Sabres trade for Defenseman Riley Stillman in exchange for Josh Bloom

[Taro T]

22 minutes ago, RochesterExpat said:

I thought roster limits applied until the day after the deadline? Or is there a grace rule?

They go away on deadline day.

[Weave]

12 minutes ago, inkman said:

 

He’s an upgrade, in as much as he brings things the other 6/7/8 Dmen don’t bring.  Physical play.  If you don’t value that then I suppose you could be right although I’ve seen little out of Clague and Bryson to make me think Stillman can’t do exactly what they did but actually hit people as well. 

Thats what Ive been saying.  They upgraded specific traits in the 6/7 role, physicality and size.

[Mustache of God]

2 minutes ago, Weave said:

Thats what Ive been saying.  They upgraded specific traits in the 6/7 role, physicality and size.

I agree, Bryson/Clague never had an edge to their game, we need someone to out muscle the other team. My fear is that just because he's a physical player doesn't mean he still wont' suck, aka the Rasmus Ristolainin effect. He'll hit anything that moves but in doing so takes himself out of position, only without any offensive instinct.

[Brawndo]

 

[inkman]

 

[TageMVP]

7 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

I agree, Bryson/Clague never had an edge to their game, we need someone to out muscle the other team. My fear is that just because he's a physical player doesn't mean he still wont' suck, aka the Rasmus Ristolainin effect. He'll hit anything that moves but in doing so takes himself out of position, only without any offensive instinct.

The player being checked is also taken out of position 

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, TageMVP said:

The player being checked is also taken out of position 

And smart players see checks coming and move into the space that gets opened. It is a two way street which Risto never learned. 

2 minutes ago, inkman said:

 

Donny "Just a Development Coach" Granato has worked wonders before. 

[dudacek]

Wow, listening to Canuck radio and analyst Thomas Drance is saying don't be surprised if Riley Stillman turns into an asset for the Sabres, despite his struggles in Vancouver.

Basically he says Stillman was put in the worst possible position with the Canucks where the system and his partner (Tyler Myers) exacerbated his flaws. Drance says that won't be the case in Buffalo, which is loaded (his words) with defencemen who can move the puck.

Drance thinks he's a viable 6/7 who can grind out neutral minutes on the bottom pair.

Different take from most of the other Canuck-watchers.

Also said Stillman was targeted by the Canucks when they acquired him along with cap space for Jason Dickinson and a 2nd. They thought he was going to be a regular, not filler, but he proved a bad fit.

Edited February 28, 2023 by dudacek

[TageMVP]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

Wow, listening to Canuck radio and analyst Thomas Drance is saying don't be surprised if Riley Stillman turns into an asset for the Sabres, despite his struggles in Vancouver.

Basically he says Stillman was put in the worst possible position with the Canucks where the system and his partner exacerbated his flaws. Drance says that won't be the case in Buffalo, which is loaded (his words) with defencemen who can move the puck.

Drance thinks he's a viable 6/7 who can grind out neutral minutes on the bottom pair.

Different take from most of the other Canuck-watchers.

I do not think it's possible for him to be worse than Bryson 

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

Wow, listening to Canuck radio and analyst Thomas Drance is saying don't be surprised if Riley Stillman turns into an asset for the Sabres, despite his struggles in Vancouver.

Basically he says Stillman was put in the worst possible position with the Canucks where the system and his partner exacerbated his flaws. Drance says that won't be the case in Buffalo, which is loaded (his words) with defencemen who can move the puck.

Drance thinks he's a viable 6/7 who can grind out neutral minutes on the bottom pair.

Different take from most of the other Canuck-watchers.

Hey, this team has worked miracles before. Tage Thompson is one of the NHL's leading scorers. 

 

[Mustache of God]

All the haters going to be singing a different tune when Stillman scores the OT winner in game 7 of the stanley cup finals. You heard it here first.

[GoPuckYourself]

I just keep saying he can't be any worse then Bryson but I could be wrong.

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, TageMVP said:

I do not think it's possible for him to be worse than Bryson 

Larry Pilut waives from his seat in the corner. ;)

[DarthEbriate]

2 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

All the haters going to be singing a different tune when Stillman scores the OT winner in game 7 of the stanley cup finals. You heard it here first.

Or until Marchand slashes Dahlin in a scrum after the Bruins have taken a 1-0 lead in game one of the EQF. Stillman responds with a facewash and a fight ensues, Marchand is dusted into next week, and the Sabres rally for a game win and complete control of the series end-to-end.

[Contempt]

10 minutes ago, TageMVP said:

I do not think it's possible for him to be worse than Bryson 

Worse in a different way maybe. Yakking up the puck and horrible breakouts rather than getting steamrolled and run over. I dunno. Maybe he's not terrible.

I wonder who they plan on pairing him with. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Contempt

[Buffalonill]

14 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

All the haters going to be singing a different tune when Stillman scores the OT winner in game 7 of the stanley cup finals. You heard it here first.

I'll quit drinking 

[Mustache of God]

2 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

I just keep saying he can't be any worse then Bryson but I could be wrong.

They can be equally bad in different ways. I'm giving him 5 games to soak in the Granato effect before I pass any judgement, unless of course he's making plays like Mitt's boneheaded drop pass.

[Brawndo]

 

[GoPuckYourself]

10 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Or until Marchand slashes Dahlin in a scrum after the Bruins have taken a 1-0 lead in game one of the EQF. Stillman responds with a facewash and a fight ensues, Marchand is dusted into next week, and the Sabres rally for a game win and complete control of the series end-to-end.

[RochesterExpat]

10 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I'll quit drinking 

 You can turn your western NY card in right now, sir.

[Buffalonill]

9 minutes ago, RochesterExpat said:

 You can turn your western NY card in right now, sir.

Thats true dont know if i can handle the view sober 

[bob_sauve28]

30 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I'll quit drinking 

I do that once a week, so what? 

[msw2112]

As stated by at least one other poster above, Granato has a track record of developing young players (Dahlin, Thompson, Cozens, etc.) and also for getting the most out of veteran players coming off of a down season or seasons (Skinner, Okposo).  Maybe he sees somthing in Stillman that he can develop.  That's what he says.  If so, the Sabres have acquired a younger bottom pair defenseman with NHL experience who brings a physical element to the team that is sorely lacking.  To do that, they had to give up a bottom-six forward prospect whose chance of making the Sabres team as a regular contributor was pretty low.  It seems like a reasonable risk to take.  I don't follow the Canucks at all, but I know that they are not a very good team right now, so perhaps they were either a) improperly utilizing Stillman; or b) doing a poor job developing him.

One final thought on the trade - if the Sabres have any injuries on defense, who can they call up from Rochester that would be better than Stillman?  Maybe Pilut?  Clague and Bryson are already with the team.  So this trade also adds some depth to the roster.

Edited February 28, 2023 by msw2112

[Getpucksdeep]

24 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

[shrader]

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

It's a pretty significant challenge.  They have a very tight window to bring him up to speed if he's going to be a contributing piece to this playoff push.  I hope there's one more blueliner headed our way.