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Ep. 31 - Buffalo on the Block: NHL Trade Deadline Special
36 Plays1 year ago
Join us on Episode 31 as we dive into the intense world of NHL trade deadline speculation! With the deadline looming, we break down the potential moves the Buffalo Sabres might make. From trade rumors to player analysis, we've got you covered on all things Sabres hockey. Don't miss out on the excitement – tune in now!
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Transcript
Introduction to Let's Go Buffalo Podcast
00:00:09
Speaker
You're listening to the Let's Go Buffalo Podcast, your new favorite podcast for everything bills and sabers.
00:00:22
Speaker
What's going on everybody? You're listening to the Let's Go Buffalo podcast, your favorite podcast for all things bills and savers with the pals, Nigel, Tom, and Jake episode 31 coming at you.
Social Media and Listener Engagement
00:00:39
Speaker
Remember to follow our social medias. You can find us on Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube at the handle. Let's go Buff Pod. That's Buff with two Fs. Let's say hello to the fellas. Tom, how are we doing, buddy? What's up, boys? I'm good. I'm fantastic.
00:01:00
Speaker
I had to find my new button, but I'm good. I noticed there was a little pause there. I was like, either, either, either. I didn't unmute myself before I started and nobody knows that I'm talking to something. Oh, man. We're good at this, guys. No, dude, I'm good. Good. It's a rainy kind of quiet evening here and I'm excited.
00:01:20
Speaker
That's that's why I'll do because it hits 71 today here in Rochester. I know I had family sending pics and I like guys It's 41 in rainy here. It was nice here today, bro How we doing Good I'm kind of in the middle of those two and it's like a rainy kind of chilly day here too, but it's a good day to Sit inside and talk about the same or some
00:01:46
Speaker
This is how we know that we're old because we're starting off a podcast where we drink beer and talk about sports, talking about the weather. It's good content. As if I didn't need more proof that I'm getting way too old.
00:02:02
Speaker
That was, that was a pretty good way to solidify it. That's what people come, come here for. That's what weather up real quick. Since we're talking about the weather, how sick would it be to make six figures at your job to just be wrong all the goddamn time?
00:02:20
Speaker
Wouldn't that be incredible, dude? That sounds pretty good. I gotta say, I'm wrong a lot of the time, so... I still get that. I get so pissy about that, dude. Especially working with my pops in the summer, right? Always checking the weather because I work outside. And every day I'm like, okay, this wasn't supposed to be here today at all. This was supposed to be three days from now. And yet here I am dealing with it anyway. That's my soapbox. I can't stand the weather, man.
00:02:46
Speaker
And women, they're all bad. They're all bad. What a take. All right, fellas, what do you say? Should we have a beverage or should you two have a beverage since I'm an idiot and forgot to get beer once again?
Weather Talk and Humorous Aging
00:03:04
Speaker
I have a delicious arm up here. I'm ready. I'm ready. Here we go. Ready? Three, two, one. Nice fellas. Jake. I got a fun can. Yeah. Can I go first? Yeah. Let's see your can, dude. What do you got? Check out my can. My can's got a nice, a nice buck on it. Nice. Hey, thank you. Thank you. Not enough people give me credit for my cans.
00:03:32
Speaker
But this is a Hudson Valley brewery, cut leaf wheat pilsner. And I'll tell you why there's a can of stag on the front. It's brewed with foraged staghorn sumac. Oh, I'm sorry. Can you say that again? It's a wheat pilsner that was brewed with foraged staghorn sumac.
00:03:54
Speaker
I don't know what that is, but it's on the can. It might not even be a real thing, but it sounds like something that belongs in the Lord of the Rings book I'm listening to right now. It really does. That's why there's a nice shiny button on the front. I'm not positive that's something that should be in a beer, but if you're drinking it, dude, I'm going to assume it's good. Well, if I make it to the end, then we know it's good. If not, then.
00:04:17
Speaker
I can take that reason. Tom, I see Lee in the back there. My dog just took a whole dive bomb off the end of the bed. I saw that. Too happy playing back there with her toy. I saw that. We were half as happy as Lee all the time. Oh, my God. Living the life, boys. Shmitty, what are you drinking up there?
00:04:35
Speaker
I took a page out of your book. I got a little, uh, three heads of beer. Um, it's loopy, uh, an oatmeal red ale. It's delicious. My brothers were up this past weekend and my older brother Ben left me. Uh, we, we, we did some damage on the case, but he left me some. So, uh, uh, cheers Ben. Thank you. And, um, it's tasty.
00:04:54
Speaker
I was going to say that had that had to come from the brothers there. Oh, absolutely. That beverage. Oh, absolutely. That's awesome. You had a good time hanging with your boys. Oh, yeah. That was awesome. Yeah. We we've been trying to be better about getting together because we're all you know, we're getting our things. Life's getting busier and it's it's cool to do. And I think it's important to get together with family and you know, especially because I live further away from from both of them and it's been fun. So we've been
00:05:19
Speaker
pretty good about trying to do it a couple of times a year. So it's been great. Good stuff, dude. Let me see. We get into some, uh, some sports talk here. Yeah.
00:05:28
Speaker
News of the day. Yeah, the the first piece
Buffalo Bills Trade Discussion
00:05:31
Speaker
of information. So today is going to be primarily to do with the Sabres trade trade deadline or the NHL trade deadline that's coming up this coming Friday, March 6th. But we did have a pretty substantial piece of news come out of the Buffalo Bills world yesterday. And that would be that our good buddy Rick Ryan Bates is now going to be a Chicago Bear. We got a fifth round pick back for him. So, Tom, you want to talk about that trade a little bit, bro?
00:05:57
Speaker
I would love to, yeah. Do, do, do, do, do. Ryan Bates has been traded to the Chicago Bears for a fifth round pick. Brandon Bean moved them yesterday. It's Tuesday, March 5th, so he moved them on Monday, March 4th for a fifth round pick. And honestly, with pretty decent compensation, there's been some ups and downs reaction across social media, if anybody is out there in the Twitter sphere. Some people are happy. Some people are upset.
00:06:23
Speaker
I think it's a great opportunity to get some kind of compensation for a good player. Ryan Bates is a very versatile player.
00:06:33
Speaker
could be the first person off the bench on any, anywhere across the line. Tackle, guard, center, guard, tackle again. He could. He has the ability to do that and has in the past. However, this year, I mean, it was interesting to see that he honestly wasn't the first off the bench. Ryan Vandemarck was in at left tackle when Deion Dawkins went down, right? And then David Edwards was in when we needed a little bit of guard.
00:06:55
Speaker
just somebody to fill in at guard like Bates wasn't the guy and I don't know maybe because that was he was more slotted in to go for center right behind Mitch Morris but he wasn't so for a very good player who was being paid quite a bit four to five million dollars a season who'd only played like 35 snaps last year to go and get a fifth round pick I think is a big deal.
00:07:17
Speaker
Just to kind of put in perspective, other players that have been traded for a fifth round pick include Amari Cooper, who was a phenomenal wide receiver for the Browns this year. Stefan Gilmore, a veteran cornerback, all been traded for the same compensation. So to get that for a depth piece on the O-line, I think is a big deal. I think it also has some indicators for two other players, well, two other indicators for this team, meaning that
00:07:45
Speaker
Center depth has now kind of grown on the list, right? Center depth has now become a priority and we'll probably update our little list here that we've been working on so hard. And I also think it says something about what Brandon being in the rest of the Buffalo front office feel about like Alec Anderson and these younger players coming up because they feel like they can kind of move up into that role that Ryan Bates left. So, Nij, what are your thoughts on this trade, bud?
00:08:12
Speaker
Yeah, so I can't say I'm surprised, because first and foremost, what does this team have to do this offseason? They have to free up cap space, right? And the cap going up to 255 million or whatever it was is a big help. But we still have a lot of work to do, as this team is coming in at a little over $50 million over the cap.
00:08:33
Speaker
right now with that big jump that we just found out we have, I think that knocks off like 13 million or so. But we still have a lot of work to do. And this is the first domino to fall. I think it makes sense that he went to Chicago because this this past season, I believe it was, they actually are two years ago, they actually made him an offer sheet to Chicago did that we as the bills had to match in order to keep him.
00:08:58
Speaker
which we did. But they made him an offer sheet for pretty much what we signed him to with this most recent deal. So Chicago very much had this guy on their radar. I think he's a starting caliber interior offensive lineman. I think that's how Chicago views him. Chicago is a team that has major offensive line troubles. I imagine they want to bring this guy in and have him right away slot in as their starting center or one of their starting guards. So I think for Chicago,
00:09:27
Speaker
It's a pretty good move. You get what I think is going to be a starting caliber offensive lineman for them for a fifth round pick. And like you said, Tom, there's been other players that have gone for that capital that I think are of a higher profile than Ryan Bates. So I think it makes sense for everybody.
00:09:47
Speaker
We had to free up the cap space and it's great to get something. Brandon Beanie has a pretty solid track record of doing really good things with a fifth round pick. So I don't hate it. I think it's just, I mean, I'm bummed because you're right that having a guy like that who's insanely versatile is super helpful, but this is the way of the world and I think it makes sense for both teams.
00:10:08
Speaker
I think this is also an indicator that Brandon Bean and the front office wanted to kind of do and wanted to like, he's gonna have opportunity to start. He wasn't gonna start here at Buffalo. So now he's going to, and I think that's important. Now, just to keep waiting for those keeping track at home, Brandon Bean is sitting on 11 picks in this draft, which is a lot. So I'm excited to see, because you know he is licking his lips to go do something with those.
00:10:37
Speaker
Let's see what happens. I got a quick question and then I want to get into the saber stuff, Tom. I'm just going to pose a real quick one to you. Sure. We have 11 draft picks. Assuming nothing else changes with the number of picks that we have, how many of those 11 do you think Brandon Bean actually makes? I'm going to say eight.
00:10:58
Speaker
I bet he's trading for somebody here in free agency. I bet he's not in free agency, he's just trading for somebody. Or he's moving up in the draft. I think this is absolutely some cannon fodder for him to make some moves. So yeah, I think seven or eight, especially because we have such a talented roster that these rookies have a trouble staying on our roster and staying in our practice squad. So I don't think we should. I think we should use these.
00:11:25
Speaker
bundle them together and ship them off to somebody else and move up and go get the players we want. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's just an interesting question. I don't know where I stand on that, but that's a conversation for another day, probably. Totally. Yeah. Alrighty. Well, first of all, I need to correct myself real quick because I just a couple of minutes ago said the trade deadline was Friday, March 6th, which is not true.
00:11:46
Speaker
The trade deadline is Friday, March 8th, as I look here at my calendar. So apologies for that time traveler. I'm just like the meteorologist. I always know. Now, before we happen to the sabers things, those of us, anybody out there watching, please leave us a like on YouTube, please. And if you have any questions, drop them in the chat. If there are, we'll address them as we're talking here. So feel free to participate.
00:12:09
Speaker
Yeah, totally. All right, so Jake and I are going to kind of lead the charge
NHL Trade Deadline: Sabres' Players
00:12:13
Speaker
here with a lot of the Sabre stuff. And Tom, at any point, please do hesitate to chime in, whether it be comments or questions. But the way things are going to work here with Jake and I is we're going to start by talking about some of the players on the Sabre's current roster that we think have the highest likelihood of, or the biggest chance, and none of it's crazy likely, but the biggest chance of being moved at the deadline or before.
00:12:37
Speaker
the deadline. We got six names that we're going to touch on very briefly. Three of those are pretty, I think, more likely but less exciting.
00:12:46
Speaker
And then there's another three that would, they're worth talking about a little bit more, only because of what they would command in the sense of what we would get in return, if that makes sense. Once we go through those six players that we think there's a decent shot that they're going to be gone, or a decent chance they could be gone, Jake and I each have a couple hypothetical
00:13:09
Speaker
Not completely crazy trades that we could like to see happen But some things that you know are a little bit more towards the end of unlikely, but we think would be good for the team So a little crazy just just a touch of crazy Just a just a dash of crazy do you but nothing like completely impossible? outrageous So what do you say Jake should we get into some of these guys that we think there's a decent shot that could be moved and
00:13:36
Speaker
Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it. Because there's definitely some that I think are likely to be moved, and I hope get moved. Yeah. And these guys, let's start with these top three on our list here. And I think these are all guys that are on one-year deals currently, and there will be UFAs at the end of this year. Kergan says I'm not positive about, but EJ and Kyle, I'm pretty sure are both on one-year deals. Is that correct?
00:14:00
Speaker
Gergensen's and Akbozo? No. I think Kyle and Eric Johnson are both on one-year deals. I think no. I think Akbozo's, yeah, you're right. No, you're totally right. I'm sorry. Yeah. No, it's OK. They all might be. Yeah. So kind of give it away there. The first three names we're going to talk about here, guys we think they could be gone. Eric Johnson, Kyle Akbozo, and Zengis Gergensen's. I think those are three guys that have the biggest chance on this team.
00:14:30
Speaker
Being moved and then real quick I'll touch on why I think for those three guys Jake and then if you want to add or or Challenge me on any of that by all means go for it But I think the biggest thing with those three guys is veteran leadership, right? I think if those three guys are gonna get moved They're probably gonna go to a contender Eric Johnson in particular Probably gonna go to a contender because he's got Stanley Cup champion experience, right? So they will probably Okay
00:15:01
Speaker
They will probably go to teams that are competitors that are just looking to shore up a little bit of their depth and bring in some veteran leadership. Honestly, that's the biggest case I have for those three guys. None of them have major point situations that they've put up this year or anything like that. Jake, do you have thoughts you want to toss in there?
00:15:20
Speaker
I agree with you. I think all three, the main thing that you're buying when you're buying those three players is the leadership that they have and the voice they could have in the room. And particularly with Eric Johnson, it's recent playoff experience and recent playoff winning experience. I don't think any three of those guys moves the needle for a contender as far as
00:15:42
Speaker
New York the Rangers got him now. They're unstoppable, right? but it's it's about the voice that they have and The name of the game when you're buying players at the trade deadline is to get death The playoffs are a war of attrition and you need you need bodies and all three of those guys give you really solid Responsible play that I think you need when the playoffs begin. So I The only other thing I'd say like it I think I expected
00:16:11
Speaker
Buffalo to push for a playoff spot and with the hope to get Kyle Acposo in the playoffs since he's done so much for this team over the past six years or so that he's been here. Bringing the team kind of out of the darkness that they were in where
00:16:29
Speaker
he's been a leader of the young core and so i was really hoping to show him some success while he's been here and i think he deserves every opportunity to go chase a cop so i hope they find him a spot to do that yeah he absolutely does i agree with that wholeheartedly i would and i would i would say i would speak similarly about eric johnson except he just got his cup a couple years ago so i feel better about him honestly the same could be said for ghergensons too like
00:16:55
Speaker
This poor guy has done nothing but lose his entire career. He's only ever been a saber. He's only ever lost. I would love to get this guy out of here and get him into the playoffs. Just just so you can say you went at least once. Right. I just feel bad for some of these guys. I do, too. He's got more runway. I think he's he's a younger player. He's got more. He's got more years of his career left in front of him. I suppose. So you
00:17:22
Speaker
He could be done after this year. He could be. I mean, he hasn't, he hasn't said it. I don't think there's been any rumors that he's done, but it, it kind of feels like he's kind of getting to the end where he's saying, I'm going to hang him up soon with the injuries that he's had. And I know he's a big family guy and I think he's probably.
00:17:39
Speaker
if he's not done after this season he's got maybe one one-year left kind of thing so i hope he goes out there and lands with a contender and can can make a push for for a rig totally um in terms of what we can expect to get back for if we trade those guys it's not going to be much i think all three of them probably i at the best case scenario
00:18:03
Speaker
a fifth round pick for one of those guys i mean they're we're gonna net they're gonna net very little fifth round was the number i had my head to anything more than that is as a steal yeah and and fifth might even be generous dude it's probably more like a sixth or a seventh god forbid they use the phrase future considerations um but yeah i think i think a fifth would be good probably more likely a sixth or a seventh for any three of those guys
00:18:31
Speaker
I agree.
Casey Mittelstadt: Should He Be Traded?
00:18:32
Speaker
I mean, you could retain salary on them to, to sweeten the deal a little bit, but also, I mean, so Ocposo and Gorgensen's up front. I think they're each signed at two and a half million with cap constrictions. I think a lot of teams are tied up to the cap, especially contenders. So it might be tough to fit that in, but if you say you retain 50% of that, you knock it down to 1.25 million. I think that's pretty workable for a lot of teams.
00:18:59
Speaker
So yeah, but, but even with that said, I think, I think I would be floored if it was a fourth round pick or above for any of those guys. That would be crazy lottery pick. Yeah. Tommy, what do you got buddy? Hey, so is there cap considerations for next year in the NFL? There's a little bit of benefits. If you don't use all of your cap for one year, things can roll over to the next. Is that the same in the NHL? I actually don't know the answer to that Jake. Do you?
00:19:26
Speaker
So no, if you don't use all of your cap, it is gone. It doesn't matter the only thing that
00:19:34
Speaker
off the top of my head that carries over year over year. If you are a rookie on an entry level contract, or if you're an older veteran who signed a contract that's 35 plus, your age is 35 plus, you can have performance bonuses baked into the contract. So if you are a 35 plus year old player and you have a clause in your contract that says, if you score 20 goals in the league this year, you'll get a million dollar bonus.
00:20:04
Speaker
The following year, that bonus gets added into the player's cap hit. Things like that. So you can have cap overages in the following season based on performance bonus hits in the prior season. But as far as like the empty cap space that isn't being used, it doesn't have any impact on the leaf next year. Cool. I just didn't know if that was a consideration that Sabres were thinking of. Like, can we set ourselves up in a better position for the future? Ain't nobody hitting any performance goals on the Sabres.
00:20:33
Speaker
I'd also like to propose that we have a new segment on the pod which is called Jake Explains, and I think it's gonna be gold. I like it. I like it. I don't think I explained that well. Tom, it's just like we do with you, buddy. When you speak five sentences without stumbling, you get an extra beer. I get an extra point, yeah.
00:20:51
Speaker
But that carries over to future podcasts. Yes. My little pass dispenser of beer cans over here at this. Yeah. I released a new one. I have a little button they press. Cool. But Tom, Tom, I do think you hit on a good point though, because while there isn't that specific cap consideration to factor in, there are, you do have to think long-term. I think the NHL is a wider scope than the NFL. In the NFL, you're thinking two, three, four years of advanced maybe, right?
00:21:20
Speaker
or so with your cap. I think in the NHL you're signing players to seven and eight year deals a lot more frequently. The Sabres have done that. So while they might have X dollars right now for the team in 2023, 2024, that cap space goes quickly when you start extending the young players that they have coming up. So you need to manage it as you go. Not everybody can get paid, right? So I think later on in the podcast when we
00:21:48
Speaker
When we talk about Casey Middelstadt, I think that's a conversation that we had of how much room do we actually have in two or three years? Not so much. How much room do we have right now? That makes sense. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. Cool.
00:22:03
Speaker
Sweet. All right, so we touched on those three guys that we think are probably not going to net a major return. But they're guys that we could absolutely see being gone. A couple more guys on that list that we want to touch on real quick. And these are guys that would net a little bit more of a legitimate return, so to speak, or a more exciting return.
00:22:29
Speaker
And those three players are. Let's go. Let's go one by one. Let's go one by one. OK. Yeah. I think because I think all of them have a little bit more of a case to be made of. Should we move them? Totally. Where where could we move them to? And how much would we want to move them for? So Casey Middleton is a good one to start with, no?
00:22:56
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Do you want to go first? Do you want me to go first? Uh, I want to hear your thoughts on, on mail stat. You, you, you'd them up. Okay. So yeah, this is, and this is a super tricky one for me, dude, because for me and my money and my eye test, right. And I say, I test because not everything comes down to numbers, right? Not everything is all stats all the time. Right. It is there, there's, there's,
00:23:21
Speaker
an eye test component to all of this. And this year, out of everybody on the team, Casey Middlestead has been absolutely crushing the eye test for me. I've talked a bunch about how he's been so difficult to take the puck from. He's always had great vision. He's doing great in the corners, along the walls. He's battling. The level of compete I'm seeing out of him this year is just more than it ever has been. So he's been awesome in that regard.
00:23:52
Speaker
When it comes to trades, right, you, you get back what you put out there. Right. So you can't, you can't dangle out garbage and expect to get a top tier player. Right. So for a situation like Casey middle stat, if you're going to dangle this guy out there as trade bait, the return has got to be pretty legitimate. Do I want to see this happen?
00:24:15
Speaker
I say yes only because of what I think the return could be and what a log jam we have between current players and upcoming prospects at the center position, which is where I think Casey needs to be. So for me, as much as it bums me out because he's been so good and it feels like the last year and a half has been Casey Middleset's breakout point, right? And he's done it with us. He's developed with Buffalo.
00:24:42
Speaker
Now, if you're going to move him, now's the time to do it because you don't know if he's going to regress and his trade is his, his capital's never been higher. So I think based on what you could get and the log jam that you have in the center position, I think Casey middle stat is a good trade candidate right now, as much as it bums me out to say. Yeah, I agree with you. I, I'm also in the camp of hesitantly.
00:25:07
Speaker
wouldn't mind seeing him traded. What I don't want to see happen is for him traded for futures. I think if we're going to trade him, I would much rather package him with other picks and prospects to land a even better impact player. I think it's a complete waste if you go through the last five
00:25:30
Speaker
Buffalo and then you trade him for a first round pick a second round pick whatever whatever the pick compensation would be I think if you're gonna trade him you package him and you get a Yeah a stud player honestly So I yeah, I agree with you I think he's he has had a breakout year he's been a
00:25:53
Speaker
excellent the last year and this year. He's looked better in the eye test. His numbers have been better. A combination of those two is how you evaluate a player. But I think he's an excellent, excellent playmaker. He's the best player on the team, in my opinion, as far as setting up other players. I wish he had more of a killer instinct to take a shot when he gets into space.
00:26:19
Speaker
But I don't think you can discount this playmaking ability. So all that to say, though, I said it before, you can't pay everybody. And I think he's going to command a good chunk of the cap. I think he's probably in the $6 million range for a player. Is that kind of where you'd put him?
00:26:43
Speaker
Yeah, Casey middle said at this point. I think is is at minimum. He's gonna command six and a half. I I think yeah, so it but if it's if His camp is expecting more than that. I think I would walk away from that. I'd want to move on from that asset I think there's I think there's more opportunity to improve the roster in other areas with that six and a half plus million then your
00:27:11
Speaker
Ideally your third line center moving forward, right? Yeah. I agree completely. I wouldn't feel good about it. It'd be one of those trades where I'm like hurts to lose him, but hopefully what's coming back kind of exactly. That's exactly what it would be. It would be like, ah, this hurts. But hopefully you're, yeah, exactly. You're hopefully you're able to ease the blow based on what you got back. Yeah. Say, say he was interested in a bridge deal and Buffalo was too, like a two, three year deal for
00:27:40
Speaker
in the four to six million range. I think I would, I would, I would be all over that. It's, it's riskier. It's, it's, it's, yeah, it's, it's riskier. It's, it's less good for the long-term outlook of the team. Like you probably, there's a chance he regresses that you don't get as much, but I think I'd be interested in exploring that if, if that was a possibility. My only concern there is I think he's on a bridge deal right now, isn't he?
00:28:07
Speaker
I thought he signed that bridge deal already. Yeah. He is, but he's still an RFA. It doesn't preclude you from doing another bridge. I guess bridge is a different, just a semantics term. I guess I'm talking about if he's willing to do a shorter term deal. I guess the point I'm trying to get at is that I don't feel comfortable today signing him to a seven or eight year deal.
00:28:29
Speaker
I don't know if he continues the production that he has. I mean, he's fighting for a contract right now. Does that pressure go away? It would go away, but how does he respond to that pressure going away if he were to ink a seven year deal tomorrow? Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, I mean, yeah, yeah. I think no matter how you slice it, Casey Middleset isn't going to be on this team come the next contract.
00:28:57
Speaker
I think he's going to be too expensive. And when you look at what we have coming up, right? Still got Matt Savoy just chilling. Absolutely dominating juniors, right? You got Noah Osland, who is also crushing juniors right now. Like the center pipeline in Buffalo, when you remember the fact you also have
00:29:16
Speaker
Tage right and Dylan and Matt Savoy and I like all these guys that are upcoming Plus the guys you currently have I I just think Casey middles that with the money he's gonna command Which I think is gonna flirt with that seven million dollars. I think he's just gonna be the odd man out. I Agree. Yeah, this there's too much forward depth in the pipeline to shell out another
00:29:41
Speaker
seven-year, $7 million deal to somebody like Casey. Exactly. Money's got to go somewhere. You got to make cuts somewhere. So you've committed to Tage, you've committed to Cousins. I think he's the odd man now. And I've heard Elliot Friedman talking about like, you got to pay him or he's not going to be happy. And that's fine. But let's recoup some of those assets in a productive way. I don't mean that in a
00:30:05
Speaker
shell it out for future's way. Like I said, productive NHL player that we can get for Casey middle step plus a package, some picks, some prospects, whatever
Victor Olofsson's Trade Potential
00:30:15
Speaker
it is. I think that's an attractive package to send for a legitimate NHL player. Yeah. Yeah, totally, dude. Absolutely. Do you have any more thoughts you want to throw in there on Casey or should we move on to the next guy? I don't think so. I know a lot of teams have been scouting him.
00:30:31
Speaker
uh, aggressively. So it could, it could happen. I, I doubt it happens now. Uh, I think that's probably an off season before the, before the draft kind of trade, but we'll see where that goes. Interesting. Yeah. I don't know where that one's going to go either. Um, Victor Olafson, you want to go first on this one since I'm my first time Casey. Sure. Yeah.
00:30:57
Speaker
Trader Vic. So he's on an expiring deal as a UFA. So if Buffalo does nothing, he walks in the summer. He's a guy that's kind of an in and out of the lineup this year. And it has publicly, I think publicly, as publicly as you can, requested a trade. And I don't blame him. Like, the guy wants to get playing time, and he's not really getting it in Buffalo just because of the amount of talented forwards that we have.
00:31:27
Speaker
I think he does have some value for sure. And I think that's just purely because of his shot and his goal scoring prowess. Goals are at a premium at the NHL, right? If you can score, if you can put the puck at the net, you're going to be highly touted by a lot of teams.
00:31:44
Speaker
So I think he's got some value, but he hasn't really stuck in the Buffalo lineup. So I think he weighed those things. I don't think he would go for a huge return. I think people might be disappointed by the return that we get from him. I'm thinking somewhere in like the, if we got a third round pick from Victor Olson, I would be elated. I think it's more of the fourth, fifth round territory.
00:32:06
Speaker
But I could see a contending team want that. I mean, he's got a laser of a shot. He's decent with the power play. His 5 on 5 play leaves something to be desired, but it's not terrible. Again, it's depth. A contending team wants depth. So I think he's a candidate to be traded. The only thing that gives me pause is his cap hit is quite high.
00:32:29
Speaker
for a deadline pickup. He's making 4.75 million, which is tough for a lot of contending teams to fit. Like a team like the Oilers, for example, is a dollar in, dollar out transaction of a team. If you're sending them Victor Olson for 4.75, you need to take on 4.75 million because they're that close to the cap. So the cap gymnastics might be tricky for a trade with him, but I think he has a lot to offer to a team that's contending.
00:32:59
Speaker
and yes we'll see where that goes yeah what do you think anything different i can't i can't stress enough how badly i want this guy off the team for everyone's sake for the saber's sake for his sake dude and you're you said a dude scoring depth
00:33:14
Speaker
Victor Olufsen, if you stick him on your power play for 82 games, will score you a minimum of 20 goals almost on accident, dude. You're right, man. You stick him if you're facing the net. You stick him on that right side where he can laser that left-handed shot of his.
00:33:32
Speaker
He will score 20 goals a season just on your power play, but I don't think he offers you Any more than that like you said dude, here's five on play. You said it's not terrible I think Victor Olufsen's five-on-five play is legitimately terrible
00:33:48
Speaker
I think he's such a bitch, dude. But, you know, I mean, and you brought up the salary cap thing. Don't forget to playoffs. The salary cap all of a sudden is dead. So you could sign this guy right now. You could do what he's been doing all year with Buffalo. Maybe he doesn't like that in and out, you know, rotate the guys. But once once the playoffs start, you could have him dress for the entire playoffs for whatever run you want to go on. And he will put up points on the power play. That's all he's good for.
00:34:16
Speaker
Right. But you got to, you got to fit him in now though. You got to fit him into the cap now. Yeah, you do totally. But you can, I mean, you can help the scratch or not help the scratch. Sorry. You can put, you can take a guy and put him on long-term injury reserve and he comes off the cap. Like, you know, there's so many, the NHL has got so many things that need to work out with the salary cap rules. But I, I think this guy,
00:34:38
Speaker
For no other reason other than he will score you goals on the power play. And he is a UFA. I think of our quote unquote fun list of players here. I think he's the guy that's most likely to go. Um, just because he, he officially doesn't have a spot on this team anymore. And it comes back to a lot of things I've been saying this year, we have too many of the same player.
00:35:01
Speaker
Right. We've got a buck. I mean, you know, these small really skilled guys, right? Like we've got them and Victor Olufsen and the difference between Vic and Benson, for example, is Benson is ferocious or ferocious, excuse me, on the forecheck. Whereas Victor Olufsen is not right. That's why Benson stressed every game and Victor's not.
00:35:24
Speaker
You know, so I think for me, dude, yeah, I mean, and I think you're right about the return too. Now we didn't talk about the return for Casey. Um, I want to touch on that real quick. What could you see getting back? Can I, can I actually go first on that one place? Yeah, go for it.
00:35:41
Speaker
So if you're going to trade a guy like Casey, it to me is a cap move and be a we have too many of this player move. Right. And he's not so much in that basket because he at least, excuse me, I got, I got coffee air bubbles here. Um, he at least offers you more in the five on five.
00:36:02
Speaker
Yes, she does. If I'm if I'm trading Casey middle step, I want to get a bottom six player with some jam and some scoring ability.
00:36:16
Speaker
That's what I want there. I'm, and I'm okay with that because you're not going to be able to pay Casey middle stat, the money that he's going to walk. Okay. And it's more or less a cap move and to address a need that I think you desperately need in your bottom six is some jam that could also score you 35, 40 points in a season.
00:36:39
Speaker
is my thought. Yeah, I don't dislike it. I think that's the first thought that comes to mind is are you swapping out a player for what you're giving away basically. I know you're saying that you want to play a little bit more jam and can
00:36:57
Speaker
battle a little bit more, maybe the case emails that can, but are you kind of swapping out a player's point production for another player's point production? No. No. In this, in this situation, I'm not only because, and again, it comes back to what I said a little bit about stats versus the eye test.
00:37:14
Speaker
Right. I want a guy that and I've and I know this is where we disagree sometimes, but I'm still really desperate for a guy that other teams, like when they look at the schedule and they see they have to play the Sabres, I want that team to go, fuck, we got to deal with so and so. Right. Like he's just going to be a nightmare to play against all night. Yeah. And I will I will sacrifice 20 points in a season to end the lower contract to get that player and ship out Casey middle step.
00:37:47
Speaker
Yeah, if it was if it was in the offseason after last season where Buffalo finished in the top the third best offensive team in the league And you told me that was going to continue. I totally agree would agree with you I'm a hesitant though just because the offense has dried up a little bit I don't know if I'm ready to sacrifice those 20 points, but I can totally I can see that argument here. I hear where you're coming from I hear where you're coming from so this is an off-topic tangent, but have you been have you been? Fantasizing late at night about Matt red pay on the Rangers
00:38:18
Speaker
Yes, but he's that dude you he's gonna be a ranger for life already, you know it he is Absolutely adored by that by everybody over there right now could be yeah He's got a movie. He's got a crew we can play it, too But right now currently at this moment his trade value is through the roof just what he's bringing emotionally to that team and
00:38:45
Speaker
You're not, you're not, you're not getting the guy like that right now, but that is Jake. That's the kind of guy that I'm desperate for. He, I wasn't saying we were trading for him or anything like that. I was, I was just, he's the first name that came to mind. He's kind of a hot, hot topic. He's a big deal right now. So, but it was with middle stat, like I, I agree with you. Like I think I like, I like where you're going because you're, you're talking about bringing in impact player for him. And I totally agree with that.
00:39:11
Speaker
I won't say exactly what I want for middle stat because I don't fully know, but I will say it's a failure if he is traded for less than an NHL ready proven player. So that I agree with 110%. And so if we're trading him, I will, I will die on this hill. He should be packaged with other assets that Buffalo has for a player that is of greater value than Casey middle stat.
00:39:38
Speaker
Cap it aside. That's that's where I'm like packaging. You want to go that path? I think that Buffalo has a lot of assets right now. They have a lot of graphics. They have a lot of prospects. It has been 12 years since they made the playoffs. Like if you if you're going to if you're looking at your 2026 first round pick to two drafts from now and saying, oh, feel bad about hanging on to that one. If you're not competing at that point, you have already colossally failed.
00:40:09
Speaker
Start packaging some good picks and some good prospects with some players like Casey middle stat who's on the way out potentially and and Charge this roster up you have the young pieces you have the young core. It's time to compete Fuck holding on to draft picks at this point I know they're not in the playoff race, but the team the team is is close Right a lot of teams as they've kind of gone on their upward trajectory have taken two steps forward and one step back
00:40:39
Speaker
I think the NHL is such a it's a it's a much longer process to get to where you need to go and I Understand that I might sound like a gaslit Buffalo fan by saying that but but there is a there is a wave that happens where Look at the Devils the Devils last year everybody was talking about how they were gonna win the cup how they're a Contender for the next 10 years and look out here come the Devils. They just fired their coach. They're not making the playoffs this year shut up
00:41:07
Speaker
Yeah, I mean they took a big step back, but I don't think that's to say that the Devils are washed and they're not going to compete. I think they retool a little bit over the offseason and they come back and look just as good and kind of surprise people the other way next year. So I think there is a give and take in the NHL where you can have years where you make a big step forward with a young core.
00:41:33
Speaker
But then pressure mounts, injuries happen, whatever fact pattern you want to put to it, it's okay to take a small step back, but you can't lose sight of the bigger issue at hand, which is Buffalo needs to make steps forward to make the playoffs. They have a solid young core to build around. It's time to start trading those future assets, picks and prospects to build on the roster that they have.
00:42:01
Speaker
Buddy I agree with that one completely in one place that we do very much align here is at this point whatever trades we make or whatever moves we make, or in terms of sending out players, the return needs to be NHL ready caliber players, because you're absolutely right. The cupboard, in terms of prospects, can't get any more stocked than it already is.
00:42:22
Speaker
So I'm with you on that. Whenever it's time, it is. You're absolutely correct. I think you are objectively correct about that one. I don't think, I mean, regardless of what your opinion is, I think you need to step back and recognize that the cupboard is stock. There's all the talent in the world there. Now it's just about putting the right players in the right places. So good on you there, pal. I think that's a great point.
00:42:49
Speaker
So our sixth guy that we talked about here, and this one I was on the fence about, I've only recently been seeing his name pop up, and that's Peyton Krebs.
Peyton Krebs' Potential Move
00:42:59
Speaker
Peyton Krebs, I think, is a guy, and I tweeted about this the other day.
00:43:04
Speaker
My God, I think this guy right now is being so poorly utilized in Buffalo. I think he deserves and he got it for a little bit. And then he was sent back down. And I don't think it was a punishment at him. I think it was a reaction to what was going on on the other lines. But he had that bit of a run there where he was playing with Paterka and Benson. I think it was or something like that. And they were
00:43:30
Speaker
Sick dude, I was loving it because the best thing about Peyton Krebs is his compete and his vision Like the guy's got insane vision dude, and I think he deserves a shot with players that are not Kyle got a mukposo and Zemkas Gurgensons I think he's better than those guys and I don't understand why we're just it's like it's like what Ralph Krueger was doing with Jeff Skinner like stuffing him on the fourth line and just forgetting about him so I think
00:44:00
Speaker
I think there's a decent shot we see Peyton Krebs go because this team clearly, in my opinion, and I'm not at practices and stuff, but they're not valuing the potential that I think he has, right? And fourth-line centers, dude, not for nothing. They're a dime a dozen. You could go out and get someone way cheaper than Peyton Krebs, right? So I think there's a decent chance that Peyton Krebs could be on the move.
00:44:25
Speaker
I don't want to see it happen. I want to see him get a better shot with better players around him, but I think it's worth talking about just based on the talent level that I see and where he slotted in this Buffalo roster right now. Yeah, I agree. He has not been well utilized, but.
00:44:43
Speaker
Keep in mind, it's not an entry-level deal. I mean, he's a young kid. Yeah, I forget how young he is. He's still on entry-level contract, so he's under team control for a lot more years. He's 23 years old. I think he has more to give than he's maybe shown. But for me, I would prefer to keep him and re-sign him to
00:45:13
Speaker
a team-friendly deal, like perhaps he's somebody that you give a bridge deal to for the next two, three years, see how that goes, see how he develops, see how other younger players develop. But at the end of the day, if we're trading Peyton Krems, same logic I'm using for middle stat, pack and ship with other players and get in somebody that is much, much better. Yeah. That's right. I want this to be.
00:45:39
Speaker
I want to be insanely clear about this dude. I think, I also want Peyton Krebs to stay here in Buffalo. I think he's gotten a lot more to offer. I just think he's been stuck on that fourth line with clowns like, shouldn't say clowns. Oh, he's done a lot for this franchise. So has Gorgon sense, but not guys that we initially associate with the word skill.
00:46:02
Speaker
Right? Good luck. Boom. Yes. That, and that's where we've stuck him. And you're absolutely right, dude. 23, 24, he's making $832,000 a year, 24, 25. He's an RFA. So yeah, dude, I, I hope he doesn't, but it's a guy that I could see. Like if it happened, I wouldn't be shocked just because of what I think you
00:46:31
Speaker
I think what you can net for this guy and the way you're utilizing him. So yeah, that's a tough one there. Um, I, I think, yeah, same thing. Like, like you said, if you trade him, you got to package him and get a player ready, get him, get him, get a player who's ready now. Exactly. Yeah, for sure. But, but he's somebody, Casey, Casey middle set is somebody that I hope gets packaged for a better player. Faith grabs somebody that hopefully resigned, but if we trade him, it better be for impact player.
00:47:03
Speaker
I would be like for me, dude,
Hypothetical Trade Scenarios for Sabres
00:47:05
Speaker
Peyton Krebs as your third line center with those, those. Skilled jam guys. I was talking about because, because he's, he's that dude. He plays, he plays with a hot motor. So I think you put two guys like that with him that have some skill and some speed that are not Zemgus, Gurgensons and Kyle. I think you're going to see really good things from, from Peyton Krebs personally, I like to speed. And then he put Gurgensons in the same sentence.
00:47:31
Speaker
Yeah, right I know So those are the that's the list of guys that we think there's a decent shot could be moved Jake we got about 15 minutes here a little bit less Let's let's talk about let's talk some some fun trade ideas here Tom. I saw you pop your face back in Do you have something that you want to ask?
00:47:50
Speaker
Not yet, but I have, I have some closing, some closing thoughts. So no, you guys are rolling. Keep rolling. All right. Jake, can I, uh, can I throw you one of my, Oh man, I don't know which one I want to say first here. I'll do this one because I want this guy gone so badly. So I have a hypothetical year where I have Victor Olaf.
00:48:11
Speaker
Austin being traded to the Nashville Predators. And who knows how the picks would all shake out and stuff like that. But I have a world where I would love to see Vic Ollison go to the Nashville Predators for Luke Evangelista. Okay. So Luke Evangelista.
00:48:33
Speaker
21 years old playing for Nashville this year. He's playing in their bottom six and he has 27 points this year and 30 hits Right. So not I mean he's played 60 games 30 hits in 60 games Probably not like that exact jam type player that I'm talking about, but this is another guy I watched a couple predators games This is another guy that's passing the eye test for me
00:48:57
Speaker
He's a prick to play against. He's physical. He doesn't get pushed around. He goes to the net and he's got, he's got almost 30 points so far on this season. That is the type of guy that I want to stick with Peyton Krebs. Right. And, and let them go to work, be pricks to play against also get some decent points. So my first fun little mock trade here, right? Which I'm going to, this is a board meeting thing. We should, these are clips. So we should write down these timestamps here. Um,
00:49:27
Speaker
Vic Olufsen to Nashville for Luke Evangelista. It could be a player for player situation. I wouldn't even be mad about it. Got any thoughts there, Jake? I like it. Yeah, I like the player for sure. I think he's pretty young from what I know about him. 21 years old. Yeah, so I'm the ELC. So yeah, I like it. I agree. He is tough to play against. He's got some jam to his game.
00:49:54
Speaker
Yeah, I like it. The other player on Nashville that I like a lot that I'd be interested in getting back, Tommy Novak, another dude. So he was a guy I was thinking about. He just signed with him. He did. Yeah. He just, he just re-upped. Yeah. But that was, that's a guy another time who I'm like, yeah, that would be sick. And if he didn't re just re-sign, it would have been him over Luke eventually stuff.
00:50:16
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. Hammer Tommy Novak stock for sure. Yeah, he's a good player. But anyways, yeah, I like the Luca Evangelista move. Yeah. So that move for me just gets out a guy that's in an overpopulated position.
00:50:32
Speaker
Right. And brings in what I think we need. Luke Evangelista's cap here right now, too. He's he's 21 years old. He's only this is the second year in the league. He's on his ELC. And Nashville has the cap space and the need for scoring winners. Yeah. That's that was my thought process. That one. I like it. I like it. Got thrown at it. Yeah, please. I'm this. I love this. Such a nerd.
00:51:00
Speaker
So I'm going on the other side of the puck. I'm looking for a defenseman and I'm looking at Calgary. You're going to say Noah Hannafin, aren't you? Because that's my second goddamn one. No, I'm not. Let's talk about the Calgary defenseman. Noah Hannafin. Noah Hannafin's deal expires at the end of this year. I think he probably goes to a contender. I've heard Boston thrown around quite a bit. Oh, God. So I don't think Noah Hannafin
00:51:29
Speaker
comes here, but I'll let you talk about him in a second. The name that I have is Rasmus Anderson, 27 year old defenseman. He signed for 4.5 million next year and the following year. Calgary is in a bit of a free fall.
00:51:43
Speaker
Are they rebuilding? Are they competing? What are they doing? So I think there's opportunity there to pry him out of that situation. He's a Swedish defenseman. His name's Rasmus, and he's in his late 20s. I mean, what more could you want? But I think he would be a great partner on one of our top two D pairings. And yeah, I think that gives you a really phenomenal decor
00:52:13
Speaker
Daliin raspous Anderson Matias Anderson Owen power like that's your top four. That's your top four for the next four or five six years So I think he's very attractive He's a player that I was trying not to slip up earlier if we're gonna trade Casey middle stat I think building a package of Casey middle stat and maybe a pick or two or a prospect or two to get raspous Anderson would be a Huge trade to pull up for the savers. Do you have any thoughts on it?
00:52:41
Speaker
I love it, dude. And here's a really big thing with this Calgary defensive court is it's the spot where they're stocked.
00:52:54
Speaker
Right. So you talked about Rasmus Anderson. I would, I would be thrilled to get Rasmus Anderson for my money. Rasmus Anderson is the best defenseman on that team, which is why I didn't go for Rasmus Anderson, because I think he's a guy that they view as too good to, to ship out, especially because I know Hanathan, like you said, UFA on the chopping block and similar to you.
00:53:20
Speaker
I have Casey Middlestadt going back to Calgary for center depth for and and truth be told dude I would be over the moon if it was Hannafin Rasmus Anderson I'd be thrilled if it was Mac Wieger to Mackenzie Wieger I think Mackenzie Wieger is awesome and I
00:53:42
Speaker
Yeah, he I was guessing I thought about him too. Yeah, the flames have a lot of defense that they have for a while. So we're talking about their current roster. They've already traded away Nikita Zunorov and Kristanov, right? Which is crazy. Jordano got traded a couple of years ago. Adam Fox was in their system.
00:54:05
Speaker
Yeah, and I think it was this past offseason or recently something they ditched What's his face Lindholm that center that they had they got rid of him. So Elias Elias Lindholm. I think it was Was it wasn't recent okay, so there you go like there and
00:54:23
Speaker
They're getting rid of everybody, right? I think we're in a fire sale situation. They're going to need young solid center depth. I think you could easily view Casey Middlestadt as your second or third center, right? Young guy, I'd probably, maybe like you probably view him ideally as your third center, I would think.
00:54:43
Speaker
Um, on a good team. Yeah. On a, on a good team. Yeah. He could be a second on a mediocre team, but I think you send Casey middle stat to, to Calgary and you get whichever of those three they're willing to give you. Right. And I could see it being a situation where, yeah, it's gotta be Casey middle stat and Noah Austin for Rasmus Anderson, something like that. Right. Yeah. So I could, I could totally see that. So we were pretty close on that one though. That's crazy. That is, that is, I mean, Calgary's, uh, the, the,
00:55:13
Speaker
The sale sign is up. Yeah, that's a good point too. I think they're still deciding what direction they go, but yeah, totally. I don't envy that general manager's job. No, I don't either. So yeah, I had my two there. My two was Victor Nashville for Luke Evangelista and then Missy to Calgary for Noah and a fin, probably a player thrown in there too. Do you have a second one there, Jake? Yeah, I got one more similar package that I'm going to talk about, but I just want to throw the player's name out there.
00:55:42
Speaker
Uh, it's an old friend. You might remember him, but we'll Morgan from, we lost him in the expansion, right? We did to Vegas, uh, to Seattle. Yeah. Um, but he's a still a fairly young defender. Um, he plays a kind of a style with an edge. He's 27 years old. Uh, he's making 2.7 million this year and next, uh, before he's in a UFA.
00:56:12
Speaker
I don't know what the appetite for him would be to come back to his first NHL team or what the appetite would be from Seattle to part with him. But I think he's a right shot defenseman that would, again, kind of help cement the top four that Buffalo has. That's why I pegged him. Totally. Again, could be a draft move. I'm not saying it has to happen before the deadline, but he's a player that I would be very interested in getting back.
00:56:40
Speaker
What are you sending to Seattle to warrant getting will Morgan in return because I think like a Casey middle step that's too steep for a will bargain. Probably, I mean he's. It's tougher when you put in pointly. It's tougher with the best but you can't just look at points I guess I wouldn't.
00:57:01
Speaker
I don't know. I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I wouldn't immediately hang up the phone if they asked for Casey Middelstadt and Will Borgen. I'm not saying it's one for one, but like a package around those two, like maybe they throw out a pick or something like that with it. But is Will Borgen playing top four minutes over there? I believe so. Yeah. I don't know that offhand, but yeah. Okay. Yeah. I could see that one. He's a player. That's kind of like what you're talking about. Kind of a prick to play against it is, is a great player in the zone zone and
00:57:32
Speaker
I think would help bolster the back end for the Sabres quite a bit. Totally, dude. I was a big fan of Will Borgen. I had a feeling that we were going to end up losing him when the expansion came around. But that being said, I mean, I wasn't happy about it. I think he's a good player. So I would be fine with that, depending on what we have to give up.
00:57:56
Speaker
Those are the two. I focused on the back end. The other name I wrote down, we don't have to get into too much, but was Pamela Buchenavich.
00:58:07
Speaker
a lethal scorer and somebody that would help drive five on five play for Buffalo and help fuel the offense. So we don't have to. Yeah. We don't have to die. I think that's probably unlikely. I think they're asking for something like two first round picks plus to get him. So it was a steep ask, but it would be sick to get a guy like that.
00:58:31
Speaker
Yeah. So anyways, those are the ones I threw around, but we'll see what happens. Yeah, I like these. I love these hypotheticals. Tommy, you had some closing, closing remarks for us here or questions. Yeah. I'm going to give you guys an opportunity to put a little bow on your conversation here. This is fun
Final Thoughts on Team Strategy
00:58:48
Speaker
to listen to. I'm essentially an audience member today. This is great. I just get to drink beer and hear two intelligent fellas talk. You guys are part of Kevin Adams front office staff.
00:59:00
Speaker
You have 60 seconds to talk Kevin Adams into a decision. What are your, what do you see as the biggest needs of this team that needs to change? Cause this year isn't it. We have not broken the playoff drought. Something needs to fucking change. What do you see as the biggest need? What is your move? That could be trades away. That could be trades for you guys have talked to quite a bit about a lot of players tonight. You got to make a decision. You got 60 seconds to convince Kevin Adams that your idea is the idea who's taking it first.
00:59:29
Speaker
What do you think, Jake? I'm taking it. I'm saying you need another defenseman on this team that's not Eric Johnson. Eric Johnson was a great guy to bring in. You need a more of an impact player to help bring along the young defenseman that we have.
00:59:48
Speaker
I think you trade for a top four defenseman, a bona fide top four defenseman. That's what I was preaching for when we were talking about hypothetical trades. You bring that guy in, solidify your top four with Daliin and Samuelson, Power and X top four defenseman. I think you get rid of some of the older veterans on the forward core like Acposo, like Gergensen's,
01:00:12
Speaker
nothing against those guys. They've been warriors for this team. But I think you need a different voice. You need a different veteran leadership. And I think, I think finally, you need to take a good hard look in the mirror at your coaching staff. And is this the coaching staff to get this team over the hump? Don Granada has been the sixth longest tenured coach in the league that
01:00:32
Speaker
doesn't happen. Typically, the NHL coaching carousel is a, what have you done for me lately? Lately, you're here for a good time, not a long time. I think you need to take a good look at that and ask yourself, is this coaching staff ready to take this crop of talent to the next level? Maybe more of a conversation around that in the future. But that's, those are the questions I'm asking.
01:00:55
Speaker
So real quick, dude, you brought up something really interesting. Um, and I know that we're at our hour, our hour here, but real quick, I want to do this. You just mentioned, um, Don Granados, his tenure in terms of coaches in the, in the NHL, he is at this point, the sixth longest tenured coach on a hockey team. Listen to the stats of the guys above him, right? John Cooper, right? Um, so this is in order from first to fifth longest to fifth longest.
01:01:23
Speaker
Uh, tenor tenuring head coach, right? John Cooper of the Tampa Bay lightning two times. Yeah, sorry. John Cooper of the Tampa Bay lightning two time cup champion playoffs, 10 out of 11 seasons, Mike Sullivan for the Pittsburgh penguins.
01:01:39
Speaker
Two-time cup champion, playoffs seven out of eight seasons. Jared Bednar for the Colorado Avalanche. Cup champ, playoffs six out of seven seasons. Fourth, Rod Bryndamore of the Carolina Hurricanes. Two-time conference final appearance, playoffs five out of five seasons. Sheldon Keefe.
01:01:57
Speaker
Toronto. Did he just get five? Yeah. Play off. Sheldon Keith playoffs four out of four. Okay. Four out of four seasons. Six is Don Granado. Zero playoff appearances. It just immediately drops off like that. So that to me is crazy. Okay. My, my one minute tangent to Kevin Adams.
01:02:15
Speaker
Kevin Adams, the team is entirely too soft. Okay. Top four defensemen is in need. Veterans starting goalie is probably going to end up being in need. However, I think for this team to take the next step, you have to get tougher to play against. And the reason I say that is because if you watch any playoff game in the last 10 years, right, those playoff games are fast, they're physical, and they are in
01:02:43
Speaker
tense as all hell dude and i think with this current iteration of sabers players you walk into a game like that and you are going to get straight up absolutely bullied all over the place dude and i just watched it recently with this sabers team i don't remember who we were playing against oh it was florida it was against florida right
01:03:07
Speaker
We got absolutely bullied, dude. I mean, this is a team that went to the finals last year, right? Or the conference finals, right? They absolutely have the finals. They lost to Vegas. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So Stanley Cup finals, right?
01:03:25
Speaker
This is a team that did whatever they wanted with us. They wanted us to go over here, we went over there. They wanted to keep the puck, they kept the puck. It was just whatever they wanted to do and it was either done with speed, but it was primarily done with physicality and us just not being able to compete in the same way. You need guys that run at 100 percent all the time and that are a prick to play against in that bottom six and will contribute
01:03:56
Speaker
30 to 45 points in a season. And that is my shtick to Kevin Adams. I need this team to get so much fucking tougher. Florida's the best team in the Eastern Conference, and you can't convince me otherwise. I would buy that.
01:04:11
Speaker
There we go. All right. I like it, boys. I got to get you guys a little timer for 60 seconds, but I need to get a little plug in so I can get you guys a timer on screen. That'd be perfect. It's funny. I never have complaints about going too long, but here we are. Yeah. Tommy, get us out of here, buddy.
Episode Wrap-up and Farewell
01:04:32
Speaker
Hey yo, thank you all so much for the bottom of our hearts for spending some time with us. It really does mean a lot. Please share this episode. Give it a like. Show your friends. We'd really appreciate it. Give us a follow on Instagram, on X, on TikTok, on YouTube, wherever you can find us. We're at Let's Go Buff Pod with 2S.
01:04:52
Speaker
These are my pals. That's Jake. That's Nigel. My name is Tom. And you're listening to the Let's Go Buffalo podcast. We're sending you love wherever you are. Go pals. Go neighbors. Let's Go Buffalo.