thesportsbuff

This x 100. The Sabres stockpiled picks (and some prospects) for two seasons. There aren't enough roster spots.. hell there aren't even enough contract spots (max of 50), for every single player you draft to eventually play in Buffalo. It just can't happen. I mean, it kind of stinks because we were so excited for these guys (compher and lemieux specifically) when we drafted them a few years ago, but there's no guarantee either of them end up as full time NHLers, let alone as players near Kane or O'Reilly's level. Both trades unquestionably speed up the rebuild, and neither trade is going to put us in a "cupboards are bare" scenario down the road because we already had a surplus of players in the cupboard. We would still be super hype for Eichel today, but if we had Lemieux (who i believe is NHL or jr next year -- likely jr) instead of Kane and JT (who is returning to Mich next year) instead of ROR... we're still looking at a 4 year rebuild. The trades Murray made both allow us to develop and grow a young team together while simultaneously competing for the playoffs in a serious manner RIGHT NOW.

I feel like Boston might have went all in to get #3 and got played by Maloney & Co. They traded away Hamilton mostly due to contract concerns, and although they actually got three picks in return, most think Calgary got the better end of the deal. They traded away Lucic for 13, Jones and Colin Miller. Not a terrible return, but wouldn't moving Lucic have helped them keep Hamilton in any way? And where does Martin Jones factor in for Boston, with Rask only 28 and Malcolm Subban developing in the minors? Certainly not the ideal situation for Jones to be in a back up role again. There were reports of Boston trying to trade up for #3 all afternoon, so it makes sense that Boston could have been trying to acquire pieces for a package to the Yotes. All three first rounders, a second rounder, Jones or Subban, maybe more -- but Maloney ultimately walked away. Of course, it's just as likely (if not more) that Boston tried to offer Hamilton in a trade for #3, resulting in the "Boston is trying to trade for No .3" reports even after they were turned down and moved on from the idea. Either way it seems they reached a bit for their picks. Buffalo can thank them for trading Soderberg to the Avs to facilitate the O'Reilly deal.

Thanks.

Sorry I know this is incredibly lazy of me to not just look it up myself. But how many picks do the Sabres have tomorrow?

I'd rather have O'Reilly, knowing that any big body defenseman can pretty much provide the same thing McNabb did. Verdict still out on Zad, he could be a star for all we know. But either way I will be satisfied. O'Reilly is already a star, just not in the "score 30 goals and 70 points" category.

Better than I thought tbh, but he still isn't considered a great defenseman by any means.

It is silly to be worried about 8 years from now. There are 7 more drafts between now and then, and our "core" is set for the foreseeable future.

We said the same thing about McNabb. What's he done since?

I can fully understand if people are not blown away with excitement over the trade. I absolutely cannot fathom what mindset the people who are outright against it must be in.

Oduya would be my #1 FA target.

it's not that big of a deal. ROR can play wing. Rienhart could play wing. Girgensons can play wing. but you could always put Moulson or Foligno there and move Reinhart to third line. Or when all is said and done Girgensons could be the third line.

The package everyone here suggested and everyone else here laughed and said it wasn't near enough. #trades

I hope not. I don't think any of these goalies are worth paying a premium -- certainly not 2 second round picks (as was rumored to have been declined for Talbot). We don't need to find our long-term, franchise goalie this summer. Goalies come and go around the league every year. Martin Jones definitely interests me more than the others. If only Richards' deal was a year or two shorter then I would entertain the idea of a cap relief trade. But like the rest of the world, I am not interested in Richards eating up almost 6 million until 2020.

it's a pointless exercise, as i imagine fans of any team who have gone a long time without a cup could make an argument. losing on a crease violation probably helps our case. i doubt the writer puts much stock into the injury bug that killed us in 05-06, but that still haunts me, so i'll count that as torturous as well. but who's to say that's worse than the Leafs blowing a 4-1 lead in Game 7 of a series they blew a 3-1 lead in, to the same team that some would say heavily won the Kessel trade by getting two top 5 picks in return. oh and they also haven't won in 50 years. so i will give it to the Coyotes fan base... please, save your "coyotes have fans?" jokes. :P certainly they don't have nearly as many die hard fans as us, and probably wouldn't appreciate a cup as much as we would as a city, but there are surely SOME die hard Coyotes fans out there, and to be in constant danger of losing their team for good... must suck. it seems every time they get good news, it quickly becomes bad news.

ty for someone finally saying that.

Yep. People have been mentioning Talbot for weeks/months, and he's about to be 28.

I'm just sad that I probably won't have an extra $10,000 laying around in the next few years to spend on a seat at the Final at FNC.

It's a fair concern, but as Benedict said, this could all be rectified by draft day. The Roy connection could also play into that decision. Assuming they have a decent relationship, maybe Grigo would be more comfortable playing for Roy and decide to stay.

I am almost completely indifferent on the "Grigorenko to KHL" thing. I would prefer to keep him, but if he has to clear waivers to play in Rochester, we will lose him anyway. And I'm not sure he has a role in the NHL, especially given Tim's comments about his expectations for Reinhart to play in the NHL. That would be a ridiculously young roster. So as others have mentioned, it may be best for all parties if he plays a few years in the KHL. Who knows? My gut says it is probably just a idle threat though.

Yeah, to me this feels just a few steps down from the Evander Kane thing in the sense that the writing is on the wall. When the whole Kane situation occurred, it was just so obvious to myself and probably everyone that Buffalo would be VERY interested. Especially when the news came out that he had gotten surgery and would miss the rest of the season... that was the kicker... it just made too much sense. I was texting my friends telling them "We are about to get Evander Kane" because it felt like an absolute certainty. (Total eklund move, I know). I won't go as far to say that O'Reilly to BUF feels like an "absolute certainty," because there is obviously a lot more flexibility for Colorado to make something happen, being the off-season. I'm worried about Toronto, mostly, but I'm sure there are any number of teams who could make a deal work. Maybe even Calgary. But given where the Sabres are at, Murray's comments about the type of players he wants, the assets we have, the Grigorenko/Roy connection, the need for D in Colorado (zad/pysyk/mccabe).. it just kind of makes too much sense, again. I'm all for a trade for O'Reilly, but if it doesn't happen it won't ruin my summer.

Well to be fair, Mantha isn't viewed as one of the game's top prospects because of his AHL production, so I'm not sure that comparing those stats says a whole lot. Especially since Grigorenko has 3 years of pro experience including some NHL time -- he should be out-producing a rookie in the AHL, even if they are the same age. To your point about Grigorenko, I think hockey fans around the league probably still consider Grigorenko a viable prospect. I personally think there's still hope for him. I think it is mostly Sabres fans who have labeled him a bust, and it's probably just because after three years, it "feels" like he should have made a bigger impact by now, even though that's completely overlooking his age.

Well if I had to choose between those two options, I'd probably take Drouin as he's further along in development and has proven he can play in the NHL, albeit maybe not at its highest level yet. But I wouldn't be particularly interested in either option for that price, and as you mentioned, I don't think Murray would be either. You could net an established top 6 forward for that kind of ransom, which is where my focus lays (even if it's not Kessel :P).

http://deadspin.com/nbc-sports-chairman-has-pushed-nhl-players-to-shave-the-1710129854 :wallbash: Has this been posted yet? Talk about being out of touch.

This is true, but still -- two first round picks + a first round selection with a high ceiling + a 2nd round selection who was just named captain of his college team? That seems excessive for Drouin.

I hate the idea of seeing Matt Ellis in a Sabres uniform, but as OP mentioned he always does what is expected of him. You know what you're getting. I voted "13th forward/call up." You never know when the injury bug can hit, and if a Deslauriers or Kaleta goes down, Ellis can simulate that role better than Larsson or Grigorenko.