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Whatever the smart thing is to do with him, the Sabres will do the opposite.

Classic Lance. No one outside the employ of the Sabres has carried more water for the franchise.

But what about Randy Sexton? John Chayka? Doug McLean? Jay Feaster? Maybe you’re just looking in the wrong pile? 😜

See if I’m Boston, I look at a trade built around Byram for Lindholm given where the team is in terms of age and cycle. Don’t know that the Bruins will be looking to rebuild though, more likely reload. I’m confused. You dont think he’s getting traded?

I don’t give two s***s about Power’s feelings, I meant to say KA would be upset that his prize pick becomes #3. Power has a looooong way to go to get into my good books.

As I said, if they do an offer sheet, they're silly. They should be trying to fleece Adams on a trade for a piece that "doesn't want to be here" without sacrificing their 2026 1st and a ticket for McKenna. Build it with a lottery-protected 2027 1st instead, etc. (Or, build it around a roster player whose loss helps them in a tank effort for said McKenna. If any of them want to play that game.)

After the Whistle floated Brian Burke. Was that them spitballing or more of a rumor? Id like Dudley once Florida is finished but like everyone else he’s not coming in to report to Adams

I think hiring an executive level hockey advisor is not happening. Terry is learning that the senior candidates with experience won’t work for Adams.

None of this will happen. It’s fun to talk about I guess. For some folks. Based on what? I’ve heard that dude say exactly six words.

Kraken are already paying Dunn/Montour long-term to be their PP guys and have Larsson as the steady D-zone leader. Not sure they work. Bruins will have McAvoy/Lindholm/Zadorov which could be a fit as Zads can play on the right side and would seem to be a good fit for Byram. This would be interesting. CBJ has the space and Provorov and Fabbro are UFAs. I doubt they let both go. Fabbro was their Hronek to Werenski's Quinn last season. They also have Mateychuk ready to make the jump next season. I'm not sure they'll be keen to pay the price.

It doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter at all.

I think with most of those teams you’d be talking trades, not offer sheets. I think the Filip Hronek trade (1st and 2nd in the mid teens) is a good comparable for Byram’s value in terms of picks. And really in terms of contract as well, once you add in capflation. This is the type of deal I see the Sabres chasing, either directly, or in 2 parts (like Mitts/Savoie for Byram/McLeod). They will bring in a more defensively oriented, slightly cheaper guy ready to play in the top 4 and kill penalties). It might not be a vet, more of a McLeod type. Think Braden Schneider.

Power would get his nose out of joint at getting passed by. I wouldn’t be upset to see that as an option, Byram can shoot decently too. I think that ship has sailed.

Except there's nothing to show he'll be disposed of. He'll just be elevated and be the voice of Pegula. And if the GM clashes with Pegula, he'll follow the same road as PLF, GMTM, and JBott -- none fired/left for performance of the team. Which begs the question to Pegula: What qualifies Kevyn to hire an NHL GM? The Karmanos hire?

The funny thing about the power play situation is I never saw a reason why he could not have played with Dahlin on power play 1 here. He is a better passer than most of the forwards we have.

Yes, the best move is to move them both and replace them with suitable partners for Dahlin and Power. And neither can be a potential break-the-bank expectant PP1 guy in Byram because it saps the cash for other areas of need. If Power-Byram was a great pairing that excelled in their own zone as well, then sure, pay him all you need and go with a big three. Out of curiosity, what's the GF% of Power-Dahlin?

Werenski and McAvoy would be ahead of him for PP1 on two of those teams. Montour and Dunn could be bumped in Seattle.

I think it will be larger due to contract and chemistry situations. There are lots of teams who will see him as an upgrade to their current #3 over the next 7 years. Guys like Byram aren’t available that often. GMs will be fishing to see if they can make it fit.

If Rasmus Andersson had more than 1 year until UFA status, I would like to see him as a RHD coming back. He would fit the bill as a top 4.

I would add Kracken, Jackets and Bruins to that list. Push come to shove we don't want the picks we want a player so a trade better be in the works.

The question is what assets of these teams would help Buffalo. That's the starting place.

If any of Philly, San Jose, Chicago, Nashville, or Pitt is foolish enough to offer sheet Byram with the value of a 2026 1st, you take the pick in a heartbeat. Byram is not turning any of those franchises into a playoff team. Or, you ideally trade before the draft, or you match and then trade the known contract -- but then you'd better have him on the top pair with Dahlin to increase his value as much as possible.

Here are my biggest fears about not firing Adams now: You don’t get a fresh face in to deal with the looming Tuch, Peterka and Byram situations A new guy has a much better chance of convincing these guys to stay under a fresh regime than Kevyn would under a sinking ship. A new guy has less pressure to move these guys in a bad deal than Kevyn would under a sinking ship. Allowing Kevyn to fumble and fail now before getting fired at Christmas cements a desire in the heads of Dahlin and Thompson that its time for them to move on. Valuable development time for Levi, Kulich, Benson and Power is squandered in a toxic dressing room. Basically, I think there’s an opportunity cost to waiting. The longer you wait, the bigger the mess the next guy has to clean up: bigger cracks, depreciated assets.

There's your list.

Maybe I don't understand how offer-sheets work. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that in order to offer-sheet Byram in the $7-8 million range (what it would take to get him, I would think), the team making the offer would need to have their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rd picks in 2026, since that would be the cost. I don't think any team that has more than a 50/50 chance of missing the playoffs this coming season, is going to give up their 2026 1st for Byram. Also, the Sharks don't currently have their 3rd in 2026.