Top 3 Buffalo Sabres takeaways after the NHL Trade Deadline
For a bottom-tier hockey team, the Buffalo Sabres were nowhere near as active as they should have been at the NHL Trade Deadline
You can argue the Buffalo Sabres blockbuster trade came months before the NHL Trade Deadline when they shipped Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights. But this is a team looking to get younger, and they failed to do this next to shipping defenseman Robert Hagg to the Florida Panthers for a sixth-round pick.
Some claim the sixth-round pick wasn’t enough compensation for Hagg. But at least they netted something. With many veterans set to depart this offseason, the Sabres will most likely get nothing for the likes of Cody Eakin, Colin Miller, Will Butcher, and a plethora of other veterans.
Now that Adams did not trade veterans with expiring contracts, he guaranteed a rebuilding team like the Sabres would receive minimal compensation in the short-term. Contenders would have bought in to their services and Adams should have taken the best offer on the table.
After speculating the Sabres would sell at the trade deadline, we now have zero idea of what Adams’ game plan is. Is he looking to re-sign those with expiring contracts, despite the fact none of the above mentioned players lived up to their billings?
Adams has left the Sabres future shrouded in mystery. Even if he acquired something as little as a sixth-round pick, he still got something for those veterans. He had a chance to further maximize the NHL Draft, or at least acquire a few prospects to allocate to Rochester. But now, Adams missed the opportunity so the Sabres could remain “competitive” from now until the end of April.
The overall takeaway is that Adams did not host the sale he should have hosted. Especially since the intent this season was to get younger. So how can we interpret the Sabres performance at the trade deadline? Here are three takeaways that may come back to haunt them this offseason.
Minimal Compensation
Fans fretted about the sixth-round pick the Sabres acquired for Hagg. But Hagg’s underperformance this season wasn’t even worth a mid-round pick. Had he consistently remained the physical player he was in Philadelphia, maybe he was worth a fourth-rounder. But he wasn’t, and Adams took what he was given.
So why not utilize the same mentality with the other three defensemen rumored to go elsewhere at the deadline? Especially since he could have recalled someone like Oskari Laaksonen, who spent time on the team’s “taxi squad” when injuries and COVID hit the Sabres.
Trading away Miller, Pysyk, and Butcher, or even one or two of them, may not have given the Sabres much. But it would have given them more to work with than not trading them at all. It’s probable the entire trio walks to continue their careers elsewhere.
Now, the Sabres get to deal with minimal compensation as they continue to reshape the roster. Key phrase: reshape the roster. It’s much easier to accomplish such a feat when you have more prospective young talent to work with. At the very least, the Sabres will have freed up some cap space should they choose not to re-sign their older defensemen.
Kevyn Adams’ offseason game plan
It’s easy to criticize Kevyn Adams’ mentality in immediate hindsight. And it’s easier to state the upcoming offseason remains shrouded in mystery, as stated in the opening slide.
The trade deadline came and went just over 24 hours ago, so perhaps Adams has something else up his sleeve. Yeah, he missed opportunities to acquire young talent and draft picks, but is he instead gearing up for a big offseason?
Adams could always pull off a blockbuster signing with the cap space accumulated from letting his most valuable veterans walk. There is also the possibility he’d rather pull off an offseason trade with those who remain behind. Kyle Okposo could always go, despite his 15-team no-trade clause.
Or, Adams may like what he’s seen in Victor Olofsson and Vinnie Hinostroza, both of whom have come on strong as of late. And if that’s the case, what’s not to say he doesn’t keep the duo around while seeking other options to bring to Buffalo?
If there is one positive about Adams’ desire to keep the Sabres competitive for the rest of the season, it’s that by doing so, he may be able to lure at least one big name to town. And if that’s the case, then Adams’ seemingly lack of action at the trade deadline turned out to be genius. We won’t know for sure until the offseason commences.
Potential re-signings
Something touched on in the previous section, Adams could re-sign some current talent. Obviously, if Hinostroza and Olofsson continue to play well, they’re good candidates.
But what about Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski? Okay, neither Anderson nor Tokarski are long-term fixtures in the net. However, they would make great backups as their careers descend onto the back-nine.
Anderson will be 41, but he’s proven he can stick around for another season or two in a backup role. Tokarski is coming off of a legendary performance against the Calgary Flames and would also make a great backup.
Guys like center Cody Eakin and the elder statesmen at defensemen could also, if willing to take pay cuts, provide service on the lower lines and pairings. Perhaps it’s something Adams foresees or at least wants to experiment with as the season winds down.
And if that’s the case, he’s once again in the right. This article was by no means trying to criticize Adams. But instead, trying to make sense of his mentality following the trade deadline in both a positive and negative light. Time will decide whether Adams’ conservative strategy at the trade deadline pays off.