dudacek

Yes. I don't think Mitts for Byram is that — Byram is a Stanley Cup winning top 4 NHL defenceman with upside, not a prospect and a pick. Okposo played here for 8 years and was the captain, so he's not just any player. And Johnson is simply done. Trading him to the highest bidder is GM 101. But it certainly happened with Ullmark and Reinhart and O'Reilly, so the parallels are easy to draw and the track record is impossible to ignore. Nothing screams winning culture like winning.

Saw that one coming. RJ needed to be on the clear-day roster so he can help Roch on a playoff run and Tyson was the most logical call-up to fill in for the trades. I think Ryan is more likely to upset over missing the prayer meetings than the parties, but to each his own I guess.

It's what I would have done and thought was the plan looking at all the very talented, but probably not elite pieces we had up front. The reason I'm not dismissing the trade is because, in theory, having three 1st-pairing defencemen is also path that could work.

Watching the forwards last night without Mitts and Tage got me thinking about how bad it's going to look subbing guys like Rousek and Jost in for guys who can hold their own against NHLers like Kyle and Gus. Might get ugly. I doubt there were many contenders who wouldn't be interested in a 220-pound leader with 12 goals and experience on both special teams. It's the epitome of the kind of depth guy that gets traded at the deadline. He was sent to the team he wanted to go to and feels gives him the best shot at winning a cup before he retires. Doesn't hurt that his short time there will be spent in nice weather, hanging out with his good buddy Sam. This had nothing to do with shopping for the best return. Kyle called his shot and Adams got what he could. This was a reward.

It's their biggest issue this year. Not the hoary Sabrespace cliches of "grit" and "defence" Last year Tuch/Thompson/Skinner was one of the best lines in hockey. This year, they're a decent NHL 2nd line. I've maintained that for the current build to work it needs Power, Dahlin and now Byram to provide elite play-driving from the back end. But Thompson still has to be a game-breaker up front — not necessarily elite, but 40-goal dangerous. EDIT: when the ***** will I remember it's Byram, not Byrum.

I think it will be Jokiharju not Johnson. But either way, I agree. We make a big deal about their youth — and it's relevant — but Henri and Ras are now vets by games played and Clifton by age. Power will be in his 3rd season and Byram and Samuelsson their fourth. There's good size, elite skating, good compete and well above-average puck skills. Hopefully the experience factor clicks.

The Panthers wanted to send a contract out to balance the one coming in and he's the most disposable player they have under contract. He's Jonathan Parker or Riley Boychuk.

Pure favour to the captain: Adams moved him to a place where he wanted to go. Sjalin is not a real prospect and will never play in Buffalo.

You're really taking the loss of Mitts hard aren't you? I will say that last night certainly did nothing to prove you wrong.

I don't know, I see Quinn carrying the puck, creating open ice for his mates and dishing it off to Cozens and Peterka all the time. He had 35 assists in 45 games as an AHL rookie and has an assist every 3 games as a young NHLer. I think he can be a 40-assist guy in the NHL. Benson shows similar traits in terms of creating space and finding teammates. He had 62 assists in 60 games as a 17-year-old. Who knows how that eventually translates at an NHL level, but it's in their games.

Prior to the deadline I absolutely wanted: A 2-way match-up forward who can be trusted against good players in tough situations A big-body forward who gets to the net An agitating forward who can forecheck A legitimate top 4 defenceman A new backup goalie Like his profile or not, Byram crossed the D-man off the list, but losing Mittelstadt means at least one of the forwards should be of 2nd-line calibre. At least one of the skaters should have an intimidation factor, at least one needs to be a respected leader, and all 3 need to be competitive. The three new forwards will be replacing Okposo, Girgensons and Mittelstadt on the everyday roster. Olofsson's replacement as the offensive spare forward comes from the prospect pool. The defensive spare forward should be a meaner Robinson. I think the 8 guys we have on the blueline right now are coming back. I'd flip one for a similar level player who adds more edge if I could. I'm going to count on the increased offence coming from in-house: a mix of Tuch, Thompson, Quinn, Peterka, Cozens and Benson. A key part of that should come from a complete revamp of the power play. I need someone to draw attention from Dahlin and Thompson and/or take advantage of the attention they get. I'm intrigued by Byram and I'm looking hard at Jack Quinn, who was deadly on the PP as an Amerk. Skinner is off my PP1.

Bowen Byram makes a little more than Casey Mittelstadt but is also one year further away from getting a raise. I think Adams was reluctant to commit long-term to 3 $7M centres (many Sabrespacers felt the same way) but whether that's about managing to the real cap, or an artificial cap, it's open to speculation. Byram creates a similar question on D. Sabres are about $6M under this years cap. They are $21M under next years cap with 10 roster holes to fill. Okposo, Girgensons, UPL, Jokiharju and Krebs are the most prominent players needing to be replaced or re-signed The following year they are a projected $36M under, with Greenway, Peterka, Quinn, Byram, Johnson and Levi the most prominent free agents.

Some more on Byram from the Athletic: Byram’s on-ice results have never really been stellar aside from that one playoff run, but that’s partially due to injury troubles and having to play with basically everyone but Nathan MacKinnon’s line in Colorado. The team’s depth has taken a serious hit since its Stanley Cup win in 2022 and that limits Byram’s teammate quality given Cale Makar spends so much time with MacKinnon. In previous years he looked like a serious driver when it comes to individual possession-driving and it shows in Corey Sznajder’s tracked data. Just last year Byram had the profile of a future star in the right situation: someone who can move the puck well in the defensive zone, defend his own blue line, rush up ice and create a serious amount of chances in the offensive zone. There may be other stuff he doesn’t do well that hampered his on-ice results, but skill-wise it looked like Byram had it. His puck efficiency was tremendous across the board. That’s all changed this year; none of those facets have been true and he’s been below average in every regard except rushing up ice. It’s been a night-and-day change, one that speaks to a need for a change of scenery where he can show more in a top-four role. Byram wasn’t getting that in Colorado, but he should get more opportunity in Buffalo — even with Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power around on the left side. This deal may not look perfectly fair at the moment, but everything hinges on what Byram can become. The talent and opportunity are there for him to make this a win for the Sabres. Can he take advantage of it? https://theathletic.com/5321783/2024/03/07/16-stats-mittelstadt-byram-colton-parayko-islanders/

The price for Mitts level player is generally a mid- to late-1st and an equivalent prospect. You'd never get 4th overall for that package. So the pertinent question is why has Byram's stock dropped, and is it justified. If you ignore handedness and go by contract and skillset, its a no-brainer that Henri gets moved now. But the handedness thing just makes it weird. (As an aside, Henri's play this year is the most under-discussed Sabres positive) I can see a world where Ras is RD1 and Henri and Cliffy are 5 and 6 by ice time, but one of them is on the RD2 in terms of the lineup card Most pissed-off guy on the team has to be Ryan Johnson. (As an aside, if you're honest with yourself, Bryson has outplayed him since he's been called up) Chucking him out there with Ras is so on-brand for Buffalo. I've said it before, in his 3rd pro season Mittelstadt was putting up 22 points while going in and out of the lineup. Krebs has an interesting opportunity here.

Thought people might be interested in Byram's Elite Prospects scouting report from his draft year: https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/326522/bowen-byram An exceptionally gifted defenceman who knows his strengths and plays by them. He possesses elite skating ability and is at his best when playing high energy, up-tempo hockey. He handles the puck well and is able to keep control of it under pressure. He makes calculated decisions that consistently shift momentum in his team's favor. His creativity in the offensive zone speaks to his confidence in his ability to be a game-changer. Defensively astute, he actively takes away lanes and limits options for the oncoming opposition. All-in-all, Bowen Byram is a workhorse who understands how to take advantage of turnovers and shift the pace of play in his favor in all three zones. (Curtis Joe, EP 2019 He’s an excellent skater, with good balance, explosiveness and a high-end top-gear., EPrinkside.com 2019 Byram does a good job of holding the blue line, and he uses an active stick to interrupt passing lanes and disrupt oncoming puck-carriers, EPrinkside.com 2019 The best aspect of his hockey-sense is his ability to rapidly process the play. This extends to all three-zones, Hockeyprospect.com 2019 Possessing excellent vision, creativity and awareness, he’s a highly-precise passer, Future Considerations 2019 He is a near elite passer from the blueline, just as comfortable with a short pass as with a stretch pass, or flip pass, McKeen's Hockey 2019 And from the Athletic: https://theathletic.com/947751/2019/05/06/wheeler-final-ranking-for-the-2019-nhl-drafts-top-100-prospects/ 5. Bowen Byram — LHD, Vancouver Giants, 6-foot-0 I’ve already broken down Byram’s game as the best defenceman in the draft and a frontrunner for third overall in considerably more detail but the short of it is that while there is still work to be done on his defensive play, particularly with his effort and his spacial awareness within defensive zone schemes, Byram is one of the better goal scoring defencemen the NHL draft has seen in recent memory. Furthermore, he is an excellent three-zone passer and a strong skater who can recover from mistakes made pushing the play into the high slot if the puck goes back the other way. And he just keeps getting better, and better and better. The Byram of the last half of the season and into the playoffs was one of the best players in junior hockey.

If it works the way it's envisioned you're going to see Byram used largely like you see Power used. I know it's pretty much vanished around the league, but I think you may see the Sabres bringing back a PP with 2 real blueliners on it. I think this is the most realistic reaction for this exact moment in time. The Avs made this deal work for them by dumping Johanssen and adding Walker. I'm not sure about the D — I kinda think we are going to run with our top 4 in ice time all being LH next year — but removing Casey certainly opens space under the cap and on the roster for a more robust, hard-nosed middle-six forward. Definitely disagree with the bolded. Casey may have an outlier season in him, but as a 25-year-old centre with more than 300 games, I think what we've seen the past 2 years is basically what we're going to get with Casey. As a 22-year-old D with 140 games played, Byram definitely has a lot more runway. First comparable that popped in to my mind is Morgan Reilly, who's not dissimilar in pedigree. Byram has 63 points in his first 143 NHL games, Reilly had 59 in his first 154. Noah Hanifin had 54 in his first 160. Miro Heiskanen 68 in 150. Byram's no Quinn Hughes, but he's got plenty of room to grow. This is a realistic worst-case scenario. It's pretty damn hard to predict when a talented young player will cement himself as simply a very good player. Byram hasn't done that yet. That said, Byrum for Eric Johnson should improve the defence corps. Your answer is more likely to come from how the other pieces fit as referenced in my reply to @rickshaw: how Adams replaces Casey and the other players that move on from this .500 team. These things don't happen in a vacuum. I don't think the issues with this year's Sabres are mostly about talent. Maybe a team doesn't have to be built in the mould of 1999 Devils. Maybe it's OK having a really talented attacking defenceman on the ice at all times? it never hurt the '70s Habs. Maybe all that matters is your guy being better than the other guy and the 'how' doesn't matter? Because even though I like the player, he certainly isn't the profile I would have targeted. I think this trade should obliterate the narrative that Adams doesn't have the balls to trade away pieces from the happy-to-be-here group, or the one that he's unwilling to take a risk. I also wondering why we haven't heard much celebration from the 'wake up the pampered country club' crowd. In my view Adams couldn't have fired a clearer shot across that bow than trading your leading scorer, hugely popular dressing room figure and party house host. I don't believe this will happen, but it's just as legitimate a worry as Byram going full Ryan Murray.

Guy this affects the most off the hop is Peyton Krebs, who should be the 3C for the remainder of the year, and with the likely moves of Girgs and Okposo moves from 10-11 on the depth chart to more like a 7-8 slot. Looks like that really was a test drive they gave him a week or so back.

Going to miss Casey. I really respect the way he has overcome adversity and have enjoyed watching him play. I also think he is going to be missed in the room. This trade gives the Avs a better chance at winning the cup this year and I don't blame them for making it. Can Sabrespace handle yet another good centre traded to the eventual cup winner? That said, I'm left with the impression Adams stood his ground in his evaluation and made the Avs pay a price they didn't really want to pay. Hope this is one of those deals where both teams benefit. *** Unrelated, I was not at all expecting a major deal involving core pieces. Glad to see it happen and glad to see some life injected into the board. I have some reading to catch up on.

Not really buying the idea here that this is a "futures" trade. Byram can and should be playing on the Sabres 2nd pairing now and for the immediate future. In a perfect world (<--please note) he is the mercurial Guy Lapointe to Power's refined Serge Savard. I expect bumps, but this is a 146-game NHL vet who has played heavy minutes in the Stanley Cup final, not an 18-year-old 17th overall pick. He'll play now and he will contribute. Pretty much every one of you wanted the Sabres to turn one of their skilled forwards into a top 4 D. That is exactly what this trade is attempting to do. it's just not the skilled forward you wanted to trade, or the type of top 4 D you envisioned. I don't disagree with the "yeah, but we don't really need a left-handed skill guy." But Adams clearly said ***** the fit, I want the skill. We'll see what happens.

Don't love it or hate it. A hockey trade, and a boom or bust kinda deal. I think you know what you get with Casey: good 2nd-line centre just entering his prime who competes and excels 5-on-5. But I'm a little surprised at the lack of knowledge on Byram: kid was the highest-ranked D in the 2019 draft and looked like a stud on the 2nd pair of a cup-winner as a 20-year-old just 2 years ago. He hasn't been at that level since and he has been injured, but this is a guy who still has the upside to be a 1st-pairing defenceman. I tell you one thing, if you had proposed this trade 2 years ago Colorado fans would have locked the thread and laughed you off the internet. Trading for Byram at this point of his career is like trading for Cozens at this point of his career: you know he's got more than he's shown this year, and not just because he's young, but because you've seen it. The question is how much more? Trading for Casey is like trading for Alex Tuch this time last year: you love what he's doing right now, but also know his value has never been higher. In my view Casey is clearly the better player at this moment in time, Byram clearly has more upside. Sell high, buy low is generally the law of good management, but that only works if you're good with your evaluations. This will be a very good test of our hockey department's skills at exactly that.

Adams is collecting Team Canada's lockout world junior team. Cozens and Krebs were that team's top forwards, Levi its starting goalie, Quinn a middle-sixer and Byrum its top defenceman and alternate captain.

It's pretty clear from this he expects to be playing his final games as a Sabre this week. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/okposo-after-practice-6348285564112 He's conducted himself with dignity and integrity through some extraordinarily trying times and represented the crossed swords with heart and class, both on and off the ice. Like this fan base, he's deserved better.

@Thorny Trying to be brief: If you're asking me if i still consider this season a failure if we miss the playoffs, the answer is yes. I expected to win this season. I'd say my post should be read in the context of the questions of "Is Adams' rebuild a failure? Should we set the reset button?"

The stretch run will have no impact on the likelihood of making the playoffs either way. It's not going to change Adams offseason plan either. Generally speaking, he's bringing back the kids, shopping to replace the UFAs and deciding what to do with his RFAs, picks and prospects based on possible returns. We might see a start to that this week. Granato is coming back unless the bottom really falls out down the stretch. He gets to start next season, but he wont survive a slow start. Only other thing that might change that is Brind'Amour wanting the job.

All spot-on, perfectly reasonable and really interesting to me in the context of the purge, draft and develop from the ground-up plan Adams sold to Pegula almost exactly 3 years ago. Year 1 the focus was on trading Eichel, playing the kids who wanted to be here and seeing what they had They went .394 in the first half and .452 in the 2nd and the vibes went way up Year 2 the focus was on skill development above all else, showing the kids they could produce in the best league in the world They went .483 in the first half and .533 in the 2nd and the goals for went way up Year 3 the focus was on learning how to prevent goals and playing with NHL consistency, discipline and structure They went .447 in the first half and (so far) .609 in the 2nd with the goals against taking a significant drop It's impossible to ignore the fact that it is reasonable to expect a rebuilding team to make the playoffs in the third year of its rebuild, especially when that team finished just 1 point out last year. But I also find it hard to ignore the fact that each year Granato was handed something particularly broken at the start of the year, asked to fix it, and then showed real, demonstrable evidence of doing so over the course of the year. Is it a shell game? Are these 2nd-half improvements proof of progress or just empty calories? Is this step-by-step process unnecessarily slow and painful when the focus should have been on winning immediately? Or is this what "building the right way" from within looks like? I just don't know.