#7th. What will Kevyn Adams and the Sabres do in a make-or-break offseason? This is a make-or-break offseason for Sabres GM Kevyn Adams.
Buffalo has missed the playoffs in 13 straight seasons and Adams has been at the helm for four of them. The Sabres have some exciting young pieces and an elite prospect pool but it’s long overdue for the franchise to turn potential into tangible results. Adams was conservative last summer and it led to a step back this season — he can’t afford another disappointing campaign or he’ll likely pay for it with his job.
Adams’ first dilemma will be deciding whether or not to buy out Jeff Skinner. The 32-year-old winger has three years left at a $9 million cap hit. A buyout would open up a tad over $7.5 million of space this summer.
Third-line center will likely be a need after the Mittelstadt trade. On the back end, the Sabres have a lot of bodies but could use a rugged, defensively oriented type to complement the offensive skill that Rasmus Dahlin and Bowen Byram bring to the ice. They could also use an additional top-six winger, especially if Skinner gets bought out.
Adams is open to cashing in on some of his top prospects or the No. 11 pick for immediate help.
“I’ve made it clear to every single team in the league that I’m open to trading prospects if it makes our team better,” Adams said. “I’m open to trading pick 11 if it makes our team better. It just has to make sense, because these are valuable assets.”
All the signs are there for the Sabres to be big players and yet there’s still a pathway for an underwhelmingly quiet offseason. It isn’t always easy attracting top free agents to Buffalo and while you’d expect them to be aggressive in exploring the trade market, sometimes the prices don’t make sense or you simply strike out. In any case, there will be a ton of pressure on Adams to position the club to battle for a playoff spot next season.
ScotiaTailwagger
Skinner for Marner. Who says no?
BurgerFeazt
I mean, yeah. All of that is accurate and kind of obvious. The biggest roadblock I see to trading for proven talent is GMs who march out mediocre teams every season because they don’t want to rebuild and lose their jobs. There should be a ton of players available but Pittsburgh, Washington, Islanders, Winnipeg, Minnesota, St. Louis, and Nashville go into every season somehow thinking they can win. Looking around the league I see Calgary, Utah, Philly, Seattle, Chicago, and maybe a couple other legit trade partners but I don’t know how many players from those rosters I’d want
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#7th. What will Kevyn Adams and the Sabres do in a make-or-break offseason?
This is a make-or-break offseason for Sabres GM Kevyn Adams.
Buffalo has missed the playoffs in 13 straight seasons and Adams has been at the helm for four of them. The Sabres have some exciting young pieces and an elite prospect pool but it’s long overdue for the franchise to turn potential into tangible results. Adams was conservative last summer and it led to a step back this season — he can’t afford another disappointing campaign or he’ll likely pay for it with his job.
Adams’ first dilemma will be deciding whether or not to buy out Jeff Skinner. The 32-year-old winger has three years left at a $9 million cap hit. A buyout would open up a tad over $7.5 million of space this summer.
Third-line center will likely be a need after the Mittelstadt trade. On the back end, the Sabres have a lot of bodies but could use a rugged, defensively oriented type to complement the offensive skill that Rasmus Dahlin and Bowen Byram bring to the ice. They could also use an additional top-six winger, especially if Skinner gets bought out.
Adams is open to cashing in on some of his top prospects or the No. 11 pick for immediate help.
“I’ve made it clear to every single team in the league that I’m open to trading prospects if it makes our team better,” Adams said. “I’m open to trading pick 11 if it makes our team better. It just has to make sense, because these are valuable assets.”
All the signs are there for the Sabres to be big players and yet there’s still a pathway for an underwhelmingly quiet offseason. It isn’t always easy attracting top free agents to Buffalo and while you’d expect them to be aggressive in exploring the trade market, sometimes the prices don’t make sense or you simply strike out. In any case, there will be a ton of pressure on Adams to position the club to battle for a playoff spot next season.
Skinner for Marner. Who says no?
I mean, yeah. All of that is accurate and kind of obvious. The biggest roadblock I see to trading for proven talent is GMs who march out mediocre teams every season because they don’t want to rebuild and lose their jobs. There should be a ton of players available but Pittsburgh, Washington, Islanders, Winnipeg, Minnesota, St. Louis, and Nashville go into every season somehow thinking they can win. Looking around the league I see Calgary, Utah, Philly, Seattle, Chicago, and maybe a couple other legit trade partners but I don’t know how many players from those rosters I’d want