Archie Lee

I guess the follow-up question would be, did Adams try and get JBD signed before a decision on a qualifying offer had to be made? If he did and there was no interest in extending, then I can see the logic. If no attempt was made to get him on a 1-2 year deal at $900-950 K, then I think it was a mistake. Fatal? Of course not. I would rather have JBD as the #7 than Bryson (right shot, bigger, 3 years younger, higher pedigree).

If we extend Byram and Timmons to their projected contracts and, hypothetically, replace Quinn with a veteran at Rust's level, we would be spending between 97-99% of the cap (depending on if Byram is bridged or signed long-term). If we are spending that kind of money and are nowhere close to having a playoff team, then either Adams is one of the worst GMs in modern NHL history (it’s already open to debate I think) or Ruff is, at this time, one of the league's worst HCs, or both. I don’t like the job that Adams has done. Even if he has an internal cap to contend with, he has wasted enough money on underperforming players that had he been better at his job, the team could have been better also. Further, I think he does have influence over Pegula and if he wanted to go in a different direction in certain areas, like coaching, I think he could convince Pegula to do so. Ruff continues to get too much credit from the fan-base in general, in my view. It remains that the single biggest thing that could be done to improve the team’s fortunes between now and October would be to replace Ruff with a better HC. It would do more for the team than adding Robertson or Ehlers, in my view. Brind'Amour could get this team in the playoffs. I know we aren't getting Brind'Amour, but we could try to hire the next Brind'Amour. There is a reason why NHL teams cycle through head coaches so quickly. You can't fix your roster as fast as you can change coaches. Look at all the money the Sabres have wasted in the past few years on players who underperformed or were sent to Rochester or were bought-out. Spending an extra $2 million a year on a fired head coach is comparative peanuts.

It’s not a contending team. I think with a good HC and/or better goaltending (and I think these go together) it could be a playoff / WC team. To me, it is the best we can hope for that we are this year’s Montreal or Ottawa, a 91-96 point team that gets in. It was never going to be the case that we would get to July 2nd and look at the roster and say: "That's a playoff team". It was always going to be that we will need Tage to again score 40+, Norris to be healthy and be the player that some project him to be, that Benson takes a step forward, Tuch maintains his strong play, McLeod repeats his performance from a year ago, Dahlin plays like a Norris winner, Power takes a step forward, UPL bounces back, and a couple of new guys contribute positively, etc. If most of those things happen, maybe we can complete for a WC spot. We are never going to be a contending team under Adams and Ruff.

On B-Docker, it is just weird to me that they are obviously placing an emphasis on upgrading right shot D and based on what B-Docker is being paid, he would have been a near perfect 7th D who happens to be right shot. The Athletic had an article from day one of free agency that included him on a list of cheap value-add d-men who make near league minimum but can play on your bottom-pairing. Losing him should not be considered a season-altering move, but it is odd.

Kulich should be the 3C, playing between a couple of vets like Zucker and trade acquisition Rust. Norris is 1C by default until he is injured or proves he isn’t up to it. Thompson and Benson on the wings. McLeod should be 2C with Tuch and Greenway. Potential to be a real shut down line. Krebs, Doan, Malenstyn, Danforth, Kozak make up line 4, with Krebs and Doan playing up when there are injuries. Need to move Quinn in a package for Rust. I actually think this works as a wild card level group of forwards on a team that actually plays with structure. So, not the Sabres. But the best I am hoping for is that the pieces are there and Adams and Ruff are turfed in November.

If Byram, Timmins, and McLeod get more or less what is projected, the roster will be full and they will be about $4 million under the cap. I don't think we are trading for a forward unless we are trading one out. And, I doubt Adams extended players like Greenway and Quinn with the intent of trading them. He also didn't give Greenway and Quinn $4 million and $3.375 million, to play on line 4. They might end up there, but I doubt that is the intent.

We only have two R shot NHL D-men. We aren't adding Parayko or Weegar, but they would both be good additions in a Byram trade.

Yeah, it was Gord Miller who brought it up and Dreger, Johnston, and LeBrun all went along with it.

They were just discussing Byram on TSN. According to their Insider-Panel: - Byram is a year away from UFA status - If a team offer sheets him at one year and $7 million, then the cost is a 1st and 3rd - If the Sabres match an offer-sheet, the rule is that you can't trade the player for 12 months - Thus, if the Sabres match a one-year offer sheet on Byram, they would not be able to trade him as he would hit UFA status before 12 months passed. Does anyone know if this is all correct? Or did I misunderstand?

I think this is it. Adding size on D is this year’s version of last year’s 4th line upgrades.

Yeah. This is what happens when you are as bad as the Sabres though. Even the things just considered are reason to question Adams’s competence. Also, one of the underrated negative consequences of always drafting in the top 10, is that those picks are valued higher than the players who are available in trade. Rust for 25th OA and nobody blinks an eye. Rust for 9th and ooff.

15 games, not 25. Rosen’s most common linemates in the NHL? The likes of Tyson Jost, Brandon Biro, fellow rookies Kozak and Östlund. Contrast that with Mackie Samoskevich in Florida. Same draft as Rosen. Similar AHL #’s. Similar size. He breaks in with Florida last year because the panthers are up against the cap and NEED a rookie on an entry level contract. He gets 31 points in 72 games this past year. His most common linemate? Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett. If they Sabres were a serious NHL team, Rosen would play on the 3rd line this year with McLeod and Zucker or Greenway. And he would put up 30-35 points and nobody would think he was a complete bust. But, the Sabres are not a serious NHL team and they are failing Rosen, who is likely to rot on the vine.

Great post. It is an argument for re-signing Byram. Also, if we do trade Byram, it is an argument to just pair Power with Dahlin, as I think their results could be similar. It's ok to just put your two best D-men together and let them play 25 minutes a game. Maybe Samuelsson and Kesselring would work together as a 2nd pair.

I'm not trying to sway anyone on this, but of all the accomplishments of UPL and Levi, the single most impressive thing that either of them has done, and it isn't close in my view, is UPL playing 54 NHL games in 23-24 and going 27-22-4 with a 2.57 GAA and a .910 save %. Nothing Levi has done in his career, comes close to this as it relates to actually translating to NHL success. I wouldn't say I have tremendous faith in UPL at this point, but at least it can be said he has an actual good NHL season in his recent history.

My best guess is if Marner goes to Vegas he gets something in the Rantanen range ($12-$13). $14 mil was, I think, always the outer edge of what it would take a non-contender or a team in a high-tax state or province, to be in on him.

I’m not trying to convince you of anything. But the Sabres being bad in general doesn’t mean the Dahlin/Byram pairing was bad. Last year, the pairing was very good. That’s all.

Isn't this a combination of the two? Even strength they were on the ice together for 35 goals for (offense) and 15 goals against (defense). 70% of the goals scored when Dahlin and Byram were on the ice together at even strength, were Sabre goals. That's really, really good. Also, why are you not including offensive stats in your evaluation of D-men?

If Mrtka was truly 7th on their board, and their top 6 went top 6 in the draft, then that means they had Mrtka rated higher than Hagens. Which is interesting. Not bad, necessarily. But I don’t think that would have been the case two years ago.

I think @LGR4GM is right that the acquisition cost on Robertson would be higher than you propose. I think it would cost us one of Benson or Kulich or Helenius and maybe two of them. I would happily give them Quinn in such a deal, but I doubt they would have any interest in him as part of a package for Robertson. Also agree that you are likely between $1-2 million light on the McLeod deal. Ehlers is my sneaky “the Sabres might have a chance” UFA candidate. It was reported last year that Ehlers, who had some trade protection, would accept a deal to the Sabres but was not willing to extend. That means that either Buffalo was not on his NT list or they were but he was ok with it anyway. His lack of willingness to extend could be viewed that he didn’t see himself staying in Buffalo longterm, but it could just mean he wanted to go to UFA and see what his value is on the free market. Also, I am certain I have seen more than one interview with Ehlers when the Jets were playing the Sabres, where he spoke positively about Buffalo or the Sabre players. He gives me Ekholm vibes; he might value things other than palm trees and low taxes.

For it to work, Byram, Norris and a contract in the Quinn, Greenway, Samuelsson territory would need to go.

They need to add a goalie who is above the level of a guy they can sneak through waivers on cut-down day. That’s likely the best we can hope for. There are no great options, maybe no obvious good options. I would probably try to sign Vladar, but I acknowledge that he is not a great option.

Until we see otherwise, I think the safe money is that the Sabres will spend to an internal cap that comes in under $90 million. I could be wrong and this is the year they go big. It sounds like the Canucks are keeping Pettersson (unless there is news I’ve missed), but if he is available the Sabres could take a run. If the Sabres moved Byram and Norris in a Pettersson trade, they would still have room to add Robertson for futures. A top line of Pettersson centring Robertson and Thompson, would certainly change how the Sabres are viewed.

I wholly disagree with this. Benson on the left wing on a line with Thompson on RW, and Norris or Kulich at centre, will have one giant question mark, and it won’t be Thompson or Benson.

I personally doubt that Peterka or most modern players have great issues with tough coaching. It is a misconception in my view, that the modern star athlete has been coddled by parents and coaches through their young lives. I actually think the opposite is more likely to be true and that they have been driven hard. My best guess is that Granato said things in meetings, practices, and games, that if said to us at work would have most of us calling HR. Sometimes it’s not the message but the delivery. I’m not a Ruff fan. I admire what he did as a Sabre coach a generation ago. I don’t think he is currently the right guy for this or any NHL team. He comes across as fake tough to me. I think players see through his bluster and that there is little substance there. System and structure are just slogans and catchphrases. Maybe Peterka is just a chronic pouter. For now though, when it comes to the question of where the blame lies in the erosion of a relationship between the Sabres and a young player, I see no reason to give the benefit of the doubt to Pegula or Adams. I’ve seen multiple young players who didn’t want to be here go on to better things. I’ve yet to see Pegula and Adams do the same here.

Here is my issue with the 2 trades the Sabres have made: they are not the trades that are made by a 79 point team that is committed to making the playoffs after 5 straight years of missing under a GM who is in the last year of a contract (never mind Pegula's larger 14-year Reign of Error). Shayna Goldman said something similar on Sabres Live, when explaining why she graded Utah higher than the Sabres in the Peterka deal. It's not that the trade is entirely bad or that the players coming in aren't good, it's that the Sabres need something bigger, something more substantive, something that puts them on the path to being a playoff team this year. The two trades they have made so far, do address handedness on D (something Adams previously told us he doesn't worry about), and they do make the Sabres bigger and harder to play against (also things that Adams previously seemed unconcerned by). They don't make the Sabres more experienced (by age, games played, playoff history, etc.). On balance, they probably don't make the Sabres more talented as Peterka would currently be considered the best "talent" in the trades. They do make the Sabres younger and cheaper, and a reasonable concern is that these are the most important factors. Until we see the return on the Byram trade and/or what the Sabres do in free agency or with other trades, these are trades that nibble on the edges of what the Sabres need to do to take a next step. For now, the big picture is that the trades are fine (I guess), but ultimately they are not the big swings that the Sabres need to take.