nfreeman

Interesting. Parting with Krebs would be further evidence of desperation on KA’s part IMHO.

I agree that Power is a valuable asset. I would trade him and #11 for Tkachuk in a heartbeat. I think there is very close to zero possibility of this happening though.

What is the point of this post? Did you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed and feel like insulting someone who adds a lot to this board and is always friendly and respectful?

I too think having Quinn and Muel each playing 70+ games would help quite a bit. But each has a substantial enough injury history that it doesn’t seem very likely.

The Sabres are dying for a guy like Drury. And I've heard it opined by credible sources that when the captain/best player is also a demanding AH, it can be extremely effective in getting the most out of his team. Maybe Dahlin can become that guy, although I think they need it from Tage, Tuch and/or Cozens. He was a fantastic playoff player, albeit a very hateable opponent. Briere was also fantastic in the playoffs.

I don't disagree, but how do we know that they didn't try?

Both of these are obnoxious. Do not communicate like this here. I don't think Florida will trade Bennett -- he's a core piece for them. But if they did, the price would be much, much higher than this -- i.e. one of the Sabres' top forward prospects plus a decent player. Something like Kulich plus Joki or Östlund plus Ryan Johnson. Your broader point -- that Byram isn't a dominant defenseman -- is fair, but the bolded is #hammymath. It's true but misleading. In his first 2 seasons -- i.e. his age 19 and 20 seasons -- he played a total of 49 games and averaged under 20 min per game. In his next 2 seasons, he was at 21:53 and 20:24 per game.

Hay fever season!

Just so everyone is clear: you're not getting Tkachuk without giving up Power or Quinn plus one of #11, Savoie, Kulich, Rosen or Östlund. And I would make that deal in a heartbeat. @thewookie1 is of course free to propose Rosen and a #2 (the pick, not the other #2, I think), but that isn't getting you anywhere except getting hung up on.

I never knew about this trade. Pretty interesting -- after their 1st season in the NHL, they traded a goalie for 2 guys who became mainstays.

I thought Waddell pooped the bed in Atlanta and with the US team as well. Still, the Canes have undeniably been a high-end NHL franchise on his watch: I gotta figure that he had plenty to do with that success. I will be pretty happy if the Sabres add a guy with that track record to their FO.

https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/fa2dc3fe-7608-4f87-89dc-9a3de8eeccba/gif

JFC. You claim not to be bitter/obsessed about the Mitts trade, but half of your posts are long rants about that trade! Not wanting to give Mitts a long-term deal doesn't mean KA is opposed to long-term deals. It just means he didn't think Mitts was worth what it would've cost to keep him. Indeed -- it's only a "stated goal" if it was stated. And the fact that KA has given a number of guys long-term deals seems to indicate that he's not opposed to doing so. No. Tallinder/Lydman were the top pair and were generally together.

I didn't see much of the Canucks this year -- can you give me the sales pitch as to why he'd be a good signing? He's got good size and seems to play the kind of crash-bang game the Sabres need in their bottom 6 -- but as I posted elsewhere, I'm a bit concerned about getting too excited about a guy who is 28 and only has 2 seasons as a full-time NHL player.

Speaking only for myself, I'd say the Sabres are not currently built to be a cup contender, but had a good enough roster to make the playoffs this season -- i.e. they should've beaten out the Isles or the Caps -- and failed to do so because of coaching.

I think the most likely outcome is that Lindy will try to get the most out of Skinner -- which probably means putting him back with TT and Tuch. Certainly it's quite possible that it doesn't work to Lindy's satisfaction and that Skinner moves down the lineup -- maybe to an offensively-oriented 3rd line that benefits from plenty of O-zone starts like Vanek-Roy-Max back in the day. If that happens, I wouldn't be surprised if Greenway moved up to the top 6. So maybe: JJP-TT-Tuch Greenway-Cozens-Quinn Skinner-XXX-Benson XXX-Krebs-XXX

McKee was one of my all-time favorite Sabres. What a terrible mistake by the too-clever-by-half Larry Quinn to decide that McKee wasn't worth what an extension would've cost. That team lost too much heart when McKee and Grier left in the summer of 2006.

What a great story that was. Thanks.

This is obnoxious. Do not communicate like this here.

Well, the 4 seasons ending in 20-21 included 2 seasons below .400, which is the mendoza line that was cited in dudacek's original theory, one at .463 and one at .493. That is a pretty pathetic 4-season run -- at the end of which their best player demanded a trade (and I'm not sure why you think we could've kept him at that point -- it's pretty clear that he was done playing here at that point). And the best player coming back in that trade, Tuch, missed 32 games in his first season for the Sabres, 21-22. So, again, the 50 games was not a non-indicative small sample size but rather was entirely reflective of how atrocious the state of the team was when we arrived at the summer of 2021, as well as the beginning of the 2021-22 season. Now this is a fair criticism.

First bolded: I don't think this supports your point. Yes, Eichel missed most of the season, which certainly contributed to that being a .330 team. He also played 0 games for the Sabres the following season, which increased the magnitude of the required rebuild. This is @dudacek's point -- i.e. the Sabres had an enormous mountain to climb -- a mountain that historically the vast majority of NHL teams have failed to climb in the period you are insisting KA climb it in. Second/Third bolded -- do you or do you not count 2020-21 against Adams? You seem to be taking both sides here. In any case, I think Krueger had at least as much say as KA that season, so I'm inclined not to really count KA's tenure until the summer of 2001. I appreciate that YMMV.

OK -- how about these: - Sabres trade Jiri Kulich and Ryan Johnson (or Matt Savoie and #11, or some other combination of those 4 assets) to FLA for Sam Bennett -- contingent on Bennett signing an extension for 6 years @ $7MM per year. It's too much money and too much term for Bennett, who turns 28 in June, but he's not coming to Buffalo without getting that type of contract. - Sabres trade Jiri Kulich and a 2024 2nd-rounder to Vegas for Nicolas Roy. Vegas is close to capped out. Roy is a 6'4", 202-lb C who is a 35- to 40-pt guy, turned 27 in February and makes $3MM per year. - Sabres trade a 2024 2nd-rounder to the Islanders for Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri, a 5'11", 198-lb RW who had 54 pts this season, will be 34 in February and has one more year on his contract at $5MM -- and the Isles are capped out.

Interesting. I'm kinda skeptical that they'll trade any D prospects though, and that they'll trade Johnson in particular. I doubt they will trade a D prospect because Johnson is the one who would fetch the best return, and even then I don't think the return would be sufficient. Also, I think KA had to make a pretty compelling sale to Johnson, who was only weeks away from being a UFA. I don't think it would look good to trade him one year later. IMHO if they trade a prospect, it will be one of the forwards -- probably Kulich or Savoie, as those are the 2 that I'd guess will return the most value in trade. I agree -- I think the most likely outcome is that Johnson is #8 after camp, with Bryson #7, and that Johnson spends most of the year playing in Rochester, which is what he should be doing unless there are a few injuries on D in Buffalo.

What a lovely turn this thread has taken. Let's get back to discussing the Bills, please.

OK, but they needed more than 27 to beat KC in the playoffs this year, and probably would’ve needed more than that if the Bills had scored a touchdown with two minutes left like they were trying to do. Your facts are certainly correct, and relevant, but I think the larger point I was making is also correct – the bills are going to need to outscore KC in the playoffs, and in order to do so it would be nice to have true weapons at wide receiver.