Long Term: Byram or Power

[Pimlach]

Byram is playing better overall as of right now.  

Power is still a compelling prospect.   It’s tiring watching him play so soft at times.  His natural size will support considerable strength, but will he ever get the mindset to use it?   That’s the gamble.  He probably won’t hit peak years until 27-32.  The peak could be worth it.   
 

 

[In The Buff]

If what we value out of our defensemen is their offensive potential, then lets just stop messing around & lets make our Dmen forwards. We lack forwards right? Move Dahlin to Center & make Power his wingman. Then when teams play us, they'll have no idea what we're doing out there. We probably wont either, but we dont now. At least we wont be complaining anymore about how they cant play D. Lets not even try! We need more offense out of our D, 5 forwards on the ice at all times lets go!

Sorry i couldnt resist. I'd keep Byram over Power & thats a big turnaround for me from how i used to feel. Byram has seemed to gel more with his role. Is more of an impact player than Power is at this point. And Power can bring more back in a trade. Especially if some Canadian team wants to bring him back home.

All of this talk means nothing without a plan though. Doesnt help us at all if we move these guys for draft picks. In the end there's pros & cons for both so in truth i'd move whoever has the most trade value. But i would've already added a veteran Dman a year or 3 ago if i were GM to help aid in their development. I cant see us bringing in one now, while also resigning Byram to a longer term deal. Seems now its one or the other.

[Crusader1969]

On 1/3/2025 at 10:07 PM, Huckleberry said:

Dahling had that same Issue 4 years ago, I can go back and take a shitload of quotes about him like this.  
Maybe Im too optimistic about power, but I feel he can grow into a solid 2nd pairing, and I say 2nd because we got Dahlin.

I still see them both anchoring the blue line in crucial minutes together in the cup final, maybe dumb of me but I see them both doing that together.

I'm so tired of people blaming a 22 year old player  for the teams issues

Once he get traded to a legit NHL franchise and is  paired with a RHD vet that complements his game, he will flourish

Then all the people here , who constantly trash him, will wonder why that version of Power was never in Buffalo  

 

 

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Neither should be traded.  You can never have enough NHL caliber D on your roster.

[Mango]

On 1/3/2025 at 1:05 PM, mjd1001 said:

I don't think they HAVE to trade one of them.  I won't be surprised if they do though.

I like both of them long term.  I think Power will be a very good D-man but its going to take a couple years.

I think Byram is a better D-man right now than Power.  I just wonder if he wants to re-sign here long term, or what it will take to get him to sign.

They do have to trade one or let Byram walk. We are the most expensive blue line in the league. Byram is set to get a pay raise. We can’t justify spending more money on a defense that doesn’t play defense. 
 

So sure, to the OP’s specific point I don’t think we “have to trade one to improve the team”. But we do need to make a decision on which one to keep when the time comes because we can’t keep investing in this unit as is. 

[LGR4GM]

We need to move Samuelsson,  Jokiharju, and either Power or Byram. 

[SabreFinn]

As I see it a team needs two puck moving D. Then they need four steady D to play boxplay and defend a lead, that can also play a decent overall game. If one or two of the puckmovers can play good boxplay, then there might be possible to have more than two of them. Following that system we could keep Byram, Dahlin is good enough on defending the own goal, and get rid of Jokiharju, Bryson and Gilbert. But if we want to get decent replacements for the three I mentioned, we probably has to find a deal with Byram included. It do feel like waste of a good player, but I can't figure out how to do it in any other ways, the team should be built from defense.

[SABRES 0311]

Power makes over 8mil as a useless defensemen. Get his contract off our books no matter what it takes. Use that freed up cap to give Byram and Peterka a sensible raise. At least Byram plays with purpose. Power is just lost.

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Power makes over 8mil as a useless defensemen. Get his contract off our books no matter what it takes. Use that freed up cap to give Byram and Peterka a sensible raise. At least Byram plays with purpose. Power is just lost.

I'm so over people blaming 22 year old players and not having the patience to let them develop.   
id really like to see Power with a vet partner whom he can lean on prior to discarding him.  
it's just a trait of Sabres fans ... blame young stars,  who have potential  to improve,  rather than wanting to improve the roster around them 

 

[Broken Ankles]

2 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

I'm so over people blaming 22 year old players and not having the patience to let them develop.   
id really like to see Power with a vet partner whom he can lean on prior to discarding him.  
it's just a trait of Sabres fans ... blame young stars,  who have potential  to improve,  rather than wanting to improve the roster around them 

 

People “blame him” because he has allowed a significant number of goals this season while on the ice. Like directly responsible.  His +\- of negative 9 is an accurate reflection of his play.  Below average.  Does he contribute on offense, sure.  That only makes his -9 even more concerning.  At the end of the day, the pitchforks seem to be sharper for Power and Cozens because of their AAV.  You just can’t have your 2nd and 4th highest paid players as liabilities.  Power may develop into an all star, but how long can you tolerate his play at $8m/year?  

[SABRES 0311]

35 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

I'm so over people blaming 22 year old players and not having the patience to let them develop.   
id really like to see Power with a vet partner whom he can lean on prior to discarding him.  
it's just a trait of Sabres fans ... blame young stars,  who have potential  to improve,  rather than wanting to improve the roster around them 

 

Yeah 22 years old. Grown man. 6’6” and 213 lbs but plays soft as hell. You can’t teach aggression. This is who he is and not what this team needs to get back on track. You don’t develop players into pros in the NHL. Thats what the AHL is for.

As a Dman his top priority is defending which he does not do. When people have to point to a defenseman’s offensive upside as a way to justify his roster spot there is a problem.

Improving the roster includes removing him as a liability and his unearned salary.  It’s supposed to be win now not wait five more years to see if players pan out.

[JohnC]

8 hours ago, Mango said:

They do have to trade one or let Byram walk. We are the most expensive blue line in the league. Byram is set to get a pay raise. We can’t justify spending more money on a defense that doesn’t play defense. 
 

So sure, to the OP’s specific point I don’t think we “have to trade one to improve the team”. But we do need to make a decision on which one to keep when the time comes because we can’t keep investing in this unit as is. 

Even if Byram gets a new rich deal, there is no need to trade either player. That makes little sense to me. There comes a point where you need to add talent, not subtract your better players from this roster. The financial adjustment can be made by bringing in a veteran defensive defenseman. Teams are constructed in a variety of ways. There is no one way to configure your roster. My recommendation would be to sign Byram to an upgraded contract and see if you can add another couple of Zucker like veteran talents to this insufficient and poorly constructed roster. Our dullard GM should have made the additions this past offseason. As the saying goes: Snooze and you lose!

[Crusader1969]

26 minutes ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Yeah 22 years old. Grown man. 6’6” and 213 lbs but plays soft as hell. You can’t teach aggression. This is who he is and not what this team needs to get back on track. You don’t develop players into pros in the NHL. Thats what the AHL is for.

As a Dman his top priority is defending which he does not do. When people have to point to a defenseman’s offensive upside as a way to justify his roster spot there is a problem.

Improving the roster includes removing him as a liability and his unearned salary.  It’s supposed to be win now not wait five more years to see if players pan out.

Well they aren't winning now, so I'm not going to discard a 22 year old dman. I'm going to work with him to improve, including getting him a vet partner. Something he has never had 

dear god   Aren't you tired of seeing players the Sabres discard do well on other teams?  

[LabattBlue]

Yes, Power would benefit from a defense first partner, but not if it allows him  to ignore his dzone play.   All that would do is mask his unwillingness to play defense. 

[thewookie1]

19 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Yes, Power would benefit from a defense first partner, but not if it allows him  to ignore his dzone play.   All that would do is mask his unwillingness to play defense. 

To be honest it would mask his inexperience but could also help him learn in-game.

[SABRES 0311]

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

Well they aren't winning now, so I'm not going to discard a 22 year old dman. I'm going to work with him to improve, including getting him a vet partner. Something he has never had 

dear god   Aren't you tired of seeing players the Sabres discard do well on other teams?  

I’m tired of them getting the wrong players.

[Carmel Corn]

2 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

I'm so over people blaming 22 year old players and not having the patience to let them develop.   
id really like to see Power with a vet partner whom he can lean on prior to discarding him.  
it's just a trait of Sabres fans ... blame young stars,  who have potential  to improve,  rather than wanting to improve the roster around them 

 

But….if the Sabres refuse to get him a vet partner (which GMKA will fail to do), then your hope of helping him improve will never happen.

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

Well they aren't winning now, so I'm not going to discard a 22 year old dman. I'm going to work with him to improve, including getting him a vet partner. Something he has never had 

dear god   Aren't you tired of seeing players the Sabres discard do well on other teams?  

Other players the Sabres discarded were already accomplished (Power is not).  They also went to better teams who could complement their abilities.  If Eichel, Samson, ROR, etc. were still on Buffalo….they would not have achieved the same level of success.

Edited yesterday at 03:44 AM by Carmel Corn

[Crusader1969]

12 minutes ago, SABRES 0311 said:

I’m tired of them getting the wrong players.

I bet 3 years ago you thought Dahlin was the wrong player 

[mjd1001]

2 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

People “blame him” because he has allowed a significant number of goals this season while on the ice. Like directly responsible.  His +\- of negative 9 is an accurate reflection of his play.  Below average.  Does he contribute on offense, sure.  That only makes his -9 even more concerning.  At the end of the day, the pitchforks seem to be sharper for Power and Cozens because of their AAV.  You just can’t have your 2nd and 4th highest paid players as liabilities.  Power may develop into an all star, but how long can you tolerate his play at $8m/year?  

This may be my personal bias against Cozens speaking here, but I think Cozens is more of a concern than Power.

I see Power making 'bad' plays without the puck, vs Cozens making 'brutal' plays with it. Also, I'm willing (a bit) to give Power a tad bit more leash and time to improve. Cozens has been around longer so his leash is a lot shorter.

[Crusader1969]

6 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

But….if the Sabres refuse to get him a vet partner (which GMKA will fail to do), then your hope of helping him improve will never happen.

Other players the Sabres discarded were already accomplished (Power is not).  They also went to better teams who could complement their abilities.  If Eichel, Samson, ROR, etc. were still on Buffalo….they would not have achieved the same level of success.

Shame we didn't keep at least Eichel and Reinhart.  
id sure like to take my chances where they would be today with Jack, Samson and Dahlin 

[SABRES 0311]

7 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

I bet 3 years ago you thought Dahlin was the wrong player 

He was playing like the wrong player. Difference is he showed that he possessed the skill set and mindset that we need prior to his slump. Power has not. In fact, Power has consistently showed he is a poor defensemen.

Edited yesterday at 03:58 AM by SABRES 0311

[Crusader1969]

4 minutes ago, SABRES 0311 said:

He was playing like the wrong player. Difference is he showed that he possessed the skill set and mindset that we need prior to his slump. Power has not. In fact, Power has consistently showed he is a poor defensemen.

Let's circle back in 3 years.  Not expecting him to be a shut down defender but i do expect him to be much improved. 
With his offence , he will look very much like a guy drafted where he was 

 

[LabattBlue]

36 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

Let's circle back in 3 years.  Not expecting him to be a shut down defender but i do expect him to be much improved. 
With his offence , he will look very much like a guy drafted where he was 

 

Only 3 years?  Why not give him 5, 6 or even 7?

[Familykwi]

On 1/3/2025 at 10:05 AM, mjd1001 said:

I don't think they HAVE to trade one of them.  I won't be surprised if they do though.

I like both of them long term.  I think Power will be a very good D-man but its going to take a couple years.

I think Byram is a better D-man right now than Power.  I just wonder if he wants to re-sign here long term, or what it will take to get him to sign.

Bryan wants top minutes.  If he wants to eclipse Dahlin, then that’s not happening and he goes.

if he’s OK on top line w Dahlin then Powers goes because he’ll still get 2nd PP line duties which should go to Byram

Givennour other holes, keeping all 3 is a waste of resources.  If Adams is incapable (since Adams is incapable?) of getting fair value then they all would stay to maximize the talent you have.  Since quality veterans do not want to come here, this is very possible.  The trouble could be extending Byram though.
 

[Crusader1969]

3 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

Only 3 years?  Why not give him 5, 6 or even 7?

 

Why do you think there are only 10 defencemen (22 or younger) playing regularly in the NHL right now?