Paul Hamilton Analyzes End of JJ Peterka in Buffalo | The Jeremy and Joe Show

Paul Hamilton Analyzes End of JJ Peterka in Buffalo | The Jeremy and Joe Show

let him sleep in a little bit because it was a it was a late trade a late trade paul Hamilton on the Wester hotline good morning Jeremy and Joe jeremy at Wanuka Country Club right now for the 100 Holes if you’d like to donate search 100 holes and then there’s a search bar right there for Jeremy’s page if you want to donate to his individually paul was that uh the late trade it’s not uncommon it’s happened in the league right where you get a trade at like 1:00 in the morning
i’ve had it happen yes and where were you i was trying to call you at 1:00 in the morning saying “All right what time am I on?”
My I do not have my ringer on at 1:00 s woke up to it
you could have called me i would have woke up i would have been mad at you for calling me but I would have woke up
oh I knew I’d be hearing from you folks before I when I went to bed i go “Yep they’ll they’ll be calling.” Although actually this time I actually was up by now since it’s 9:00
all right
um Yeah uh it’s I had well when Reinhardt and it wasn’t even announced then we were down at the arena that was 1:00 in the morning when we knew Reinhardt had been traded but we didn’t get the official word until the next day
um when Danny Breier became a Buffalo Saber i got a call from the Sabres at 12:45 which was the same time they announced this trade um on Twitter
uh so I had gotten at the same time a 12:45 call i believe Brier played for the Coyotes that night and that’s one of the reasons why they waited on it
so uh it’s not the first time I’ve gotten
notification like that but it certainly does not happen very often i remember being on the air that night for for for it was the NHL draft right for draft coverage when Reinhardt gets traded and thinking why because there was a long period of time between when it was reported and when it was announced and we were I mean you’re you know you know how it is Paul like you’re in day two of draft coverage you only know so much about the prospect instead we went off on a scavenger hunt to figure out why the trade wasn’t announced and we were looking up like Finnish players from Florida that might not be awake yet like oh they haven’t announced it cuz this guy still asleep in Finland i think Lendell was actually the player that might have ended up being pretty nice but speaking of NHL draft coverage we will have all that for you starting Friday night 700 p.m brian Kio and Brighton Wilson will anchor our coverage paul will obviously be on site down at One Bills Drive we’ll have Zach Jones uh anchoring coverage from back here as well um with making sure that you have any news breaking news things like that that’s going on on digital and social uh Zack Paul Evan Dasquali everybody on hand here at WGR all right Paul you’ve said many times hey listen it’s not scoring it’s defense this team needs uh they have to be better there they got a what we think is a guy that’s going to help on the blue line but they did it by giving up a top six forward who’s a goal scorer a 23-year-old and we know everything that’s been surrounding JJ Burka so how do you evaluate this trade well I you know what I what I think the basic problem is here and it’s still a problem here is that the Sabres are still in this position six years into a regime that players want out and then they they are forced to trade players you’re not really in a position of great power when you’re trying when you’re forced to trade somebody and it just keeps happening and keeps happening that players want out and that to me is the problem that we’re still the Buffalo Sabres are still in a position where players want out and then they’re forced to trade them uh I think Kesserling is a good defenseman and and I saw every game he played for Team USA that won the gold medal uh teammates with Taage Thompson i thought he was excellent in that tournament he is what they need he’s big he’s strong he’s not afraid to get mix it up i don’t think he needs a team meeting to tell him to arrive when one of his players gets laid out um you know I I I I think he and and what I as I learned more about him and read more about him last and you know I’ve seen him play also he was developed the right way he’s 23 years old he has spent time in the American Hockey League to get his development and uh now now is starting at 23 years old to become a good NHL defenseman of course a right-handed shooting defenseman and remember when Ras Rasmus wristan was traded and I was floored that the Sabres got a number one pick out of it and it was simply because right-handed defensemen in the NHL are hugely valued hugely overvalued you might say in Raspusan’s case um and teams covet them it’s something the Sabres need this fills a need that the Sabres have um Don I basically envision him riding shotgun with Beck Malenstein um I certainly you you you now have two holes in my opinion in your top six forwards um I thought you had one anyway because I just don’t think Zack Benson should be in the top six he doesn’t produce as a top six um and and I thought you needed one there now you need a second one but I think you’ve also filled a hole on your defense because I think Kesserling is to a point now in his career where he can play in your top four for and be a right-handed shot defenseman and maybe be that guy that can grow up with Owen Power and help him uh you know so I I don’t object to them getting Kessle ring but you know where the real problem is it’s not well they got a horrible return if that’s how people feel about it it’s that they’re even having to trade a player like Peter at all that a young player like that already wants out to go with Eel to go with Reinhardt to go with you know uh the the list goes on and on uh uh you know all these people that want out and you shouldn’t be six years into trying to rebuild a team and having guys still like I want out of here paul you you mentioned a couple of times there talking like the Sabres had to trade Purka do you feel like they cuz listening to like Freriedman a couple of times in the last week has been saying the Sabres do not want to trade Burka but they’re listening and if it would take an offer that I forgot the exact wording he used i keep using blow your socks off i don’t think it was that strong but basically that the Sabres they won’t do it unless there’s an offer that really c like forces them to does that feel like what happened here to you do you feel like they traded Purka because they felt like they just had to move him or do you think these two players
was oh for casterling that that’s why I got to do it
i think they like Casserling they I think they should like Casserling but I I don’t think it’s like oh wait a minute that’s the trade right there we you know I think it got to a point of no return i think they wanted to keep him i think they were holding out hope that he would change his mind or his agent would change his mind and that they could convince him that this is the place to be but it it sometimes gets to a point where you’re like well it’s not happening he’s not going to change his mind and we’re going to we’re going to have to get rid of him do you want a pouting JJ Purka on your team all all year long i mean because you didn’t you didn’t trade him this year um how how much does that help and let’s let’s be honest too i’ve been reading you know people some are disappointed the Sabres didn’t get the fourth or pick are you kidding me they didn’t get the fourth overall pick for Eel or Reinhardt jj Purka is not getting you the fourth overall pick
i think there’s a sentiment that maybe people thought they could have swapped picks four and five picks maybe but um you you still have to remember that JJ Purka is not a complete player in the NHL
he he’s not just well he’s not very good in his own end he’s horrendous in his own end and numbers will bear that out
i mean he he he does not have good numbers at all and I’ve had folks tell me uh who are heavy into analytics that the Sabres are better off without him with as bad as he is defensively
but but this is part of
it’s hard it’s hard to ignore 55 goals in two years but you know when you’re how many if you know you’re you’re not holding your weight to the other end now that Sal is also something he can fix right
if he wants to
that’s part of the issue I have to work at he’s 23 Paul like we’ve seen guys what do we hear about Mitch Mner forever and yet he’s getting sulky votes right whether it’s justified or not to some people he is we’ve heard this about and look I’m feeling better about this trade as the morning goes on i’ll be honest with you i really am i’m liking a lot of the things I’m hearing about Kessle Ring and what he can do no doubt about it but it’s he’s 23 is an ascending player and all these things about not being good in his own end guy’s mature i’m watching Sam Bennett run around the ice with the cup and I’m thinking “Oh my god this guy’s been in the league 11 years look how long it took him to get to the player that everyone thought that maybe he could be someday.”
Well Sally the Sabres I’ve obviously felt that way cuz they wanted to keep him
yeah what do you think about the contract i ask you that what do you think about the contract he signed if if if you woke up this morning if you got the alert that said the Sabres signed JJ Purka to 5year 7.7 Paul what would have been your reaction
i would have been fine with that i was thinking low sevens maybe
you know uh so that that it got into the high sevens would not have shocked i mean he would be making more than Tage Thompson but Tage Thompson signed a contract a couple of years ago and and contract values go up you know when you sign a contract I mean look at what Alex Tuck is making well at the time it probably didn’t seem like well you’re getting screwed here but you know with the with the production that they’ve gotten from Alex Tuck it’s been a bargain for the last couple of years because contracts change as go up so no I I wouldn’t have said that was ridiculous i I was kind of thinking that’s about where it would land not quite there but about where that would land and uh goal scorers do get paid i mean Jeff Skinner got 9 million jeff Skinner never did figure out the defensive zone you know but he did score 40 goals one year so if you’re getting a guy who scores 40 goals maybe you can forget about you know the the other the other part of it so no you’re absolutely right and I think the Sabres agree with you also that’s why they wanted to keep him that you know that he they felt that he’s going to be able to figure it out but when you’re looking at what you got coming back you got to talk about what is not what could be maybe and what is right now is he is is a liability in his own end but you’re right that can change and that’s up to him he he can change it yeah as we figure out too Paul like how this happened you you tell me like where I should land on this because I like the the five years 7.7 million i woke up this morning after seeing the trade and seeing the destination wondering more if money was at all a part of the Adam’s talking the other day about how you can’t make a guy happy just by paying him so thinking about like oh I wonder were the Sabres willing to go there was was there a contract where Purka would have said “Okay I’m in with the Sabres because and again my the the source of that for me is where he ended up going he didn’t go to a big market he didn’t go to LA he didn’t go to New York he didn’t go to a perennial winner he didn’t go to Carolina he didn’t go to Tampa he went to Salt Lake City and a and a team a group of players that’s missed the playoffs 11 of 12 years.” So like or is it just that it’s that bad here that Utah is now like a a much better destination than Buffalo is i think that’s an accurate statement um but you know his agent anytime you heard or a lot of the time when you heard where he might land it’s all you know New York Rangers even the incorrect report at the trade deadline New York Rangers
you know and that to me is the agent feeding it you know that that’s but the agent or anybody else he has no trade protection so they sabers could trade him wherever they wanted to trade him and uh Utah is looking to improve in their goal scoring and they’re you know they have salary cap space that they can do it so you know that’s that’s where it wound up uh as far as that went so it it didn’t surprise me where it went but again you know Utah wasn’t a heavy rumored place for him to go uh that’s again why you know me I just don’t
you know like to pay a lot of attention to rumors but uh you know it was that’s where he wound up and
Yeah yeah yeah they were never on they were never on the uh on the on the rumor card
that’s what I mean like all I guess I’m I’m trying to figure out is like how did it end up being Utah for him like what ended up being Purka’s real motivation when he didn’t choose like one of the top like cuz again the Sabres could have traded him wherever they wanted but he didn’t have to sign wherever he like he chose to be there for 5 years so was it the money was it the city was it you know is it just that team is it Well that’s that’s another good question is it coaching is it
I just feel I feel I was
is it anywhere but it could have been I’ll just go anywhere but here lindy Ruff publicly talked about how you know Burka’s poor defensive play and players a lot of players don’t like that to be publicly called out um and and you know and we had talked about this I don’t know within the last week I think I I talked to you both about it is it possible that Peturka and his agent don’t want to deal with the Sabres anymore because they’re at an impass
in the contract negotiation is that the reason he wants to be traded we don’t know is it Lindy Ruff is it he doesn’t believe in the organization is it the losing um we we just don’t know what his problem is and we’ll have to see at some point if he ever addresses it
i I but you’re right i mean it it’s certainly right to speculate it’s possible but then my thought is why were they trying so desperately to convince him that he wants to be a saber knowing how much it was going to cost them to keep him
right i I’m with Joe where it’s like um not not there’s a disagreement type with Joe but I I agree like when Joe’s wondering we hear all this stuff about big market big market and then he gets moved to Utah no to me it was money this is money like I that’s what I come down to i think it’s money i don’t think the Sabres wanted to pay him that kind of money we all say we would have done it and and I have a theory Paul i have a theory here this this this contract he signs very much screams like an offer sheet type of contract i think the Sabres knew an offer sheet was coming maybe Utah told him “Hey we’re going to give him an offer sheet.” And the Sabres like “Well guess what we’re not we don’t want to pay him that but we don’t want a first second and third round pick.” So you know what let’s just make a deal and I think that this is what this feels like to me it doesn’t to me just because I just think offer sheets don’t happen all that often and uh you know first of all you have to have your own picks like you have to have your own number one you have to have your own number two and you have to have your own number three you know to to be able to make that you know that type of an offer and I’m just checking right now and Utah does not have or do they
the picks that needed for the I’m looking right now where the Yes they do yes they do
it just feels to me like something like that i mean remember back in the day when the Bills put the franchise tag on Peerless Price but they did it only because they knew hey we’ll just instead of going through this process we’ll do that and then we’ll make a deal with somebody right that happens i just feel like it sounds to me it feels to me like maybe hey they kind of knew this was coming maybe Utah made it known and said like we’ve been saying Paul we don’t want prospects back for the Sabres i don’t think that’s what they want they want to get better hey you know what instead of having him go somewhere we don’t want to pay him the money but we don’t want the prospects we don’t want the picks let’s make a deal here you want them give us a couple players that we can use yeah but
there is there’s a difference though between a team telling you they’re going to do it and then them actually doing it
you know what I mean like Correct it’s a little bit of okay you’re going to offer Sheet well I’ll wait well let’s see if you actually offer Sheet that’s right
you could do that and and Freriedman saying you know that the Sabres definitely don’t want to trade him and doing everything they can to try to make sure that that doesn’t happen
um you know wouldn’t say that the Sabres weren’t willing to pay that i don’t know and as I said we we’ve already speculated within the last week that is that the problem is there an impass in in h what we’re talking about that
you know they decided that well you know we have to trade him because there’s not or that I’m sorry the Turkish decides decided
that well he needs to be traded because um you know it’s it’s it’s just not going to happen by the way Utah does not have their own first round pick
okay
so that they can beat them i guess there goes my theory
cuz the Bruins would have been it would have been if you if you invert the standing it’s San Jose Chicago Nashville Boston and Utah has the fourth pick
okay that’s not their pick
paul does um now that Purka is traded and you mentioned earlier and we actually talked about this the other day that now it feels like there are two holes in the Sabres top six do you feel like whatever they trade Bo Byum for assuming they do make that deal eventually it’s more imperative now than it was before that like they got to get a forward back in that deal
yeah i mean I mean we already thought that they needed a top six forward zack Benson I like his game it’s not that I don’t like his game and the way he plays but he if you’re in the top six you have to produce and right now at his age and you know his the way his body is right now he doesn’t produce you need guys in the top six that produce so to me you already had a hole there and now you’ve got a second hole there you have filled the hole maybe you were looking for on defense but you know now you’ve need a couple of top six forwards you in my mind you need two you need more than more than one so uh you have other assets i mean you could maybe take your ninth pick and with uh a couple of prospects or whatever you can get one that way
mhm um you can maybe get one in the Bum trade um so there are other ways they can go about to get what they need there they felt like they got what they needed on defense right i mean it he’s exactly what they’ve been talking about that they want you know a right-handed shooting defenseman who’s big who’s strong who brings something to the table nobody else on that defense brings and that’s you know what they got there so all right you’ve filled that but you’ve left a hole here so I mean now you’ve got to go fill that hole because you know if you’re going to make the playoffs you can’t have all these holes uh that uh that you have and uh so that’s I I think what you know what they’re still going to have to do and of course free agency could maybe you know come into that picture too but then you run into what you ran into here well the Sabres keep losing and they keep losing badly and here we are again where the Buffalo Sabres have to you know uh
trade one of their best players to a team that didn’t exist like 5 years ago
i’m an idiot i said Utah doesn’t have their pick yes they do they win the lottery
oh the lottery yeah lottery and by the way
I’m such an idiot that I just It just hit me i’m sorry that we’re sitting here talking off the cuff and and and
I also want to make I also want to make a point josh is smiling for potential open use in the future i I also want to make a point here of the offer sheet thing if if you do sign a player with an offer sheet the picks wouldn’t come until the following year you can’t because it’s after the draft right july 1st would be you know offer sheet season right so it’s not this year
have your first round pick next year
next year and by the way Utah does have that and they do have they do have their first second and third for the next several years so they could that that’s independent it doesn’t matter anyway just a theory I had but go ahead
all right yeah i just wanted to correct that
you got it
all right
draft tomorrow we haven’t really talked about the draft much at all Paul but uh well there’s been things that have caused us to you know push that off to tomorrow so we’ll we’ll talk about the draft tomorrow so thanks for uh being on and we’ll talk tomorrow
well maybe we can talk about a trade tomorrow too who knows
or there’ll be a trade tomorrow we’ll talk
i love that there you go thanks Paul
yep paul Hamilton on the Western Highland

Jeremy and Sal are joined by Paul Hamilton so he can share his thoughts on the JJ Peterka trade to the Utah Mammoth. Paul’s first point is that the biggest problem with the entire situation, is that after 6 years players still are asking Kevyn Adams to trade them off his team. Then Paul gets into the return the Sabres got for Peterka in defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan. Starting with Kesselring, Paul points out that he’s the exact type of player the Sabres have wanted for a long time, as a right handed heavy defenseman who could pair well with Owen Power. Paul also points out Doan’s strong pedigree and potential to be a solid depth piece for the team. Joe and Sal then get into how we got to the point where JJ Peterka wanted out of Buffalo, and question if it was a lifestyle choice or a contract dispute.

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