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Botterill’s Appearance on the Two Man Advantage Podcast


Brawndo

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Jason Botterill was on The Athletic Two Man Advantage Podcast with Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun along with Craig Custance. 

He was asked specifically about trading one of the First Round Picks and he stated we are not one player away from being in the category one of one of the elite teams. 

They realize how valuable those picks are excited to have them and their amateur staff is working hard to  make sure they have the players in the ranked properly. They would consider putting them in deal for a young player but they will not be traded for a rental.

They are excited to watch the growth of not only Dahlin, but Risto, Eichel and Reinhart in the second half as well. They are happy about Rochester and Cincinnati being in First Place, but for the future of some of those players as well. They are excited to have some of those players come up and provide a spark for a hopeful playoff push. 

He did mention he feels none of the players would be in a consistent Top 6 or Top 4 Role however. 

He was very happy with the returning players doing exactly what was asked of them this Summer. 

Very happy about Jack becoming a two way player and how he drives practices and games,

He, PH and the Pegulas were not sure about naming a Captain for this season even though they all knew Eichel would be the Captain but they didn’t want to put to much pressure on a young player. He has excelled in the role. 

They talked about the improvement in their communication with Jack now that they have had success the past month. Last year it was how to get the puck out of the zone, this year what techniques can they improve with puck deep in the OZ. 

On Skinner, he is an amazing fit with the Sabres and you can tell by the smile on his face after he scored last night he really enjoys the game again and that he underestimated the impact that he would have on Eichel, Reinhart and Risto because he was a player brought in to help them right now and how invigorated them are. 

Also to change the culture he needed to bring in players who want to be here. Skinner waived his NTC to come here was a huge for them. Eichel signing an eight year extension and Dahlin having a huge smile about coming to Buffalo as well. 

Skinner also brings work ethic and last season there was not a balance between too serious smashing sticks on the boards during practice and being loosey goosey. This year they have found a balance between work and having fun. 

Skinner’s Low Work has impressed him more then he anticipated. Their chemistry developed to the point where he looks for Jack at center ice and Jack looks for him in the OZ and how Skinner can win one on one battles in front of the net. 

In terms of the contract he initially stated repeated his stance from the beginning of year and then he mentioned they would love to get Skinner signed down the road and they have been ecstatic about the fit so far. 

LeBrun mentioned there were three teams that Skinner would waive his NTC for Buffalo, Pittsburgh and he believes Toronto. Salary Cap implications prevented the other two for from being serious contender for him 

Also the three hosts mentioned how Eichel was a completely different person when he met with them at the media tour. 

They feel Buffalo have an chance to make the playoffs as a WC.

Also LeBrun mentioned that the end of the season meetings were eye opening and he knew he had to make changes in the culture and the psychological make up of the team. 

It was an excellent interview 

Here is the link starts at 28:15

 

Edited by Brawndo
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Seriously Brawndo, you are the man.  Good info you pass along daily.

so anyone else feel slighted that nobody is giving Buffalo a chance at the top 3?  Sounds like this interview the hosts say we ‘have a chance to make the playoffs as a wildcard.’  I was listening to wgr550 around 415 today and they were interviewing someone from ESPN who basically said the top three will be Tampa, Toronto and Boston.  But hey, the math says the sabres have a chance at WC.  Screw that, we have a real shot at top 3.  Let’s Go Buffalo!!!!!

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26 minutes ago, Derrico said:

Seriously Brawndo, you are the man.  Good info you pass along daily.

so anyone else feel slighted that nobody is giving Buffalo a chance at the top 3?  Sounds like this interview the hosts say we ‘have a chance to make the playoffs as a wildcard.’  I was listening to wgr550 around 415 today and they were interviewing someone from ESPN who basically said the top three will be Tampa, Toronto and Boston.  But hey, the math says the sabres have a chance at WC.  Screw that, we have a real shot at top 3.  Let’s Go Buffalo!!!!!

Thanks! 

 

I think the only playoff scenario I will be upset about is the the Sabres missing the playoffs while having 5 more points then the 3rd place Metro Team 

Edited by Brawndo
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44 minutes ago, Derrico said:

Seriously Brawndo, you are the man.  Good info you pass along daily.

so anyone else feel slighted that nobody is giving Buffalo a chance at the top 3?  Sounds like this interview the hosts say we ‘have a chance to make the playoffs as a wildcard.’  I was listening to wgr550 around 415 today and they were interviewing someone from ESPN who basically said the top three will be Tampa, Toronto and Boston.  But hey, the math says the sabres have a chance at WC.  Screw that, we have a real shot at top 3.  Let’s Go Buffalo!!!!!

This is an unrealistic expectation. There metrics have them as a middle of the pack team. Enjoy the success but don't lament them not being there quite yet. 

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9 minutes ago, inkman said:

This is an unrealistic expectation. There metrics have them as a middle of the pack team. Enjoy the success but don't lament them not being there quite yet. 

Honestly asking, are Boston or Montreal’s metrics much better than ours?

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1 hour ago, Derrico said:

so anyone else feel slighted that nobody is giving Buffalo a chance at the top 3?

Nope.  Not at all.  They need to earn it.  If they do, the numbers will speak for themselves.  I think they're perfectly capable of being in the top three in the division, but that will depend on how deep the valleys are.  If they can learn to consistently bring their best game, of course they'll be there.  But we've seen they've been almost bipolar over the last 20 games.

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I think this franchise could be a lot closer to being elite than JB lets on. Almost all of the important pieces are in place somewhere in Buffalo or Rochester, with the one notable missing piece being a first-line RW sniper. The big issue at the moment is pro experience. Specifically: Dahlin, Pilut, Mitts, Tage, and Ullmark in Buffalo. Then Nylander, Olofsson, and Guhle in Rochester. If some of those 4 1st round picks in the next two years can be traded for that missing RW1, then JB would be wise to make the move. 3 of those 4 picks will be in the high teens and twenties anyway. 

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2 hours ago, FuhrUrsinne said:

fI think this franchise could be a lot closer to being elite than JB lets on. Almost all of the important pieces are in place somewhere in Buffalo or Rochester, with the one notable missing piece being a first-line RW sniper. The big issue at the moment is pro experience. Specifically: Dahlin, Pilut, Mitts, Tage, and Ullmark in Buffalo. Then Nylander, Olofsson, and Guhle in Rochester. If some of those 4 1st round picks in the next two years can be traded for that missing RW1, then JB would be wise to make the move. 3 of those 4 picks will be in the high teens and twenties anyway. 

Interesting and agree generally, may need one in development as well.  That being said... not sure I'd want to play poker with him... he stated the obvious, didn't rule out anything and basically said what it would take to make a move, a young controlled guy that could be part of this corp.  Left out Pilut as well... I think he has shown he is going to be part of that young corp.  Thinking the Sabres may want to find a young high end center as well, either with the draft or trade. 

The St. Louis pick may be the most valuable especially if they start trading the few assets they have or pics.  They may stink more next year than this year and if they hold on to their pic this year, that center may be available in either of the next two drafts. 

I am really liking how the D assets are developing.... You have Ghule, Borgen and Pilut in various stages of getting close... Laaksonen and Samuelson developing all with potential to make the NHL plus the current D of Dahlin, Risto, Bogo, McCabe, Nelson and Baloo who is greatly improved.  That is some backend strength.  Those four pics could be used depending on the talent either in the draft or available.  JBot's scouts seems to have set up the the College and Euro pipeline well, They may be able to find some future gems in later rounds.  Forward depth still seems lacking beyond Oloffson, CJ Smith, Nylander and an improving Asplund and who know what Pekar is at the next level but seems to have the drive.   Hoping to see more of this coming up in the next two drafts and maybe the Sabres don't make any moves. 

Still would love to see Tarasenko in  a Sabres uniform and Alex Petrangelo is rumored to being shopped by the Blues... 

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I’m sorry, I just don’t get how everyone takes him at his word. 

Last year he was adamant that he wouldn’t settle for anything less then a first for Kane. He ended up with a conditional first, two or three years down the road. (OK, before someone corrects me 15 or 27 months down the road)

He really isn’t going to give his game plan on national air waves.

I really hope you guys know when that car salesman tells you it’s his final offer, it probably isn’t.

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32 minutes ago, tom webster said:

I’m sorry, I just don’t get how everyone takes him at his word. 

Last year he was adamant that he wouldn’t settle for anything less then a first for Kane. He ended up with a conditional first, two or three years down the road. (OK, before someone corrects me 15 or 27 months down the road)

He really isn’t going to give his game plan on national air waves.

I really hope you guys know when that car salesman tells you it’s his final offer, it probably isn’t.

Agreed. Although the good feelings brought about by the improved play this season are nice, it is a very perishable product. One injury, one DWI, one E. Kane type of event early some morning in a bar on Chippewa can change the course of the team. JBot is driving the franchise bus and likely has a plan.  I'm more concerned about his ability to correct course when the road gets bumpy or a wheel falls off. The adjustments since the 2017-18 season are looking good (not great, but certainly good). I hope that all of you are with me when I want the Sabres to win Lord Stanley's Cup..... multiple times over the next decade. 

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10 hours ago, inkman said:

This is an unrealistic expectation. There metrics have them as a middle of the pack team. Enjoy the success but don't lament them not being there quite yet. 

Metrics Shmetrics....there is the old saying "just make the playoffs and anything can happen". This has been proven in recent years.

The thing that makes me still believe is that we haven't seen this team play a 60 minute game but maybe twice(?). Now you could argue that they might not get to the playoffs because of that but, what could happen if they start playing those 60 minute games on a regular basis? 

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11 hours ago, inkman said:

This is an unrealistic expectation. There metrics have them as a middle of the pack team. Enjoy the success but don't lament them not being there quite yet. 

Piggybacking on matter's post: what metrics correlate to winning in the NHL? There are all these fancy stats. Which ones matter?

4 hours ago, FuhrUrsinne said:

I think this franchise could be a lot closer to being elite than JB lets on. Almost all of the important pieces are in place somewhere in Buffalo or Rochester, with the one notable missing piece being a first-line RW sniper. The big issue at the moment is pro experience. Specifically: Dahlin, Pilut, Mitts, Tage, and Ullmark in Buffalo. Then Nylander, Olofsson, and Guhle in Rochester. If some of those 4 1st round picks in the next two years can be traded for that missing RW1, then JB would be wise to make the move. 3 of those 4 picks will be in the high teens and twenties anyway. 

Thank you. Keeping the picks doesn't seem to fit into the overall timeline here. When would they be legit NHL contributors? The Sabres are trending toward being a contending team in a couple of years (hopefully sooner, who knows?). I agree with not spending those picks on a rental this year, although something crazy could happen — the Sabres being near the top of the league again by deadline day, and the temptation would be enormous. But I think those picks will be used to add a young NHL player as per JB's comment.

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1 hour ago, tom webster said:

I’m sorry, I just don’t get how everyone takes him at his word. 

Last year he was adamant that he wouldn’t settle for anything less then a first for Kane. He ended up with a conditional first, two or three years down the road. (OK, before someone corrects me 15 or 27 months down the road)

He really isn’t going to give his game plan on national air waves.

I really hope you guys know when that car salesman tells you it’s his final offer, it probably isn’t.

Death, taxes, and fans taking public comments at face value. 

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It's like a broken record. Everyone wanting to trade those picks, for a top end rw, in a draft so deep at wing it's crazy, Google Brock Boeser. 

There's this myth that good players don't come from the teens or twenties and it's bs. Wingers always slide in drafts. Always.

Keep the picks. In 2 years when we're at the top we'll need those entry level contacts to push us over. A high priced vet won't do it. 

It's like no one remembers the 2015 draft and how that screwed us because we traded away first round picks. 

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40 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Didn’t you just take issue with my assertion in another thread that the 2 lowest of those picks probably won’t turn into good NHL players?

Hmmmmmmm?

Sort of. Not really. I took issue with your probabilistic claim that there was a very good chance that NONE of Guhle, Nylander, and either 2019 1st rounder becomes a good NHL player. I happen to think Guhle will become a solid #4/5 D-man, Nylander a solid 2nd line winger, and that at least one of those 1st rounders ends up as a solid NHL player in a deep draft.

But the odds of either 1st rounder becoming an immediate impact 1st line RW for Eichel seem very low to me. That is why I am saying that I would be willing to trade some package of one or both picks for such a player. Those kind of players are more likely found within the top 5-10 picks.

Now LGR4GM just posted to dispute this. That's fine. I've lost interest this morning in searching for any data I'd need to back up my claims on the likelihood of finding top line wingers who can contribute immediately.

So I'll wrap up my post by saying that I think it's time this franchise starts thinking about winning a Stanley Cup sooner than later. Maybe even this season if a perfect storm of developments occur, but most likely next season or 2020-21. So in my opinion, JB's GM decisions should be based on shifting a Cup-contending timeframe up sooner than he lets on publicly.

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20 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

It's like a broken record. Everyone wanting to trade those picks, for a top end rw, in a draft so deep at wing it's crazy, Google Brock Boeser. 

There's this myth that good players don't come from the teens or twenties and it's bs. Wingers always slide in drafts. Always.

Keep the picks. In 2 years when we're at the top we'll need those entry level contacts to push us over. A high priced vet won't do it. 

It's like no one remembers the 2015 draft and how that screwed us because we traded away first round picks. 

You wouldn't want to add a Ryan O'Reilly type to this team?

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6 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

You wouldn't want to add a Ryan O'Reilly type to this team?

No. This is the same dumb crap we did in 2015. Let's piss away all our picks for that one piece. That gets us nowhere. We need constant talent coming in. Our forward depth is bad. Spending multiple assets for 1 is bad. I'm not doing this 2015 dance again. 

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12 minutes ago, FuhrUrsinne said:

Sort of. Not really. I took issue with your probabilistic claim that there was a very good chance that NONE of Guhle, Nylander, and either 2019 1st rounder becomes a good NHL player. I happen to think Guhle will become a solid #4/5 D-man, Nylander a solid 2nd line winger, and that at least one of those 1st rounders ends up as a solid NHL player in a deep draft.

But the odds of either 1st rounder becoming an immediate impact 1st line RW for Eichel seem very low to me. That is why I am saying that I would be willing to trade some package of one or both picks for such a player. Those kind of players are more likely found within the top 5-10 picks.

Now LGR4GM just posted to dispute this. That's fine. I've lost interest this morning in searching for any data I'd need to back up my claims on the likelihood of finding top line wingers who can contribute immediately.

So I'll wrap up my post by saying that I think it's time this franchise starts thinking about winning a Stanley Cup sooner than later. Maybe even this season if a perfect storm of developments occur, but most likely next season or 2020-21. So in my opinion, JB's GM decisions should be based on shifting a Cup-contending timeframe up sooner than he lets on publicly.

Oh goody, Tim Murray 2.0 let's push our timetable up. I don't need a rw to contribute immediately. I need him to replace what we lose in the expansion draft or to replace another rw who wants too much money. We aren't winning the cup this year just because we traded 2 firsts and Guhle for someone. But we will have less of a chance at it down the road because those assets are gone. If we trade a first it should be for an under 23 wing with at least another year left on a cheap deal. 

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14 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

No. This is the same dumb crap we did in 2015. Let's piss away all our picks for that one piece. That gets us nowhere. We need constant talent coming in. Our forward depth is bad. Spending multiple assets for 1 is bad. I'm not doing this 2015 dance again. 

It was a pretty good trade.

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2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Oh goody, Tim Murray 2.0 let's push our timetable up. I don't need a rw to contribute immediately. I need him to replace what we lose in the expansion draft or to replace another rw who wants too much money. We aren't winning the cup this year just because we traded 2 firsts and Guhle for someone. But we will have less of a chance at it down the road because those assets are gone. If we trade a first it should be for an under 23 wing with at least another year left on a cheap deal. 

I could definitely go for that which I bolded. In fact, I could see myself buying into your entire argument.

However, I do take issue with the "Tim Murray 2.0" comment. For one thing, the current state of the franchise is MUCH further along in development than it was in 2015. Also, trading away multiple future assets for singular proven assets can be the better choice in many instances. Are we there yet? Perhaps not. Probably not? But the concept of "windows of opportunity" is a very real thing. Carpe diem because you never know when injuries, contracts, and other team developments (TB, Tor, Bost, etc...) interfere with your wonderful long-term plans for Cup glory.

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13 hours ago, Derrico said:

Seriously Brawndo, you are the man.  Good info you pass along daily.

so anyone else feel slighted that nobody is giving Buffalo a chance at the top 3?  Sounds like this interview the hosts say we ‘have a chance to make the playoffs as a wildcard.’  I was listening to wgr550 around 415 today and they were interviewing someone from ESPN who basically said the top three will be Tampa, Toronto and Boston.  But hey, the math says the sabres have a chance at WC.  Screw that, we have a real shot at top 3.  Let’s Go Buffalo!!!!!

Third place gets you TOR in the first round.  1st WC team gets  WSH or maybe CBJ.

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