HAS THE BUFFALO SABRES OFFSEASON BEEN A SUCCESS? – Sabres Semantics

HAS THE BUFFALO SABRES OFFSEASON BEEN A SUCCESS? – Sabres Semantics

you’re listening to the armchair GM Sports Network [Music] time to sharpen those swords you’re listening to saber semantics a hard-hitting just destroyed interview and discussion Show featuring players alumni media and all others who have or still cover the NHL’s Buffalo Sabers to Shel from cookies with interesting stories from the past and current objective analysis this show is sure to provide an entertaining and unique perspective for both sabes and hockey fans alike brother we are not worthy exclusively on the armchair GM Sports Network now here’s your host of saber semantics Brandon Caputo welcome in to another episode of saber semantics right here on the armchair GM Sports Network and this is our offseason thoughts episode here coming to you guys uh during our off season but a lot going on for the Sabers with the draft class with free agency player movement buyouts and a lot of other things going on around this time of year for the NHL offseason so thought we’d come on here during our offseason do a little impromptu episode here going to be no commercial breaks uh as we’re still working out the sponsor stuff for next season but we’re just going to power through this Austin and I have some thoughts and figured it would be a good time for us to record an offseason podcast with all the news going on with the sabes uh and the last few weeks here so thank you to everybody uh that’s been patiently waiting for us to come back and we look forward to bringing you full-time coverage once again come September for the Buffalo Sabers and all the other shows here on our Network make sure to give us a follow at saers semantics on X as well you can follow us on Instagram Facebook Tik Tok all that good stuff for you guys by searching the arm share GM Sports Network and thank you to those today watching us on the video version on YouTube make sure to hit like hit subscribe and smash that Bell and to those who chose to listen to us on your favorite on demand audio platform thank you very much for doing that as well so with that said Austin we’re going to touch on a lot of different things today but it’s good to uh be able to come back on here uh during the summer uh get get together here uh during our busy schedules and uh give the listeners something to something to sink their teeth into as the Sabers have obviously made some moves that some people have liked and some people have not so pretty polarizing offseason for Buffalo but uh it’s nice to come on and talk about it yeah absolutely I mean like you said there’s they’ve been busy there’s no other way to put it whether you you know got the moves that they were looking for as a fan or not Adams has been a busy guy uh you know they went through the draft some buyouts they attacked free agency made a couple of Trades both I’m sure for very actually probably the same reasons people maybe were shaking their head for a little bit but yeah I mean Adams had kind of told us before I don’t know if it was I think he reiterated it in the pre-draft presser but he said at the end of the season presser that you know he wants to be harder to play against um you know you you need more scoring you know they need to be held more accountable all things like that kind of reiterated that and if you look at the philosophies of even you know the draft class and the way he’s approached free agency he’s definitely living by that Creed he definitely is trying to make this team harder to play against whether that translates into more wins will be a different story but you can definitely tell that they are reshaping the identity of this team at least you know from the bottom up we knew when Lindy Ruff was named the head coach the things might be a little bit different there and there might be some player movement uh hit come the off season uh with with the Sabres and kind of the philosophy that Lindy ruff’s going to play with as opposed to Don Granado like do you see that being a reason why that the bottom six was pretty much uh changed for the most part and there was a bio of Jeff Skinner and the guys they brought in do you think those are kind of Lindy ruffes type of uh additions uh that Kevin Adams was able to make I’m sure Ruff definitely has some some influence on it but like I said I mean unless they kind of knew at the end of season presser um that they were going with Lindy Ruff which I mean maybe they might have I know that is a theory that a lot of people have pushed out there so I guess maybe that is the truth but I just know Adam said it from right from the end of the season was you know they have to reshape you know their identity they have to find more ways to score they have to be you know a better net FR presence they have to be tougher to play against and as we break this down kind of highlight some of the some of the you know philosophy changes that you can kind of with the way this team is going but there is one thing for sure and that’s they’ve completely reshaped their bottom six right you know uh Skinner was a top six forward so he doesn’t really count but garson’s gone um ooso gone Olson gone you brought in a bunch of new players you know it’s I’ve been I’ve been asking for it for a while you know zus kenson is a very good player he’s been here for so long it’s probably just time for both sides to break up cuz like I don’t he kept signing here Buffalo kept wanting him back very good player he’s probably going to do really well in Tampa Bay get in that three-year you know 850,000 per year contract but just you know it’s it’s the same guys that we’ve seen here over and over again that just whether they directly contributed to what has happened here or not it was time to move on so I’m glad to see the philosophy change I’m glad to see you know the bottom six being reshaped I do like the players that they’ve targeted here uh we’ll get into this more but it’s it’s it’s as good as it’s been it’s going to be you know you and I are going to be sitting here in September talking about you know what could have been if that that move for that top six doesn’t get made but if you take that aside the draft philosophy you know this front office has drafted well I think they drafted well again this year we’ll get into that but very very interesting to see you know them just completely reshape the bottom six and bring in players that you know if you start looking at all the underlying numbers of the players that they’ve they brought in here there’s a theme they’re faster they’re more responsible two-way players um so it it it seems like they’re going to have the bottom six kind of take the defensive load off the top six and free up the top six to be the runin gun style because I know you know like I said there’s been a shift in the philosophy here they’re not going to be this you know rag tag team that beats the living crap out of the other team every night they’re not going to be guys who muck it up and fight all the time these aren’t Schmucks these are very good hockey players who are responsible two-way uh players but they are going to have that grit that jam that that that sandpaper that Kevin Adams and Ruff had talked about so you know kudos to them they saw what was going on they had a philosophy under Grano and it didn’t work and they’re changing it up to fit their new coach and now you know Adams has put a lot of pressure on Lindy Ruff and his big guys to to take this team to the next level because that was kind of the themes that he reiterated in his press conference after you know the first wave of free agency we haven’t heard him talk since the second Little Wave that’s happened here but that’s basically what he said after you know the first day of free agency that he talked or the second day I can’t remember exactly what day he talked yeah and we knew that there really wasn’t going to be many big changes in the top six and the top 4D just because of the contracts and the guys that they do have in place there really wasn’t going to be much movement there uh with the Jeff Skinner buou it does leave some sort of discussion there about who’s going to be that second line uh left Winger at this moment is it going to be Zach Benson or somebody else or maybe they go and make another trade a day after we record this and then we uh you know we we really look uh look bad in that sense but regardless of that uh we’ll get into all the free agency the player movement uh the Oilers trade uh the Skinner buyout and everything else but we’ll start off here with the draft class Austin 2024 draft class for the Buffalo Sabers and they did make a a small move uh that people were one questioning a little bit there as as we heard Kevin Adams before the draft was he going to take a big swing at a player was he going to trade that 11th pick uh to go and get a solidified middle six Winger or package that together as you mentioned to go and get a bigger a bigger fish a bigger piece but he didn’t do that he moved down with the San Jose Sharks from 11 to 14 uh and picked up an extra mid-round draft pick by doing that and with that pick they ended up selecting constant helenus the Finish center with the 14th overall selection and since then he has also signed which we’ll get into as well but uh what do you like from helenus and what did you think of them moving down and then select the ham at 14 yeah so I want to stress by like in a vacuum that was a little tidy piece of Business by Adams right you moov down three spots you pick up that extra second round pick um you know pretty confident that you were going to get a good player at 14 that’s relatively similar to the caliber you would have got if you stayed at 11 uh as a lot of people said this draft was kind of pretty much wide open after well I mean this this draft was wide open after number two because Becca seneki going third overall was a bit of a surprise so uh in a vacuum tidy piece of business I think it was a smart move by Adams obviously in a vacuum it’s hard to evalue with the Sabers right now because of the dro and things like that so that being said probably some people including myself wish that that would have been the big swing trade that would have gotten them a nice top six piece but can’t really complain when you pick up an extra second round pick which he then later used to acquire Beck malinin from the capitals which a bit of a head scratcher in terms of what you gave up to get the player not necessarily the player that you got there but helenus himself um really really solid Prospect you know you look at you know if you want to look at production wise I know a lot of people like to look at that he had 36 points in 51 games in the Finish men’s league which is pretty you know pretty impressive for a guy his age played for oie yenan for in uket and yinan said and a lot of people have echoed this that he is not far away from being NHL ready which uh I don’t We’re not gonna have another Zack benon situation I don’t think I mean helenius might have a chance to make this team out of camp but I given what you know the Sabers need to do this year and some of the the players that they have signed I don’t imagine he’ll be a saber to start season but him signing his contract was interesting I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts in Rochester which would definitely be good for Buffalo because getting him over here in North America as soon as you can is always a good thing uh responsible two-way player good skater more Puck skill than probably given credit for um don’t necessarily it’s hard to rank him in terms of where you would rank him against the other Sabers prospects but I do know this the second they they drafted helenus at 14 and made some of their other prospects more Expendable which we’ll get into later because they ended up shipping went out in the Ryan M Cloud trade so uh kind of hard to complain because they I guess you can say they broke even there they came in with a certain amount of pro top prospects they moved one out and still got a good one in helenus who I think they probably valued obviously they valued more than than seavoy because seavo got moved but helenius automatically becomes that responsible two-way Center that seems to be the new prototype that this regime wants to Target and I know some people were complaining that the Sharks traded up to 11 ended up drafting Sam Dickinson who we know well covering the Ontario hockey league but again just the Sabers top four is pretty much solidified here with the the guys that they have with the doin the bow and byms the powers you know those guys are pretty much in place so there really isn’t a spot for Sam Dickinson right now if they would have stayed there at that that moment he’s going to be a top power play quarterback and the Sabres really already have that so I know people are going to say that uh you know the Sharks ended up getting a good player at 11 but it is what it is if helenus ends up going to Rochester as I think it was Lance sski had um reported that the plan is for him to go to Rochester come over to North America and play with the amicks his first year I think that’s a good spot for him as you mentioned he played in the SM Liga in his fir in his draft year there and had a pretty productive uh year there uh for an underage player so signs his three-year entry-level contract he had 36 points you mentioned in 51 games and he’s the as the Sabres put here the fourth highest single season total by an under 18 player in Li of history behind current nhlers Alexander barov Mel granin and Cal kaco so he’s in some pretty good company there and from what we saw at development Camp as well seen some flashes from him there but looks like he’s going to be a very reliable two-way Center when he does you know really develop his game here in Rochester the next couple of years yeah absolutely and I mean I I get the sentiment I am also there’s a lot of young top talent in Rochester that the new coach Michael Leon is is going to have to to deal with I do understand some people saying like where’s the fit here because we know the AHL you have to have a nice mix of veterans and top prospects but um depending on what they do with Yuri kulich if he’s an amerck or a saber to start the Season V prible assistant coach did say they view him as a center still so you could be looking at a center spine in Rochester of Kulik Olen helenius and those are all three top prospects for the Sabers so if that’s the center spine that they have to start the season down there I don’t know necessarily how quickly helenius can can translate but we did see guys like Oland wallberg you know have not an elite impact right away in Rochester but have a solid impact and wouldn’t be surprised if helenus had a had a similar you know Arc because he was viewed by a lot of people as extremely close to being NHL ready so I’m excited to see him I do hope they keep him over here in North America because it’s just you know easier access to to watch and keep track of but it does seem like that is their plan and I don’t necessarily see why it can happen I think he had one year left on his finish Elite League contract I know he was on loan to uker he’s signed by Tara but I can’t imagine there will be much of a hurdle there if that is the plan that the Sabers want to do and it’s nice that he has the ability to go to Rochester if they would have taken a player from the CHL we know the rules with that and and they uh they can’t go to Rochester until they hit that uh that overage year so it’s uh it’s nice to be able to bring a finished player over and get him engraved in the North American style here with the Rochester Americans and and we’ll see kind of what kind of veterans they put around him with that new coaching staff down there a SE aard has obviously moved up to Buffalo to be an assistant coach under Lindy rough but going through the rest of the draft class here at Austin uh what else excites you I put it up on the video version for those watching uh on YouTube uh any players of note that that you like that the Sabers picked here yeah I do honestly I I I’m very I like their first three picks uh helenus Adam clayber who’s going to be in the NCAA uh for Minnesota Toth big right shot defenseman capable Puck mover good skater um but yeah big size uh Brody zemer the third round pick you know us National development program Sabers love that connection as well also committed to go to the NCAA he’s a really smart you know responsible player I liked a couple flashes from him at development Camp obviously development Camp was a little bit lighter this year with Adams you know telling some of the top prospects to kind of stay away from it keep their their regular season you know offseason regimens going and things like that but when you look at kind of the philosophy that the Sabres have done it’s size you know size on the back end with the the players that they’ve been targeting size with their forwards you know helenus isn’t exactly huge but he’s not also you know Zack Benson matoy type he’s 5’11 but he’s 190 pounds he’s played against men um so kind of a different shift in in in philosophies there obviously the Patrick giri pick was the the Buffalo connection the local guy but I know you and I know ryers and leers really well I think that was a really good pick at 219 uh not your prototypical giant big goalie but we know Buffalo likes has knowledge with that prototype with Deon Levi not saying leers is gonna be Deon Levi but leers was very good for Miss Saga uh in the OHL they’ll be Brampton next year but part of a really good goalie tandem they’re interested to see what they do with him if they’re going to kind of go onea one b or if they try to move leenders not necessarily sure there but he was very very good in the OHL and I’m interested to see what his development uh path is like yeah I I really like leaners and I think he was a guy that people had ranked as like a a mid- round pick even like a second or a third round pick to begin the year and he had a great first half for the steel heads as we know covering the ol and with them being in the Ice Dogs division a team that we follow along with pretty heavily uh W with our other commitments but uh it it’s it was pretty crazy that he fell to the seventh round so obviously um Scouts may have had some doubts about him uh his second half of the Year wasn’t the greatest as you mentioned uh with that tandem with Jack Ivan kovic he might be a first round pick in the National Hockey League next year uh we’ll wait and see about that but and if they do move on from leers uh there would be a lot of teams in the O wanting a great starting goalie like that because we know that they have two very capable ones in leers and Ivan kovak who are still very young in their own right so I look at that leers pick and I say you know it was it was a good uh it was a good value there for Kevin Adams and his scouting staff to say you know what let’s see where this guy goes from here and you know if he gets traded to a contender or the steel heads going a long run with him as they’re starting goenda uh in him graduating up to Rochester sooner rather than later and saying that was a really solid pick there just like Deon Levi was was a late round pick for the Florida Panthers and and has obviously become a a pretty solid goal tender in his own right already so I love we obviously love that Ryerson leers pick with the seventh round uh but um the rest of the draft classes or anything else you wanted to touch on there yeah kind of just continuing with leers because I do think think it’s interesting now uh Levi I think you consider not really a prospect anymore he’s a goalie he’s either an age like he’s in he’s probably going to be a buffalo saber this year I know they signed James Rymer that’s more of an insurance option so Levi not really a prospect anymore so now you look at it you have leers lenan and and ratl those are probably the three top goalie prospects the three goalie prospects in the organization to lenan in had a really struggling you know he struggled last year injuries his play dipped before like that he said himself this is a really big year ratl played really well for Seattle he’s going to you know be a big part of their team this year so it’ll be interesting to kind of see who shapes up as the next up because we do know that the Sabers have to sign UK peka lcan and we don’t know necessarily if that’s going to be short-term longterm we don’t really know what’s going on there I do know he filed for arbitration obviously he would be you know irresponsible not to because he’s probably going to win any arbitration case that he has against the Buffalo Sabres because he was very good last year so it’ll be interesting to kind of monitor their goalie depth here because if Lucan in signs like a two threee deal okay you don’t really have to worry about the Sabers you know one a one B for the next couple years but if Lucan didn’t get to one two-year deal that walks him to UFA he’s probably gone because he knows they view Devon Levi as the long-term guy here so their goalie depth will then be tested so it’ll be kind of interesting to monitor the goalie situation here over the next couple years that’s why I do think the leaners pick was smart and necessary I would always you know I would probably draft a goalie every year every other year bare min five an organization because you can’t have too much goal dep so that’s kind of my last thought on the draft class there and that pick yeah no I like it too and you mentioned uh Luken and going to arbitration there I know people are worried but you know he’s going to be a saber at least for the next year or two with that AR arbitrary case there and uh we’ll see where it goes from there but definitely as you mentioned interesting to monitor the length of that contract and if it does walk him the unrestricted free agency you know the Sabres are viewing Devon Levi as the guy that could take over if leers uh sorry not if uh if lukanin is going to you know require too much money for them to be able to to be comfortable with with their cap situation in a couple years when they’re paying Jeff Skinner’s uh bio to upwards of six million in a few years but we’ll get into that a little bit there um but that’s it for the draft class I think the the Sabers did a pretty decent job there and you can obviously see as you mentioned a shift in the philosophy of the players that they took really you know bigger end players uh bigger players except for leenders being an undersized goendale goal tender and somebody that Steven Ellis we’ve had on uh the dog pound podcast has said that he really likes leers just uh you know he was uh outplayed by Jack I and kic the star rookie there last season with the now Brampton Steelheads but we’ll see if leers can bounce back and have a really solid season there for the Steelheads and make that a really good pick for the Sabres moving forward we’ll get into the Jeff Skinner buyout now Austin and this was one that caught some Sabers fans off guard but some maybe not so much but uh as we look at C friendly and this might be one of the last times that we’ll ever be able to use cap friendly because the website has obviously been bought by the Washington Capitals uh moving forward we’ll see uh if there’s going to be another website for us to be able to use as a resource on this show but the Jeff Skinner buyout uh the first year is only 1.4 million but the next couple years after that and you’d think those are going to be years that are going to be tough for Buffalo because they’re going to be looking to be contenders playoff teams at that point 4.4 million in 25 26 and then in 26 27 it goes up to 6.4 million on their cap and then it goes down to 2.4 for the next three years afterward Austin what are your thoughts on the buyout itself and then the cap ramifications for the Sabers down the road yeah I think the bio itself was Neary necessary is a tough word because they haven’t really replaced the top six forward yet so necessary might not be the best word but when you kind of looked at the shift in philosophy the the you know the the emphasis on speed responsibility and the two-way game that this team now is apparently preaching Skinner doesn’t really fit that he can still score in this league I think he’s gonna do really well in Edmonton he’s gonna you know he’s gonna play a similar game to to Zach hman in Edmonton right he’s gonna you know score from in close he’s probably gonna have a lot of opportunities on rebounds and things like that and while he’s not the fat he’s not fast he’s never been fast but he is still a very good skater in terms of his Edge work and his ability to get to those areas but you kind of heard Kevin Adams say it we don’t view we weren’t going to use him in the top six this year he doesn’t have that skill set to play in the bottom six and he never really has and there’s nothing like there’s no wrong like that’s not that’s okay they paid Jeff Skinner to score goals and except for that Ralph kruer stuff that happened that kind of took two years away of Prime he has scored goals so I’m okay with the buo I’m annoyed they never replaced him in the top six but I am definitely okay with the bio because yeah at some point $9 million for a pure offensive guy just wasn’t worth it he still scored 24 goals last year so like he he wasn’t completely off the cliff I bet you he’s gonna score 25 in Edmonton but I I have no issue with it like I said I take the issue the issue is the moves that have not happened after the Skinner bi out because you saved so much cap space and you didn’t really do anything with it but the bout itself yeah I I understand it but I do think that Jeff Skinner is a lot more useful than you know some people like most people understand why he was B him most people realize he wasn’t washed uh he’s just he’s not a good two-way player he’s never been a good two-way player and right now that’s what Buffalo needs in their bottom six and he was going to be a bottom six player you you saw it last year he got moved off the Tage and Tuck line and they replaced with PKA and that line immediately took off at the end of the season so it just it’s something kind of Switched halfway through the year where it just wasn’t working for him anymore and under this new regime he was gonna have to be a responsible two-way player and he’s just never been that so I it’s cool I get it do you think maybe because of the emergence of a guy like JJ petka and Zach Benson being a star rookie at 18 years old uh also you know pushing that uh that envelope and then you got guys like rosean and kich that are basically you know Fringe nhlers at this point ready to come up making a guy like Skinner Expendable and then they obviously moved on from SEO as well so uh do you think that the play of you know the bensons the petkas and then having such great depth with their top prospects that are ready to come up from Rochester uh factoring into the equation of Skinner just was the odd man out there of another skilled offensive guy that needed to to be moved out yeah I’m sure it factors in a little bit but like I said to me it was just they Adam said it himself he like I don’t Edmonton said they view him as a top six but Adam said they weren’t going to use him as a top six and when you look at his skill set his skill set is that of if I’m not playing in the top six I’m not exactly useful to the team because he’s a pure offensive player he does get under the skin of other you know of the opponents he’s a he’s a disturber that way but he’s he’s not a responsible two-way player who’s going to give it as all in the defensive end and he’s never been so when you look at some of the players that they’ve signed like you know zuker might not be the greatest defensive player at all but he’s he he’s a perfectly capable third line scoring Winger he’s not going to kill you defensively the way Jeff Skinner would and did last year so I I I do get it I do think again there’s a glaring hole that someone’s got to go to fill but in terms of the way that Lindy Ruff was going to use him it’s just I think it was more that and then they’ll worry about the rest later which clearly that’s been their philosophy because they haven’t necessarily addressed that top six role yet so it’s it is what it is he’s the buyout is going to affect you in a couple years which obviously stinks but I think they’re a smart enough team cap wise to to plan ahead with that you’d think so and hopefully they still will have some cap space in a couple of years to be able to use and obviously to compensate for that buyo for Jeff Skinner that’s going to really hurt uh the two years after the 2425 season but we’ll get into some of the other moves uh that you that you mentioned there free agency and some player moving for the Sabers some guys in some guys out as we T talked about it the open the bottom six has been pretty much revamped uh from top to bottom there I’ve got the updated uh forward line depth chart here uh just uh to for reference here and you look at it and right now they’ve got Jason zuker as a as a second line left Winger but I I assume he’s going to be probably the third line left wing uh that you had kind of brought up there Ryan McLoud in a trade with Eon that we’ll get into Jordan Greenway still on the roster right now and then a completely new fourth line and Beck binstein saying Sam laferty and Nicholas Abe kubel uh three guys that were all brought in Via free agency uh or sorry allenstein was was a trade with Washington but the other guys were brought in Via free agency you lost some uh pretty notable bottom six players zus garson’s the longtime saber that you mentioned there played his entire career with Buffalo signing a three-year deal uh with Tampa Bay good on him for being able to get a contract like that with them at this point in his career you lost Eric Robinson and Tyson Jost who both signed with Carolina oddly enough uh and a couple other subtractions as well um in Rochester but it was pretty interesting the way that Kevin Adams WI a boat for agency they definitely didn’t make the big splashes like the Nashville Predators did getting Steven Stam Co Jonathan maroso and Brady Sha but you didn’t really expect those kind of moves from Buffalo uh in the situation they were at with their top six players but uh what did you think especially zuker he was he was pretty much the big one and same laughy would probably be I guess the second biggest piece that they did get in free agency and then as well getting Jes Rymer as a veteran goenda com which I think is an upgrade over what Comer gave you and you know that Levi is going to come up and make some spot starts from Rochester so overall with the additions and the subtractions the Sabers made with their free agent class where would you kind of rank them as far as giving them a grade here C C+ B minus C+ probably is where I would lean and the reason I say C+ is it’s been good uh not great the move that they haven’t made is why it’s not great they’re you know they’re one top six acquisition away from this being a relatively solid offseason when you look at you know Obe kubel Beck malinin Sam laferty the new you know fourth line there’s two things in common those guys like to hit those guys are responsible to way players uh especially Obe kubel who’s one of the better defensive pure defensive forwards I think in the league but speed if you look at NHL Edge they track you know a lot of advanced stats with the NHL all those three guys are all in the high end when it terms of top skating speed and speed burst over 20 miles per hour so that fourth line um and McLoud which we’ll get into later he’s going to be on the third line but the bottom six is going to have a lot of speed the fourth line is going to wear you down physically the fourth line is going to take a lot of the brunt when it comes to the defensive responsibility uh but they are equipped to do that in terms of you know their underlying numbers so a bit of a different switch uh you know gearson did have some speed don’t get me wrong he was fast but in terms of like you know aoso kind of lost a step as he got older which you know obviously he got older there but I like I I like the philosophy switch that’s why I went with C+ I really like the way they revamped their their bottom six I think their bottom six is going to be so much better this year the problem is you haven’t address your biggest need which is your top six scoring which there’s still time to do it I guess but I’m not very hopeful right now although we’ll get into that later because numbers game it does seem like another move has to be coming but the last time we thought another move was coming is when they traded for Henry Yoki Haru and they had a surplused defense and bodell never did anything with that surplused defense so until the move is made I’m not going to expect it to come but that being said good offseason not great not terrible mention zuker real quick guy that’s kind of bounced around a little bit in the last few years uh played with Minnesota Pittsburgh uh most recently with Nashville after signing a one-year deal with Arizona and they moved him at the deadline for a pick what do you like from zuker he’s obviously a guy that kind of fits a scoring uh Winger in the middle six there and is a little bit better defensively than than like you mentioned with the Jeff Skinner and he does bang a little bit when you need him to but a guy that’s production has kind of gone down a little bit but he did show spurts in Nashville when he got there that he could put up some goals and and be you know a solid depth scorer for this team and I think it’s somebody that you look at again it wasn’t a sexy signing what by any means but on day one a free agency to go out and get a guy with uh that this played some playoff games that has been in the league for a while and Jason zuker and has played with some pretty good players over his career as a as a solid you know uh depth piece and and a and a complimentary guy that can put some pucks and then that I really like what he brings to that uh that third line for Buffalo yeah I do too I think he’s a good third line scoring option and I do find it I do find it notable that Adam said he can play anywhere in the top nine and he mentioned top nine so to me that states they didn’t get zuker to be a top six scorer they might have to put him in a position to be a top six scorer but they don’t Envision that being his role this year and that’s fine I think if you look at a potential third line of McLoud B and zuker that’s a really on paper effective third line you have McLoud who’s a good two-way Center Benson who’s a really good two-way Winger four Checker who’s tenacious on the pucks good passer good hockey sense same with McLoud okay hockey sense and then you have zuker a guy who can finish um you know two years removed from scoring 27 goals with Pittsburgh in 2223 so you know not you know he’s not going to score you 27 goals in Buffalo this year I don’t think but he has the ability to finish so I have no problem with that signing I do like that signing as a third line scoring option and the one ter the one-year term makes it okay that you had to give him $5 million I on a one-year contract I don’t I don’t you can call it an overpay I saw some people saying that but like I I don’t care it’s a one-year contract who cares yeah it’s a one-year deal and the Sabers had the cap space to move it it wasn’t like they have zero cap space they have the fifth most cap space in in the National Hockey League right now so to be able to sign a guy like zuker at a one-year deal kind of like they did with Taylor Hall when they sign him that one-year $8 million deal and obviously that didn’t work out but a one-year deal is a one-year deal and and I think zuker is a good addition and knock on wood if any injuries do happen for the sabes in the top six he’s a guy that can move up there and be a utility player to move up in your lineup and put put in some goals and be productive there so really like that addition of of Jason zuker and Sam laferty as well as you mentioned for the fourth line um do you want to touch on the Beck marenstein dra uh trade with Washington for that draft pick I know that was kind of a move that the Sabers fans were kind of scratching their heads at because we’re all expecting these big moves to happen and they go and get a perennial basically a fourth line player in binstein even though he obviously with his uh underlying stats could be a very productive player for the Sabres with that fourth on that fourth line uh what did you think of Adams giving up what he did to get a player like from Washington yeah I think obviously the second round pick is pretty high cost for a 26y old you know fourth liner I don’t think anyone would argue against that I do like the speed I do like the hitting I do like the the fourth line capabilities that he brings I understand why they acquired that style of player I don’t necessarily understand the cost which is fine whatever it’s you got a second round pick in the San j a trade you basically used it to acquire mste cool whatever I think the the common theme is is sometimes like you have to overpay to get a position in need I don’t necessarily I didn’t rank fourth line Winger as one of the biggest needs for the Sabers you know I think everyone kind of knew anyone with a brain realized their two biggest needs were third line Center second line scoring Winger um a new fourth line was obviously part of their philosophy and they were willing to pay a high price to get it we’ll see what maltin’s contract looks like um but you gave up a second round pick for the guy so I I have to think in my brain you view him as an every game player much like Washington viewed him last year when he played 81 games so it’ll be interesting to see how they how they use him this year but very fast responsible penalty killer a lot of block shots a lot of hits and I know the timeline doesn’t necessarily line up there with the skinner buyout and everything like that but would you have liked to see maybe a move at draft time if they were to move let’s say if they didn’t select uh helenus and they traded number 11 plus second round pick or maybe they moved back to 14 picked up that second from San Jose and then used that second and player Andor Prospect like a Matt seavoy or that 14th overall pick to go and get like a top six player would would that have been a move that you would have liked to see even if they were to move back there uh to pick up that second as more ammunition to go and get a player um you know we didn’t see a Martin niches or Nikolai eers trade yet from Carolina or Winnipeg at the moment of recording this so you obviously that that Carolina and Winnipeg didn’t get the right offers for either of those players so um if a move is still to be made like that did you think that they kind of missed that window with the trade that they could have made at the draft I mean obviously I would have liked to have seen it um you know that was to me is their biggest need it was their biggest need to pretty much anybody that was their biggest need so obviously yeah we I think everyone would have liked to have seen it um I don’t think they missed the window like you just said none of those rumored unless you view Mani aan as a Surefire top six which I mean he probably is but he was moved for a second round pick uh but to the capitals so I guess unless you count him none of really the bigname rumored guys have been moved yet so I can’t say it was a missed opportunity for Adams but obviously yeah I I would have liked to have seen that move and I think until he makes that move it’s fair to question and doubt the off season and the improvements that they’ll make next year because unless they make that top six acquisition they’re back to again in terms of their scoring and their top six production they’re banking solely on internal improvements which we saw what happened last year when they did that it did not go their way and another move that kind of you know Sabers fans were wondering about was James Rymer obviously a long time goalie with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was on the other side of that rivalry I view him as an upgrade over Eric Comer I don’t know about other people and I know some people were pretty upset um that the you know why would they bring in Rhymer when Levi’s you know in Rochester and you just need a veteran guy that brings stability and I think rymer’s one of those guys where yeah he’s not going to do anything flashy but he’s also not going to be a guy that’s uh you know when you put him in a in a spot start here he’s not just going to let in five or six goals I think he’s a reliable goalie he’s a good teammate you know he’ll he’ll be a solid Mentor there for for UPL and even when Levi is able to come up I’m sure Rymer will be a good teammate in that sense Eric hry was a little bit weird being in that um that more of a mentor role when he was still in his mid 20s so uh when you bring in a guy like Rymer who’s played in the league for for a long time in his 30s and and has seen a lot been on a lot of different teams and been in a lot of different roles I think he adds value off the ice not just uh his on Ice production as a goenda start against the Leafs and is able to beat them that would be great to see uh for Buffalo’s perspective but uh I’m not going to hate on the James ryr move as much as some people would yeah I’m not and um I’m not even 100% sure he’s a lock to be a buffalo saber Fair like I think he was signed if Devon Levi struggles in training camp and has to start the season in Rochester you have Rymer like you said as an insurance solid backup if you you’re paying him $1 million you know on a on a two-way deal so his salary is one million no matter where he plays which is probably the reason why he came here I I have to think that ryr understands there’s a possibility that he is the starting goenda wants it to go he is steady he is reliable not flashy he’s not great he’s not terrible he is an upgrade over comry absolutely I just if Deon Levi shows up in training camp and plays extremely well throughout the preseason I I can’t picture Buffalo being like yeah well we signed James ryer so Levi you have to start in Rochester this year because Lucan in’s our guy lukanin is our guy no matter what but I still firmly believe that James ryer doesn’t block them from going with a Lucan in Levi tandem so not going to hate on it there’s nothing wrong with goalie depth I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s Rochester goalie I mean they probably will have to subject him to waivers obviously because of the amount of time he’s played in the league but he signed with Buffalo for a reason so maybe they did tell him there’s a real shot he’s the backup here or maybe it was the fact that they guaranteed him $1 million no matter where he plays I’m not really sure but I yeah I’m not gonna hate on that signing and then lastly before we move on here some depth signings for Rochester and more organizational depth Jacob Bryson is back uh which was a nice resign for Kevin Adams Riley Stillman was a guy that we thought would be brought back as he traded Josh Bloom to get him Josh Bloom ended up going and scoring uh the uh the game-winning goal in the Memorial Cup so Vancouver con Pro uh people are very high on Josh Bloom now as as a guy that we used to love in the Ontario hockey league so Riley Stillman ended up moving on but uh they bring back Bryson and they bring in a couple uh ad depth pieces for Rochester like sandstrom and others uh anybody you want to touch on there uh that is coming back uh for the Sabres or coming in to fill out the Rochester depth down there no I guess it depends on who you view as filling in for Rochester I think an interesting signing was Dennis Gilbert because I am pretty sure they signed Dennis Gilbert to be a buffalo saber not to be a Rochester American we’ll see how that shakes out but I am very interested to see what they do with the defense because Gilbert brings a skill set that they don’t have on the blue line not necessarily an everyday player but I wonder if they’re going to you know carry eight defenseman because BR again was a reliable seventh Defender last year didn’t play a lot but when he did play played well so it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any moves to be made on the blue line because they obviously gave Yoki Hario his $3.1 million oneyear deal walks him to UFA next year so doesn’t really seem like he’s in their long-term plans which we kind of thought so it’ll be interesting what if anything happens with the blue line because I wouldn’t be surprised if Dennis Gilbert plays a decent handful of games for the Buffalo Sabers and bringing Bryson back as the depth guy right now he he’s the extra defenseman because Samson you expect him to be back 100% after he missed uh the rest of the season last year and then they brought back Yoki Haru as you mentioned on that one-ear deal maybe he’s the guy that gets moved at the deadline or what have you if a guy like Gilbert is able to step in to a bigger role and kind of move the death chart there but uh what are you liking from the way that the Sabers defensive core uh is shaping out we knew the top three was pretty much a lock and then they made a couple additions there Ryan Johnson still a name that we mentioned uh on our on our season finale show if he’s going to kind of move the needle there for the Sabers still got Connor Clift and you still got Samson so and bring back Bryson to be either a seventh defenseman or a guy that you can call up from Rochester so uh you know the defensive core is pretty much solidified I think at this point yeah it’s solidified and I am a little bit shocked again that they’re bringing back the exact same Decor they had last year maybe they’re not maybe a move is had to be had I’m not really sure but a little bit surprising um I know you know it is it is what it is like I said right now Sur looks like your top four is some iteration of Yoki harup power Byrum and Dalene we’ll see what they do with that um samelson Clifton Gilbert Bryson some combination of those four will be your third pair but a little bit questionable in my opinion to bring back the exact same Decor from last year you know your revamped your bottom six you didn’t really touch your defensive Group which I don’t necessarily think is smart because I do think while Yoki har you flashed he clearly isn’t in your long-term plans you only gave him a one-year deal and let him become a UFA next year you know Gilbert Bryson depth signings one year I don’t know maybe there’s a mood to be had there but right now I am a little bit uh down on their they’re an entire group of six obviously the Byam Deli power those three are very good they’re going to be very good and you know Byrum’s definitely going to push the pace offense Do’s proven he can be a reliable two-way player I expect power to take a step but am a little shocked there was no major major tinkering to their dgroup pretty much that’s it for the player movement uh is there anybody in free see that you saw a sign that you would have liked Buffalo to get or would you are you expecting some sort of trade to to happen for that top six forward that hasn’t come yet after the Skinner buyout I mean realistic options that I might be would have liked to see Buffalo try to go after I don’t really know I mean they were never going to get any of the big fish no they were never really going to trct any depending on how you view zuker I guess they were never really going to track any medium profile for agents because Buffalo has never really again for they haven’t made the playoffs in 13 years you’re not necessarily a huge free agent destination I would have liked to see them maybe be a little bit more aggressive in a top six trade but you know what we’re going to talk about next is Adams being pretty aggressive to go and fill one of their other major needs and acquiring a 24 25y old Center who has some team control so again I would have liked to see the top six move but Adams definitely was busy and definitely filled and revamp filled a big need with the third line Center and revamped you know a philosophy in that bottom six so I would call his offseason incomplete um necessarily is there any free agents you would have liked them sign I’m trying to think off the top of my head there’s not really for the amount of money that those guys got I mean they weren’t going to sign Tyler to Foley for the money that he got in San Jose they weren’t going to sign a Jonathan Maro for the money that he got um they weren’t going to sign Chandler Stevenson for the money he got so like I’m not disappointed that they didn’t overpay for some of those guys zuker is a one-year deal so it really it doesn’t even matter what you give them you could give them 10 million it really doesn’t matter because the Sabres have so much cap flexibility right now until that Skinner biote comes in a couple years uh becom 6 million but like I I I was okay with them not getting any of those overpaying for any of those top guys we usually see in for agency no I think the only like and he hasn’t signed yet um maybe instead of zuker I could have maybe preferred them signing a guy like Daniel sprong but obviously that’s really nitpicky they got zuker zuker came here they tried to get zuker last year I think he took more money in Arizona and you know knew he was going to get moved at the deadline so I’m not really going to nitpick that much but they got their third line scoring option they were never going to fill the top six World in free agency put it like that that was if they ever filled the top six Ro it’s going to be through trade I’ve always thought that I think most people have always thought that so yeah I like the free agency signings that they made so I have no gripes with any free agents they did not sign put it like that about 10 minutes left in the show here so we’ll get into the trade and we got it up on the Twitter poll here thoughts on the Sab trading first uh former first round selection Matt seavoy to the Ed Oilers for forward Ryan McLoud and Prospect Tai Tulio according to the x/ Twitter crowd Buu seavo was worth more one at 43% yay McLoud fills a roll was second at 31.6 expecting another trade at 15.2 and indifferent at 10.1 the YouTube crowd was pretty much the same thing 58% for hate at seavo is worth more second for Love at McLoud Phils an at 24% and then indiffer and expecting a trade 8 and % respectively Austin where do you sit with the poll here because it’s been pretty much split between Sab uh uh fans on Twitter I don’t know if you want to eviscerate any of them right now on the show but uh it’s uh it’s they have a right to be upset that you give away seavo you took ninth overall just uh two drafts ago uh but it does fill a need in Ryan McLoud we saw how effective he was with the Evington Oilers Ty Tulio you know former ASAT General’s Captain um still a prospect at this point 22 years old most likely going to be a Rochester American played with Bakersfield for the most part last year uh Edmonton’s AHL affiliate so where do you stand with this trade and and obviously Ryan McLoud is not going to be the sexiest addition but he FS a need that the Sabres desperately had going into this off season yeah so the only thing the only thing I’m gonna say is they traded Matt aoid by himself Matt aoid by himself was never going to get you a top six winner so if your sincerest gripe is Matt seavoy by himself was worth more I’ll disagree heavily on that um I do think you could have packaged seavoy with some other stuff to get that top six guy so 100% I I am I still believe this to that to this day uh I love the acquisition of McLoud again when you just look at the pure the player he fills the third line Center hole that they desperately needed albeit a very different player than Casey middle stat he is a responsible two-way player who has some untapped offensive upside very good speed very very very very very different than the way that their third line Center was used last year obviously like I said Casey middle stat that offensive skilled guy um McLoud is extremely reliable um he played really well when he did not play with guys named you know dry adal newon Hopkins McDavid I know there was a lot of people saying well he was propped up by that he wasn’t he actually played he had really good underlying numbers with not those guys so this the McLoud trade is a bet on those analytics transferring over to Buffalo’s new system I am all for that I think it again shows that they are buying into speed speed speed speed they’re going to attack you with speed they’re going to attack you whether that is off the rush or capable of dumping the puck in and being able to go get it first we know Buffalo desperately struggled with that except for guys like Zack Benson and Jordan Greenway they didn’t really have a guy that could just go in and retrieve pucks well now their bottom six is full the speed guys who can go in there and Retreat Puck so the acquisition I am very okay with I love McLoud I think he’s going to do very well here in that role the acquisition cost yes when the trade first broke I was very like are you serious they gave up massive void from a cloud the more I thought about it the more I you know saw people smarter than me in The Scouting Community who I respect a lot say on the surface this trade may look really weird and one-sided but when you break it down it’s not SEO is far from a sure thing yes people are citing the fact that he put up over two points a game in the w L but that was in his draft plus two years so he was drafted two years ago he should be putting up a ton of points playing in junior hockey so no I am not mad because I think sooy by himself was worth more I was disappointed because I think seavoy could have been used with other assets to go get something else that being said I like the McLoud Trade A Lot the acquisition a lot I think he’s going to do really well here um I was really pissed off it took me about 48 hours to calm down though I don’t know about you like I said I Twitter was a disaster the the day that the trade happened it since calm down a lot so hopefully you know you didn’t go crazy like I did seeing some stuff it definitely was uh quite the thing to see Sabers uh Sabers fans blowing up over a guy that hasn’t even really played for the Buffalo Sabres yet um and again as you mentioned wasn’t a Surefire thing and it’s quite interesting that Matt seavoy was basically moved on from because a former teammate of his and Zack Benson with wachi Winnipeg in the WHL played so well as an 18-year-old rookie that made Matt seavoy Expendable at the end of the at the end of the day but um I think it just goes to show you that the Sabers really believe in their top prospects and not everybody was going to get a shot here um you know you still have to you think about guys like pton Krebs who are going to try to earn a bigger opportunity here as well uh when when he gets a new contract and the Isaac rosans the Yuri kich obviously helenus uh and Zach Benson are all in that conversation as well so the numbers game just didn’t add up for the Sabres and somebody had to be moved unfortunately it was seavoy you saw what he was able to do win a WHL championship with moja when he was moved uh there in the Western Hockey League season but again I’m with you I’m okay with the trade because of what Ryan McLoud does bring and how effective he was for the Oilers last year but yes we would have lik to see them maybe package that 11th 14th overall pick with a Sao with something else to go and get that top six forward after you buy o Jeff Skinner so I know Sabers fans are pretty split on this and there’s going to be the crowd that says oh watch what seavoy and Jeff Skinner do together in Edmonton in a few years well it is what it is the Sabres made their made their bed with those moves and and if Ryan McLoud is able to be as effective as he was with the Oilers last year in that third line Rule and as you mentioned his underlying statistics and being gray Faceoff guy being very fast and adding to that whole thing uh I think it’s going to be very interesting to see where trade is in a couple years we still don’t even know if SEO is going to going to be able to pan out so uh on the surface yes the Sabers overpaid but I think when you really look at it it was a very smart move by Kevin Adams and I’m not going to go and eviscerate him like Sabers X Twitter was trying to do all week yeah no like it it’s not you know the the most popular thing and it wasn’t even saers fans it was just other independent people saying it’s the Martin E rat pH forsberg trade all over again and like yeah if matoy turns into Philip forsberg that’s gonna hurt the Sabers a lot but one we don’t know if he’s goingon to do that two McLoud is a 24y old Center not a 33y old Winger who’s on the downswing of his career so yes on you know on the surface it’s fun to to make fun of Buffalo and say this is why bad teams stay bad and all that stuff I get it but they dealt from a position of strength maybe gave up a little bit more than people would have liked him to give up myself and included but they filled their second biggest need and got an effective NHL third line Center who makes their team better you wanted to trade I wanted to trade they made a trade I’m not going to gripe that much slight overpay sure but you got a valuable asset who fits what you’re trying to do here when seavoy when you look at he was basically pushed out he was pushed out you have helenus here now Benson moved past him kich is more close to be NHL ready maybe you could argue that Ros and might be close to being an HL ready because of his HL experience so it’s just he got pushed out and unfortunately you know he was a fan favorite for the Sabers he was a fan favorite of mine you have to move something to get something the Sabres were able to do that and I do think McLoud is GNA pleasantly surprise people this year especially Sabers fans lastly any thoughts on Tulio we saw him with yosua Generals in the uh the OHL he’s been pretty much an AHL player 22 years old still possibly room for growth there but um any quick thoughts on him yeah he’ll be an AHL guy I mean again we’ve talked about it Rochester has a lot of top prospects down there they have a lot of AHL vets so I’m interested to see how they use Tulio because maybe he was just a throwin and he’s just going to be you know an extra forward in the HL or maybe the Sabres actually do have a plan for him long term in the AHL so interesting to see I did love Tulio when he played for the asosa general so it was cool to see that name come to Buffalo but in terms of long-term NHL impacts I don’t really see any at least at this point in time so Austin before we wrap up here uh rest of the offseason outlook here we’ll probably be back unless the Sabres you know make a blockbuster trade here um it we’ll be back in September to really G re gear up for uh the season with our season preview show go over the schedule everything like that but um obviously top six forward is pretty much the need the rest of the off season here they’ve pretty much done everything else that we expected them to get uh fixing the bottom six there um and then with the skinner bio just leave such a hold there unless they they really want to throw Zack Benson into that second line left wing roll uh what are you hoping to see from now until uh probably September the Sabers make a move for uh the rest of free agency or via trade I would like to see a top six Winger acquired um when you look at their bottom six now two guys stick out like a sore thumb pton Krebs Jordan Greenway because the rest of the bottom six except for Zack Benson who is one of their top young players in the organization the rest of the bottom six are brand new you know trade Acquisitions or free agent signings so those guys aren’t going to get moved it feels like Krebs or green wear the odd man out do you potentially package one of those two with one of your defenseman to maybe try and get that top six I don’t know I did hear you know Joe uren and Lance lowki on maintenance day mention Joel far’s name uh they were also willing to say that you know the NH in in in NHL circles it is no surprise that the Philadelphia Flyers like pton Krebs maybe there’s a move to be had there but I will say if Adams does acquire top six forward this off the rest of this offseason it will really drastically change has saers fans do this offseason because it’ll probably take most people’s opinions like me where it’s an okay offseason to all right this is a solid offseason that sets the Sabres up to potentially push for a playoff spot so if they were to get a guy like Joel farby was pretty much in tortorella’s doghouse played eight nine minutes a game uh it just uh did not be was not a good fit for the Flyers in in John tortorella’s kind of system or if they went out and got a Nikolai eers or Martin Ness what would be I guess your I guess outlook on the offseason would probably go from a c+b minus up to probably a B minus or an A minus at that point I think eers would be an A+ just because eers is the highest ceiling out of all those players obviously oneyear contract no guarantee he signs here long term obviously uh niches would be good I think I prefer Faby over niches but if you give if you give me any top six Winger yeah I think anyone most people would say this goes from a okay offseason to a very good one well Austin I’ll give you final thoughts uh as we uh you know we’re in our offseason right now and look forward toh coming back full-time with this show in September but been an interesting you know offseason for the Sabres here with the draft class the move so far and you can’t uh really fault Kevin Adams for trying because he it’s not like he just made one little move here and there he’s really you know tried to rebuild the bottom six and made made that Skinner bio made that trade with the Oilers to get Ryan McLoud so you can see that they’re trying to make some progress here and with a new head coach and Lindy rough coming in you can see that the the change in philosophy as we’ve kind of been mentioning throughout this whole show um hopefully he going to be an exciting thing for the Sabers come training camp yeah uh he is trying um I’m tired of hearing that though I’m sure all Sab fans are um he’s done good like I said I like the Acquisitions that he has made it’s the move that he hasn’t made yet that will continue to be a dark cloud over this team for the rest of the summer um because right now you are desperately banking on which I think is it’s okay to bank on it as a fan Tage tuck and cousins bouncing bouncing back to closer to their form from two years ago absolutely Jack Quinn being healthy okay as a fan I could definitely Bank on that I don’t think it’s smart for an organization to bank on that and not have any contingencies in place so it’s not over yet um a top six forward could still be acquired I do think it is interesting now that it’s seem to be a surplus of bottom six forwards and no drastic changes made to this defense core the logical part of my brain thinks that there is a move to be made packaging some of those pieces together but as I said before with this team I’m not giving them benefit of the doubt anymore until you make that move I’m not going to expect that move to come and basically that’s kind of what happened with the McLoud trade I kind of think most of us gave up on a trade and the M Cloud trade came so we’ll see Adams has done good not great and anyone who is pissed off at him I totally understand I I used to go to bat for him and say you know I think he’s a solid GM I still think he’s a pretty good GM good drafter he’s built a nice front office he’s trusting what he sees but his inability to make that key acquisition aside from the eel trade but let’s be honest the eel was one of the most valuable trade chips in the time in probably one of the history of the NHL at the time uh the modern history of the NHL I should say there’s obviously other players that were moved in the past but it was kind of easy for him to to make out okay with that move but he needs to show that he can acquire that top six guy that they need and until they do we’ll see a makeer Break season for Kevin Adams the 13-year drought is is uh going to be something and he’s been here for a few years now new coaching Lindy Ruff might be his last if he’s not able to uh make the playoffs here with the Buffalo Sabers and we’ll see what Lindy Ruff does with this team but hope we’re optimistic that they make a move here for a top six forward here the rest of the offseason and hopefully we have something better to come back and talk to you about for the uh season preview show in September so for Austin broad my name is BR kuto thank you to those for tuning in today on our offseason preview show make sure to give us a follow at saber semantics and if you liked this video on YouTube make sure to hit like hit subscribe smash that Bell and thank you to those today who chose to listen to us on your favorite ond demand audio platform so Frost and Broad my name is Brandon kuto enjoy the rest of your summer and we’ll talk to you again in September you’re listening to the armchair GM Sports Network

In our offseason update show, Brandon Caputo and Austin Broad recap the moves made for the Buffalo Sabres so far this 2024 NHL offseason via the Entry Draft, Free Agency, buyouts, trades and more. They also discuss what the Sabres still need to fill the rest of the offseason via trade.

Segments:
Intro: 0:00
NHL Draft Selections: 08:07
Jeff Skinner buyout: 20:55
Additions/Subtractions in NHL Free Agency: 26:20
Matt Savoie traded to Edmonton for Ryan McLeod and Ty Tullio: 45:17
What still needs to be done before the end of the offseason: 53:53

Intro Songs Credit:
Ivan from Guitar Logic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmy9KGCcfVA
Joe Bucci: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5ZiMjXQDtY&t=1s

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