The Buffalo Sabres did absolutely nothing on March 1, and now have to roll with what they have for the remainder of the 2016-17 regular season.
The NHL trade deadline came and went yesterday, and the Buffalo Sabres look exactly the same today as they did on February 28, despite all opinions to the contrary.
Dmitry Kulikov? Still here, despite the fact that he made it all the up to 3 on TSN’s Trade Bait rankings yesterday afternoon.
Cody Franson? Yep, still “skating” for the Sabres (if that’s what you want to call it) tonight.
Tyler Ennis? Marcus Foligno? Brian Gionta? Dan Bylsma? Check, check, check and check – you’ll see them all tonight!
Fart.
There are a few things to consider when we judge how well GM Tim Murray did his job:
- It is not as if no one called GMTM – he wasn’t sitting at his desk, in the dark, playing moody music while he pined for the good ol’ days when people liked him. There were some calls made about Kulikov and Franson, but for whatever reasons, no deals were made. Here is what GMTM had to say about his inability to move Kulikov and Franson (courtesy of The Buffalo News) :
"I’m a little bit surprised. We didn’t have a ton of UFAs, as you know. We had two on the back end that I thought would create some interest. I had some calls on them. Pricewise I was very open.My market was to just get fair value, so I didn’t miss out on trading a guy by demanding too much or by using previous trades in the day or the week as the template for what I had to do. I don’t think that came into play at all.I think I know the value of players, and I couldn’t make a trade. I think I’m honest to you guys. Am I disappointed? Of course I’m disappointed. We still have two players here who are here, so I don’t want to sit here and just say I couldn’t get anything for them. I don’t want them to walk in tomorrow with their tail between their legs here."
I’ll let you decide what you make of the “I think I know the value of players” comment – did GMTM over-value his two defensemen? Or did teams simply decide they did not require the service of a Russian struggling with back issues, and a big, slow blueliner who doesn’t have much of a physical presence, thereby negating the “big” part of the equation?
- Likewise, GMTM did receive calls on Evander Kane and Brian Gionta. However, Murray was never going to move Kane unless he got an offer he absolutely could not refuse – Hampus Lindholm, for example. You know – the sort of trade everyone dreams about, but pretty much never gets made. As for Gionta, the Sabres were respectful of his desire to remain in the 716:
"I also to spoke to Brian Gionta today after I did get a call. He’s the captain of our team. He’s a local guy. He’s a longtime player and a longtime character person in the league. I called him and asked him a couple questions and got answers."
Gio has been vocal about his desire to help the Buffalo Sabres grow into a playoff team, so he will continue to provide veteran leadership to a squad that desperately needs it, given the fact that this team has blown three 2-goal leads in the last two games. Try to wrap your head around that!
Had I written this piece yesterday, immediately after the trade deadline came and went, I might have been far more displeased with the Buffalo Sabres. I suppose there is always a chance I could still wind up being pissed off at them, if it turns out GMTM actually blew off a few trades because he was asking too much. Right now, though, it looks as if the Sabres simply didn’t have much of anything worth trading. Considering how quiet a day it was around the NHL in general, there is no sense in getting too fired up about a handful of trades that might have brought in some 3rd and 4th round draft picks, at best.