Trade Deadline Thread (March 3)

[BFLO]

I don't know why everyone acts like Adams is scared to make deals. He came in, signed Taylor Hall, traded Eichel, traded Reinhart, traded Risto. Took a risk on signing Tage long term knocked it out of the park. At this moment in time he did very very well.

The guy isn't afraid to make deals, he's patient. Weird slant to take against him tbh.

0 reason to get involved at the deadline last year, free agent crop was meh we didn't partake in really, we had goalies say no to us that he was involved in (this is a fact) and the deadline isn't even over, it's not like there's tons of evidence of him sitting on his hands.

In 3 years he's shown no ability to sign a difference maker in UFA. He's 0/1 on signing big ticket UFAs (Hall). And He's signed no other UFAs north of $2.75m aav. And none of the bargain bin guys he's signed out performed their contracts.

He's also hasn't traded futures for a roster player yet.

We simply don't know if he knows what he's doing in UFA or in trades for roster players.

We know that he did well trading away roster players (Eichel, Risto, Reinhart) for futures + Tuch. And that he signed Thompson at the right time/price. So he's done some things right.

The next step is the hardest. Adding actual impact players, at the right price (trade value/$cap hit/term), to the current roster.

 

[Jimmybarndoor2]

Who wants to unload prospects? This idea that not spending to the cap will make you better is so illogical. There is no rational thought to it.

You understand the Sabres have $18 million in cap room they can weaponize. Minnesota is getting picks based on giving nothing from their prospect pool. Let it sink in. NOTHING.

Instead, we are on the cusp of the playoffs, and we continue to rotate two guys in Clague and Bryson who are not really top 6 guys. Bryson is terrible. Clague is NHL.

It's amazing the number of Sabres fans who think we need to do an all-in overpay Tim Murray deal or nothing. Do you understand we have three-second picks? We could trade the #2 Vegas pick, a 55-60 likely, and it would have almost no impact on our top 10 prospects.

Glorious 4th and 5th round picks. Boy are the Sabres missing out. If only our gm and every other gm except for the wild, Arizona and Chicago were that smart. Lol

Agree with trading the seconds or later if the right player comes up. I might be wrong but am not sure the seconds would have got Timo. But maybe if gmka would have tried harder

Boy it really sucks being in playoff contention. The good old days when we really sucked. That’s what we need

 

[Royal Thunder]

Trying to parse through the new 32 thoughts to find the section on Buffalo (supposedly they go over every team). Anyone find the time stamp yet?

 

[Chainshot]

Trying to parse through the new 32 thoughts to find the section on Buffalo (supposedly they go over every team). Anyone find the time stamp yet?

The one from last night - 32 Thoughts: The Podcast

3:15 in.

 

[Royal Thunder]

I still see Friday's episode as the latest one.

New one is up on Spotify, not sure about other platforms

 

[Chainshot]

New one is up on Spotify, not sure about other platforms

See above. 3:15 is the timestamp on the Sportsnet site for Buffalo specific.

 

[Jim Bob]

The cost on Jeannot was ridiculous. Good luck in Tampa, he'd be an ideal pick up, but a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and young former 1st round pick is absurd.

Last year and this year TB paid a premium for players that ticked off a unique set of boxes:

- Depth forward that plays a "playoff style" of game
- Under team control beyond the season they were traded in
- Cap neutral move because of a low cap hit

When a player has a low cap hit, there are way more suitors and the team trading the player can ask a premium.

That is why the Meier package and the Jeannot packages were so similar. So many teams being around the cap puts a premium on cost efficient players.

 

[Royal Thunder]

See above. 3:15 is the timestamp on the Sportsnet site for Buffalo specific.

Cheers

Elliotte gives some speculation on what he would do (make a small move to reward the players) but doesn’t seem to have any inside info on where they have been sniffing around. Adams’ front office continues to be relatively airtight it would seem.

 

[Chainshot]

View attachment 658215
View attachment 658216
Last year and this year TB paid a premium for players that ticked off a unique set of boxes:

- Depth forward that plays a "playoff style" of game
- Under team control beyond the season they were traded in\
- Cap neutral move because of a low cap hit

When a player has a low cap hit, there are way more suitors and the team trading the player can ask a premium.

That is why the Meier package and the Jeannot packages were so similar. So many teams being around the cap puts a premium on cost efficient players.

The Meier package is so much more than the Jeannot package. They aren't close.

 

[zenthusiast]

Murray’s big error wasn’t buying players with futures, it was paying a premium for players with on- and off-ice question marks. Your gm has to have the confidence to go out and get his targets, but ideally he’s competent enough to pick targets that aren’t dreadful.

 

[Bendium]

I just don’t see it like that
Some of the prospects may not live up to expectations. Some will exceed expectations (see Tage). Which ones, who knows for sure.

Sabres not ready for deep run. A year or two from now, Sabres will be in position. “ hold your fire until you see the whites of their eyes”. Fire too soon and the battle is lost.

Having said that, I believe the Sabres will be open for trades for lower assets. Those will come closer to the deadline

I think there needs to be a better balance. You should always have pieces in the pipeline your working on, but this board really over does it with respect to filling out rosters with draft picks. When draft picks prove themselves and force their way onto the roster then you make room for them. Until then, you need to support your current core with legit NHL players around them. We still have a lot of cannon fodder weighing down this team.

At this point we have an exess of both draft picks and smallish forward prospects. We have no forwards coming with size. We have almost nothing in the defensive piepline, and have 3-4 holes in our defensive roster to fill. This years draft picks, even if you picked 4 straight dmen and they all worked out, are 5-6 years away from legit filling those spots. The time frame from draft pick to reliable NHL player is ALOT longer than posters like to admit.

There are broken parts here that won't be fixed by just waiting for more development. I want to see KA start building the team and balancing the organization. Its going to require making some moves. I would even be happy with a few straight up prospect for prospect trades to balance the pipeline. Trade 2 of Rosen/Ostland/Savoie for equivalent dman prospects.

He also needs to recognize what players on the roster are NOT the future, and trade them sooner than later to get assets for them to use in acquiring better fits. Holding onto them only reinforces the illusion that your doing OK.

Its time to start trimming and balancing. You have to build towards it, not wait...wait...wait...and then blow it all at once.

 

[Gabrielor]

Murray’s big error wasn’t buying players with futures, it was paying a premium for players with on- and off-ice question marks. Your gm has to have the confidence to go out and get his targets, but ideally he’s competent enough to pick targets that aren’t dreadful.

Yeah, it was a hall of fame of bad leaders.

OReilly's best on a vet team just playing.
Lehner, we all know. No need to beat him down.
Bogosian, joke. Take money, go win elsewhere for no money because you're set.
Kane, legal troubles galore.
Moulson, useless player by then, and low key just there for the money (basically said so himself on a podcast).

 

[Chainshot]

Freidman -

No source, thinks they would get a small piece to help somewhere for a vet of some sort. *shrug* Nothing groundbreaking.

 

[Gabrielor]

Freidman -

No source, thinks they would get a small piece to help somewhere for a vet of some sort. *shrug* Nothing groundbreaking.

What's this now?

 

[Royal Thunder]

Freidman -

No source, thinks they would get a small piece to help somewhere for a vet of some sort. *shrug* Nothing groundbreaking.

Yeah he really didn’t seem to have any insider info, our segment was pure speculation. Not the most exciting thing to hear but also keeps the suspense up!

 

[Chainshot]

What's this now?

Today's 32 Thoughts podcast, they are going through all the teams and what they think one way or another.

 

[Jimmybarndoor2]

I think there needs to be a better balance. You should always have pieces in the pipeline your working on, but this board really over does it with respect to filling out rosters with draft picks. When draft picks prove themselves and force their way onto the roster then you make room for them. Until then, you need to support your current core with legit NHL players around them. We still have a lot of cannon fodder weighing down this team.

At this point we have an exess of both draft picks and smallish forward prospects. We have no forwards coming with size. We have almost nothing in the defensive piepline, and have 3-4 holes in our defensive roster to fill. This years draft picks, even if you picked 4 straight dmen and they all worked out, are 5-6 years away from legit filling those spots. The time frame from draft pick to reliable NHL player is ALOT longer than posters like to admit.

There are broken parts here that won't be fixed by just waiting for more development. I want to see KA start building the team and balancing the organization. Its going to require making some moves. I would even be happy with a few straight up prospect for prospect trades to balance the pipeline. Trade 2 of Rosen/Ostland/Savoie for equivalent dman prospects.

He also needs to recognize what players on the roster are NOT the future, and trade them sooner than later to get assets for them to use in acquiring better fits. Holding onto them only reinforces the illusion that your doing OK.

Its time to start trimming and balancing. You have to build towards it, not wait...wait...wait...and then blow it all at once.

Okay. We agree to disagree. Very well
We can both agree that we want the Sabres to win

I feel like we are both saying the same thing over and over and over. Time to move on

 

[Chainshot]

Yeah he really didn’t seem to have any insider info, our segment was pure speculation. Not the most exciting thing to hear but also keeps the suspense up!

I would like it if they could do what Minny has done - use cash to buy draft picks via salary retention - and use an extra pick to get that third pairing PK defenseman so they don't have to keep wearing out the top 4 because they don't trust their 6.

 

[Jim Bob]

Freidman -

No source, thinks they would get a small piece to help somewhere for a vet of some sort. *shrug* Nothing groundbreaking.

In the latest xB episode, Chad said that Adams has been calling more on D than Fs.

 

[Bendium]

In the latest xB episode, Chad said that Adams has been calling more on D than Fs.

I think there may be more dmen available, so prices probably more reasonable, and bringing in a #4 dman fixes more than anything other than a legit goalie.

 

[truthbluth]

I

Not sure how the first part fits into the second part.

guess my point is, everybody wants to cash in before the rebuild is complete, like Murray did. All these crazy spenders are trying to win a cup THIS year. That’s not where the Sabres are.

 

[Djp]

So, your plan has us waiting 3 years to get put together started, 4 years for your 2023 1st to get next to Power, and 5 before the smallest bottom six in the league has a couple NHL years under their belt to become reliable.

Our current prospect pipeline is not set up to fill our holes and fix our problems. It is very top heavy on smallish skilled forwards, and where will they go? 4th line? The do nothing and let drafting and developing build your team will keep us perpetually spinning our wheels.

not moving 23 1st…need to draft a RD. I’m fine trading 23 1st for one on an ELC. Not trading it for Chychrun.

a player drafted in top 20 is usually in the league in their D+2 yr. Issues coukd delay this like europe staying or players going back to juniors because they can’t make roster

if they draft a RD in top 30 in 23 I pencil him on 24/25 Sabres roster either at the start or by mid season. The 2nd rounders I don’t put them at that pace.

ou let them develop next year.

sure they can doa smaller move at the deadline like trading a 2nd+ secondary prospect or do a 4 th and 6th for a lower level vet.

thrn you have decisions sround Mitts, Bryson, Asplund, joker, and olofsson. They might do a bigger off season trade or a few secondary trades.

you forget…buffalo also have 5+ players on learning curves

 

[Chainshot]

I

guess my point is, everybody wants to cash in before the rebuild is complete, like Murray did. All these crazy spenders are trying to win a cup THIS year. That’s not where the Sabres are.

Ah, yeah. I haven't gotten the feel that most here are advocating going Murray. Never go full Murray.

But finding a fit for holes in the roster? Always look.

 

[Beerz]

Seems like there’s way too many people who forget how badly Tim Murray set us back. Are any other playoff bubble teams getting involved in this wackadoo market? I’d like a defenseman with term OR cheap to acquire and that’s it right now.

Did he tho? Did we miss Joel Armia or Brendan Lemuiex? It didn't work because he bought players that had other stuff on their minds besides hockey. He chose the wrong players.. can easily happen with draft picks.

 

[Chainshot]

In the latest xB episode, Chad said that Adams has been calling more on D than Fs.

I mean, we can see that too. Just look at the TOI of their #6 most nights (and sometimes the #5 and #6) to know they would like a defenseman.