Value of: Sabres #1 round pick (unprotected) in 2025

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And that is worth a top 5 pick, a 23-year-old Peterka who has huge upside and a 19-year-old Benson who is playing pretty incredible hockey for his age. Sure he is Lidstrom. Sure
Not saying he is in a vacuum. I’m saying realistically Minnesota probably doesn’t move him for that.

I love Faber, but GTFO. Dude is closer to Slavin at this point than Lidstrom or Orr. He likely is a McAvoy type guy forever not putting up insane offensive numbers, but being a rock defensively.

That had nothing to do with evaluating talent. It is looking at players and their AAV/term as valuable pieces in the lineup or as trade bait.

As of today Dahlin, Thompson, and your 2025 1st is all that has real value. The rest is a bunch of meh.
Was talking play style. Yes he’s far from elite offensively
 
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I'm prepared to trade this pick and even add for a serious RD option on our backend. And it has to be an RD. It is the Sabres' most glaring weakness. Still, our D is horrid with no depth. What we have is all LD.

The player must be team-controlled for multiple years, preferably younger but well under 30. We are not getting him, but a guy like Moritz Seider comes to mind. A guy like Simon Nemec maybe. David Reinbacher. I said unprotected because I would be willing to roll the dice with a non-playoff team (or less likely a playoff team) on an 11.5% chance at Matthew Shaefer who will be a #1 overall.

The goal would be to get a guy further along in development. A guy like Adam Fox would change the Sabres overnight, but clearly you are adding beyond.

And, yes, Sabres will be too timid to do any of this but the first pick should be in play.
what do you add for Fox?

take 24+ hrs
til Thurs
 
If they're going to make a big trade like that they need it to be for a forward rather than a defenseman. I wouldn't give up the 25 1st for him but there has never been a more obvious fit than Pettersson in Buffalo.
 
If they're going to make a big trade like that they need it to be for a forward rather than a defenseman. I wouldn't give up the 25 1st for him but there has never been a more obvious fit than Pettersson in Buffalo.

It's likely the best bet but man that is a huge risk.
 
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It's likely the best bet but man that is a huge risk.
Yea it definitely is but especially having gone through the risk and now living the reward with PLD I'd 100% do it. Barzal would be a good fit too but likely tougher to get
 
I go to 10-15 games a year in person and watch every other game on TV and honestly don't understand how people can't see how bad our D is beyond Dahlin. Maybe Power grows into a pure #2 but is not that now. Byram is maybe a #3 but they are all LD and I'm so tired of the Sabres telling me it doesn't matter if a guy plays on his wrong side. The PP is horse crap but to me that is about coaching and less players. We are committed to UPL and Levi's, and maybe we get another backup like Reimer, but we are wedded to UPL coming back stronger.

The rest of our D is just so so bad and that is definitely not going to change with players like Samuelson, Bryson, Cliton or resigning Gilbert (which I can't even believe people want to do. Samuelson is an absolute negative value at a $4.28 M contract and we will need to retain to move him.

We unload the #1 overall and start adding for RD who can be the #2 overall and Power can slip to #3 with a solid gritty RD with maybe a $4 M + cap hit. It changes the makeup of the whole team.
 
I go to 10-15 games a year in person and watch every other game on TV and honestly don't understand how people can't see how bad our D is beyond Dahlin. Maybe Power grows into a pure #2 but is not that now. Byram is maybe a #3 but they are all LD and I'm so tired of the Sabres telling me it doesn't matter if a guy plays on his wrong side. The PP is horse crap but to me that is about coaching and less players. We are committed to UPL and Levi's, and maybe we get another backup like Reimer, but we are wedded to UPL coming back stronger.

The rest of our D is just so so bad and that is definitely not going to change with players like Samuelson, Bryson, Cliton or resigning Gilbert (which I can't even believe people want to do. Samuelson is an absolute negative value at a $4.28 M contract and we will need to retain to move him.

We unload the #1 overall and start adding for RD who can be the #2 overall and Power can slip to #3 with a solid gritty RD with maybe a $4 M + cap hit. It changes the makeup of the whole team.
Bro....he's gone lol.
 
Not true.

Trades can be made post-TDL, the players acquired would simply be ineligible for the post-season. With the playoffs not a concern for Buffalo there would be little to no impact.

Sorry, but you’re wrong. This is a commonly repeated misunderstanding of the trade deadline eligible rules.

Any player transferred from one team to another after the trade deadline is ineligible to play in the NHL for both the rest of the regular season and playoffs.

Players traded after the deadline can be eligible to play in the AHL the remainder of the season. However any player on a NHL roster at the trade deadline is ineligible to be loaned to the AHL. Players in the AHL at the deadline can and have been traded after the deadline, allowing them to play in the AHL for a different AHL team the rest of the regular season, but they still remain ineligible to be recalled to play in the NHL.
 
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I go to 10-15 games a year in person and watch every other game on TV and honestly don't understand how people can't see how bad our D is beyond Dahlin. Maybe Power grows into a pure #2 but is not that now. Byram is maybe a #3 but they are all LD and I'm so tired of the Sabres telling me it doesn't matter if a guy plays on his wrong side. The PP is horse crap but to me that is about coaching and less players. We are committed to UPL and Levi's, and maybe we get another backup like Reimer, but we are wedded to UPL coming back stronger.

The rest of our D is just so so bad and that is definitely not going to change with players like Samuelson, Bryson, Cliton or resigning Gilbert (which I can't even believe people want to do. Samuelson is an absolute negative value at a $4.28 M contract and we will need to retain to move him.

We unload the #1 overall and start adding for RD who can be the #2 overall and Power can slip to #3 with a solid gritty RD with maybe a $4 M + cap hit. It changes the makeup of the whole team.

Don't mean to pick on you specifically, so i apologize for quoting just your post, but the problem with the D is not the players. It is the coaching system. Ruff teams regularly have both of their D charge behind their own net to pressure the puck. Jersey did it. Dallas did it. The Sabres are doing it.

The transition D of this team is not trash as many would make it seem. They are just trash in their own end, and a big reason for that lies on the shoulders of the forwards. The entire team watches and chases the puck and never communicates. The passing lanes are wide open after the puck moves around the zone just one time. One of the biggest complaints from a ton of sabres fans about the defensemen on this team is that they all get lost in their own end. That is not the players not knowing how to play D, it is a side effect of Ruff's aggressive system.

Trade the entire coaching staff for a competent staff that coaches positioning and discipline and I guarantee the D on this Sabres team will look decent with the amount of talent they have on their blueline.

You pick up a couple of top four RHD that are competent on other teams and insert them into the lineup while keeping this coaching staff and system and the D is still going to be a Trainwreck.
 
who are people?

The day of the deal, X was littered was morons wondering why he was included but hoping to being him back. Maybe it is the Buffalo native thing.

Don't mean to pick on you specifically, so i apologize for quoting just your post, but the problem with the D is not the players. It is the coaching system. Ruff teams regularly have both of their D charge behind their own net to pressure the puck. Jersey did it. Dallas did it. The Sabres are doing it.

The transition D of this team is not trash as many would make it seem. They are just trash in their own end, and a big reason for that lies on the shoulders of the forwards. The entire team watches and chases the puck and never communicates. The passing lanes are wide open after the puck moves around the zone just one time. One of the biggest complaints from a ton of sabres fans about the defensemen on this team is that they all get lost in their own end. That is not the players not knowing how to play D, it is a side effect of Ruff's aggressive system.

Trade the entire coaching staff for a competent staff that coaches positioning and discipline and I guarantee the D on this Sabres team will look decent with the amount of talent they have on their blueline.

You pick up a couple of top four RHD that are competent on other teams and insert them into the lineup while keeping this coaching staff and system and the D is still going to be a Trainwreck.

I will give you some guys like Jokiharju, who looked lost in the system, and maybe Samuelson is better in a simpler system. But this is a team where Bryan and Gilbert were regulars on many nights. Neither guy is a top 6 on most teams in the league. Cliton isn't a regular on many teams, either. He's a nice spare #7 who can come in and hit. That leaves a very thin D even if it was 100% healthy.
 

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