The Sabres are trying to claw their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. We talk through the challenges they face as they chase down the Red Wings, Islanders and Capitals for a potential wild card berth. We also field a couple of listener questions after breaking down the playoff race, touching on topics that relate to the future of Buffalo’s blueline and Zemgus Girgensons.
Thinking Out of the Box: Which Drought Brought the Most Pain?
Featuring Chris & @BuffaloWins
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Chris: Joe, it’s yet another Sabres season with no playoffs and the top ranked prospect pool. You must be over the moon.
Joe: Ah yes, where’s Ted Black to send out another booklet stating we won the prospect title? Maybe Kris Baker can come out with his own beer called prospect IPA.
Speaking of beer, the only way you can get me through a Sabres game is a beer. Lots of beer. WTF has happened to me? It wasn’t too long ago we’d be fighting over importance of prospects, Derek Roy being a top 20 center, Cody Hodgson getting a lucrative deal, Tim Murray giving away draft picks like he’s giving away tips at the bar, and Kim Pegula telling us we don’t know anything. It’s dark times for me. I’ve watched probably six periods of Sabres hockey this season and while I can blame my newborn baby or 7-9 p.m. is Joe and wife TV time, I’m just beaten by the Sabres. The losing has killed. And as someone who has been around for 44 years and 17 of those happened during the Bills drought, I think this drought is worse somehow. What say you?
Continue readingThe Instigator Podcast 12.29 – Breaking Down the Sabres Deadline
Kevyn Adams made a big splash ahead of the deadline, acquiring Bowen Byram from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt. We dig into the deal, discussion what Byram can bring to the table for the Sabres and what this means for the next acquisitions Adams needs to make as he tries to shape the Sabres into a playoff roster.
We also touch on some of the deals from around the NHL, reviewing the work done by Vegas, Winnipeg, Carolina and Colorado at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline.
Unlocking Byram’s Full Potential the Key to Swap with Avs
Kevyn Adams exhibited quite a bit of patience over the last 24-plus months, making scant few trades since sending Jack Eichel to Vegas in November 2021.
That all changed on Wednesday when he acquired Bowen Byram from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt. A hockey trade in the purest sense, Adams made the acquisition that eluded him in the offseason as he bolsters his blueline with another U25 player with team control.
This trade won’t lack criticism. Mittelstadt had found his game over the last two seasons and he’d been one of Buffalo’s most consistent and effective forwards this season. He was delivering on his draft pedigree and provided the Sabres with three reliable centermen on a nightly basis. Mittelstadt’s next contract was going to be a challenge for the Sabres as the potential for the deal to upset their salary structure was a real possibility. Still, his contributions over the last two seasons were terrific. He had evolved into a two-way weapon, adept at winning battles along the wall with the impressive playmaking attributes that made him a high draft pick.
At 25, with team control, Mittelstadt was also a prime trade candidate, especially considering the extensions the Sabres had given to Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens. Extending him wasn’t out of the question, but he offered Adams a trade chip few other GMs had at their disposal.
Continue readingAdams Adds Another Deadline Surprise
My how things can change in an instant.
Most of the reporting surrounding Kevyn Adams and this year’s trade deadline was low key. The Sabres were expected to send out their pending unrestricted free agents, but it seemed any significant work would have to wait until the summer.
Then Wednesday afternoon, Adams swapped Casey Mittelstadt for Bowen Byram and dropping the biggest bomb of the 2024 deadline season.
Much of this post had been written at that point, with a hope that Adams would be able to pull off a big deal by Friday. The combination of cap troubles around the league and difficult fits seemed like that might be a longshot. even if the hope of a deadline surprise always lurks. Any deal Adams would have made outside of selling Zemgus Girgensons, Erik Johnson and Kyle Okposo would’ve been a surprise addition in some way. Though I’m not sure anyone was truly prepared for the magnitude of the trade he made with the Avalanche.
Continue readingThe Instigator Podcast 12.28 – NHL Trade Deadline Preview
It’s deadline week and the rumors are flying left and right. We run through a number of topics on this week’s show, including the most recent trades to have been made around the league while offering up one trade that each of us would make if we were in charge of another NHL team.
We then talk about Buffalo’s apparent strategy ahead of this year’s deadline and the trio of pending UFAs Kevyn Adams appears poised to move. We close the show with a pair of trades we’d like to see Adams make before the 3 p.m. deadline on Friday.
Projecting the 4 Nations Face Off: USA
The 4 Nations Face Off will be the closest the U.S. has been to Canada in terms of overall talent at any point in best-on-best international play. The Americans beat the Canadians in 1996 and they were one shot away from another sweep in 2010, but neither of those teams were close to their Canadian counterparts on the basis of talent. The Americans have a young and deep group of players to select from and should be able to ice a roster that can go toe-to-toe with the Canadians.
It’s a shame there isn’t a mechanism that would allow them to trade a goaltender to Canada for a forward or defenseman simply given how rich the U.S. is at the position. There are easily four, if not five, goaltenders worthy of consideration for this roster, a strength that will largely be squandered in a tournament that is so short. That isn’t to say the Americans shouldn’t feel confident in their goaltending, but it’s the one position where depth as impressive as theirs won’t really matter given the nature of the position. But goalie isn’t the only area where the Americans should feel confident. So long as they don’t repeat the mistakes of 2014 and 2016, they should have an immensely talented lineup at their disposal.
Continue readingRevisiting Some Renovation Ideas for KeyBank Center
Renovations to KeyBank Center are coming. What was initially reported in the fall has been further confirmed with the recent publication of the Sabres’ plans for a new videoboard and repairs to the building’s roof.
As was detailed in the fall, the team is eyeing additional work throughout the 28-year old arena with one of the biggest pain points for fans, the seats, high on the to-do list. As upgrading the arena has moved back to the front burner, it seemed like a good time to revisit some of the areas of the arena I’ve hoped to see the team address when it comes time to bust out the hard hats.
Making improvements to the seating bowl is obvious to just about anyone who walks in the building. The seats have been there since the building opened and they are showing their age. But there are other sections of KeyBank Center that are underutilized and could bring a better overall customer experience should they be reimagined and depending on the amount of investment the Sabres, county and state care to make.
Some (many?) of the ideas floated in this post may be too ambitious or unrealistic to ever be adopted, but my hope is to offer a healthy mix of feasible and necessary improvements with a few pipe dreams sprinkled in. The building needs quite a bit of TLC and even if the bulk of the attention is paid to the most necessary repair work, there will still be a marked difference down on Perry St.
Continue readingProjecting the 4 Nations Face Off: Sweden
It will be hard to fairly judge any of the teams in this tournament given its length. Finland’s roster doesn’t seem ultra impressive on paper, but if Juuse Saros is hot, or certain key players on other teams are injured, the results could be much different than what may be expected. I think in a more controlled setting, with more runway to get up to speed this Sweden team could really make some noise.
They have a well rounded defense corps and there are some serious players up front. They don’t have quite the same amount of depth of talent as the Americans or Canadians, but they’re close. It’s a solid group with some lineup flexibility that could come in handy. Their goaltending won’t get as much attention as the U.S. group, but the Swedes easily have the second best stable of the tournament. How it all translates in a round robin setting is tougher to determine.
Continue readingThe Instigator Podcast 12.27 – Targeting Mission: Eastern Conference
In a follow up to last week’s episode, we run through the NHL’s Eastern Conference to determine viable trade targets for the Sabres at this year’s deadline or in the offseason. We hit on each team in the East, identifying players who can help on the fringes of the roster and even a few blockbuster candidates.
We also hit on the news that the Sabres will be bringing in a new scoreboard for the 2024-25 season along with repairing the roof of KeyBank Center.
Two in the Box 