HumanSlinky39

My point being, serious hockey organizations...that know how to win...identify soft spots and move aggressively to fill them. The Sabres roster is largely one big soft spot because they are not serious about hockey. They implemented a rebuilding strategy centered around adding "skilled" forwards and puck moving defensemen with no consideration given to how the sum of the parts equal a good hockey team.

I think on a team with cup aspirations, Mitts is a 3C who can occasionally move up a line. Krejci might be a reasonable analog. He isn't in Bergeron's league.

And the moment he signed his lucrative extension, his productivity evaporated. *Poof*, gone. We don't need another headcase on this team.

Because they're a serious hockey organization with a competent front office. Unlike the Sabres.

Ugh. Really? I like Mitts...can't like anybody in Boston, though.

So, Carolina ultimately moved Marty Necas for an undersized 3C and what will likely be 2 late firsts? And they're in "win now" mode? Ouch.

It's not translating because he's still somewhat raw offensively, but even what skill he has isn't producing because right now his biggest offensive asset is getting the puck to the front of the net and he's most frequently skating with guys like Krebs, Quinn, and Cozens...none of whom are good finishers right now. Maybe the addition of Norris, a better scorer than any of those guys, will help him?

That's a straw man. There are countless other examples that went the other way. He is NOT the kind of player a franchise trying to claw it's way out of the basement trades for. And none of those players saw their production tank the way Pettersson's has. He's a bad hockey player right now. Do you honestly think he'd perk up after being traded to arguably the worst franchise in the sport?

Correct. And I'm not saying the trade was bad or shouldn't have been made. Just expressing my concern about the return. Could we have done better? I honestly don't know, but I suspect not much better. They're trading Cozens at a pretty low point, so probably not.

I don't hate it. If you remove Norris's injury history, I think it's a very solid trade. But you cannot remove somebody's injury history and his is concerning. If he stays reasonably healthy, it's probably a pretty good trade. If he's hurt a lot, not so much. He's already had 3 surgeries on his left shoulder and he's 25. That's...not good.

Trading for Pettersson...anything for Pettersson...would be a disaster. He's a headcase who got paid superstar money for what amounts to about an 18 month stretch of superstar-level play then saw his productivity completely evaporate after he got paid. He disappeared in the playoffs last season and was a total no-show for the 4 Nations. He openly feuded with JT Miller and has a history of pouting and sulking. How, pray tell, does adding a player with THAT resume help a terrible team?

And he's totally wasting away there. He should have been given time to develop his skills in the AHL, but instead has spent 2 years as an undersized fourth line grinder on a bad team. Brilliant!

We're giving up a 2nd? The ferk?

If Norris can stay healthy, it's a fine trade. The baked in injury history is my concern. He's never played more than 66 games in a season. Missed almost all of 2022/23. Missed 32 games last season. Has missed 8 games this season with "upper body injury." He's had 3 surgeries on his left shoulder (YIKES).

Good move and pretty much a no-brainer.

I doubt it. I honestly don't think Norris moves the needle much either way.

At face value, this is simply a trade of a couple of very similar players that probably needed a change of scenery. I don't think it moves the needle in either direction for either team. My concern is Norris's injury history. And this is the Sabres, so more likely than not Cozens goes to Ottawa and rediscovers his 2022/23 form while Norris appears in about 35% of the Sabres games because of injuries. The defenseman is a JAG. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

Yeah, he's been pretty big about rooting for the Sabres to do well after years and years of wandering in the wilderness. He does a nice job of expressing our frustrations.

Rasmus Ristolainen Alexander Nylander Casey Mittelstadt Dylan Cozens Jack Quinn Matthew Savoie All picked in the 7-9 range. Pretty much all were/have been disappointments. Mitts is clearly the best of the bunch and appeared to be carving out a decent role for himself here as a 2C before being dealt to the Avs where his career has kind of taken a step back...though that might be a function of the depth ahead of him in Colorado. He was of course traded for a completely redundant piece in Bo Byram (a 4th overall pick) who, despite the occasional flash of ability, has been very "meh." Risto is at best a middle-pairing defenseman at his absolute best, bottom pair on a good team. Nylander was an unmitigated NHL flop. Mitts looks like a decent middle-6 forward who netted a defenseman whose style of play we didn't need. Cozens has regressed horribly after a very strong 3rd season and would benefit from a change of scenery. Jury's out on him, but early indications aren't great. Quinn flashed promise early but has been almost entirely invisible this season. Have to wonder if injuries took their toll on him. Jury still kind of out, but doesn't look good. Savoie was traded for McCleod, a serviceable bottom-6 centerman on a good team. Jury is out on Savoie, but Edmonton likes him. What's all of this say? The Sabres need to stay away from drafting in the 7-9 range.

A 1st for Risto? In the year of our lord 2025? Go home, Flyers; you're drunk.

I've been saying for over a year now that this just isn't a serious hockey organization. Not firing a GM with Kev's track record coming off a season like this is just the confirmation of that.

Either way, I've liked what I've seen from him. He's a rookie, so there's obviously been stutter-steps, but you can see the bones of a very good Forward there. Trading him would be foolish.

Sadly, I think that's a strike against the Sabres. Seems to me, the Bills are Terry's "favorite son" and as long as they're doing well, the Sabres are the rat bastard black sheep of the family. No urgency to be better because he already has a successful franchise. I could be way off base, but that's the impression that I get.

Got lost in the maelstrom of ***** from the rest of the last 30 minutes? Plus, I think we're just conditioned to expect our special teams to be an absolute ***** show at this point. Not excusing it at all, I think that it's just not surprising. I had zero expectation that they would score 6-3. None. That's how much our power play sucks. I was just shocked they didn't allow another ENG.

Huh? He's been one of the few bright spots on this team and looks like a top-6 Centerman in the very near future.