Buffalo Sabres Daily: Tim Murray, Steve Montador

A new day brings the Buffalo Sabres organization ever closer to the upcoming NHL draft, free agency and — eventually — the start of another NHL season. So much to do in the offseason, so little time — but let’s put our faith in the organization to take care of business over the next few months and be ready when the players hit the ice in October.

For now, let’s focus on the present.

First and foremost: if anyone heard GM Tim Murray’s comments after the draft lottery… were you bothered by them?

Murray said after Saturday’s draft lottery that he was “disappointed for the fans,” making it seem as though Jack Eichel is nothing but a consolation prize for the team that wasn’t lucky enough to get Connor McDavid.

[related-posts]

In reality, Sabres fans weren’t disappointed. They knew going into the draft lottery that they were guaranteed the second-overall pick, and that’s what they wanted. That’s why fans were rooting for the team to finish 30th — to guarantee the second overall pick. Eichel is a completely worthy player, not a consolation prize, and we’ll gladly take him on our team.

(Personally – and this is just me speaking here – I was more upset that the Oilers got the top pick, than I was about the Sabres NOT getting it.)

Moving onto other Buffalo Sabres related topics: does the name Jason Kasdorf ring a bell to anyone?

It should, as Kasdorf was one of the other pieces acquired in the trade that shipped Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford out, bringing in Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian.

This morning’s read from the folks over at Bleacher Report talks about Kasdorf, and why he deserves more praise. The RPI netminder has two years of college eligibility left and could help out the goaltending situation for the Buffalo Sabres when the time comes.

In other news, the NHL announced the finalists for the Selke Trophy last night. [NHL.com]

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, LA Kings forward Anze Kopitar and Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron were all named finalists for the award, given to the best defensive forward in the NHL.

The last link this morning is really something special. If you only have time to read one other thing this morning – make this it.

Chicago Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo took time to write – and film a video – for The Players’ Tribune, posted on the website Wednesday.

The subject: a touching tribute to former Buffalo Sabres forward Steve Montador, a teammate of Carcillo’s on the Blackhawks several years ago. Montador passed away in February, and in the article and linked video, Carcillo opens up about his friend’s passing and calls on the NHL to better assist players and retirees.

I’ll leave you with these words, from Carcillo’s piece:

"“When I rejoined the team after taking a few days off for Monty’s funeral, I couldn’t put what happened out of my mind. One night on the road, I started writing down my thoughts on Hilton hotel notepads. Why do NHL players struggle so much with moving on from the game? Why are so many former players I know battling depression? Why does the hockey community ignore them when they’re gone? And why can’t we create a more concrete program to help them transition into real life?”"

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