It was less than two years ago that then-general manager Kevyn Adams made the infamous 'palm trees' quote that Sabres fans still remember to this day. At the time, he was talking about the struggle for the Sabres to attract unrestricted free agents to Buffalo or have them waive their no-trade clause.
Adams said that the best way to convince players to come to Buffalo is to win and be a perennial playoff team. Well, it seemingly has only taken one playoff trip for the rest of the players in the league to take notice and want to come to Buffalo.
According to Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts episode, the NHL insider mentioned that players are now more willing to join the Sabres. "I think the biggest victory for them last year was obviously making the playoffs, but I think the second biggest victory was they restored respect to the sword."
Friedman mentioned that Connor Hellebuyck had waived his no-trade clause and would be willing to join the Sabres if they could get a trade done. He also noted that Vincent Trocheck was "very interested in going there."
"The Sabres are a different animal now and they're respected," Friedman said.
Buffalo Sabres are still a franchise players want to go to even without Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram
It might be hard to believe, as the Sabres saw two of their top players leave in trades after not being willing to sign extensions. However, the Sabres couldn't offer Bowen Byram what he really wanted, and that was to be a top defenseman on his team. As for Alex Tuch, it seemingly was a money concern, and the Sabres couldn't get up to the contract he ultimately signed with the Washington Capitals.
The difference is that the departures of both players weren't because they were concerned about the direction of the franchise or if they could compete. The Sabres showed that last season, and that is probably why players are welcoming to the idea of going to Western New York.
Ahead of the NHL Draft, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was asked about whether he believes players are more open to the idea of playing in Buffalo. "We've actually had a couple of agents tell us that the players have changed their no-trade list and that Buffalo's off of it for now, so that's great news for us. I think we can be a destination, and everybody saw the passion in this hockey market last spring and in the playoffs, and it was incredible."
Kevyn Adams was right in that Buffalo doesn't have palm trees but they clearly have a lot more to offer than that and players have taken notice.
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