What's going on with Montour?

[Eleven]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

Well if they sign him before qualifying offers are even due, the statement "we will issue a qualifying offer" would in fact be BS.

Indeed, again not the point.

[dudacek]

“I’ve heard the Sabres may not qualify Montour.” 

”We've not even considered that.”

A casually dropped unsubstantiated rumour. An unequivocal denial.

[Thorny]

11 minutes ago, dudacek said:

“I’ve heard the Sabres may not qualify Montour.” 

”We've not even considered that.”

A casually dropped unsubstantiated rumour. An unequivocal denial.

But to @Eleven's point it doesn't really mean anything. They denied Botterlll would be gone. Things change, and they mislead. And they tell the truth! And reporters are wrong and sometimes right. 

[Eleven]

16 minutes ago, dudacek said:

“I’ve heard the Sabres may not qualify Montour.” 

”We've not even considered that.”

A casually dropped unsubstantiated rumour. An unequivocal denial.

 

3 minutes ago, Thorny said:

But to @Eleven's point it doesn't really mean anything. They denied Botterlll would be gone. Things change, and they mislead. And they tell the truth! And reporters are wrong and sometimes right. 

22 years has given me a mastery of equivocal language.

[shrader]

13 hours ago, Eleven said:

Indeed, again not the point.

This Montour quote is much more guarded than the others.  There's nothing definitive in that comment, so it really isn't anything like the other two you mentioned. 

[IKnowPhysics]

When you hear dumbass rumors from the internet.

 

 

[WildCard]

15 minutes ago, IKnowPhysics said:

When you hear dumbass rumors from the internet.

 

 

When I throw new suggestions at my gf

[Rasmus_]

Montour should at least get a second year in Buffalo.  He was a mixed bag last year.  At times he looked fantastic, and other times, he looked lost, and out of place.  I like the player profile, but we need to see him shine.  If not, trade him and move on. 

[Drag0nDan]

20 hours ago, TheCerebral1 said:

Montour should at least get a second year in Buffalo.  He was a mixed bag last year.  At times he looked fantastic, and other times, he looked lost, and out of place.  I like the player profile, but we need to see him shine.  If not, trade him and move on. 

I don't get the vibe that he's going to just jump out and become some amazing player.  As of now i'd put him behind dahlin and jokiharju as our best puck movers - and i don't knwo that i want either playing with montour so that puts him as a bottom pairing defenseman here.  He's not particularly strong in his own end, and his shot isn't very good either. 

I guess we'll see, but i don't see us getting a ton back from trading him at this point.  

[inkman]

22 hours ago, TheCerebral1 said:

Montour should at least get a second year in Buffalo.  He was a mixed bag last year.  At times he looked fantastic, and other times, he looked lost, and out of place.  I like the player profile, but we need to see him shine.  If not, trade him and move on. 

 

1 hour ago, Drag0nDan said:

I don't get the vibe that he's going to just jump out and become some amazing player.  As of now i'd put him behind dahlin and jokiharju as our best puck movers - and i don't knwo that i want either playing with montour so that puts him as a bottom pairing defenseman here.  He's not particularly strong in his own end, and his shot isn't very good either. 

I guess we'll see, but i don't see us getting a ton back from trading him at this point.  

All the hype surrounding him prior to acquiring him really left us with very high expectations.  He sailed way below them.  His game is underwhelming in every aspect.  I'm trying to figure out why he was so highly touted.  

[shrader]

7 minutes ago, inkman said:

 

All the hype surrounding him prior to acquiring him really left us with very high expectations.  He sailed way below them.  His game is underwhelming in every aspect.  I'm trying to figure out why he was so highly touted.  

I feel like defensemen usually take a little extra time to settle in with a new team.  I also am a bit skeptical of how we've been handling them over the last 5 years or so.  We've seen a good number of guys who sucked here but then went on to be just fine somewhere else.  Hopefully we've finally got a staff in place that can correct that.  With that said, if they want to move him, fine, but he should be a good chip for any potential deal.

[IKnowPhysics]

New team, new environment, new coach, new culture, new partners (sometimes several), new personalities, new schemes, new outlet lanes and timing, new backcheckers, new goalies, new risk profiles, new player usage, new opponents.  There's a lot to unpack.  Certainly not insurmountable, but one or several challenges can impact time to maximum potential.

That said, we're potentially jammed on NHL-quality right-shot D (Risto, Jokiharju, Montour, Miller) and bare on left-shot D (Dahlin [who plays the right side], McCabe, Pilut???).  He's a workable contributor, 2nd pair on a decent team or 3rd pair guy on a contender.. But the roster currently being a mess makes it fuzzy on what his role will be.

 

[LGR4GM]

You know this ^ is why I don't think the Jokiharju trade originated from Botterill. I think he came from Chicago and Botterill was like, yes. 

[IKnowPhysics]

24 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

You know this ^ is why I don't think the Jokiharju trade originated from Botterill. I think he came from Chicago and Botterill was like, yes. 

Possibly.

Could also have been Botterill stocking up on NHL-ready right shot Ds in case Ristolainen demanded a trade.  At the time, after RIsto, the only right shot D we had was Montour. Bogosian had hip surgery the April right before that, and was expected to be out 5-6 months, threatening the season start.  Borgen wasn't NHL ready, Casey Nelson was injured and wasn't NHL ready, Matt Tennyson wasn't NHL ready.  I think Botterill bought Miller at a reasonable price, but still needed more depth, and taking on Jokiharju as a reasonable solution to a floundering Nylander was pretty no-brainer.  Jokiharju was the blue chip prospect right hander we didn't have in the pipeline.  It also gives Borgen, et al, time to develop.

Wouldn't be surprised either way on who initiated.

[Taro T]

6 hours ago, IKnowPhysics said:

Possibly.

Could also have been Botterill stocking up on NHL-ready right shot Ds in case Ristolainen demanded a trade.  At the time, after RIsto, the only right shot D we had was Montour. Bogosian had hip surgery the April right before that, and was expected to be out 5-6 months, threatening the season start.  Borgen wasn't NHL ready, Casey Nelson was injured and wasn't NHL ready, Matt Tennyson wasn't NHL ready.  I think Botterill bought Miller at a reasonable price, but still needed more depth, and taking on Jokiharju as a reasonable solution to a floundering Nylander was pretty no-brainer.  Jokiharju was the blue chip prospect right hander we didn't have in the pipeline.  It also gives Borgen, et al, time to develop.

Wouldn't be surprised either way on who initiated.

And, had Montour been healthy to start the season, Jokiharju starts the year in Ra-cha-cha as 5th RHD in the pecking order as soon as Bogosian is healthy.  One guy was likely expected to get traded by now & 1 of the remaining 3 guys ahead of him ends up in Seattle next off-season.

By giving Jokiharju the opportunity, which eventually slid Montour to the left side when Scandella also got traded,  that Montour injury also ended up costing the Sabres a season or 2 of Pilut's services (not sure how long his KHL deal is).

Agree the Joker deal seemed at the time a move for plugging a potential hole either this year or next.  Have to believe even Botterill expected him to trade (rather than release) at least 1 RHD to complement the 1 LHD deal he made.  So, it could easily have been J Bott initiating it.  He LOVES him some puck moving D-men.

Edited August 21, 2020 by Taro T