GASabresIUFAN

Kev is such a genius.

Yes, but would should at least get another asset back in addition to Andersson. Plus Andersson is an upgrade on Byram on the ice plus Andersson is deadline tradable if the team is again out of the playoffs.

Bringing back Byram is a status quo move and the status quo is failure. I agree that any trade Adams makes will likely be inadequate, but it’s the only chance the team has to get better heading into next season.

That doesn’t have to be the case. I’ve suggested Byram to Calg for Rasmus Anderson plus another asset. Anderson is on a reasonable 1 year deal and might enjoy playing with Dahlin enough to re-sign. I would then hope that a second move could be made using the Calg asset and someone like Quinn to acquire a top 6 playmaker.

Sure he can keep him, but that doesn’t make the team better. That’s the whole point. The goal of the offseason was for the Sabres to get better. So far Adams, unsurprisingly, has failed again. All keeping Byram does is kick the can down the road for another season of failure. Great! What a smart solution. The only way to get better is to move him to a team that needs his skillet and get piece(s) we need like a playmaker for the top 6, a starting goalie, and or a defensively sound top 4 D.

So what is the solution? I honestly don’t know I agree, Dahlin is great and makes everyone he plays with look decent even if they aren’t.

It’s a results business and he had failed at every turn. He deserves to get criticized. Remember Byram is a redundant asset. He the 3rd puck moving LHD on the team. His value is greater to other teams that lack his skill set. The problem is if he pulls the trigger on a trade we know that the return will be inadequate. We also know, with 25 mill already sunk in Dahlin, Power and Mule, that another large contract for a poor defensive D would be a mistake for the Sabres. To further complicate matters, if he trades Byram for a forward, Dahlin again has no partner. There are no top 4 D left in free agency and I doubt someone is going to trade us a top 4 RHD at this point. So Adams has painted himself into a corner. If he keeps Byram the team suffers and if trades Byram the team likely suffers as well. Well done Kevyn.

That's a fantasy. Wait too long and the offers dry up as teams look elsewhere and/or they run out of cap space. Eventually, you run out of suitors and then you are left with having to re-sign a player who doesn't want to be here. This what happened with both Ullmark and Reinhart. Maybe he just signs a 1 year deal and forces Adams to trade him at the deadline or next off-season (his last as an RFA). Regardless, better trade him now while there is a market for his services.

How has it worked out for the Sabres?

Adams just needs to get this over already. Sign him or trade him. Enough! The trade offers aren't going to get any better and if he can't find a deal he likes, then make a friggin decision to bridge him or sign him long-term. Just get it done so that this isn't hanging over the franchise any longer. We all know (and so does Adams) that whatever decision he makes won't improve the team, so why wait? G-d I loath Adams.

Does Adams honestly think he has done enough to field a playoff team?

It’s worth an NHL player about 25% of the time 4 years from the date the player was drafted. Here are KAs 2nd rd picks 1 - star - JJP who he promptly traded away for a former 6th pick to play top 4 defenses and a former 2nd rd pick who has yet to establish himself as a full time NHL forward. 3 - busts - Kisakov, Poltapov (he’s not coming over folks) and Leinonen 3 - recent prospects - Wahlberg, Strbak, Kleber

The KA press conference in a nut shell. Blah, blah, blah, excuse for not really fixing the team, blah, blah, blah. I wonder if Adams is really Charlie Brown’s teacher.

If that’s the plan why do we keep trading away the forwards we draft and develop who succeed because management doesn’t want to pay them.

They haven’t tried anything but rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. Every move has been lipstick on a pig. There has no attempt to upgrade the top 6 forwards. There has no attempt to upgrade the goaltending. The feeble attempts to upgrade the defense have all been centered on puck movers or 3rd or 4th pairing guys and have left us one of consistently worst in zone teams in the league for 5 years and counting. The top 5 scorers drafted and developed by the Sabres have all been traded away by KA in Eichel, Mitts, Reinhart, Cozens and now JJP. Hard to build a team that way.

They aren't any better at all. Lyon replaces Reimer - that's a wash Norris replaces Cozens - that's an improvement only if Norris actually plays 70 games. Joki and Clifton have been replaced with Kesselring and Timmins. An upgrade, but not really enough to move the needle Doan replaces JJP. This is a significant downgrade and there is no honest argument that the offense will be better with Doan over JJP. Ultimately, the players chiefly responsible for the terrible in zone D play and goaltending are still on the roster - Power, Byram, Samuelsson and UPL. That $25 mill of wasted cap space on bad players once Byram is re-signed. Congrats Kevyn, all you did this off-season is make a bad team worse.

and people wonder why the defense and team suck. You forget Rathbone, who played 28 games with Van, the immortal Brandon Davidson and Casey Fitzgerald.

More clearance bin shopping. Congrats Kevyn.

It's a nominal designation. Your choices are McLeod, Norris and Kulich. Who are you playing with Thompson? You need McLeod to play against the other teams' best line. Norris and Thompson are both shoot first players. I don't see a fit there. That leaves Kulich who showed good chemistry with Thompson last season. This isn't ideal but I disagree with those who argue he can't handle the job. He is defensively aware and has good offensive instincts and plays hard. I expect him to blossom this season.

Benson is one of the hardest workers on the team. Kulich has proven that he is a hard worker as well. JJP improved every year he was in the organization. That doesn't happen without hard work. Who can blame him for wanting out from under the Adams' gross mismanagement on the team? If they dogged it on the ice, you might have a point, but Benson, Kulich and JJP are the wrong choices for you theory. There are guys who have dogged it out there. Power is the leader of that group. He is the epidemy of spoiled player. He got his big contract and has regressed every year.

Kulich is the No. 1 center. He is making this team. The reason for the 3 years deals for both Kozak and Johnson is to try to avoid them getting claimed if management has to send one of them down. Odds are that one or more injuries in camp will make sending Kozak or Johnson down moot.

Updated the OP to reflect 7/1 transactions. Adams failures to truly help this roster continue.

There are 4 or 5 worse teams?

Yep. So did Ryan Johnson and he isn't in the top 7 D right now. Can't wait to see that 4th line position battle in camp between Malenstyn, Krebs, Kozak, Greenway, Doan and Danforth.

Adams again shopping at the Walmart clearance bin. Lyon, Danforth, Timmins, Geersten (whoever the heck he is) etc..... More craptastic roster decisions.