The Sabres return to the ice tonight after their bye week. Since when did the NHL have a bye week? Honestly, I have never heard of that before this season. They sit at 62 points, 6 behind the second wild card spot which the Islanders currently hold. Are we better than Boston, Florida and Philadelphia, the three teams ahead of us in the standings? No. We are not. We are not better than the Islanders either and this brings me to my point. We have some pieces on this roster that have played well this year. We also have some young prospects that have flashed some serious skill. The time is ripe to move some of the valuable older pieces on the roster in return for future success, garner more young talent, and make room for the young talent that we have in our farm system.
On this blog, I called for Evander Kane to pick up his game back in November. What has he done? Oh only scored 18 goals in like 24 games. I’m not going to go and research the stats and games played or research his ice time and all that garbage. I’ve watched the games, I’ve been to the games. I have seen his game pick up and I think everyone around the league has seen what he has done. I’m not saying that my calling him out had ANY effect whatsoever on his game. I am just saying that since he has turned it around, people around the league have taken notice.
The point is, we are a middling team with Kane, and we would be a middling team without him. He’s a scorer, no doubt. His overtime goal the other week on the 2 on 1 with Eich was awesome. The kid can play. I think it is the perfect time to try to dangle him out there for a contending team who needs a spark and who is willing to pay for it. Murray should demand a first round pick or a proven #1 Defenseman for Kane, and if he gets the right offer, he should make the move. I am not advocating moving Kane for anything less. If Murray trades Kane for anything less that either of those two options, I think his judgement should be questioned. We do not need to trade Kane; he still has years left on his deal and isn’t being paid a terribly large amount of money. I would argue that we should keep him actually, but, if Murray gets offered what we deserve for moving him, I say make the move.
Other, less desirable pieces that might bring back value, starting from most to least: Brian Gionta, Tyler Ennis, Josh Gorges, Matt Moulson, Cody Franson, Robin Lehner.
Of that group, I think that Gionta has the most potential to bring back value in a trade. He is a former Captain, a Stanley Cup winner and a proven veteran leader. Any team looking to make a playoff run would be crazy to not want to add him to their roster for a long Stanley Cup run. However, I do not think him by himself would bring the greatest return; If Murray could package him with Ennis or Moulson and get some team in the Western Conference who is sniffing the playoffs to bite, I think we could really get some good value in that kind of a deal. I am not going to go and look at other teams’ rosters and try to identify guys I think Murray should try to get; that’s his job. I’m just saying that this roster is loaded with guys that should be moved, and if Murray has any salt, he’s thinking the same thing. He knows his prospects and he knows how to build from the bottom up. Our farm system is stocked with talent and we need to make room at the top for guys like Bailey, Baptiste, Rodrigues, Fedun, and Guhle, not to mention Alex Nylander and Hudson Fasching who should be up next year. Murray knows this and I would bet my Casa di pizza cheese and pepp with garlic sesame crust that he is working the phones and looking for buyers, because if any GM in the league doesn’t see the Sabres as sellers as this year’s deadline approaches, then they are not trying to win the Cup. I think Murray is trying to win the Cup, but this is NOT our year.
Tonight we have the Avalanche in Denver. Now I know people are going to say, well look, if we win our next two, and the Isles lose, we would only be 2 points out. That is true, however, do you think Florida, Philly and Boston are just going to roll over? We have looked like dog feces against Boston this year, and Florida, with the Great Jaromir Jagr, look good too. We have no chance of making the playoffs this season guys, I truly am sorry to break it to you. The deadline is next Thursday and whatever happens in the next two, three games should not affect how Murray approaches his trade negotiations. He should set his demands high and not waver from them. We have control of Kane and Ennis next year. Moulson, Gionta, Gorges and Franson will all be free agents. If he can move ANY of those players, he should. I think we should look to resign Kulikov. He was hurt for the majority of this season but has shown good positional play and defensive zone awareness since he has gotten healthy, he is a fine third pairing defensman and if he would sign a reasonable deal, we should keep him. But if some other team wants him and Murray can get a decent draft pick for him, then by all means move him. I just don’t think we should be looking to trade decent defensmen. Gorges and Franson are not decent defensmen, although Gorges has been playing better recently and could possibly garner some interest.
I have no idea what Murray will do. I am just throwing my opinion out there. That loss to the Hawks last weekend was brutal. It perfectly illustrated how far away this team is from being a contender. Chicago is at a different level. We will get there, oh yes, we will get there, but right now, Tim Murray has a perfect opportunity to build the future and he should take it and not waver in his rightfully high demands for our players.
Sabres vs Avalanche, 10 PM, MSG+, WGR 550.
LETS GO SABRES!!!