jad1

Who would have thought that Vesey is the Murray-guy that Botterill likes?

Well Botterill said he was interested in making more Sheary/Hunwick type deals, and this is almost as mediocre as that deal, so...

Just because putting Pommers on the top line was the best thing for Pommers, doesn't mean it was the best thing for the team. Eichel and Skinner should play with a guy who can contribute to their overall game, not just finish the chances they create.

How is Botterill patient with picks? There's this narative that Botterill is playing some kind of long game, unique to NHL GMs, when in reality, he's not. He's traded 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th round picks for immediate roster help. He probably should have played Mittelstadt a half-season in Rochester. And Thompson, while not a Boterill draft pick was forced into the line up last season. He's not playing a long game here, he's picking and choosing his spots (Nylander and Olofsson stay in Rochester, Mittlestadt and Thompson play on Buffalo) like every other NHL GM does. And this isn't a bad thing. The Sabres core is getting more expensive with little to no team success. The GM should be addressing this fact immediately, because dumping the core is way more expensive and time consuming than replacing the GM. Judging Botterill should be no different than any other GM. If the Sabres are still cellar dwellers at the end of his 3rd season, Botterill should be on the hot seat

Sure, if you go back before 2014 there's more of the story to be told, but the discussion I was involved in set the parameter to 2014 and the following years. Aside from that parameter, I agree with what you write. There are multiple ways to acquire talent and a good GM takes advantage of all those methods.

Ok, thanks for that. Tampa has picked 39 players in the draft since 2014. 6 of those picks have made it to the NHL. 3 play for the Lightning. 3 play for the Rangers. Since 2014, Tampa has none of its 1st rounders on its NHL roster. Howden was their pick in 2016. He now plays for the Rangers and has 23 career points. Deangelo was their 1st pick in 2014, also plays for the Rangers, and has 43 career points (so in 5 seasons he has roughly the same number of points as Dahlin). The only player picked by Tampa in the 2nd round since 2014 who has played in the NHL is Libor Hajek (2016) who also now plays for the Rangers. He's played 5 NHL games. Tampa's saving grace in the draft since 2014 is the 3rd round, where they drafted Point (2014) and Cirelli (2015). They added Joseph in the 4th round in 2015 (26 career points). None of their draft picks from 2017 or 2018 have hit the NHL yet. So since 2014, 5 drafts (not counting 2019) have added Point, Cirelli, and Joseph to the Lightning roster. Now one of those players is excellent, one is emerging, and the last might be good, but 3 players from 5 drafts is not a great percentage. The other draftees in the NHL were sent to the Rangers to build their defense (trading projects for veterens). So is a team who consistently misses on the first two rounds, but hits on the 3rd round good at drafting or is it lucky? Or does it not matter, because acquiring a good player, regardless of his draft position is really the only thing that matters?

Okay, I see the 2014 post, which states the overall games played by draft picks where Buffalo ranks 2nd, but that's not good enough because there are not enough games played by players picked in rounds 2 - 7 after 2014? And the definition of prospect does not include draftees? And Boston and Tampa are successful because they have a few players who meet this criteria?

So you just added the 2014 parameter (don't know why), but Pominville was the 3rd Sabre drafted by the team after the 1st round to play 100 games for the Sabres. McCabe and ERod were the other two, I don't know why you wouldn't include college FAs. Nelson, according to NHLPA.com has played 93 games for the Sabres. So he doesn't meet the 100 game criteria.

Meh, Sabres have three players on the roster who they they drafted (or signed) after the 1st round who have played 100 games for them. Does that make the Sabres an EC finalist or President's Cup candidate?

Coaching is huge in the NHL. Maybe because there are so many bad coaches, fans tend to devalue it as being a key component for success. The Sabres locker room has been a mis-managed mess for years. To a large extent, the players self-govern the locker room, but the coach needs to set the tone and accountability for the team, and the result of every coaching and GM decision ends up there. Krueger seems to have the skillset to hopefully fix these issues this season.

When the team added Montour at the deadline, and Montour played well after the trade, but the team defense got worse, you can pinpoint coaching as the main issue.

I don't know, Pu, a 2nd, 3rd and a 6th got the Sabres a 40 goal scorer. What's the difference between Pu and Nylander or Borgen? The Sabres also have ample cap space the next few seasons to make deals with teams looking to dump salary. Botterill just needs to find distressed inventory, like he did with Skinner and Sheary. Guys who are undervalued or no longer valued by their current teams. Once he identifies those targets, he should be able to make a deal.

This team doesn't suck because they traded Byron and McNabb. How much ice time do you think McNabb would have gotten under Bylsma or Housley? Buffalo's archetype defenseman the last 5 years has been Kris Letang. McNabb doesn't fit that archetype. Byron had 16 goals the four years he played in Calgary after being traded by Buffalo. That wouldn't have helped the Sabres screaming need for top six fowards. And at that time, the trade wasn't even that bad. A salary dump, two slow-developing prospects for a veteran physical defenseman and a 2nd round pick. That's a trade most would make all day.

If this is the plan, Botterill won't be the GM by the time the team is "ready" to win. The team has cap space and assets to trade, but Botterill is going to put everything on hold until (if) Mittelstadt and Cozens develop? Doesn't seem like the best way foward.

So you're saying the Sabres shouldn't have traded Pu for Skinner? Drafting kids at 17 and 18 is crapshoot. Most kids drafted in the later rounds level off and just aren't NHL quality players. Trades play a huge role in building NHL rosters. Trading draft assets for better prospects or established players is not a bad thing.

Is that after 3 more 70 point seasons?

They got Skinner for Pu, a 2nd, 3rd and a 6th. There are deals to be made, just need to be patient. And the Sabres also have cap space as an asset.

That Marleau deal is just plain weird. Why would a team with an internal cap take on a salary dump like this.

Olofsson will be on the Sabres roster this season. Nylander will either be gone next week or will also be on the Sabres roster. So they're leaving the pipeline. Davidsson, Asplund, Pekar, Routsalainen, and Thompson don't project to top six forwards. Cozens does project to a top six forward, but he's at least two years away. Only Asplund, Pekar, Routsalainen and Thompson will be in Rochester next season. If Botterill can acquire a center and winger through free agency or by trade, they should be all right, but it's going to be expensive.

By the time that these guys crack NHL rosters, there's a good chance that GM who drafted them is gone. Using the draft is now the preferred way to build a team in the NHL, but due to the age of the players, it's also incredibly risky.

There doesn't seem to be the desire to stockpile draftpicks anymore. Why trade an NHLer for a prospect who won't crack the league for 3 years from now. Two-thirds of the GMs could be out of their current jobs by then. I don't think that's the expectation. The majority understands that these picks are being made are at least a couple of years away from making the roster. Most also understand that after Nylander and Olofsson, the Sabres winger pipeline is near empty and would like to see it re-stocked with some highly-ranked prospects. I wonder if the NHL has considered increasing the draft age to 20. It would make the draft more exciting.

Sounds like they need to bring video scouting back.

That's fine, but after three drafts, his top six forward pipeline is empty.

He knows that in the modern NHL, the goal is to win games 2-1. That's how Ralph won in the EPL.

Botterill's last 8 picks, 6 defensemen and 2 forwards. He also traded a first round pick for a defenseman (Montour).