Your grade for the Sabres at the deadline?

[tom webster]

I’d go with a solid B. Adding Chychrun would have been a home run and I think they got nervous at the end. 
This is one year I hope they do one of those behind the scenes things to see were they really were. 
For all their denials, I think they swung big but couldn’t get it done.

That said, I think  they did well adding some much needed size and Greenwell could be one of those late developers.

[triumph_communes]

An A would have been a long term defenseman add without selling the family farm plus depth forward and a different goalie

 

A B would be small upgrades, buying not selling. Get something instead of nothing for Portillo/Asplund who have no future here

 

A C would be nothing but a 7D upgrade. 
 

An F if he sold and lost all credibility with the team. 
 

 

Sooo, B

[jad1]

Solid D.  Don't see the adds really helping the playoff run this season or closing the gap with Boston and Tampa next year.

Adams had the picks, prospects, and cap space to drive the trade deadline, but chose not to.   Will be interested to see what he can do to close the gap with the better teams during the off season.

 

[matter2003]

5 hours ago, Weave said:

You could only hope a 2nd rd pick turns into a Greenway.  Its like a 25% chance.  We traded a 25% chance of a Greenway in 3-5 years for a fully developed Greenway now and for the next 2 seasons.

Draft picks are over valued.

We traded the extra one we had...we still have our own and it will be a higher pick than the one we traded most likely.

4 hours ago, jad1 said:

Solid D.  Don't see the adds really helping the playoff run this season or closing the gap with Boston and Tampa next year.

Adams had the picks, prospects, and cap space to drive the trade deadline, but chose not to.   Will be interested to see what he can do to close the gap with the better teams during the off season.

 

He wasn't trying to push full steam ahead this year. That's where people seem to have a disconnect with what they "think" he should have done versus what he actually said he was going to do.

I'll defer to the person who won a Cup. That wouldn't be you, FYI.

[French Collection]

I’ll give KA and his team a C+.

Goalie: I don’t think there was much available so it’s hard to blame him here. Saros may have been available but the price was too rich for his liking. Getting a 3rd for Portillo was a surprise, I didn’t think they would get anything.

Defense: This is where I am disappointed, their depth has been exposed early in the season and now with Dahlin out. Getting a 4-5 guy would help now and push Bryson further away from the ice. Stillman brings some grit that was lacking but I think his ceiling is a 6. I wonder if KA knew of Hronek or if Stevie Y wanted him moved to the west. I thought Jensen or Fabbro could have helped before they were extended.

Forward: I like the Greenway trade and had wanted him for a few weeks. He won’t be a game changer but he adds size, toughness, defensive awareness and playoff experience. He is young enough to fit into this group and it sounds like DG wants to whisper in his ear.

I also hoped for a few mid round picks for weaponizing cap space. Oh well, many teams will be in cap hell this summer after this arms race, he may get a cap dump like to fill a hole. Thinking something like the Nick Leddy move from a few years ago.

[...]

7 hours ago, Thorny said:

The fact we spent a 2nd and 5th on a player, NOW, when as you correctly point out - there’d be more to spend it on this summer, is indication to me KA feels the move could help our playoff push 

Very good observation. So, if fans on a forum can see that, then the room can see that. It'll be interesting to see how they respond.

 

[Gatorman0519]

D. Still have the same major holes in the roster. 

[dudacek]

7 hours ago, tom webster said:

I’d go with a solid B. Adding Chychrun would have been a home run and I think they got nervous at the end. 
This is one year I hope they do one of those behind the scenes things to see were they really were. 
For all their denials, I think they swung big but couldn’t get it done.

That said, I think  they did well adding some much needed size and Greenwell could be one of those late developers.

Adams presser (which was one of his better ones) made it pretty clear they were not given the opportunity of the Ottawa price. Reading between the lines, Armstrong insisted Savoie or another top prospect be included and Adams refused to budge.

Apparently, Armstrong was taking the offer based on the best component and the Sabres 1st this year wasn’t as valuable to him as the Senators.

[dudacek]

To the topic question, we are better after the deadline by both short- and long-range measures, so definitely a pass.

Unfortunately, dealing with the Portillo situation, doing Asplund a solid, and adding some snarl to the fringes of our D corps barely move the needle.

Greenway is an excellent get, can’t think of too many better options for our team in terms of adding size, defence and physical presence at a 3rd line production level.

But that was only the 3rd biggest hole on the roster, behind a reliable 2nd pairing defenceman and a starting goalie, so not much more than a pass.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

To the topic question, we are better after the deadline by both short- and long-range measures, so definitely a pass.

Unfortunately, dealing with the Portillo situation, doing Asplund a solid, and adding some snarl to the fringes of our D corps barely move the needle.

Greenway is an excellent get, can’t think of too many better options for our team in terms of adding size, defence and physical presence at a 3rd line production level.

But that was only the 3rd biggest hole on the roster, behind a reliable 2nd pairing defenceman and a starting goalie, so not much more than a pass.

Well said, although I doubt he even looked at the goaltending during the deadline.  That seems more like a summer fix if at all.

Edited March 4, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[JohninMinn.]

B+ Greenway is a solid piece.

All the other transactions are meaningless.

[Claude Balls]

C+ woulda been a D until the Greenway move. And the fact that KA acknowledged how teams try to bully the Sabres, was great to hear. So he made the move for JG. It was also cool to see how emotional KA got talking about it all. He knows what this organization has been lacking for years and he may finally be trying to change the reputation of this team. The off-season should be interesting.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Claude Balls

[steveoath]

Didn't lose anyone of consequence and picked up Greenway who I think will be a success and an unproven entity in Stillman. 

KA gets a pass

[Stoner]

Grades aint what they use to be. Seen what I did there?

In normal life among normal fans it's a D or an F.

SabreSpacers ain't normal. The dumbest smart ***** around. Dumb has been the winning component lo these many years, which doesn't make me feel good about these grades.

Rather than a grade, I'd say KA didn't turn his paper in. Boring, gutless and a shame, honestly.

[Stoner]

No srsly we dumb! Eleven's haunting callback to those treasured picks in 2013 is exhibit 1 of many.

But...

Siri insert gif of christmas story teacher A++++++

[Stoner]

6 hours ago, ... said:

Very good observation. So, if fans on a forum can see that, then the room can see that. It'll be interesting to see how they respond.

 

Do you honestly believe the room is pumped by this deadline?

Better predictor of future success: the room is happy vs. the room is unhappy.

[LGR4GM]

My concern from Adams presser is he doubled down on internal growth. I'm worried he believes the Sabres Def will be fine next year with Power and Muel "growing". There isn't enough talent and almost no depth to that group. I'll wait until this summer though since they were in on Chychrun and maybe Adams words are not his full intention. 

[triumph_communes]

46 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Do you honestly believe the room is pumped by this deadline?

Better predictor of future success: the room is happy vs. the room is unhappy.

A team getting bullied every game getting two rough housers. Yeah, they are probably pretty happy. 

[Night Train]

 Silly.

 They can only get an A if they went for big names...which was never going to happen with KA's explanation of their thinking. That means giving up picks and promising young prospects they just drafted recently. 

 Chychrun was the only known name I was interested in. If Savoie and Kulich were needed to leave in order to get it done (according to the Buffalo News), then I don't blame KA for walking away. You dont draft them high to ship off before seeing them grow. You revisit the needs during the off-season. Everything I read about those 2 young guys is they are showing a lot at present. Round 1 guys can do that. 

 Not blindly defending the company line but respecting KA's thinking. 

[Buffalonill]

14 hours ago, tom webster said:

I’d go with a solid B. Adding Chychrun would have been a home run and I think they got nervous at the end. 
This is one year I hope they do one of those behind the scenes things to see were they really were. 
For all their denials, I think they swung big but couldn’t get it done.

That said, I think  they did well adding some much needed size and Greenwell could be one of those late developers.

It sounded like they tried being unprofessional torwards adams 

 

[Believer]

Just watched the KA presser… Hockey aside, what an impressive executive… Smart, likable, thoughtful, great communicator… Spent a career around top execs at a Fortune 100 firm and KA is of that class… Can see why Pegula gave him the job… and why the Sabre staff and players regard him so highly…

[LGR4GM]

50 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

It sounded like they tried being unprofessional torwards adams 

 

I'm shocked that an upstanding and well run organization like the Glendale, Arizona State, Phoenix, Arizona Coyotes would do something like that? Shocked!

Edited March 4, 2023 by LGR4GM

[Stoner]

Ya know it's not a zero sum game. No idea what that means... Always wanted to say it.

I think what it means is that more decisive moves at the deadline wouldn't have had only costs... The benefit of making the playoffs NOW would be enormous for everyone involved.

Of course it could have backfired.

As per usual the Sabres were chickenshit.

[Weave]

4 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Ya know it's not a zero sum game. No idea what that means... Always wanted to say it.

I think what it means is that more decisive moves at the deadline wouldn't have had only costs... The benefit of making the playoffs NOW would be enormous for everyone involved.

Of course it could have backfired.

As per usual the Sabres were chickenshit.

I do wonder if Adams would have been more aggressive if Tuch wasn’t down long term and Dahlin wasn’t going to miss 4ish games in the heat of a super close race.

[Bob Malooga]

I'll give him an "A" for getting a third round pick for Portillo.

A "C" for adding Stillman.

An "F" for Greenway...paying the Wild a 2nd round pick to do them a favor doesn't sit right with me.