GASabresIUFAN

@LGR4GM and @brawndo I'll take this a step further. Lets say Van offered us Demko and Schenn and a 2nd pick for Comrie, Rosen, our 1st in 2023 (top 7 protected) and a 3rd when Demko returns from IR. Would you make this deal? If you would, do you think KA would this season? A recent article in the Athletic puts his trade value at a late first plus a top prospect. https://theathletic.com/3926168/2022/11/23/canucks-trade-value-rankings/ I'd make the deal in a minute. I think Demko is slightly overpaid, but the 3 years left on the deal should give us ample time for Levi to develop properly and give us playoff caliber goaltending now. Rosen is expendable because of Savoie, Östlund and Kulich. While I'd like to keep the 2023 1st in a deep draft, most of the top of this draft is more good forwards which is where our great depth is.

I’ve pointed out multiple moves that other clubs in our situation like Det and NJ which were low cost trades that KA had the assets to make and instead went to bargain mart for the pieces instead of getting real players. It all goes back to his unwillingness to use assets other than cap space to improve the team and even than to only use as little cap as possible. This has zero to do with Jbot. It has everything to do with a GM unwilling to properly build on the rebound from last season. NJ - Adds Marino, Vanacek and a mid 2nd for an early second, their version of Bryson, and 2 3rds. Buffalo - Comrie, Bush and Jost for FA cash and a waivers claim. Are you seriously telling me that these moves are equivalents? I forget you think Bush is as good as Marino. Thank you for proving my point. The NJ GM was serious about winning and improved his club through trades and managed to do so very inexpensively, while our GM went shopping at bargain mart and got exactly what he paid for, 3 stop gap players who don’t make this club better now or in the future. Maybe @Brawndo is right and KA will mentally turn the corner by next offseason and decide to spend some assets in trades like the NJ GM and try to fill our roster with good NHL players. All I’m saying is that had KA had that opportunity this past off-season and refused.

I think so

Everything you asked for above was available last summer and was just as set up for Adams as next off-season. The team turned the corner last year and had he done what you suggest for next off-season last off-season we wouldn’t still be in the bottom 1/3 of the NHL. We knew last off-season we needed at least two capable NHL D for the top 6, we knew we needed a legit starter in goal, we knew we needed a 4th line center and he had and has $20 mill in cap to do it. The needs remain the same. The only real difference is that the franchise has wasted another season. How different would we look if we just did what NJ did, in addition to signing Bush. They acquired Vanacek and the 46th pick for picks 37 & 70. They also acquired John Marino for Ty Smith (who is in the AHL) and a 3rd after this season.

Should we go back to the Black jerseys? We seem to play better when we wear them.

I’m not asking him to replace a youngster in the lineup. I’ve been asking to get rid of guys like Bryson, Fitz and Pilut who aren’t NHL players in the short-term so that the team can weather injuries better. I’d love to add someone Chychrun long-term, but no way KA spends the assets.

That’s why I am so frustrated with KA. If he added more D depth and only slightly better goaltending this team would be a playoff team right now.

Edm has 4 10+ goal scorers for 2nd place in the NHL. Buffalo leads with 5 - TnT, Skinner, Tuch, VO and Cozens - Dahlin is next w 9.

Just finished watching the game. That may have been the best 3rd period played by the team in 15 years. The best thing about JJP, Quinn and Cozens is how fast they make decisions with the puck at full speed. They just don’t hesitate with the puck on their sticks. JJP has the tools to become this team’s most dynamic forward within a few years. I say that even with the dynamite unicorn already on the roster. If UPL had been in net we’d have been down 2 or 3 to 1 heading into the 3rd. @JohnC I thought the 7’s line was good all game. Amazing what happens when players actually play in the high danger areas.

Lol. Ooops wrong thread. Beane could certainly teach KA about when to start trying to win.

True and Reed had Lofton and Thomas to take some catches away.. Still Diggs is succeeding with limited other top options and often getting double teamed.

Diggs is at 4000 yards and 28 TDs with 4 games to go in his 3 years here. These are Buffalo records for a 3 years stretch.

I agree on Jerry Butler but that raises the next questions. Is Diggs the best WR ever to play for the Bills? Reed is in the Hall, but I honestly think Diggs is the better player, although we may have been better off keeping the pick and choosing Jefferson. Bob Chandler, Moulds and Lofton have to be on the list somewhere.

Like becoming President or helping the Bills to 4 Superbowls?

Most of the assets you mention including the now head coach he inherited. He has drafted well and made some solid trades dismantling the old failed core. Everyone acknowledges these facts. However outside of getting Tuch in the Eichel trade, which specific acquisition from another organization has made this team demonstrably better? I'd argue none. His plan is draft and develop to build a core and go from there. Well the core is in place. Now that the core's is in place what's the plan to elevate the team? More waiting for more prospects to develop seems to continue to be the plan, except this is no help coming on defense or in goal from the pipeline any time soon! Truthfully this was the year to push the team into playoff contention and build on last season's improvement. He had unlimited cap space, the core locked up or under team control, and just a few areas of real need. Unfortunately, the value brand band-aids he hired, Comrie and Bush, have been mostly absent and haven't added anything really when playing. Now what? The answer remains nothing. My hope is that KA learns something from having failed to support the team after another good start and becomes more aggressive in filling the obvious holes in the roster. The GM's in Chicago and Pitt added guys like Campbell, Sharp, Hoosa, Gonchar and Recchi to shepherd their young squads to the playoffs. When will Ka doing something similar?

We have found them over the years. Hasek trade, the drafting of Barrasso, Sauve, Edwards, Biron, Miller with a late pick etc.. Had KA re-signed Ullmark to extension prior to his last season here we wouldn't be having this discussion and we'd already be a playoff team. ` But this wasn't the route KA chose to go. I think the solution is out there and it isn't Levi. KA is just going to have succeed in acquiring the right player. The "I tried" excuse is tired already. As master Yoda said. "Try not! Do or Do Not, There is no try!"

Do you mean why can’t we find a goalie who can actually win 4 games in a week? Good question. Maybe Kevyn Adams knows.

Absolutely. I listed it as the top priority for next season. My second and third priorities were a legit top 4 partner for Power and more proven D depth in general. However if someone asked me today what KA can do today to improve the GAA, I'd say it's much easier to get D help in season then goaltending.

I'm not sure anyone on the Bills agrees with you here. He is a rookie RB on a veteran team behind a lousy Oline. They liked Cook enough and his skill set to trade away Moss. They also have been expanding his role in recent weeks.

Fair enough, although I think we can make the goalies we have better by improving the D depth which I think can actually be done in season.

Really? How many guys play a top 6 role in the NHL? Quick math says 192 (6 x 32). Guess where Casey sits? He is tied for 134th in pts and is tied for 151st in P/GP. That's a top 6 level on most NHL teams. I also think he played very well with Tuch and Tage in the game against Pitt.

I think we are already there.

That’s the thing with the NFL. Just win and advance. Injuries are a huge part of the results in the NFL. The Bills have played without Pro Bowl caliber players all year including Hyde, White, Milano, Edmunds, Poyer, Miller and Dawkins, yet are still winning and the 3 games they lost were by a collective 8 points.

Like I said in my post, some of what I proposed is unlikely. That said, If Az is serious about moving Chychrun they will have to lower the price because no one is biting at the current price. He is a very good player, but not an elite one. I’m willing to pay a decent price to get him, but I plan to use him as a 3rd pairing player. On most teams he is a second pairing guy and on good teams he’s a 2nd or even 3rd pairing guy. Unlike KA, my plan is flexible. I know I need 2 more NHL D to make my plan work. If I don’t get Chychrun, I’d be just as happy to get Schenn and Jensen. Maybe my 3rd pair won’t be as dynamic offensively, but it could become a good shutdown pair. It would also cost less in term of assets and cap and actually bring in more veteran leadership on the backend which we also need. The key is to be flexible. One other note. If KA doesn’t want to invest in goaltending, then he better invest in better defensive Dmen.

Don’t forget that part of any big trade is making the cap hits and roster positions work. Like us AZ is near the cap floor. If they move Chychrun they will have to take money back to stay cap compliant. They may also want a D back to make the roster work. We can make a deal work. I’d offer Mitts (or Krebs) Östlund and a top 10 protected 1st in 2023. I think that is more than a fair offer and its very close to the stated price.