I think right now our biggest need is RD not a winger
- homiedclown

Glad to see you are coming around.
Finding the right D partner for Dahlin is a huge need IMO...hence why I was always targeting one I the mock ROR trades with Canes, Blues, Isles...everyone.
I juyst don't think Risto is it, and believe pushing him down to a 3 would do wonderful things for this team.

Yes, our left wing is not good, but it got better...still need the true #1 sniper there.
I am hoping hard that Nylander sees the light and can play a solid NHL game ...and
For Olofsson to develop into a stud sniper.

Idk about Hutton?

Berglund & Sobatka are ok,
but more of the same slow players i thought we were trying to move on from

I know they’re both legit NHLers
But i think I’d rather see some of our young, speedy guys in the lineup

That ROR trade makes very little sense to me
I think Botts may have gotten schooled
When’s the last time someone took TWO cap dumps in a trade? If ever...?
Let’s say we got the draft picks for taking those contracts...
that means all we got for O’Reilly was Thompson

Btw, what do u think of Thompson?
I’m not impressed
Idk that he will score goals at the NHL level
And he’s not a great skater (he’s ok)
None of the guys we got in that trade fit the style Botts supposedly wants
- jdfitz77

I’m very excited about Hutton, he’s played great the last three or so years. He did have a great D in front of him but he still played really well.

I think probably one of berglund or sobodka gets moved for something, and if not they are sure better than girgensens and Larsson, and their cap won’t be a problem when we will need the space. They also bring in some winning attitude which we desperately need.

I think Thompson is going to be good and I think his skating is under appreciated. He’s about as fast as reinhart but just needs to work on his acceleration. His hands and shot are great though.

Idk about Hutton?

Berglund & Sobatka are ok,
but more of the same slow players i thought we were trying to move on from

I know they’re both legit NHLers
But i think I’d rather see some of our young, speedy guys in the lineup

That ROR trade makes very little sense to me
I think Botts may have gotten schooled
When’s the last time someone took TWO cap dumps in a trade? If ever...?
Let’s say we got the draft picks for taking those contracts...
that means all we got for O’Reilly was Thompson

Btw, what do u think of Thompson?
I’m not impressed
Idk that he will score goals at the NHL level
And he’s not a great skater (he’s ok)
None of the guys we got in that trade fit the style Botts supposedly wants
- jdfitz77

How many times are we gonna ask or suggest the same poop. No one here has a crystal ball, let's wait and see how things shake out on the ice. Ffs o'reilly didn't wanna be here, what part of that do you not understand.

How many times are we gonna ask or suggest the same poop. No one here has a crystal ball, let's wait and see how things shake out on the ice. Ffs o'reilly didn't wanna be here, what part of that do you not understand.
- Carubba-Kaleta

Ok... doesn’t mean the return is good,
or even makes sense when u consider we supposedly want to get faster & we added 2 slow guys & & an average skater

What about that do YOU not understand?

De Haan, Slavin, Pesce, Hamilton...... that’s the best d-corps in the league.
- Pegullaville

it's pretty good. Gotta think they move Faulk now. And they still need to re-sign Van Riemesdyk. Poor Jake Bean will never get his chance there.

Ok... doesn’t mean the turn is good,
or even makes sense when u consider we supposedly want to get faster & we added 2 slow guys & & an average skater

What about that do YOU not understand?
- jdfitz77

You think every GM is just dying to trade their speed?
So many armchair GM's here, maybe put a resume together and apply for the job if you can do better bud.

I’m very excited about Hutton, he’s played great the last three or so years. He did have a great D in front of him but he still played really well.

I think probably one of berglund or sobodka gets moved for something, and if not they are sure better than girgensens and Larsson, and their cap won’t be a problem when we will need the space. They also bring in some winning attitude which we desperately need.

I think Thompson is going to be good and I think his skating is under appreciated. He’s about as fast as reinhart but just needs to work on his acceleration. His hands and shot are great though.
- Shadman306

Well, i appreciate your optimism
Hutton was good last year, no doubt
.931 save%
But the 2 years before that he was very average with a .918 and .913

Yeah, Berglund and Sobatka are upgrades, but still not good skaters
And neither is Thompson

Botts/Housley want to play a certain style, right?
Before this trade,
would u have picked any of these guys out and said they FIT what we are looking for?
I wouldn’t
Not saying they suck
Just don’t seem to be what i thought we wanted?

Idk about Hutton?

Berglund & Sobatka are ok,
but more of the same slow players i thought we were trying to move on from



I know they’re both legit NHLers
But i think I’d rather see some of our young, speedy guys in the lineup

That ROR trade makes very little sense to me
I think Botts may have gotten schooled
When’s the last time someone took TWO cap dumps in a trade? If ever...?
Let’s say we got the draft picks for taking those contracts...
that means all we got for O’Reilly was Thompson

Btw, what do u think of Thompson?
I’m not impressed
Idk that he will score goals at the NHL level
And he’s not a great skater (he’s ok)
None of the guys we got in that trade fit the style Botts supposedly wants
- jdfitz77

I'm honestly baffled we acquired those two our general manager says the goal was to get younger and faster
With that trade you got older and slower makes no sense

Thompson I just don't like his skating

he's 6'5 but he plays like he's 5"10 he needs to add muscle and getting his body correct so he can use that body God gave him as an advantage his shot is good and Hockey IQ

I think what's going to make him a bust "bottom 6 forward" and a good top forward is his foot speed I'm sorry the game is moving in a direction of more towards speed if he can't keep up then he's done ..

If everything goes right he ends up a bigger Vanek imo

Low calling Patrick maroon

You think every GM is just dying to trade their speed?
So many armchair GM's here, maybe put a resume together and apply for the job if you can do better bud.
- Carubba-Kaleta

Just bc I’m not a GM doesn’t mean i have to like every trade Botts makes
ESP when the guys we get are the OPPOSITE of what he previously says he wants

It’s legit to question bringing in slow players when he said we need to get faster...
RIGHT?!

It’s telling that u have to resort to coming at me bc u can’t find any logic in us getting OLDER AND SLOWER

Well, i appreciate your optimism
Hutton was good last year, no doubt
.931 save%
But the 2 years before that he was very average with a .918 and .913

Yeah, Berglund and Sobatka are upgrades, but still not good skaters
And neither is Thompson

Botts/Housley want to play a certain style, right?
Before this trade,
would u have picked any of these guys out and said they FIT what we are looking for?
I wouldn’t
Not saying they suck
Just don’t seem to be what i thought we wanted?
- jdfitz77

Considering RoR wanted out, and there was no way at all we were going to be any good next year no matter what happened I’m perfectly fine bringing in some leadership, some futures, and taking a shot at a 20 year old, who like all 20 year olds needs some work.

Thompson is above nylander on the prospect list already.

And average goaltending will go a long way to help the team.

Just bc I’m not a GM doesn’t mean i have to like every trade Botts makes
ESP when the guys we get are the OPPOSITE of what he previously says he wants

It’s legit to question bringing in slow players when he said we need to get faster...
RIGHT?!
- jdfitz77

Yea I agree with that, but maybe he's not done. It's Possibly he will parlay some of the assets from the o'reilly trade.

I'm honestly baffled we acquired those two our general manager says the goal was to get younger and faster
With that trade you got older and slower makes no sense

Thompson I just don't like his skating

he's 6'5 but he plays like he's 5"10 he needs to add muscle and getting his body correct so he can use that body God gave him as an advantage his shot is good and Hockey IQ

I think what's going to make him a bust "bottom 6 forward" and a good top forward is his foot speed I'm sorry the game is moving in a direction of more towards speed if he can't keep up then he's done ..

If everything goes right he ends up a bigger Vanek imo

Low calling Patrick maroon
- gerbe75pts

I just hope he’s trying to flip these guys

EVERYONE here would be pissed if we signed Berglund & Sobatka as UFAs to the contracts they’re on...
yet we are supposed to like the trade?

If we’d taken on ONE of those guys...
ok
ALL THREE THOUGH?

Na.... sorry...
Makes no sense

Just bc I’m not a GM doesn’t mean i have to like every trade Botts makes
ESP when the guys we get are the OPPOSITE of what he previously says he wants

It’s legit to question bringing in slow players when he said we need to get faster...
RIGHT?!

It’s telling that u have to resort to coming at me bc u can’t find any logic in us getting OLDER AND SLOWER
- jdfitz77

But not every trade is in a vacuum. The first and second round picks will add youth and speed. Maybe berglund gets moved at the deadline for another pick that we use to get younger and faster.


I don’t know why we thought RoR was worth a top prospect. Nobody who wasn’t a rumor twitter account even thought it possible.

The return is what it is and we don’t even know how it will turn out yet, and we got more than Murray spent.

We were not going to be good this coming year.

We got leadership for the young kids in our organization, and we got rid of someone who didn’t want to be here.

This is a net positive immediately with a chance to pay off even more in the future

Yea I agree with that, but maybe he's not done. It's Possibly he will parlay some of the assets from the o'reilly trade.
- Carubba-Kaleta

Hopefully you’re right
And thanks for a decent post instead of just coming at me for no reason
It’s not like I’m bashing Botts just bc i like GMTM or some nonsense

I like Botts
The style of these players he got just doesn’t jive with what he supposedly is looking for
If he can flip them for faster players that are comparable...
I’ll be very happy
Again, hopefully you’re right with that idea

But not every trade is in a vacuum. The first and second round picks will add youth and speed. Maybe berglund gets moved at the deadline for another pick that we use to get younger and faster.


I don’t know why we thought RoR was worth a top prospect. Nobody who wasn’t a rumor twitter account even thought it possible.

The return is what it is and we don’t even know how it will turn out yet, and we got more than Murray spent.

We were not going to be good this coming year.

We got leadership for the young kids in our organization, and we got rid of someone who didn’t want to be here.

This is a net positive immediately with a chance to pay off even more in the future
- Shadman306

This is my issue though...
did we get better with additions by subtraction?
Sure, ok... I’ll buy that

But what we got back certainly isn’t the right players to play the style we want

True or false?

So while we may have “improved” in some respects...
it’s VERY CLEAR to me that these guys aren’t part of the future
At least not according to what Botts has been saying
So really...
all we got back of value was the picks

But we aren’t gonna see those draft picks for YEARS, esp that 2nd rounder in 2034 or whenever it was (lol)

Idk about Hutton?

Berglund & Sobatka are ok,
but more of the same slow players i thought we were trying to move on from

I know they’re both legit NHLers
But i think I’d rather see some of our young, speedy guys in the lineup

That ROR trade makes very little sense to me
I think Botts may have gotten schooled
When’s the last time someone took TWO cap dumps in a trade? If ever...?
Let’s say we got the draft picks for taking those contracts...
that means all we got for O’Reilly was Thompson

Btw, what do u think of Thompson?
I’m not impressed
Idk that he will score goals at the NHL level
And he’s not a great skater (he’s ok)
None of the guys we got in that trade fit the style Botts supposedly wants
- jdfitz77

I don't think he got schooled, but once again the expected return by both the media and fans was much higher than the real value identified by multiple opposing GMs..very apparent now.

So, if the jugement is between reality and a fantasy-based, hyped view of true value, we have to step back and realize he drove the best deal he could...that ius the true value at the time.

I was fine with retaining him for 1 more year to shelter Mitts, as you will recall. However, apparently the Sabres Brass felt they had to move on from him, it is quite obvious to me....else none of this makes sense. (Another reason I dismiss those who don't buy the Locker Room issue)
Proof is there for all to see.

I'm fine with the trade, even though it didn't match my misguided , hyped perception of his value.
I am glad an obvious cancer was removed, no matter the skill set of the player involved.

I don't think he got schooled, but once again the expected return by both the media and fans was much higher than the real value identified by multiple opposing GMs..very apparent now.

So, if the jugement is between reality and a fantasy-based, hyped view of true value, we have to step back and realize he drove the best deal he could...that ius the true value at the time.

I was fine with retaining him for 1 more year to shelter Mitts, as you will recall. However, apparently the Sabres Brass felt they had to move on from him, it is quite obvious to me....else none of this makes sense. (Another reason I dismiss those who don't buy the Locker Room issue)
Proof is there for all to see.

I'm fine with the trade, even though it didn't match my misguided , hyped perception of his value.
I am glad an obvious cancer was removed, no matter the skill set of the player involved.
- IonSabres

“Schooled” May have been a harsh term

This isn’t a “we should’ve kept O’Reilly” post (although I’d rather have him than the return we got)

It’s just tough for me to see the point in getting older & slower
That’s the OPPOSITE of what he said we needed to do

Is it not a fair point for me to question that?

Happy 4th ya filthy animals!

This is my issue though...
did we get better with additions by subtraction?
Sure, ok... I’ll buy that

But what we got back certainly isn’t the right players to play the style we want

True or false?

So while we may have “improved” in some respects...
it’s VERY CLEAR to me that these guys aren’t part of the future
At least not according to what Botts has been saying

And we aren’t gonna see those draft picks for YEARS, esp that 2nd rounder in 2034 or whenever it was (lol)
- jdfitz77

Oh yea they certainly aren’t part of the future, but in the time they are here they can kill penalties and instill some professionalism in the locker room.

Botts is taking his time, this means stop gaps like the two we got will come and go.

Now if some of the pieces from the trade get moved for skinner (at a reasonable price) and Faulk, I don’t think people hate the trade as much.

Oh yea they certainly aren’t part of the future, but in the time they are here they can kill penalties and instill some professionalism in the locker room.

Botts is taking his time, this means stop gaps like the two we got will come and go.

Now if some of the pieces from the trade get moved for skinner (at a reasonable price) and Faulk, I don’t think people hate the trade as much.
- Shadman306

Fair enough (although i don’t like Faulk at all)

As of right now, just doesn’t make much sense

You’d think we could “help the room” with some guys who can actually skate
Like Sheary, for example
He makes perfect sense to me
These guys don’t

Happy 4th ya filthy animals!
- feetontheair22

You too!

J... E... T... S....
suck, suck, SUCK!
Hahaha

*actually, i like what they’ve been doing
If the QB works out, u guys are on the right track

Fair enough (although i don’t like Faulk at all)

As of right now, just doesn’t make much sense

You’d think we could “help the room” with some guys who can actually skate
Like Sheary, for example
He makes perfect sense to me
These guys don’t
- jdfitz77

Not for next season they don’t, but there’s only so much we can do at once. And it’s not like teams are clamoring to ditch their fast skilled wingers for someone who cried his way out of two franchises.

We all got excited for a huge return because:

As Sabres fans we overvalue our players
Twitter and media people get more hits when big names are involved.
After the draft the price was 1st, 2nd, and a prospect. We got that plus some real bottom 6 nhl players so Larsson can go away.

Botts also said at the draft that he needs trades to happen to set up other trades, so he may not be done.

Don't know if we are really in the market for any of the UFA's, but who's left?

Maroon
Duclair

Who am I missing?

Isn’t Florida in the division?

Lol
- dadeadhead

San Jose moved him to Florida though..... Pulled a quick one on Dorian.

“Schooled” May have been a harsh term

This isn’t a “we should’ve kept O’Reilly” post (although I’d rather have him than the return we got)

It’s just tough for me to see the point in getting older & slower
That’s the OPPOSITE of what he said we needed to do

Is it not a fair point for me to question that?
- jdfitz77

It certainly is fair.
However, some are going to hate this...I also believe there is much more to a team than throwing out maximum talent...so skill isn't the be all, end all.

It is obvious to me that the team was seriously devoid of productive leadership and needed a significant change. It seems THAT was priority #1 to the Brass.
Also, the value they got back, was pretty much the same Murray spent 3 seasons ago for a younger player. Are these players ideal skill wise...HELL no.
Coul d they be the "addition" to stabilize the Locker Room and help guts like Dahlin, Mitts and other youth ... YES.
Did they offset the scoring loss...YES
Can they help Jack become a respected leader which addds a ton of value...MAYBE, but obviouslybetterthan what they had with ROR.