Bowen Byram Extended by Sabres! w/ Paul Hamilton | The Jeremy and Joe Show

Bowen Byram Extended by Sabres! w/ Paul Hamilton | The Jeremy and Joe Show

Sabres beat reporter Paul Hamilton joining us. His appearance brought to Rayax. Rayax, we got this. Paul, good morning. Happy July 15th. When we’re getting you on in July, something happened, right? Yeah, I was I was actually up when you guys got there today. So, uh, which is very, very rare. So, uh, yeah, it’s, uh, I did a sleep study last night. So, uh, just as I had about 50 wires hooked up to me is when this came down. All right. And uh and you couldn’t sleep. You were so excited. It is hard to sleep with bunch of wires around your neck and all over the place and but you make do with it. Yeah, I believe it. Yeah. I woke up to the news, Paul. You know, wake up, log on like, “All right, what happened last night? Is he buys extension?” I get the text alerts, Paul, and um actually, I don’t even know. Did we get one of those? Cuz we Yeah, we did. Okay. Cuz there was one yesterday during the afternoon that we get from the Sabres. And I saw the text. I’m like, “Oh, something happened.” Like, “Ah, prospects challenge announced.” Which like fine, like those that’s cool, too. But then I got another I think I thought I got another text last night and I probably thought the same thing like, “Oh, this is nothing.” And then it actually was something finally. Yeah, it was. And and usually you don’t get a signing at 10:30 at night, you know? That’s fine. I don’t care. But it’s just it’s usually like 3:30 in the afternoon, not 10:30 at night, but that’s when it got done. So that’s when it came out. It would make you think they were working at it like during the day. It would be weird if someone called you out of the blue at 10 o’clock at night like, “Hey, you want to do this now?” I’m sure they’ve been working at it even when the Sabres decided to take uh offer sheets off the table by taking him to arbitration. I think that’s all that was. Yeah. It’s just like, let’s not get some crazy number thrown at us here. Let’s take offer sheets off the table and let’s keep negotiating and let’s keep, you know, trying to bring this to a solution. It still might not be at a at a end solution here. Yeah. You know, Paul, the the offer sheet point is you would avoid a crazy number, but if it were six years term, seven years term, they could go ahead and say like, “Okay, we’ll take that.” That’s the one thing about this that’s interesting because Joe and I were talking offer sheets or one or two years. Oh, offer sheets. I’m sorry. No, you’re saying with arbitration. What about I was saying arbitration. You said you said offer sheet. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. To prevent the offer sheet because Yes. Yes. Gotcha. Do you think that Kevin Adams wants him for longer? This has always been a bit of a strange thing, this this Bum threading this needle for the Sabres. And maybe they didn’t really want to move him, but felt like they had to move him because he wants a bigger role. And if they thought he was truly an elite defenseman, well, they’ve signed guys to big long extensions. Maybe they think they have too much money there. You know, I is there to you is there a plan here or is this just kind of making do with what the the landscape is is giving them based on interest in the trade market, based on Byum’s interests, based on what their interests might be. This could have been the end thought process because it’s probably good for both sides from a sta from a team standpoint. You get to see all right, what is he actually? Let’s pair him with by or with Dene and let’s see how this works for a year. You can even do it for a year before you would either have to try to resign him, which you could next July 1st, or to a long-term contract or trade him. Uh, you know, you it would give the Sabres a chance to what what do they really have here? Because if you look around, did they overpay him slightly? Yeah, they probably did. And that’s the price of doing business with a team that hasn’t been in the playoffs for 14 years with a player who maybe isn’t sure he wants to be here. So that’s the price of doing business. Did you over not I don’t think they severely overpaid him, but they did a little bit. I I have zero problem with that. They have the salary cap space to do that. Who cares? And um you know from Byum standpoint it’s like all right you keep trying to convince me that you are headed in the right direction here and you’re doing the right things to to make this a good team and okay I get to play with Raasmus Dene which means yes I’m going to be out there in key situations playing maybe 25 minutes a game. I’m not going to be on the power play, so that doesn’t that doesn’t thrill me. But at least I get to play in those big situations and I can try it out myself for a year or two and see how I like it. M see if this is a team that’s serious about getting better. If this is a team that’s serious about making the playoffs, is this a team is serious about winning. Um, so it gives him a chance to to give it a short look, a little bit more of a look to see if he wants to be part of it or if really he doesn’t. Yeah. You know, all right. So, how does it round out? Does it make them complete as a defense core? I mean, forward, they of course make the trade for Peturka to send him out and get Castle Ring back on the defense court. Do does this look like a good blue line to you if now that Byron is staying? It does. and, you know, puts Samuelson on a third pair, which probably makes him better. Um, he can play first pair when he’s on his game, but the problem is how often is he on his game, and that’s, you know, he’s very, very inconsistent right now, and I think injuries have a big part of that. Um, I think injuries have taken their toll on him. Um, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t know how how he recovers in the locker room from what happened because it’s not the first time he’s just stood around when people get hit and doesn’t participate and he, you know, with the Thompson thing and Thompson has said now publicly that, you know, he wasn’t real pleased about all that, but also said it’s in the past and they’re they’re past it and it’ll never hes. So, you know, I I always wonder how does a guy in the locker room recover from that? you know, with your teammates. So, but still, I think he’s going to be a better defenseman playing on a third pair than maybe he would be playing with Dallene if Byron gets traded, which still could happen. Um, because Samuelson can definitely play first pair if he’s Samuelson, but he’s not Samuelson enough, and that’s the problem. Yeah. Wasn’t there a moment, Tup, Paul, late in the year against Detroit where I’m trying to remember. I thought Byum, who’s got the concussion history, was getting either attacked or maybe he was just fighting straight up. Some guy that like wasn’t even in the NHL, like he had just made his debut basically and nobody except for maybe Benson was trying to get in there. Does any of that ring a bell got in there? It Samuelson did kind of get into a few scrums after that Thompson thing, but he also didn’t. He might have been one of them that didn’t in that situation you brought up because Yeah, it hit me right away. It’s like Harry is standing there again. Yeah, that’s and not not jumping in. I honestly can’t remember if it was that particular scrum, but it did happen again afterwards. I do know that for sure. I’m watching it back again. It was You’re right. It’s another one of these scrums where Benson’s trying to get in and a couple of the Byum’s trying to get in and right Samuelson’s kind of on the outskirts just like not really whatever that I saw Cousins do that in Ottawa. It was a big scrum. Everybody’s in except Cousins who was leaning up against the boards in front of the bench and I’m thinking man that’s a long ways from when he first came in the league before he got popped in that fight. Um, you know, and that I’m not saying it will definitely ruin his career, but getting popped in that fight may have ruined his career. Paul Hamilton on the Western Hotline. Paul, one thing about the Byum contract if he extend this deal’s done and if they’re not going to trade him. I don’t know that that ends the off season, but it really ends the two big questions, right? We came in maybe three. Purka Bum the ninth pick and past that it’s all kind of over. So can can you even think of anything else that could be done from here? Acquiring a player, adding something in or do you think that this is pretty much the team they’re going to go with? It’s probably for them the team they’re going to go with. But I I would say it’s the third year in a row then that you don’t get a top six forward, which you desperately need. And now you need two of them because you’ve created the hole with the trade that you made. I think you did better. You you filled other holes, which is great. But you did create another one. And you know, you know how I feel about $6 million in cap space, which will be about what it is, probably a little bit under that when Timman signs. And I don’t care and until somebody can show me that they turn down a player because of money because they would refuse to spend the money. I don’t think $5 million in salary cap space is that big a deal. I’m not the person who sits there and stomps his feet and said it’ll be an embarrassment if they don’t spend that$5 million or whatever. Um, go get a player. Go fill the the holes on your roster. I’m not worried about $5 million in salary cap space. I’m worried that now for the third year in a row you have not gotten a top six forward. However it is, you could get one. You and and I will always say I know it’s hard. I get you haven’t made the playoffs in 14 years. I guess you’re on everybody I get you’re on everybody’s no trade list. It’s still your job to get it done. Yeah. You got to find a way. You got to find a way no matter how hard that it is. And he has not been able to do that. And that has nothing to do with $5 million in cap space or anything else because let’s be honest at the end of the day it has nothing to do with a top six forward or you know it does have to do with playing better defense so you don’t have the same types of chances on your goalender but at the end of the day they got to get saves which they did not get last year. Mhm. And if they if their goalending is not any better and they don’t get saves, I don’t care if they get a top six forward. I don’t care what it is. If you’re not getting saves at the big time, you’re not going going anywhere. So to me, that’s the biggest thing. You know, where is your goalender going to be as far as making big saves for you when things do break down? Because even though your defense, I think, is considerably better, there’s still going to be breakdowns and your goalender is going to have to bail you out. and and good teams. I mean, how how did the Florida Panthers win their last two Stanley Cups? They weren’t perfect all the time. Their goalender had to make some huge saves for them all the way through the playoffs to get through. That’s how you win. So, through through everything we talk about and top six forward or defenseman or trades or free agency or whatever, if they don’t get big saves from their goalender, they’re nowhere. Paul Hamilton, you know, Paul, as we kind of like zoom out on this, you know, like you said, it might be tough. The job is, of course, to to ice the best team you can to make the playoffs. And I don’t know if Kevin Adams has any sort of missive to make it or else. But the offseason, the way that it’s gone, and if this is pretty much the team they’re going to feel, like they could improve. I understand how they could get better. It certainly does not look like a GM that is desperate, right? I mean, it looks like a roster tweaking. It’s the It’s two years ago when they missed by a point, they added two players on the bottom end of the roster. Here they miss by a bunch and it’s tweaking. It’s really not that different of a team. Minus one top six forward and plus one top four defenseman. There there does not seem to be a lot of desperation. And maybe maybe that’s the feeling that I would have about this is that I just I want to see them try and go for something. And while they can improve, it does not look desperate at all. Well, reports say they wanted Dobson, but he wouldn’t sign longterm here. So, that that didn’t work. How about Eers? I would be shocked if they weren’t at least trying to get in on that. Eers turned him down last year. He wouldn’t sign, you know, he wouldn’t sign a long-term deal. So, and then he didn’t wind up getting traded. But, uh, you know, so those are types of things that I’m that they were in on. they were trying to do. But again, they keep being turned away because they haven’t made the playoffs in 14 years. And but again, you have to find a way there. You just have to find a way. That is your job. If you keep getting turned away by good players, well then okay, but you still got to you still got to get better and you still got to you know. So I I would say I might disagree with that a little that you know they did try to be desperate maybe get in on a Dobson or get in on an Eers but you know they get turned down but they can’t figure out how to make it work. Well here’s here’s what I would say to that which of course like that’s a fair point. My point would be it’s at some point they have to accept that that’s not going to happen and trade for that guy anyway. You’re going to have to do it. It’s my analogy I made a couple weeks ago. It’s like paying a country club’s initiation fee. Like you got to pay to get in. No one wants to join you because you’re not making the playoffs. You have to do whatever you can to actually get in. And then maybe Dobson in a year where you have a good year or a guy like Eers. Yes. Hey, turns out I will sign now that I’ve seen something going well here. They have to be willing to do that and that they’re unwilling to do that. I don’t think that’s an excuse anymore. No, you know, they had no problems getting players here when Brier and Drury were here. Uh, nobody wanted to be a Buffalo Bill until Allen and and and uh and uh you know the head coach shows up and now all of a sudden everybody wants to be a Buffalo Bill, you know, and but they didn’t want to be one when he hadn’t been in the playoffs for 17 years. Um, but you have to find a way to be able to get that. You can trade for players who who aren’t eligible to have no trades. I mean, you you can do that and that’s what you have to do basically is find a player that will help your top six that can’t pull a no trade on you that has to come if you trade for him. And that’s how you do it. That’s how you get that player in here until you get to the point that you’re talking about where you are a destination where players say, “Hey, this is an upand cominging team. I want to be a part of that.” And that’s to me how you do it. you’re but they haven’t been able to, you know, get that player that doesn’t have those type of things in their contract or maybe aren’t old. They they did they got Byum, you know, he he had no he couldn’t pull a no trade on them. So, that was a good trade, especially Middlestat got worse. He didn’t get better, you know, when after he was traded. So, that’s the that’s what I’m talking about. a trade like that where you get a very a very good player, a former fourth overall pick that can’t turn you down and now he maybe will turn them down eventually, but he hasn’t totally closed the door yet cuz here he is and uh so you know and I know I sound like a broken record. You have to find a way to get it done and they haven’t yet. I I wonder Paul this this team right now do you feel like they are better? Is it debatable? Is it is it a no for you from the end of last season to right now? Would you say that over the last month they have gotten better in certain areas? Yes. I think Connor Clifton, as much as I thought he was the nicest guy in the world, killed them with his turnovers and and his his ridiculous penalties. I think Timmens is an upgrade there. I think that helps. I mean, how many times think last year did bottom six guys or bottom three guys score goals on the Savers? Who’s out there when that happens? It’s it’s usually not Dene. That’s that’s Clifton’s ice time. and he’s given the puck away for threeon ones and everything and so I think they’re better there. I think they’re better as far as Kessler goes with power. I think they’re quite a bit better there. If Byron stays with Dene, I like that. I think L I think you can turn to Lion if Lucin doesn’t have it in the first couple weeks of the season and I think you have a guy that can step in. Um I think Don I like Don’s attitude. I think Don and Danforth will be much better than Laferdy uh when it comes to I mean Don likes to be in the middle of things. He likes to get people mad and and do those types of things. He’s big and strong and has a good shot. Maybe there’s some upside there like there was to Mloud. We’ll see. He’s only 23 and last year was his first year in the league. So, I think they’ve taken a step up there, but they’ve taken a huge step back. you know, Purka, if Quinn winds up the one sitting on on in in Purka’s spot, unless Quinn recaptures what he’s I think capable of doing, and I believe he’s capable of being a 30 goal scorer. I’m not predicting it anymore. I actually did predict it a couple of years ago. I thought he’d definitely be a 30 goal scorer in this league, and I still think he’s got the tools to do that, but he certainly didn’t show us anything last year that would make us think that. And here he is now. you know, he probably plays with Norris and Tuck and Benson probably stays with Koulique and Thompson. Quite honestly, neither one of them should be there. That’s where I say, you know, you should have two top six forwards and those are the two positions they would be in. Paul Hamilton on the Western Hotline. Thank you, Paul. Glad to have you on with us. Uh, glad you were up and early. The the start of the show is the best segment, so you up you you called the best of it. Uh, yeah. I said I said I even said uh when I called I said well I’ll even go on between 6:00 and 6:30 if you want me to. I’m up if you want to just call in. I mean the the 6:00 hour club is not a long list of people that have been up on on with us at 6, but uh maybe we’ll get you Brian is like 90% of usually up. Ed Rogan who covers tennis. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. I was home by then. So I I told I told him uh look if uh they want to have me between 6:00 and 6:30 I’m here. I’m up and awake. Well, we wanted everyone else to wake up so we could hear your uh beautiful voice. Thanks, Paul. Take care, guys. Paul Hamilton on the Wester hotline.

Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase are joined by Buffalo Sabres beat reporter Paul Hamilton to discuss the Sabres extending defenseman Bowen Byram to a 2-year deal worth $6.25M a year. The guys start off by discussing the interesting series of events that has led to Byram’s contract, starting with the Sabres trading for him, then trade rumors and offer sheet threats, and now a two year contract that will keep Byram in Buffalo. Then the guys get into the benefits of the deal to both sides, Byram now has a path straight to free agency, and the Sabres keep a very effective partner for Rasmus Dahlin. After that the guys discuss the rest of the offseason moves as a whole, and Paul explains how the most important thing for next season is getting better goaltending. The guys go back and forth on how the Sabres can acquire good player despite the challenges that the organization faces.

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