jahnyc

I think the point in the pod cast was that Byram (maybe, more specifically his agent) may still want to go to free agency in two years even if traded to a team that wants to sign him long term. Any team interested in Byram would take that into account in terms of the value they will be willing to give up for him.

Seems that they were right on with the view that Byram would be walking straight to free agency in two years, because that is exactly what happened. Sabres should have traded him before the draft. Now, and as noted, they have an asset that is diminished in value.

To be fair, I have to assume that the Sabres had every intention of trading Byram before or at the draft. Would have made sense to do it at that time for planning purposes for the draft and free agency. I think the process with Byram has gone a bit sideways for them.

Trades are made based on timing considerations all of the time and it has been clear that the Sabres wanted to trade Byram. Certainly discussed in the media for months.

In terms of strategy, shedding salaries and creating cap room for free agency is a nice idea, but the reality for the Sabres is that they had very little chance of attracting the few free agents available that would have been upgrades given the team's reputation and general lack of quality free agents in this cycle. Creating cap space to defend against an offer sheet makes no sense to me. The Sabres have known since season end that they were inclined to trade Byram. He should have been traded before the draft, particularly if one or more draft picks will be part of the return (so we could have made the picks instead of waiting another year). This also would have informed their approach to free agency instead of having no clue as to how much cap space they have to work with (although, to be fair, it may not have mattered given that the Sabres are not a desired destination for free agents). The thing I do not understand is why would our front office let another team now make an offer sheet that will take much of the decision making (and trade opportunities) out of their hands? Just seems like poor planning and execution to me.

Considering the number of picks and where we have been picking, I wouldn't say our prospect pool is overflowing with potential NHL talent. To be fair, some of our top picks have started with the Sabres, but I would have hoped that we would have more overall talent in our prospect pool given the trades we made for picks and the 14 years and counting of not making the playoffs. If we don't make the playoffs this season and we name a new GM, I hope there will be a revamping of our scouting efforts as well.

Sabres must be under incredible internal and external pressure to trade Byram. I don't think they were planning to have him on the roster for next season, particularly when they decided to trade Peterka. It has been out there for some time that the Sabres were shopping Byram and now the offer sheet threat further complicates the situation. This is exactly how you end up with a poor return for a young player with real value. We will see if Byram is traded and what we receive back, but this already is bordering on complete incompetence.

Sabres should re-sign Byram to a bridge deal. At least one area, the defense, will be stronger than last season with the other moves made. Unfortunately, this front office, led by Adams, is so overtly intentional that they will end up trading Byram even if the return is not what it should be.

Considering the draft capital we have had over the years it is unfortunate that we still have a number of holes to fill or positions that need improving. I think the defense is better right now than last season, but that can change if they trade Byram. I would take the improvement in our defense (which was one of the areas that the Sabres had deficiencies), sign Byram to a bridge deal and try to sign a scoring forward and goalie in free agency, or trade some of our prospects for the same. I would note that after listening to KA's press conference after round one of the draft late yesterday, i have very little hope that the Sabres will keep Byram. He said a number of times during the press conference that he would be open to a trade, which seemed to me to be unhelpful however this turns out.

Seems trading a relatively high second round pick and Clifton for a third pairing defensemen who may be an upgrade over Clifton is not great value and certainly does not move the needle for a stronger likelihood of success for the team next season. I get that not every trade can result in a significant upgrade in terms of talent, but the Sabres need to make moves in free agency or via trade that do upgrade the talent or else we are looking at another season of missing the playoffs. This team needs more than small incremental improvements around the edges.

Was this mostly a salary dump (Clifton)?

The Sabres will be the fifth team for Timmons. He is 26 years old.

You have Dahlin, Power and Byram and you couldn't figure out how to round out that group without trading Peterka for a defensemen and taking another defensemen with the 9th pick in the first round of the draft? Makes zero sense.

Pick was immediately criticized as a reach and not making sense by the ESPN coverage. That did not happen with any of the other picks that were made.

Will be depressing if Peterka does what Reinhart did when he went to the Panthers. With the Sabres, Reinhart's highest goal total was 25 and he was a -28 in his last season with the Sabres. He has averaged 40 goals per season with the Panthers and he was a plus 25 in his first season with the Panthers.