dudacek

Believe it or not Kyle Okposo is in the sixth and penultimate season of a 7-year deal that will probably end up in GM textbooks as an illustration of how not to approach free agency. Okposo has the dubious distinction of having seen his stats drop in each and every year of a $42 million deal that pays him to be a top-six forward. He, along with Girgensons, are the only players on the roster who have played more than 200 games in blue and gold. Over the past few seasons he has redeemed himself in the eyes of many Sabres watchers by remaking himself into a useful bottom six forward (disregarding the contract) and one the team's more likable class acts. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=93992 Last season was an odd one for Kyle. He started off with 1 point his first 18 games. He then reeled off 10 points in an 11 game stretch after Granato took over — his best stretch ever in a Sabre uniform — until Matt Irwin decided he had seen enough. That surprising point run happened during a stretch where he was moved from his 4th-line grinder role to a spot in the top six, where he was playing 15 to 20 minutes a game. What do you expect from Okposo this season?

This only is a problem if the Sabres and Dahlin fail to show improvement over those two years. So, fair point.

So a handful of NHLers expressing issues with getting vaccinated today. Are we expecting the Sabres to have any issues?

Do you think that if we are patient some team will come around to paying more than what they have already offered for Eichel, without some change in Eichel's status in terms of health and reputation, or some movement in Adams ask?

Does your friend know first-hand the insurance will not cover Jack's preferred surgery? Does he know first-hand that a different policy cannot be negotiated?

Except it doesn't. Adams job is use the asset of Jack Eichel to make his team better. He has not done that. Jack is not helping the team by playing, he is not helping the team by providing assets in a trade. He's not helping the team by rehabilitating his health or his reputation. I don't understand why the default is that no deal is a success because Adams "hasn't caved." We have no idea what deals have been rejected or what avenues have not been pursued. You don't know what offers he has received. Trying doesn't matter. You asked what he could have done and he failed to build a better team. You don't know about the insurance situation, or whether there were ways around it. You don't know if it was "for nothing" And he could have taken him off the market.

I understand some of these things are contradictory, and I am not endorsing any of them, let alone all. Just throwing some possibilities out there to answer your question. Not quietly shopped Eichel last fall before the season started and instead patched up the relationship. Traded Jack last fall when he was healthy and his value was as high as it is going to be. Built a better team last winter in order to prevent the organizational frustration that has boiled over Not tried to deal an injured Eichel and instead made it clear he was not on the market until he got healthy again. Allowed Jack to get the surgery he wants Drawn a line in the sand by telling Jack that nothing was going to happen until he accepted the team-endorsed treatment, forcing his hand. Adjusted his trade criteria in order to better accommodate the needs of a partner (things like taking back salary, accepting 3 parts instead of 4, or making a hockey trade) Acknowledged that Jack isn't worth what he thought he was on the market and accepted a lesser return (which doesn't mean a bad return). Gotten creative by bringing in multiple teams (like the Duchene trade) Made the trade highly conditional based on performance-based criteria Obviously we don't know what he has or hasn't tried. I'm not comfortable with the generally accepted premise around here that Adams has done everything he can.

Don't people come here specifically to share opinions on the successes and failures of the Sabres? How is saying Adams needs to do better on the Eichel situation any different than saying Ralph Krueger needs to do better in the way he handles Jeff Skinner, or Risto needs to do better on getting the puck out our zone, or Kim Pegula needs to do better with the game day experience? I have not blamed Adams for the situation, but I think he has more agency here than you do.

Don't think there is anything here I disagree with. Definitely on board with the bolded. Eichel doing things that suggest he deserves the "bad guy" label doesn't change the fact that Adams hasn't been shy about pointing those things out.

I'm ecstatic he's here. It's his team now and he needs to be asserting himself on the ice and in the room from day one.

"We want players who want to be here." Over and over again. Players who bleed Sabre blue, players who wake up in the morning thinking about how they are going to make the Sabres better, "blinding light" players . The subtext is impossible to ignore.

Glad it's done. They paid too much for three years, I think. Best case scenario is he outplays it immediately and signs a long-term extension prior to the final year. And hooray! We're over the floor!

There is a slim possibility that a rejuvenated Cody Eakin might show up to camp and save his career. But going into camp with perhaps the worst player on the worst team in the league pencilled into the starting lineup would be a huge mistake that tells the room and the fans that management simply doesn't get it. If I was Don Granato, I would have made it crystal clear to Cody Eakin this summer that he in not among his top 12 up front and that if he wants to play he will have to make the tea in training camp.

If it wasn't clear, the "do better" was aimed at Adams, not at you.

He was injured in March and is no closer to being healthy, right? People think (thought?) he could be traded despite being injured, right?

No, leveraging the asset for fair market value is the correct play. I think a lot of you have missed the point of this (deliberately provocative) thread. A lot of people (me included) don't want Adams to take less than market value. But their satisfaction that he hasn't made a bad trade has blinded them to the fact that he has failed to make a good one, or apparently made any progress in removing the obstacles blocking it. Too many of you have chosen to adopt a side in this. It should not be about Jack getting his way, versus Adams staying strong. It should be about making the Buffalo Sabres better. To the bold, you didn't have Eichel on the team in the spring, you don't have him now, and there is a damn good chance you won't have him in a year. One of the best assets in the NHL is sitting on a shelf, not making the Buffalo Sabres better. Yes, when you are a Buffalo Sabres fan, not ***** things up (yet) is equivalent to handling things well. This is precisely my point. Adams may have been dealt a bad hand here. But he has failed to keep the team's relationship with its captain on track. He has failed to find a way to resolve Jack's injury situation. And he has failed to make a deal. And people are OK with these failures because Jack is a "prima donna," we haven't got "bent over," and "we weren't planning on winning this season any way." This is where @pi2000 would say "do better"

Is Dahlin part of Adams plan long-term? Is Buffalo part of Dahlin's plan long-term?

Whatever respect he deserves for not caving to a bad offer, is voided by his inability to find a way to make a deal happen. He seems to have left himself no escape hatch in order to rehabilitate Jack’s value. Medical compromise seems off the table. He hasn’t been able to make a creative deal involving conditionals or salary dumps materialize. And he’s boxed himself out of allowing Jack a dignified road back to the team by allowing things to get personal. Whatever breaks the logjam is going to come months after it could have, too late to help Granato and the kids execute this seasons plan. He’s done a good job of making Jack the bad guy, but in the process he’s allowed things to get to this point and he’s failed to execute his job: making the team better. Tell me I’m wrong.

This has got no discussion whatsoever. No rumours of where talks are. No angst. Nothing. Check in time arrives tomorrow. Dahlin needs to be here.

Since some are calling this a cost-cutting move, I wonder what the Sabres might be saving. Dont imagine cutting 200 hours of air time annually - that is subsidized by sponsors - would be a huge chunk of money. Dont imagine Peters and Rivet are making much either. Anyone have any idea?

I’m interested. What are the rules?

Kaprizov bent the Wild over. Leveraging one 50 point season into 45 million while only giving up 2 UFA years? I mean, the dude is good and it might be worth it, but I can’t recall anyone getting such a player-friendly contract with so little on his resume.

Very interested in seeing Bryson on that list. He’s 23 waiver-eligible and still on his first contract - just like Wiesbach, Murray, and Ruotsalainen - yet didn’t play in the rookie camp. The only reason I could see for that is that he’s considered a Sabre, like Cozens.

I would much rather see Cozens and Mittelstadt playing 25 minutes each a night at centre and Rasmus Dahlin moving up to play the other 10 on opening night than Eakin. MacInnis, Hayden, Girgensons, Asplund, Quinn, Okposo, Matt Ellis, Doug Allen…everyone and anyone else deserves a shot first.

I see Jack is (GASP!) listed on the training camp roster. And, get this, in the picture he's SMILING!