Sabres traded that made you sad to see them go

[Thorny]

22 minutes ago, Curt said:

Briere and Drury was just gutting.  

Ya. Whereas something like Eichel was a drawn out process for me, with various stages of perception/acceptance, Black Sunday was a damn Moment. And more than that, you knew it was the end of something really great, rather than merely a lament of what at one point may have been 

[Billznut]

The best part of all these comments is you can almost with certainty pick out poster’s ages with which trade hit them the hardest. 
 

For me, it was definitely the Gare, Schoenfeld trade to Detroit. 

[Goldseatsaud]

#6 lived in Lockport go past his former house everyday. Think of him

2 hours ago, Billznut said:

The best part of all these comments is you can almost with certainty pick out poster’s ages with which trade hit them the hardest. 
 

For me, it was definitely the Gare, Schoenfeld trade to Detroit. 

52 years and counting or waiting

[Huckleberry]

Pommer and Samson.

Pommer because the tank really started and I hated to see all those guys get traded.

Samson, I always liked his playing style, and if you want a good net front presence he is underrated.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Huckleberry

[Archie Lee]

Turgeon was the guy for me.  I am similar to him in age and he and Mogilny were really the only two star players of my actual age-group. I also have a soft-spot for players whose shortcomings, fair or unfair, end up being symbolic of the team's failings. 

There is no going back and there is no knowing what would have happened under different circumstances (the Butterfly Effect and all that), but Housley/(Hawerchuk), Andreychuk, Turgeon and Hasek are hall of famers.  Mogilny should be.  Benoit Hogue and Uwe Krupp were better hockey players at that point in their careers than Randy Wood and Randy Hillier.  Mike Ramsey still had a little mileage. As much as I love Lafontaine and recognize his injuries were unforeseeable, we were barely .500 with him and ultimately won nothing.  I always thought the trading of Turgeon was an over reaction and shortsighted.      

 

[Thorny]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

Turgeon was the guy for me.  I am similar to him in age and he and Mogilny were really the only two star players of my actual age-group. I also have a soft-spot for players whose shortcomings, fair or unfair, end up being symbolic of the team's failings. 

There is no going back and there is no knowing what would have happened under different circumstances (the Butterfly Effect and all that), but Housley/(Hawerchuk), Andreychuk, Turgeon and Hasek are hall of famers.  Mogilny should be.  Benoit Hogue and Uwe Krupp were better hockey players at that point in their careers than Randy Wood and Randy Hillier.  Mike Ramsey still had a little mileage. As much as I love Lafontaine and recognize his injuries were unforeseeable, we were barely .500 with him and ultimately won nothing.  I always thought the trading of Turgeon was an over reaction and shortsighted.      

 

I remember my dad explaining this one to me as a young kid, getting an early education on how prime/upside work. That we were trading some future upside with Turgeon, that was the risk, but we were getting a player who was better in the now. And how that trade off sort of works. 

Good memory 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Thorny

[GASabresIUFAN]

The Calle Johansson trade is one I’ll never understand.  
 

Another is the McNabb and 2 2nds for Delo and Fasching.  I’d sit well the day it was made and it’s worse now. 

[gilbert11]

On 7/12/2023 at 8:22 PM, klos1963 said:

While I hated Schoenfeld, the most overrated player in Sabres history, it's pretty funny that 2 of the 3 here lamenting his trade spelled his name incorrectly.

Warning!  ⛔️⚠️

Spelling Police on the prowl!

[Marvin]

1 minute ago, gilbert11 said:

Warning!  ⛔️⚠️

Spelling Police on the prowl!

Welcome back!

[Taro T]

8 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

Turgeon was the guy for me.  I am similar to him in age and he and Mogilny were really the only two star players of my actual age-group. I also have a soft-spot for players whose shortcomings, fair or unfair, end up being symbolic of the team's failings. 

There is no going back and there is no knowing what would have happened under different circumstances (the Butterfly Effect and all that), but Housley/(Hawerchuk), Andreychuk, Turgeon and Hasek are hall of famers.  Mogilny should be.  Benoit Hogue and Uwe Krupp were better hockey players at that point in their careers than Randy Wood and Randy Hillier.  Mike Ramsey still had a little mileage. As much as I love Lafontaine and recognize his injuries were unforeseeable, we were barely .500 with him and ultimately won nothing.  I always thought the trading of Turgeon was an over reaction and shortsighted.      

 

LaFontaine SHOULD've been the Hart winner on the Island the year that Bourque and Messier nearly tied for that honor.  The games he was out, the Aisles lost and they won most of the games he played.  There probably was never a more glaring instance of how "valuable" to a team a guy was.

And the Sabres got him for Turgeon (yes, there were other pieces out the door and coming back to make the whole thing balance) but it really was as far as pieces that truly mattered Pete for Patty.  That, bringing in Hasek, bringing in Hawerchuk, bringing in Zhitnik (the best hockey name ever and he was a Sabre), and bringing in Briere were my 5 favorite trades in their entire history.  (MHO.  Clearly YMV.  😉)

Hillier was nothing.  But Wood was good.  And McLlwain was a bigger loss than Hogue.  Hogue was a whiny primadonna that had the audacity to actually accuse the Sabres of having an anti-French Canadian bias.  Yes, the team that has drafted 2 forwards 1st overall in their entire history and coincidentally both of them were French Canadians, the team whose most famous line ever was the FRENCH Connection, the team that traded away their captain to obtain Joclyn Guevremont, the team that overpaid for Real (Buddy) Cloutier, yes THAT team was run by people who hated French Canadians and played in a city full of anti-French Canadian bigots.  

Go #### yourself Benoit.

[French Collection]

10 hours ago, Taro T said:

  Hogue was a whiny primadonna that had the audacity to actually accuse the Sabres of having an anti-French Canadian bias.  Yes, the team that has drafted 2 forwards 1st overall in their entire history and coincidentally both of them were French Canadians, the team whose most famous line ever was the FRENCH Connection, the team that traded away their captain to obtain Joclyn Guevremont, the team that overpaid for Real (Buddy) Cloutier, yes THAT team was run by people who hated French Canadians and played in a city full of anti-French Canadian bigots.  

Go #### yourself Benoit.

As a French Canadian, I approve of this rant.

[dudacek]

At the time Mogilny was a huge wtf?

Absolutely hated trading a 26-year-old star for 3 chips who didn’t help the current team a bit, and probably never would reach close to his heights.

In retrospect, it kinda opened the door to the contract-motivated star-for-futures trades that have come to be the norm in the modern NHL.

Back then it really wasn’t a thing. Stars got traded for other stars, or at least multiple good NHL players.

Edited July 16, 2023 by dudacek

[Thorny]

4 minutes ago, dudacek said:

At the time Mogilny was a huge wtf?

Absolutely hated trading a 26-year-old star for 3 chips who didn’t help the current team a bit, and probably never would reach close to his heights.

In retrospect, it kinda opened the door to the contract-motivated star-for-futures trades that have come to be the norm in the modern NHL.

Back then it really wasn’t a thing. Stars got traded for other stars, or at least multiple good NHL players.

This trade was heartbreaking and the first one I remember. Opening education into the idea that Buffalo as a small market loses its big stars 

[dudacek]

2 minutes ago, Thorny said:

This trade was heartbreaking and the first one I remember. Opening education into the idea that Buffalo as a small market loses its big stars 

It’s kinda interesting comparing that deal to the Eichel deal in terms of stud for pieces.

The fact that Peca and McKee became very likeable players on good Sabres teams probably made it easier for us to accept that Tuch and Krebs might do the same.

[Thorny]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

It’s kinda interesting comparing that deal to the Eichel deal in terms of stud for pieces.

The fact that Peca and McKee became very likeable players on good Sabres teams probably made it easier for us to accept that Tuch and Krebs might do the same.

That’s a good point, it probably did 

I’m sure if I could type back then I’d have a word document or several filled with similar bitching to that of my Eichel output 

[Taro T]

23 minutes ago, dudacek said:

At the time Mogilny was a huge wtf?

Absolutely hated trading a 26-year-old star for 3 chips who didn’t help the current team a bit, and probably never would reach close to his heights.

In retrospect, it kinda opened the door to the contract-motivated star-for-futures trades that have come to be the norm in the modern NHL.

Back then it really wasn’t a thing. Stars got traded for other stars, or at least multiple good NHL players.

Absolutely hated that trade when it went down and the other key pieces leaving as well like Hawerchuk.  Looked like the Sabres were throwing in the towel for the long term, not just a single season.  But the reality was the Sabres had the third highest payroll in the league and pretty much nothing to show for it.

[dudacek]

12 minutes ago, Thorny said:

That’s a good point, it probably did 

I’m sure if I could type back then I’d have a word document or several filled with similar bitching to that of my Eichel output 

Maybe it was different for the fans living in Buffalo, but the Mogilny trade hit me out of the blue like a ton of bricks.

There was no extended period of social media debate questioning Alex’s commitment, or sense of a trade being merely a matter of “when”, or pages of internet debate on the fair price.

It was simply one of the stars of my team suddenly getting traded for what felt like very little in return.

If Sabrespace and Eliotte Friedman existed back then, I’m sure it would have been a much different experience.

[dudacek]

3 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Absolutely hated that trade when it went down and the other key pieces leaving as well like Hawerchuk.  Looked like the Sabres were throwing in the towel for the long term, not just a single season.  But the reality was the Sabres had the third highest payroll in the league and pretty much nothing to show for it.

This feeds into my previous post.

Im sure this would have been a big part of the narrative on here if we existed. Today, the media machine would also have been fed the info to prepare the fans something was coming.

Back then I had no awareness of this at all.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Maybe it was different for the fans living in Buffalo, but the Mogilny trade hit me out of the blue like a ton of bricks.

There was no extended period of social media debate questioning Alex’s commitment, or sense of a trade being merely a matter of “when”, or pages of internet debate on the fair price.

It was simply one of the stars of my team suddenly getting traded for what felt like very little in return.

If Sabrespace and Eliotte Friedman existed back then, I’m sure it would have been a much different experience.

Muckler had been on record that the team was going to change directions.  And IIRC Mogilny was believed to be on the trade block, but NOBODY expected him to be traded for a handful of magic beans and a used puck bag.

[Thorny]

10 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Maybe it was different for the fans living in Buffalo, but the Mogilny trade hit me out of the blue like a ton of bricks.

There was no extended period of social media debate questioning Alex’s commitment, or sense of a trade being merely a matter of “when”, or pages of internet debate on the fair price.

It was simply one of the stars of my team suddenly getting traded for what felt like very little in return.

If Sabrespace and Eliotte Friedman existed back then, I’m sure it would have been a much different experience.

Were you out west at the time? The Sabres Jets trades have always come with an added degree of difficulty for me, considering the situation of being surrounded by people arguing the deal (s) primarily from the Jets’ perspective 

[Kristian]

Peca.

I hated the penny-pinching, the hold-out, and I hated what we got in return.

And once both Connolly and Pyatt actually turned into NHL players, one got hurt and the other was allowed to walk as a UFA.

Sure, Tim scored a few highlight-reel goals, but I would take Peca’s highlight-reel hits any day.

Worst. Trade. Ever.

Damn, I’m getting angry just talking about it…

[Weave]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Maybe it was different for the fans living in Buffalo, but the Mogilny trade hit me out of the blue like a ton of bricks.

There was no extended period of social media debate questioning Alex’s commitment, or sense of a trade being merely a matter of “when”, or pages of internet debate on the fair price.

It was simply one of the stars of my team suddenly getting traded for what felt like very little in return.

If Sabrespace and Eliotte Friedman existed back then, I’m sure it would have been a much different experience.

Interesting that you bring this up.

There was a little of the Eichel vibe leading up to the Mogilny trade.  Alex was not a “good” captain.  

He got the C because he was the best player on the team, not because he was a big leader.

He didn’t travel with the team a number of times because of a fear of flying, but I’m not sure anyone was really buying that story.  He was reportedly traveling by limo.

He was mercurial and you got the sense that he was a bit of a loner on the team.  And the local hockey writers were not shy in their criticism.  Jim Kelley’s reputation was top notch so the criticism was mostlY accepted locally.

And his effort was questioned from time to time.

He was my favorite player.  I hated when they moved him.  But the story the team gave the fans about Peca, him immediately living up to it, and the criticism of Mogilny as a team leader, quickly healed the wound.

[Weave]

1 minute ago, Kristian said:

Peca.

I hated the penny-pinching, the hold-out, and I hated what we got in return.

And once both Connolly and Pyatt actually turned into NHL players, one got hurt and the other was allowed to walk as a UFA.

Sure, Tim scored a few highlight-reel goals, but I would take Peca’s highlight-reel hits any day.

Worst. Trade. Ever.

Damn, I’m getting angry just talking about it…

Loved Peca, but those highlight reel hits were getting fewer and farther between.  His shoulder was spent when we traded him.  He never fully recovered from that fight with Steve Konawalchuck, and it changed his game.

In hindsight I think it was the right decision.

I didn’t think so at the time.

[Kristian]

7 minutes ago, Weave said:

Loved Peca, but those highlight reel hits were getting fewer and farther between.  His shoulder was spent when we traded him.  He never fully recovered from that fight with Steve Konawalchuck, and it changed his game.

In hindsight I think it was the right decision.

I didn’t think so at the time.

I disagree.

He was a beast in 2002 until Darcy *ucker took out his knee in the playoffs.

Had a career high in points, and was on a loaded Canada olympic roster in Salt Lake. All of this was post-Buffalo.

After that knee incident, I agree - It was downhill.

Edited July 16, 2023 by Kristian

[Weave]

2 minutes ago, Kristian said:

I disagree.

He was a beast in 2002 until Darcy *ucker took out his knee in the playoffs.

Had a career high in points, and was on a loaded Canada olympic roster in Salt Lake. All of this was post-Buffalo.

After that knee incident, I agree - It was downhill.

I honestly don’t remember the big hits after that fight though.  Yes, I agree he was a very effective player though until his knee injury.