dudacek

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.

I think most of us have reached the point where no piece on this team is untouchable. But WGR did an interesting exercise this morning about which Sabre would hurt the most to lose. With trade winds blowing, I thought it might be interesting to see which players fit that bill best for Sabrespace. Here’s the scenario: You have negotiated a deal with the Oilers for McDavid. As part of the deal, you have to give up one young roster player, and one non-roster asset. You are allowed to say that one Sabre from each category is off limits, then they get their pick of the rest. Under those circumstances, who do you protect?

He’s better than Skinner and has upside Jeff doesn’t have any more, but otherwise I think this is where I am. I could maybe live with it in the context of other moves, but he’s not the player I’d be focused on. Skinner and assets doesn’t make sense if we’re going to sign him to a deal that effectively makes him part of the core. That might change if we can sign him to a deal like the one Casey just signed and flip him in two years.

I'd rather spend my money in a different aisle, but if you're talking about "replacing Mittelstadt" as a skilled forward, he has a very similar profile. He's faster, a little bigger, of a similar talent level and the same age. Has mostly played wing, but is historically a centre and wants to play centre. He's probably not as diligent, but has very good possession numbers in an offensive deployment.

Article seems to be a deliberate Carolina plant pointing to 1 of 2 things: Making the Sabres think another team is offering a high pick and getting them to up their offer; Or, making another team think the Sabres are offering a high pick and getting that team to up their offer. Thing I like about it is that it either reflects, or is playing off a perception, that the Sabres are all in right now.

#11 for Necas? Yes or no, Sabrespace?

In a deeper article about the Canes, Lebrun says we have serious interest in Necas. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5594383/2024/06/26/nhl-rumblings-necas-guentzel-tanev-kane/ The hottest potato right now involves pending restricted free agent Martin Necas, who wants a change of scenery. The Canes have heard from nearly every single team in the NHL on him — I believe the Buffalo Sabres have very serious interest — but it’s getting to be crunch time if a trade is going to happen that involves a first-round pick Friday as part of the package. “Teams are calling. We’ve been working hard on it,” Tulsky said. “I would say that’s been one of my biggest focuses, trying to figure out where that’s going to go. We’ve had a lot of interest. We’ve had a few offers that I would consider very serious. “Whether or not any of them get across the line remains to be seen.” While Tulsky wouldn’t say, other league sources say that there is one team in particular that is pretty close with Carolina on the framework of a deal and that if that trade goes through, it would involve a first-round pick Friday night. So if that particular team decides to go ahead with Carolina, we will know within 48 hours here.