Well, he is still a good prospect who can be involved in a trade or just let him develop further. You just don't typically trade prospects like this for a 4C or a veteran defenseman like TVR.
Dowd is probably the best 4C out there.
Well, he is still a good prospect who can be involved in a trade or just let him develop further. You just don't typically trade prospects like this for a 4C or a veteran defenseman like TVR.
The solution at the start of the (Adams) rebuild was never "trade picks because we have too many.
Draft picks are lottery tickets unless they are top 10 picks. You use them and pray that one of the kids you draft turns into a perennial allstar in 4-6 years. When you use a 14th overall pick on a guy like Rosen, it's a bit like buying a new car, the moment you make the selection(drive the car off the lot), it losses half it's value.
Even moving Rosen now, he doesn't have 14OA value, even though he has been developing nicely.
Accumulating trade value with the prospects you draft should never be the goal. Holding on to your prospects long enough to not make a Hagel sized mistake of giving up too soon should always be the goal. Yes, you are going to eat some value on prospects you hold too long as they bust, but that value is never enough to justify cutting bait too soon.
What Adams did wrong wasn't "not moving the extra picks", it was his failure to bring in decent vet mentors to insulate the kids and help them learn how to succeed in the NHL. The main focus should never have been "playoffs or bust for experience", it should always have been about learning how to play in this league to be successful, and Adams also had a coach that ignored all the details that turn average players into good players. Letting them all play undisciplined shinny hockey to "boost confidence"(and their point totals and contract asks) while neglecting defense and responsibility and ignoring the details of the game was always a stupid idea, yet here we are with half the fanbase believing it was a great idea.
Adams has done well with the patient approach to the farm and his picks and prospects. It is his coaching choices and roster supplementation that has been crap.
Vets could have been had on the waiver wire.There is a bit of a disconnect here though.
Buffalo was never going to be a UFA destination. Especially in two of the critical years of the rebuild ('21 and '22). Yes, Buffalo could have overpaid short term, and I think in certain situations, it would have been justified.
The reality is, in order to gain the good vets needed, we likely would have had to spend some picks.
There is a bit of a disconnect here though.
Buffalo was never going to be a UFA destination. Especially in two of the critical years of the rebuild ('21 and '22). Yes, Buffalo could have overpaid short term, and I think in certain situations, it would have been justified.
The reality is, in order to gain the good vets needed, we likely would have had to spend some picks.
We can't have Kulich or Savoie on the 4th line. That's a recipe for another failed roster. If he's not in the top 6, keep him in Rochester. And there won't be space for him for several years, besides injury callups.Savoie is trickier to predict, but I don't think Kulich needs 2 more years in Rochester. If he doesn't make the sabres next year he should the year after. I think there's a decent chance at least one if not both of them are better than an otherwise league average 4th liner in 24-25; in that case I have no trouble with them on the team.
I'm glad Pegula won't be used (again) to help another coach secure the bag.Might be a leak from RBA’s camp to pressure the team
The problem with most trade proposals is that teams don't want to give up good players for prospects. Washington is one of the few teams who seem to be courting more prospects who are close to being NHL-ready.Dowd is probably the best 4C out there.
I identified Wahlberg as the only untouchable when a fan of another team asked who's available a few pages back. I can't wait to see him in camp under Lindy.The only prospect that I'm really loath to move right now would be Wahlberg. I'm hoping the hints that he's staying in NA for next season are true, let him continue to adapt to the smaller ice and get his game going. I'm also curious if they look at him as a center at some point, like a Swedish Hintz if you will. In winger terms, there is some Tuch replacement to his game as much as anything else, if they bumble away Tuch on his next contract.
They have too many guys. We knew this, it's time to winnow the herd.
The bolded part covers the concerns of your post.
The disconnect was Terry Pegula pushing Adams to spend below the cap (See Ben Bishop trade prior to the UFA period).
So yes. With an owner who was in full penny pinching mode, the correct path was maybe not a feasible solution. That doesn't mean that it wasn't the correct path. Nor does it mean that sacrificing the farm was the correct path either, just because it would have been an available option.
You are just substituting the failed solution chosen for another "tried and tested" failed solution, and defending one of them because it was available at the time and the correct course of action wasn't. A solution that has worked for dozens of teams not being available to the Sabres due to budget restrictions doesn't make the solution bad. It was still the right course of action. Unfortunately, T. Pegula does not have the team management knowledge to understand this and installing himself or his wife as team president to oversee the org while having COOs that are running both the NHL team and their NFL franchise in the mix is just a completely broken management structure.
Then give them pick for him and some prospect less strong than Rosen.Dowd is probably the best 4C out there.
I believe the belief held by many was that he went after Laughton.any thoughts on that C(s) who KA said they tried to get at deadline, Sturm maybe? I thought maybe Bjugstad, but perhaps Yotes wanted to keep him around to insulate young C's, maybe that changes now, altho they certainly don't need more picks.
I believe the belief held by many was that he went after Laughton.
Laughton bad?Laughton and Cates came up mentioned in a couple places. I would have concerns if it's Laughton but I have an expectation that it's Laughton.
Laughton bad?
Yes, I already looked, it doesn't look good. But we have a progressive analytics department, it’s unlikely they’ll let a player through with such poor metrics, and Kevin seems like a guy who listens to those he works with. Unless Lindy points to Laughton for some reason and he doesn't care about metrics.His metrics this year were really bad on a team that was committed heavily to defense. He seems like a standup guy, good with the press and off-ice stuff, leadership things, just had a really bad year for the counting and public fancy stats.
Is Cates a center long term? Adams must think so if he was a target.Laughton and Cates came up mentioned in a couple places. I would have concerns if it's Laughton but I have an expectation that it's Laughton.
I'm not disagreeing with you on anything here. But, the reality is, the trade route is more readily available to us than the UFA route, even if we were willing to spend. If being a last place lotto team wasn't bad enough in the summer of 21, being a last place lotto team with a 1st time GM and who was purging veterans, and summer of 22 it was after a prolonged dispute where ownership wouldn't let their star player dictate his own healthcare and dragged his name through the mud.
For us to get quality available veterans, the most liquid of currency is always draft picks.
Yea once a player hits 21 years old that's pretty much it. He is what he is at this point.I dont know if Power ever turns into more than what he is.
Is Cates a center long term? Adams must think so if he was a target.
One more that I forgot was Novak -- a few sources had Adams sniffing around the Preds for him. He obviously got locked up before getting a chance.
Yea once a player hits 21 years old that's pretty much it. He is what he is at this point.