dudacek

Dead quiet. Like all the Byram chatter prior to that one shocking the hell out Friedman and all his cronies. 😁

Fair comment given how he finished the season in Buffalo. From what I’ve seen of him prior to the trade - and indeed the first half-dozen games after it - he’s better than that. I think we bought low (not that Mitts was cheap, just that Byram’s stock was probably at its lowest point since his draft). He’s a talent. Defencemen picked that high are usually very safe bets over the long run. But not always. It was a high-risk, high-reward swing for sure.

It’s an underrated skill by the general public and why I’m not upset at all by the concept of adding Byram to Power and Dahlin. Now we need to add forwards who can actually keep the puck in the other end.

Ek and Jeannot, please and thank you. A little surprised Thompson’s NTC is that limited. Good on Adams. And who gave Nick Seeler a complete no trade?

He was picked after Savoie, before Kulich and right around Östlund. Preference would be in the eye of the beholder, but generally speaking they are on a similar tier if you’re talking generic value. He is slower and stronger than any of them.

That's not what you said: you said he needs to show he has the gumption to make big hockey trades. First you said "not counting the disgruntled/departing for futures" Now it's "not counting players I don't think he really liked" Exactly what does that leave, and how many GMs have made those kind of trades over the past 3 years? Sounds to me like it's nothing about gumption, it's about him making a trade that gets you excited.

Personally, I would be very surprised if he hasn't identified 3C targets and aggressively pursued those that may be available. That seems like baseline competence that any one of us could and would do. I also think he very clearly laid out his plan: get a centre, get harder to play against, rebuild the bottom six with that identity in mind. saying he's open to anything in order to make that happen is pretty much immaterial to me. It's not a question of intent, its a question of execution.

It certainly has to be worthwhile when it comes to creating scouting efficiency. It raised the same questions for me, and then I asked myself 'wouldn't a PhD like Sam Ventura have considered the same questions?" Sam has been at this for 10 years constantly refining projection models and data collection methods. I sometimes forget that this is a multi-billion-dollar business, and a 1st-round draft pick has to be a ~$5M investment. I mean it's $3M on salary alone, never mind the scouting and coaching aspects.

I remember saying he most likely projects as a Tyler Ennis-level player (different game but similar size, similar roster slot). I think he's an NHLer, and I hope there's more, but we need to keep in mind that the Sabres best young players are already in Buffalo.

He proved that he did just three months ago. Mitts for Byram was the biggest hockey trade of the deadline. He traded away the team’s leading scorer.

There is a segment of the fanbase that maintains part of the team’s problem is Terry Pegula forcing it to operate under a self-imposed cap. Adams’ general response has been that the lack of spending has more to do with the development plan: filling the roster with young players and force-feeding them ice time in order to accelerate their development; the implication being that money would be spent when team was ready to compete. He has been very explicit this off-season that the team is ready to compete. A few fans have pointed out that the team has the cap space to improve the roster without cutting Skinner, therefore why do it? One answer is that Skinner doesn’t fit with the team they are trying to build; another is that they plan to use the cap space and empty roster spot to improve the team. Another answer - one that hasn’t received a lot of traction - is that he’s getting cut simply because it puts an extra $7M in Terry’s pocket. I’ve been more patient with Adams than most of you because it was clear to me from the beginning that his plan was going to take 3 to 5 years to execute. The steps he took made sense to me within the context of the plan. And the 1st 2 years of the plan were about as successful as they could have been. Last year he failed to inject the necessary complementary pieces, much of his core took a significant step back, and his coach proved incapable of guiding a transition from developing to competitive. So now the Adams question becomes: what did he learn from those mistakes; how will he adjust? Will his faith in his young core pay off? Is he really only about job security and kicking the can down the road? The Sabres have the asset base to do what is required. But underlying the Adams question is the same bigger question that has plagued this franchise for 13 years: even if the GM really does have what it takes, can the owner stay out of his way?

Agreed. I like the idea because I see it as creating an opportunity to make the team better. But it becomes moot at best (and more likely self-destructive) if that opportunity is left unseized.

I think UPL’s agent starts at Demko’s 5x$5M I think the Sabres start at Gustafson’s 3x$3.75

So some informed speculation.

Very cool. The fact that they identified (even that they could identify) all those things the eye test showed us about Benson through data collection is fascinating to read.

Where did you see this?

I kinda expect Laughton to the Sens.

i guess controversy is in the eye of the beholder. If you don't see how there could be any backlash to a loser franchise paying a 30-goal scorer with funny videos and dimples $14M to not play for your team any more, you don't see it.

My main point was Sabrespace represents a small segment of the most hardcore portion of the fanbase and our feelings about Skinner are not representative of Sabre fans as a whole. And it was never about “knowledgeable fans versus grumpy obsessives”. I think there is a considerable crossover between those two circles, particularly here. And I did “consider this thread for my knowledge base”. It’s exactly where I found evidence of knowledgeable fans making feasible arguments for keeping Skinner. Just because I don’t share their views doesn’t make them not knowledgeable.

Damn, did you ever misread my post.

With some grumpy old obsessives like you and me maybe. Among the knowledgeable fanbase there is division on that, and those against the move are raising legitimate points: this is bad for the cap down the road; how do we replace the goals; and who do we have that’s better? For the broader fanbase, Skinner is the guy with the funny videos, cute dimples and those ridiculous goal songs. That get played a lot. He’s one of the team’s best known and liked players.

Konecny is the only Flyer I would entertain giving up 11 for, and only if there was an extension coming or a significant sweetener added in. The only other Flyer forwards I have any interest in are Couturier, Laughton and Cates (or maybe a retained Deslauriers) but not for #11. I thought Lysowski’s article where Laughton was the main prize for #11 was embarrassing.

It feels to me like 11 is too sweet to give up for a player: a) not in your long term plans and/or b) not going to play in your top 6 and/or c) not addressing a clear need The thought of cutting Skinner then trading 11 in order to get a Skinner-Esque player in Farabee or Tippett or Frost doesn’t make sense to me from either the value perspective or the roster building perspective. The Sabres already have Skinner, Peterka, Quinn, Benson, Rosen, and Kulich in or pushing for 3 available offensive winger roles. #11 needs to be steered toward a greater value and/or need.

Adams has really gone out of his way to kiss the ***** of agents and players in order to make the Sabres a more attractive destination. To me, it’s been an underrated long game strategy given the amount of clout agents have in steering players toward and away from certain situations. It would be nice if they’ve finally seeded enough good will to harvest a return.

Yeah, the wild card is Henri. Things really fall into place a lot more neatly if he is flipped for a defensively reliable RHD. Buying out Skinner also gives them the opportunity to shop a little more high-rent there, if only on a shorter term.