NHL Trade Rumors and Speculation 2022-23

[Contempt]

5 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

Guerin: We have a deal with Buffalo, will you waive? Kevin told me you'd start.

Agent: Pound sand.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Contempt

[thewookie1]

Talbot has no trade protection, offer a 2nd next year for him and a 4th or 5th

[Brawndo]

 

[kas23]

2 hours ago, pastajoe said:

 

 

Are we not allowed to have nice things? 

[Contempt]

44 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

I'm sure Toronto is just itching to take on that contract. Even half of that contract is a lot for them

[LabattBlue]

3 hours ago, Radar said:

And they did just not to us. It's looking more likely we're sticking with what we have. Thought it would be difficult and appears the options to find a two to three year place holder are not many.

Sticking with what we have?   Currently that is one 40 something goalie, and a prospect that can’t stay healthy in his short professional career.  
 

My fuzzy math may be off, but there should be 5 goalie spots between the Sabres and Amerks, and currently all we have is described above. 

[Contempt]

3 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Sticking with what we have?   Currently that is one 40 something goalie, and a prospect that can’t stay healthy in his short professional career.  
 

My fuzzy math may be off, but there should be 5 goalie spots between the Sabres and Amerks, and currently all we have is described above. 

[Thorny]

Looking at the roster and system, looks like trades for a veteran RHD, and of course goalie are presenting themselves as Adams’ “to do” list for the rest of the offseason. 

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, Radar said:

And they did just not to us. It's looking more likely we're sticking with what we have. Thought it would be difficult and appears the options to find a two to three year place holder are not many.

I still believe that KA will add another goalie to the mix. There are still second and third tier goalies that can be procured via trade for a low price. The GM is looking for a discounted bargain. 

[Radar]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

I still believe that KA will add another goalie to the mix. There are still second and third tier goalies that can be procured via trade for a low price. The GM is looking for a discounted bargain. 

Second and third tier goalies. Sounds like what we have.

[JohnC]

Just now, Radar said:

Second and third tier goalies. Sounds like what we have.

The second and third tier goalies in our possession have a history of fragility. We need another. In our pursuit of mediocrity at that position more is better than less. It is attainable. 

[SabresVet]

Just now, JohnC said:

I still believe that KA will add another goalie to the mix. There are still second and third tier goalies that can be procured via trade for a low price. The GM is looking for a discounted bargain. 

Buffalo seems stuck in a bad spiral this off-season and last with goalies  They badly need help to win games and build up their core of young players.  But they're getting rejected by those goalies they seem interested in who have certain no-trade clauses.  If the options continue to dwindle and they're back with a less than an average situation at goalie, then their prospects will be put into the unenviable position of having to overcome said goaltending.  

Sure, they could find someone to today or tomorrow or next week, but this becoming Adams' Achilles.  Especially when you see Portillo and Levi return to school with a better path to reaching the pros faster than in most other organizations.  

 

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, SabresVet said:

Buffalo seems stuck in a bad spiral this off-season and last with goalies  They badly need help to win games and build up their core of young players.  But they're getting rejected by those goalies they seem interested in who have certain no-trade clauses.  If the options continue to dwindle and they're back with a less than an average situation at goalie, then their prospects will be put into the unenviable position of having to overcome said goaltending.  

Sure, they could find someone to today or tomorrow or next week, but this becoming Adams' Achilles.  Especially when you see Portillo and Levi return to school with a better path to reaching the pros faster than in most other organizations.  

 

I agree with the general tenor of your response. Almost everyone does. There is no question that our goaltending is deficient. And likely will be entering the season. There were a couple of opportunities that vanished when the players exercised their no-trade clause. The GM has no choice other than to move down to the unappealing options. My suspicion is that the GM is more invested in UPL now as an option than most of us are. I still am inclined to believe that the GM will acquire a goalie in a trade that most of us will not be impressed by. 

 

[Doohickie]

On 7/4/2022 at 9:31 AM, tom webster said:

he should be thought of as the icing on the cake and should not, based on his history, be counted on as a key ingredient of that cake.

See, and I think that icing *is* a key ingredient of a cake.

[Dr. Who]

10 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

See, and I think that icing *is* a key ingredient of a cake.

A cake without icing is definitely not good. It sounds like the fruitcake that gets regifted so many times its practically a fossil -- which is close to Craig Anderson territory.

[Doohickie]

7 hours ago, Radar said:

It's looking more likely we're sticking with what we have.

But we don't have anything!

 

 

I want to see Michael Houser in the opening night lineup.  In very limited action he looked pretty good:  4-2 in six games with a .917 SV% and 2.97 GAA.  If you look back on when he played, the Sabres were tire fires (end of 20-21 season, beginning of 21-22 season).  The team in front of the goalie is much better than it was a year ago.  Give the guy a shot.  If you throw out the small sample size, he is literally the best goalie the Sabres have had over the last two seasons.

[GASabresIUFAN]

4 hours ago, Thorny said:

Looking at the roster and system, looks like trades for a veteran RHD, and of course goalie are presenting themselves as Adams’ “to do” list for the rest of the offseason. 

Just like last year.  We maybe equally disappointed.

[apuszczalowski]

I said in another post, I don't think it's that there are a bunch of goalies rejecting Buffalo as much as its the Sabres not wanting whats available. Murray was more about getting to.move up in the 1st to take the cap hit from Ottawa. Otherwise they seem to want the older veteran type guy on a 1-2 year deal so they don't block the younger guys. I think it's more likely they go back to the bargain bin for someone like Holtby to compete with Anderson for a role to backup (or start in front of) UPL who will be given the chance to take the job 

Adam's seems to prefer the slow approach of building from within and give the prospects openings to take the jobs rather then using every option to improve

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

I want to see Michael Houser in the opening night lineup.  In very limited action he looked pretty good:  4-2 in six games with a .917 SV% and 2.97 GAA.  If you look back on when he played, the Sabres were tire fires (end of 20-21 season, beginning of 21-22 season).  The team in front of the goalie is much better than it was a year ago.  Give the guy a shot.  If you throw out the small sample size, he is literally the best goalie the Sabres have had over the last two seasons.

I want to clarify that a bit:  I want a *real* boy in goal.  But if we can't get one from outside the org, I think they should give Pinocchio Houser a shot to compete for the a job on the big club.

 

[Thorny]

6 hours ago, JohnC said:

The second and third tier goalies in our possession have a history of fragility. We need another. In our pursuit of mediocrity at that position more is better than less. It is attainable. 

It’s mentioned a lot that KA is saving our cap space for eventual extensions to some of the younger players, but if we aren’t going to pay to acquire a goaltender now, keeping space to allow the Sabres to pay (see: overpay) for a goalie, should Levi not pan out, could be something I see as inclusive within KA’s plan. 

Only a guess but it seems as though he’s ok with being on the Levi timeline for finding a true starter, whether that ends up being Levi’s arrival or the move they make to address the position that presumably uses real assets/coin. 

I’ve said before that waiting is risky b/c A) players could be alienated and b) it’s a lot of eggs in the Levi basket. I do think it’s clear Adams isn’t worried about “A”, but as for “B”, I can’t imagine he could be fool enough to literally not have a back-up plan. I think we keep space for an “overpay”, basically. 

Good news is, if you trust KA’s evaluation either Levi, or the guy he gets after Levi proves inadequate, will address the position sufficiently. Bad news is, I’m not exactly sure how long the Levi timeline is. 

Maybe he still goes out an gets a bonafide 1 in the interim. I’d be all over it, if it was me. But I’m not counting on it. 

Edited July 9, 2022 by Thorny

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, apuszczalowski said:

Adam's seems to prefer the slow approach of building from within and give the prospects openings to take the jobs rather then using every option to improve

...which is infuriating; we've waited long enough.  But if it eventually yields a perennial contender it will be worth it.  From this point in time though there's no way to know what the end trajectory will be.

[Curt]

6 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

Sticking with what we have?   Currently that is one 40 something goalie, and a prospect that can’t stay healthy in his short professional career.  
 

My fuzzy math may be off, but there should be 5 goalie spots between the Sabres and Amerks, and currently all we have is described above. 

Do AHL teams generally carry 3 goalies?  How do you get 5?  I’d say 4.

[Mr. Allen]

I’m “hearing” that there’s a standing offer to Holtby for 2 years. 

[Doohickie]

Just now, Curt said:

Do AHL teams generally carry 3 goalies?  How do you get 5?  I’d say 4.

Yeah but Sabres goalies are like Spinal Tap drummers.

[JohnC]

6 minutes ago, Thorny said:

It’s mentioned a lot that KA is saving our cap space for eventual extensions to some of the younger players, but if we aren’t going to pay to acquire a goaltender now, keeping space to allow the Sabres to pay (see: overpay) for a goalie, should Levi not pan out, could be something I see as inclusive within KA’s plan. 

Only a guess but it seems as though he’s ok with being on the Levi timeline for finding a true starter, whether that ends up being Levi’s arrival or the move they make to address the position that presumably uses real assets/coin. 

I’ve said before that waiting is risky b/c A) players could be alienated and b) it’s a lot of eggs in the Levi basket. I do think it’s clear Adams isn’t worried about “A”, but as for “B”, I can’t imagine he could be fool enough to literally not have a back-up plan. I think we keep space for an “overpay”, basically. 

Good news is, if you trust KA’s evaluation either Levi, or the guy he gets after Levi proves inadequate, will address the position sufficiently. Bad news is, I’m not exactly sure how long the Levi timeline is. 

Maybe he still goes out an gets a bonafide 1 in the interim. I’d be all over it, if it was me. But I’m not counting on it. 

Our views on the goalie situation are similar. I just think that KA could better address the goalie position for the present without hurting his position for the longer term with Levi or UPL as our future and long-term goalies. I've felt since the trade with Florida in the Reinhart deal that he targeted him as legitimate long-term starter for us. Levi's performance in college has supported his high evaluation of him. 

One of the primary reasons with my frustration with how the GM has not seriously addressed the goalie position is that he has done a good job of adding a collection of young players to the point where there is enough raw material to stock to top two lines. That's quite an achievement in his short tenure. I just think that this team  has the capability to compete for a lower playoff spot. What's missing is adequate goaltending. 

Where I slightly disagree with you is that I doubt that he is even interested in pursuing a Bonafide #1 goalie this offseason. That isn't to say that he won't bring in another goalie but it won't be the caliber of a #1 player.