Trade : Conor Timmins and Isaac Belliveau from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Connor Clifton and the 39th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

[Taro T]

6 hours ago, dudacek said:

The enormity of talent squandered by this organization...

Pegula's influence is a perpetual raincloud and I'm reminded of the failures of Kevyn Adams every day I spend on here.

But the terrible job Lindy and his crew did last year was kinda fading since they stopped playing.

Thanks John Scott.

It is truly astounding.  From a slightly past his prime Steve Ott and an in their primes Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek and Andraj Sekera to an in his prime Ryan O'Reilly to close to their primes Eichel, Reinhart, and Ullmark to essentially in his prime Montour to Rasmus Dahlin today; they've wasted truckloads of talent.

At least now, for the 1st time in 5 years they aren't letting tons of cap space sit idle (and if they bring in another player or 2, they'll essentially not be wasting any cap space).  Though by not fixing the issues with the coaching they still could very easily be throwing the talent of guys like Dahlin, Tuch, Thompson, Benson, Norris, Kesselring, and Byram into a pile in the corner once again.

[Thorny]

16 minutes ago, Taro T said:

It is truly astounding.  From a slightly past his prime Steve Ott and an in their primes Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek and Andraj Sekera to an in his prime Ryan O'Reilly to close to their primes Eichel, Reinhart, and Ullmark to essentially in his prime Montour to Rasmus Dahlin today; they've wasted truckloads of talent.

At least now, for the 1st time in 5 years they aren't letting tons of cap space sit idle (and if they bring in another player or 2, they'll essentially not be wasting any cap space).  Though by not fixing the issues with the coaching they still could very easily be throwing the talent of guys like Dahlin, Tuch, Thompson, Benson, Norris, Kesselring, and Byram into a pile in the corner once again.

I don’t see the cap space as noticeably different this year. On track to have about 5 mil. They are top 10 in cap space now - completely unacceptable for a team 14 years out 

It’s bottom 10 spending teams that don’t make the playoffs 

Edited 14 hours ago by Thorny

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I don’t see the cap space as noticeably different this year. On track to have about 5 mil. They are top 10 in cap space now - completely unacceptable for a team 14 years out 

It’s bottom 10 spending teams that don’t make the playoffs 

After years of having $8MM+, getting under $5MM is progress.  But personally do expect them to bring in at least 1 more F which would put them likely at ~2MM in cap space.  Which IMHO IS acceptable.  Don't fully trust Adams to be able to navigate getting down to where the Tampas and Vegases of the world live.  And if they held the $2MM or so all season, they'd be able to bring in ~$5MM worth of ST salary on the books.  What could a $5MM player done for them 3 seasons ago.

Won't get on Adams case for having ~$5MM in space (realistically) right now because we're still 2-1/2 months away from puck drop.  And there are still at least 2, if not 3 or more, realistic options of how they can spend that money on players that should make them better.  Will it make them enough better? Wtf knows?  Wouldn't have money on it but maybe, if we squint just right, maybe.

[Thorny]

9 minutes ago, Taro T said:

After years of having $8MM+, getting under $5MM is progress.  But personally do expect them to bring in at least 1 more F which would put them likely at ~2MM in cap space.  Which IMHO IS acceptable.  Don't fully trust Adams to be able to navigate getting down to where the Tampas and Vegases of the world live.  And if they held the $2MM or so all season, they'd be able to bring in ~$5MM worth of ST salary on the books.  What could a $5MM player done for them 3 seasons ago.

Won't get on Adams case for having ~$5MM in space (realistically) right now because we're still 2-1/2 months away from puck drop.  And there are still at least 2, if not 3 or more, realistic options of how they can spend that money on players that should make them better.  Will it make them enough better? Wtf knows?  Wouldn't have money on it but maybe, if we squint just right, maybe.

Ya I mean they are sitting on 7+ right now. Obv if they bring in a F it changes things beyond the Timmins extension but I’ll believe it when I see it 

The most dense transaction periods are through 

[dudacek]

32 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I don’t see the cap space as noticeably different this year. On track to have about 5 mil. They are top 10 in cap space now - completely unacceptable for a team 14 years out 

It’s bottom 10 spending teams that don’t make the playoffs 

For accuracy sake, Puckpedia has them at 13th in cap space but your point still stands. $7.3M is plenty of room to add a pretty good hockey player.

*****

Separate from the Sabres, it's crazy how much cap space remains available around the league with no good free agents left to spend it on.

12 teams have $10M or more available. Six have $15M. The Ducks have $29M.

The best remaining UFAs are guys like Roslovic and Olofsson. There's no point throwing an offer sheet out there for one of the restricted guys  because everybody's got the space to match.

It's a bizarre off-season after five years of dead cap.

Plenty of room for hockey trades, it's just that GMS are so out of practice at those; they're used to sellers and buyers.

Edited 14 hours ago by dudacek

[Thorny]

28 minutes ago, dudacek said:

For accuracy sake, Puckpedia has them at 13th in cap space but your point still stands. $7.3M is plenty of room to add a pretty good hockey player.

*****

Separate from the Sabres, it's crazy how much cap space remains available around the league with no good free agents left to spend it on.

12 teams have $10M or more available. Six have $15M. The Ducks have $29M.

The best remaining UFAs are guys like Roslovic and Olofsson. There's no point throwing an offer sheet out there for one of the restricted guys  because everybody's got the space to match.

It's a bizarre off-season after five years of dead cap.

Plenty of room for hockey trades, it's just that GMS are so out of practice at those; they're used to sellers and buyers.

McKenna 

And we won’t capitalize 

hell, we may be secretly in on it 

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

For accuracy sake, Puckpedia has them at 13th in cap space but your point still stands. $7.3M is plenty of room to add a pretty good hockey player.

*****

Separate from the Sabres, it's crazy how much cap space remains available around the league with no good free agents left to spend it on.

12 teams have $10M or more available. Six have $15M. The Ducks have $29M.

The best remaining UFAs are guys like Roslovic and Olofsson. There's no point throwing an offer sheet out there for one of the restricted guys  because everybody's got the space to match.

It's a bizarre off-season after five years of dead cap.

Plenty of room for hockey trades, it's just that GMS are so out of practice at those; they're used to sellers and buyers.

Perhaps most of the GMs just think well, we aren't beating Florida yet anyway so why waste it this year when next year's FA crop is so much better. 

[shrader]

9 hours ago, Taro T said:

It is truly astounding.  From a slightly past his prime Steve Ott and an in their primes Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek and Andraj Sekera to an in his prime Ryan O'Reilly to close to their primes Eichel, Reinhart, and Ullmark to essentially in his prime Montour to Rasmus Dahlin today; they've wasted truckloads of talent.

At least now, for the 1st time in 5 years they aren't letting tons of cap space sit idle (and if they bring in another player or 2, they'll essentially not be wasting any cap space).  Though by not fixing the issues with the coaching they still could very easily be throwing the talent of guys like Dahlin, Tuch, Thompson, Benson, Norris, Kesselring, and Byram into a pile in the corner once again.

I get the rest of the list, but Ott?  Man, there's a career that fell off the face of the earth the second he left Dallas.  I don't really think that was a Sabre effect, but more of a "this guy is toast".

[inkman]

16 hours ago, dudacek said:

 

Thanks for posting.

Going to have to give it a more thorough listen, but in the two minutes I heard the statement that dropped my jaw was this:

Clifton called this Sabres team the most talented he's ever played for; this from a man who was a regular on a 135-point President's Trophy winner.

What a damning callout of the coaching staff and/or the talent itself.

 

16 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

They need to fire the entire coaching staff. 

 

16 hours ago, Pimlach said:

 

Interesting points:

1.  When Clifton got to Buffalo he was culture shocked, he was struggling playing on the left side playing with EJ, and he admits he struggled and did not understand the system (Granato).   He figured it out after 25 games and had a decent finish.  

2.  Clifton was scratched in the game that Tage got hit.  Scratched in a game with 7 defensemen dressed.  Gilbert never saw the ice after Tage got hit. 

WTF Lindy!!!  Do you want a tougher team or not.  

3.  Sabres are one of the most highly skilled teams he ever played on.  

4.  Was not surprised he was moved.  Was not getting much ice in the end of the season

5.  Scott sounded like a guy that never played for the Sabres.  

6.  Questions on Peterka were interesting.  Clifton was very careful answering these.  

7.  Cliffy has an Mechanical Engineering degree - another reason to like him  🙂

Clifton is a stand up guy and I wish him the best.  He made no excuses, was accountable for his play, he said nothing inflammatory.   I sense he  and Lindy were not on the same page. 

2nd bottom line - John Scott is kind of an azz.   Asking questions about what was said in the locker room is taboo and an ex-player should know that.  Asking what his best hit was, and on who, and who he wanted to light up, was also bad form.  

 

Just when I thought the team couldn’t get any lower, I listen to Clifton.  This team is rotten to its core and it starts from the top.  Everyone knows they do not need to be accountable so it’s just mail it in season for everyone involved. Depressing but the story is unfolding and the problem starts at the top.  

[DarthEbriate]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Perhaps most of the GMs just think well, we aren't beating Florida yet anyway so why waste it this year when next year's FA crop is so much better. 

There are a bunch of bottom-third teams with a suspicious amount of cap unspent... and only a scattered RFA here or there. If the cards fall right, they'll stay within striking distance of San Jose/Chicago for the McKenna fest.

In 2014-15, five teams completely bottomed out for McDavid. As a result, good teams scored more points. The playoff line was high: 97 points was the #16 playoff seed. The Sabres need almost everything to go right to get to 90 points. How do we feel about 97 if a half dozen team are obviously in on the tank?

It'd be very on brand to have their "best season ever" under Pegula and still miss out on the playoffs by 5 points because a bunch of common opponents weren't trying. It would please and justify Adams/Pegula as incredible progress and we're on the right track. That is, until the following season has snap-back regression (in 2015-16 - 93 pts in the east and a silly 87 pts in the west to get in) with all teams trying again -- and the Sabres back to the mid 80s to fall a few points short.

[dudacek]

I don’t know that it’s McKenna behind the cap space

The Ducks roster moves don’t look like tanking, neither do the Sharks or the Jackets. Certainly not the Jets. Pittsburgh and Calgary still have assets to sell if they’re resetting.

Maybe Chicago?

I think it’s mostly math: the system hasn’t reset yet to the extra money available. The teams with space are the ones who weren’t able to exercise their plans.

The players teams would have spent big on signed early and or left money on the table like Marner and Ehlers.

nobody is giving McTavish or Byram contracts out of line with their comps just because they can.

And there are only so many Jeannots and Dvoraks out there to overpay

Edited 4 hours ago by dudacek

[Drag0nDan]

9 hours ago, dudacek said:

For accuracy sake, Puckpedia has them at 13th in cap space but your point still stands. $7.3M is plenty of room to add a pretty good hockey player.

*****

Separate from the Sabres, it's crazy how much cap space remains available around the league with no good free agents left to spend it on.

12 teams have $10M or more available. Six have $15M. The Ducks have $29M.

The best remaining UFAs are guys like Roslovic and Olofsson. There's no point throwing an offer sheet out there for one of the restricted guys  because everybody's got the space to match.

It's a bizarre off-season after five years of dead cap.

Plenty of room for hockey trades, it's just that GMS are so out of practice at those; they're used to sellers and buyers.

All the clauses really muck it up.  On the oldest teams in the league, everyone has clauses or is like 25 and under and is viewed as part of the future.  

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

I get the rest of the list, but Ott?  Man, there's a career that fell off the face of the earth the second he left Dallas.  I don't really think that was a Sabre effect, but more of a "this guy is toast".

Cool, at least one person actually reads these.  😉 

Gave serious consideration to dropping him from the list, but left him because he was pretty much the 1st big 1 for 1 hockey trade of the Pegula era.

[PerreaultForever]

4 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

There are a bunch of bottom-third teams with a suspicious amount of cap unspent... and only a scattered RFA here or there. If the cards fall right, they'll stay within striking distance of San Jose/Chicago for the McKenna fest.

In 2014-15, five teams completely bottomed out for McDavid. As a result, good teams scored more points. The playoff line was high: 97 points was the #16 playoff seed. The Sabres need almost everything to go right to get to 90 points. How do we feel about 97 if a half dozen team are obviously in on the tank?

It'd be very on brand to have their "best season ever" under Pegula and still miss out on the playoffs by 5 points because a bunch of common opponents weren't trying. It would please and justify Adams/Pegula as incredible progress and we're on the right track. That is, until the following season has snap-back regression (in 2015-16 - 93 pts in the east and a silly 87 pts in the west to get in) with all teams trying again -- and the Sabres back to the mid 80s to fall a few points short.

Well you don't have to look far because most of those potential tank teams are not in the Sabres division. 

First off there's Florida. Same basic team, going to make the playoffs even if they coast a little and don't care about top seed (team is likely a dynasty only at the mid point in a 4-5 year run)

Then there's Toronto. Might lose a few points with Marner gone but that team isn't dropping like a stone. They will be in the playoffs like it or not. 

Tampa. Question mark. Will they fall finally? Been predicted for a while and never seems to happen. I figure they will stay about the same.

Ottawa? Could fall but look slightly better, more mature, if Ullmark is healthy and good can't see them being worse than they were. 

Montreal? Definitely improved. Unless things go horribly wrong there with injuries that team should keep rising.

So there's already no spot without a massive increase in points. Massive. 

Detroit is kind of like the Sabres. I like some of their prospects better but unless Gibson has some sort of change of scenery rise they will miss again and stay a few points up or down from the Sabres.

Bruins? Can't figure that team out and I follow them. 40 wins and 40 won fights? Lots of question marks with that team. Still lacks offense. I suspect they will do another deadline tear down, try for McKenna, and then try to pivot quickly with free agency. They have much less patience than the Sabres. But Sabres could finish ahead of them this year for sure. Bruins could surprise and compete for a wildcard but things would have to go very right for them and Swayman would have to be Vezina level. 

Even if you just add the wildcard pressure from Columbus and NYR the chances of the Sabres, who only marginally tweaked the line up from last year making the playoffs is next to nil. 

[shrader]

3 hours ago, Taro T said:

Cool, at least one person actually reads these.  😉 

Gave serious consideration to dropping him from the list, but left him because he was pretty much the 1st big 1 for 1 hockey trade of the Pegula era.

Two careers that ended in the same trade.  Lose/lose?