prospects suspects rejects

they clearly see something we don't. or have low value on his long term contribution.
- TheSabresTaco

I am not sure this team has a big enough staff to watch all of their prospects

prob could have gotten jack johnson for clauge/bryson

you don't move a 19 year old prospect you signed who was picked in the 3rd round and is a ppg player

for rochester help
- homiedclown

You dont trade these guys for a "Dad" favor either.

Do you see stillman playing a solid role the rest of the season?

Maybe dahlin is more Injured then they are letting on too?

Bloom < vibes

As a middle 6 scoring option. It's almost useless talking about rosters a year or two in advance. What if:

Skinner-Thompson-Tuch
Rosen-Cozens-Quinn
Kulich-Krebs-Savoie
Peterka-Jost-Milan Lucic
- TheSabresTaco

Projecting is an important thing that teams are constantly doing.

Rosen on the 2nd line and Peterka on the 4th line is something...

You dont trade these guys for a "Dad" favor either.

Do you see stillman playing a solid role the rest of the season?

Maybe dahlin is more Injured then they are letting on too?

Bloom < vibes
- Boss34

Bloom's father = Big vibes

Projecting is an important thing that teams are constantly doing.

Rosen on the 2nd line and Peterka on the 4th line is something...
- kingcong39

Skinner bloom tuch isnt happening.... too bad, donnie could make bloom a star center in the nhl.

Could have traded bloom to Arizona for chryrun and a 7th

The Athletic

NHL trade deadline
LeBrun: Inside the Sabres’ trade deadline plans with GM Kevyn Adams

Feb 26, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens (24) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period against the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
By Pierre LeBrun
Feb 27, 2023
59
Save Article
Six weeks ago, the Sabres weren’t sure what the trade deadline would mean to them.

Would they be in the race or not?

The players have since answered that for general manager Kevyn Adams. Deadline week is upon us, and the Sabres are firmly entrenched in the playoff race.

“I’m proud of how our guys have grown, are learning and evolving over the course of the season,” Adams told The Athletic on Sunday after a 7-4 win over the Capitals that left the Sabres just one point behind the Penguins for the second East wild-card spot with a game in hand. “There’s a long way to go. We’re getting better. I’m proud with how hard our guys are battling and excited we’re in this spot where every game is critical, every game is meaningful. It’s exciting.”

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Sunday’s win came after the team put core forward Alex Tuch on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He’s out a number of weeks, and top blueliner Rasmus Dahlin is also out, day to day.

No problem. The Sabres rose to the occasion. Again, message sent to their GM.


“We’re the youngest team in the National Hockey League, and these are amazing opportunities for us to grow and learn and feel what it’s like coming to the rink,” Adams said. “You’re certainly not going to replace Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin — those are critical pieces out of our lineup — but I am excited and proud of the way the guys came out and responded and played the way they did today.”

So, does Adams feel the need now to add before Friday’s deadline, especially because of Tuch’s injury?

“I don’t think anything changes in the sense of how we’re looking at this,” Adams said. “We’ve been in conversations for weeks with teams, different players, different opportunities, we’re certainly having serious conversations and looking around. But we’re not going to compromise on a short-term gain that may hurt us in the long term. That’s really critical.

“We believe in our locker room. We believe in the players that we have. If we’re able to add and it makes sense, then we’re certainly going to look at it. But nothing changes in terms of our plan, but we’re open to it, and we’ll see where things go the next few days.”

So, reading between the lines, maybe they’d pay a medium price on a rental — but any bigger trade would have to be a hockey deal where the player acquired is part of things past this season?

“Yeah I think the way I tried to explain it is, we’re not changing course,” Adams said. “We wake up every day in here and work on how we can improve our team — how do we get better? That’s what we’ll continue to do.

“So, we’re open to it, but it has to make sense for us. The acquisition cost has to make sense.”

Obviously, Adams cannot comment on another team’s player, but separate league sources suggest the Sabres have had multiple conversations with the Coyotes about Jakob Chychrun, for example. As of Sunday, the Sabres were not in a place to gain traction on it because the price out of Arizona continues to be at a place where Buffalo won’t bite. They’re not alone. Several clubs talking to Arizona about Chychrun feel the same way.

But what it tells you is that Adams is making sure he’s educated on opportunities that would make sense with the way his team is being built. Chychrun at 24 and with a good contract would obviously make sense, at a certain price point. If the ask drops before Friday at 3 p.m. ET, the Sabres will be trying to get in on that for sure.

In the meantime, the Sabres have ample cap room, which made me wonder if they’ve looked at being a broker team, as Minnesota has twice so far in this deadline season — use that cap room to secure a draft pick in a three-team trade.


“We’ve been in every one of those conversations,” Adams said of being a broker team. “And the way we look at it is that we’re absolutely open to it. But it has to have value for us. In the certain conversations we’ve been in, there’s two things we’ve looked at: One is, who is the team that we’re potentially helping? Is that someone close to us in our division or that we could match up against? And, the second part is, does it make sense to us from a value standpoint?

“We have cap space, but the value has to be there.”

Translation: The Sabres could have been the broker team for Boston in the Dmitry Orlov trade, but why help the Bruins out? And obviously if they’re going to do that, they would have wanted higher than the fifth-round pick the Wild got.

Teams value those situations differently, but what it tells you, again, is that the Sabres are looking at all these things.

So let’s see what the week brings. The balance here for the Sabres is weighing the potential opportunities with the obvious chemistry and mojo the young club is displaying.

“We’re going to stick to our plan. We’ll keep having those conversations,” Adams said. “The other thing is, these games right now are unbelievable learning opportunities, especially for our younger players. What I do always weigh and want to be careful on is whether, adding to the group, is that taking away opportunities from a younger player getting this experience?

“For example, Jack Quinn jumped up on the line with (Jeff) Skinner and (Tage) Thompson today. He’s a rookie. He played very well. You’re not going to replace Alex Tuch, but that’s just an example of a great opportunity for a rookie to get that type of ice time and he performed very well. So you balance that and keep that in mind.”

All that should tell you enough about the Sabres’ mindset before Friday. This is about building a program that has year-to-year sustainability. The bigger picture won’t take a back seat this week.

(Top photo: Timothy T. Ludwig / USA Today)

Pierre LeBrun has been a senior NHL columnist for The Athletic since 2017. He has been an NHL Insider for TSN since 2011 following six years as a panelist on Hockey Night In Canada. He also appears regularly on RDS in Montreal. Pierre previously covered the NHL for ESPN.com and The Canadian Press. Follow Pierre on Twitter

From the responses I'm seeing, I'm getting the sense that KA should be fired

Bloom's father = Big vibes
- kingcong39

Stillman's dad = Bigger vibes

You dont trade these guys for a "Dad" favor either.


- Boss34

I never said that

also for the record im not a fan of the trade but im willing to wait it out.
- TheSabresTaco

To see how bad the guy is?

Like they rejected Hagel? Who has 49 points in 59 games.
- sabresfan69

well first of all that was two different gms. second, let's not do this.

To see how bad the guy is?
- DirtyDan

to see if he's as useful as he was in florida.

Stillman's dad = Bigger vibes
- Boss34

Nepotism = Most important vibes of all

Projecting is an important thing that teams are constantly doing.

Rosen on the 2nd line and Peterka on the 4th line is something...
- kingcong39

I mean, you and I are here talking about it, but we both also know they are aware of it too right

Skinner bloom tuch isnt happening.... too bad, donnie could make bloom a star center in the nhl.

Could have traded bloom to Arizona for chryrun and a 7th
- Boss34

you're about this close to making bloom your next meme, aren't you

I never said that
- homiedclown

Not you in particular, and I'm sure there's a slight bit of helping out a kid you knew growing up. Hanging out around the lockerroom.

Nepotism is everywhere.

The trade makes sense to me, but I'm a terrible gm.

It's just a depth signing, that in an emergency, we have a guy with some nhl toughness and experience.

We can agree that bloom would add no value to a playoff push this season right?
Stillman marginal?
That's a minor depth short sighted upgrade.
Things playoff teams do.....

Our d has missed some games this year
Samuelsson
Boosh
Dahlin (hopefully just the 2)

well first of all that was two different gms. second, let's not do this.
- TheSabresTaco

Are you saying Adams is perfect and doesn't make mistakes? Its still the sabres organization. You could have gotten Stillman for a 5th round pick.

From the responses I'm seeing, I'm getting the sense that KA should be fired
- RichardRoma

No, but if he was replaced with kyle dubas we'd all be head over heels.

Are you saying Adams is perfect and doesn't make mistakes? Its still the sabres organization. You could have gotten Stillman for a 5th round pick.
- sabresfan69

yep thats what i said

New fitz post just dropped.

Oh my the travesty, the Sabres traded a player not ranked in their top 20 prospects for a 6/7 dman who has grit, and just so happened to play adequately in Florida under a similar scheme. Whatever will we do.

New fitz post just dropped.
- jochfr

lmao

to see if he's as useful as he was in florida.
- TheSabresTaco

He was useful in Florida?

40 games in 2 seasons.... minus player

Okay...Stillman fills a depth D spot.


What do we say when they package Bryson or Clague and a 2nd pick for a goaltender?

I feel this was a setup for a bigger trade IMO