dudacek

I'm also once again reminded of how tight the Sabres seem to be in terms of gossip. There were no reports from the usual sources they were talking and the only place this came up in the rumour mill was on those stories that listed all the former GMs that were out there. The biggest buzz I heard about this move was on here when somebody pointed out a while back that Jarmo was following the Sabres, the Jackets and no other NHL teams on Twitter.

I think this makes sense, and its why Jarmo took the job; there's opportunity for career advancement elsewhere if the team improves, and here if it improves or falters. It may even be something that's been openly acknowledged, but even if it's not, it's definitely in the backs of people's minds.

I'm not really going to put too much emphasis on JK's track record as a GM right now; he's not here to steer things, or initiate them. His role right now is to say "have you thought of this?", "why are we doing that?", "let me talk to ?, he knows..." and "Did you know..."

I don't know that it's about perception, so much as it's about knowledge. This challenges two of the biggest concerns about the front office construction: that it is full of rookies and that it is an echo chamber Dude has been around forever, knows everybody and done it all.

This was important from my perspective. I wasn't certain this was actually happening, but if it was ti needed to happen soon because the important season for GMs is now.

Well, holy *****. Most obvious choice was most obvious choice. (I mean, even I don't follow the Sabres on Twitter 😜)

I think the Sabres are facing three contract issues: Byram wants a bigger role Peterka wants to get paid Tuch wants to know things are going to get better. Management needs to navigate each of those situations while making the team better. Aren’t you glad Kevyn is in charge.

Listening to the actual pod was … interesting? Seravalli danced so much about Peterka: said it was “probably fair’ that any trade talk was initiated by the player, but refused to say he wants out; called it a “classic change of scenery moment” but refused to say why a change of scenery was necessary, instead dancing to “a lot of players on the Sabres roster, well more than a 1/4, aren’t necessarily thrilled about the way things have gone and I don’t know if it’s entirely fair to put (Peterka) in that category, but there is enough sort of rumblings”; Moves on to this is a player who is also going to need “a massive new contract” and if you don’t sign him or trade by July 1, then he’s fodder for an offer sheet; but then said there “has to be some trepidation” from the Sabres. He didn’t say anything about Tuch, Samuelsson or Power being unhappy; he said Kevyn Adams has already let GMs know he wants to shake things up, then brought up those names and saying “are we going to see some of those supposed foundational core players moved?” Then “what if you have to trade him (Peterka)? You can’t put a gun to his head and make him put pen to paper.” Cohost: “You mean he might sit out?” Frank: “no I’m not saying that at all, I’m just spitballing here.” It felt like an utter load of half-truths and speculation calculated by an agent to manipulate the Sabres into offering the moon, or create a market where another team will step up and offer to do the same.

I tell you, Leone sure sounds like a guy I want coaching my team: The way he talks, what he knows off the top of his head, the things he believes in. Impressive.

Karmanos addressed the strength and grit factor by talking about how Sam Bennett couldn’t do a pull-up and doesn’t play for the team that drafted him ”If people think it’s going to be easy to detect who is going to be a tough and physical player at the age of 17 at the NHL level, they haven’t been too involved in the NHL draft. We try.” ”Sometimes in the draft, you’re just trying to identify NHL players. The success rates will tell you that’s what you should focus on and not focus on player types, especially when it takes so long to develop them.” Draft talk starts just after the 25 minute mark.

We haven’t chewed on the goalie question much; I think most people are uncomfortable with a Levi/Luukkonen combo, but expect that is exactly what they will do. However, Jason Karmanos gave us a hint that may not be written in stone when he made a point of saying how Devon Levi can be stashed safely in Rochester without having to clear waivers In his year-end Amerks presser, he (paraphrasing) said Levi starting next season in Rochester “is going to depend on what options are available to the Sabres.” I read that to mean Levi in Buffalo may not be Plan A, and they are at least considering adding a goalie. What does Sabrespace think should be the plan in net?

I’ve yet to watch most of this, but Karmanos responds to an early question about the Amerks by saying “there’s a lot going on in Buffalo” with implication being that there are things in motion aimed at pushing the Sabres into the playoffs that could have significant implications on the Amerks. He sounds like a guy very much involved in whatever the Sabres are cooking and that there is an expectation that changes to the NHL roster will happen.

I didn't watch a ton of Kreider this year and I don't know why his numbers fell off so badly, so it's really hard for me to put a value on him. You're really relying on your pro scouts. Let's just say the trade is Peterka for Schneider+. Does making Kreider the + improve the deal for Buffalo, or make it worse? I suspect there will be a split of opinions on that one. And once you decide the difference, how do you compensate for it in terms of both talent and cap space. I'm going to toss this one out there as food for thought without actually endorsing it: Kreider and Schneider for Peterka and Clifton. Adding Clifton frees up a roster spot and $3M under the cap for Buffalo for another upgrade on D. Clearly, this trade is based on 3 gambles: that Kreider can bounce back and provide some of the edge, netfront play, size and veteran presence the Sabres need; that Peterka is not going to make the jump to an 80-point player; and that Schneider is exactly the piece the Sabres are missing on the blueline. Those are a lot of gambles. Last summer, Schnieder and Kreider for Peterka would have been considered a steal for Buffalo. A lot can change in one year.

I’m not advocating this, but I suspect the Sabres might be willing to take on Kreider. A big, veteran leader with PP skills and some edge to his game, who gets to the net and scores dirty goals. The contract, age and the season he just had make him a big risk and I worry our management will overpay. But as a cap dump in a deal that nets us better assets, I might consider the risk. The Rangers are one of the few teams with cap issues, and Im curious how desperate they are to dump him.

Is it fair to say Rossi today is pretty much what we hope Konsta Helenius will be in 4 or 5 years? A little more solidly built, but similar game and skillset?

I would be surprised if the information is not coming directly from Peterka’s agent, who has a reputation as a negotiator who likes to keep GMs off balance. You’ll notice there was very little substance there about how and why things got often the rails, only that they have. Whether Peterka actually wants to leave, or he’s just chumming the waters, only he and Peterka know. Most of us remember well how Skinner’s agent played Terry into overpaying Skinner.

It was explicitly reported that Reinhart said he was willing at one point, certainly when he signed his 2nd contract after three years, but no longer willing after 6 years, when he was traded. It was never made clear that I saw where his head was after years 4 and 5. It was implied that Botterill was not willing after three or four years because he generally was not a fan of long-term deals. It was also implied that Adams was not willing after year 5, because of Terry’s EEE policies tied to COVID. I don’t know if either management position was ever explicitly confirmed.

Rossi has 101 points in 185 games, Quinn has 97 in 178. Not sure you can get much closer 🤷

This should not be construed as any kind of defence of Pegula, but there is nothing weird about an NHL owner not being in regular communication with the media. How many of the 32 NHL owners have done media in the past few years? Id say the majority talk in public - as in take questions - when they buy the team, fire or hire somebody to run the franchise, or need money or political favours for an arena or something. Most of them hire somebody to take care of that ***** for them otherwise. Pegula uses Guelli and Adams, his two senior people. Be honest, if you could you would probably avoid speaking to Harrington for five years too.

I’m not convinced Rossi is better than Quinn. He certainly was last year, but that was the first time you could say that since they turned pro. Quinn has better tools and their career stats are virtually identical.

I'm not sure what value Samuelsson has, but I suspect there's some. It's a little like a lower case Cozens; two years of poor play deflated his value, but didn't completely wipe out the impression he made earlier in his NHL career and before it. He's a 6'4" 230-pound D-man who just turned 25; there will be GMs who see that and blame his troubles on an element of Buffalo stink. Also people tend to overrate the burden of his contract. The average NHL salary this coming year is $4.1M, two years from now, it will be nearly $5M I'm not saying 5 more years in what should be his prime at a rate slightly below average doesnt represent an overpay, but it's not an utter boat anchor.

I watched Zito make the offer and Adams accept it. It was a terrible trade. No need to embellish.

i understand the knee-jerk reaction of "we can't trade more good players away," I just don't agree. Look, I don't dislike JJ; I think he's a talented kid and may have another gear. I don't want to trade him, but I do want to get better. And I think he's almost an avatar for the roster as a whole right now: highly-skilled, but too young, too offence-first, and not willing enough to consistently pay the price. Byram's kinda the same. I think @inkman is on the right track here: this should be viewed as opportunity to change the identity of the team, switch out some of what the Sabres have too much of and replace it with elements they are lacking. You're not going to fix the team by moves on the margins: you have to give to get. Peterka can net a real hockey player. Byram can net a real hockey player. Pick number 9 could do the same. It's too bad we've lost all faith in management's ability to identify those players and acquire them.

I think there actually will be big news with moves over the next 6 weeks, and new faces coming in on and off the ice. I don’t know that any will be greeted as good news, because we’ve been well-conditioned to be skeptical of whatever they decide to do. I think we’re probably waiting until Adams gets fired in November or December after yet another weak start before we actually get some news that makes us happy. And that will last until we get to the part of the Tweet that reveals Jerry Forton will guide the team on an interim basis while Terry undergoes an exhaustive search to select the permanent guy.