Casey Mittelstadt traded for Bowen Byram

[Doohicksie]

On 5/1/2024 at 2:38 PM, inkman said:

This thread needs to die a quick death.  Ugh. 

You started it.  You can close it.

[Brawndo]

19 hours ago, dudacek said:

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.

Cozens is the player who Ruff should have one of the biggest impacts on.

I am interested to see what the impact on Skinner’s Game is, ironically during His Krueger Season he was in the 89th percentile for defense for all forwards in the NHL that year per Evolving Hockey’s Model. 

[triumph_communes]

Cozens is a solid 2C everyone had suppressed numbers this year 

 

They will look to UFA for a 3C. Ruff wants his veteran Gaustad. We have the cap to overpay for whoever this ends up being 

Edited May 3 by triumph_communes

[steveoath]

3 hours ago, seer775 said:

Chandler chandler chandler chandler chandler chandler chandler chandler chandler chandler chandler chandler

[LGR4GM]

 

 

[MattPie]

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

I'd think not, 3-6-9 in 10gp for the Avs this playoffs.

[GASabresIUFAN]

17 minutes ago, MattPie said:

I'd think not, 3-6-9 in 10gp for the Avs this playoffs.

I was looking at the ex-Sabres in this playoffs

Casey 3-6-9 in 10

Samson 5-4-9 in 10

Montour 3-5-8 in 10 

Zadorov 4-4-8 in 10

Eichel 3-4-7 in 7

ERod 3-3-6 in 10

McNabb 2-3-5 in 7

Kane 2-3-5 in 9

Nothing spectacular, but a core of very solid performers.

Edited May 16 by GASabresIUFAN

[dudacek]

15 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I was looking at the ex-Sabres in this playoffs

Casey 3-6-9 in 10

Samson 5-4-9 in 10

Montour 3-5-8 in 10 

Zadorov 4-4-8 in 10

Eichel 3-4-7 in 7

ERod 3-3-6 in 10

McNabb 2-3-7 in 7

Kane 2-3-5 in 9

Nothing spectacular, but a core of very solid performers.

With the exception McNabb, every single one of them was dumped on by multiple posters on this site.

But it's pretty clear that any problems they had here were less about the who, and more about the when and how.

Edited May 16 by dudacek

[triumph_communes]

Wasn’t a talent problem. Coaching and culture 

[Weave]

1 hour ago, triumph_communes said:

Wasn’t a talent problem. Coaching and culture 

I disagree.  Those individual players were not talent problems, but the team has had a talent problem for at least 15 seasons.  There hasn’t been enough of it since near the end of Ruff’s first stint.

[SwampD]

Sampson and Casey were both the leading scorers on the team when traded. WTF is wrong with this organ-eye-zation!!!??!?!? Long rebuilds mean job security. It’s crap.

[shrader]

You can spend all day on the Florida roster if you’re looking for former Sabres. 
 

Im just now finding out that even Asplund is a part of that team. 

[Taro T]

On 4/29/2024 at 2:20 PM, dudacek said:

I think the basic disconnect here is that while everyone here thought the Sabres needed to add a top 4 defenceman, a large number of Sabrespacers don’t think that player is Byram.

Nobody says the Knights have too many of the same type of defencemen with Pietrangelo, Theodore and Hanifan. Good is good.

To me, it’s not the theory that’s the big question here, it’s whether or not Byram and Power can be as effective as Theodore and Hanifin.

These are guys expected to round into two-way players like Dahlin has. They aren’t Phil Housleys.

Haven't been here the past 2 months, but IMHO the disconnect is that while Byram MAY be that guy that can be a top 4 (or maybe even top 2) D-man he's too young right now to do effectively on a bad team that isn't particularly well coached.

Byram was available from the Avs because they needed a 2C TODAY and while Bryam can become a top 4 or even top pairing guy, he isn't that on the Avs team that REALLY NEEDED a 2C TODAY because they are in the heart of their window.

Byram's window is on the same timeline as a large portion of the rest of this team.  Which, while IF the team is good enough to get into the playoffs this coming season would be a great thing because the team SHOULD continue to get better simply flipping the calendar over for the next 2-3 years.  But if they miss again, how many of the guys that actually are in their prime are going to "lose their love of the game."

Didn't like the trade for 2 reasons: 1.  Really like Mittelstadt and his finally reaching a level that he teased he could reach for at least a couple of seasons so that now that we've watched him go through the growing pains but he's now actually a good hockey player he's gone; and

2. rather than bringing in a D-man that's in his prime, which is what we should've hoped would come back for him we got a D-man that's 4 years shy of his prime.  He flashes some very good play, but he's still only 22.   

It's not the fast, puck-moving D-men that the Sabres have too much of; it's the barely in their 20's D-men that the Sabres have too much of.  Clifton is the elder statesman and Jokiharju is the only other regular older than the still very young Rasmus Dahlin.

Edited May 17 by Taro T
added word "other" in final sentence. Had thought it was already there. Oops.

[Doohicksie]

7 hours ago, shrader said:

You can spend all day on the Florida roster if you’re looking for former Sabres. 
 

Im just now finding out that even Asplund is a part of that team. 

28% of their skaters in the playoffs are former Sabres.

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

Didn't like the trade for 2 reasons: 1.  Really like Mittelstadt and his finally reaching a level that he teased he could reach for at least a couple of seasons so that now that we've watched him go through the growing pains but he's now actually a good hockey player he's gone; and

2. rather than bringing in a D-man that's in his prime, which is what we should've hoped would come back for him we got a D-man that's 4 years shy of his prime.  He flashes some very good play, but he's still only 22.   

Repeated for emphasis.  Preach, brother.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Now that we know that Adams was unable or unwilling to acquire a viable 3rd center for the Sabres, does that change how you feel about this trade?

[#freejame]

2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Now that we know that Adams was unable or unwilling to acquire a viable 3rd center for the Sabres, does that change how you feel about this trade?

Not really. KA was going to be trading Mitts one way or the other. I don’t think he had any sort of target in mind other than BPA. I thought Byram was a great prospect and I think he has a ton of potential, but he didn’t fill a position of need. I’m not sure I really expected an outside 3C to be brought in after the trade anyway. 

[Pimlach]

7 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Now that we know that Adams was unable or unwilling to acquire a viable 3rd center for the Sabres, does that change how you feel about this trade?

Given how they both have played for their new teams, and that Mitts signed in Colorado, and we don’t know if we get more than a year out of Bryam, I am still not impressed by the trade.  Add, that Krebs is pencilled in at 3C.  Maybe he steps up?   
 

We can only watch, wait, and see if the team is getting better.  Lots of other changes now come into play.  

[Thorner]

4 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Now that we know that Adams was unable or unwilling to acquire a viable 3rd center for the Sabres, does that change how you feel about this trade?

No, my feelings remain the same: was always contingent on who we added at C. We are much weaker at F right now than before the Byram trade. Specifically C. 

Adams can penny pinch on a top 6 wing cause it’s more important to have two prospects who may or may not help and who may do so in 4 years, well after he’s fired, and we’ve decided the lesser of two evils is missing the playoffs again to a much greater certainty - but we need a 3C

To keep playoffs at least reasonably possible