2021 Buffalo Sabres trade deadline possibilities--Taylor Hall and Brandon Montour

Taylor Hall is said to be ready to waive his no-trade clause, which isn't too surprising as who wouldn't want to get out of a situation in Buffalo where the Sabres have totaled six wins on the season. 

Yeah, it's been a hellaciously devastating ride for Buffalo this season, which was far worse than the .500 mark suspected here after the NHL placed the Sabres in the toughest division in hockey, but they can reboot in the off season. As long as franchise center Jack Eichel is still on board there's hope and when you add in Dylan Cozens as their No. 2 center next year, Buffalo has their one-two down the middle and they can build around them. 

Where's the bottom for this Buffalo Sabres franchise?

In 1956 the New York Football Giants won the NFL Championship and for five of the next six seasons they made it to the NFL championship game only to lose. Regardless of that fact the Giants were considered a model franchise but after their 14-10 loss to the Chicago Bears in the 1963 championship game, New York went 17 consecutive seasons without making the playoffs and got progressively worse (4-23-1 in 1973 and '74 combined) before stagnating well below the .500 mark until the 80's.

Football fans largely ignored the Giants and in a pre-ESPN era where game highlights were mainly shown via local news broadcasts and in Sunday pre-game or halftime shows (think Monday Night Football with a national audience,) out of sight, out of mind. As the New York football Giants continued floundering through another lost season, just when you thought it couldn't get worse, it did. On November 19, 1978 with New York up 17-12 over the Philadelphia Eagles late in the game, the 'brain'-trust on the sideline scoffed at the thought of kneeling to run out the clock and 'boldly' decided to run a complicated play. Quarterback Joe Pisarcik's handoff to Larry Csonka was flubbed and Eagles cornerback Herm Edwards scooped up the fumble for the winning touchdown.

Why this story in a blog about the Buffalo Sabres?

It's about finding the bottom.

What was the process used to select high-scoring winger Jack Quinn 8th-overall?

If you've followed the Buffalo Sabres the past decade you had to know that this was a possibility. After a long seven-month off season due to the pandemic and Buffalo's failure to make the expanded playoffs, new Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams stepped up in a virtual setting and made his selection for the 8th-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, RW Jack Quinn of the Ottawa 67's.

Quinn was second in the Canadian Hockey League in scoring with 52 goals in 62 games after scoring just 12 goals in 61 games the previous season. The 19 yr. old with a wicked wrist shot scored in many ways and in all situations (5v5, powerplay, shorthanded) while finding those soft spots around the net. At 6'0" 176 lbs. Quinn has a projectable frame and if he continues to put in the work, which he has diligently done recently, he should be physically ready to begin his NHL journey next fall.

Most were aware of Quinn's meteoric rise last season and he was considered a mid to upper-mid first round pick at the draft. That Buffalo took him at No. 8 was a surprise in most circles and was met with mixed emotions in Sabreland and beyond.

With the board unfolding the way it did as two defensemen were taken top-six, the Sabres were looking at selecting a very nice player at No. 8 including the possibility of drafting two centers--Marco Rossi and Cole Perfetti--who many believed would be gone by the time Buffalo made their pick. After the New Jersey Devils selected a sniper in winger Alexander Holtz, it seemed as if Sabreland was facing a simple situation of taking sides between Rossi and Perfetti with neither really being a bad pick. When Adams selected Quinn, Sabreland devolved into two different groups of those who got that sinking feeling and those who were on the side of hope that the new GM had done well.

Quinn is "a pure sniper" according to Kyle Woodlief, chief scout and publisher of the Red Line Report, a premier draft guide. In his analysis of Buffalo's pick for USA Today Woodlief called Quinn an "aggressive winger...[who] has a knack for sifting through the wash and winding up in dangerous scoring territory without being noticed." 

Corey Pronman of The Athletic had Quinn rated 16th amongst prospects writing that although he didn't call him "an elite sniper, Quinn is just super skilled and smart player who scored a lot of goals around that net." Pronman nailed it in his final mock draft where he had the Sabres selecting him. "Trying to figure out the Sabres has been tough with the moving pieces from new management coming in," he wrote, "but the two names I've heard most are the two Ottawa forwards in Quinn and Rossi. I've been hearing Quinn more often now and think he could be the pick."

Which makes a lot of sense. Most thought Rossi, who led the CHL with 120 points (39+81) in 56 games would be off the board when the Sabres picked so leaning towards Quinn was a matter of elimination. What caused Adams to take the second best player on that 67's team?

"Jack's a Sabre," said Adams right off the bat in a Zoom call after the first round and he went on to credit his scouting staff with giving him insight into Quinn's entire game. "[It's] not just the goal scoring," said Adams, "his overall game kept showing through as we did the work. We see the ability for him to keep getting better, his athleticism is high and just the metrics we use scouting he met, and then some."

When asked what he meant by "Jack's a Sabre" Adams said "he was looking for certain characteristics, whether it's on the ice and the process they use to get their results. You're talking about the competitiveness, the athleticism, some of the measurables...when you package it all together, we felt he was a Sabre."

Whatever those measurables were, the analytical side of the equation didn't seem to be foremost in Adams' thoughts. Jeremiah Crowe was promoted by Adams three months ago to be the head scout of the pro and amateur departments in Buffalo. In an interview posted on the Sabres website the 34 yr. old Crowe called it "a unique opportunity knowing what's been laid out by Kevyn's vision...the buzzwords being analytics, video and scouting." 

We didn't really hear Adams mention anything from an analytics standpoint last night. Instead he offered up a general thoughts on numbers, which is somewhat expected as no GM will get into specifics. As the call unfolded he seemed to focus on Quinn's journey as a determining factor along with his goal-scoring prowess and all around play. Adams said he "really dug in with his scouts to understand [Quinn's] path" which is one of a dogged determination to get to this point. That path included being cut numerous times in triple-A and also his rookie season in the OHL. Quinn had never worked out in the summers as a 15 or 16 yr. old opting to play competitive golf and other sports, but once he got with a trainer, his path to the draft ramped up.

"We interviewed him and he had a lot of interesting answers to the questions I personally asked him," said Adams of Quinn. "He has a really good self-awareness of who he is as a player and he also has a determination in that I see him getting better and better. He's got that growth-mindset kind of mentality where you can see he wants to get better and he was upset when he was younger that he didn't feel he was where he wanted to be as a hockey player. Then he started doing thing to help him improve. To me you see that trajectory, that arc.

"He's got a big ceiling."

On the call Adams seemed to bypass what he's been preaching the last seven months. From what he conveyed during the Zoom call, this didn't seem as if it was an analytics-driven pick and from just looking at comparative stats from Rossi and Quinn, two players on the same team, it looks like a reach as they seemed to have bypassed a "best player available" approach and drafted for a position of need. How much of a reach, if it is at all, is to be determined.

Quinn seems like a really good player with plenty of upside and no doubt Buffalo could use some scoring on the wing. In my mock I surmised that they'd select Holtz with the eighth-overall ahead of Perfetti. It will be a couple years, at least, before we see how Adams' first draft pick unfolds and both sides of the Quinn pick have legit arguments as to why or why not this was the best pick for the Buffalo Sabres. The initial reaction here that of disbelief enveloped in that sinking feeling. And to repeat, it's not that Quinn is a bad prospect, but when a fan base has been subjected to mismanagement for years, they have every right to feel skeptical when a consensus mid-first round pick gets taken at No. 8 ahead of two consensus top-six picks, one being his own teammate who led the CHL in scoring. Having said that I, like 99.9% of those reading this don't have access to the information the Sabres scouting department has, so this writer defers.

Are the Buffalo Sabres finished this off season?

Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams took care of three restricted free agents with arbitration rights before their respective hearings. The team announced that they re-signed right wing Sam Reinhart and goalie Linus Ullmark to one-year deals on Sunday and earlier today the Sabres announced that winger Victor Olofsson signed a two-year deal with the club. Buffalo still has two more players in center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Lawrence Pilut who were tendered qualifying offers but remain unsigned. 

It's an uncertain time for the National Hockey League and it's players as Covid-19 is still shrouds the immediate and near-term future of the league. The NHL has already laid out a scenario where the cap-ceiling will remain at $81.5 million for this season and next with a potential $1 million increase for the 2022-23 season and in doing so has created a salary structure conundrum for players and teams. 

Very few long-term deals have been reached this off season with the Sabres opting for one, two and three-year deals for 14 players leaving only 10 players signed through next season. Their biggest, most stunning signing was former NHL MVP Taylor Hall who signed a 1yr./$8 million deal with the club on October 12. In all Adams and the Sabres re-signed four of their restricted free-agents to one-year deals including Reinhart, who will still be an RFA next season. "I think every player in the times right now would be open to a long-term deal," said the 24 yr. old when asked if a one year deal was right for these uncertain times. "Unfortunately that's not always the case, it's not always available."

Reinhart is on his third contract with Buffalo since signing his entry-level deal in 2014 (with a one-year slide that season) and said on the Zoom call this morning that he's "certainly comfortable playing on short-term deals like I always have."

Indeed. Reinhart has outplayed his contract every season as he's consistently gone from a 23-goal/42-point rookie campaign to a 22-goal/65-point season in 2018-19. Last year his 22 goals and 50 points in 69 games projected out to 26 goals and 59 points for a full 82-game season.

Having Reinhart in the fold means five of Buffalo's top-six forwards are in place and with the two-year contract extension signed by Victor Olofsson this morning, it puts their projected forward group at 12 players without Mittelstadt or promising forward Rasmus Asplund, both of whom are waivers-exempt or 19 yr. old Dylan Cozens who seems to be on the cusp of an NHL spot.

Re-signing defenseman Brandon Montour filled out their defense although it's still weighted to the right as they have five right-handed defensemen and only two lefties signed. Pilut is a left-handed d-man and the Sabres still own his rights, however he's under contract in the KHL and shouldn't be counted on, at least at this point, to be an add on defense. 

Adams filled out his crease by re-signing Linus Ullmark to a one-year deal. Ullmark showed some real promise as a starter last season before going down with an injury. In his only game post-injury/pre-Covid, he defeated the Washington Capitals for the first time in his career with a 3-2 shootout win. The 27 yr. old will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end and he could end up anywhere, including the Pacific Northwest where the Seattle Kraken could take him in the expansion draft. 

It's a situation that isn't likely as he and the organization have been together through every step of his professional career including three years in his native Sweden, an emergency call-up/split season in 2015-16, two full seasons in Rochester after and two full seasons with the Sabres. Ullmark split duties in 2018-19 with Carter Hutton the starter and last season he took over the starters role after Hutton stumbled miserably. 

Ullmark's one-year deal looks like a "prove-it" contract and it's something he just rolls with. The affable net minder shrugged it off saying that he always needs to prove his worth in goal. The experience of being dubbed the starter last season laid the foundation for him manning the crease in the same role this season. As he dealt with the fast pace and accurate shooting these past two seasons with the club, he gained valuable experience which allows him to "read and react in a more natural way because experience build on itself.

"Experience makes a huge difference for a goaltender," he continued, "everything I do every day is helping me take the next step."

He also alluded to the talent Adams brought in that will help him at practice. "Doing the repetitions and movements at full speed against better and better players is certainly helping  me to act in a natural way and not a fabricated way. 

With all but Mittelstadt and Pilut signed, the Sabres have a full roster right now and will head coach Ralph Krueger enters the 2020-21 season with more firepower up top thanks to the signing of Hall. Reinhart praised Krueger for his approach saying this morning, "just the level of honesty and the communication he has is something that every player wants to play under.

"I think that's a big part of why you see these players wanting to come here right now and I truly believe it's because of the kind of person he is and how bad players want to play for him."

Unless Adams and Krueger have something else up their sleeves, the Sabres roster for this season looks complete. The recent signings have the Sabres with a projected cap hit, according to CapFriendly, of just a smidge over $78 million dollars and when looking at that figure we also need to keep in mind that they'll be carrying overages from last season totaling just under $1.5 million which means they really only have $2 million in cap space. And that doesn't include any potential performance bonuses for this season so if they're so inclined to upgrade anywhere, it will need to be a money-in/money-out scenario.

Without any changes, this is what the roster could look like at the start of the 2020-21 NHL season (whenever that is):

Forwards

Taylor Hall - Jack Eichel - Sam Reinhart

Jeff Skinner - Eric Staal - Tage Thompson

Victor Olofsson - Cody Eakin - Kyle Okposo

Zemgus Girgensons - Curtis Lazar - Tobias Reider

With Casey Mittelstadt, Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Asplund and possibly C.J. Smith vying for roster spots.

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin - Colin Miller

Jake McCabe - Rasmus Ristolianen

Brandon Montour - Henri Jokiharju

With Matt Irwin, rookie Will Borgen and possibly Lawrence Pilut vying for spots on defense

Goaltenders

Linus Ullmark

Carter Hutton

Questions galore as the Sabres ready for the opening of free agency

For a large swath of fans in Sabreland, the hits keep coming as new Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams fashions his team to his liking. It began Tuesday night with the selection of scoring winger Jack Quinn 8th-overall in the 2020 NHL Draft which in and of itself isn't a bad pick by any means, although the methodology as to how they came to that pick at that spot is somewhat quizzical.

As things calmed down near the end of Rounds 2-7 on Wednesday evening it was revealed that Dominik Kahun was not tendered a qualifying offer which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent today. The 25 yr. old undrafted forward finished up the season with the Sabres after a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kahun scored two goals and added two assists in six games for Buffalo tallying 68 points (25+42) in 138 total NHL games for three different teams. The reasoning behind the decision on Kahun centered around a possible arbitration award that might not be to Buffalo's liking with Adams calling it a "calculated" move as he tries to give himself roster flexibility heading into free agency. Most looked at this as a gamble at best as it allowed for the possibility that a top-nine scoring forward, which happens to be an area of need, could walk away.

If that wasn't enough, the team announced yesterday that forward Zemgus Girgensons signed a 3yr./$6.6 million contract extension with the club. At seven years Girgensons is the longest tenured Buffalo Sabre but unfortunately that tenure has been marked by on-ice ineptitude that has reached historic levels for this franchise. It's not that he's a bad player as he scored 12 goals in a checking role last season under new head coach Ralph Kruger. What it really amounts to is that the highly likeable Girgensons is associated with seven years of futility and when Sabreland was promised change under Adams, most didn't think that change and him were compatible.

The Sabres head into the start of free agency, which begins at noon today, with an abundance of holes in the roster and, according to CapFriendly, about $30 million in projected cap space. They have 29 players signed to pro contracts, which is 21 under the upper limit and have six restricted free agents under their control--forwards Sam Reinhart, Victor Olofsson and Casey Mittelstadt, defensemen Brandon Montour and Lawrence Pilut plus goalie Linus Ullmark. 

Tendering Montour was a somewhat curious move. Many thought they'd let him walk as they have an abundance of right-shot defensemen and he was coming off a less than stellar season under Krueger where he played both sides of the ice. The hole they have is on the left side and Pilut may have filled that spot if he was still with the team. Buffalo signed the highly sought after free agent defenseman but he had a difficult 2019-20 season that began with recovery from surgery before splitting time between the big club and the AHL, something he wasn't particularly thrilled with. Although we're not sure whether he has an out-clause in his contract, head scout Jeremiah Crowe said they're still tracking his development in Russia and the qualifying offer shows that the Sabres are still interested in him.

All-in-all those six players could total as much as $20 million towards the cap leaving the team less than $10 million to spend when you account for last year's performance bonus overages. 

Accounting for all six of those players signing, Buffalo heads into today with four spots amongst the forward group that need to be addressed. One of those spots will probably be taken up by Dylan Cozens who just finished an outstanding season in Canadian Junior with 85 points (38+47) in 51 games and had an equally impressive World Junior tournament for Team Canada. There's no in-between for the 19 yr. old center as it's either going back to junior, which he's too good for, or Buffalo. Rasmus Asplund is waivers exempt this season and could be in the mix for a roster spot as well. The 22 yr. old is coming off of two solid pro seasons which included splitting time last year between the Sabres and the Rochester Americans.

Mittelstadt is a bit of a wild card and could be in the mix for Buffalo. The 2017 seventh-overall pick left college after his freshman season and was put in a top-nine role for the Sabres. It was a case of too much too soon and he was sent to Rochester last year after struggling mightily. He is also waivers exempt.

With the AHL season still in question because of the pandemic, it's possible that all three of those forwards could be with the big club. 

How it all fits together is still up in the air and we may have an answer or two sometime this evening as the "free agent frenzy" settles down. The big names usually go off the board early in the day while lesser names filter through as the day goes on. No one expects Buffalo to be in the mix for an Alex Pietrangelo or Taylor Hall but Adams has something on his mind while Sabreland has questions galore as to what this roster will look like come January 1st.

The shock for Eric Staal is still there, but he seems to be embracing his role as Sabres "shepherd"

Put yourself in Eric Staal's shoes. The 16-season NHL veteran with a list of accomplishments that includes a Stanley Cup ring, as well as gold medals in international play (including Olympic Gold in 2010,) had himself in a good situation as he winds down his professional hockey career. He went from Cup champion with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, to bouncing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference for eight of the next nine seasons with the Canes before they traded him to the New York Rangers in February, 2016. After a brief "sibling reunion" with his brother Marc in The Big Apple where the Rangers were bounced in the first round to the 2016 NHL playoffs, Eric signed a three-year free agent deal with the Minnesota Wild.

In Minnesota he found a home for himself and his family not far from where he grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and after that deal was done he re-upped for a two-year extension at a bit of a hometown discount. He's said to have built his retirement home in The North Star State and despite a career in Minnesota where he produced like he was in his mid-20's, the first thing that popped into his head as he reminisced about his time in Minnesota was, "shoveling off the pond and having and outdoor rink for my kids," he said, showing just how much family meant to him.

Staal had some great success in Carolina scoring 775 points (322+453) in 909 games. In addition to the Cup ring, he was a four-time All-Star with the Canes and was their team captain from 2009 until he was traded in 2016. He also his career best season of 100 points (45+55) in that Cup-winning 2005-06 season. Yet, in Minnesota, he seemed to come home as shoveling that rink gave him "that cool feeling of being out on the ice outside and kind of bringing back memories of me as a kid of skating outdoors," he said. "That's the number one thing I'll remember."

He was so content in Minnesota that as the Wild began to fully engage in a youth-movement this long off season, Staal was said to have structured his modified no-trade clause to scuttle any attempts by "playoff clubs that kept calling Minnesota over the last few years to see if they could convince the center to move at the deadline," according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun who cited sources close to the situation."

"It never occurred to Staal or his veteran agent Rick Curran," continued LeBrun, "that the struggling Sabres would see fit to trade for a player who will turn 36 on Oct. 29. So you can see their thinking, there. I wouldn’t have had Buffalo on the list, either. Who saw this coming?"

The shock still seemed to be there for Staal two days after he was traded to the Sabres as he took questions via Zoom this morning and it didn't take long for him to talk about it. "The initial shock of everything was the biggest emotion I felt and we felt," he said. "It's been a great fit in Minnesota for me and my family. We really integrated well not only on the rink for me, but my kids and my wife. And to me that's my most important thing.

"When you get that news (of the trade) pretty much out of the blue, it kind of throws you for a little bit of a loop."

Staal would mention "out of the blue" a couple of times to emphasize the surprise he and his family felt but also said that they've been able to process the situation a little more and admitted that they still had a lot to sort out and figure out. "But it's a change," he said, "We can adapt to change. We can move forward and that's what we're going to do."

Having said that, the cool thing about trading for Staal is that he's a true professional and Sabreland should expect nothing less than that approach when he steps on the ice in the Blue and Gold. Yes, his world was rocked and we're pretty sure there's a sense of dead running through the entire family, but "that's sports," he said.

First-year Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams knows Staal from their days in Carolina and both have rings from that 2006 Championship season. “The fact that I was fortunate enough to sit next to Eric in the locker room and we won a Stanley Cup together, I know what he’s all about," Adams told the gathered media during a Zoom call Tuesday night. "He’s a winner. He’s been there. He’s been in a Game Seven of a Stanley Cup Final. He’s raised the trophy. These are really, really important experiences that he’s lived that he’s going to bring into our locker room.”

Added the GM, “There’s a lot of thought and work that goes in before doing something like this. It definitely gives me comfort knowing the person he is, the family man he is. I know his wife very well. Certainly, having that knowledge and background is helpful when you make a big decision like this."

The feeling is mutual.

When asked how important Adams was, Buffalo's new center said, "That's been a very large factor. I've gotten to know Kevyn very well over a number of years. He was very good to me as a young player in Carolina. I'd been over his house numerous times as a young guy. We just got along real well.

"When he became general manager in Buffalo," Staal continued, "I sent him a note wishing him the best, knowing that he would succeed and do well. Little did I know he'd be trading for me in two months."

That Adams/Staal, veteran-to-young-player mentoring was also a theme of this morning's Zoom call. We don't know what the two discussed in their brief conversation but by the way Staal kept coming back to veterans guiding young players, one could easy speculate that it was touched upon.

Staal admitted that he didn't know a much about the Sabres lineup outside of Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner, a fellow Cane he played with for six seasons. Yet he's 35 yrs. old, knows that any team in the league will have younger players that need mentoring and paid tribute to those vets in addition to Adams who helped guide his young career. When asked whether he could help a player like 19 yr. old center prospect Dylan Cozens, Staal said, "the number one thing; I know all that help for me was watching these guys that had careers of 15, 16, 17 yrs. and see what they do. When I came in I watched Rod Brind'Amour, Cory Stillman, Ray Whitney, Brett Hedican, and as a young player you watch what they do and just try and have that kind of success. For me it's being a sounding board if [Cozens] has questions. It's about coming to the rink, being a pro, being prepared, having fun, enjoying it, all those things I know I'll do because that's who I am."

It would seem as if a veteran like Staal, a player who embodies true professionalism while being willing and able to pass on his 16 NHL years of knowledge, would be more of a fit for a team that's a contender. So did everyone else, including him. But there's the rub. This young group of Sabres led by a captain in Eichel who's just 23 yrs. old himself needs a player who learned from grizzled vets and who's been in the tough situations throughout his career and who can pass that knowledge and experience on to the youth of this team as it was passed on to him.

Working hard and having your sweat turn into winning is always the most fun. The Sabres have done much of the former, but haven't been as successful in he win/loss column as they stretched their playoff drought to a league-high nine seasons last year. It's a futility that Staal went through in Carolina and he stated the obvious, "it can weigh on you."

Staal mentioned more than once that he's in the twilight of his career and expectations for himself are in place as he's still in good shape and his body feels good. But he will e 36 yrs. old when the season starts and though it's not impossible for him to put up a 35-goal/70-point season, something like that would be a real stretch (like Buffalo trading for him? hmmmm.) However the hope is that  he can hold down that No. 2 center spot and have a positive impact in Buffalo as he'll be on a team with an elite No. 1 center in Eichel and a player in Skinner whom he said was, "an elite talent with a very unique skill-set who has a strong commitment to his craft." His unfamiliarity with the rest of the team left out other talented players like Rasmus Dahlin and Sam Reinhart, but regardless of players, confidence reigns supreme in his book

"Hopefully I can be impactful," he said. "That's the plan. I don't know a lot about the team but I know they have a lot of talent. Hopefully as a group we can develop that team atmosphere, that desire to compete and win every night. I think if you can collectively gel and be a group like that, tight-knit, you'll find success. I think confidence goes a long way for younger players. If we can get that confidence up in all these young guys early I think we can do a lot of good things."

"I'll just try and shepherd that along as I get integrated with the group."

The Pegula mushroom cloud that was June 16, 2020 in Sabreland

A few days ago on June 16, the owners of the Buffalo Sabres, Terry and Kim Pegula, dropped what would become a bomb on the hockey world beginning with the announcement that general manager Jason Botterill had been fired and an in-house replacement, Senior Vice President of Business Administration, Kevyn Adams would take over the position. We wouldn't know just how big of a bomb they had just dropped on the entire hockey operations department until we witnessed the huge mushroom cloud above Washington St. later that evening.

After a 2 pm Zoom conference call going over the morning events, the Sabres announced that Botterill's right hand men, AGM's Steve Greeley and Randy Sexton, the latter being the general manager of the Rochester Americans also got the boot. Sexton's staff in Rochester were also let go as head coach Chris Taylor plus his assistants Gord Dineen and Toby Peterson were shown the door as well as 14 of the team's 21 scouts, whom we'll name here:

Ryan Jankowski, Director of Amateur Scouting

Jeff Crisp, Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting

Amateur scouts Cory Banika, Steve Cocker, Mark Ferner, Marcus Fingal, Scott Halpenny, Randy Hansch, Tom O'Connor, Ron Pyette, Matt Tiesling and Magnus Weing

Pro Scout John Van Boxmeer

Player Development Coaches Krys Barch and Mike Komisarek

Dennis Miller, Rehab and Development (Performance Dept.)

BOOOOOM!

Frank Servalli, Senior Hockey Reporter for TSN tweeted of the purge, "It's a bloodletting that may be unprecedented in #NHL history - certainly in one day by one franchise."

Sure enough. It's now Friday, the dust has settled and the crater caused by this leaves Adams as a mere speck in the chasm created.

Don't Let the "Big-City" Signings Fool You

Despite the image of a free-spending Terry Pegula, the Buffalo Sabres organization has always put a premium on building from within through internal player development. And they continued with that philosophy recently with the July-hiring of Ron Rolston for the Rochester Americans head coaching slot and the August promotion of player development coach Kevyn Adams to assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres.


"There's no NHL salary cap on scouting budgets and player development budgets, I plan on increasing our...scouting budgets" --Sabres Owner Terry Pegula, Feb. 22, 2011

Although those two coach's don't represent an increase in resources devoted to scouting (although it's been mentioned that more scouts are on the way,) they do represent a commitment to player development on a minor league and rookie level within the organization and both are noted for their work in that area.

Darcy Regier and Co. have done very well in the last 14 years when it came to their draft picks making it in the NHL. In fact a couple of years back, the Sabres had the most draft picks playing in the NHL.

Recognizing that, Terry Pegula and his right-hand man, Ted Black, are really focusing on the developmental aspect of the team right now as the team moves from the "honeymoon-phase" into the nuts-and-bolts of a long-term marriage.

With Director of Amateur Scouting Kevin Devine and his merry band of scouts scouring the CHL for prospects, the pipeline seems to be getting stronger by the year. In fact, two of the last three back-to-back-to-back AHL Rookies of the Year (Tyler Ennis and Luke Adam) are a direct by-product of their scouting. That group also scouted Tyler Myers, the 2010 NHL Rookie of the Year.

Former Portland Pirates Head Coach Kevin Dineen was a huge part of that success in the AHL as well as a big reason that the Sabres received strong contributions last season from forwards Ennis and Nathan Gerbe and young d-men Marc-Andre Gragnani and Mike Weber.

With Dineen now in Florida as the Panthers new head coach (well deserved, I might add,) the Sabres continued to focus on the development aspect of the above formula by hiring Ron Rolston as head coach of their AHL affiliate Rochester Americans.

Ron who?

Exactly.

In a typical Regierian move, the Sabres brought in someone that no one outside of management had ever thought of, or in this case, even heard of.  Rolston's only connection to the NHL is his last name. The same last name that belongs to his brother Brian, a veteran winger.

So, what kind of credentials does Ron Rolston have to be a coach at the pro level in the AHL?

No pro experience at all. His resume' has him as assistant coach at the collegiate level to begin his career, then the last seven years as the head coach of the US Hockey National Team Development Program.

But...Notice that word--"development."

And that's what the Sabres were looking for when they hired him. He will teach. If you need more of an indication as to what role Rolston will play, Ted Black even called him the "first professor at the University of Sabres."

It seems like a very good fit. Rolston turned down an offer by Western Michigan to serve as head coach and is thrilled to be a part of an organization that he sees as having a "clear vision on where they want to go, and philosophy they have for players at every level."

Rolston will be looked upon to bring his NTDP success (all seven of his teams made it to the championship game) to the Amerks and will also be expected to continue the success that Dineen had with the youngsters.

Regier put it this way, ""I personally believe you have to be in the forefront of whatever business you're in," he said. "In our case we have, for a number of reasons, strived to find advantages outside of conventional wisdom. ... I recognized that when we first decided to come back to Rochester. The reference to university was largely about doing things differently, taking more responsibility for the players' development and also demand the player take more responsibility for his own development.

"When we started to look at the model and started to look at potential coaches who could fill that, Ron to me was right at the forefront. He was our first choice."

Some of the players Rolston helped develope--Patrick Kane (Chicago,) James Van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia,) Phil Kessel (Toronto,) Cam Fowler (Anaheim) and Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis.)

"Development" was also a major theme as the Sabres recently announced that their Assistant Coach vacancy will be filled by player development coach, Kevyn Adams.

Adams spent a year and a half in his former position and will take over for Brian McCutcheon, a long-serving coach in the Sabres organization, who's contract was not renewed.

Much has been said about Adams and his work with the likes of Nathan Gerbe and Tyler Ennis, with Gerbe talking about how much Adams had to do with his "spin-o-rama" goal versus Philadelphia late last season.

Drew Stafford had a tremendous, breakout season last year scoring 31 goals in 62 games and soon re-signed for four-years, $16M. In an article by Bucky Gleason about Adams' hiring, Stafford's name was mentioned right along side of Gerbe as being a huge benefactor of Adams' coaching.

Another example of Adams work was with Paul Gaustad.

Gaustad had a 59.8% faceoff percentage last season, good for #3 in the entire league. The year before it was at 54.9% and the year before that 52.7%.

Adams was on WGR's Howard Simon Shown this morning talking with Jeremy White when they got to talking about his work with the players--players that Lindy Ruff "assigned" to him--and Adams briefly talked about Gaustad (6:20 mark.) When mentioning "Goose" he talked about their approach using video and the tweaks that were made, "little things," he said..."maybe even a little thing like how [he] may go into a faceoff...something you wouldn't notice, but even where his hand position is, the detail."

In short, Adams helped Nathan Gerbe build the confidence to erase a horrible first-half, helped Drew Stafford reach 30 goals at a half-a-goal/game clip, and helped Paul Gaustad get to third in the league in faceoff percentage.

Player development.

Terry Pegula and Co. are being brandished in the media for their big-city, big-dollar free agent signings last month, but behind the scenes their doing subtle things that will focus upon long-term, home-grown player development.

From Kevin Devine and his scouts to Ron Rolston to Kevyn Adams, a player picked by the Buffalo Sabres should have quality coaches at every level to help them grow professionally and they will be afforded every opportunity to develop their pro-game to the fullest.


Which is good for both the player and the organization.





USA Hockey Ron Rolston resignation:
http://www.usahockey.com/USANTDP/default.aspx?id=305944&DetailedNews=yes

Kevyn Adams promotion:
http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=585706

Good Luck Kevin Dineen

New Panthers bench-boss
and former Portland Pirates head coach
Kevin Dineen

And congratulations on your head coaching job with the Florida Panthers.

Great work with the youngin's. It's no small feat producing back-to-back-to-back Dudley "Red"Garrett Award winners for AHL Rookie of the Year--Nathan Gerbe (2008,) Tyler Ennis (2009,) and Luke Adam (2010.)

Also of note is the fact that everyone brought up during his coaching tenure seemed to be well prepared for the NHL game.

One thing that should be mentioned, big props to the Sabres organization for allowing Dineen the opportunity to explore head coaching positions while still under contract with the club.

They allowed him to do it last season when he lost out on the Columbus Blue Jackets job to Scott Arniel--a former Sabres player and coach.

This year, though, he got it.

He'll be missed.

~~~~~~~~~~

Brian McCutcheons 14 year association
with the Buffalo Sabres may have
come to a close.

Also in Sabres news:

Associate Coach Brian McCutcheon was given his walking papers by Head Coach Lindy Ruff.

McCutcheon was in charge of the offensive side of things for the big club and after the "new-NHL" began to fade it seemed as if there was tremendous inconsistency from his forwards.

Former Stanely Cup Winner and
Clarence, NY native Kevyn Adams
has been making an impact the
last two seasons.

Maybe the writing was on the wall considering more than a few times during the year, youngin's Nate Gerbe and Tyler Ennis both credited Player Development Coach, Kevyn Adams, with guiding them to better play and production.

Speaking of Adams, rumor has it that he's a possible candidate to replace McCutcheon. He and former Sabres captain and fan-favorite Mike Foligno seem to be the front-runners.

As for McCutcheon, the future is unknown. Although the Sabres have an AHL contract with Portland and the Pirates, they're said to be looking into buying the Americans and bringing back the Rochester/Buffalo connection.

Current Anaheim Associate Coach
and former Sabres player
Mike Foligno may be back in
the fold.

Nothing will be resolved until the Portland/Rochester decision is made, although Regier will begin his search for an AHL head coach internally, mentioning McCutcheon and Associate Coach James Patrick. Eric Weinrich, Dineen's associate coach in Portland may also be a candidate.

Present Portland Pirates Assistant Coach
Eric Weinrich's name has not been mentioned
yet as a possible replacement for
Kevin Dineen as Portland's head coach