Casey Mittelstadt traded for Bowen Byram

[Marvin]

So now we are targeting 14 years and counting.

[Thorny]

2 minutes ago, Marvin said:

So now we are targeting 14 years and counting.

[mjd1001]

4 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Right, but you are getting into trouble here now (with me lol) because you yourself argued otherwise. I read all your posts. You are the “we don’t need surgery” guy we just needs tweaks. So how can I put faith in your well-laid out arguments if they, nonetheless, appear to be positions you’ve taken purely to take them, but not in line with your original stance? 

I'd rather have them do surgery with the scalpel instead of the sledghammer myself.  But, I'm open for anything at this point.  

I would RATHER they resign Mitts, move Cozens to wing, and trade for a D-man in the offseason. However, I'm ok with this.  What I consider different is a full coaching change, Adams out as GM, and numerous player changes (when I said surger with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer, it was in respons to those who want the major moves like I just listed in this sentence.)

[LTS]

55 minutes ago, freester said:

I think Muel gets traded to Calgary as part of package for Tkachuk

Is there another brother that no one is talking about?

46 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

It's just confusing from a team building perspective and if he doesn't stay healthy or return to form, we fail... again. 

If and buts...

16 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Because our GM is incompetent.  

The biggest tragedy of this deal is Krebs, who is not good, is now our 3rd line center and will be next year.

 

Stop projecting next year when it hasn't happened yet. Work with what is...

The thing about this trade that I find interesting is that it was made... now.  The Sabres did not have to trade him now. He was an RFA and they had all summer to try and get a better deal.  The Avs clearly would want to make a deal and apparently Byram was enough to get it done in KA's eyes.  We'll never know what he could have achieved in the off-season where trades tend to be a little bit meatier.

All of that aside, I am a Byram fan and I think he has significant potential. The addition of another LHD is intriguing. I don't lament losing Mitts as much as I liked what he finally developed into.  Clearly this is not a trade for that changes the Sabres right now and is one made for next season.  So I'll see what else happens with the team before starting next season.

In the end only the results of the team matter.  This year was not good enough.

I'll say this.. at least Adams made a hockey trade.  A real one.

[Weave]

5 minutes ago, LTS said:

 

I'll say this.. at least Adams made a hockey trade.  A real one.

Amen to this.  I dread the remainder of this week, but goodness it is nice to discuss a bonafide hockey trade.

[GoPuckYourself]

I love this move by Adams, I liked what Casey Middlestadft has become but it became quite clear he wasn't part of the plans here when everyone of the core players got a contract but him. We need to bolster our defensive group and Byram will be our top 4 D, he wasn't in Colorado because they invested heavily in that department so he was buried on the roster and lets be honest if not for Byrams injuries we wouldnt even have had a shot at a player like this so I think Adams finally woke up and thats good to see. I love for him to make a move at a goalie also.

[mjd1001]

I'm not as worried about the Lefty/Righty thing with how he fits into the team, but more about the style of play.

I think your top 2 d pairings, you want one super skilled, attack the other end guy....and you want one guy who is more of the guy who is responsible, will not get caught up out of position, can get loose pucks and make a good first pass out of the zone. Doesn't have to be super physical, just 'responsible' (thus I was thinking a Vet with a LOT of expereince).

Your bottom pair guy is just going to be the best 2 guys you can scape up that won't hurt you while getting 5-9 less minutes of ice time than your top guys.

With that said, looking forward, Dahlin is the 'attack first' guy....Bryam clearly seems to be the same style. That leave Samuelsson as the 'responsible guy', but then Power also?  I'm not sure how they 'fit' when going into next year.

 

[LTS]

Green agree button if in the past you mocked Mitts for not being able to do a pull-up or how useless he was and are now in this thread dumping on this trade.

I'm curious how many will self-identify.

The purpose is only to demonstrate that what we think in one moment may be completely turned around in the future.  Deep breaths.

Edited March 6 by LTS

[Night Train]

I thought Cozens might be the one traded.

 Got his $.. but started to remind me of Stafford years back. Scores a lot in 3-4 games, then vanishes for weeks.   Thought they might deal him and give Mitts a good deal with the savings. I don't hate Cozens and see his solid hits every once in a while. But he is horribly streaky and that hurts during bad stretches. Must improve. 

Mitts can't score like Cozens but seems vastly improved at hitting scorers with great passes.  Still, the listed next contract numbers seemed high. 

[JoeSchmoe]

18 minutes ago, Marvin said:

So now we are targeting 14 years and counting.

Barring major improvements across the board from our existing roster or a major free agent acquisition, there is no way we make the playoffs next year. We are our worst team.

[Turbo44]

5 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

I love this move by Adams, I liked what Casey Middlestadft has become but it became quite clear he wasn't part of the plans here when everyone of the core players got a contract but him. We need to bolster our defensive group and Byram will be our top 4 D, he wasn't in Colorado because they invested heavily in that department so he was buried on the roster and lets be honest if not for Byrams injuries we wouldnt even have had a shot at a player like this so I think Adams finally woke up and thats good to see. I love for him to make a move at a goalie also.

He was playing on Colorado’s 2nd pair so was in their top 4!!! Furthermore he played more minutes in the finals than any other player.

[seer775]

I'd take Crosby after 6 concussions and at age 40 over Byram at 22 with zero.

Your comparison is nonsensical.

[...]

Pretty good trade. With a young roster, what better type of player than an equally young Stanley Cup winner? The old guys just can't relate anymore.

We needed a guy who is capable and can take minutes from Dahlin. Krebs has made Mitts expendable. Mitts is going to a playoff team, ain't ya happy foe him?

The comfy, cozy room just got a little shake up - they needed that, too.

Edited March 7 by ...
I've got a blister on me finger.

[GoPuckYourself]

Just now, Turbo44 said:

He was playing on Colorado’s 2nd pair so was in their top 4!!! Furthermore he played more minutes in the finals than any other player.

I thought he was booted off once he had the 2nd concussion but even better then!

[seer775]

2 hours ago, K-9 said:

Mitts being sent down and whether Byram was injured or not, while impacting their NHL availability to play games, has nothing to do with it. The simple fact is that in their first four seasons in the league to date, Casey played in only nine more games. Byram will go past that by the end of this, his fourth season. 

So that would be a NO in wanting Crosby after his fourth in 2017. Got it.

I'd take Crosby after 6 concussions at age 40 over Byram at 22 with zero.

 

Your comparison is nonsensical.

[Thorny]

5 minutes ago, ... said:

Pretty good trade. With a young roster, what better type of player to than an equally young Stanley Cup winner? The old guys just can't relate anymore.

We needed a guy who is capable and can take minutes from Dahlin. Krebs has made Mitts expendable. Mitts is going to a playoff team, ain't ya happy foe him?

The comfy, cozy room just got a little shake up - they needed that, too.

Krebs has made Mitts expendable?

Out of our 12 main forwards, the guy who ranks 12th in points makes the guy ranked #1 expendable? 

Even if he did, doesn’t that make player #11 expendable sooner than the guy who’s now #2?

Can’t wrap my head around this 

Edited March 6 by Thorny

[IKnowPhysics]

It should be noted that Byram's D partner during his dominant 2022 cup-winning playoffs was Erik Johnson.

[GoPuckYourself]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

Krebs has made Mitts expendable?

I think it's more Östlund/Kulich made Middlestadt expendable... 1 of those 2 (My guess is Östlund who looks like a solid 2 way C).

[Thorny]

2 hours ago, Thorny said:

It is ABSURD to say KA didn’t have a choice. Absurd. By the prism of his own strategies? Sure: but those strategies are in and of themselves a choice. He was an *RFA*. If we had interest in prioritizing RESULTS next year, the decision was clear

even our hockey trades aren’t hockey trades, they are a willing shift towards prioritizing the future. Again. Never about the now: we just refuse. 

@Hank what’s the X for here? The bit about KA having a choice, or the bit about our trades prioritizing the future?

3 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

I think it's more Östlund/Kulich made Middlestadt expendable... 1 of those 2 (My guess is Östlund who looks like a solid 2 way C).

So it’s not the guy ranked #12, it’s the guys who might rank, at all, in a few years, that make our current best producer “expendable”

got it

[Buffalonill]

31 minutes ago, Marvin said:

So now we are targeting 14 years and counting.

Hey, at least we're consistently bad Every year

 

[GoPuckYourself]

2 minutes ago, Thorny said:

@Hank what’s the X for here? The bit about KA having a choice, or the bit about our trades prioritizing the future?

So it’s not the guy ranked #12, it’s the guys who might rank, at all, in a few years, that make our current best producer “expendable”

got it

We just drafted 3 centers 2 seasons ago in Savoie, Kulich and Östlund. Someone is going to take over that spot and they obviously didn't want to pay Middlestadt to do it so yes I believe that's correct.

[Buffalonill]

6 minutes ago, IKnowPhysics said:

It should be noted that Byram's D partner during his dominant 2022 cup-winning playoffs was Erik Johnson.

Probably means we're keeping him then Adam's loves selling that  culture ***** Everybody loves it here Blah blah

[Weave]

15 minutes ago, LTS said:

Green agree button if in the past you mocked Mitts for not being able to do a pull-up or how useless he was and are now in this thread dumping on this trade.

I'm curious how many will self-identify.

The purpose is only to demonstrate that what we think in one moment may be completely turned around in the future.  Deep breaths.

What about, wrote him off early, bagged on him for not meeting the hype, accepted that he’s evolved into a good middle 6 player, but is agnostic about this trade?  What button is that?

[Buffalonill]

Just now, GoPuckYourself said:

We just drafted 3 centers 2 seasons ago in Savoie, Kulich and Östlund. Someone is going to take over that spot and they obviously didn't want to pay Middlestadt to do it so yes I believe that's correct.

All of those guys are likely to be wingers, besides, the last one you listed 

And he's projected to be a third line center

 

[mjd1001]

I'm all for this trade, but something to consider, Experience on defense seems to have gotten VERY important the last few years in the NHL:

 

Top 5 teams in the league this year right now, age of their top 4 D-mean they rely on:

-Florida  (29, 27, 28, 32).....ave: 29, youngest 27

-Vancouver (24, 26, 34, 35)...ave 29.75, youngest 24

-Boston (26, 30, 27, 30)....ave 28.25, youngest 26

-Winnipeg (28, 30, 28, 33)....ave 29.75, youngest 28

-NY Rangers (26, 24, 30, 28)...ave 27, youngest 24

And Vegas as the cup winner last year (34, 28, 33, 36)....ave 32.75, youngest 28

 

Now for Buffalo...with Byram, Dahlin, Power, and Samuelsson: (23, 21, 23, 22)....ave 22.25.  OLDEST 23

Buffalo's OLDEST D-man is younger than the youngest on the top 5 teams this year, and of course the AVERAGE age of Buffalo's new top 5 is less than the single youngest guy on any of the teams above.

This D-group has the potential to be Elite, one of the best the NHL has seen in years...BUT if that does happen, its likely to need a few YEARS to get to that point.

Edited March 6 by mjd1001