Two in the Mailbox is a semi-regular mailbag series. This latest edition tackles a host of Sabres topics including the effectiveness of Buffalo’s third defensive pair, which two defensemen should be the preferred choice and what the Sabres should ante up for Robert Thomas.
@bobz.bsky.social – Do you think the Cup parade will take the “normal” Buffalo parade route up Delaware, or do you think they start at/near the arena/Canalside instead?
I think any future Sabres or Bills parade will ultimately end at Niagara Square with a rally held on the steps of city hall. I also think when the day comes that either of these teams win a title, you could start the parade in Batavia and you’d have fans lining the streets the entire way into the city. But I think Niagara Square is the default city-wide rally host. It has space to accommodate fans viewing the parade and the backdrop of city hall makes it the best choice. As for the route? I think it would make sense if a Sabres parade started at the arena, the biggest challenge would be determining a route that would accommodate the sea of people who would be coming to celebrate. I think just about the entire population of Erie County would try and make it down for that one.
@goldsabre.bsky.social – Will Stanley and Metsa work as a pair?
Based on Thursday in San Jose, yes. Metsa’s PDO is becoming legendary at this point and although it’s bound to regress at some point, I think we should start to consider that he’s just a really solid defender. When you think of his tools, none of them are super elite. But he’s an incredibly intelligent player and his hockey IQ has made him a steady presence all season long. If you just boil the pairing down to the strengths and weaknesses of their underlying impacts, you could make a logical argument that Metsa can help to cover up some of Stanley’s shortcomings. They’d still need to get favorable deployment and I don’t think Metsa is a strong enough puck carrier that he solves all of their problems. Michael Kesselring is a factor here as well. He’s a bigger body who, in the playoffs, would form a very formidable pairing with Stanley. I’m expecting to see a pretty healthy rotation over the final few weeks as they sort out how that pair looks for the playoffs.
@mikeofthegeorge.bsky.social – What do you think the ceiling for Östlund is? Looking good so far but does he have long term top line potential?
Östlund has the look of a quality middle of the lineup player. He’s been really good on the wing and while he may not be an NHL center, the mix of playmaking and two-way effectiveness has made his rookie season an impressive one. He may even wind up in a top line role at some point depending on his linemates.
For now, I think what’s made him such a great addition is his doggedness on the puck. He shares a lot of similarities with Zach Benson and Josh Doan in that regard. That tenacity at both ends of the rink feeds well into the brand of hockey the Sabres want to play and you can see that his playmaking can and will be a trait that ought to keep him in the upper half of the lineup as he matures. I remember some worry when he announced that he was staying in Sweden after he was drafted, but that decision appears to have been a benefit to his development. No two players have the same path, but at a time when Kevyn Adams and the Sabres were eager to get their prospects to Rochester as soon as possible, taking a different path has paid off for Östlund.
Emjay716 – What’s the most you’re giving up to acquire Thomas in the off-season? Norris, Östlund, Konsta and a 1st is seemingly what they wanted at the deadline
Based on what was being reported on Thomas, my expectation was that any package from the Sabres would have to include Konsta Helenius, Radim Mrtka and Buffalo’s 2026 1st round pick. I doubt that Östlund was ever part of the conversation. Maybe the Blues asked about him, but I would expect Jarmo Kekäläinen would view Östlund as practically untouchable. In my opinion, the Sabres would have needed to add at least one notable NHL player to the offer in addition to another quality future asset. Maybe not a blue chip like Östlund, but someone like Isak Rosen or possibly an Adam Kleber or Maxim Strbak.
We saw some suggestions that Josh Norris or Jack Quinn could have been involved. I think Quinn makes a bit of sense for the Blues since he’s still pretty young. He would plug in nicely with the rest of the young core they’ll likely be building around. But it’s possible that his inconsistency, especially ahead of the deadline, would have cooled Doug Armstrong’s interest. Norris is curious because he helps make the cap work in both directions. He’s also a fair replacement for Thomas in the Blues lineup in the same way he’d be made a bit redundant by bringing Thomas to Buffalo. The injury history is an obvious issue, but there are reasons to see how both Norris and Quinn could have been considered attractive.
Had he been healthy and productive, I think Jiri Kulich would have been an ideal inclusion in that trade. He’s a young player with team control and he’s an NHL-ready body. For a team that would be looking to reset their core, a package centered on him, Helenius and Mrtka would have made for a good starting point. I think his recovery from blood clots would keep the Blues from engaging in the summer, but he’d be a name to keep an eye on.
If I’m in Kekäläinen’s shoes, I’d probably start with the base of the package listed above (Helenius, Mrtka, 1st round pick), add a B prospect like Kleber or Brodie Ziemer and then add Josh Norris. I don’t think that gets it done, but it would almost be a flat cap deal if Norris was involved. That would provide more flexibility on the trade and free agency front (it may even mean keeping Alex Tuch, if that’s your jam) in addition to opening the spot on the roster where Thomas would fit in. Perhaps you’d want to see Thomas and Tage Thompson play together, but I think the best deployment would be a center group of Thompson, Thomas and McLeod. Thus, Norris would be the first name I offered to the Blues in addition to the other key assets.
If you’re really swinging for the fences and/or Norris’ injury history is a turn off for the Blues, the alternative route would be to offer either Owen Power or Bowen Byram. If that was the case, I would strip out at least one of the blue chip pieces above (likely Mrtka) If I’m entering an offseason where I intend to be aggressive, putting one of those two on the table to bring back Thomas requires confidence that I could turn another deal that kept the blueline strong. That is a big gamble given how vital their defensemen have been this year, but if we’re talking blockbuster offers, you have to at least consider that avenue.
Lazytown716 – How do you reckon Lindy sorts out the 3rd pair for the playoffs? How do you want him to sort it out? Same question for the net, rotation or ride Lyon?
My gut tells me their preferred third pairing would be Stanley and Kesselring. We’ll see what they do once Conor Timmins is healthy. He’s been out so long at this point, I’m beginning to wonder if they only view him as a break glass in case of emergency option. Stanley and Kesselring’s combined size and physicality strikes me as something the Sabres would want to lean on in the playoffs. Kesselring, when healthy, is a decent enough skater and transition threat that you could conclude Ruff would be content with him as the primary transporter on the pairing.
We’ll have to see how the final weeks of the season goes. It’s going to be awfully hard to keep Metsa out of the lineup at this point, so a rotation of Kesselring, Metsa and Stanley seems equally logical.
In goal, I think Ruff will choose a game one starter and ride him until he loses. This is what he did the last time he faced a similar situation (2015-16 in Dallas). He started Kari Lehtonen until he lost, switched to Antti Niemi until he lost, and so on. I don’t think that’s the best decision, I’d rather see them just ride a starter if that was the case. But, we haven’t seen many examples of coaches continuing an every other game rotation in the playoffs, so it’s hard to envision Ruff breaking that mold. The best solution is probably what they’re doing right now, we’ll see if they’ve got the guts for it in the postseason.
@jordand91.bsky.social – Could we have a jobless GM win GM of the year?
I’m not sure what the rules are for the award, so I suppose if Kevyn Adams garnered votes it’s possible. Since the voting body is the league’s 32 general managers, five NHL executives and five media members, I’m sure there would be some backroom conversations to ensure a current GM won the award. I also think there will be enough competition for the award that Adams’ wouldn’t be a factor.
@Frostybflo.bsky.social – Does Lindy win the Jack Adams and then hang it up?
This is an excellent question. I think a lot of us have forgotten Lindy’s contract status amidst this winning run. Had this season gone differently, there would be a whole lot of conversation about his future and what Kekäläinen would want to do since Ruff isn’t his hire. Lindy may come out of this season with an extension and the Jack Adams to boot. Go back to November and try to convince anyone of that possibility.
Having Ruff as a short-term steward was an expectation when he was brought back last year. It’s entirely possible that he looks at this season – returning to break the drought that had begun when he was first fired in Buffalo – as a job well done and a poetic end to his coaching career. I would not rule that out in the least. But if the Sabres win a round or two, is he hungry to take the next step and finish the job? Does Kekäläinen want to hire his own coach? Does Terry Pegula have the final say? It will be interesting to see how Ruff and the franchise view his future.
Two in the Box 