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Ep. 48 - NHL Draft Jubilee
35 Plays1 year ago
Join the boys as we pick apart the nuance of the NHL draft coming up this weekend. We briefly touch on the official Jeff Skinner buy-out and the team needs leading into draft weekend. We toss around the idea of trading pick #11 or making the pick. We wrap up the show discussing what a successful Sabres draft weekend looks like to us. Thanks for listening!
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Transcript
Introduction & Social Media
00:00:27
Speaker
What is going on everybody? You are listening too. the Let's Go Buffalo podcast, your favorite podcast for all things bills and savers, with the pals Tom and Jake this evening. We have episode 48 coming at you. Before we get into it, quick reminder, go follow our social media accounts. They are all at Let's Go Buff Pod, and that is Buff with two Fs. um We're on Instagram, X and YouTube. Let's get into it.
Personal Updates: Parenthood & Teaching
00:00:56
Speaker
Tom, how you doing today, man? It's good to see you back in your normal cave. I know, dude. I'm good, man. I'm good. Well, how are you doing? I'm good, man. Yeah, I'm, uh, works kicking my ass, but I'm, I'm happy to be having this reprieve talking about things that, uh, matter much, much more than my job.
00:01:16
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely, man. The throws of parenthood have made me wonder what the heck, what time it is and what time zone I'm i in and what what year I'm in. But um we're ah you know slowly getting my head back up back on straight and it's all good. my um My wife and I are both pretty lucky that we ah we we're both teachers. So we got to take the last couple of weeks of school off and roll right into summer vacation. So we're both home, which is it, which is awesome. So we just do we're full up we full baby duty all the time, which is great. And we feel really blessed and lucky to be able to do that. like We don't have to like stress about trying to do
00:01:47
Speaker
other, you know, real life stuff. um but This is real life, actually, let's back that up. This is the most real life, but there's not not additional real life things that also have to happen. So it's been really nice. But um yeah, it's wild, man. It is. It is. all it is It is wild. ah You are riding that roller coaster. You said that a few times and and it's It feels it feels on the nose. You know, that feels like the the the best metaphor for it so far is a roller coaster that a vicious little, you know, five week old tyrant is is driving all the ups and downs. and the attack Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But, you know, hey, it's all good. Right.
NHL Excitement & Sabres News
00:02:26
Speaker
That's what we're here for. So exactly. Exactly. Well, it seems like you you might need a beverage that pass. So you pop into one. Yeah, please. All right. Ready? Three, two, one.
00:02:38
Speaker
And I shamefully, I'll go first, I do not have a beer this evening. The beer fridge is a little a little tap dry, so I'm gonna let Tom. wax poetic about his beer or maybe not so beer. Yeah. Yeah. It's ah summertime. It is. I got my high noon. I'm ah I'm trying to channel my inner my inner pool. Generally, when I'm drinking these, I have an inner tube or a pool noodle involved. So um I feel a little naked without it, but it's good. And it's crisp and it's exactly what I was craving tonight. So I grabbed it. Nothing says you can't grab a pool noodle and and bring it into the room. That's true. Yeah. You know, man. Yeah, I could wear my inner tube. Exactly. Exactly. You're not wrong.
00:03:15
Speaker
um bro well Let's let's get into it. So yeah, this is an exciting pod, right? This is there's a lot going on and
Jeff Skinner's Buyout Impact
00:03:20
Speaker
this is this is ah this is a big week in the NHL world. It is a big week. Well, I guess I guess first off, is there anything NFL that we should we should throw in before we get there? um No, I'm always thinking about it, but, um, the, uh, minus less than a month till training camp. So that's exciting. Oh, that's sneaking up on me. I didn't know it was that soon, dude, July 24th. Um, so yeah, man, they're getting ready to go to St. John Fisher's there in Rochester and set up camp and start getting, let's see what this team is going to look like. So but nothing huge yet. Um, there's things I'm sure we'll talk about over the next couple of weeks, but nothing wild. So I think we dedicate tonight's pod to, to the, uh, the, the sabers and the draft coming up. i think that's gonna be important Fair enough, yeah, let's do it then. So this morning, i saw we've we've beaten this to death, so I'm sorry everyone, but Jeff Skinner, officially, all but official, is getting bought out. They announced that this morning. So what that means is $9 million dollars comes off the books. It's a lot of savings over the next couple of years. It's $7.5 million in savings this year, $4.5 million the next, $2.5 million the next year. And then you asked this question in our group, jetun
00:04:28
Speaker
it effectively doubles the length of the contract remaining. So he's got three years left. So he'll be on the savers books for the next six years, which stings a little. Um, but it gives you a ton of flexibility this year. Yeah. You know, which is, and they're kind of in that mode, right? They're kind of in this, like, I don't, I hate to say it, but almost do or die, like, and let's, let's go get it done. Like this is okay. We've, we've, I, from my point of view, it's like, let's start pulling all the levers. Just, you know, but No, you're you're correct. Do or die is the right way to put it. The pink slips pink slips are flying if they don't make the playoffs this year, 100%. Right? like Let's just go get it done. like ah And so another thought I had as I was looking at this and thinking about this this
Salary Cap Dynamics & Strategies
00:05:10
Speaker
but this buyout on the what's going to count against the cap and stuff, is it possible that they're kind of projecting the and the the the salary crap just to continue to balloon and get bigger as all all sports right now are just a just the the tide is rising?
00:05:24
Speaker
Like, is is it possible that they could just, you know what? Like, salary cap's going up. This is kind of going to be going to like push to the side. It's not going to as hurt as sting as much in the future. Is that? Yeah, no, that's that's very fair to say. So it's it rose about four million this year and it's projected to, I think it's even in the CBA that it's going to keep rising at about that clip. It's been flat since COVID pretty much yeah with the with the way that With the way that the CBA works out, the cap remained the same because ownership funded more towards
00:05:58
Speaker
running the league than the players did. And that comes down to hockey related revenue and how much the league brings in at the gate through merchandise and all that kind of stuff goes into it. We won't we won't get into that. money my money money a we'll we'll save We'll save that for the lawyers. But yes, so effectively you're right. The cap will continue rising. The cap will continue to go up probably three to four or five million each year. yeah If um so big teams like Edmonton and New York continue to go deep in the playoffs, it might rise more. Yeah, that that's a factor. So we'll see. Yeah. the to To me, the the the six years of him being on the books isn't the issue. They're really the only sticking point is the six and a half million dollar cap hit that is there in year three. So that's 26, 27. It's a big chunk. But like you said, if if the cap is eight to 12 million, something like that higher than it is now, then it's it's a little bit more palatable.
00:06:53
Speaker
right um and And not for nothing, if the plan with Lindy Ruff coming in is not to utilize Jeff Skinner in the way that Jeff Skinner needs to be utilized, then I'd rather have a $6.5 million cap hit than a $9 million cap hit for what is effectively the same. result. Right, you know right. who Who knows who fills that spot now that will be hopefully more productive than it's gonna was. It will be in three years. Exactly. Take your medicine and let's let's turn the page and it use like actively take steps forward, right? Just gives Kevin Adams the room but or more room to take, you know, to make moves and make decisions and hopefully like put the sabers in a spot to make the postseason, right? I thought dude, I hope so. oh Like and like that that's the shot. Like you just got to make it.
00:07:38
Speaker
Yeah. Like this get there and then we figure it out, right? Like that's what this team needs to be at. That's where this mode needs to be. Yep. Exactly. So they're going to have dollars to play with to get there with Skinner getting bought out. They'll have ah about 31 million in cap space going into this year. that's so chunk of money It's a huge chunk of money. Yeah. So they have a couple of free agents, uh, RFA's and UFA's that they need to resign still. We've talked about them. So let's go through them quick. UPL is somebody that they will definitely resign. And then you have Yoki Haryu and Peyton Krebs. Both those guys, you could make arguments for whether or not they're on the team in the fall.
00:08:15
Speaker
Even if all three are re-signed, I don't see that being more than maybe $10 million of cap space eaten up. So you're still looking at almost $20 million dollars a cap that is just kind of there for you to to play with. Yeah.
Trade Rumors & Team Needs
00:08:29
Speaker
you You can't spend every dollar long term. Next year, you're going to have Quinn, JJ Paterka, Bowen Byram, Devin Levi, all to re-sign. What's there going to be sizable contracts there? they They could be, yeah. I mean, I think I think you can probably get away with doing a bridge deal on one to three of them. But if you, if you like, like, for example, I think Paterka is somebody that I would want to lock up long-term. So somebody like that is probably going to cost you six, seven million, depending on what, if he's playing on the top line this year, that number could go up even higher. So yeah you can't spend to the, to, to the ceiling this year and net in,
00:09:13
Speaker
Handcuff yourself for next year. But the point is you have a lot of money to to spend this year You got to go spend it and make the glass Yeah, just do it figure it out. So One do quick rumor that I saw About an hour before we recorded was that there's there's more smoke Around Marty nages out of Carolina. That was something Nigel and I talked about that well you were out of a Trinity Tom a couple times like he's somebody that we thought would be a a good fit and somebody that's lots out of Carolina and is available. So all I'm saying is it could happen. It could happen. I'd be thrilled about it. He's young. He's 25. He's a, he's a winger. He's a great score. He's a true top six forward. Yeah. We'll see. Is that something that could, I mean, we'll talk about some trade opportunities later this evening, but is what's, what's the trade package that would you need to send to go get Nekas?
00:10:07
Speaker
Uh, so they've, the Carolinas come out and said that they value him highly. Obviously they would. Sure. And they're trying to pop up his value, but, uh, he's very shiny and very polite and he, uh, right. All those things. So, I mean, they've come out and said he, they value him as a top six winger. And so. they're expecting a trade for that caliber of player. So i I kind of look at the deal that Buffalo got back for Jack Eichel as maybe a blueprint. You're looking at a player that slots into your roster right away. You're looking at a really good A plus prospect and then you're looking at a first round pick probably. I think that probably starts the deal.
00:10:47
Speaker
You may pick up the phone for that. Yeah, I think so. So like some i just thrown names out there off the top of my head. Yogi, how are you? A really good prospect. Don't don't cringe. But like that's a block, for example, and your number 11 this year. I think that probably gets the conversation started. Yeah, sure. yeah I don't know if it ends there because I think I think we got back a roster player that was much better than Yoki Haryu and Alex Duck. So I think maybe you sweeten the pot a little bit more with like a B prospect or you throw a third round pick in there in the mix, so something like that too. But it could it could happen. I mean, maybe I'm undervaluing it too, because as I sit here and say it, I would do that in a heartbeat.
00:11:24
Speaker
And quite that's probably the indication that it's maybe not the fairest trading world. Sure. Right. Right. Yeah. Well, you know, that's why they get they get paid the big bucks. So, OK. Well, that's interesting. um And that kind of leads us to like the conversation that, to be honest, like like the draft is going to kind of start like opens this whole can of worms. What do you see as like the needs on this Buffalo Sabres team? What do they need to solve to make this postseason push next year? Yeah, for sure. So Nigel and I kind of talked about that quite a bit over the past couple of weeks. I think we talked to a lot about another, the the biggest one to me is reinventing the bottom six of the roster. So third line center, you shift away Casey middle stat at the trade deadline and that was the right decision for a variety of reasons that we talked about at the time.
00:12:13
Speaker
But that leaves a hole. he His position needs to be filled. Third line center. um He just re resigned in Colorado for I think it was 5.7 million over the next three years. So you could kind of see that as a comparable of where maybe they could spend that that money on a comparable player. But that's a big need. Third set third line center. They've come out and said that they want a top six forward. And with Jeff Skinner getting bought out, I think that's a need as well. So so bona fide top six forward. ah Third line center and then as far as the forward group goes just depth depth depth depth Grady fourth liner hard to put like hard to play against player um And just give give me as much depth as you can in the forwards We also talked about a top 40. We wouldn't mind that as well and That I think is and and again death. Give me enough. Give me more depth D That's the
Draft Strategies & Free Agency
00:13:10
Speaker
laundry list, right? Like like I think
00:13:11
Speaker
The other intriguing part about this offseason is that you could fill 90% of those holes and feel pretty good about the offseason. it's not like like like There's not a huge glaring need. All of them need addressing, but there's not something that's so pressing that it handcuffs you until you do that. sure I think there's options for for how you fill all those holes. So just to kind of a roster building question, if if you're seeing depth as like I've heard you say depth multiple times in the past two minutes, right? Is did you see that like the the the sabers not having enough like substantial lines to be able to sustain through a game throughout the season? Is that so like an issue that you saw that depth would help to provide? Yes and no, I think
00:14:00
Speaker
I think they had a fairly deep roster. um I think they were missing some scoring punch in the bottom of their roster um that didn't really come through last year. it came It came through the year before, but they also were hemorrhaging goals the year before. I think that some some offense deeper in the lineup is what I mean by that. but also just just as As far as the attrition goes through the season, you need players to be able to step in when when other guys are hurt or are not performing. It's just such a long season where you it craves and consistency instead of flashes.
00:14:40
Speaker
yeah so for for both of like like every Every team, for the most part, uses eight or nine defensemen throughout the year. it's just It happens. Injuries, call-ups, illnesses, Yeah. Somebody had a kid and they need time. Like, you know, it happens. So yeah, that's why I say that. Yeah. Um, okay. Good quality depth. Yes. We're not a playoff team, but especially if you want to go far in the playoffs and you're not a deep team, you're youre good <unk> getting bounced. Well, i think I think that's kind of one of the same, right? I think a deep team means that you're able to win the games where you do have some of these top players who maybe need a time for an injury or whatever, right? like you you A deep team meant means that you are able to to succeed even when you weren't the players that you clearly need to lean on.
00:15:28
Speaker
aren't always stepping up because because it's a, you know, a freaking long season like that. That means that you're able to get there. Right. Yeah. I think I think it's kind of one leads to the other chicken in the egg kind of deal, you know, for sure. And i'm I keep hammering the quote that I heard because I really like it. Offense is more important, deeper in your roster than defense is higher in your roster. So give me fourth and third liners that can score. OK, I like that. All right. So. Yeah, du those those are the needs. We'll see what's filled this weekend. Is is that a thing, right? Can we expect any of that to be solved in the draft or or I'm kind of cuing you up here, but or is that going to be just the that's going to, you know, after July 1st, free agency, free agency opens. That's when Kevin Adams gets to go solve those problems. Tom, cue me up all you want. No, they there is a
00:16:23
Speaker
There is ah an avenue for those spots to be filled at the draft. ah But it's not from drafting players. I think in the NFL, too, but the draft is a ah time when there's a flurry of trade activity and players are on the move throughout the NHL. Yeah, similar? Yeah, I wouldn't say flurry, but it happens. I think this last few years has been a more flurry-like. It might be squall. you know okay Fair enough. yeah but i think in I mean, looking at $31 million dollars of cap space, does Kevin Adams like looking at his jobs? Like I'm going to go trade for some of these, some free agents that have a ah bigger ah bigger um ah contract and they they they can go do that? Like, am I thinking about this the right way? I hope so. So yeah, I mean, and the NHL draft is a weekend where there's a lot, there's usually ah a good amount of activity trade wise too.
00:17:16
Speaker
Like a guy like Barney Nages, I think will probably be traded before the draft or at the draft. So I think you can plug some holes by making trades at the draft. And I hope Kevin Adams is licking his chops and ready to make some moves to bring in a guy like him or a top six forward, a really solid third line center or something like that, or another top 4D, something like that. Yeah, I think it's it's time. yeah his this is his His call button needs to be hot. He needs to be calling around making the rounds. Yes. what with what one hundred I wouldn't normally say with such like
00:17:58
Speaker
certainty, but yeah, he's got to be he's he's got to be making the moves this weekend for sure. yeah and we'll We'll talk more about his his drafting history later, but his trading history, he's never really trade like made a trade like that. He's made some decent trades um and he's traded away some good talent for packages But he hasn't really put together a package for a top talent player. So I'm curious what that looks like and what hillll but hand he'll show when he makes that move. Hopefully when, not if he makes a move like that. But i think dude I think buying Skinner out is an indicator that they're ready, willing, and able to make a splash at the draft. I dude i mean, it takes two it takes two teams. but Correct.
00:18:43
Speaker
I sure hope so, man. I sure hope they do. Like, at some point, you just got to make big, bold moves. And because what you're doing isn't working, right? You got to do something different. Don't just keep rolling in the same direction. Like, you got to do it. But and not for nothing. Like, if it doesn't work, you're not going to be there to feel the ramifications of it anyway. So you're playing with house money at this point. That's very true. Yeah. but Let it rip. Now or never. But, you know, before we kind of roll into that, I got something really important to say. Are you ready? I want you to say it. Um, Hey, if you're hanging out and you're watching, uh, drop a like, please, uh, drop a like, uh, give us a follow. And, um, if you have any comments or questions, I got to tell you right now, Jake loves talking about the NHL draft. So, um, whatever you got, hit him, hit him with it. um Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I'm wrong. I love that. Tell him, yeah. Tell him he's incredibly wrong or incredibly right. Um, and, uh, I'm sure we'll, we'll pop it up on the screen. We'd love to answer it. So, um, thanks for hanging out with us. Um, Jake, talk to us about the draft. Give us the kind of 10,000 foot view here. Um, what's going on this weekend?
00:19:42
Speaker
So this weekend, yeah, it's the NHL draft. Friday night, June 28th is round one. Uh, and then it continues on Saturday, June 29th, rounds two through seven go on. So, uh, it's in Las Vegas. Savers are picking eight times or I should say projected to pick eight times right now. I'll rattle through the rounds that they have picks. Uh, they have their own draft picks in rounds one, two, three, and four. They have an additional fourth round pick, which they acquired from Philadelphia and the Eric Johnson trade. They have one fifth round pick, which they received from Florida in the kind of like poso trade, which was very nicely moved up from a seventh rounder to a fifth rounder since Florida won the cup the other night. So yeah congrats congrats to the Panthers. If you're going to get that might as well make us a fifth. Yep. Yep.
00:20:32
Speaker
and Just real quick. I am so happy, so happy that I've also got a got a cup. It was it was great to see him lift it. And Reinhardt to monitor like the other ah other old friends, Evan Rodriguez, like I'm I'm not somebody that's that's bitter when ah a former player wins wins the cup. um I'm happy for even about that. ah How about that ah Las Vegas night? Who won even him? One hundred percent. Yes. Really? Yeah. Yeah. I'm not a bitter man, Tom. That's true. That's true. You don't hold things against anybody. what's up No, I was I was happy for Michael, too. Absolutely. he He deserved it. He I thought he should have won the consulate that year over March or so. But anyways, I'm going on a tangent, going on a tangent. Anyways, that fifth round pick that we own is from the Akbozo trade. Buffalo traded their fifth round pick this year as part of the Greenway deal. So that's why they don't have their own fifth round pick. And then finally, they have their own picks in rounds six
Debate: Should Sabres Trade No. 11 Pick?
00:21:30
Speaker
and seven. So cool.
00:21:32
Speaker
What position? That's eight. Yeah. What position are we picking around once? I think that's the most significant of like which actual pick it is. Yeah, for sure. It's so pick 11. That's where they ended up. And it's just based on there's a draft lottery. Top three teams get ah chosen for the top three picks and everybody else slots in in reverse order from there. Reverse like standings. Reverse standings order. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. OK, cool. So pick number 11. Yep. um Now might not, well, you, you led me into it. Now might be a good time to say why I hope that they do not make that pick. Yeah. Um, yeah. Draw me a picture. Why, why is that maybe not something you think they should do? Well, um it's kind of what we said already. They now's the time you got it. You got to go. It's time to make some moves to make the team, make the playoffs this year. Uh, the number 11 overall pick is more often than not.
00:22:32
Speaker
not going to be a pick that makes your roster in year one. And if they do, they're not going to, they're not going to be a huge difference maker for you. So if you're Kevin Adams, it's time to trade that, that pick and get somebody that will impact your roster this year. So just for, just for some context, I pulled the number 11 pick from the past 10 drafts or so. I'll just rattle through some names. You, you stop me if you've heard of any of them, oh i twenty three Tom. Tom Willender, 2022 Conner Kiki. 2021, Cole Cylinder. 2020, Yaroslav Askorov. 2019, Victor Soderstrom. 2018, Oliver Wolstrom. 2017, Gabriel Vellardi. 2016, Logan Brown. 2015, Lawson Krauss. Anything, Tom? 2014, Kevin Fiala.
00:23:23
Speaker
You're asking, you're asking the wrong, let's go by five friend here. I know. I know. I'm sure Nigel would have stopped me at some point there, but point point being like, like there's some, there's some decent names in there. Kevin Fiala drafted 10 years ago is, is a good player. Um, gave the Lord. He's a decent player. You know, Yara Slavaskarov is projecting to be a great goalie in the NHL. Connor geekies looking like he's a solid player too. Like there's, there's some good names in there. Um, But point being, none of them are super impactful players. some of Some of them are, but they've been in the league for six, seven years. Right. They're not year one where make it's going to push us over the edge, get to the playoffs. so Many of them are still prospects. Many of them are still figuring out the NHL. It's not going to help you this year. And on top of that, you have a ton of forward prospects in your pool that are waiting, ah you know, kind of.
00:24:19
Speaker
banging on the door to make the NHL roster. So what what is the point of adding another one to that mix? I could see the argument, if if you're gonna make a big splashy trade and trade away a couple of forward prospects and not include the number 11 pick in that deal, I could see the argument of keeping the pick and making the pick. um And i say i say I say forward because I think typically they make the NHL quicker than the defensemen. or at least make ah make an impact in the NHL quicker than defenseman. So sure that's why that's why I specified for it. I just want to clarify that. Yeah, yeah no i no, I was going to have that question. So thank you. Yeah, that makes sense. And I think it also makes sense that like, yeah, if if we are trading away several very nice prospects, like, OK, let's keep 11 and just replenish that prospect pool.
00:25:09
Speaker
right? that That's what it makes sense. I can see it. But again, I'd rather i'd rather package it up and package it package it with one of those forward prospects because they all can't make the team. There's only so many spots that you're going to have. We have a very young forward group. So yeah, that to me, package it, trade it, get somebody that you know is an NHL forward that can make an impact in October. Yeah. So is it likely that that trade might happen this week or is it going to be a Friday night in prime time kind of deal? Like that's when the, that's when the deal goes down. You know, it used to be everybody waited until they were sitting around the draft tables on Friday night, but in recent years it's been much sooner. GMs have started to kind of get a jump on things. Um,
00:25:59
Speaker
You know, I expect that by now everybody is, or mostly everybody is in Las Vegas already for the draft. So I think conversations are probably happening and I think GMs are not waiting as much anymore. So if there's a deal in place, it gets made. um that butev help What'd you say, sir? I said rubbing elbows helps. Exactly. We're sitting around, you know, having dinner, having a drink after dinner. And you know what? Let's do it. Yeah. Couple of pops and, you know, see what happens at the trade talk. Exactly. Yeah. But yeah, so I mean, I mean, dude, I want some headlines. So I'm hoping for sooner or sooner. So just just to know. But it could happen. It could happen as late as Friday night. Security. Yeah. Yeah. OK.
00:26:49
Speaker
Well, we'll see. We will see. Do you have any other questions about the draft that we want to hit? um Yeah. So just kind of another kind of pull out, zoom out a little bit. does We've seen a couple drafts from Kevin Adams, right? We've given seen a couple of seasons from Kevin Adams. does Does he have a type of player that he likes to target, like with certain attributes or characteristics? um you know like is there you know du does he like to play ping pong like like what is there certain things that these that he looks for in players that like really puts them over the edge or um is it kind of hard to fit does he like ping pong um hey hey could be important right hey you never know i would i i would say i mean there's so many
00:27:39
Speaker
There's a lot of players that get picked that don't ever pan out. I would say i would say that there's somewhat of a type though, yeah. So just just a brief reminder, the 2020 NHL draft was Kevin Adams' first, and for for a little bit of context so that everybody's on the same page. That was the Jack Quinn draft, the JJ Paterka draft. And so he's had that draft. Those are two pretty good first round picks. good Sorry, excuse me, first round, second round picks. Um more bringing up to speed 2021 first round pick was owen power. That was a slam dunk. That was easy Good. Um, he also selected isok rosine in that draft Moving along to 2022. That was the matt savoie draft So that was where we had first three first round picks matt savoie. Noah oslan iri kulik Uh, and so that brings us up to 2023 where he drafted zach benson
00:28:34
Speaker
So one thing that I kind of noticed from that in his first rounds, well, one, he doesn't like to trade away first overall picks. So we will see if that continues or changes. Could be a first for Kevin. Yeah, could be a big weekend for Kevin. Let's go, buddy. It could be.
Sabres' Roster Needs & Market Challenges
00:28:52
Speaker
It could be. Because because there was rumblings. ah over those years of, you know, will, will he trade the first, so first round pick to jumpstart this team a little bit? And he has not yet. yeah oh Oh, no. What's up fellas? Hello. Nigel Croston on the clock with pick 11. What are you doing? Oh, thank you so much. I'm going to pick a hockey player. That's probably what I'm going to do. Oh, you're not trading it away, huh? That's what we're just talking about. ni Oh, is that what we were just talking about?
00:29:23
Speaker
We are. So today yeah I'm going to queue up the question. Jake was in the middle of my life. Jake finished his answer, but you can think about it while he's finishing it. does We've seen a couple of seasons from Kevin Adams. We've seen some drafts. We've seen some free agencies. Does Kevin Adams have a type? Does he have a player he likes going after? Does he have a specific traits or attributes that he likes to look for? Jake was in the middle of his answer. So I was just going through and kind of, you know, reminding people of what drafts were what and who were some of the notable picks. So in my answer, I think, yes, I think Kevin Adams, first of all, I think Kevin Adams is a a great draft guy GM at the moment. I think that's attributable to the scouts and staff around him for sure. But anyways, the the classes that he's had, he's shown that he can draft well. um I would say as far as a type, I think he picks the best player available, which is okay exactly what I want. And I say that I think I think that's
00:30:16
Speaker
evident from the Zach Benson draft. I think there were a lot of teams that passed on him and are absolutely kicking themselves. Kevin Adams wasn't afraid to pick a guy that is small and under undersized. um So that that's good for me. i think I think in the first round, it seems that he typically wants a a very skilled, speedy forward um that's more of like ah a scorer or playmaking variety. And then as the draft goes on, he gets his more power forwards, more size, more bigger body defensemen, that kind of thing. So i guess I guess for me, yeah, in the first round, if I had to pick a type, a smaller, skilled, speedy forward. That's what he likes. Yeah. Okay. That makes sense.
00:31:01
Speaker
yeah Yeah, Jake hit it. that's if if they If you were going to put a type to Kevin Adams, it would be small, speedy, very highly skilled forwards. I mean, obviously, that's not every pick. you know you get I mean, he yeah he's drafted plenty of big defensemen that are in the system right now. Anton Wahlberg is a massive power forward that um looks like he could be an impactful player. He's a second round pick. Um, so it's not like he does that all the time, but I mean, you look at Jack Quinn, you look at Zach Benson, you look at Matt Savoy. These are all first round picks that are not, you know, like big, big players, um, by any stretch of the imagination. I think, I think Benson's what five eight Savoy, I think is five nine. Um, Quinn, I think is a little bit taller, but not by much. So yeah, that is, that is probably the type is a small, smaller speed years skilled forward. Nice. Yeah.
00:31:54
Speaker
This is the skill. Yeah, it's not so much that they are small, but they're they're very skilled. So that's why it goes for them. Or, yeah, yeah that's the the thing that makes them a a highly sought after player. Yeah, that makes sense. um Cool. So we're, I mean, kind of looking at, I know we've already already been over that, we're not going to solve all of the saber's problems in the draft. Free agency needs to be involved specifically with this nice pot of money. What do you see as those biggest needs? I know we talked about that a little bit earlier, and I know you guys have done multiple podcasts, but just like summarize it one more time.
00:32:27
Speaker
like Where where should we should Kevin Adams be focusing his energy and his ah salary cap money? Nigel, I gave an answer earlier. I'm curious your thoughts. Go ahead. um If I was going to rank things in terms of a need, um I think first thing is a top six winger. I think that's first and foremost. Second thing would probably be a top four D-man. ah Third thing would be a third line center. And then a fourth thing would probably be, I guess this is kind of an umbrella term, but just retooling the bottom six overall.
00:33:00
Speaker
You know, it's almost as if you guys talked for several weeks about this and they're on the same page. Did we, did you, would did you put them in the same order and everything? Almost exactly. Almost exactly. and other terms, but basically the same. Yes. Yeah. I think i think that's pretty objective. I mean, i'm not sure I'm not sure that Jake and I are unique in that train of thought by any stretch of the imagination. I think that's pretty universally what people consider the needs for the savers. yeah The order might differ depending on who you're talking to, but
00:33:32
Speaker
You know with with the style that this team wants to play which is a North and South fast game of hockey. I think that top six forward is probably your absolute top name You you saw at the end of last season that if by chance you can't get a top four demon Yokee, are you ended strongly? um So maybe you know, there's a world where they're thinking. Okay, we we know we couldn't get a beer see so we're just gonna roll with Yokee and um But I think that's definitely second, but you think you could live without it that third-line center Is it good if it's Tyson Jost absolutely not? um But is it the ultimate reason you're not making the playoffs probably not that either um And then yeah the bottom six just needs to be overhauled so the Tyson Jost isn't in the bottom six But yeah, <unk>d I'd say that's what it is
00:34:26
Speaker
If you can't, you don't need to fill them all, but if you can't fill one, it's hopefully because you overfilled another slot maybe. Yeah. I'm expecting, and and we didn't talk about the expectations now that it seems pretty imminent. We haven't seen it from the team yet, at least I haven't, um but seems pretty imminent with the Skinner buyout. Jake, did you guys talk at all about what your expectations are with that money? We did. Yeah, we just kind of said that we hope it gets paid ah to somewhere. We talked about how we want them to not necessarily stretch the dollar value long-term because they have a lot of guys to pay next offseason. But for right now, if you can if you can sign a top forward or top four defenseman for a one-year contract, that makes sense. Do it. Do it. You got a lot of room this year.
00:35:17
Speaker
You got a lot of room and you can, you can clear cap next room if you need to. I want them to be spending every dollar of that seven and a half million that they're freeing up from Skinner. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, we need to see them like act, like make whatever moves you need to make big, bold statement moves to get to the postseason. And then if that means next year's cap situations, a little funky, like I think you just deal with it. Right. is And you can, and the cap, the cap's going up. You can absolutely deal with it. You can always make cap space. But, but to be at this spot again, we're just a few points out of playoff position. Like, is that another success? I don't think so. Right. I think it, I think at this point it's like just break, break in, even if even it's a first round exit, you know, I'm sure that will be a whole other level of drama and level of heartbreak, but at least it's not a, a couple of points out. The Sabres fell flat again. Right. I don't, I don't care if the top eight teams in in the East have
00:36:11
Speaker
115 plus points or 75 plus points if you don't have an ex next to your name at the end of the season Everybody's getting fired. The team's a failure move the game burn it down. Yeah, that's and that's and that's unfortunately what it'll be if and and here's the tough thing too because This sabers roster is gonna is gonna look so different this coming season at least that's what we think it should look much much much much different and there is something to be said for It taking a full season for a completely new team to kind of gel. It's unfortunate that Kevin Adams doesn't have that leash anymore. and Kevin Adams is a now, and I think it's because he sat on his hands. Yeah, right. He's now in the situation where it's playoffs or fired.
00:37:00
Speaker
the least I think like I yeah this year was this like grace period so I feel pretty confident and maybe I'm wrong but I would have to assume no if we don't make the playoffs this year Because you' you're never going to have more cap space than this. If you can't put it together with this much money, then, you know, he might just not have the experience yet to to be with his team needs. I mean, he was a gamble. He is a first year GM. He's been a part of successful organizations, namely Carolina.
00:37:32
Speaker
um But, you know, he might just not have the experience to know what to do with that money. Hopefully, he's leaning on Jason Carmano's and, you know, the people around him that have more experience, because there are people there, but... And Lindy Ruff, too, to to say what what he feels he needs for him. Absolutely. You know, like, Lindy Ruff doesn't have to be GM experienced to know what type of player he needs to to succeed. to fit his scheme and to fit what he wants in this team. Yeah, I think that's going to be a big help for Kevin Adams, like having Lindy off and in those war rooms so as they're prepping for the draft this week. Like I'm sure I'm sure they have a plan there. What, um what's going to count as a successful draft? And then there's kind of a sidebar to that question. We'll get to there eventually. But then I know that leads into free agency. So what counts as a successful draft this weekend? And then where does that kind of what questions do you want to then be answered in free agency?
00:38:29
Speaker
Well, I guess for for me, free agency is completely dependent on what happens at the draft, right? Do we make the pick? Do we trade the pick? Do we pick a forward? Do we pick a defenseman? Do we trade for a forward? Do we trade for a defenseman? There's so many things that could happen. So whatever happens at the draft is very much, for me, going to dictate what I want to see in free agency. So that's kind of tough. Oh, god. i have What I want to see happen, and so I'll just touch on what I want to see happen, at least for the draft. What I want to see happen is us trade the pick. I want to see us trade the pick or an impactful player that's ready to make a significant contribution to the Sabres now. Predictably, I think that Kevin Adams is going to pick a defenseman.
00:39:19
Speaker
that is That is where I'm landing in terms of my prediction. I've been thinking about it a ton. The forward pipeline is way deeper than than the defensive pipeline. Kevin Adams loves his picks. I just feel like he's going to make the pick. I don't think he's going to trade it because I feel like his asking price is probably going to be pretty crazy. That'll make next week's recap out pod real fun. Wouldn't it? Real interesting. Yeah. Um, so yeah, it's, it's tough, but i'd like, so two different avenues there for, for what I think and what I hope happens with the draft, but free agency is totally dependent on the draft for me. It's a tough one. My my answer is the same. Yeah. I instinctively think that we might be making the number 11 pick.
00:40:07
Speaker
I want them to trade it if it can improve the team. But as far I don't think making the pick makes the draft a failure by any means. I think what makes the draft successful or not successful to me is on Sunday, after the draft has as the dust has settled, can you can can we in this podcast say that this NHL roster is certainly better than it was today? If that is true and and they have significantly improve their and NHL roster after the draft, I will be happy no matter what picks are made. um And like like we talked about earlier, Tom, that's not going to happen by making graphics. It's through acquiring other players.
00:40:52
Speaker
yeah I don't care what leaves the door, but there better be some some good NHL talent coming into this the roster this weekend because it can't all happen through free agency. Free agency is kind of a crapshoot to begin with. so Trades are in your control. You need two teams to do it. but What trades you make are in your control. who Who are you calling? What do you call it with that kind of thing? So, right. The other thing to remember right now too, especially with free agency is at this point in time, the savers are not the bills. It is not a desirable market. The income tax is through the roof. It's cold and shitty 10 months of the year. And oh yeah, your team fucking sucks. So. so
00:41:32
Speaker
You we have to we have to temp I always remember the the savers have to temper expectations and for agency because we are franchise that Has to overpay guys to to get them to come here, especially now when the team is still shitty that might change once once there's some there's some wins that are linked together for consecutive seasons and we make the playoffs a couple years in a row, you know, it'll probably be just like the bills where that will change and people will overlook the income tax and all that shit and But until that happens, you know, if Marty Neches is going to make six and a half on the open market, he's going to, he's going to get paid eight and a half to come to Buffalo. But, but he's an RFA. So if we can acquire his rights, for example, you get my point though.
Anticipation for Trades & Free Agency
00:42:20
Speaker
I do. I do. I did see, I saw that the just a passing headline that players might be more
00:42:26
Speaker
It was a report of players, but that players would be more likely to waive no trade clauses to play for Lindy Roth than they have in the past for other coaches. True. Yeah. So I think his name and and stature helps pedigree. Yeah. Pedigree helps you know grease the wheels for trades with players with no movement clauses and free agents who might be scared of the the New York taxes and the New York winters. So it's a great point, Jake. Yeah, hopefully. Well, Pals, is there any other wrap up thoughts you want going into this weekend for the draft? Not from me, but not joined late. Hit us with his with the summary. What what are you hoping for? I, oh, man, it's it's so hard to know. I really am hoping I am hoping for a splash trade. That's truly what I'm hoping for. Yeah. But the draft seems to be one of the best times to do it. GM's just they're they're they just drank a little bit more coffee it feels like right before the draft like there's just a little bit of chaos and i think sometimes you know if you can catch a GM at the right moment they're more likely to just say fuck it let's do it so i i would love i would love us to see or excuse me i would love to see us move that 11 pick or one and or one of these prospects and or a yoki are you
00:43:45
Speaker
for a legit impactful, either highly competent top six player or a skilled absolute prick to play against in the bottom six. That is my hope for this for this weekend. Yeah. Sweet. Yeah. Yeah. It's going to be exciting, right? we'll see Hopefully it's going to be an exciting recap pod next week. And that would be fun and would be fun to talk about to then launch us into free agency, which starts to lie first. So, um, right. I think, I think that it could be fun to have some energy kind of infused into this, uh, the saber's fandom right now. I think. you Yeah, for sure. Cool boys. Anything else that we get out of here?
00:44:24
Speaker
take us home. Tell me. All right, folks, thank you so much for hanging out. Um, we're here all off season, both Sabers and builds are in off season mode right now. This is the time we get to prep, right? So if that you guys know anybody or yourselves are wanting to get more into Buffalo sports, please share our podcast. We're going to be hanging out all off season and kind of breaking things down, getting prepped. This is the time to learn. So if you're interested, um or you know somebody who's interested, please share our podcast. It really does go a long way. Please give us a like, a follow, a review wherever you can, a five stars, a golden banana, whatever it is like that we can use to ah to pump us up and get us out and from and into
Conclusion & Listener Engagement
00:45:00
Speaker
more ears. That'd be awesome. So um these are my buds, Jake and Nigel. My name is Tom, and you're listening to the Let's Go Buffalo podcast. We're sending you love wherever you are. We'll fill those papers.
00:45:28
Speaker
you