Bot Signal https://t.co/RZChOYRV2f pic.twitter.com/wxXpg7ejZ5
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) December 2, 2017
On Thursday afternoon, Jason Botterill held an impromptu state of the Buffalo Sabres address. After 26 games, the under achieving Sabres have struggled mightily. There is no amount of lipstick nor polish that will improve the appearance of their 6-16-4 record. The Sabres are 1-72 in their last 10 games and are sinking like a Niagara Falls sunset.
Pardon the grumpiness and abrasiveness of the Sabres fans you that come in contact with in person and on social media.
Phil Housley’s team is losing at a 68% rate. To earn only 16 points (6 regulation-OT wins) out of a possible 52 points is downright unacceptable. Sabres fans have suffered for far too long. They deserve better than this.
It’s shocking that Botterill’s team is tied with the Arizona Coyotes for last place overall in the NHL.
What this team needs now is a firm, fair leader in the room like Brian Gionta. Botterill and Housley opted to not re-sign the 38 year old leader and instead installed a four man leadership group to guide the team. The deeper the Sabres fall into the abyss, the more it becomes clear that they need one singular, solitary voices in the room and on the bench. The leadership-by-committee thing has been a bust of a mutual admiration society. Jordan Nolan said last week that guys are too nice to one another in Buffalo. They don't hold their teammates accountable when they screw up in practice and in games. Nolan won two Stanley Cups playing for Duane Sutter in Los Angeles. Nolan says that the veterans on the Kings held themselves and the kids accountable to one another. They praised guys who deserved it and corrected those who would mess up. The Sabres haven't had that spirit here since 2009.
The Sabres are struggling in both sides of the puck. Their forwards have scored just 55 goals. Their defensemen have yet to score a goal to help the cause, which is counter-intuitive to Phil Housley’s five-man attack philosophy which he perfected in Nashville. On the defensive side of the puck, the Sabres have allowed 85 goals against. Their minus-34 goal differential ranks Buffalo 30th in the NHL. The Coyotes enter the month of December with a minus 35 goal-differential.
The Sabres are mired in a nasty goal drought as they have been shut out in their last three games against Eastern foes Montreal, Tampa Bay, and Pittsburgh. Housley’s team is at risk of losing back-to-back games to the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins this weekend.
On Friday night, rookie Tristan Jarry posted his first career shutout against the Sabres in their barn.
Ever the optimist, Botterill said Thursday that he likes the way that Houlsey and his coaches are using the mistakes that are being committed by his team inside the losses as coaching moments. Botterill also praised Rochester Amerks GM Randy Sexton and his bench boss for the recent cultural shift away from losing to winning. Botterill is all about building his prospects up and developing them in their undergrad years in the minors. He also is a big believer is matriculating the kids from the minors to their masters program in the NHL.
Botterill and Housley are staying the course, remaining positive and resisting the temptation to rush their kids to the show before their appropriate time.
Botterill was asked to comment on the future of Evander Kane in Buffalo. Botterill said that he hasn’t figured out yet what he plans to do with the soon to-be UFA power forward.
Hours before Botterill’s presser in Buffalo, his former Pittsburgh boss Ray Shero, now the New Jersey Devils GM, traded three premium pieces to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for world class puck transporter Sami Vatanen (and a third-round pick). The Ducks took got forward Adam Henrique, prospect forward Joey Blandisi and a third rounder. I love the deal for both teams. Last month, the Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators transferred seven premium pieces in exchange for forward Matt Duchene.
I saw Botterill’s media scrum as loud and clear message to his NHL GM cohorts that Kane is available for trade. If the price is right. At what price Kane?
Kane is earning $6 million this season and is a $5.25M AAV. If the Kane compensation is correct, Botterill may be willing to eat up to 50% of the remainder of Kane’s contract in order to strike the right deal.
“That's the balancing act you're always going to get, just like you saw with the trade today," Botterill said. "I'm sure if you talk to both those teams, they're excited about the players they got, but it's also disappointment about the players you have to let go. That's always the things you're looking at, trying to find that mix."
Botterill shone his “Bot Signal… in the skies over Buffalo. Voila!! His peers have responded. Dignitaries and scouts are attending Sabres games on a more frequent basis than at any other point this season. The NHL GMs met in Montreal three weeks ago. Most NHL GMs and their scouts have met to debrief the first quarter performance of their respective teams. The U.S. Thanksgiving holiday has passed and players of all pay grades and skill levels are being traded.
On Friday night, the Sabres made team history by being shut out for their third game in a row. For as bad as the Sabres have been in the past five years, they have never been shut out in three straight games.
It’s time for a change. A seismic shift is way overdue to correct the course of the Sabres. The Sabres are clearly a seller. The contending teams bubble surfers are looking to add scoring and more defense now before the NHL trade freeze. Five such teams made their way to Buffalo on Friday night to watch Sabres-Penguins. Some of the scouts were there to due their diligence on Penguins veteran D Ian Cole. Earlier this week, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford gave Cole permission to speak with other teams. Cole is earning $2.1 million this season and the Pens will not be re-signing him. Why let him skate on July 1 for bupkiss? Rutherford will move Cole sooner than later.
The St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes were in Buffalo to watch Evander Kane, Samson Reinhart, and a few other current Buffalo Sabres. In the past two months, the Anaheim Ducks, LA Kings, San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, vegas Golden Knights, Arizona Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, NY Rangers and other vultures have been circling the Sabres from over head.
Kane is the #1, A-List trade target. Until he is once and for all traded, Kane will be the name atop the holiday shopping list of several NHL GMs. Botterill must do something drastic to shock his team into playing NHL-quality hockey. They are losing games with him in the lineup. The losing is getting the better of Botterill’s veteran core and the youngsters. It’s time to open the bidding.
After recording 11 points in 11 games during October for his first point-per-game month since January 2014, Kane scored 11 points in 13 games in November.
Of Kane’s 12 goals, eight have come at even strength, three were shorthanded and one was a power play goal.
Kane’s eight even-strength goals tie for 16th in the NHL. Since December 3, 2016, Kane has scored 40 goals in 95 games. Those 40 goals tie for 22nd in the NHL during that span and his 33 even-strength goals tie him for eighth in the NHL.
Tire kickers and rubber-neckers need not apply.
"I'm trying to build relationships with other general managers now, but it's a scenario where I think it's good for the game when trades like Duchene's goes down or trades like today," he said. "I think it's a trade that helps out both teams and it's a scenario where our conversations have been positive for sure."
When Kane is traded, it will be to the team that presents the most valuable collection of assets.
Here’s how I see it:
St. Louis Blues (17-7-1, 1st place in West)
The offseason acquisition of Brayden Schenn added pop and skill to an already awesome offense. The line of Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko has a combined 35 goals and 55 assists. The Blues have scored 84 goals in 25 games, which is 4th in the NHL. Their D has scored 21 goals and counting. Jake Allen has been superb in net.
Doug Armstrong is serious about adding more 5v5 and PP (22nd overall) goal scoring. The Nashville Predators are two points behind the Blues in the Central Division standings. The Preds got needed scoring and defensive prowess when they were beneficiaries of Kyle Turris in the Matt Duchene trade. Armstrong is patiently shopping around for a sniper to add to his already stacked lineup.
If Armstrong is truly serious about acquiring the NHL’s best power forward in Kane, he better be prepared to send back to Buffalo a package that includes some of his best prospects in Jordan Kyrou (35th overall 2016), Klim Kostin (31st overall 2017) , defense prospect Jordan Schmaltz (25th overall 2012)
Nashville Predators (15-7-3, 3rd place in West)
The Predators sent a pro scout to Sabres-Pens on Friday night.
David Poile is committed to getting his team back to the Stanley Cup Finals this season. The Predators didn’t have enough fire power to finish off the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring. That’s why Poile added unrestricted free agent center Nick Bonino last summer. He also added center Kyle Turris. Poile wants to add more 5v5 scoring. His team is ranked 3rd on the PP, however, its is ranked 28th at even strength with only 41 goals, just 4 5v5 goals more than the Buffalo Sabres. Adding Kane would give the Preds an immediate infusion of 5v5 scoring prowess. Kane has 33 even strength goals in since December 3, 2016.
If Poile is serious about wanting to add another offensive weapon in Kane, he better be prepared to pay a stiff price in the form of defenseman Mattias Ekholm and left winger Viktor Arvidson.
Dallas Stars (14-10-1, 6th place in West)
The Stars sent their assistant general manager to Buffalo to watch Sares-Penguins.
Dallas is holding its own in their division but could use more even goal scoring. Of their 74 goals scored 48 of them have come at even strength. Their PP has scored 17 times.
If the Stars are going to qualify for a Western playoff berth, they will need to add more scoring. Adding Kane will cost them defenseman John Klingberg or Esa Lindell, plus left winger Remi Elie or Curtis McKenzie, who leads the Texas Stars with 10 goals this season.
Washington Capitals (14-11-1, 6th place in East)
The Caps sent their director of player personnel to Buffalo to watch Sabres-Pens. Don’t worry. The Penguins are not trading a piece of gum to their hated rivals the Capitals much less a goal scoring forward.
Of their 74 goals (13th) scored for, 49 (17th) of them have come at event strength.
Middle of the road.
The Capitals are a veteran team in win-now mode. They need to beef up their even strength goal scoring if their want to get out of the first round of the playoffs. Should they want to get in on the Evander Kane sweepstakes, they should be prepared to lose left winger Jakub Vrana and young D Christain Djoos
The Caps are always looking for veteran defensemen to help bolster their blue line. Josh Gorges would certainly help that cause.
Carolina Hurricanes (10-8-5, 10th place in East)
The Canes sent their director of scouting to Buffalo to watch the Sabres get shut out on home ice for the second straight game.
The Hurricanes were secretly in on the Matt Duchene soap opera. They still are in need of a scoring forward. Evander Kane checks all their boxes.
Of the 67 goals the Canes have scored this season, 49 of them have come at even strength (12th). The Carolina PP is ranked 27th with 12 PPG.
Ron Francis would have to trade defensemen Noah Hanifin and D prospect Jake Bean in exchange for Kane.