Buffalo Sabres & NHL 2020-2021

[BillsFan4]

Now here’s a waiver claim I’d like to see the Sabres make!

 

 

I knew someone good would go on waivers right after they claimed caggiula.

 

Wonder if the Montour trade makes a Riikola waiver claim more likely? I hope so!

10 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Ciao, Montour.  Glad to be rid of you! 

 

Botterill took a prospect (Guhle), added a first round pick, turned it into Montour, which we have now turned into a third round pick.

 

And people wonder why we are bad.

 

 

 

Yep. Terrible asset management. Terrible drafting, and even worse development.

 

If you have an athletic subscription, this is a really good deep dive into just how horrible our drafting has been during the rebuild.

 

https://theathletic.com/2499017/2021/04/06/how-buffalos-poor-drafting-decisions-destroyed-the-franchise-and-who-they-couldve-picked-to-save-it

 

 

[Dr. Who]

5 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Now here’s a waiver claim I’d like to see the Sabres make!

 

 

I knew someone good would go on waivers right after they claimed caggiula.

 

Wonder if the Montour trade makes a Riikola waiver claim more likely? I hope so!

Yep. Terrible asset management. Terrible drafting, and even worse development.

 

If you have an athletic subscription, this is a really good deep dive into just how horrible our drafting has been during the rebuild.

 

https://theathletic.com/2499017/2021/04/06/how-buffalos-poor-drafting-decisions-destroyed-the-franchise-and-who-they-couldve-picked-to-save-it

 

 

I honestly think a magic 8 ball could draft better. They need to bring in competent hockey people and get out of the way or sell the team.

[TBBills]

3 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

Ciao, Montour.  Glad to be rid of you! 

 

Botterill took a prospect (Guhle), added a first round pick, turned it into Montour, which we have now turned into a third round pick.

 

And people wonder why we are bad.

 

 

 

Watch he will magically get better.

[BillsFan4]

good!

[Jauronimo]

16 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

good!

Linus has really stepped up his game this year.  He's a miraculous 8-6-0-3 on the worst team in the league.  I hope they can get a deal done with him and blast Hutton into the sun.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

23 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

If you have an athletic subscription, this is a really good deep dive into just how horrible our drafting has been during the rebuild.

 

https://theathletic.com/2499017/2021/04/06/how-buffalos-poor-drafting-decisions-destroyed-the-franchise-and-who-they-couldve-picked-to-save-it

 

Nice to know where The Athletic writers get ideas for their topics:

 

 

😁

[PromoTheRobot]

5 hours ago, Jauronimo said:

Linus has really stepped up his game this year.  He's a miraculous 8-6-0-3 on the worst team in the league.  I hope they can get a deal done with him and blast Hutton into the sun.

 

Good news, Sabres come back and beat the Flyers. Bad news, reports say Ullmark will test free agency. So Adams has to move him tomorrow.

[BillsFan4]

 

if this is true it completely changes my feelings on trading him.

[BillsFan4]

can confirm: Hall will likely be traded to an NHL team sometime before the deadline tomorrow.

 

I want credit for my sources if it happens... 😂

[ChevyVanMiller]

Hall dealt to the Bruins, no word on who/what is coming back yet.

 

 

Elliotte Friedman

@FriedgeHNIC

Taylor Hall to BOS

11:55 PM · Apr 11, 2021·Twitter Web App

 

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by ChevyVanMiller

[BillsFan4]

 

no clue who Bjork is but Boston fans are thrilled with the deal and don’t seem to care about Bjork at all.

 

was hoping for a decent prospect at least. This return seems light.

 

edit -

 

5 points total this season. His best ever season was 19pts.

 

https://www.nhl.com/player/anders-bjork-8478075

 

 

 

and he has 2 years left on his contract at a $1.6M per year cap hit.

 

Guess it’s not fair to get aggravated before seeing Bjork play, but is he better than Lazar? Or worse? If it’s a wash, then I’d just have rather kept Lazar. Especially since Lazar costs 1/2 as much for next season ($800k vs $1.6M for Bjork)

 

Im wondering if the Sabres took a lesser return in Hall to avoid retaining salary? It’ll be interesting to see if they did.

 

 

edit 2 - yep, they retained 50% of Hall’s salary (not sure on Lazar). Yikes. Hard not to feel like Adams got taken advantage of by an experienced GM. 
 

 

So, Granato’s connections have brought us Drake Caggiula and Anders Bjork so far.
 

Edited April 12, 2021 by BillsFan4

[Chandler#81]

On 4/9/2021 at 9:26 PM, RiotAct said:

Caligula?

“More CONVICTION!”

[May Day 10]

Terrible.  Sux having a gm who has no business sitting in that position

[4merper4mer]

8 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

no clue who Bjork is but Boston fans are thrilled with the deal and don’t seem to care about Bjork at all.

 

was hoping for a decent prospect at least. This return seems light.

 

 

 

Crappy singer and an absolute lunatic.  I have no idea on her hockey skills.

 

I didn’t mind Lazar as a player but he really doesn’t move the needle either way.  I’m not sure why he was thrown in.  It feels like Lazar for this chick and Hall for the 2nd.  I would have gone straight up bidding “war” for Hall and left other players out of it.  It was only a few more months we had him.  If Boston wanted a 2nd forward I would have said “Sure, take Skinner and make that 2nd for Hall a 5th instead”.  We’re done here.  No way Boston takes on that bum but it would be worth a shot.
 

I'm more bummed about Ullmark not signing because someone else will pay him.  We might as well trade him too.  We can still try to sign him back in the Summer.  Losing him hurts as Ukka Pukka Bazooka or whatever his ridiculous name might be is clearly going nowhere after being in “the system” for the last 37 years.

Edited April 12, 2021 by 4merper4mer

[Greg S]

[Jauronimo]

14 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

if this is true it completely changes my feelings on trading him.

 

 

[BillsFan4]

1 hour ago, 4merper4mer said:

Crappy singer and an absolute lunatic.  I have no idea on her hockey skills.

 

I didn’t mind Lazar as a player but he really doesn’t move the needle either way.  I’m not sure why he was thrown in.  It feels like Lazar for this chick and Hall for the 2nd.  I would have gone straight up bidding “war” for Hall and left other players out of it.  It was only a few more months we had him.  If Boston wanted a 2nd forward I would have said “Sure, take Skinner and make that 2nd for Hall a 5th instead”.  We’re done here.  No way Boston takes on that bum but it would be worth a shot.
 

I'm more bummed about Ullmark not signing because someone else will pay him.  We might as well trade him too.  We can still try to sign him back in the Summer.  Losing him hurts as Ukka Pukka Bazooka or whatever his ridiculous name might be is clearly going nowhere after being in “the system” for the last 37 years.

I don’t really care that they traded Lazar either. My only issue is that this Bjork better be the better player, otherwise what was the point in swapping Lazar, who makes 1/2 as much as Bjork does next season? ($800K for Lazar. $1.6M for Bjork).

Why double the salary if he’s not the better player? Seems like poor cap management.

 

Looking at both of their stats, they look very comparable. and Bjork’s been in the NHL 4yrs now so I’m not sure how much room for development is left (not that the Sabres can develop players anyway...).

2 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

 

 

Might as well keep trying to sign him I guess. Hopefully that rumor about him testing free agency was false, or just a leverage move by his agent.

 

Seeing what Hall and Montour got moved for, I wouldn’t be at all confident that the Sabres would get more than a mid round pick back for Ullmark anyway, and who cares about an extra mid round pick in this (weak) draft, and especially since the Sabres don’t really even have a ******* scouting staff! 🤦‍♂️

[Jauronimo]

As much as general consensus among Sabres fans is we got fleeced, seeing some commentary from Bruins fans that they are concerned about adding Hall to their lineup with his team's history of under achievement.  

[K-9]

39 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

 

 

I think they are gonna grossly overpay for Ullmark to stay. He’s good and I like him, but I don’t see an elite goalie. 

[BillsFan4]

https://theathletic.com/2513045/2021/04/12/nhl-trade-grades-bruins-win-taylor-hall-sweepstakes-and-give-up-alarmingly-little/
‘NHL trade grades: Bruins win Taylor Hall sweepstakes and give up alarmingly little‘

 

Quote

Dom Luszczyszyn: Considering the current market, where both Nick Foligno and David Savard command a first-round pick, and where a backup goaltender can net a third, it is unfathomable to think a former MVP only cost a second and a marginal NHLer.

 

Hall has been a top-line talent throughout his career and though his value is not there this season, that’s almost entirely due to rotten shooting luck on the worst team in hockey. He still makes plays (he’s first in the league in high danger passing according to data tracked by Corey Sznajder), he still moves the puck up ice well (70 percent carry-in rate), and he still drives offence (top 20 in driving expected goals for). Hall has two goals in 37 games and that fact has been very publicized, but it only takes a limited amount of critical thinking to understand why. We see this time and time again — he’s not broken because he’s scoring on just 2.3 percent of his shots. He didn’t forget how to score, it’s an anomaly made worse by his surroundings. He’s a career 10 percent shooter and that’s much closer to what Boston should expect from him than what he did in Buffalo.

 

The lack of finishing is concerning and his value has tanked, but it feels like Hall is being judged based on what people expect and not what he still can do. That and his teams always losing. That seems to be a major sticking point for many and is also total bull####. It is not Hall’s fault he was drafted by Edmonton, traded to New Jersey and then traded to Arizona. Buffalo was a very poor choice on top of that, but he wasn’t the guy who built the team he was joining. Boston is the first actually good team he’ll ever play for.

The Bruins capitalized on an extreme buy-low opportunity, parting with very little for a player who at his very worst is a middle-six forward. By GSVA, Hall is playing at a one-win pace this year, despite scoring just two goals — that’s his floor. He’s projected to deliver 1.4 wins per 82 still, a top-six winger rate. And that’s with his most recent data being skewered by bad luck. His ceiling, once he remembers how to score, is still a top-line winger and he has shown enough to still be that. If he can get there with Boston, the deal can be a real steal.

 

Hall is not the player he once was, but there are parts of his game that remain quite strong. He is still an elite play-maker and puck-mover. That still carries a ton of value and those inside hockey with access to better data than me have said similar things, confirming Sznajder’s tracked findings. He was the best forward available at his absolute floor. It’s more than reasonable to expect he’ll be significantly better in Boston, a much stronger team. It’s amazing a second is all it took (Curtis Lazar and Anders Bjork are a wash).

And look, I get this was a difficult one for Buffalo. The optics around Hall aren’t great and his poor play this season didn’t make things easy. He has two goals this year, his point-rate is down, and his teams never win. But this is seriously the best Buffalo could do? Foligno just went for a first and a fourth and Hall only got them a second? In the worst season of Hall’s career, an epic disappointment, he is still out-scoring Foligno, not to mention his play-driving stats are stronger too.

 

This is just as embarrassing for the other contending teams that couldn’t beat this offer, but the fact this happened a full 15 hours before the deadline is frankly pathetic for the Sabres. Sleep on it. Wait it out. There’s no way this tiny offer that will likely amount to nothing wasn’t going to be there in the morning.

Moves like this are the reason Buffalo is in the basement every season. It doesn’t matter who’s in charge, they’ll find some way to mess it up. This is an awful return.

 

Quote

Bruins grade: A+
Sabres grade: F-