NHL trade deadline

Sabres at the Deadline: Time for the First Step

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Jason Botterill and the Sabres have hit another deadline season no nearer to the playoffs that the year before. Once again, the Sabres aren’t quite sellers but they aren’t quite buyers either.

It’s been a rough season for the club, as a summer of anticipation over improving the forward corps came and went. The lack of action at the tail end of the summer carried all the way to January when Botterill finally acquired a forward, flipping a pick to Calgary for Michael Frolik.

That deal has played out about how you would have expected. Frolik has been forgettable during his time in Buffalo as he was a player better acquired in the wake of a larger acquisition. But instead of Frolik supplementing the roster after a move for a top six forward, he’s slotted into an already crowded and forgettable bottom six. That bottom six accounts for the list of deadline rentals the Sabres have to offer. Cheap rentals, but still rentals.

Frolik, along with Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson, Conor Sheary and Jimmy Vesey are Buffalo’s pending unrestricted free agents. As a restricted free agent who previously requested a trade, Evan Rodrigues could still be on the move as well. Add in trade rumor regular Rasmus Ristolainen and Buffalo’s other defensemen, specifically Brandon Montour, Colin Miller and possibly Jake McCabe, Botterill could have a busy Monday. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 8.22 – Trade Deadline Preview

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The trade deadline is just days away and there have been a host of moves made in the week leading up to the 24th. We discuss Buffalo’s handful of UFAs, who they should look to move and what might be necessary to bring back in order to preserve Rochester’s roster wherever possible. We also discuss whether or not the Sabres are in a position where they need to make a trade in order to earn back their fanbase and to truly strengthen the roster.

The Instigator Podcast 7.22 – NHL Trade Deadline Breakdown

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The bonus extension of the deadline podcast looks at some of the biggest trades that went down at the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline. We look into all of the moves made by the Columbus Blue Jackets and the arms race out West. Specifically the deals made by Nashville, Winnipeg and, of course, Vegas.

You can listen to The Instigator Podcast on most podcast streaming services, including large providers such as iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and TuneIn and most other third-party podcast streaming apps. You can find links to subscribe and rate the show below:

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The Instigator Podcast 7.21 – Trade Winds Blow Through Buffalo

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For the first time in a long time, the Sabres were working to add players at the NHL Trade Deadline. Jason Botterill brought Brandon Montour to Buffalo in an effort to upgrade his blueline. He also shipped Nathan Beaulieu to Winnipeg in order to clear space for his newest acquisition.

You can listen to The Instigator Podcast on most podcast streaming services, including large providers such as iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and TuneIn and most other third-party podcast streaming apps. You can find links to subscribe and rate the show below:

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Two in the Mailbox: Top-Six Wing Targets and Risto’s Return

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Two in the Mailbox, the (sometimes) weekly mailbag on the Sabres, goalie stuff, Buffalo and anything in between, is back. You can submit to the mailbag using #2ITBmailbag on Twitter or emailing 2intheboxbuffalo@gmail.com.

I was WAY overdue for this edition of the mailbox but my procrastinating is done. Hopefully it’s up long enough before any of the information gets dated by the trade deadline. If I was better at this I would’ve posted this at least a day or two ago.

With that said, here are the questions for this edition.

Tim Goodier – Rest of his tenure aside, how big of a misstep is a lack of moves from Botterill this season? Especially when you consider his wants (guys with term) are and have been available and even a deadline move may be too late after dropping six points to NYR, NJD, FLA and being six back? Continue reading →

What’s Left from the Sabres at the Deadline

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After Jason Botterill’s comments on Wednesday it seemed fair to assume he’d have a relatively quiet trade deadline. The holes in his team’s roster were showing and the playoffs were looking bleak as other Eastern Conference contenders added help while Botterill stayed patient.

It was hard to stomach for some, watching the Sabres slide from the literal league lead to a six-point deficit from the final wild card spot. For others it was just fine. Botterill was going to build through the draft and stockpile prospects. That got turned on its ear on Sunday when Botterill sent a first round pick and Brendan Guhle to Anaheim for Brandon Montour.

The deal was exactly what Botterill had said he was attempting to make all year. A deal for a young player who would offer help to the team now and in the future. I don’t expect him to take another big swing by Monday’s deadline, but I don’t think the Sabres are done. Continue reading →

Botterill Takes a Swing, Acquires Brandon Montour

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It was a busy Sunday if you’re a Sabres fan. Andy Strickland kicked things off with speculation that connected Rasmus Ristolainen with the Tampa Bay Lightning but that was quickly squashed by Darren Dreger.

But Strickland’s Tweet got the Sabres fanbase frothing and it was only a few hours later that Jason Botterill pulled the trigger on his biggest trade since acquiring Jeff Skinner, sending a first-round pick and Brendan Guhle to the Anaheim Ducks for Brandon Montour.

As someone whose been a fan of Montour’s for some time, I’m over the moon that he’s going to be wearing blue and gold for the foreseeable future. Botterill paid a fair price for the honor of acquiring Montour, but he also pulled from two areas he has additional assets so he isn’t stripping his cupboards bare with the package. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 7.20 – Botterill Speaks, Now What?

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Jason Botterill held court with the press and gave his head coach a vote of confidence. He also reinforced his previous claims of the deals he’s looking to make ahead of the deadline. We air some frustrations with Botterill’s apparent approach and break down some of the recent deals to break, including Charlie Coyle to Boston and Jakub Silfverberg’s extension in Anaheim. We also offer up a few thoughts on Jeff Skinner, trying to cool off any concerns people may have regarding whether or not he’ll be signing an extension in Buffalo.

You can listen to The Instigator Podcast on most podcast streaming services, including large providers such as iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and TuneIn and most other third-party podcast streaming apps. You can find links to subscribe and rate the show below:

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Over-Thought: Sabres Need to Shop for College Free Agent Goalies

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The final weeks before the deadline always seem to drag. Probably because the same rumors keep getting recycled, debunked and then re-reported. This week’s edition as rumor-heavy as you might expect two weeks out from the deadline, but I suspect next week’s will be chock-full of rumors.

Check out this week’s edition of 31 Thoughts here.

  1. One GM who could change the market over the next few days? Minnesota’s Paul Fenton. His team is still clinging to a playoff spot, but Mikko Koivu is out for the year. Ownership always pushes for the playoffs, but what do the Wild honestly think about their situation?

The Wild are bobbing in and out of a wild card spot and they’ve spent the last number of seasons as a playoff club unable to get over the hump. Having to get through Chicago or Nashville or the Blues at the height of their powers certainly didn’t help.

But now Minnesota’s core is beginning to age. Ryan Suter and Zach Parise are both 34 and still have six years left on their deals, Jared Spurgeon is 29, Devan Dubnyk is 32 and Mikko Koivu is 35. They already parted ways with Nino Niederreiter and there have been rumors that Charlie Coyle may be on his way out. Both were already inching to their late-20s and both Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund are in the same spot. Coyle, Granlund and Zucker are hardly long in the tooth, so don’t misinterpret this as all doom and gloom for the Wild, but they’re probably approaching a period of transition. They’re not completely cooked when it comes to prosepcts but they’re not flush with young talent either. They always feel close but unable to push the right button to bring it all together. If they miss the playoffs this year I would suspect they’d be in the market for some fairly significant change come the summer. Continue reading →

Over-Thought: Jackets Backed into a Corner with Bob and Bread

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I’m a few days late with the OT this week but better late than never. This week’s edition is technically last week’s, with thoughts coming from Elliotte Friedman’s column breaking down the Auston Matthews extension. If you haven’t already, you can read the entire column here.

  1. Over the weekend, the feeling was Florida would not make trades for Panarin or Sergei Bobrovsky — feeling there was no need to spend assets when the Panthers liked their chances in free agency. Monday, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks reported the Panthers are thinking about trading for Bobrovsky, so as to give him eight years. We will see where this goes, but don’t be surprised to see Florida continue to try to clear room. Mike Hoffman, now in his fifth-straight 20-goal season, could be another to go. Teams are always looking for scorers.

This rumor keeps gaining steam and it’s an extremely unenviable position for the Blue Jackets to be in. As a member of Team Chaos, I’m all for seeing this deal go down. At the deadline. There’s an added bonus of a division rival potentially carrying $14m-plus in goaltender contracts, so I’d be happy to see the Panthers get aggressive for the pair of pending UFAs.

Today’s report that Jonathan Huberdeau could be a potential casualty for the Panthers to clear the space for the pair added even more fuel to the fire, though Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period threw some cold water on the report. This has to be a tricky one to navigate for the Blue Jackets as they’re backed into a corner on each player and it seems apparent that they’ll each be wearing new uniforms next season. They’re a strong team that’s probably one or two pieces away from being a serious contender. They’re hardly in a position to be trading their top scorer or starting goalie. They should be adding in an attempt to get over the hump in the East. Do you keep Panarin and Bobrovsky as “rentals” for the postseason, make your run and deal with the fallout in the summer? Or do you try to double down? Ship them for assets in an attempt to flip the return into more bodies prior to the deadline? If Huberdeau was truly on the block, I’d be taking a long look at pulling the trigger on the deal if I were Jarmo Kekalainen. Huberdeau isn’t Panarin but he keeps you afloat offensively. Add in whatever else the Panthers will be offering (Brassard, picks, prospects) and the opportunity to leverage those assets prior to February 25. That would require a lot of moving parts but it offers the Jackets more stability for this season without the threat of the bottom falling out immediately after.

I still think this plays out in the summer. Are the Panthers confident enough that an eighth year is enticing enough to swing a deadline deal? Is there enough time for the Jackets to turn the non-NHL bodies they’d receive into more help for a playoff push? If I’m Florida I’d be working to maximize the return I can get at the draft in order to shed salary with plans on putting together two big offers on July 1. Continue reading →