DarthEbriate

It all depends on McQueen and whether a team really likes a defenseman not named Schaefer.

The Kings bottomed out but they kept Kopitar. And Quick. The Sabres had ROR but never let him play a game with Dahlin. They had Eichel. And they jettisoned Miller way back when (granted, he alone probably keeps them out of the McDavid sweepstakes, but still) and Ullmark later. The Kings were smart about keeping top end players to show the way.

There are potential positives that he can bring. The main problem is that the role he's hired for is for players to learn the front office/hockey ops. It's an apprentice. He's there to learn from Adams. In Colorado, it's Andrew Cogliano (retired just last year) -- but Sakic and MacFarland are well-established and have loads of success. But that's a top team. So, let's do a rebuild team: San Jose. The closest is Patrick Marleau in a "Player Dev and Hockey Ops Advisor" title. But Marleau can learn from a pretty qualified group. Grier has 3 assistant GMs, a Hockey Ops Advisor in Doug Weight who has been a head coach in the NHL and been in front office activities for 6-7ish years already. And then, Grier has 3 senior advisors (Tim Burke who's been around forever and built the excellent Marleau/Pavelski teams; Todd Marchant who had 10 years in the Ducks front office before joining the Sharks in the last couple years; and Ryan Stewart who went from scout to Dir. of Pro Personnel with the Chicago Blackhawks over the course of 15 years).

They’re keeping the Utah on the road whites, eh? Not a fan of that. Embrace your logo. It’s good. Flipping shoulder patches feels busy. They need a 4th color for accents and for the alternate jersey when they’re compelled to make one. It’s drab right now.

They haven't traded Dahlin for futures yet. In theory, it could all stick work out. Levi could come up and be a .917+ guy, UPL could bounce back to be .910, Power could settle into the game in his own zone and be back to a + player. The PP could go from awful to just below average. And they could do all this without sacrificing their own offensive prowess 5-on-5. But contrast that with, the Sabres are neck-and-neck with the 3rd/4th teams in the Atlantic and suddenly their opponents dress the starting goalie, ratchet up the intensity, match lines, and target Dahlin and TNT repeatedly leading to "get them off their game". This perennial youngest team in the league doesn't handle those situations well.

If analytics were the addition of McLeod and Karmanos and Ventura both exit, it would be safe to assume he'd be a lower priority extension amongst the RFAs. He'd be easy to snare away by a GM with a top 1C, a hole in the 2C/3C role, and a late first round pick to make an offer sheet. For example, his speed would look really good for Carolina -- who already have an extra late 1st in 2026 because of Dallas/Rantanen deal so they can move their own. Norris, Kulich, Krebs, Kozak worries me. I like them each individually in some capacity. I think all can be elements of the same lineup. I would despise it as the center spine for next season's opener.

Following the Florida hierarchy: Staal is the Special Advisor (Assistant) = Roberto Luongo (who has been in the role since 2019 - Panthers legend, retired jersey #, etc.) Sabres TBD is a Senior Advisor = Rick Dudley and Paul Fenton with Florida

With the lottery results known, the Athletic NHL writers collaborated to do a draft in Pronman's new piece. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6335303/2025/05/05/nhl-mock-draft-2025-schaefer-islanders/ At 9, Matthew Fairburn selected C Brady Martin for the Sabres. Others still on the board: McQueen, Smith, Nesbitt, and Eklund. Bear slid to 17 and the Habs with the Achilles injury.

Beat me to the point. The Florida front office has multiple advisors to GM Zito. He doesn't operate in a vacuum. Kevyn has been operating in an EEE vacuum, to the detriment of all of us and to himself. He was a first-time GM and he had no one and he started with a coach named Krueger. I don't pity him because he's not shown well of himself, but he has been at a disadvantage compared to real Hockey Ops departments around the league.

If I'm an RFA, I'm signing a 1-year offer sheet or going to arbitration. I try to get to UFA as quickly as possible or show through my signings that I should be traded, because I don't want to wait until Power is 26 years old. My career could be crushed by injuries and over by then.

I can honestly say that my retooling plans did not have Eric Staal in them.

I really hope this question has a palm tree joke punchline (edit:) for an answer.

Depends on the depths of their conversation. If Adams told him: I'll get a goalie, a RHD for Power, and a top-6 forward with experience and Dahlin says, "Yup, that's what we need," then I don't worry about it. The problem is that when Adams sells that as Levi, JBD, and Norris come September, while playing the Palm Tree & Taxes card, does Dahlin finally say, "Trade me." like the many captains before him?

I wonder if all this was part of Adams' talk with Dahlin on the direction of the team at thend of the season. I wonder what Dahlin will think when these moves come to pass and it's just Adams and a cadre of friends and USNTDP guys. I wonder what Dahlin thought of Staal's efforts as a teammate.

I doubt it, because the issue remains that Adams is the person who listens to Pegula. He's still involved even if he's inept, unless the new person can somehow build up that rapport that Adams nurtured with Pegula over the course of 15 years now. Uffda

I think I have my nicknames for the Special Advisor and the Senior Adviser. And I apologize for taking the Muppets names' in vain. Staaltler and (TBD: Waldorf). They're in the theater, right close to the action, interacting but not exactly helpful to the act on stage.

And Adams had to convince Staal to get traded to Buffalo in the first place, so clearly the motivation was there right from the get-go. The only silver linings I have are: 1) Staal only just left the ice so he can provide a bit of pro scouting, which is something Adams' regime has been pretty poor with (see Staal as player), and 2) a seemingly-useless role being added indicates that money is available to spend. Maybe it's the beginning of the end of EEE. Those both feel like pretty big reaches for silver linings to me. It's just hiring a friend.

Fozzy Ruff: Ahhhh. Waka waka waka. Ahhhaa. Here’s a good one. What kind of tree can you fit in your hand? Staal: I love this one. This is the best. Fozzy Ruff: A palm tree. Adams: BOOOOOOOOOO!

We're going to need a photo/meme of a Wormtongue whispering to a Wormtongue whispering to a Wormtongue whispering to a Theoden

GM experience, eh... Who's previously managed the Buffalo Jr. Sabres that Adams would trust? Hmm. The same Eric Staal who recently visibly shriveled on the ice as a Sabre skater and had to be traded after half a season?

I think if they're getting PP time: then maybe yes? Power hit 40 at age 22 this season. Ristolainen had his third consecutive 40-point season at age 23. Seider has scored 40+ in every season in the league (4), with this year being his age 23 season. Don't ask about Makar or Hughes. Note: Montour topped out at 35 in his age-23 season with Anaheim. Sergachev just shy at 38. Yes, they're all 1st round picks, but so is Byram.

Cool. Now, trade him before the draft. If it's after UFA starts, Byram should sign a 1-year $4.5M offer sheet with some playoff team that needs a PP2 guy. Adams can either take a 2026 2nd or continue the redundant logjam of players and eat into the "no we don't have a self-imposed ceiling" cap space that is going to be set aside for JJP, Quinn, Levi, McLeod, and Kozak. (I'm now also praying that Kozak gets a silly $3M offer sheet where the compensation is a 2nd round pick and Adams is all... he's ours! And Kozak ends up being way overpaid, but good at his role.) Let the chaos go unchecked!

I wonder what the S&C coach's salary is compared to the defense assistant coach and the PP coach, and the Appert assistant coach. Don't want to be paying too much for the old coach and the replacement.

A few points: first... This song writes itself. second, We need to stop comparing the Bandits and Bills success (and really, have the Amerks been all that successful?) with the Sabres. Each is its own unique situation. But with the NLL in particular, there's nothing to compare. The average NLL player makes about $19,000/season and up to about $30K for the stars. There are 14 teams in the entire league. You get a good core together and you've got yourself a contender. You could build an entire roster for less than Tyson Kozak's annual salary. Nationwide, the NLL is an non-entity. thirdly: But, if someone wanted to somehow compare the NFL and NHL and how to build a roster: the Bills have an MVP-caliber QB. What's the best comparison in the NHL? A Vezina-level goalie or an Art Ross-capable 1C. In his five seasons as GM, Adams has had one season with a starting-caliber goalie (Ullmark) whom his predecessor and he both only signed to 1-year deals. (This was signed before Ullmark's dad died and he decided he needed a change of scenery.) Then, there was never even an attempt to find a legitimate 1A goalie in any of the following seasons. On the 1C front, Adams dismantled the core of which Eichel was a part of and traded a top-10 C in the league for a then 2/3W and some futures. You could even toss in a Norris-capable 1D. Adams inherited one of those, too -- and Samuelsson has been the partner of choice for 4 years running. That's all Adams. He's bad at his job. finally, Adams' presentation: "I want to be here. I'll keep it EEE, keep you safe (from public appearances so you make money from the NFL machine). And just wait until Power turns 26. Then, look out!"

If the Sabres keep the pick, I'd go in this order: Misa, Schaefer, Desnoyers, Hagens, Martone (no chance to be there) Martin, Bear, O'Brien, Eklund (one of them will be available at 9) Mrtka, Aitcheson, Frondell, Reschny, Cootes (others) I avoid McQueen (two-time back injury already? that's Huglen again) Note: O'Brien is my Sabres sleeper on account they've drafted teammate Leenders and may like O'Brien from repeated close viewings. Note2: For kicks, Draft Mrtka and rush him to the NHL because he's so good in camp and is too young to play in the AHL. Power-Mrtka.