Right now, the Buffalo Sabres are facing adversity after dropping their eighth straight game on Saturday night to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It’s no secret that the NHL is laughing at Kevyn Adams following the Buffalo Sabres eighth straight loss. I mean, the guy had $50 million, or roughly around that much, in the team’s bankroll, and instead signed a bridge goaltender and a bridge defenseman. Good, everything is going according to plan.
I remember back in 2011 when a wise man once told me there are many schools of thought on just about any subject. What stuck out at me was that they said something in the realm of, “almost every school of thought is wrong, and the most popular school of thought is usually always wrong.”
Of course, when you speak to most sports fans, they think the best way to build a winning team is to spend, spend, and spend some more on free agents, wheel and deal to land a star player, and bam, you got your winning team. And that’s what I’m seeing more say Adams should have done.
For the small percentage of us who know better, we realize that’s often a very bad idea. Sure, you could win like that. But after two or three years, what are you left with? Often a barren prospect pool, some of your highest draft picks have been traded away, and you are probably in cap trouble.
Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams got it right
So far, we have seen Adams piece together the NHL’s best prospects pool. Adams also did some trading of his own, but he traded for young talent like Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and Devon Levi. He also traded for draft picks that landed the Sabres Noah Ostlund and Jiri Kulich.
Adams also drafted a future star in Owen Power, and even landed some diamonds in the rough like Tyson Kozak. His top picks from 2020, Jack Quinn and J.J. Peterka, are already seeing time in the NHL and while they have had their rookie moments, they also look like they belong.
Under Don Granato, who Adams promoted in 2021, two would-be busts in Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson have since turned into the best players on the team, no argument needed. Jeff Skinner’s career has since turned around, ditto for Kyle Okposo’s. Overall, Adams deserves this honor and recognition, and he is by no means a failure. Nor is Don Granato.
Article Source: What Your Team Is Thankful For: Buffalo Sabres by John Gilroy
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