Oh, has Kevyn Adams made some ill-fated moves lately, or has he made some ill-fated moves lately? Yeah, we can collectively answer yes. But Adams hasn’t always missed. In fact, over the past 12 months, he pulled off some trades that’ve looked pretty decent in hindsight, and we need to give credit where it’s due.
And yeah, I know, Adams should be fired. I ain’t gonna argue that point. But it doesn’t mean we need to chastise him 100 percent of the time. Just because someone’s not in our good graces, it shouldn’t give us a ticket to say they’re wrong for the sake of us wanting to say that they’re wrong.
And in these three cases, Adams got it right. Let’s explore them and talk about why he’s been in the right.
1 - Casey Mittelstadt
While Casey Mittelstadt looked like a late-bloomer for a while there, he’s been a bust so far with the Colorado Avalanche. While I know he’s fourth in points and all, he’s a distant fourth, with just 26 on the season and eight goals.
He’s also by far the worst on the Avs in plus-minus, at a whopping minus-16. I mean, I know the Avs struggled to stop even the least talented teams earlier in the year, but as of Friday night, nobody else in Denver had anything less than a minus-8.
It goes to show that the Sabres at least made a good move to refrain from signing him to a long-term deal after he enjoyed a short stint of success. But we can’t say the same about a few other players wearing a blue and gold uniform.
2 - Matt Savoie
No, this isn’t a knock on Matt Savoie, who’s been exceptional over in Bakersfield, and he looks poised to earn a full-time spot in the NHL. It might be with the Edmonton Oilers, or he may end up somewhere else. And whatever happens, good luck to him.
Instead, I’m glad to see Savoie wearing different team colors because trading him brought in Ryan McLeod. McLeod’s recent and rather unique hat trick has been the latest big thing from the center, but he’s been finding his offensive game in Buffalo.
While some fans may never forgive Adams for shipping away such a high-potential prospect, the proven speedster in McLeod has given the Blue and Gold a reliable forward.
3 - Erik Johnson
Remember when Erik Johnson was supposed to oversee the Sabres in their ultimate transition back to the playoffs? Yeah, when that wasn’t working out, Adams sent him to Philadelphia, where he was supposed to have the same role.
Only, the Flyers never made the playoffs because of a late-season collapse. So, he’d get that role in 2024-25, right? Well, it turns out that it’s not right, because Johnson has played in just 15 games all season as of Saturday.
No, he hasn’t been injured. Instead, the up-and-down Flyers have made him a healthy scratch on most nights. It probably wasn’t what Johnson had in mind when he returned to Philadelphia for another season.