In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on the trade between the Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks.
First round pick and prospect Brendan Guhle going to Anaheim for Brandon Montour is my understanding
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 24, 2019
Todd Cordell
I think both teams made a justifiable gamble.
The Buffalo Sabres need help on defense and they owned three 1sts this year. They could afford to take a swing on someone. Regardless of how high you are on Brandon Montour, he is clearly an upgrade over several guys they were trotting out on a nightly basis. He is only 24 and is controllable for years, so it's not like the Sabres invested futures on a rental. Montour should be around for a while and he will help. The question is just how much?
From Anaheim's perspective, they clearly don't think Montour is, or will be, the defenseman most people thought when he broke into the league in 2016-17. His underlying numbers, especially without the underrated Hampus Lindholm, raise some red flags. This could be the Ducks trying to get out ahead and selling while they think his value is still relatively high.
Brendan Guhle is not a high-upside defender but I think he can play in the NHL sooner than later. The Ducks draft really well, too, and the 1st round pick will be nice to have for their retool.
James Tanner I guess this trade is pretty good for everyone involved. The Ducks need to shed salary and get younger (although why they just re-signed Silfverberg is beyond me) and the Sabres need to get better now.
Montour is an interesting player in that people seem to like him but the analytics say he's not that good. He's right-handed, so that's something. But the Sabres now have two good offensive defenseman who are fairly terrible without the puck.
Then again, people used to say the same thing about Roman Josi and he turned into a more well-rounded player. Hard to say anything really about Montour at this point because Randy Carlyle seems to have a really negative effect on anyone he coaches.
For St. Louis pick, which will likely be 20 something, and Brendan Guhle I don't mind this deal. Might work out really nice for the Sabres.
Recent posts