Kevyn Adams GM thread

[Gras]

The top 5 goalies aren't getting moved. But we didn't need a top 5 goalie to be able to fill the role of a solid starter. And an eye of talent evaluation at the management level, should be able to determine how much of a system plays into a goaltender's performance, whether or not a season is an outlier, and other matters when it comes scouting players (hopefully a team hopes to have a team of scouts that could help with that). It's very much Adams' responsibility to make sure he has the team, the coaching, and the support needed to get the best out of the players.

Comrie was a terrible goaltender, even as a backup. He had one outlier of a decent season, and lo and behold Buffalo gets him the next season. Hutton he somewhat gets a pass for me just based on the vision issues he was facing. It was pretty obvious he was a product of the St Louis defensive system though.

I think the downfall of the goaltending was trading Halak instead of extending him.

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

Delete. Wrong thread.

 

[The Red Helmet]

Would anybody be interested in grabbing Markstrom? He's overpaid at $6 million and isn't the goalie he was a couple of years ago but sometimes goalies rebound and become good again. I think if we had Markstrom and UPL splitting time with Levi in Rochester, that would be a good start.

 

[Zman5778]

Would anybody be interested in grabbing Markstrom? He's overpaid at $6 million and isn't the goalie he was a couple of years ago but sometimes goalies rebound and become good again. I think if we had Markstrom and UPL splitting time with Levi in Rochester, that would be a good start.

Not really interested in spending $6M for this year and 2 more on the hope that he becomes good again.

Especially when there's a bit of history of Sabres goalies playing better when not in Buffalo recently.

 

[Ace]

Jost
Comrie
Stillman
Bryson

His moves are overpaying fringe NHLers and then waiving them to where they belong. Johnson and Clifton don’t look any better.

He’s a remarkable case of unwilling to make a big swing…unable to identify a quality small one…and then overpaying everyone.

Triple threat guy.

All threats against us.

 

[Ace]

He has tried with 2 goalies that played well as backups on other teams. It's not his fault that Hutton and Comrie didn't live up to expectations. Goalies are hard to figure out if they will be good or not. Teams that have the best ones aren't giving them up.

There hasn’t been a goalie move that anyone outside of the fanbase thought was enough. Most of the knowledgable fanbase agreed…some lied to themselves but knew.

It’s been a problem for YEARS that he’s been here. Now it’s actively hurting their best chance at developing a great goalie because promises were made.

Throw in that desperation Leinonen pick everyone knew was a mistake.

There is no sign he can or will fix this mess.

 

[Fearnot]

Jost
Comrie
Stillman
Bryson

His moves are overpaying fringe NHLers and then waiving them to where they belong. Johnson and Clifton don’t look any better.

He’s a remarkable case of unwilling to make a big swing…unable to identify a quality small one…and then overpaying everyone.

Triple threat guy.

All threats against us.

Who knows how his trades will even look in a few years. We thought we got an A grade and did amazing on the Eichel return. Now Jack is healed won a cup and his team might run a repeat with him having a career year. Same with the Reinhart trade if Kulich doesn't end up a star and we end up losing a potential 50 goal scorer Rhino is looking like this year... I dunno.

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

Fire someone, trade someone, DO SOMETHING!!

This team is soo far gone that there last hope is a big shake up to wake them up!

They don't look motivated at all and are just going through the motions

The more you sit on your hands the more a losing mentality will sink in to your team

 

[Tatanka]

Fire someone, trade someone, DO SOMETHING!!

This team is soo far gone that there last hope is a big shake up to wake them up!

They don't look motivated at all and are just going through the motions

The more you sit on your hands the more a losing mentality will sink in to your team

That ship sailed when he locked up a core that couldn’t win.

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

That ship sailed when he locked up a core that couldn’t win.

Literally everyone who got a long term contract took a step backwards

Imagine what a contract for Power would look like if he waited to sign him this offseason

 

[Jim Bob]

That ship sailed when he locked up a core that couldn’t win.

I have a hard time buying that after reading 3/4 of Draft Day by Doug MacLean.

One thing that stuck out to me is Steve Yzerman's time in Detroit. People view Yzerman as this winner and great leader. Yet, they forget that it was his 14th season playing for the Red Wings when he finally lifted the Cup. And there was a time where people felt he was a guy that would never lead Detroit anywhere and that they should trade him.

Adams needs to do more than sit on his hands and trust the players and coaches he has today. Sitting on his hands and hoping that they figure it out is not enough.

 

[Old Navy Goat]

I have a hard time buying that after reading 3/4 of Draft Day by Doug MacLean.

One thing that stuck out to me is Steve Yzerman's time in Detroit. People view Yzerman as this winner and great leader. Yet, they forget that it was his 14th season playing for the Red Wings when he finally lifted the Cup. And there was a time where people felt he was a guy that would never lead Detroit anywhere and that they should trade him.

Adams needs to do more than sit on his hands and trust the players and coaches he has today. Sitting on his hands and hoping that they figure it out is not enough.

There's a long history of high draft picks that were offense only guys eventually realising they had to change. Recent history is Yzerman and Modano. Before that you looked at players like Trottier and Bossey that suddenly learned grit

 

[Tatanka]

I have a hard time buying that after reading 3/4 of Draft Day by Doug MacLean.

One thing that stuck out to me is Steve Yzerman's time in Detroit. People view Yzerman as this winner and great leader. Yet, they forget that it was his 14th season playing for the Red Wings when he finally lifted the Cup. And there was a time where people felt he was a guy that would never lead Detroit anywhere and that they should trade him.

Adams needs to do more than sit on his hands and trust the players and coaches he has today. Sitting on his hands and hoping that they figure it out is not enough.

Long time ago. Things change. I am all for value and managing for the future, but KA said they were developing from within, using their draft capital and then, before he knew what his additions would contribute, committed to players on the roster in positions they may not be suited. All the while without any evidence thos players could contribute to winning. If he truly believed in what he was doing, i.e. development from within, he would have put that bar in place before committing to anyone. Yet he was confident enough to forgo a veteran goalie for the promise of a college prospect and promote highly drafted prospects before having them iron out the kinks in the A. Now he has lt contracts of his own doing, and little flexibility to move them if that is necessary. The problem with plant and hope is that you can't adjust quickly enough in the event of a bad harvest. KA doesn't want to acknowledge that there is a possibility that the crop doesn't cone in.

 

[TehDoak]

Literally everyone who got a long term contract took a step backwards

Imagine what a contract for Power would look like if he waited to sign him this offseason

I really hope that one of the Buffalo media asks some pointed questions on the power contract.

The fact that:

A) There was no external pressure to get his contract done now. He couldn't be offersheeted, no arb rights. Basically, no leverage.
B) I'm not sure what Power could have done in his second season to earn him a bigger contract than what he got. He got a bigger contract that Luke Hughes got in Vancover and Power wasn't going to get top PP minutes here.

Essentially, they gave Power the best case scenario contract for him as if he was going to be a near PPG offensive dynamo.

That contract was all risk for the Sabres with no reward. Power wasn't going to get a 10M contract after this season unless he suddenly went full Pronger/Chara in his second year, which historically we know doesn't happen with large d-men like him.

It didn't make a lick of sense when it was signed and it looks terrible given the struggles he's had this year. Power will likely be fine long term, but could have easily signed him to a bridge deal and saved 2-3M in a year in cap space and then signed him to his big boy deal well before he hit RFA.

The Samuelsson deal had similar problems but since it was on a much smaller scale, it's less of an issue. Adams giving away a long term deal well before a player earned it there as well.

He won a huge dice roll with the Thompson contract (at least, that was the case last year, we'll see longer term) and he keeps going back to the table with the same bet hoping he keeps getting lucky.

Adams simply isn't a good GM and he doesn't have people around him who can point out how stupid he is being and the fans are suffering through more years of a playoff drought because of the incompetence/apathy of ownership and their yes man.

 

[Jim Bob]

Long time ago. Things change. I am all for value and managing for the future, but KA said they were developing from within, using their draft capital and then, before he knew what his additions would contribute, committed to players on the roster in positions they may not be suited. All the while without any evidence thos players could contribute to winning. If he truly believed in what he was doing, i.e. development from within, he would have put that bar in place before committing to anyone. Yet he was confident enough to forgo a veteran goalie for the promise of a college prospect and promote highly drafted prospects before having them iron out the kinks in the A. Now he has lt contracts of his own doing, and little flexibility to move them if that is necessary. The problem with plant and hope is that you can't adjust quickly enough in the event of a bad harvest. KA doesn't want to acknowledge that there is a possibility that the crop doesn't cone in.

Every way of building relies on hope that decisions you make are good ones.

The key is that GMs need to be adaptable and have plans B, C, and D when plan A isn't working.

So, locking up the guys that they have were the right moves, IMO. The problem is that they have too many young, inexperienced guys and they may need to change the complimentary guys around the guys they locked up.

In goal and the top 4 D are two places that were crying out for changes, along with the depth forwards and the replacement for Quinn to start the year.

Adams only added two RHD that were not lock solid top 4 answers. The rest of the offseason was running it back.

That isn't working. So, he needs to make some moves. It is not crazy to try and see if you can do something like package Jokiharju with a mix of a prospect forward and a pick and try and get a legit top 4 D.

It is challenging. But, if you absolutely can't make a trade, then change the coach. Coaches are hired to be fired in the NHL and this roster might need a different voice if things just never change.

 

[GrierIsGod123]

Long time ago. Things change. I am all for value and managing for the future, but KA said they were developing from within, using their draft capital and then, before he knew what his additions would contribute, committed to players on the roster in positions they may not be suited. All the while without any evidence thos players could contribute to winning. If he truly believed in what he was doing, i.e. development from within, he would have put that bar in place before committing to anyone. Yet he was confident enough to forgo a veteran goalie for the promise of a college prospect and promote highly drafted prospects before having them iron out the kinks in the A. Now he has lt contracts of his own doing, and little flexibility to move them if that is necessary. The problem with plant and hope is that you can't adjust quickly enough in the event of a bad harvest. KA doesn't want to acknowledge that there is a possibility that the crop doesn't cone in.

He got fairly lucky with Tage in that he put up a huge season last year. I think we're seeing more his normal level this year commensurate with his talent, hockey IQ, etc. He's an average skater with good hands and shit for brains on the ice. That said, he's a tradeable asset at his current salary based off of last year and his new reputation around the league. He was being talked about as a top 10 Center in the league, when the reality is he's probably a bottom 10 1C. Teams figured him out and have completely stifled him to the point that he'll be lucky to break 20G/60P, with a lot of that likely coming in low/no pressure games when they're out of the race completely (which they nearly are).

He overpaid Dahlin by $1M or 2, same with Power, Cozens and Samuelsson. I still think you could trade Dahlin and Power given their pedigree as top overall picks. I don't think Cozens or Samuelsson are tradeable assets at this point and likely hold negative value around the league. $7M for a 40 point guy is horrendous value. Cozens is playing like he had for his first few years, prior to last season's aberration. He was very clearly having shooting luck, plus a lot of secondary assists from the right flank on the PP. He hasn't developed his two way game much at all and still has below-average hockey IQ. He's hardly ever in good scoring position because he's too stupid on the ice. Anyone with eyes can see that Quinn is the best player on that line and is the true play driver. Cozens and Peterka are tertiary players and not core pieces (imo). Adams really f***ed up on that contract and should try to get out from under it before this bleeds into next year. I also wouldn't go signing Peterka to a similar long term deal until he really proves it.

All in all, Adams and his management team thought they were outsmarting the hockey world signing all these guys early. His efforts to save us a few mill on the cap has actually backfired in the opposite direction. The signs were there last last year that this group, especially the top 2 centers weren't good enough and that has continued into this year. Cozens and Thompson as a top 2 is NEVER going be good enough.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Every way of building relies on hope that decisions you make are good ones.

The key is that GMs need to be adaptable and have plans B, C, and D when plan A isn't working.

So, locking up the guys that they have were the right moves, IMO. The problem is that they have too many young, inexperienced guys and they may need to change the complimentary guys around the guys they locked up.

In goal and the top 4 D are two places that were crying out for changes, along with the depth forwards and the replacement for Quinn to start the year.

Adams only added two RHD that were not lock solid top 4 answers. The rest of the offseason was running it back.

That isn't working. So, he needs to make some moves. It is not crazy to try and see if you can do something like package Jokiharju with a mix of a prospect forward and a pick and try and get a legit top 4 D.

It is challenging. But, if you absolutely can't make a trade, then change the coach. Coaches are hired to be fired in the NHL and this roster might need a different voice if things just never change.

I wonder if they try to overpay (assuming it's required) Roy or Pesce in July, as opposed to trading for somebody.

 

[Jim Bob]

I wonder if they try to overpay (assuming it's required) Roy or Pesce in July, as opposed to trading for somebody.

Given that they have been down the pecking order for most UFAs with optiions, I think the trade route is a much smarter path to reshaping the roster.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Given that they have been down the pecking order for most UFAs with optiions, I think the trade route is a much smarter path to reshaping the roster.

If they do go the trade route, I wish they would go for someone better than Roy or Pesce. Calgary looks like a prime opportunity if they go into sell mode at the TDL. I wouldn't otherwise look to move Cozens but if it's a big RHD target KA has to offer up a prime player.

Cozens, Jokiharju (add a minor pick or prospect if necessary)

Lindholm, Andersson

 

[Jim Bob]

If they do go the trade route, I wish they would go for someone better than Roy or Pesce. Calgary looks like a prime opportunity if they go into sell mode at the TDL. I wouldn't otherwise look to move Cozens but if it's a big RHD target KA has to offer up a prime player.

Cozens, Jokiharju (add a minor pick or prospect if necessary)

Lindholm, Andersson

I doubt Calgary wants to move on from Andersson.

My guess is that they focus on moving their pending UFAs and maybe an overpaid guy like Markstrom.

But, Andersson is not the kind of guy that Craiger should be considering moving right now unless the offer was downright stupid like Benson, RyJo, & 1st. Andersson and Weegar are the only D they have signed beyond 23-24. I would be shocked if they moved either guy,

 

[Dubi Doo]

I am not a fan of Granato anymore, and I've soured on Adams as well. Between how he's handled Levi this year and keeping Granato and co. around far past their expiration date...I have little faith in him. At least he stockpiled the prospect pool.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

I doubt Calgary wants to move on from Andersson.

My guess is that they focus on moving their pending UFAs and maybe an overpaid guy like Markstrom.

But, Andersson is not the kind of guy that Craiger should be considering moving right now unless the offer was downright stupid like Benson, RyJo, & 1st. Andersson and Weegar are the only D they have signed beyond 23-24. I would be shocked if they moved either guy,

Generally true, but should Calgary expect Andersson to stay beyond the next two seasons he's under contract? Not sure he's worth clinging to while they're on a downslide. Anyway, just an example of going big in a trade scenario.

 

[thewookie1]

If they do go the trade route, I wish they would go for someone better than Roy or Pesce. Calgary looks like a prime opportunity if they go into sell mode at the TDL. I wouldn't otherwise look to move Cozens but if it's a big RHD target KA has to offer up a prime player.

Cozens, Jokiharju (add a minor pick or prospect if necessary)

Lindholm, Andersson

Don't really see the value in trading Cozens just to watch him take off in Calgary while we pay Lindholm 9m+ to keep him here

 

[Sabresbyswords104]

The problem is not that we gave the Core players extensions. we cant keep overpaying guys. For example Mittlestadt cant get 6 + mil . He is a 3-4 mil good depth player . Thats the problem. One season then they get massive contracts . Stop doing this and give Extension to mitts for example for what he does over the last 2-3 seasons.

Adams need to stop rebuilding as we have the Core pieces and start building a top 12 forward group that reach the playoffs. It should not even be hard doing this. And we cant keep players like Okposo he was not good enough even 6 years ago so why are he on this team . Adressen these areas have failed. They do the same thing over and over again.

Hire a gm with experience same with coaching

 

[zenthusiast]

Say what you will about Adams but he’s really bolstered Rochester by way of players he intended to have in Buffalo