I don’t think it’s laughable. I mean different sport but look at how the Bills have slow played the development of some of their players. Before the season no one wanted to pay Edmunds $13M, now people are clamoring for him to get $17-$19m AAV.
For the Sabres look at Thompson’s last 12-18 months. Or Dahlin’s time under Granato.
I’d say Mittelstadt, who has his warts, obviously, in the past 3 months or so has shown he’s a solid, middle-6 wing who can play center in a pinch at a 50pt pace. That’s valuable.
And I’d say the needs have significantly changed. We weren’t sure what Cozens or Krebs were going to solidify into. If they struggled we mugger be looking for a center to push Cozens into a bottom-6 role and Krebs could be playing on the wing as opposed to in the middle so we’d be looking for another center.
Also we didn’t have Jost, so if the previous struggles did occur we’d likely be putting Girgensons at center, and Asplund would likely be an every night player and we’d be seeing players like Biro/Weissbach/Murray up here as opposed to in Rochester.
We also had no idea what UPL provided, and we still aren’t 100% sure. I don’t think he’s going to be a headliner, but he’s seemed to prove he’s at least capable of being a 1B.
While I understand the desire to win (I’d love a big deal for a Meier or a Chychrun or even a Fabbro/Ekholm. I believe the organization also wants to see how these young players perform under the pressure of a playoff push. Look at Thompson last night, taking over that game. They want these young players to develop that tenacity and understanding of the moment.
I’m of the belief they’ll make a small move or two at the deadline, but ultimately we’ll see the major moves in the off-season. One top-6 forward, one top-4 defenseman. One will be through trade, one will be a UFA. If any of Girgensons/Okposo Mittelstadt or Olofsson don’t come back, one will be replaced by said move above, a 2nd could be replaced by a bottom-6 deadline acquisition, and the 3rd & 4th spots would be filled by Rochester ascensions. But I believe at least one of Girgensons/Okposo will be back so only one player from Rochester will ascend.
