jad1

Yep. Ruff definitely has a heavy lift this season, and we haven't even really discussed the defense yet. Adams definitely can and should do more. Especially since we're only focusing on finishing 8th in the conference. As a fanbase, we've totally shelved the idea, five years under Adams,that the Sabres should be challenging for a championship.

Playing for Florida and Vegas.

Bryam has a lot of potential. Problem is that he has the same skillset as Dahlin and Power. To be successful on the Sabres he has to alter his play style to be complimentary to those guys. From a roster-building perspective, Dahlin, Power, and Byram should be paired with a right-handed, stay-at-home defenseman. Dahlin's play took a jump when he was paired with Samuelsson, not so much because Samuelsson was highly skilled, he just played his role well. We'll see what Ruff can do to coach these three to play a complimentary style, but Byram isn't a great fit on the Sabres roster. He's still maturing, but his ceiling is a #1 defenseman. He won't hit that ceiling on the same roster as Dahlin and Power.

So he would have demanded more to play 3c for Buffalo than what he actually accepted to play 2c for Colorado? Doesn't seem right, especially since Mittlestadt was one of the original 'wants to be here' guys. We'll never know, though, because Casey claims that Adams never approached him about contract terms. Anyway, can't wait to see what they are going to pay to re-sign Bryam, our left shot, puck-moving, PP1 defensemen when his deal is due. Probably the same as the other two left shot, puck-moving, PP1 defenseman they already have on the roster.

How about Byram, Benson, Östlund and next year's protected 1st.

Yeah, I don't think that Savoie, himself, would bring back a top six forward. The return of a decent 3c is probably the right value for him. That said, as much as I like McLeod, I still think Mittlestadt is a much better 3c (ducks).

Also, there's rumors that the Sabres are/were interested in Ehlers. Did Adams offer Savoie to the Jets? Would the Jets accept a trade of Savoie for Ehlers? If the Jets did reject that deal, then maybe Adams figured he couldn't make a deal involving a top six player for Savoie work, and set his sites on finding a 3C.

They must figure that it worked for the Panthers, so why not.

A team good enough to squeak into the playoffs, but not good enough to advance.

Maybe, but if even one of them gets injured (like Quinn did last year), the Sabres are screwed.

Well it looks like the days of the Rochester Americans getting manhandled in the playoffs are OVER! 😉

It's entirely different situation because the Buffalo GMs weren't able, for whatever reasons, to bring in guys like Stone, Tkachuck, or Bennet to support the core built around Eichel and Reinhart. Those three guys were aquired by Vegas and Florida via trades; trades in which they paid a hefty price. I think we agree that the Sabres find themselves in a similar situation now. They have a core that is in need of support and leadership, but the GM is unable or unwilling to make the moves, no matter how painful, for the team to progress into a winning franchise.

Eichel wanted out, first, because Adams refused to allow him to treat his back injury the way he wanted, insisting that he get a spinal fusion. Second he wanted out because Adams wanted to tear the team down again instead of building around the team's current assets. Reinhart wanted out because Adams didn't want to sign him to a long term contract and also he wasn't onboard with Adams' wrong-headed decision to tear down and rebuild. Buffalo has had 3 GMs who had no clue how to build a team around guys like Eichel and Reinhart. And Adams gave up with out really trying. The excuse that those guys had to move because they were toxic in the locker room was proven false when they became contributing members of championship teams, playing for GMs who understood their value and respected them as players. If the Sabres had a GM the quality of Zito or McCrimmon during the post tank years, the Sabres wouldn't be lost in the wilderness.

The Sabres have made almost 40 draft picks the last 4 years. That means they have the rights (signed and unsigned) to almost 40 players under the age of 23. 9 of those players are on the NHL roster. They have 10 picks in the next year's draft. They have 3 left shot, puck-moving, PP1 defensemen on the roster (4 if you count Johnson). They have 2 young, NHL starter quality goalies. They have over $20M in cap space this season. You tell me that with that ammo, a decent NHL GM can't make a deal? Any deal the Sabres make is going to cause some pain; require some sacrifice. But that doesn't mean that the deal shouldn't be made. I'm sure Blues fans are bummed about losing Thompson. And Vegas fans miss Tuch. But the majority of those fans would agree that what they got in return for thos trades was worth the sacrifice. Adams is still unwilling to sacrifice his prospects or cap space to make necessary deals to improve the team. It's a fatal flaw.

It's hilarious that you believe that Adams got value out of the Eichel and Reinhart trades. Adams dealt those guys because he didn't believe you could build a winning team with them on the roster. And the GMs who fleeced him said "hold my beer" and won a Cup with them. Meanwhile, after 4 seasons Adams still has the youngest roster in the league and can't figure out how clear the low bar of making the playoffs. Yeah, great value there. Adams got clowned on those deals and you hold them up like it's some kind of testament to Adams competence.

Ruff was never going to be leading the group. It going to be on him, though, to make the mess Adams is creating work on the ice.

Adams should take the blame if players don't want to come to Buffalo.

High floor, uncertain ceiling?

Maybe, but they were the youngest team in the league last season, and will probably be younger this season. The eight youngest teams in the league missed the playoffs last season. The goal of the Sabres is still development, not winning. And as good as Ruff is a coach, he still needed character guys like Peca, Drury, and Briere on the roster. The Sabres do not have players of that character on the roster. And when the team missed the playoffs by one point, they still finished 19th overall in the league. So they can wait for the current core of players to age up, or they can inject some experience, grit, and leadership into the lineup.

Yeah, 27-28. Only thing that separates now from then is 120 or so more losses.

Can't wait to see Adams make two more picks in the second round.

Redundancy isn't a bug in Adams' system, it's a feature.

Well Gary Bettman is going to be holding court in a few minutes, so that makes sense.

Why do you assume that a trade would be a quick fix?

By the way, Matt Ellis was retained by Adams, not Ruff.