What would you grade Adams this off season (so far)?

[May Day 10]

If this is it, then it is an F.

Hasn't done much to improve the team. They got a C to replace a better C they recently traded for a redundant defenseman. They traded a very recent top-10 pick to get that, and it has objective people outside Buffalo scratching their heads.

The skinner buyout this summer makes no sense, unless there was a plan to spend the savings and replace the production. The biggest cost savings on that is this season. If they just eat that savings, buying him out was a terrible decision on the cap, they have the $6.5 million season of dead money coming up and dead money through 2030. If they arent spending the money, just play out the year and buy him out next year (even if he sits in the pressbox).

I never really heard of anybody they brought in other than Zucker, although hopefully they bring more of an edge. They did need that. But do those guys move the needle closer to Boston, Toronto, Florida, Tampa, Rangers, Carolina, etc? Maybe they can eek out 90 points again and hit the league average.

 

[Zman5778]

If this is it, then it is an F.

Hasn't done much to improve the team.

I never really heard of anybody they brought in other than Zucker, although hopefully they bring more of an edge. They did need that.

Well, if you haven't heard of Gilbert, Malenstyn, McLeod, Nicolas Aube-Kubel or Lafferty......of course you'd think that the offseason is an F.

Adams added a LOT of speed, edge, tenacity and defensive ability to the team.....especially in the bottom 6. The team speed and defense is VASTLY improved. McLeod, for better or worse, is a better fit for what Adams/Ruff want to do know than Mittelstadt is/was.

The team being better is primarily dependent on Tage/Tuch/Cozens staying healthy and rebounding.

 

[Jim Bob]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5672796/2024/08/06/nhl-front-office-confidence-rankings-2024/

26. Buffalo Sabres​

Last year: 8th

“If we don’t make another big move and use the remaining cap space for Skinner’s cap space, the Sabres will be one of only two teams in the league that have had at least 7 percent or more of their salary cap unused in each of the last four years. They also have refused to weaponize the cap space to add assets. That’s not a team doing anything they can to win the Cup.”

“Adams and Co. have done a fantastic job drafting and developing players, but the roster has been ready to make a big step forward and contend for a playoff spot, and for the second offseason in a row they have failed to make a significant addition (top-six forward or top-four defenseman).”
After looking like one of the most exciting teams in the league during the 2022-23 season, there was a lot of hope that the Sabres were on the precipice of being the league’s next big thing — or just making the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. That would be good, too.

Instead, the Sabres lit all that goodwill on fire over the last year and are seemingly back at square one with an increasingly impatient fan base.

Buffalo fans deserve better and that starts with a front office that actually spends what it takes to win. That the Sabres bought out Jeff Skinner for immediate cap gain only to not use that money feels like a massive misstep for a team that could use one or two impact players to put them over the top. Buffalo’s unwillingness to loosen up the purse strings has had a profound negative effect on how confident the team’s fans currently feel, putting the Sabres’ vision rightfully in question. In that vein, Buffalo getting a D-grade in both roster building and free agency feels apt.

The Sabres have a strong group of prospects ready to deliver and are rewarded for their pipeline and development as a result — it’s just not enough to overcome the problems everywhere else.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

If this is it, then it is an F.

Hasn't done much to improve the team. They got a C to replace a better C they recently traded for a redundant defenseman. They traded a very recent top-10 pick to get that, and it has objective people outside Buffalo scratching their heads.

The skinner buyout this summer makes no sense, unless there was a plan to spend the savings and replace the production. The biggest cost savings on that is this season. If they just eat that savings, buying him out was a terrible decision on the cap, they have the $6.5 million season of dead money coming up and dead money through 2030. If they arent spending the money, just play out the year and buy him out next year (even if he sits in the pressbox).

I never really heard of anybody they brought in other than Zucker, although hopefully they bring more of an edge. They did need that. But do those guys move the needle closer to Boston, Toronto, Florida, Tampa, Rangers, Carolina, etc? Maybe they can eek out 90 points again and hit the league average.

Good assessment. Bang on

Solid B.

Bottom six looks formidable. It doesn't seem like previous seasons where they took whomever they could. The team is much faster and under Lindy, can turn a corner.

For some reason, this doesn't feel he's done yet.

With the new bottom 6, this should free up Tage and others from the heavy defensive lifting, including PK. Could Tage not breaking his hand blocking a shot on the PK when the team was already losing 5-0 had an effect on his season? Maybe the goals we're looking for are already on the team.

Formidable? Really.

 

[toddkaz]

delete.

 

[joshjull]

I like looking at old thread predictions. Its a little early but its always fun after some games to see how far off some people were and how bang on others were.

A little early? Its absurdly early to be talking about predictions for the entire season.

 

[jd1970]

His top 6 sucks.

 

[toddkaz]

This is not a playoff team and people are giving Adams Bs

He gets a D from me.

Adams completely failed to address the holes in this team and its now showing. Its too bad this wasn't a poll.

 

[BFLO]

D-

+ Skinner buyout

+ remade the bottom 6.
-he's a year late in doing so
--massively overpaid in trades to do so

+Veteran goalie

-Top 6 forward

-Defensive specialist top 4 D, preferably right handed. 4th year in a row this has been the biggest hole on the roster. Acquiring Byram did not fill this hole, no matter what Adams says in press conferences.

The defense is imbalanced. We've got 3 top 4 LHD PMD, 2 bottom pairing RHD PMD and 1 top 4 LHD defensive specialist who is made of glass.

It's like I came from the future.

It sucks being right all the time about this worthless excuse for a pro-hockey franchise.

 

[slip]

Adams completely failed to address the holes in this team and its now showing. Its too bad this wasn't a poll.

Cozens/Peterka/Quinn was always a key variable to the team’s success this season. That’s half of our top 6 right there, and their collective 15 goals 30 games into season ain’t cutting it.

Adams states he had a deal in place for a top 6 forward which fell through, so even he recognized that relying on that trio in a the top 6 was too risky.

The composition of the D was never really addressed and with the regression of Samuelsson and now Dahlin’s injury it’s a borderline disaster.

Injuries to NAK and Lafferty has caused our shiny new checking line to never really gel.

Gilbert in limited minutes is barely serviceable lately.

McLeod and Tucker are great additions.

Honestly I like all the off season additions but Adams overvaluing his “core” guys is the real reason this team has gone nowhere.

 

[Zman5778]

I think if Tage/Cozens/Tuch rebound from their disappointing years and at least one of JJP/Quinn/Benson continue to rapidly progress........I think the gap will narrow considerably.

That's a lot to bet a season on, though.

Tage: Rebounded (when healthy)
Tuch: Rebounded (mostly).....and became a MUCH better defensive force
Cozens: Has utterly forgotten how to score.
Quinn: Has utterly forgotten how to hockey
JJP: The new Skinner? If he isn't scoring, he's positively invisible
Benson: Becoming the next Marchand

Adams bet a lot on the top 6 developing naturally. It didn't work given that 3 of them have regressed or haven't done much period.

 

[sabremike]

 

[oldgoalie]

Grade him?
Can't we just kick him out of the "Pretend to be a GM" Academy?

 

[Fjordy]

B-

I think he did a good job upgrading the bottom 6, I liked the addition of Reimer.

Missing top 6 forward and top 4 RD for Power/Byram.

I probably gave it too high a rating, although in essence I described all the same problems that we lack. Well, I didn't know that he would kick out Reimer without even letting him play, and of course I didn't expect that we would have such problems everywhere. Although it should have been expected.

 

[DapperCam]

I give him a solid B, but he did so poorly the previous semesters that it might not be enough to bring his GPA up to a passing grade.

If he did the following he would have gotten an A from me.

- Canned Granato in December when the Sabres still had a chance to make a run, instead of the end of the season.
- Brought in a better Skinner replacement than Zucker
- Gotten better value for Savoie. To get an A, you need to both win trades by value and address team needs.
- Done something with the defense so it makes more sense and has more balance. Too many left handed PMD at the moment. Clifton and Joki are the only true RD, and it would be best if they were on the bottom pair together.

I still feel okay with this grade. He did "B" quality work this past offseason. Unfortunately, he did "D" or "F" quality work the prior offseasons so it wasn't enough to bring his GPA up to a passing grade. Sad.

 

[Jimmybarndoor2]

The passing grade was playoffs. Winning home games. Grade is F

 

[debaser66]

F is too generous

 

[michaelsaas]

His off-season this year wasn't bad - B for me.

The problem is his entire tenure. I have always been incredibly patient with him compared to others. I set my expectations when Kreuger was fired and they weren't high.

They didn't meet them for me last year where I had expected them to be in playoff contention at that point. But they exceeded them the year before so no big deal.

But to not make the playoffs by this point in his tenure just shows his inability to make the proper adjustments in pervious years and is an automatic F.

 

[Mattilaus]

The grades are likely too high but as I said in the other thread, the vast majority of posters indicated a need to add a top 4 RHD and/or a top 6 forward.

 

[yasky]

He didnt address key needs this offseason (defence, scoring, insurance if someone gets injured). They're on an 8 game bender. Anything more than an F is too generous.

 

[jd1970]

His top 6 still sucks.

 

[Gabrielor]

F-

This is the correct grade.

I don't actually believe yet that it is incomplete, I fear it is, and Adams will justify Zucker or Benson in the top 6 just like he justified Levi as the starter last year (and got INSANELY lucky that UPL covered up for that choice).

It's now complete.

They missed on the 4th line.
They missed on Peterka-Cozens-Quinn growth.
They missed on the balance of their D pairs. Too many LD, too many similar skills.
They missed on back-up Levi, again.
They missed on any draft picks graduating to make an impact (Kulich isn't).

The only makes were UPL is a good goalie, and Zucker signing.

 

[Ehran]

Grade: T

T for ticket on the rocket we fire into the sun.