“We’re Disappointed With Where We Are” | Kevyn Adams After Trade Deadline

“We’re Disappointed With Where We Are” | Kevyn Adams After Trade Deadline

The Casey trade uh how long did that take to come together have you been talking about that for a while yeah um yeah before I get into specifics I think it’s important um for me publicly to to acknowledge uh what a great player in person Casey middlestead

Is I have just an incredible amount of respect for Casey you know when I when I first got this job this is four years I mean he went from kind of a healthy scratch and on the taxi Squad and you know some some struggles to turning into

A heck of a hockey player and I give him all the credit for that because the work he’s put in he’s loved in that locker room um he’s a leader it just it was a very very difficult trade to make and you know I reiterate to you guys I think

I’ve said it to you and definitely I’ve said it to Casey is I was not shopping Casey midad he was a sought-after player for obvious reasons because of what I just said um and also the center position um so I was getting calls and what I made very clear to the the league

Was you know I have to be willing to listen and think and talk about every possible scenario that I think makes sense for our team now and into the future um it’s probably no secret that I’ve been working for a couple years to uh find a defenseman and it’s really

Really tough in this league to find a top pair kind of uh Talent um that Bo Byam is um at that age uh you generally have to draft them you know so these are really really difficult trades to make so um yeah so I that was uh was

Something that I’d say been worked on for a while I mean when I talk about looking for d for a couple years this particular situation had been ongoing for um a number of weeks I had Jeremiah Crow and and Jason konos flying you know around the country a little bit watching

Them closely I was watching him very closely you know and the these situations they’re a little fluid they they get they get a little temperature rises and then things quiet down um and then I’d say two or three days before the deal um it started to really ramp up

Again um and then there was it was a complicated deal based on them Colorado having kind of a simultaneous deal um so that I want to say complicated it but it made it tricky um and ultimately we we made the trade but um it was something

That uh with a player of Casey’s status and stature it took a took a lot of thought and U we just felt it was the right thing to do at this time Kevin what gave you confidence Kevin that you have internally to replace Casey especially when it comes to at the

Center position yeah yeah I I think it’s it’s a great point and and it that all is part of the conversations you have leading up to making a trade like this um I think Peyton Krebs uh his foundation of his game um take away you know we know he has offensive abilities

We knew when we drafted him he’s a he’s a highly skilled player he’s a good playmaker um but the foundation of his games better and I think you’ll start to see more of the offensive side come out as that um as that base is there and I

Think he’s taken some big steps which gave us um some comfort that um he’s elevating and prepared for more so I think that’s something that you don’t want to overwhelm and you don’t want to force anything but I think over time um that we envision certainly have some

Really in my opinion um high-end centerman Prospect helps you know some of these guys you draft to centers you you don’t know 100% until they get here and solidify things even Casey sometimes was bounce into the wing and you know but guys obviously the seavo Kik and

Austin you see these guys is in the pipeline so all of that plays a role into um you know the decision you make do you want to maybe added that position this summer you know especially after you get to see the last 15 or so games

How pton feels in that role and what you maybe you have internally for sure and uh you know I think we’re we have work to do I mean the centerman position center position is so critical you know I mean obviously the goal tending key your defense you know in my opinion the

Next most important as you build out your roster and then the center position and so you one you can never have enough centerman um and enough depth and then we do need to figure out the mix um over the last 48 hours had conversation with teams um with veteran centerman right

Now that were they available could we get them but I’ve kind of said this before this is a tricky time of year to be able to make those type of Trades because teams don’t want to give those guys up for prospects picks that kind of thing um you know and especially where

We are in the standing so that is definitely something we’ll look at um you know we’ll see how the development over the next you know uh handful of games with Krebs he goes but we do see a upside there and then and then we’ll make the decision going in the summer why

Why B and then what did you see last night that meshed with that well B is uh everything I look for in a in a defenseman just speaking of me personally you know we all have our own eye for what we like don’t like you know obviously when you make a decision

That’s magnitude you’re you’re bringing in a lot of people and and getting a lot of input from from the staff and um and me personally I just I I love his um ability to um get up in the play Move the puck uh his his calmness his his

Skating ability um his I believe he’s got even more offensive upside than than maybe he’s been able to completely show this young in his career um and he’s he’s a guy that can play Both Sides um that mattered in this deal um likes likes the right side and so that’s

Something you think about as well just um his age where I feel like he’s a guy that can really mature and grow with this group and that’s something I’ve been really working on um too because if you if you’re going to if you’re going look and add a defenseman especially a top type

Defenseman um you may do it through free agency and then it might be really good for a couple years and now you got a guy at the real back end of his career so you know and that’s something sometimes you do but in this situation we felt

Like to get this caliber player Talent um that we can have you know with us for a long time hopefully um was the right move did you retain any salary in any of your three trades uh um no um how many trades did we make today Kyle ER Johnson

And casy uh no yeah okay and there just so you know there is one more trade um coming that’s in the queue uh it’s uh minorly a player that was in Rochester I can’t get into specifics because the trade call hasn’t happened yet but we’ve agreed on the deal the paperwork sent in

So there will be one more coming but I’d tell you if I could I just it’s it’s something I can’t but no the answer is no no retention as far as trading Kyle it’s obviously something I guess he wanted like how difficult was it and

What was the process did he like did he give you some teams that he would go to like how did you go about it I guess yeah um sorry take a sec here yeah I ky like poo um just a he’s just a he’s just as you guys know an unbelievable uh

Person uh what I what I I I have a lot of respect for um people that are selfless in this game and what he’s given to this organization um his heart and soul and you know I think back and some struggles uh that he’s had in his his his own you

Know time and the struggles that we’ve been through together since I’ve been general manager and the the care that that he had um that’s a unique relationship so you know I want to I want to thank him um and you know Danielle and his kids this is a these

Are amazing people um so maybe I can talk better when I just focus on hockey and not the personal side but um I think when you have a player that with all the stuff I just said and as the captain of your team um I believe you owe people

The respect to have an honest conversation and understand exactly how they feel and they need to understand exactly the job that I have and and where I’m at and I’ll keep the conversation private but he made it very clear to me um what he was hoping to do

Um and where he was hoping to go with the deadline and fortunately we were able to make it happen um I wish him the best and um I know he’ll be missed but um you know I think he’s got an amazing opportunity in front of him and I’m

Disappointed that I’m talking about this right now because this isn’t where any of us wanted to be um in terms of the standings at this time of year and it’s certainly when he resigned this summer um not what we were talking about you know but that’s where we are and um it’s

It’s part of how this game goes sometimes you see maybe with the hockey mind that he has when he’s done playing being a person that could be a scout or in the front office or something like that for sure yeah I think Kyle is uh

Kyle first of all you have to love the game because um you work a lot and you have to uh you just have to have such a passion for this game and I mean you know like I I think sometimes it’s easy to forget especially in the pressure of

It all and um how lucky we are to get up every day and to do what we do for a living and um I think Kyle has a perspective on that that he he he feels very um fortunate to have had the career he’s had and um the life he’s been able

To live and I know a lot of that is because of the game of hockey and he respects the game so he’s absolutely um someone that I would assume when in the right time and if the right time in his mind came that he would he would be

Working in this game for a long time did you try to do the same for Zas to find him the right fit yeah yeah zus um did have the conversation with him you know zus is so uh important in within the fabric of this team he’s been here since

The day he was drafted um it’s a different situation a little bit um obvious I think zus has plenty of years ahead of him you know and I’ve made it clear to him that that’s something that we’re going to talk about we want to get through the trade deadline and you know

Our own situation but um you know I did I did have conversations with teams and um it just had to make sense for us and um and zamus but you know for us and it just uh where we got to today was there wasn’t the right deal um to make and um

I’m really glad we’re keeping him because uh he’s just there’s something special about him and uh I think it’s important here um down the stretch too that that he’s in that locker room K when you look at this team you know was obviously kind of like

Greenway a move to the Future a guy with term a guy you might want to keep long term I guess the question I have is you may not even know the answer now maybe more for October but what kind of personality are you trying to build here

You kind of had a fir wagon hockey team last year and it seems like as a group you’ve kind of deviated and become more tried to be more structured and defensive and you know at times more boring and I guess that’s the question of the Season we even talked with KY

What are you with this point what are you trying to be yeah I think um that’s been a little bit of our problem this year because I think we’ve been a little caught in between honestly um I can promise you we don’t want to be

Boring uh we want to be fast we want to play fast we want to be an uptempo team that that attacks has team on their heels pressures pucks gets pucks back has skill to when you get the puck back now can keep it um you know I I I

Think some of what you’re kind of referring to is I think a little bit of us evolving you know just just understanding that there are times that you you have to be able just to to shut teams down you have to be able to stifle

Teams you have to be able to like to live with you know what I can’t make a highlight play I’m just going to probably put it off the glass behind the D you know that is part of even when you have talent um part of managing a game

So I don’t want I don’t think it’s as easy Mike as black and white to say like this is exact exactly how we’re going to play all the time it’s it’s doing both and it’s ultimately doing what you have to do to win and that’s so I think

Philosophically um we we need to be way more of an assertive offensive ony toes type of team and I think the way our dcor is built is built for a reason um where you can kill players in the neutral zone guys that can are pretty or skilled guys um that can close out

Pressure pucks get pucks back and move it up to the forwards you know I I think obviously Dalene and in power um also like to play the right side um I mean you look from the data analytic perspective din’s numbers are better on the right than the left so you know you

Kind of you kind of take all that into consideration um you know as you put your roster together but I think moving forward Yoki Hara has been a huge taken a huge step over the last you know six weeks maybe it’s been um a number of

Games and um you know I think after Clifton settled in I thought the first maybe 30 Games he’s finding his way and he’s kind of settled into his role um you know and I really like the way our Decor is structured we obviously sent Ryan Johnson down you guys saw that but

In terms of the year he’s had up to this point I think he’s taken huge steps so I really excited about the group U moving forward that we’re putting together on the back end Kevin maybe this is a question for the end of the season but I

Think a lot of people would ask you did you expect to be further along in that assertiveness offensive kind of on your to template that you just described and and where was the shortfall um you know in terms of maybe how you guys judge this roster and put it

Together what you expected from the beginning of the season to where you guys are yeah yeah we we’re not happy with where we are this is not um where we expected to be um outside the playoff picture at the trade deadline um making the moves we

Made you know today um is not what we wanted to be doing but it’s it’s the reality and I think part of what we have to do is is figure out how much of this is is just part of the process and part of the learning and

The growing up and just having our guys understand what it’s like to play against you know a tops guys that may be starting to score play against other teams best lines best just figuring that stuff out how much of that is is what we’ve kind of have to learn and go

Through vers where were we really off what did we what didn’t we do well enough you know clearly our power play hasn’t been good enough has to be better special teams in general I mean that’s just a critical part of the game but um

You know I think I think I’ll say it and I’m sure everybody else would say we’re disappointed with where we are we need to be better and the bo bym decision U making a big trade like that was was to upgrade our team and to make our team

Better now and into the future and that’s what we’re we’re going to work towards in the summer and um but yeah we need um we’re young but we’re not inexperienced so that’s the that’s the thing now we have to take the young talent and use the learning lessons that

We have and turn it into winning hockey games traed away you know a lot of leadership Veterinary leadership in Johnson and aoso are guys like Dalene and cousins are they at a point in their career now knowing that they’re about 24 whatever you know are they now in their career to

Take some of that leadership now are they or do they still need more yeah they yeah I think I believe so I think um you look at the age and experience of those players when kyak poo got the sea on his chest to where they are now there

Is a big difference I mean Ras mallene has elevated in every single way on the ice off the ice physically um just his voice his confidence um yeah so Dylan and cousins another example but we have we have leadership in that room and I think they’ve been mentored um by some

Really good people back going back to Craig Anderson and you know you mentioned Eric Johnson same thing um so they’ve now gained Eric stall years ago and just guys like that that they’ve gained experience from and lessons that they’ve learned from so it’s their time that’s that’s it no you’re good um when

It comes to Olson’s I guess current standing with the organization you know did you have options for that today what’s the work there yeah Vic is um he’s about as good as it gets when it comes to being a pro um it’s really tough uh I’ve been I’ve been

Really hoping I was going to be able to move him um today uh I’ve been working on it unfortunately um we weren’t able to do anything but in saying that I you know I think with moving guys out like he has an opportunity to play right now

And and I think that’s what’s most important to him um getting in showing that he can be the NHL player that he’s been before but you know I don’t know if you guys understand quite how difficult it is for someone like Vic that scored 28 goals last year and is has a career

And his contract up to be um you know kind of going through what he’s done and how his his first thing in the morning you know smile on his face and the work he puts in so um yeah it’s a it’s a tough situation but I I really hope he

Finishes the season strong and you know he can parl par lay that into the next you know chapter of his career there any overes from any other clubs to retain SP retain salary and what what is the organizational philosophy in terms of weaponizing yeah it’s it’s such a talked

About thing so um it was a little trickier this year I had been approached um on two or three occasions over the last week and I was absolutely open to doing it with with the hesitation that we also knew we were going into today with unrestricted free AG agents and I

Didn’t want to you know but I didn’t want to kind of block ourselves from having an opportunity to move someone because I I used retentions although the retentions if they were going to be of enough value it would have been absolutely something we would have been ready to do so I guess

Organizationally in terms of your your question philosophically yeah like no problem doing it if it makes sense you know it’s not a late pick for this or that’s not where I think for us made sense especially with the free agents that we had um just what’s going to be

Done with the captaincy now will just be open for the rest of the year is there a plan I guess um yeah you know I I honestly probably should have thought about that uh um question coming into this because it’s it’s the right question to ask I haven’t talked to

Donnie about it this is all pretty fresh but um I think there’s there’s no rush for us I think we just we’ll just uh take a breath here um let it naturally happen but um I’m pretty conf confident there’s there’s some people in this room ready to step

Up teams were calling you about Alex tuck and I’m curious what the dialogue with Alex is just because he is you know in the prime of his career I’m sure not you know thrilled to be not playing playoff hockey just what was what was the back and forth like with him and and

What was your reaction I guess to get the calls if you did um I got one call on Alex tuck um a little while ago and the next day it was in 32 thoughts from Elliot Freeman that we were taking calls not true of course I’m taking

Calls true but like that we were you know talking about something not trading Alex tuck that’s not something we had any interest in doing um he’s a key piece of the puzzle for us um and I grabbed him the next day and said I I don’t know if you pay attention or you

Read things but um no interest in trading you um did a couple more teams after it went into the sportset article call me yes and I said um appreciate the phone call not a guy we’re looking to trade um period and in saying that my job especially where we are in the

Standing is I have to be open and listening to everything and anything so my job is to take calls and listen but not a guy that in any way shape or form we’re we’re looking to do anything with Kevin you have 18 games left borrowing something historic you’re not going to

Make the playoffs what do you want to see from the guys left in these 18 games yeah I mean you know as a as a player Mike there’s two answers to that as a player you got to be in the moment and you got to get up and you got to go

Focus on Edmonton Oilers tomorrow and win a hockey game and then you go on to the next one and um you try to stack as many wins at the end of the day um to put yourself in the standings where you get in and I think from the player

Perspective I’ve been in this position where it’s like no we’re going to go win and then we’re gonna win the next game and you’re gon to just go and for me personally right now I want to see I want to see our guys compete I want to

See your guys everybody hates to lose but you got to have guys that love to win enough that you’re going to sacrifice to do anything you can to win a hockey game that’s what I want to see um and I have seen it out of some but

Not enough and I think that that’s the next step for our team um there’s a lot at stake you know the this is the National Hockey League and you’re not entitled to ice time you’re not entitled to roster spots you’re entitled to come to work every day and and and be a good

Good person treat your teammates well treat the staff well and go out and compete on the ice um and I think if we do that we have a lot of talent and things are going to be fine but we we need to elevate for sure Johnson for yeah yes exactly but we are

Going to leave him down um right now and we we just look at this opportunity for him in particular especially um given the situation with acquiring bow that um he can go play some big minutes right now every game right now is basically a playoff game in Rochester they’re

Fighting um so he’s been tremendous but yeah it was to make sure that he’s eligible him and rusek will both be eligible um to play um in Rochester in the playoffs which I think is key um and but also you know Ryan getting that ice time right now just um in situations I

Think’s really good for his development we saw some guys come in were they able to say goodbye to Kyle and so forth were they able to get that goodby for now were guys did you ask yes some guys I I think came in able to say I’ve been

Upstairs so I haven’t been down I mean obviously I’ve been on the phone with Kyle so I don’t know exactly who was in or wasn’t in um just been upstairs in my office but I know guys were able to see Casey um you know you got to remember

This is a spend a lot of time with each other it’s a lot bigger than you know I’m coming to work and these these guys um really care about each other and um I think to some extent you know when you’re in a situation like we’re in you

Know this is part of the business but um it’s tough to see see friends and teammates leave so I’m sure guys if they didn’t see him here they’re probably going to see him before he heads to the airport you mentioned wanting to see competitiveness here in the final 18

Games or so how much is that something you think you might need to add from the outside and how much are you at a point now that you feel like you can be a little bit more aggressive in adding for the yeah I I think roster construction I

Mean we went in different phases since I’ve been you know in this in this position and you know I think we had to really come up with a strategy to accumulate assets build the talent um within our roster within the prospect pipeline through rodchester down which I

Think we’ve done and but now um we really need to we really need to a couple things one um focus on exactly how the roster enrolls and responsibilities for different players and who fits and why and we have to be open to moving prospects moving picks

Something like that um if it brings us a player um in the off season that can can help us and maybe that’s a fourth line Center that’s you know really um good on faceoffs good penal killer that type of thing you know that’s that’s the that’s

Where what we have to be willing to do um and for sure it’s it’s not that easy you know you just don’t you just don’t pick up the phone and get a guy um especially good players so you have to you have to acquire them and pay for

Them but for sure we’re open to it um you know and saying all that we need the guys inside our room right now to be better period that’s going to be the biggest way to elevate into next year you know I think we’ve had some guys take some pretty good steps this year

But we’ve also had players um that I think have way more and if we get you know continue to elevate and improve and in certain ways um from a team-wise structure um and we continue to get the goal tending and continue to get some of the performances out of players that we

Have and then we get the guys you know to elevate in other ways um some of the other players I think we’re going to be in a really good spot say this might be getting ahead of things but what’s the importance of getting some maybe not necessarily older

Veterans like you know Eric Johnson was but getting some older veterans in there to kind of help provide a bit of a guiding role for the future and you know filling out the way the rest of the roster is going to be moving ahead I I I don’t

It has to be the right one first of all and second of all I I don’t I know we’re young but I I’m going to say this again we’re not Dylan cousins is Young still in age but he’s now been in the league a

While and has a lot of G starting to get games under his belt Owen power still young in age but now you’re getting more NHL you know kind of been through the league a couple times you know so I don’t know for where we’re at right now

It’s as critical that we have to have this leader come in that’s been you know veteran guy it might be um but for me it’s more about can they help us Win Hockey games because I think from a leadership standpoint and now with the young core that we have and the

Experiences they’ve been through and the leadership the mentorship from the ois of the world and um zus and Craig Anderson and Eric Johnson’s and those guys I I’m okay with that so um we just need to identify the right fit and if they also have pedigree experience great

You mentioned ol’s going to get more of an opportunity with Casey and Kyle out is there anybody Rus anybody else in rochest maybe like to give this an opportunity to see what how maybe they’d fit not only now but you know for next season try to evaluate yeah you know

Obviously there’s rules because you only get the four recalls and it depends where you are with your roster and um so it can get tricky there but um you know for sure I think if the if the opportunity presented itself you know you look at the Yuri Ki and rosin and

Obviously you mentioned rusek and these guys so we’ll see we’ll evaluate it um but I think in a perfect world you’re able to do some of that but you know some of it’s just going to be dictated on the health of our roster and where we

Are kind of in our schedule is coming up on quite is he getting ready to get back on the ice uh not on the ice yet but continue to improve um and yeah I’d have to look at the exact date I can’t remember but you’re right yeah okay so

Um he’s doing he’s doing well um it’s you know I think the the goal would be that as we get closer to the end of the regular season he’d be getting closer and closer but we’ll have to kind of see how he goes over the next few weeks from

Awide perspective what was your reaction to What Vegas did over the last just their in general yeah um yeah I mean they’re they’re they’re uh they’re really um talented team they’re Stanley Cup defending Champions and at as they’ve shown since they started their franchise um they’re they’re going to

They’re going to do everything they can to to put themselves in the best spot um so um there’s there’s a there’s going to be there going to be some interesting uh first round matchups that’s for sure um I just uh I don’t like to talk too much

About other teams but I think um what I was happy about with this trade deadline was you never know going into the the deadline especially in the situation we were in are you going to be able to make a hockey trade to that when you identify

A way to help your team and then you really believe can help your team into the future and we’ve in my opinion that was a really important trade for us um as tough as it is to see Casey go um and then we were able to do um some things

With the free agents that you don’t know you know like you don’t know going into it how it’ll Shake itself out but um I feel good about you know from our perspective what happened here the last few few days just came Deon coie okay just you you want to yeah know you know

We had three goalies in Rochester um we just it just from a we had a phone call late there um that they were looking for us so we were able to move you know someone that was kind of in a tough spot in Rochester for a seventh round pick

You know it’s a it’s for me it’s just uh it’s it’s a good it’s a good deal for us in that situation we were in it’s good for him do you expect him to play again this season I don’t know I don’t want to say that because it depends I think there’s

A long process to go with him having to check a lot of boxes before I would do it but I don’t want to rule it out um but I wouldn’t say that I’m expecting it

Buffalo Sabres general manager speaks to the media following the 2024 NHL trade deadline. Adams gives an update on the moves he made, including trading forward Casey Mittelstadt, defenseman Erik Johnson and team captain, Kyle Okposo. Adams gives an update on other moves that were attempted and the outlook on the team going forward.

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