Adams roster defining trades - How do we feel about these deals and the Sabres because of them?

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, DarthEbriate said:

It's early in the morning. Let's quantify this! That will give Adams the benefit of the doubt in his leadoff big roster shakeup because he received many more assets than he gave up. For scoring, I'll keep it simple, even though the range should be much greater (Eichel is more than 5 above a player who never made it to the NHL, for example). The points also reduce the noise of "what did they do to retain X" -- which could cause massive issues with just evaluating the trade (i.e., think if Kesselring and Doan both pull JJPs this coming summer and refuse to sign and get moved for future lesser returns...).

Points:
5=unquestioned top line/1st pair
4=2nd line/2nd pair/1st rd pick
3=3rd line/3rd pair/2nd rd pick
2=4th line/depth D/3rd rd pick
1=AHLer/4th-7th rd pick
0= never made it to AHL/future considerations.
Bonus points: +1 for cap relief (because theoretically it gives you opportunity to do more for your roster).

 

1) JJP -4 = Kess 3 + Doan 3 =    +2   (Kesselring was a 3rd pair who played up, and Doan is a 3rd liner around the league at this time -- likewise, JJP isn't a 1W in most scenarios at the time of the trade and isn't with Utah now)
2) Coz -3 + future 2nd (-3) + Gilbert -1 = Norris 4 + JBD 2   =  -1    (but based on GP would = -6)
3) Sav -1 = McLeod 3 + Tullio 1  =  +3     (top 10 pick should equate to 4pts, which would = 0)
4) 2nd -3 = Malenstyn 2 = -1
5) Mitts -3 = Byram 4  = +1      (Byram is on BUF 1st pair, but around the league he's a D3/4)
6) 7th -1 = Rob +2 = +1
7) 2nd -3 + 5th -1 = Greenway +3 = -1
8] Bloom 0 = Stillman +1 = +1
9) Eichel -5 + 3rd -2 = Tuch +4, Krebs +2, 1st +2, 2nd +3 =  +4    (strictly asset for asset, and here is where you know that the 5-point tier should really be weighed as 10, but again, to give Adams as much credit as possible in just swapping assets. would = -6)
10) 0 = Butcher (1) + 5th (1) =   +2
11) Reinhart -5 = Levi 1 + Kulich 3 = -1   (If Reino is also a 10, this would = -6)
12) Risto -3 = Hagg 2 + Rosen 2 + Wahlberg 1 = +2   (jury still out on Wahlberg's ceiling)
13) Montour -4 = Sardarian 0  = -4
14) Hall -4 + Lazar -2 = Bjork 1 + Kisakov 0 = -5
15) Johansson -3 = Staal 3 = 0

So, giving Adams the greatest benefit of the doubt, based strictly on assets in and out, that's a.... +3.
Or, going by the grading system, equivalent to a 3rd line player, 3rd pair D, 2nd round pick. That's the net difference. That's what Adams has accomplished in 5 years with a team/system bursting to the seams with top-10 pick talent.

Instead, you know they're down 2 elite players that would be change the entire complexion of the franchise if they had stuck with them, hired a real coaching staff, and had proper guidance on basic roster construction (sign a Zucker-type, draft your own Doan types, sign a true goalie tandem, etc.)

The easiest way to do this is to stack all the players and picks that he traded on the left side, and all the players and picks he acquired on the right side. 

Just look at that and you can see Adams gave up much more than got in return.  

[Drag0nDan]

On 10/21/2025 at 3:51 PM, GASabresIUFAN said:

These are mostly listed in order by date but not importance or whether they are good or bad.  Just thought we should have a list of major (ish) moves.  I have left off moves like Joki for a 4th or Asplund for a 7th.

1) Peterka for Kesselring and Doan - top 6 scorer out, two middle roster players in

2) Cozens Gilbert and a 2026 2nd for Norris and JBD - Norris hurt 3 games after trade and hurt again in 1st game of the season.  JBD looked solid last season but Adams let him walk anyway. G-d forbid someone takes Bryson's roster spot.

3) Savoie for McLeod and AHLer Tullio - former top 10 pick out - 3rd line center in

4) a 2nd for Beck Malenstyn - draft pick wasted on 4th line trash.  2nd was used on Cole Hutson

5) Mitts for Byram - middle six forward out - raw top 4 D in

6) Robinson for a 7th - 4th liner in for a 7th.  Wasn't retained after the season

7) a 2nd and 5th for Greenway - Greenway has a needed skill set, but can't stay healthy. 2nd used on Riley Heidy, a smallish center but prolific scorer in the WHL

😎 Bloom for Stillman - Stillman was gone as soo as his contract was up.

9) Eichel plus a 3rd (Mathieu Cataford) for Tuch, Krebs a 1st (Östlund) and a 2nd (used to get Greenway) - Eichel won a Cup with LV, Östlund earned a call up this week

10) Nothing for Butcher and a 5th.  He was worth what we paid for him 

11) Reinhart for Levi and a 1st (Kulich) - Levi hasn't earned the NHL job yet?, Kulich has developed nicely, but Reinhart scored 50 and won two Cups

12) Risto for Hagg, 1st (Rosen) and a 2nd (Wahlberg) - Risto learned to play defense and the prospects still in the system

13) Montour for a 3rd (Sardarian) - Montour blossomed in Fla and won a Cup and we got a nothing prospect in return

14) Hall and Lazar for Bjork and a 2nd (Kisakov) - Basically a former MVP and a 4th line center for nothing because Adams gave Hall a NMC - Genius at work

15) Johansson for Staal - nothing to see here.  

Lets be honest, the Sabres maybe worse now after all these deals.  Adams has traded away for the 5 most productive drafted and developed Sabres forwards in Eichel, Reinhart, Mitts, Cozens and JJP.  Krebs hasn't panned out, Norris is injured, Levi is in the AHL, and Greenway also injured.  On the positive Doan looks like solid middle roster played, Kulich has a bright future (until Adams trades him as well), Byram has outplayed Power, Tuch has been good but his contract is up and McLeod was good last season (but invisible so far this season except on the PK).  IMHO the result of the these trades made the Sabres younger and less skilled.

I don't trust Adams to make any trades going forward.  

I don't think he signs here without one FWIW

[Drag0nDan]

On 10/22/2025 at 11:47 AM, Pimlach said:

The easiest way to do this is to stack all the players and picks that he traded on the left side, and all the players and picks he acquired on the right side. 

Just look at that and you can see Adams gave up much more than got in return.  

In pretty much any sport other than football - the prospects take a lot of time to show up as what they eventually are. 

Baseball: trades always move prospects and they give them a "ranking" (top 100 in baseball, top 3 in the org ,etc), but majority of these guys don't work out.  Getting something for an expiring player contract is usually the goal.  

Basketball: Players get traded for anything and everything.  So few players on an actual roster means you have less guys to move, the money becomes harder to manage so extra teams are almost always involved, and the players have a LOT of control.  So pick swaps, tons of protected draft picks, you won't know what you get for YEARS.  

In any of these sports you're looking at 5-7 years to really track whether you got value when you move a player for prospects.  The value that the acquiring team gets is immediate, so you always look like the loser in those trades when you move the Eichel or Reinhart deal.  

[GASabresIUFAN]

7 minutes ago, Drag0nDan said:

I don't think he signs here without one FWIW

Hall?  We gave him $8 mill, which was well over mkt value.  The least Adams could have done was get a 5-8 team list who he could trade him to instead of full NTC.  The full NTC gave the player all the leverage.  It was a stupid mistake by an incompetent GM.

PS: If Hall doesn’t sign, maybe Adams has the money to extend Ullmark properly and we’d have had good goaltending for the last 5 years, which would have likely helped us into the playoffs the last 2 years.

Edited 16 hours ago by GASabresIUFAN

[Drag0nDan]

6 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Hall?  We gave him $8 mill, which was well over mkt value.  The least Adams could have done was get a 5-8 team list who he could trade him to instead of full NTC.  The full NTC gave the player all the leverage.  It was a stupid mistake by an incompetent GM.

PS: If Hall doesn’t sign, maybe Adams has the money to extend Ullmark properly and we’d have had good goaltending for the last 5 years, which would have likely helped us into the playoffs the last 2 years.

From what i remember Hall was the response to Eichel asking for a trade before his neck injury.  Either way, it wasn't a great use of cap, he wasn't good here, and the trade value was insanely low.  I think they probably should have just kept him because that comp was basically nothing, but i'd imagine TP probably wanted to save some money.