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Devante Stephens traded to Tampa (for reasons)


Sabel79

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How is it depth for the Sabres? I guess its depth for Rochester. Per Twitter: 

Spencer played four seasons with the Peterborough Petes. In 36 games for the ECHL Orlando oSolar Bears, Spencer scored 2G,13Alast season. He had one assist in 11 games for teh Syrcause Crunch. This season, Spencer has split time between Orlando and Syracuse.

He’s ok in the ECHL. Doubt he has any real impact in Rochester and the closest he’ll come to Buffalo is eating at Wild Wings. The title suggests this move was for some other reason.

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Who knows what will happen... but..

Spencer is brought in as a D, so that a D can be called up to Rochester, because a D from Rochester will be needed in Buffalo because a D in Buffalo is getting moved out.

This is why I don't crap on things until they get a chance to play out.

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10 minutes ago, LTS said:

Who knows what will happen... but..

Spencer is brought in as a D, so that a D can be called up to Rochester, because a D from Rochester will be needed in Buffalo because a D in Buffalo is getting moved out.

This is why I don't crap on things until they get a chance to play out.

But they traded a D for this D, so it really doesn't make that chain of callups any more possible than it was before.  These minor league trades are always interesting because it's tough for pretty much anyone to figure out what the hell is going on, yet people are still going to speculate about the reasons.

And now my random speculation.  My guess is that Botterill's only involvement in this deal was as a rubber stamp.  Randy Sexton and whoever Tampa's minor league guy is did all the driving here.

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Just now, shrader said:

But they traded a D for this D, so it really doesn't make that chain of callups any more possible than it was before.  These minor league trades are always interesting because it's tough for pretty much anyone to figure out what the hell is going on, yet people are still going to speculate about the reasons.

And now my random speculation.  My guess is that Botterill's only involvement in this deal was as a rubber stamp.  Randy Sexton and whoever Tampa's minor league guy is did all the driving here.

Ahh, I thought Stephens was a F.  I suppose Spencer could be a different kind of D.. who knows.  I'll be quiet now. ?

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33 minutes ago, shrader said:

But they traded a D for this D, so it really doesn't make that chain of callups any more possible than it was before.  These minor league trades are always interesting because it's tough for pretty much anyone to figure out what the hell is going on, yet people are still going to speculate about the reasons.

And now my random speculation.  My guess is that Botterill's only involvement in this deal was as a rubber stamp.  Randy Sexton and whoever Tampa's minor league guy is did all the driving here.

Bingo.

Botterill had nothing to do with this...this is all about helping Cincinnati, nothing more.

Stephens is a RFA this summer and they weren't going to tender him. Might as well see if you can find someone you'll sign to an AHL contract and keep around.

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Well, for starters, Stephens is a LD and Spencer is a RD.  This matters because Cincinnati only had 1 true RD. 

Spencer is bigger.  Spencer has more AHL games under his belt.

They are the same age. Both were drafted in 2015:  Spencer in 2nd round, Stephens 5th round.

I don't know if Stephens was injured or not, but he had only played 3 games this year.  Last year Stephens

was +39.  Either way, they were winning without Stephens; so, why not trade for a RD?

 

Of course, in the Sabres system big picture, RD is super-abundantly staffed, while LD is only slightly overstaffed.

So, in the grand scheme of things, LD remains a priority for the Sabres, especially if they trade Scandella

or let him walk as a free agent this next Summer.

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19 minutes ago, etiennep99 said:

Well, for starters, Stephens is a LD and Spencer is a RD.  This matters because Cincinnati only had 1 true RD.

Buffalo is not making moves to stock Cincinnati.  The majority of that team is not under contract with the Buffalo/Rochester organizations.  It's not their concern.

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2 hours ago, etiennep99 said:

Well, for starters, Stephens is a LD and Spencer is a RD.  This matters because Cincinnati only had 1 true RD. 

Spencer is bigger.  Spencer has more AHL games under his belt.

They are the same age. Both were drafted in 2015:  Spencer in 2nd round, Stephens 5th round.

I don't know if Stephens was injured or not, but he had only played 3 games this year.  Last year Stephens

was +39.  Either way, they were winning without Stephens; so, why not trade for a RD?

Stephens was a top D on the Cyclones last year and this year he hasn't played much. Either injury or out of favor, but regardless, they needed balancing of their pairings. Neither of them is getting past the logjam we have at defense in Rochester.

I watched him in the WHL when he was paired with Adam Foote's kid. Foote played stay at home and used his smarts and size to dissolve any attacks, plus a good active stick. But Stephens could skate compared to Littlefoote and I was hoping he'd turn that into an AHL career. Hope Spencer can help the Cyclones achieve in the playoffs this year.

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3 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Stephens was a top D on the Cyclones last year and this year he hasn't played much. Either injury or out of favor, but regardless, they needed balancing of their pairings. Neither of them is getting past the logjam we have at defense in Rochester.

I watched him in the WHL when he was paired with Adam Foote's kid. Foote played stay at home and used his smarts and size to dissolve any attacks, plus a good active stick. But Stephens could skate compared to Littlefoote and I was hoping he'd turn that into an AHL career. Hope Spencer can help the Cyclones achieve in the playoffs this year.

I don't watch Cyclones games, but do follow the stats.  He was a +35 last year on the top team in ECHL.  He scored points and is 6'2".  What is the purpose of a farm club if we don't see what a guy on an ELC has?  Why couldn't they give him 10-15 games w/ Amerks and see if he should stick?  Our prospect experts rave about players who play well in Juniors or NCAA, but isn't ECHL a higher tier league than either of those?  It seems to me his stats were better in a tougher league and the team ignored it

Edited by Cage
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17 minutes ago, Cage said:

I don't watch Cyclones games, but do follow the stats.  He was a +35 last year on the top team in ECHL.  He scored points and is 6'2".  What is the purpose of a farm club if we don't see what a guy on an ELC has?  Why couldn't they give him 10-15 games w/ Amerks and see if he should stick?  Our prospect experts rave about players who play well in Juniors or NCAA, but isn't ECHL a higher tier league than either of those?

He couldn’t climb ahead of the guys in front of him.

 

Dahlin

Ristolainen

Montour

Miller

Bogosian

McCabe

Scandella

Jokiharju

Gilmour

Pilut

Nelson

Borgen

Fitzpatrick

Bryson

Hickey

Redmond

MacWilliam

Paestch

Stephens

 

Edited by dudacek
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7 minutes ago, dudacek said:

He couldn’t climb ahead of the guys in front of him.

 

Dahlin

Ristolainen

Montour

Miller

Bogosian

McCabe

Scandella

Jokiharju

Gilmour

Pilut

Nelson

Borgen

Fitzpatrick

Bryson

Hickey

Redmond

MacWilliam

Paestch

Stephens

 

What has the bottom half of that list done that warrants that order?  Bryson and Fitzpatrick played in NCAA and put up lesser numbers.  Hickey's done little.  Redmond, MacWilliam, Paestch are career AHLers.  They determined he's lower ranked from 3-4 practices?

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2 minutes ago, Cage said:

What has the bottom half of that list done that warrants that order?  Bryson and Fitzpatrick played in NCAA and put up lesser numbers.  Hickey's done little.  Redmond, MacWilliam, Paestch are career AHLers.  They determined he's lower ranked from 3-4 practices?

This is all speculation, but Bryson and Fitzpatrick have another year on their entry-level contracts than does Stephens. And Stephens was a GMTM pick and not Botterill's. It could even be for a change of scenery or to give him a chance against a less-stocked organization's depth chart or because he doesn't make quick enough outlets. You never know exactly why.

Oddly, Stephens now is in the TB organization... with Little Cal Foote.

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3 minutes ago, Cage said:

What has the bottom half of that list done that warrants that order?  Bryson and Fitzpatrick played in NCAA and put up lesser numbers.  Hickey's done little.  Redmond, MacWilliam, Paestch are career AHLers.  They determined he's lower ranked from 3-4 practices?

Pretty much. Training camp and track record prior to training camp.

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