Digger

I think it depends on what Ullmark wants. He may want to test FA to see what kind of interest is out there for him. The good news about Adams comments is that it sounded to me like he will get the best money offer from the Sabres to be our number 1. Teams in FA that might want to sign Ullmark that are contending cup favorites are up against the cap so they won't be able to pay as much. In the end I think it comes down to does he want the money from the Sabres or does he want to win now with a contending team. Example Leafs are interested, not sure who else has an open spot but I'm sure that there are some options for him. Hopefully he takes a quick look and then signs with the Sabres.

Chiarot has a M-NTC. I wonder if Buffalo is on his list or if they leaked this so that he could modify his list. Could be Montreal is looking for a salary to dump and Adams chose Chiarot as the best option to take back.

Looking back on Drury and Briere today it would have been a mistake to sign either of them to the deals that they both eventually signed. Both were bought out of their contracts. Briere had the most success but Drury went down hill pretty quickly (3 full seasons and a part) with the Rangers. Briere continued to be a great playoff performer. That being said I agree that losing both of them was a real hit to the team's culture and it may have been (actually I think that it would have been) great to sign Briere in hindsight. I don't think Drury ever wanted anything except to sign with the Rangers and it would have been better if he had just come out and said that to Darcy. The team was choosing between the two and wanted Drury over Briere. I think for the most part the fan base at the time agreed (if we could only sign one of them).

Not trying to be a smart ass but how do you get 7th for day 1 when you pick the consensus #1 player (at least according to media from poll of scouts) and then you get a second pick in the first round.

I agree that's the next expected trade time frame. Let's see. The good thing is that there are not any great 1st line centers on the FA market but there is players to spend money on.

This was mentioned in a Craig Button interview about him but that's because he was buried in the Florida system behind Spencer Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky. He will get a chance in Buffalo to play in the NHL so I would think he would take it. Then again I thought the same about Calvin Petersen who decided to play out his time and then sign with the Kings. It's a risk for sure but the player gets older to take that risk / reward.

Brendan Lemieux hasn't exactly had a great career so far. He's moved from Buffalo to Winnipeg to NY Ranger to LA Kings and hasn't cemented a spot anywhere. He needs to work hard to stay in the NHL so there's not much room for being cocky about who he plays for.

I agree that it's best to get an unprotected 1st round pick if possible but something we don't talk about with a protected 1st round pick is that you can only protect it the first year. If it moves to the second year it's no longer protected. Ottawa got burned on that one in the Matt Duchene trade with Colorado. Ottawa chose to move it out a year and Colorado ended up with the 4th overall pick choosing Bowen Byram. The counter argument is that good teams could trade an unprotected pick like San Jose did for Erik Karlsson when Ottawa received the 3rd overall pick and chose Tim Stutzle. I would think that this scenario is why good teams still want to insist on protecting the pick.

I believe Mattias Samuelsson has a great opportunity with the team next year as a top 4 D on the left side. I would think that both he and his father are excited about the upcoming season. He's getting his chance to show that he can play in the NHL before Owen Power comes onto the team and pushes him down the depth chart. This is a great year for him and I'm excited to see how he plays with a full year in the NHL. In the long run if he plays well he may get moved in the future because of the depth on Left D but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Short term he'll be happy to get his chance with the Sabres and with some success who knows maybe he'll be able to play the right side with Owen Power and add some snarl to that D pairing in the longer future.

I absolutely agree with you. I would hate it on two fronts. First I don't think the Habs have enough A+ prospects to give back in a trade. I would be shocked if they would agree to trade Caufield and that's their best piece to trade with us. Second having to listen to the Canadian media continuously talk in the future about how they stole Eichel for their success. It would hurt especially for me living in Ontario. I have to listen to the arrogance about the Leafs and Habs all year long.

I agree with your post. The goaltending worries me though. I would like to have Ullmark back as a first priority as a 1A but I would also like to sign another capable proven goaltender for our team as a 1B. Ullmark has had issues with staying healthy and his overall durability when he starts getting lots of back to back games. I'm sure that everyone agrees on this point. Adam's comments from yesterday makes me worry that they are planning to have UPL be the backup which I think would be a huge mistake. We should plan on having UPL in Rochester as the #1 goalie for the season.

Perhaps given that Konecny is signed for a few more years but I believe Reinhart is more talented and better value overall as a player. It may have been an interesting one for one trade with maybe a 1st or 2nd coming our way with him. It's hypothetical and not important at this point but my point was getting a roster player back that could play the same role was really important to me.

We are planning on cutting our experience much more than Ottawa did. They had and have lots of young prospects and players but they also have a number that have been in their organization for a number of years developing. Take a look at their roster they have a pretty good mix of young talent and veterans. I can't think of any team that has cut this deep for a rebuild. I think that we do need to add a couple of veterans to help stabilize this team. Center, Right Wing, Right Defense. The good thing is that we will have the salary cap space to add (hopefully someone useful from a good team) in case next season goes off the rails.

The lack of a roster player able to play this year ideally in Sam's spot is what makes this trade hurt so much. For example if it had been the Flyers with a 2022 first and Travis Konecny and a prospect I assume most would feel a lot better about what Adams is doing.

I agree and it's certainly hard to bluff.

This off season is like being on the Titanic and knowing that it's going to sink. I'm already in one of the few life boats.

We should have cap room. Riley Sheahan? Not a priority and I know that his stats were not that great but he did provide some versatility as a 4th line center that could move up and play center or wing on the 3rd line if needed. I would be happy to see him back again (if he'll sign). Otherwise I agree with the priority to get a center back in the Eichel trade and ideally a top 6 winger that can step into the lineup. Let's see.

I hate to agree but it's true. Let's hope he continues to develop. He does seem to have good fundamentals and is a high character kid.

Good point. It seems to me that Oskari Laaksonen's stats were off when we drafted him showing him much shorter and lighter than he was at the time of the draft.

It's gotta be hard to come from Russia and go to school in NCAA. It's hard enough for these guys to transition over to the NHL with the language and culture differences. That being said it should help him be ready to play with us in Rochester when he makes the jump. Need to send these guys something to start adding weight and muscle to their frames. Really skinny kids that we're drafting. Lots of skill.

I was a big fan of Reinhart. Obviously disappointed in the return for him given some of the rumors that were out there. I really think the Sabres are going to miss his hockey sense and ability to tip pucks into the net. Taking him off the team without getting a replacement for him to step into the lineup is really going to hurt this team. Devon Levi has some good numbers and I hope that he develops and eventually signs with the Sabres. As a smaller goalie he reminds me of Manny Legace who was another small goalie for Canada that did well in the WJC. He had a decent career but wasn't a #1. Let's see. I'm generally pretty positive about the Sabres but this trade is very disappointing to me. Let's hope the Eichel trade is much closer to expectations.

Welcome back. You did not miss much from the Sabres other than having your hopes and dreams crushed every year. Had some optimism when we drafted Eichel and traded for O'Reilly but.................

Where would he go? He's quickly pissing off most teams where he's played before.

I'm okay with the pick. Biggest criticism is that he needs to grow into his body. He's obviously a few years away and will develop in Sweden. Lots of skill and great skater and dynamic scorer, adding weight and strength is easy (but takes time).

watching the scouching live stream reaction. He can't believe he fell to 7.