dudacek

Now that’s the kind of “now” trade I’d look for. It’s not about not trading futures, it’s about trading them for the right player.

Some impressions of those prospects after the 3 games: Rousek is the probably the best forward on the Amerks right now, but doesn’t look fast or strong enough to play the same game in the NHL. Kulich is MIA. He just hasn’t done anything noticeable. I want to like Rosen. His feet and his hands are the most noticeable on the team and he’s not timid or irresponsible. But it’s maddening how infrequently he applies his will on the game, he’s got more to give, but he’s content to let it come to him. Östlund’s lack of strength means he has faded as the clutching and grabbing has escalated. But he sees the game better and plays it faster than anyone else down there. Based just on these 3 games, he projects the best of the big 3, when you account for his lack of AHL experience. Anton Wahlberg doesn’t know how good he can be yet. His effectiveness wavers because he’s 18 and it shows. But he is a physical specimen who can skate and he wants to make a difference. When the going got tougher Ryan Johnson seemed to play better. His ability to move the puck to safety shone, rather than wilted under the heavy fire. Novikov has got some heavy feet, but his attitude is every inch what the Sabres lack. He sees the game very well and pushes first. Levi has simply been fantastic. Technically poised, cool under fire and athletic. Easily the best player on the ice for either team.

They’re all in the shop for their regularly scheduled summer conditionings.

I was just looking for a yes or no 😜 So you do the deal?

Sure, in a vacuum. But Ehlers is a pending UFA. My take is you shouldn't have to give up that much to get that player; And, if you're giving up that asset, better to use it on a different kind of player.

Such an awesome reference. (No way he's McKinnon 😁) Would you do the deal? It would be the ultimate expression of short-term thinking: clearly makes the team better, but for one year only.

Wondering how many people on here know 21 Buffalo Sabres teams finished with worse records than this year's team.

Dylan Cozens had a bad year. Even with that bad year, his 47 points ranked him as a low-end 2C. The 68 points he scored last year would have ranked him as a low-end 1C this year alongside, Eichel, O’Reilly, Larkin, Horvat and Hischier. There is no doubt in my mind Dylan Cozens will be a very competent 2C for the Sabres next year and probably for the majority of his contract.

Barring trades, nine of 14 spots in October are spoken for. Tuch, Thompson, Skinner, Cozens, Quinn, Peterka, Benson, Krebs, Greenway. If it’s up to me, I acquire real NHL veterans to fill 4 of the other 5 spots. Kulich, Savoie, Rosen, Östlund and Rousek get to battle for the 5th. There’s a door, but they’re going to have top step over bodies to walk through it.

Good take, IMO - both parts. I was one of those who wondered if he had the edge to be a successful GM. The post-Botterill bloodletting, the Eichel patience, the Mittelstadt trade and the Granato firing - none of these things match the public persona. Adams is a competitive, aware, calculated and stubborn guy. He had a plan, he stuck with it for 2 years and when year 3 showed the need for a course correction, he has started off with 2 significant moves. (Unless you think firing the coach and trading the leading scorer aren’t significant). It’s not backbone or operational intelligence that will make or break him. He’s shown both. It’s player evaluation and whether the calls he has made on the coach and the players he’s made big commitments to - Dahlin, Thompson, Cozens, Quinn, Peterka, Power, Samuelsson, Byram, UPL and Levi - were the right ones. Because we have reached the point where his belief in that group has to start paying off.

Why? 😁

As far as the hiring process goes, I don’t know that the “how” matters nearly as much as the “who.” Last time, Adams took weeks and ended up coming back to the guy already on staff. Adams was hired from in-house with no search at all. Botterill left no stone unturned and got taken in by a smooth-talking outsider named Ralph. Housley was a hot league commodity who seemed to be their target from the beginning; they talked to many others, let those guys take other jobs, and waited until Nashville was done and hired him quickly afterward. Botterill was the result of a thorough review of an industry approved short list. Babcock wasn’t the result of a search, he was targeted because of his resume. When he jilted them, they did exactly the same thing with Bylsma, the next guy on their list. Nolan was Pat Lafontaine giving an old crony a 2nd chance Tim Murray was picked after a long-drawn-out interview process with the pick of the league’s assistant GMs where Lafontaine was accused of using the process to steal secrets from other organizations. Lafontaine was the romantic whim of a star-struck owner. This time was a bit of Babcock, a bit of Nolan and a bit of Adams. Honestly, they’ve followed pretty much every process known to mankind and blown it every time. I don’t think it’s the process that’s the problem. All we can do is hope they finally get it right.

“Double-digits” offends me about as much as: “We have no interest in firing…” “we are not shopping…” ”we couldn’t believe he was still available” and “we like the team we have” It’s pretty much a job requirement that a GM has to spin certain situations certain ways in front of the cameras.

I’m sure Adams wasn’t lying when he said he talked to double digit people during his coaching “search” Im also sure those conversations weren’t serious job interviews. Before speaking to anyone, Adams felt the team needed specific qualities and he felt Ruff - who he knows very well - was the perfect fit. The “search” was basically confirming Ruff was the fit he thought he was and due diligence around that. It was pretty easy to connect the dots in between the two pressers and figure out what happened.

Novikov, Strbak and McCarthy also big D from the past few drafts. Myths die hard.

I’m with you on the gist of your post. Its just the Dahlin oversight that bugs me. People who don’t watch him think he’s some kind of Lady Byng candidate and knock him down the list accordingly. The fact if the matter is he gives you an element the other top offensive defencemen don’t.

Sorry I have to do this, but this just perpetuates the annoying myth Dahlin is Inge Hammarstrom. How many people know Dahlin was 16th in the entire league in hits by defencemen last year? 26th in penalty minutes? 3rd in penalties drawn? He’s involved in every aspect of the game, mixing it up and getting under people’s skin on a regular basis, and it seems like people just refuse to notice.

If I understand the draw correctly, there is a 91% chance we are picking 11. There is a 6% chance we are picking 1st or 2nd And a 3% we pick 12th or 13th. Don't think we can pick in any other slot.

He might be expecting one, and the Avs were worried about how they might be able to give him a raise if he lived up to his talent. But he hasn’t earned one yet.

Byram has already signed his bridge contract. He has a year left on that and a minimum 2 more years after that until he reaches UFA status. He’s played seasons of 19, 30 and 42 games before this year’s 73 and maxed out at 29 points. If he signs for term this summer, it shouldn’t break the bank. If he doesn’t sign this summer and doesn’t take a step next year, he won’t break the bank as an RFA next summer. If he levels up this year and earns a big long-term deal next summer, that’s hardly a bad thing. If he levels up this year and declines a long-term deal next summer, we’ve still got nearly 2 years to use or flip what should be a valuable commodity. Not really seeing a problem there, at least from the contract status side.

I know, I smiled as I wrote it. But I figured this board would get the point, regardless of how they read it.

The Quinn being behind Peterka thing is interesting. On a per game basis, Jack was as good a goal scorer and a better playmaker.

Not sure how you are defining character here? I think of it as guys who show up and don’t quit: and from what I’ve seen that seems to be a defining trait of Quinn, Östlund, Savoie and Benson and one of the primary characteristics Adams seems to value. Talent and character (as I define it) are what I see as the areas he leans toward first, with speed, size and truculence being secondary. I’m not sure what the bold is supposed to mean. There were 2 players in Savoie’s entire draft class who did what Benson did this year.

Do you think Quinn and Peterka and Savoie and Östlund - the guys I assume you are saying we have too many of - are guys who don’t hustle and are afraid of getting their nose dirty?

I think maybe what he was trying to say is that Adams hasn’t drafted enough big, mean players with his first-round picks? Adams could have selected Dylan Holloway instead of Jack Quinn in 2020. Mason McTavish instead of Owen Power in 2021 Zachary L’Heareux instead of Isak Rosen in 2021 Lian Bichsel, Liam Ohgren and Maverick Lamoureux instead of Savoie, Östlund and Kulich in 2022 And Colby Barlow instead of Zach Benson last year. It’s not what he said, but it is fair comment.