dudacek

Assuming the likelihood there was not a suitable trade available, what player would you have preferred him to take?

I'm a fan. He was my top choice @ 14 after we made the trade to the bottom of the tier. Works hard, plays a complete game, good character, good skill: he's a good pick where we got him, on a tier with Kulich, Savoie and Östlund, IMO, as a likely NHL second- or third-liner, with a skill set that will be more adaptable to the bottom 6 than any of those guys will. Upside is Saku Koivu. No issues whatsoever with the selection. Plenty of issues with the work done so far on improving next year's roster.

A most Sabres-y pick on a most Sabres-y day.

We’re standing on the sidewalk wondering what the hell is going on in there and then Amazon pulls up.

Do you think Adams spent much time on this at all this week? I would imagine he made this offer to Clague a while ago. Clague decided to take it now. Agents and office staff took care of the paperwork.

Marty and Duffer said yesterday his NMC means he will not be put on waivers

Thank god.

This. Even if it didn’t, it was the Avs pick and the chances of them being a bottom-11 team next year are pretty slim

That management wouldn’t have a plan based on contingencies, or that Adams wouldn’t?

I think it’s pretty clear the plan is to wait and work until the last minute to see if they can work out a trade scenario palatable to all parties. I think it’s also slightly possible they may decide to keep Skinner in certain scenarios where other plans fall through. And there is also the slim possibility they are bluffing in an attempt to get Jeff to waive.

With two 2nds better than that one, they better have similar targets targets lined up to use them on. That’s the kind of deal I’ve been expecting them to make.

It's all about the name.

Oh, for sure, still tons of ammo there. I’m just saying I think this makes it unlikely #11 was a key cog in any deal. 20 years ago we were giving up 2 2nds for Jochen Hecht. I’d be very happy with a deal like that. Add a Savoie to 2 2nds and that’s more than enough for a good top 6 player.

Most of what I’ve seen has him going in the middle of the round, so maybe a little high, but not out of line.

They wouldn’t have made this deal if they were close to doing what we wanted: leveraging #11 into a good player. To my mind it dims the hope for the type of trade we all want.

Good call, or it gives them a shot at one of the 6 D, which their pipeline clearly needs. For the Sabres, makes sense if: a) the guy they liked at 11 was going to be a “reach” (like Nygard) b) if they needed a 2nd for another deal c) if the sweet spot for a player they want (like Necas) is lower than 11 d) if they have a tier where their 11-14 guys are very close. From what I’ve seen, at worst, one of Helenius, Yakemchuk, Catton, and Eiserman will be there at 14.

Like most moves the “why” matters. Right now this is neither good, nor bad, on its own. Value is fine. What does this set up? Anything? Getting an extra prospect means nothing to me.

Maybe we really do want to draft Jett Luchanko?

So the buyout leak is out there as an attempt to leverage Jeff into being more flexible as to where he will waive?

My impression was always that the Sabres were very divided on Östlund and Kulich, and that Kulich was literally the next player on their list. The fact that they made the call between the two that morning is interesting.

Is the premise of this post that Europeans don't supply grit and we should be concerned about players' birth certificates?

Luchanko is a likable player, but that just seems like overthinking things based on perceived needs. Not picking Buium in that particular scenario would be shocking to me. Not only to my personal perception of the players, but also to my perception of how the Sabres draft.

The fans were fully bought in during the spring of ‘23. It was that summer when they started to doubt when they ignored the goalie question, didn’t fill for Quinn’s injury and only brought in depth guys on D. I’d say only the goalie decision had anything to do with blocking. But I agree with your 2nd paragraph entirely. 23.5M.

Do people think Adams was ever planning to implement a “no blocking” philosophy in perpetuity? It was put in place primarily to ensure Thompson, Cozens, Mittelstadt, Asplund, Dahlin, Samuelsson and Jokiharju would get hard minutes in 21/22 for development purposes. Then to give Krebs, Peterka, Quinn, Power and the goalies an open path in more typical rookie roles for the same reason the following year. Benson and Johnson weren’t on the team last year because of “no-blocking”, they were there because Olofsson and Eric Johnson fell on their faces.

Not sure how he fits into their cap, but in terms of roster fit, Necas makes more sense for the Devils than the Sabres. Tulsky floating the Sabres as interested in order to get Jersey to cough up 10 makes sense. (As does floating NJ, I guess, assuming the Sabres have already offered 11 and Carolina is trying for an add 🤷) I just hope our attention and assets are actually being dangled for a better fit.