Sabres Acquire The 4th Overall Pick, 45 Overall Pick and Defenseman Louis Crevier to Chicago for Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway

[#freejame]

-Byram will be a $10M d-man for the majority of his next contract. We should pay that. 

-Byram is better for the Sabres than Knies when looking at our depth chart 

-Knies would be a fantastic replacement for Tuch

[triumph_communes]

Knies to replace Tuch and then be on the eternal journey of finding a 4D to work with Power?  It’s better than having half the cap on four defenseman and nothing elsewhere to work with. I haven’t watched enough of Knies to have an opinion though, but Toronto is desperate for that defenseman I see Byram fitting there 

Edited June 18 by triumph_communes

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Yes.  He’s only played 75 of the 160 required given his age and when he signed.  He is on the 3rd year of his ELC.  He will not be waiver exempt after next season regardless of games played. Östlund is from the same draft class and only has 71 games of the 160 he needs.

For purposes of attaining seniority, he should've accrued 82 games this past year because the blood clots were game injury related.  That still leaves him at only 145 or so games, total.  (Was there a claim by the Sabres that the blood clots weren't hockey injury related?  Hadn't heard that if they did.)

But time spent on an NHL roster but on IR in the season the player was injured counts towards accrued playing time.

[_Q_]

Just now, Taro T said:

For purposes of attaining seniority, he should've accrued 82 games this past year because the blood clots were game injury related.  That still leaves him at only 145 or so games, total.  (Was there a claim by the Sabres that the blood clots weren't hockey injury related?  Hadn't heard that if they did.)

But time spent on an NHL roster but on IR in the season the player was injured counts towards accrued playing time.

Game injury related?  First I've heard this.

[mjd1001]

My intention is not to call out anybody who likes Knies.... But I don't see it. Those who want him here in the worst way, I wonder have they actually watched him play and studied his game just a little bit? 

He is is almost 100% the product of playing with auston Matthews offensively. Yeah there's some good players here but to be honest we don't have an Austin Matthews. 

And he will occasionally use his body, but don't confuse that with being a good forchecker or good defensively. I don't watch every Toronto game, but I probably see 10 to 15 a year and he's not a good forchecker, he's not a good backchecker, he gets a little bit lazy on the back check, falls behind plays, and he's out of position a lot because he chases the puck. 

Now I'm not saying he won't get better... maybe eventually he will turn into a well-rounded player... But he's not it now.

Stylistically he is not a replacement for Alex Tuch in the least.  Tuch is a good skater and an excellent forchecker. When he's on his game, He's also aggressive on the back check. Those are three areas of weakness with Knies. They're both wingers. They're both pretty big and they both can score goals, but stylistically I don't really see much else between them That would make one a direct replacement for the other at all.

Edited June 18 by mjd1001

[pi2000]

The top 4 D is the core of this team.   Byram is still under contract.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRADE BO BYRAM THIS SUMMER

[dudacek]

2 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

Knies to replace Tuch and then be on the eternal journey of finding a 4D to work with Power?  It’s better than having half the cap on four defenseman and nothing elsewhere to work with. I haven’t watched enough of Knies to have an opinion though, but Toronto is desperate for that defenseman I see Byram fitting there 

I realize "half the cap" is a figure of speech but I think it's important to point out the facts:

Giving Byram a $9 or $10M AAV would mean approximately 1/4 of the cap would be spent on the top four over the length of that contract.

Those top 4 represent the Sabres top 4 in ice time, and 4 of the Sabres 5 or 6 best players.

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, ponokasabre said:

It just feels like so much change on a team that was one goal away from the Eastern Conference final

Welcome to the Cap Era.

[_Q_]

Just now, pi2000 said:

The top 4 D is the core of this team.   Byram is still under contract.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRADE BO BYRAM THIS SUMMER

Yea let's let him walk for nothing like Tuch.  Makes sense.

[Porous Five Hole]

I am intrigued on the return for a Byram bidding war. 

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, Derrico said:

How high is the cap projected to increase over the next 5 years?  If it's significant then I'm open to paying Byram $10 or $11.  Our top 4 is why we were so good.  He's in his prime.  He's won a cup and Conn Smythe.  He looked like one of our best players in the playoffs and better than Dahlin many of those nights.  I think he's someone worth paying.   

[shrader]

1 hour ago, Derrico said:

How high is the cap projected to increase over the next 5 years?  If it's significant then I'm open to paying Byram $10 or $11.  Our top 4 is why we were so good.  He's in his prime.  He's won a cup and Conn Smythe.  He looked like one of our best players in the playoffs and better than Dahlin many of those nights.  I think he's someone worth paying.   

Makar won the Conn Smythe.

[irregularly irregular]

Jarmo has to draw the line with Byram and his agent.

Sign a long term contract with the Sabres in the next 12 days or you will be dealt sometime before the trade deadline in 2027 and you have absolutely no control over the timing or destination of that trade. You decide. 

The line drawn, Jarmo has the ability to push that line forwards or backwards at his own discretion. 

 

 

[pi2000]

6 minutes ago, _Q_ said:

Yea let's let him walk for nothing like Tuch.  Makes sense.

He's under contract.

[_Q_]

Just now, pi2000 said:

He's under contract.

We didn't trade Tuch last summer and where are we at with that?

[tom webster]

1 hour ago, Derrico said:

How high is the cap projected to increase over the next 5 years?  If it's significant then I'm open to paying Byram $10 or $11.  Our top 4 is why we were so good.  He's in his prime.  He's won a cup and Conn Smythe.  He looked like one of our best players in the playoffs and better than Dahlin many of those nights.  I think he's someone worth paying.   

It’s projected at a minimum of $123M for the 28/29 season. I have talked to people who think it will approach $170M within five years. Even at only five percent increases it will hit $140M.

The business of the NHL is very good right now. ESPN ratings were phenomenal, they are attracting a crazy number of female viewers that they haven’t before and they feel they are just scratching the surface with a lot of new initiatives.

[...]

Just now, tom webster said:

The business of the NHL is very good right now. ESPN ratings were phenomenal, they are attracting a crazy number of female viewers that they haven’t before and they feel they are just scratching the surface with a lot of new initiatives.

Thank goodness we have Power!

[nfreeman]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Right, but the OP is current and also from Dreger.

Our buddy @Brawndo is usually spot on, so my optimistic spin on the Dreger Tweet is that Byram is indeed interested in extending with Buffalo but the opening ask is high.

I sure hope so.  It would kinda track with what we know about BB's agent -- whose job, after all, is to make the Sabres bleed if they want to extend him.

 

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

Knies was dealing with a knee injury most of last season and has positive micro stats. These are the same stats that the Sabres Analytics Team used to predict Doan being able to make the jump.

 

Byram was on the market last summer, the biggest road block was his contract demands. No team was willing to give him top pairing money. Does that change this off-season based on his play? 
 

I would still be weary 

Wary of Knies?  Or of giving BB $10MM per year?

 

12 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

The top 4 D is the core of this team.   Byram is still under contract.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRADE BO BYRAM THIS SUMMER

I agree with the bolded, and I really want to extend BB, but they can't lose him for nothing, and they probably won't want to hurt the team by trading him at the deadline -- so this summer makes the most sense.

[mjd1001]

13 minutes ago, _Q_ said:

Yea let's let him walk for nothing like Tuch.  Makes sense.

You're not letting him walk for nothing. 

It's like the argument that happens at every trade deadline.. "better trade this player now or else you're letting him leave for nothing." 

No, you're not letting him leave for nothing. You are getting his services for one year.  It's like when somebody trades for a rental, you value that person a certain way for a short period of time You are getting him for. 

When the trade deadline came this year, you made a decision that the return you could have got for Tuch was not worth what he could bring to the team for a playoff run.

Also, when you are in a cap League and you are near the salary cap, you are getting the money to do other things With that you would normally pay that person. Opportunity cost. 

That doesn't matter quite as much when you're not a cap team, but when you are a cap team, every dollar you spend, it's about the opportunity cost of what else you could do with it 

Put those two things together.. The opportunity cost of what else you could do with the money, and the fact that you are getting that player's service for a short period of time, and you certainly would not be losing them for nothing.

The whole... Letting him walk for nothing... Is an argument that became antiquated about 20 to 30 years ago. It all depends on the situation. The situation of the player, the situation of the team, and the alternative opportunity cost.

[Hoss]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

Do you guys realize how much the cap is going up. They can easily afford to pay Byram $10M if they want. Whether it’s smart or not is another question but they will have at least $15M more to play with next year and another $10M the year after. They could afford Byram and Thomas.

"Whether it's smart or not" is the reason I don't see them doing it, for the record. I imagine @inkman feels the same. The cap is going up significantly, but three $8M+ dmen (especially when at least one is far over that number) is a LOT. I don't imagine that will be a common model across the league, and I'm not super interested in being the first to try it.

[LGR4GM]

12 minutes ago, _Q_ said:

We didn't trade Tuch last summer and where are we at with that?

We broke a 14yr playoff drought, won our first playoff series since 2007, won our first division title since 2011, and are not the laughing stock of the NHL currently. Other than that... 

[tom webster]

Just now, Hoss said:

"Whether it's smart or not" is the reason I don't see them doing it, for the record. I imagine @inkman feels the same. The cap is going up significantly, but three $8M+ dmen (especially when at least one is far over that number) is a LOT. I don't imagine that will be a common model across the league, and I'm not super interested in being the first to try it.

First, the Sabres would sign him to $8M in a heart beat. He’s looking for $10M.

Second, with a $130M cap it’s right in an appropriate wheelhouse.

I didn’t mean smart because it’s not a good business model. I think if you have the right three it makes sense. I’m not sure he’s worth the $10M.

Also, I would rather pay three defensemen $29M than pay a goaltender $8.5M unless you have one of the top two guys.

[LGR4GM]

18 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Derrico is wrong. Cale Makar won the Conn Smythe the year Byram and Colorado won the cup. 

[_Q_]

7 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

We broke a 14yr playoff drought, won our first playoff series since 2007, won our first division title since 2011, and are not the laughing stock of the NHL currently. Other than that... 

I mean yes of course that.  But are you willing to go to the trade deadline next year with Byrum, let it pass and let him walk?  That is the point.

[LGR4GM]

Just now, _Q_ said:

I mean yes of course that.  But are you willing to go to the trade deadline next year with Byrum, let it pass and let him walk?  That is the point.

If we are good and I have a shot at the cup, yea.