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Ehhhh. You kind of can.

“Rangers Reportedly in 'Advanced Discussions' on Chris Kreider Trade with Ducks” Would this be more of a cap dump situation for the rangers?

I want big defenders in our system as well, BUT I also want them to have a built-in mean streak. You can’t coach size….but you also can’t coach toughness. I’d rather have a 6-3 defender who instinctively wants to punish opposing players vs. a 6-5 softee who wants to play with finesse.

If a trade can be had for a top 6 player that immediately makes this team look more like the Panthers, I’m all for it….including moving JJP and a bunch of other younger/unproven players. That said, I also think it is dangerous for a pending RFA to be able to dictate (through his agent) an interest to be moved. Pending UFA’s like Tuch can make demands, but JJP should not be able to as a pending RFA.

Why do you call what the agent is doing "nonsense"? He's doing what agents are paid to do i.e. stir interest in a player to raise the bid price for him as his contract comes up. What the agent is doing is standard practice where the agent is willing to garner the negative attention in the hope that his client is in a better negotiating position. The next question that you pose gets at the heart of the matter regarding JJP, and also applicable to the other young players. This team needs to add experience and be able to play a tougher brand of hockey. If a return can be secured that helps to do that, then few people would argue against it. But if the return can't be arranged to get back a roster improving deal, then find another avenue to upgrade. There are other assets that can be used to bulk up the roster. Greenway was procured with a second-round pick. And Zucker wasn't a costly acquisition. Some front office creativity would sure help. In my view, the big swing that needs to be made should focus on net and the blueline. If dealing JJP would help in doing that, I would be all for it.

No this isn’t the right move. You can’t keep trading away the good players you draft and develop. Truly I don’t understand your championing keeping Byram and then promoting trading Peterka. Both players are about the same age and will cost about the same to retain. However, one, JJP, is actually good at his job, while Byram isn’t. JJP’s job is to score and create offense, which he does well. Byram is a defensemen who can’t play defense. He also is our 3rd best offensive D and doesn’t get PP time. You seem to want to trade JJP because he is not great defensively and keep Byram who has the same issue, especially when our D group is terrible defensively.

$8 million for Norris who can’t stay healthy is so Sabres. I’d rather roll the dice on EP40 if I can move Norris in the deal. I have more confidence in EP40 returning to form and being healthy than Norris. I have no confidence in UPL. If I can roll the dice on Demko returning to form for one year then I take it. If he doesn’t then he is a UFA after the season and you walk away. Something significant has to change to change the Sabres fortunes on the ice. Take some swings.

Just Over half of JJ Peterka's assists were secondary. He probably is a 30g scorer. You can't trade him for futures, you'd need to find a slightly older player with better metrics defensively. That's a tall order and unless Jason Robertson is coming this way, idk who that player would be, so you keep jjp.

Your logic is confusing. As you point out, Adams apparently didn’t feel his injury history was an impediment in dealing for him. So why would he trade him?

Would we be "selling high" though? or does he still have even more upside? I'm not sure, but I think he can still be better. Not sure he can do that in this system as a Sabre but I'm not sure he's peaked yet either. I personally want the make up of this roster altered but I also know I'm unlikely to get that.

KA as GM is defined by do you want to be here. I don't think he's capable of playing that card.

And physicality based on height.

If I'm GM I tell JJ he's not being moved, end of story. You don't like it? Too bad.

I appreciate the thought and rationale. I’d like to add one more reason why I’d be fine with the move. There may be better return for a team willing to trade D for a young forward and reluctance to trade D for D, D for two prospects, or D for #9 overall. If you go into the offseason limited in trading only prospects and/or Byrum, you are narrowing the teams willing to trade with you for the stay at home defender you desire. Adding JJP to mix opens up other avenues. Maybe Byrum and a prospect could yield a top 6 forward that is a better fit for the Sabres. Options.

Exactly. This isn't about "we have to get rid of JJ". It's about stepping away from moves on the margins and asking "what meaningful asset can we afford to give up?" This is about selling high on a very good player of certain skill set for very good player or players for a skill set we lack.

For the record, I did not say or mean to imply moving JJ makes room for Rosen or Östlund. Right now we have Thompson, Tuch, Peterka and Norris pencilled into the top 6, along with two of McLeod, Zucker, Greenway, Benson, Quinn and Kulich. One of those players will not make the top 9 strictly on numbers and another will have to squeezed out if we want get older/tougher/more responsible. I'm saying I see enough in Kulich, Quinn and Benson that I expect all three to improve and any drop-off from JJ to the best of those 3 will be more than made up for by the JJ return.

Well here's the problem. If you trade away every player who says they aren't happy here you end up with a lot of players saying they aren't happy here so they can be traded. It's a precedent. It's the never ending downward spiral and it has already been said that we have become the league's farm team. I don't know if there's a way out of it with constant half measures. I want to add to this roster not subtract from it. If I can upgrade sure, but trade away to trade away no, that's not progress.

Agreed. it was intended to be. It all comes down to what you think of Peterka moving forward: is he a Sam Reinhart, a Dylan Cozens or a Jeff Skinner? Does he have more to give, was this a peak, or is what we saw this year who he is?

Not everybody is going to believe what I believe. I think Ottawa likely felt that way but Adams didn't. Maybe there's others who feel he's worth the gamble. idk.

I should have clarified it with "from somebody from one of the orgs". But also we've had a bunch of dudes leave and be very good players in the league post Darcy. If that speech was given from Pegula, then sure. Honestly it should have been.

What's the distinction when qualified by "of all time"? This isn't a snarky question, curious to know how y'all frame the distinction.

Nah. THE worst was the one where Regier said there would be "suffering." He didn't lie; but we've been living with the aftermath of that decision for going on 15 years. Honorable mention, the one where Bryan Lewis explained why "no goal" was adjudicated properly. LIAR LIAR pants on fire.

This is a STRONG hot take. My initial reaction is that we know guys who the Sabres have moved on from when they were young (Eichel, Reino, Montour, etc) prior to their full maturity has been premature. I would qualify moving on from Peterka right now to be in the same vein. I’m not in the room so I don’t know what Peterka’s mindset is…but I’m not moving on from a projected 30G 70+PT guy at 23. This may be his baseline. That’s valuable. If it was a foregone conclusion that JJ’s production is easily replaceable then perhaps I could hop on board. But I am assuming JJ’s age 27 season could be elite RW1 results. He has work to do to be a complete player, but this is a prime opportunity to lock in a player who will blossom into that. First line players are not a gimme. Perhaps it is time to invest into a young guy we know (Tage contract as an example) versus creating space for guys you referenced as an opportunity to develop (Östlund, Rosen, perhaps Kulich). To me, JJP is player you invest in versus a player with talent that you move on from based on current value. But that’s just me.

Agree one million percent. GMKA should have been fired that night. With all the wonderful things about WNY for players (incredibly cheap high-end housing, the way players love it here once they’re here, the small size and low pressure of media relative to big markets, the quality of education for the children of the players in WNY, the proximity to Ontario, etc etc). BTW, the taxes thing isn’t relevant here. Buffalo is the 13th highest tax town in the NHL…so about the middle of the road. Palm trees and taxes was Kevyn waiving the white flag of his capability. Say what you want about the rationale of him holding the position (it was always weak), but that should have sealed his fate. From here, I’m stuck in the feels of the Succession quote of “I love you but you’re not serious people.” I know Buffalo is the youngest team in the league (again), but I truly believe any success with the team performance from here is by accident and GMKA is a hindrance to success. ::sigh::

As far as I'm concerned JJ is an avatar for the team: young, talented and more interested in the sizzle than the substance. The nonsense being stirred by his agent is proof of that. Far better to move Peterka now when his value is probably as high as it will ever be, then sign him to a long-term $8M deal and watch him go on to a Jeff Skinner-esque career. You aren't going to get what you need trading Östlund or Rosen, and the team is better served giving JJ's minutes to players that understand winning hockey. If you believe in Kulich or Benson, then this provides them an opportunity. Same goes for Quinn. I'm a little tired of people whining about the Sabres not taking any big swings then immediately shutting down any proposals other teams might actually bite on. This is where we have both value and the depth to overcome trading it for what we need. This is the right move.