PerreaultForever

Of course he will challenge for a roster spot. Adams will make sure there's no one there to block him.

Yes, unable and/or unwilling. True. Remember though we had ROR as the veteran leader when we drafted Eichel, but for some reason they made Eichel captain. I hold to an idea I said back then. It was a HUGE mistake and ultimately we lost both. Just look at how ROR captained teams perform by way of contrast. Eichel did not have the character or maturity to be captain when he was named one.

It's right here in the first minute. That's why they got him.

It's true, in most cases players do not have to submit their list unless the team asks for it (meaning they want to try to trade you) and they wouldn't want to ask for it unless they were sure.

I'd use the Risto deal as the possible example. Everybody knows he won that one big time. Buffalo and Philly fans all agree on that. But Fletcher was desperate for a big D man so he made the overpay in picks. Adams took it obviously. Perhaps now he's unwilling to go the opposite way and do the overpay to get the player.

This is not exactly proven false. Toxic is too extreme of a depiction, but in Buffalo they were the leaders. Eichel was the captain. They both went to organizations where they were stepped back to just be hockey players again and not team leaders. Stone is the undisputed Vegas leader. Barkov is supported by Tkachuk, Bennet and others. Entirely different situations. The problem here is although he deconstructed, so far he has failed at building a new culture. This idea of letting all these kids "grow together" is just bs. They need leadership.

Always draft a goalie. It's fine. I'd be happier if he was bigger, but he's athletic and agile. Has Levi potential.

It will be interesting to see who, if anybody, offers Skinner a deal and for how much.

Sorry, but after reading that I couldn't resist

That's likely true, so you'd have to make a deal they couldn't refuse in terms of value but all we know for sure is he was on the block and he was traded and we got some jag from Washington instead.

It's only the first 3 rounds that matter for that stat anyway. After that everybody's a reach or a project and you take some chances.

I'd say a grand assertion like that needs a little more detail and substance to be taken seriously. However, if it is true, my thought would be that GMs don't want to waste their time negotiating and then have to ask players for their 10 team lists etc. and finding out Buffalo is on it so waste of time. Either that or they don't want to punish their own guys (and thus alienate their friends on the team) by sending them to the wasteland.

I just watched Adams post draft presser and he thinks this guy fills the teams need for physicality. This franchise is so clueless it's beyond absurdity.

I cannot recall a good free agent day for the Sabres in the Pegula era. We usually just end up with the leftovers. Hopefully this does not age well.

Nothing personal, but I'm tired of hearing this every year. Sure he "tried", he better have "tried" but succeeding is what makes a good GM. Utah and L.A. are better teams than they were after the draft day deals. At the moment, we are not a better team than we were. We just have more prospects.

I'd debate that. I don't think it was terrible, but it was average and typical. The big D man might be good, but i'd be more excited if we'd landed Basha in the second round and if we had to drop a pick to move up ahead of Calgary to get him I would have. We will know how good it was in 3 years or 4.

Well, look no further than Utah and L.A. Some teams get things done, some don't.

Calgary nabs Basha just one pick before us, that started the day off badly for me. So close I was thinking could it happen......... Theme of the draft was clearly size. For most teams anyway. Utah getting big things done. LA making big moves as well. There's 2 GMs that unquestionably made their teams better so far in this off season. Now maybe Tampa wouldn't trade Jeannot into the division, that's a likely possibility, but if you tell me we couldn't have beaten that price tag you need your head examined. Well done LA. They're tired of losing to Edmonton. Dubas is really f'ing up Pittsburgh imo. They aren't the main competition any more, that's near guaranteed. I have to go to that sphere one day.

meh, whatever.

Unlike most of you this was my fave pick we made (for where it was made). This guy is a competitor and totally has the right attitude. He needs time and development, but he could evolve into a solid bottom 6 player.

Big, and big D was a theme in this draft. I'm glad we didn't buck that trend.

Seems reasonable. No idea if he has a lot of upside or not but on paper he seems like a solid pick for that point.

Well this is the best news of the day. The lack of trades by Buffalo for roster players at the draft had me a little depressed (L.A. and Utah making moves!) and their draft was pretty underwhelming but then I heard about this and so there's hope after all. The people here that are lamenting his lost production and worrying will be able to relax as next season unfolds and they come to realize it was a good move. There's no point in arguing it now, if you don't get it you won't, but give it time and you will see.

There's only 2 scenarios. One, he will flip several prospects for good NHL pros or two, he plans on filling the NHL roster with rookies. The first idea could make us into a good team if he flips enough of them. The second idea will be a joke - again.