With a chance to reflect on the events of the past 72 hours, Buffalo Sabres fans probably have a lot more questions than answers.
Friday, Ryan Miller and Steve Ott were traded to the St. Louis Blues for two players likely to be moved by Wednesday’s trade deadline, a largely unknown prospect and two draft picks.
Saturday, president of hockey operations Pat LaFontaine stepped down after being on the job for just over three months, with the official reason being that he wanted to get back to his job with the NHL in New York.
Sunday, general manager Tim Murray and Sabres president Ted Black held a press conference where the main takeaway was that Ted Nolan likely has a job as the Sabres head coach, if he wants it.
Quite the roller coaster, to say the least.
While the trade and the topic of Nolan’s future are extremely important in the both the short and long term, LaFontaine‘s resignation has dominated the headlines since the official announcement Saturday night.
Yet, unlike the other two developments, it’s unlikely this has much, if any, of an affect on the Sabres’ future.
LaFontaine held a position only a few NHL teams even have, and the Sabres seemed to piggyback off of the fanfare surrounding the creation of the same position in Colorado for Joe Sakic last spring. Sakic hired Patrick Roy as coach and essentially stripped general manager Greg Sherman of everything but his title, putting the team in his hands.
The same cannot be said of LaFontaine‘s position.
Despite being the head of the hockey arm of the franchise, with his decision to pursue a traditional GM when he was hired, many questioned his role moving forward with the franchise.
With the hiring of Tim Murray last month, that question needed a real answer. It seems LaFontaine started to ask that question but didn’t like the response he was getting.
Chris Botta of Sports Business Journal tweeted Saturday that LaFontaine was not pleased with the role he was going to be relegated to moving forward. This was a problem, albeit a stupid problem given that this should have been addressed prior to this, but a problem nevertheless.
Basically, what it seems to come down to is this: LaFontaine wanted a role like Sakic’s, with the GM there to serve essentially as an adviser, and he hired Murray, a first-time GM with a ton of personnel experience, to make that structure easier to facilitate.
Apparently, Terry Pegula had other ideas.
This is not especially surprising because, if you remember, Pegula had asked LaFontaine to be the GM when he hired him in November, but LaFontaine said he wasn’t cut out for that role. At that point, it really wouldn’t have mattered if the team had brought in a GM to advise him—LaFontaine wouldn’t have inspired much confidence in his ability to create a team with a first impression like that.
Instead, Murray was hired, and it seems he was given the keys to the car and LaFontaine was not happy about it.
Being relegated to essentially a figurehead, LaFontaine probably felt he was scorned and stepped down, leaving Murray in essentially the same position he was in before: the guy in charge.
That is probably the only takeaway from this in the long term, too.
Is this embarrassing for the organization? Absolutely. Does it kick the fans while they are down? Of course.
It’s never good to have a high-level executive come in and create a ton of positive buzz around the team, then step down three months later under the impression he was misled. If NHL teams had stock, the Sabres’ would fall even further after something like that happening. This is cause for concern and should not be completely overlooked.
Yet, realistically, if Murray was going to take the reins anyway, LaFontaine wasn’t going to have much day-to-day input to begin with. Furthermore, it also seems like Tim Murray is the guy you want moving things forward.
With Murray’s no-frills demeanor and the stable of prospects and picks the Sabres own right now, the future still looks incredibly bright. Sure, it would have been great to have LaFontaine along for the ride, but Murray has given Sabres fans no reason whatsoever to think that he will not be able to bring this team back from the dead by himself.
The only question now is what Murray is going to do about Ted Nolan.
Publicly, Murray has supported Nolan, saying yesterday in his presser that he wanted him to coach the team beyond this season. This is going to be the lasting part of this saga, and it will likely stretch on into the offseason.
It was said in multiple places this weekend, but with all the new questions, it is important to remember that if there is anything to hang your hat on, it’s that the three months LaFontaine was with the Sabres gave them Tim Murray.
So, is this bad in the short term? Yes, of course, but the fact that they’re hitting the reset button should diminish the lasting effects, if there are any at all.
In Timmy we trust.
Follow me on Twitter for NHL and Sabres news all season: @SwordPlay18.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
The wait is over.
Last night, with their game with the San Jose Sharks closing in, the Buffalo Sabres traded their star netminder Ryan Miller and captain Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues for Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart, William Carrier, a 2015 first-round pick and a conditional 2014 third-round pick.
In the end, Miller ended up on the team many believed he would benefit from the most and the Sabres now have a pile of assets to move forward with.
The ironic part of this trade is that despite the end of the Miller and Ott speculation that has raged for months, it opens the door to speculation involving the two roster players the Sabres acquired in Halak and Stewart.
Halak is a unrestricted free agent at the end of the year who can, and likely will, walk at the end of the season. He’s been great in years past, but has struggled at times this year. He has posted solid numbers with 2.23 goals against average and a .917 save percentage, but that was aided by the strong St. Louis defense.
The positive for the Sabres? That will not matter much to a team looking to cement their goaltending moving into the playoffs.
Halak will obviously not provide the same spark as Miller, but he can help strengthen a platoon for a playoff run. The teams that missed out on Miller may still be interested in adding Halak, who will certainly come cheaper than Miller would have in the first place. It would not be surprising at all to see Halak wearing a different sweater by Wednesday’s trade deadline.
Stewart is a more complicated case.
A two-time 28 goal scorer, Stewart is a physical presence who knows how to get the puck to, and in, the net. If Steve Ott could score, he would be Stewart.
But Stewart, with the emergence of Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz, has seen his ice time cut significantly and his role diminishing. He hasn’t lost his scoring touch, though, as he managed to still score 15 goals despite his smaller role—and he will instantly slot into the Sabres’ top-six forwards.
Yet, much like Halak, there continues to be buzz that the Sabres will flip him as well.
Stewart has another year left on his deal at a reasonable $4.15 million (via CapGeek), making him infinitely easier to trade. He also has the potential to bring in more assets for the future, or a younger roster player.
The team to keep an eye on here is the Ottawa Senators. They were reportedly interested in Stewart’s services before the trade to Buffalo, but it was rumored they were asking for a substantial return for him, including Ryan Callahan from the Rangers according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.
The Sabres likely value him a bit less and would likely be willing to part with him for less than the Blues. Not to mention the reports from Bob McKenzie of TSN last night before the trade details were finalized that the Sabres-Blues swap could have included the Sens as a third team.
McKenzie went further after the trade details were announced, saying that Ottawa is still interested in Stewart and that the Sabres would likely try to send him there. He also hinted at a potentially larger deal including Matt Moulson, another player the Sens have had their eye on from the Sabres—never mind the Tim Murray connection to Ottawa.
Needless to say, with those two the questions will continue until at least Wednesday.
As for the futures portion of the trade, Tim Murray definitely gave himself some assets to work with.
Carrier, the Blues’ second-round selection last year, was ranked number 18 in Central Scouting’s final rankings entering the 2013 draft, ahead of Nikita Zadorov (22), JT Compher (34) and Justin Bailey (38). He slid because of an ankle injury that ended his season, but he posted 41 points in 39 games on a poor Cape Breton team in the QMJHL.
Carrier is an excellent skater who can get to the net with speed and power. He also has an NHL-caliber shot and can create for himself and others. He doesn’t come with the pedigree of a Ty Rattie, but he is an excellent pickup.
On top of Carrier, the Sabres received two draft picks: a 2015 first-round selection and a conditional 2014 third-round selection.
The 2015 first rounder likely gives the Sabres three selections in the first round next year, assuming the New York Islanders hold on to their first rounder this year. This is obviously great news for Murray in what is touted as an extremely deep draft.
The conditional 2014 pick is a bit more interesting. The Sabres reported that the pick has the potential to become a 2014 first-round selection if Miller re-signs with the Blues this offseason or if the Blues make the Western Conference Finals this year.
That is huge news for the Sabres and is actually likely to happen given the strength of St. Louis’ team this year. That could guarantee the Sabres five first rounders in the next two drafts, with a sixth likely on its way from Matt Moulson.
Overall, it seems as though Murray has shown his mettle to Sabres fans by scoring a haul from the Blues for two pending UFAs. The exciting part is that he likely isn’t done with some of the pieces, with Halak and Stewart likely being the topic of speculation for a couple of more days.
Realistically, what else should Sabres fans expect?
Follow me on Twitter for NHL and Sabres news all season: @SwordPlay18.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
The Buffalo Sabres have traded star goalie Ryan Miller and forward Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, a first-round pick in 2015 and a third-round pick in 2016 in a blockbuster deal leading up to the NHL trade deadline.
The Blues announced the deal via Twitter:
TVA Sports reporter Renaud Lavoie had the news first:
According to SportsCenter, the trade has called for a drastic roster move for the Sabres game against the Sharks:
Miller has been a stalwart between the posts in Buffalo for nearly a decade. The team is in complete rebuilding mode right now, however, which means moving a 33-year-old netminder doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
The Sabres currently sport the worst record in the NHL. Given the lack of talent on the roster, they are likely to find themselves in a similar position next season. So trading Miller while his value was still high made sense for both player and team.
Even though rumors have been swirling for months about the goalie’s future, Miller hasn’t spoken out much about the situation. Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News passed along comments from him in early February, and he called it a “business transaction”:
That’s not really something I want to discuss with you guys. It’s a private conversation about a business transaction. Really, that’s what it comes down to. I’m waiting to see kind of what the plans are around here. That would kind of give a little more indication.
Despite the poor season the Sabres are enduring, Miller has played very well. His save percentage of .923 is within striking distance of his career high, and he’s kept the team in many games that would have otherwise been complete blowouts.
Yet, with the Sabres at least a couple years away from being truly competitive, the front office opted to further the rebuild by moving another valuable veteran.
As always, it’s going to take some time to determine whether or not it was a good move for both teams. Since there weren’t many contending teams in need of a goalie, it likely limited Buffalo’s asking price on the trade market, but Buffalo got a deal it was at least satisfied with in the end.
Moving forward, Miller will once again get a chance to understand what it’s like to play behind a more talented and competitive group of players. There should be far fewer nights where he’s forced to carry the team’s entire hope of winning on his shoulders.
As for the Sabres, brighter days are ahead with a strong farm system and plenty of draft picks over the next couple of years. It’s going to take some time to draft and develop all of those prospects, but it should be worth the wait once the plan comes together in a few seasons.
The turnaround just won’t happen with the player who was the face of the franchise in recent years as Miller moves on.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
And here we go.
All of the months of waiting and speculation will come to an end in a mere 10 days as the NHL roster freeze was lifted at midnight and NHL clubs are free to swap players as they so choose, until 3 p.m. on March 5.
At the center of the trade deadline circus is the Buffalo Sabres.
By now, Sabres fans are tired of hearing about Ryan Miller’s and Matt Moulson’s assumed departures and want a resolution, one way or another, for them and the other major to-be unrestricted free agent, Steve Ott.
There is a bit of fine print to potential resolutions for these three players though.
Most importantly, the likelihood of a huge, team-shaping blockbuster deal including top roster players, prospects and draft picks is unlikely at the trade deadline. Trades like that are typically reserved for the draft in June. Instead, all three of the Sabres’ pending UFAs will likely be moved for top prospects and/or draft picks only.
What that means is that the deadline will essentially be used to set the table for June’s draft and will not, in and of itself, be the springboard to the future for the Sabres.
Now the notion of a huge blockbuster occurring is not just the product of the rumor mongers, as there is a realistic possibility of it happening. However, one should refer to trade deadlines of past years to see that the big name rarely gets moved then.
The Rick Nash, Cory Schneider and Jordan Staal trades are all excellent examples of that. Nash and Staal were the biggest potential trade deadline pieces two years ago and didn’t move until the draft. Last year, it seemed all but a certainty Roberto Luongo was going to be moved at the deadline and not only did that not happen, but Cory Schneider was moved at the draft instead.
Granted, all of those players were not going to be UFAs the following July, but a team isn’t going to give up the packages they gave up for those players for a to-be UFA either.
Simply put, the Sabres will get a haul for these three guys if they are moved, but it will be in futures, futures that will, mostly, be cashed in at this and next year’s draft.
This years draft, only considering the Sabres’ current situation, offers the potential for some immediate improvement.
As it stands today, Sports Club Stats gives the Sabres a 94-percent chance to end the season in 30th place, assuring them a top-two pick in the draft. That pick will likely be one of two players: Aaron Ekblad or Sam Reinhart.
Ekblad, as previously discussed, is widely seen as the best player in the draft. Scouts and draft gurus don’t throw around Shea Weber comparisons lightly, but that’s who Ekblad is being compared to right now. He’s big at 6’4″ and can skate and move the puck as well as anyone in the draft.
Defense is probably on the bottom of the need list for the Sabres with Rasmus Ristolainen, Nikita Zadorov, Mark Pysyk, Brayden McNabb, Chad Ruhwedel and Jake McCabe in the pipeline—never mind Tyler Myers and Christian Ehrhoff playing well now. Yet the allure of Ekblad may be too much to pass on, and understandably so, if the Sabres get the top pick.
If the Sabres deem their blueline set, or if they end up in the number two slot, Sam Reinhart seems to be the guy they’ll choose. Beyond being the consensus top pick in NHL.com’s latest mock drafts, Reinhart has shown a ridiculous amount of offensive spark since returning from the World Junior Championships in January, posting 40 points in those 17 games.
People have been slow to put a player comparison to Reinhart, but Bob McKenzie has him ranked second in his draft prospect rankings and Craig Button says his hockey IQ is well above average.
With Ekblad or Reinhart in the fold, the Sabres will likely look toward the second round and the three picks they hold there. Yes, the Sabres potentially have the New York Islanders‘ first rounder, but the likelihood of that happening took a substantial downturn with John Tavares‘ season-ending knee injury.
The Isles are currently in 26th, which translates into the fifth pick in the draft, and are eight points behind the Nashville Predators for 25th. The Predators are only four points out of the last wild card spot in the Western Conference, so they’re not laying down anytime soon, and without Tavares the Isles are not likely to win many more games. It seems very unlikely that a team would pass up a top-five pick even with the 2015 draft class.
That leaves the Sabres with their three second-round selections, not including any first rounders acquired at the deadline. Tim Murray has not been shy in saying he will be ready to turn a few of those second rounders into firsts if the market allows at the draft, but that is also not a given.
Regardless, Murray will have four picks to work with in the top-60 as of right now, and will surely get more at the deadline.
Armed with a growing bushel full of draft picks and Hockey’s Future’s second-ranked prospect pool, Murray has the assets to work with. Whether he uses his picks as is, or trades picks for picks, or picks and prospects for players, he has a ton of options now and at the draft.
Yet, do not be surprised to see a decided lack of roster players coming back in return for the Sabres’ outgoing stars. Instead, Murray will accumulate more to work with in June, not only for the draft, but for when the market is more suitable for the team-changing moves we’ve seen in the past few years.
The next ten days are extremely important for the future of the Sabres, but the major impact will likely not come on March 6. Instead it will be felt in the weeks leading up to June 27 in Philadelphia for the NHL draft.
Follow me on Twitter for NHL and Sabres news all season long: @SwordPlay18.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
Last night during an intermission at the Rochester Americans and Texas Stars AHL tilt in Rochester, Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray gave a lengthy interview to WGR 550 discussing a wide range of topics.
Murray is still getting familiar with his team, especially his prospects in Rochester. He’s been scuttling around the Northeast and Southern Ontario scouting his current prospects, as well as his potential future prospects playing in the OHL.
While Murray said a lot during the interview, here are five takeaways from the scrum:
1. Mark Pysyk and Johan Larsson have impressed him.
Not surprisingly, Murray has taken a liking to Larsson and Pysyk.
Referring to Larsson as a “competitive bugger” that “gives you everything he’s got” and to Pysyk as a “smart, steady defenseman,” Murray seems happy with their development thus far.
Getting more specific with Pysyk, Murray wants him to be more offensive in his game and to push himself at the AHL level to make that happen.
This was far from a criticism of the young defenseman though. The words steady and smart usually translate to a second-pairing guy, and the Sabres would be happy to see Pysyk end up in that role. However, if Pysyk were to develop more of an offensive side, including some improvements, he would easily slot into the Sabres’ top pairing down the line.
A top pairing of Rasmus Ristolainen or Nikita Zadorov and Pysyk in a few years has the potential to be as frightening to opposing teams as the Shea Weber and Ryan Suter pairing the Nashville Predators trotted out a couple of years ago.
2. The Sabres’ future in goal is far from certain.
While stating the Sabres have “a couple good young goalies” in Rochester, Murray would not commit to the notion that Ryan Miller’s (assumed) replacement is already in the Buffalo system.
While Miller’s future is still uncertain, Murray needs to go about his business as if his franchise netminder will be donning another sweater after March 5’s trade deadline.
Currently below Miller on the depth chart includes Jhonas Enroth, Nathan Lieuwen, Matt Hackett and Andrey Makarov.
All four have shown flashes at their respective levels, but none have given Murray enough to go all-in with them.
The best goaltending prospect for the Sabres has likely been Linus Ullmark, a sixth-round selection in the 2012 Entry Draft, who has posted a 1.95 goals against average and a .935 save percentage in his rookie year for Modo of the Swedish Elite League.
Murray said he will “waffle” on the position in the coming months, but don’t sleep on him looking to the crease in the upcoming draft in June. Assuming they acquire a late first-round pick in a trade, keep the name Thatcher Demko in mind.
Demko is a United States National Development Team veteran lighting it up for Boston College this season, sporting a 1.85 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. He is the top-rated goalie by the CSS in their midterm rankings.
3. Expect to see veterans from Rochester take the place of anyone traded.
When asked who would take the place of the guys that might be traded from the Sabres, Murray was not very forthcoming on whether it would be veterans or young guys filling the spots.
However, he did comment on how he felt it was important for the more inexperienced players to get some playoff experience, and the Amerks are currently in eighth place with a five point cushion with 26 games left. Murray also said he would not want to “gut” the Amerks either.
If the playoffs are a likelihood for Rochester, expect the return of Kevin Porter instead of the debut of Joel Armia. To bring back Larsson, Ristolainen, or most of the other young guys, would likely take Rochester out of contention, which is obviously something Murray has no intention of doing.
4. Murray is not concentrating on just acquiring picks and could deal for a young NHL-ready player.
Beyond reiterating that he is “all ears” and just “waiting for a dance partner,” Murray said that while it seemed logical that the Sabres would be targeting more picks for the next two drafts, that is not their only option.
Murray said that the Sabres would be just as happy to acquire a “22-year old that can’t find a spot in the organization he’s with now.”
While that seems like a general statement, reading between the lines it seems to show Murray’s hand a bit.
While there is nothing reliable to link them to the Sabres, both Evander Kane of the Winnipeg Jets and Nazem Kadri of the Toronto Maple Leafs have been the subject of trade rumors for the majority of the season.
Kadri is 23 years old, Kane 22. Kadri has struggled to find a spot in Toronto’s top-six forwards for the majority of the last two years, where Kane has come under fire from the Winnipeg media for his alleged off-ice behavior.
While stopping short of saying Murray is definitely in on these guys, it seems likely that he’s at least done his due diligence on them. Both would immediately improve the Sabres’ top-six, but both would be expensive, something also acknowledged by Murray.
But the idea is out there, and it makes a lot of sense for a rebuilding team: Trade a high pick and maybe a prospect for a guy that has NHL experience, but is young enough to still be a franchise pillar.
5. Murray is preparing for the possibility of more than one first-round pick.
While this may be an assumption for many Sabres fans, there are multiple ways that the Sabres could acquire additional first-round picks in the upcoming draft.
The most obvious way is by trading Ryan Miller, Matt Moulson and (possibly) Steve Ott.
Miller and Mouslon will most certainly come with a first-round pick price tag, and Ott has the potential to, depending on the market. While seeing all three turned into a first rounder this year is unlikely, you may see two this year and one next year or vice versa.
The other possible way to get into the first round is trading picks for picks. The Sabres hold three second rounders this and next year, so it is very possible to see some of them packaged to move up.
Murray acknowledged this in his interview saying that with the three firsts this year he can see two of the seconds “becoming [pick number] 15 or 19.”
With that in mind, Murray commented that the Sabres have been looking not only at the top-ten ranked prospects, but those ranked in the top 30 as well. He also named some names that he was scouting personally, including Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Leon Draisaitl, Michael Dal Colle and Aaron Ekblad.
Simply put, do not expect Murray to sit tight come June.
Follow me on Twitter for NHL and Sabres news all season: @SwordPlay18.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
The Buffalo Sabres were viewed as one of the teams that could make a few moves before Friday’s Olympic roster freeze, but like the other teams in the NHL the Sabres decided to stand pat.
For now.
Many had talked about how the Olympic freeze essentially created two trade deadlines this year, but for all the talk March 5, the official trade deadline, will hold its usual luster.
That holds especially true for the Sabres.
From comments made by the hockey media to those made by Sabres general manager Tim Murray himself, the Sabres are going to be the preeminent sellers at this year’s trade deadline. While Murray has said multiple times─most notably during his introductory press conference─that everyone is available on a last-place team, clearly no one believes that to be true. That statement is more than likely just a way for Murray to let Sabres fans know he understands things have to change.
What is likely is that Ryan Miller, Matt Moulson, Steve Ott and Henrik Tallinder will garner substantial interest over the break and in the ten days between the Olympics and the March 5 deadline when roster moves are allowed.
Miller has arguably been the most regularly discussed trade target for quite some time. Many have speculated on his potential trade destinations, but the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild have emerged as the most popular landing spots. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun believes Minnesota to be the front-runner, saying the Blues support their incumbent Jaroslav Halak.
The comforting thing in all of this uncertainty for Sabres fans is the undeniable fact that Miller will not be cheap for any team to acquire. Common sense tells you that a first-round pick in either this or next year’s draft and a top prospect are the cheapest Miller will be. Any past experience with the trade deadline tells you that a top-six forward could easily be added to that.
The same can be said for Matt Moulson.
A 30-goal scorer in the three seasons leading up to the lockout, plus 15 during the shortened campaign last year, Moulson is one of the best pure goal scorers in the league right now. The Sabres picked up the pending unrestricted free agent in the Thomas Vanek trade and he has not disappointed.
At 30, Moulson still has a good chunk of hockey left in him, and his $3.33 million salary cap hit is very attractive for teams looking to add some top-level scoring for the playoff push. If the Sabres can send him somewhere that he would re-sign, the price could be more than anyone would have thought.
However, with everyone so keen on pushing Moulson out of town, it would also be a great move by the Sabres to re-sign him. He (likely) would not be prohibitively expensive and is a proven goal scorer. A player like Moulson is not hard to find a spot for on any team, let alone a rebuilding one.
So, while it seems likely Moulson will be in a new city come March 5 due to the small fortune of picks and players he’d likely fetch, re-signing him could be as beneficial to the Sabres in the long run.
Speaking of the long run, Sabres captain Steve Ott has been the only pending unrestricted free agent to say that he wants to stay in Buffalo and be a part of the rebuild.
The problem? A lot of teams want Steve Ott to be a part of their playoff run.
Ott was featured on Sportsnet’s Trade Tracker a few nights ago as a potential player on the move, with the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche being the teams named that could be pursuing Ott.
The price for Ott is the real uncertain aspect of this as it stands to reason that a team would want to re-sign their captain, especially one that wants to stay put.
So simply put, it seems both the Sabres and Ott want to continue their relationship into the future, but a lot of teams are calling to see what it would take to end that relationship (at least temporarily). Given the Sabres’ wish to keep Ott, the price to land his services will have to be more than what he would receive normally.
And while these three players have the most attention and the highest price tags, the Sabres also have a few other players that will garner some attention in Henrik Tallinder, Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis.
Tallinder has a decent chance of finding a new home at the deadline with a playoff-bound team that is having issues defensively, whether it is due to poor play or injuries. Teams that fit this description include the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Stafford and Ennis are different stories entirely. Stafford has another year remaining on his contract that carries a $4 million cap hit and has picked up his play offensively in the last few weeks. Ennis is a restricted free agent at the end of the season, but would almost certainly re-sign with the Sabres during the offseason.
Both are intriguing trade targets logically, but most of the buzz surrounding them has come from local sources and there is nothing to suggest that they are being shopped and/or sought. A betting man would put his money on both remaining with the Sabres for the time being.
So it’s safe to say that Tim Murray is going to be busy the next couple of weeks. This deadline could go a long way toward putting the Sabres back on the right path toward a Stanley Cup championship, especially when you consider the fact that between Miller, Moulson and Ott you could easily fetch three first-round picks, three top prospects and a roster player or two.
And while the roster freeze is in effect, that does not prohibit GMs from talking during the Olympic break, so expect the chatter to continue.
Don’t worry Sabres fans, odds are a quiet Tim Murray at the roster freeze means the ten days between the freeze lifting and the March 5 trade deadline will only be all the more exciting.
Follow me on Twitter for NHL and Sabres news all season: @SwordPlay18.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
The Buffalo Sabres are in a tough spot with franchise goalie Ryan Miller.
Normally, the team would be in great shape. Miller is a pending unrestricted free agent and a difference-maker of proven quality, exactly the kind of veteran a rebuilding team typically can move for a massive return at the trade deadline. But in this case, there are problems.
First, the market for goaltenders is weak. Lots of teams have netminders available for trade, and while Miller is a cut above the rest, the few teams looking have plenty of options and little incentive to pay full price.
Second, Miller comes with a $6.25 million cap hit, as per CapGeek.com, which is going to be a difficult number for a contender to digest.
Finally, Miller has a limited no-trade clause. According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, Miller can block a trade to eight different teams, one of which is the Edmonton Oilers. Other clubs in need of goalie help, like Winnipeg and Calgary, are also likely to be on that list.
With few teams looking and some of those teams unacceptable to Miller, where will the Sabres move him? This slideshow ranks what we feel are the likeliest destinations.
As if Buffalo Sabres fans haven’t had enough to handle this season with the woeful product on the ice, they now have something more to lament about off the ice.
Yesterday, John Vogl of The Buffalo News reported that former Sabres general manager Darcy Regier had discussions with Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli in regard to a Thomas Vanek-Tyler Seguin swap at last year’s draft.
While Vogl does go on to say that the reason for the deal not coming to fruition is not clear, this type of news has to leave a bad taste in many Sabres fans’ mouths.
First, ignoring Seguin‘s fit with the Sabres in the short and long term, this is the exact type of deal that Sabres fans clamored for from Regier for years. The blockbuster. The one that would have the league buzzing for weeks.
Instead, Regier always stuck to his low-risk moves.
Regier was the king of turning established players into prospects and draft picks, usually a move that no one ever second-guesses. But eventually, a team in the Sabres’ position needs to flip guys for “right now” players or guys that will make the team better from the onset, not three or four years later.
Did Regier make some player-for-player moves that helped the team throughout the years? Of course.
He brought in Danny Briere, Chris Drury, Steve Ott and J.P. Dumont during his time, but none of those guys, with the possible exception of Drury, were expected to play the roles they did for the Sabres during their tenures.
However, this point is not to diminish the effectiveness of the trades—it merely is to show that Regier was not one to make a splash when a splash was what was needed.
Coming back to the reported Vanek-Seguin deal, there are certainly a lot of factors at play with a deal like that, many of which were likely seen as an unknown last June.
Would Seguin be able to bounce back from the media lashing he was receiving in Boston, especially after a mediocre-at-best playoff performance? Would Vanek succeed on a team that did not necessarily foster offensive talent?
Those are surely two of the many questions that needed answers, or at least opinions, before as big a deal as this would have been could go down.
But looking at it purely with organizational fit in mind, this would have made a lot of sense, especially for the Sabres.
Vanek was on the last year of his deal and basically had one foot out the door. While many felt there was a chance of him re-signing, it was getting more and more unlikely by the day. He was a scoring winger on a team that wasn’t going to be able to score.
Seguin, on the other hand, was about to start the first year of a six-year, $34.5 million deal signed before the lockout started in October 2012. He was coming off a postseason to forget, but he still finished third on the Bruins in scoring in 2012-13 and was 21 years old and a former second overall pick.
Basically, you trade a guy that doesn’t want to re-sign for your future No. 1 center.
Instead, the deal was never made and Seguin was traded a few days later to the Dallas Stars along with Rich Peverley and Ryan Button for a package that featured Loui Eriksson and Reilly Smith coming back to Boston. Vanek was traded in October to the New York Islanders for Matt Moulson, a first-round pick in 2014 (or 2015 if the Isles finish in the top 10 and decide to defer the pick to next year) and a second-round pick in 2015.
Since their respective trades, Seguin has found his stride with the Stars, leading them in points with 54 in 53 games and is currently in a four-way tie for 14th in the NHL with Joe Pavelski, Jonathan Toews and Taylor Hall. Vanek is third on the Isles in points with 38 in his 41 games there, but he has just reportedly turned down a “substantial” contract offer and will test free agency in July, according to Newsday’s Arthur Staple (via to CBS Sports).
In the pursuit of fairness, a few points must be made.
First, Seguin‘s success, at least in terms of his scoring prowess, can be attributable in part to playing with Jamie Benn. Lindy Ruff may be a defensive-minded coach, but he has never shied away from putting his best forwards together (see Thomas Vanek and Danny Briere in Buffalo in 2006-07), and it has paid dividends for his young star.
Second, Regier did receive a “right now” player in return for Vanek in Moulson, along with the two high draft picks. The only questionable part of the move (besides the Islanders making it in the first place) was filling Vanek‘s spot with a guy that plays similarly to him but not quite at the same level. Like Vanek, Moulson will likely also be flipped at the deadline, as he also is in the last year of his deal.
Lastly, and probably most important to this discussion, is the fact that Vogl said he was not sure why the deal did not happen, and that makes Chiarelli walking away just as likely as Regier balking.
But who balked is not really the point because this was the type of deal that Regier had the reputation of being unable to make.
And it’s the inability to make that kind of move that has the Sabres in the position they are in now.
Follow me on Twitter for NHL and Sabres news all season long: @SwordPlay18.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
It’s not everyday that you see as strong a reaction to a player purportedly being placed on the trading block as you did when Ryan Callahan was yesterday.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN/ESPN reported yesterday that the New York Rangers‘ general manager Glen Sather was open to moving Callahan, the team’s captain, if a new contract was not had prior to the March 5 trade deadline.
Following LeBrun‘s report, you could just imagine the remaining 29 GMs in the NHL racing to the phone to see what Sather wanted in return. Callahan is not your typical player, and very few guys in the NHL right now can even be remotely compared to him.
Callahan is a top-six forward on every NHL team and is consistently in the conversation for the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the league. He kills penalties as well as anyone in the NHL and can score 25 goals on top of it.
Simply put: Callahan is a player any NHL team would dream of having.
So it isn’t a stretch to learn that the Buffalo Sabres are reportedly very interested in obtaining the Rochester, N.Y. native’s services. In his article, Larry Brooks backs up what LeBrun reported yesterday, while also stating two important new pieces of information to Sabres fans: Callahan wants a seven-year, $42 million deal, and he tops the Sabres’ “wish list.”
Now, one shouldn’t need Brooks’ report to know the Sabres are interested. The 29 teams who aren’t the Rangers are interested.
The question instead is what would the Sabres be willing to give up to get Callahan?
First, it needs to be acknowledged that the events of the past 24 hours closely mirror that of the Dustin Brown saga of 2012.
Right around the 2011-12 season’s trade deadline, the Los Angeles Kings were on the outside of the playoffs looking in. They had just acquired Mike Richards from the Philadelphia Flyers the preceding offseason for a hefty price tag and many believed that the front office wanted to move forward with him as their captain instead of Brown. That, plus the acquisition of Jeff Carter, led to reports that Brown was on the trading block and, much like today’s situation, the other 29 teams raced to their phones.
A few nights later, Brown scored a hat trick and blew his name off the trading block almost as fast as it got there. A few months later the Kings won the Stanley Cup.
The Rangers are in a similar position this year (sixth place in the Eastern Conference), so this could all blow over very quickly.
However, if it does not, the Sabres definitely will be among those trying to acquire Callahan.
The question around the league will then turn to whether or not trading for Callahan is even necessary.
If the LeBrun and Brooks reports are accurate, the Rangers and Callahan are light years apart in negotiations, with Callahan wanting $6 million a year and the Rangers simply being in no place salary cap-wise to pay him anything close to that.
That leaves the very real possibility that Callahan will hit the open market come July 1 when free agency begins.
While it is a crapshoot, one would have to assume playing for his hometown team would hold at least some allure for Callahan. It’s not a coincidence that Ryan Suter and Zach Parise ended up in Minnesota.
The Sabres will also not have any issue paying the man. With an estimated $42 million-plus in cap space for next season as of this moment (via CapGeek), the Sabres have some work to do to even reach the $52 million salary cap floor.
But what if Tim Murray really wants Callahan and he isn’t a betting man?
There hasn’t been much in terms of Sather‘s asking price out there quite yet, but one would have to assume the cost would be substantial.
It likely isn’t a fruitful exercise to speculate on packages that would secure a deal because Sather‘s idea of Callahan’s worth is likely well beyond any other GM’s, but at least one of the Sabres’ first- or second-round picks this year would be included for sure.
Beyond that it would seem that Sather would want an experienced player to put into the lineup immediately with some offensive punch (see Matt Moulson, Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson, Drew Stafford).
Essentially what it boils down to is whether or not Murray is willing to part with some valuable assets in order to ensure himself of Callahan’s services. As of right now, all signs lead to him hitting the free-agent market, so is giving up a top-60 pick and Ennis good asset management? Even more important in all of this is whether or not Callahan wants to sign in Buffalo in the first place.
So, while Callahan is the type of player Buffalo hasn’t seen since Chris Drury left in 2008, the asking price should drive whether or not Murray decides to make a deal to bring him in. He cannot and should not trade away substantial assets for a guy they could have potentially gotten for “free.”
Regardless, it would be nice to see No. 24 suit up in the blue and gold for the long term.
Follow me on Twitter for NHL and Sabres news all season long: @SwordPlay18.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
The Buffalo Sabres have ridden the struggle bus most of the season, and due to that, they will likely be “rewarded” with a top pick in the 2014 NHL draft.
As it stands right now, the Sabres are in last place in the NHL with 31 points, four behind the Edmonton Oilers in 29th place and seven points behind the Calgary Flames in 28th place. However, the Sabres have four games in-hand on the Oilers and two in-hand on the Flames, so that order could be jostled a bit when they even out.
Regardless, the Sabres will almost certainly not improve their position too much in the next 37 games. Sports Club Stats, via millions of simulations of the remaining NHL season, gives the Sabres a 63 percent chance of remaining in last place, a 26 percent chance at finishing 29th and only a 9 percent chance at finishing 28th.
That amounts to a 98 percent chance at finishing in the bottom three this season, which is about as close to a sure thing as it gets in the sporting world.
So what does this mean for the Sabres moving forward, especially in regard to the 2014 entry draft?
First, the Sabres have a 98 percent chance of picking in the top four and an 89 percent chance of picking in the top three.
With the new modified lottery rules going into place at last year’s draft, the Sabres, and every other lottery team, are assured a draft slot no more than one pick below where they would have picked if the order was based on pure standings. That means if the Sabres do in fact finish 30th (which would give them the first overall pick based on pure standings), the lowest they can pick is 29th if they do not win the lottery.
This does not even consider the possibility of the New York Islanders not deferring their first-round selection obtained in the Thomas Vanek trade to next year or the very real possibility of Matt Moulson and/or Ryan Miller netting more first-rounders.
Armed with that statistical assurance, the Sabres also can expect that they are going to get an excellent player with their top pick.
While this year’s draft does not seem to have the same overall top-end talent that last year’s offered, the top prospects this year are still skilled.
The Central Scouting Service (CSS) released its midterm rankings earlier this week, and while there was somewhat of a shake-up at the top, the top five had no surprises.
CSS has its top five as Samuel Bennett, a center for the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL; Leon Draisaitl, a center for the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL; Aaron Ekblad, a defenseman for the Barrie Colts in the OHL; Sam Reinhart, a center for the Kootenay Ice of the WHL; and Michael Dal Colle, a center/left wing for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL.
While Bennett topping the rankings was a bit of a surprise, his inclusion in the top five is not. A physical but offensively gifted center, he is a great skater and can find space on the ice quickly. At 6’0″, he is not physically enormous but has the size to make plays in the open ice and on the forecheck. He also possesses a bit of a mean streak, as he is likely to eclipse 100 penalty minutes this year with Kingston.
Draisaitl was one of the few bright spots on Germany’s World Junior Championship roster this year and has made a name for himself in the WHL. What impresses about him is his nose around the net, quick release and his ability to forecheck. While not the fastest skater, he moves well and can also play wing if necessary. If his skating improves, he can become a true three-zone force.
Ekblad has a lot in common with next year’s darling Connor McDavid, as he too was granted an exemption to play in the OHL as a 15-year-old. Ekblad is big at 6’3″ and can skate well. A defenseman’s best friend is the first pass, and his is excellent, as is his shot. While he’s not going to light up the scoreboard from the point, he is arguably the player with the highest ceiling in the draft.
Reinhart has gotten a lot of attention in the early part of the season and rightfully so. He sees the ice as well as anyone in the 2014 class and has the skating and puck-handling skills to boot. He isn’t the biggest guy at 6’1″, but he uses his size effectively and can push the play through the neutral zone. His performance at this year’s World Juniors was not mind-blowing, but he played a solid tournament by scoring five points in seven games.
Finally, Dal Colle is not going to impress with his finesse, but he can score. A big-bodied center/wing, he can push the puck effectively and has a nose for the net. His skating needs some work, but he is one of the younger players eligible for this year’s draft.
Those five players would all fight for a spot immediately with the Sabres, with Reinhart likely starting on the team from Day 1.
The most interesting decision to be made leading up to the draft—especially if the Sabres end up picking first—would be whether or not to take Ekblad. While he may be the player with the highest ceiling, he also plays at a position that the Sabres seem well-equipped for in the future, especially with offensive talents like Bennett and Reinhart available.
So, while the Sabres may continue to struggle the rest of the season, as it stands right now they have a 98 percent chance at landing a player who will be a big piece in making them a Stanley Cup contender again.
Follow me on Twitter for NHL and Sabres news all season long: @SwordPlay18.
Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
