do a rebuild team: San Jose. The closest is Patrick Marleau in a "Player Dev and Hockey Ops Advisor" title. But Marleau can learn from a pretty qualified group. Grier has 3 assistant GMs, a Hockey Ops Advisor in Doug Weight who has been a head coach in the NHL and been in front office activities for 6-7ish years already. And then, Grier has 3 senior advisors (Tim Burke who's been around forever and built the excellent Marleau/Pavelski teams; Todd Marchant who had 10 years in the Ducks front office before joining the Sharks in the last couple years; and Ryan Stewart who went from scout to Dir. of Pro Personnel with the Chicago Blackhawks over the course of 15 years).

We are starting the "all in" season with a 20 year old goalie with no NHL experience When does Barrasso get here?

Alternative theory: Terry grew up poor and ended up wildly successful (financially at least) without throwing money at the problem of poverty. He just worked hard. And waited. And waited. It was time and pressure in the Shawshankian tradition, that got him to the other end of the sewage pipe and eventually to a boat in Mexico. Terry started off talking about how he never fired anyone at East Resources (or was it no one ever left?) and how his role model owner was Art Rooney, who decided after years of losing and replacing people that "panic isn't working." Terry also stood at some interview early on, maybe on Day One, and said something like, "I don't get too high or too low." I remember him tilting his hand back and forth as he said it (what I had for dinner last night? no clue). Terry also famously said only one team wins a Cup every year. Where is all that leading? Maybe Terry circa 2020 just decided to get back to his foundational beliefs. This'll take time and not necessarily money (going back to his business roots), I'm not going to keep firing people (and paying people to not work for me), let's plan the work and work the plan, etc. All of the preceding might be classic PASabrefanian hogwash, but I want to believe it moreso than Terry has quit on the Sabres. I might even have to believe it. I mean, if he's quit, that's really, you know, not good.

I was looking at Rob Blake's history with the Kings. He was an assistant GM for a few years after their cup seasons. They missed the playoffs in 16-17 and he took over as GM in 17-18. They had a single season resurgence back into the playoffs, and then started a rebuild in 18-19. They bottomed out in 19-20 and in the summer of 2020 they drafted Byfield 2nd overall. They missed the playoffs for one more season (the 2020 covid year), and in the 4 seasons since they have had 99, 104, 99, and 105 points. He had some misses. The Turcotte draft and the Dubois trade, being the biggest two. Perhaps in hindsight, Stutzle was the pick over Byfield. He couldn't get past McDavid and Draisaitl four seasons in a row. It seems to me that there is some parallel to the moment that the Kings drafted Byfield in 2020 and the moment, under Adams, that the Sabres drafted Power in 2021. I thought I would compare the rosters of the 19-20 Kings and the 2020-21 Sabres, the respective seasons before the Byfield and Power drafts. Kings / Sabres Kopitar / Eichel Kempe / Reinhart Toffoli / Hall Iafallo / Skinner Vilardi / Mittlestadt Lizotte / Cozens Amadio / Thompson Doughty / Dahlin Roy / Montour Martinez / Ristolainen Walker / Miller Quick / Ullmark Now, consider that one season after bottoming out and drafting Byfield, the Kings had a 99 point season and went on to average 102 points over the next 4. And then, Blake decided it was time to move on to see if someone else could get the Kings over the first round playoff hump. Contrast that with the Sabres. Four seasons after drafting Power we have averaged 82 points per year, we have not made the playoffs, and they are just now apparently getting serious about surrounding Adams with a veteran hockey man to assist him in how he carries out his duties. Would Adams voluntarily step down to allow another person to take the team to the level of just making the playoffs? Of course not. Adams knows that this is likely to be his only job as an NHL executive. Blake, on the other hand, will have a job with another NHL team as soon as he wants one. Imagine how different the outlook for the coming seasons would be, if tomorrow it was announced that Kevyn Adams has been relived of his duties and Rob Blake has been hired as GM. The Sabres are not a serious NHL team.

There's nothing the Sabres can say at this point that will make me care about next season. The Miss Buffalo has sailed.

Nuance is frowned on here. Suit up in your armor, or colors, or what have you. The SabreSpace leadership has delivered its talking points, so please stay on topic and follow along. While I disagree with your take, I appreciate the opinion. An outside perspective is needed, however, Kevyn hasn't earned the opportunity to hire one of his friends, regardless of his playing experience. A new voice is good, but when the room still has stale air from the same losing leadership, that voice could be drowned out.

Yeah but I learned you can use the concave chest of a trucker in Frankfort as a urinal. The Kentucky Pisspot.

Why would you put Byram on the pp when you have Rasmus Dahlin?

Ok, so i am going to be the unpopular opinion. I am going to ignore WHO HE IS and WHERE HE CAME FROM!!! Bare with me here..... He was an exceptional player that played a brand of hockey that this team desperately needs. He is widely respected league wide (With the exception of Buffalo). He is someone OUTSIDE the organization that a lot of folks have been screaming that we need to add without recycling same people. He is and was a WINNER in every league and tournament he has been in. His knowledge of the game is also highly respected. I get his Buffalo tied past. I am sure he knows it as well. How much does that say for an individual that knows he is going to treated like a second class citizen by many fans of the team he joined. I honestly believe this could be a good thing for the organization and for himself. I also understand the bias against him. I am a day 1 fan and hate the Lames as well, but he could bring an outsider insight that is highly needed for this team. I am sure i will be lambasted for my thoughts, but does it really hurt? If he can guide our GM to make 10% better decisions to help this team, then it is a win.

Because this is a list of defencemen whose PP production helped them get paid. The entire point of the post was to show the coin Byram might be able to access if he got a shot on the PP to pad his stats.