nfreeman

I am highly skeptical that KA could've gotten more for Mitts than Byram. Frankly, I'm pretty surprised he got that much.

Like most GMs, I think KA is more inclined to trade guys he inherited (like Mitts) than guys he chose -- but would they really reduce their limited supply of RHD? It's an interesting question. Now if they wanted to trade a RHD -- Power, Savoie and a #1 for Tkachuk? In any case I would love another big move, although I fear it won't matter until a new coach is brought in.

OK -- to be clear, not all the negative reactions are purely reflexive -- but many are. Speaking of data points -- that is a nice one! If Byram plays to his potential, it won't matter what Joki and Clifton do. KA will keep him, probably on a long-term deal.

My 2 cents: - I like the trade. I've never been a fan of Mitts', and although he's developed over the years from probable washout to decent NHL forward, I sure didn't want to give him $7MM x 7 years (or more), which is what I think an extension would've cost. The characterizations in this thread of Mitts as "our best forward" and "tough to play against" are insane IMHO. - Meanwhile, Byram, who turns 23 in June, has been averaging 20-22 minutes per game in the last 2 seasons for an elite NHL franchise. He's averaged 20 min per game in 27 playoff games. He's a great skater, he fights more than most of our D group and he can score a bit. - There is NFW that they trade Byram after 1 season. If he's good, they'll sign him to a long-term extension. - I understand the reflexive doubt for any move KA makes -- he's earned it with this atrocious season. But I think @pi2000 is right that this was a good and opportunistic move to sell MItts high and buy Byram low.

Because of the zillion games this season they came out clearly not ready to play an NHL game. That is an incontrovertible indicator of a team that is the opposite of focused, intense and determined. And that is partially on the roster but very much also on the coach. To be fair: I've read several articles about Lindy's firing that cite similar flaws with the Devils this season. 3rd bold: are you saying that Travis Green coached in Rochester? I think he coached in Utica, but not Rochester. 2nd bold: this is complete speculation and IMHO silly. Krueger was very much an alpha personality, as is Babcock, who they tried very hard to get. 1st bold: he'd want to come here because he wants to be an NHL head coach, and after getting fired 3 times and winning a total of 2 playoff series since 2007, he's pretty close to being out of options. The team has a lot of talent -- now maybe even in goal -- and Lindy knows that Buffalo can be a great place to play and coach. Also, he has 4 kids and wikipedia says his primary home is in Clarence. As for the money, I'd expect TP will pay more than he'd collect for not working. You want to right a wrong? You want Buffalo to love the Sabres again? Here is opportunity.

I'm certainly open to a different veteran coach with a successful track record, but I don't know which guy meeting that bill is available, willing to come here and better than Lindy. I am not OK with bringing back DG. Would you rather bring DG back, or make Lindy the HC?

It's quite a day indeed when I find myself enthusiastically endorsing a post generated by discount AI. But I would swap DG out for Lindy in a heartbeat. BTW: Lindy got the Devils to a franchise-record 112 pts last season and their first playoff advancement since 2012. Then he lost 2 of his top 4 D last summer and he lost his #1D (Dougie Hamilton) for the season on Dec. 1. His best player, Jack Hughes, has missed 16 out of 61 games with injury, they've only gotten 28 pts out of major acquisition Timo Meier, and they've gotten crappy goaltending all year. And they're 1 under DeLuca .500 with 21 games left. He can still bring it. In fact, I freaking guarantee that if the Sabres fire DG and bring him in, they will make the playoffs next year.

This right here is perfect. Interesting. I can see either possibility being true. I'm also not sure there was a guy out there in the $4MM to $6MM range who was willing to come here on a short-term deal and who would've made a difference.

This thread has turned into a microcosm of SabreSpace and I'm here for it baby. @dudacek with a scintillating, hope-restoring post. @Thorny with a series of passionate posts about not settling for being a bunch of losers, escalating to an alarming degree but ultimately not quite going off the cliff. @Hank with a fair and friendly but still kinda aggressive contribution. @Sabres Fan in NS with the kind-hearted generosity towards the team and the board. @Brawndo with the good info. @GASabresIUFAN with the good numbers. Even if the team lets us down again -- and I hope nobody here is really counting on them going 16-5 to close out the regular season and squeak in, although I know some are -- the board lives on gloriously.

Well, sure, but that seems extremely unlikely.

Not a damn thing IMHO. Once again they are a day late and a dollar short — and once again they are putting up empty numbers against opponents who are not bringing their A games in the 2nd half of the season against yet another crappy Sabres team. To be fair, I suppose we can infer that UPL might be a real NHL goalie. But I’m not going any further than that as far as making any determinations about the team as a whole. I still want a new coach and some new players.

We should’ve traded Mitts and Rosen for him when we had the chance. Can’t believe we let that one slip away.

Oooooooooohhh. I too have been very annoyed, multiple times, about that mapping feature on the Marriott website. It is freaking terrible. Separately: while I appreciate the feedback on the thread merging, locking, etc., I don’t think it’s quite the catastrophe it’s being painted as here. I hope everyone can appreciate that the mods donate their time on a volunteer basis and make moderation decisions in good faith. No one is seeking any personal gain here.

Here's a generalization with, IMHO, quite a bit of truth to it: this is exactly the kind of situation in which a Canadian NHL team -- mostly due to the much higher pressure facing Canadian teams relative to US teams -- frequently panics and trades a great player instead of patiently working out the issues. If this is real, it's an opportunity. I sure hope KA seizes it. I doubt he'd be happy about being traded to Buffalo, but the Sabres need to take steps and no move is without risk. If they bring him in and the team becomes a Cup contender, he'll probably be happy here. OTOH, if they don't bring him in, and they continue to stink, guys like Dahlin and Cozens are going to want out pretty soon and then we'll be starting rebuild #4.

There's a reason it seems cheap. There is zero possibility that Mitts is the best NHL player going to Van in a Pettersson trade. Now this is more realistic. Even so, I don't particularly want to pay a huge price for Pettersson and then make him one of the highest paid players in the NHL. He's a very good player, but he's not what the Sabres are dying for, which is leadership, toughness and determination (and good coaching). I'd much rather pay through the nose for Tkachuk. This. And TT has perhaps led the Sabres in their enormous and disappointing step back this season, with 33 pts in 48 games (56-pt pace) and generally comatose play, while Pettersson is on track for 101 pts as the Canucks lead the NHL standings. TT deserves $5MM less than EP.

This is closer to getting it done, but I think Ottawa would want Quinn or JJP instead of Kulich. In any case though I don't think the Sabres should give up Cozens -- I'd rather they give up Power or TT. I don't necessarily agree on Cozens being better as a wing, but I agree that they need to keep him and that I'd rather give up TT than Cozens. Also, if they give up TT and not Cozens, I think that reduces the rest of the price -- so maybe they could give up Kulich and not Quinn. TT, Kulich and 2024 #1 (top-3 protected).

OK. We can't have a conversation if you just ignore what I say. The Eichel trade, and the value Vegas gave up for him (and it sure seemed like they were the only serious bidder was not for "a 1C." It was for a 1C with a major injury and contract risk. Do you think if Eichel had been healthy, he would've yielded more in trade than what the Sabres got for him? Respectfully, there is zero possibility that Ottawa would accept this, or that anyone would give up anything remotely as good as Brady for this package. Yes, although I think the protections would have to be pretty limited (e.g. top 3 or something like that). I think Matthew Tkachuk was also 1 year away from UFA -- that was why Calgary traded him, since they had just lost Gaudreau for nothing in UFA, and Tkachuk said he wouldn't sign an extension there. Brady, OTOH, has 4 more years after this one to go on his contract. I think Ottawa will demand more than your suggestion. There is no way they will agree to Mitts being the best roster player coming back (and probably not Tuch either). I agree on the prospect and the 2024 #1 though.

Again, though, the ROR trade had the bonus deadline and JB incompetence as value-depressing factors, while Eichel had the injury risk, plus he wanted a type of operation that had never been performed on a major sport athlete before, plus he had $50MM left on his contract. It's not apples to apples. Tkachuk is a young, healthy borderline great player with size and intensity. They aren't trading that for less than a king's ransom.

Eichel's trade return was substantially discounted due to his injury, and ROR's was substantially discounted due to JB overplaying his hand and the $7.5MM bonus deadline. None of those factors is present here. You can stipulate that you're not trading more for Tkachuk than we got for Eichel, or that you're not trading Power for Tkachuk -- and you know what? That just means you're not getting Tkachuk. Frankly, I think the whole rumor is just NHL trade rumor BS, but if he is traded, it will be bloody expensive. And let's be clear: the Sabres are dying for guys like Tkachuk. They would survive just fine without TT or Quinn or Benson or Power.

Huh? I'm sure you know there is zero possibility that Ottawa would accept this offer. Now this is more likely, although the Sabres would need to sweeten the pot.

Boy, @... is really getting a comeuppance in this thread.

I’m still holding out hope for this summer. Yes — I think the spread between Tkachuk and Mitts is about the same as the spread between Malkin and Roy, and that the 2 proposed trades are equally delusional.

I generally agree with this post, except for the usage of "comeuppance".

It worked out pretty well for Vegas!

This is it in a nutshell. You're giving up the crown jewels if you want Brady, and it's at least 50/50 that the right move is to do so. I think you are right that Ottawa would want something like your proposal, and that no matter what the final price is, it would hurt. There is no way Ottawa does this with Cozens being the only legit NHL roster player coming back. It raises an interesting question as to whether I'd rather part with Cozens as opposed to, say, TT or Power or Quinn. Ottawa wouldn't do this in a million years. This is pretty close to Roy-for-Malkin redux. Separately: realistically, if the price didn't include Dahlin or TT, IMHO it would include at least 2 of: Cozens Quinn Tuch JJP Power PLUS one or 2 of Levi Mitts Benson Kulich Rosen Östlund 2024 #1 ...so it would hurt indeed. I think the Sabres lack heart and intensity, so I think I'd be OK paying a high price for Brady, but I'd prefer to keep the guys we have already who have those qualities, i.e. Cozens, Tuch and Dahlin. But I think I'd also rather see how the current group reacted to a real NHL coach before I made any major overhauls.