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00:00Alex Tuck, his rights traded to Washington.
00:04Farewell, Alex Tuck.
00:05Bowen Byram, last night, traded to Chicago.
00:08They're tearing it down!
00:10They're starting over.
00:11Finally a good team, and they're tearing it down.
00:13Greenway!
00:14Tage Thompson's next!
00:16Greenway!
00:17Look out, Thompson!
00:18What about the grit?
00:20No.
00:21Although somebody's probably there, or just worried that there won't be reinforcements.
00:28With us now on the Wester Hotline is not somebody who probably is panicking over the start to this particular
00:36phase of the offseason.
00:37Chad D. Domenicis, expected Buffalo.
00:40Am I right in assuming, Chad, that you're not looking at these departures, Tuck and Byram, as panic-inducing moments?
00:50No, not yet.
00:51We have a long way to go before people head to their cottages, so we're good for now.
00:55Right.
00:56Well, how heavy of a lift do you think there is?
01:00I just admitted within the last half an hour or so that I hadn't spent a ton of time thinking
01:05about defensemen ideas
01:08until we learned that Byram wasn't likely to resign when Kekalainen talked about making him a priority
01:15and wanting to commit to him long-term.
01:17They're like, okay, they're going to keep the band together.
01:19The superpower will be intact, but now there's a pretty big hole there, and I don't know.
01:25I'm not impressed with the list of guys that are thought to be available.
01:29That doesn't mean there aren't better ideas.
01:31What do you think about the lift they have to replace Byram?
01:36Yeah, I mean, finding a top-four defenseman is never easy.
01:40You know, for me, I'm a little bit more familiar because my approach, I think we talked about before,
01:45going into the offseason was getting a little bit more depth behind that in case you had, well,
01:50in case you didn't get a Byram contract signed or Byram or Sanderson fell back to earth on you a
01:55little bit to solidify.
01:59Now, we're in a different situation where you have a hole that you now need to fill.
02:04Free agency, you know, there's not a lot of significant options there.
02:08The best one seems to be John Carlson, and by all accounts, he's going to be going to Tampa Bay
02:12at like 12-01 on July 1st.
02:14He's going to be one of those guys.
02:15And then beyond that, you know, there's not a lot there.
02:19There's some guys you can try to make work, and you hope that Owen Power can pull him up,
02:25or maybe they just go with Crevier as the guy that, you know, they put into that top-four role,
02:30and hopefully Power can help, and you're okay.
02:34Yeah, I mean, there's a couple guys that got kicked around.
02:37Adam Pellick has an idea from the Islanders.
02:39I know there's some talk that he could be available because they're pretty full on the left side of their
02:45blue line,
02:46so maybe he's an option.
02:48But, yeah, I mean, it's never easy.
02:50And then you might get yourself caught in this game of what they try with Kesselring is, you know,
02:55getting a guy who's played mostly third-pair minutes, and then you try to scale him to top-four minutes,
03:01and it doesn't always work.
03:02And, again, maybe Crevier is the guy they're going to try this with
03:04because he got some difficult minutes in Chicago, and maybe they think it can work.
03:10How bad do you think the fit must have been with Kesselring for them to move him like they did
03:18for seven spots in the draft, which isn't nothing.
03:21I think we talked about this then, even.
03:25Knowing or maybe expecting, like, I would think that Kekalainen would have had an inkling.
03:30He said today he was trying to convince Byram to re-sign all year long.
03:35So I doubt that his, you know, his knowledge of what was likely to happen changed.
03:41The fact that they just kicked Kesselring out, despite maybe expecting that they might have to move on Byram,
03:48really says a lot about what Kesselring, where his standing was within this team.
03:54Yeah, and Kekalainen talked a little bit about it today.
03:57He said that from the Sabres' side, they were willing to be a little bit more patient with it.
04:01But from his side, you know, that they, his side being Kesselring, that, you know,
04:06they wanted a new opportunity, and so be it.
04:09That's fine.
04:11You know, and I get it.
04:12You know, it's a player who's an arbitration-eligible, restricted free agent.
04:17Teams these days don't love getting stuck in arbitration.
04:20Going through that, if he gets an award higher than what you'd want to pay,
04:24then that's with your salary cap.
04:25And like he talked about today, then you can't even trade that guy for a certain amount of time,
04:28and it becomes, you know, difficult to manage.
04:31So he was in the Lindy Ruff doghouse.
04:34He's still going to be your coach.
04:35And then he really didn't want to be here anyway.
04:37So, you know, why continue?
04:39And, you know, they made that move, and I get it.
04:43It makes sense for how they handle that.
04:46With Chad DiDomenesis, so what's the end, what's the big conclusion on Byram here after two years?
04:53Chad, the team took such a leap.
04:55And we've had conversations with you about him that ranged from, oh, my God, to, all right, well, this is
05:03playable.
05:04I mean, would you look at what they paid for him and what they got out of him and then
05:08what they got for him?
05:09That seems like a pretty good process.
05:14Yeah, I think all in all, you know, you've got to be pretty happy with what you got over the
05:20two and a half years.
05:22You know, I think in this year in particular, it didn't start off great, but I think he played well
05:27for most of the season.
05:28And you say you can even argue maybe he had his best year of his career.
05:31So you got that out of him before he left.
05:33So, you know, I have nothing bad to say about the player on his way out.
05:37I think he was a key part of what they did last season, and he should be commended for that.
05:44You know, if they would have kept him for a reasonable contract, I probably would have been okay with it
05:48to keep that top four together.
05:49But, you know, we're getting up to $10 million, maybe even $11 million, seeing where that Blackhawks deal is going
05:54to end.
05:55You know, I have no business in that for arguably, like we talked about this last time,
05:59I think your fourth best defenseman, perhaps, to be paid that much seems a little nutty.
06:05So it didn't work.
06:06And, you know, to his credit, he wanted to be a number one defenseman.
06:12He wanted those top minutes, and he's going to get in Chicago.
06:17That's the luck, and he's getting what he asked for, and, you know, we'll see how it goes for him.
06:20Yep.
06:21How about the – how much did the fourth pick being involved in that trade, being a part of the
06:28return?
06:28And Green – like, did your brain kind of short out last night when you found out – Greenway, too?
06:38I mean, fourth overall for Bowen Byram, I mean, I like this player a lot, and I think he did
06:44mean –
06:44I thought he was their best player in the Boston series myself, and it's just an opinion.
06:47But I think he mattered a lot, but still, the fourth overall pick is – I'm just stunned by them
06:55getting the value.
06:56But at the same time, Chad, I'm a little bit torn because I almost immediately want the fourth pick
07:02to become some 25-year-old player who can help them right now.
07:07Yeah, I had to check on it a few times when I heard about it last night.
07:12This year, first round, fourth overall, yeah.
07:14So, I mean, yeah, I mean, when you listen to the story behind it,
07:19why Chicago did what they did, I mean, okay, I mean, I guess I kind of see it from their
07:23perspective,
07:24but it's still kind of bananas to me.
07:28But, yeah, the Greenway part, yeah, that one really threw me.
07:31Like, they're taking a cap dump, too.
07:33And then when I was going through, I'm like, okay, well, 20 is going back.
07:36And then when I got the final news of what the full offer was, I was like, oh, their sole
07:40case,
07:40so they're keeping their first round pick.
07:42All right, so this is awesome.
07:44So, yeah, I mean, sitting here now, a lot can change.
07:49And as you've seen, you know, every year the Insiders say this is going to be a crazy summer,
07:53and it feels like they actually got it right for once.
07:56You know, that could the pick move?
08:01Maybe.
08:02I still think, from listening to Kekalani today, a little bit of what I know, what they're thinking,
08:08they're probably going to make that pick.
08:10It also, I think, helps that the draft is in Buffalo,
08:13so now they can pick in the top five in their own city.
08:16Now, I'm not going to say that was the driver behind doing this, but it certainly helped.
08:22So, yeah, you know, I know people have it on here.
08:24I don't love to hear that because this is a team who was a shot away
08:27from going to the Eastern Conference Final, and you don't want to take a step back.
08:31And I'm not saying they're going to, but I still think it's more likely
08:35that we would see 20 be moved than four.
08:37Now, if they find something, Jason Robertson, something crazy falls on them,
08:42then I don't think they're opposed to it.
08:44But I would say sitting here right now that I think it's more likely than not
08:47that they're going to pick it for.
08:49Do you happen to have a draft pick idea that you like the most?
08:52I will cop to not paying attention to the top names.
08:56Paul said the same thing.
08:57We talked to Paul last week when he was at the Combine.
09:00It's weird being at the Combine and just talking to players
09:02that the Sabres will never get a chance at.
09:04Well, maybe that's not true anymore.
09:07Record scratch, right?
09:10Yeah, I mean, it's the same thing for me.
09:12Like, I usually go to that Combine every year, and I'm like,
09:14ah, they're picking 27.
09:15Like, I have a scheduled conflict anyways, whatever, to be fine.
09:17And then, oh, okay, we're picking top four.
09:20Awesome.
09:22You know, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I really know a lot about the top five.
09:27I'm more leaning on people.
09:29Chase Reed, the defenseman, is maybe the one I'm most familiar with.
09:33I really liked him during the World Juniors this year.
09:386'2", right shot defenseman.
09:40You know, there's some things in there that you can question defensively.
09:43But I like him on our site last night was part of the article stuff we put out.
09:51Viggo Bjork was somebody that Austin, who's a draft guy on our site, really likes.
09:56He's a shorter, smaller centerman.
09:59But he's fun.
10:01He's very, very good.
10:03That could be a good one.
10:04But there's, you know, there's Kevin Alholtra if he makes it.
10:07But it seems like he's going to Vancouver at three.
10:11So, yeah, I mean, realistically, it's weird.
10:14Whenever the Sabres are in this spot at one, they draft the defenseman.
10:18Now they're sitting here at four.
10:19And how the board's going to go, if it's going to be McKenna going one,
10:23and then the team are going two, and then the Alholtra three.
10:26Well, you're going to be sitting there with a bunch of defensemen looking you in the face.
10:29So it's going to be Reed.
10:30It's going to be Carls.
10:31There's a couple other guys.
10:32Albert Smith is a guy I like from Austria.
10:36Maybe Lafayette, one of the two I can't remember.
10:37But, yeah, they're going to have a defenseman staring them in the face again.
10:42But, you know, maybe they do go forward.
10:44We'll see.
10:45I came across a kid that played at North Dakota, I believe, in college, Verhoef,
10:49who was in the Western League, coached by James Patrick.
10:54And, like, so I'm trail of breadcrumbs, right?
10:56I feel like Patrick and Ruff are probably still very tight.
11:00So I would feel like Patrick's probably been chirping in Lindy's ear about this kid,
11:05irrespective of the draft or whatever.
11:08But they're in a position where they could probably do that if they want to.
11:11It might be a little early.
11:13But it depends on which projection you're looking at.
11:15So, like, he's 6'4", and said to be a good all-around and a good puck mover and all
11:21that.
11:21So, like, I wonder about that.
11:23I would think they probably have good – as much background as you could need on a guy
11:27if they want it because of the relationship Ruff has with James Patrick.
11:32Yeah, for sure.
11:33Like I – there's a lot of guys that can go there and really are not going to be mad
11:37at the pick.
11:37You know, I know if it's a defenseman, it's kind of an eye roll.
11:39Like, okay, another high defense pick.
11:41But pick your best guy on the board.
11:45You know, look at some of the draft picks they've made in the first round the last few years.
11:48It's hard to dispute with them hitting on those picks.
11:53So if they think that guy's the best on the board, then, you know, I'm going to believe in that.
11:58Chad, let's pay our respects to Alex Tuck as he leaves for Washington, reportedly, on a sign-and-trade deal.
12:06Never seemed to me, or I think to Bulldog and probably yourself, that the Sabres were, you know, close to
12:13keeping him,
12:14even if they, you know, wanted to.
12:16He meant a lot to what happened here.
12:20I mean, I think needless to say, in the last few years.
12:22He's an, if not also Byram, but Tuck especially, I think, is an important part of the story.
12:29Yeah, for sure.
12:30You know, I'm not going to spin any stories that are not going to miss him.
12:33And not just on the ice, I think off the ice, too.
12:36I know a lot of players in that room looked up to him, and even some of the guys in
12:39their leadership group leaned on him a lot.
12:42So that's going to be a big loss, and it's something they're going to have to figure out how they're
12:45going to deal with that.
12:46They'll have to have internal guys step up and, you know, on and off the ice, too.
12:52But, yeah, it's not a surprise.
12:55You know, a couple weeks ago, it seemed like we've pretty much, you know, they've exhausted their effort.
13:01And, you know, I can't say I know LeBron had a tweet about it, too, but I heard they made
13:04a, you know,
13:05probably their best offer to him recently, and it just still, you know, didn't get there.
13:09And that's when they started exploring the sign-and-trade that I mentioned a few times here over the last
13:14week or so
13:14and, you know, culminated today going to the Capitals, which was a bit of a surprise for me.
13:18I thought he was going to go west, but sure, Washington it is.
13:23So, yeah, you know, you've got to figure out a way to replace that, for sure.
13:26That's production.
13:27And you have some guys internally, some younger guys.
13:31I would like to get a veteran there to maybe replace that and not just lean so much on younger
13:36guys.
13:39But, yeah, it's certainly going to be, you know, a big hole for this team to fill outside of that,
13:44you know, that defenseman, too.
13:45So you've already said you think that they'll pick at four rather than put that in something really big here
13:51between now and Friday night.
13:53Then, I don't know, where will they go?
13:56Do you think they need to?
13:58I feel like the Byram hole is the bigger hole is what I want to say here because at least
14:03the forwards, I'm not eager to just say let the kids do it either.
14:07I'd like to have a man that can grow a beard replace Alex Tuck.
14:12But there are at least reasonable candidates, I think, that you could hope could do the job slash expect, whereas
14:21on D, they just don't have a ready-made dude at all, really.
14:25You know, unless Mertka hit some sort of accelerator in his development, which I've not heard anything about.
14:32I think that's the bigger hole.
14:34So, like, I don't know.
14:36Is it how armed and ready are they to do that?
14:38You said 20 maybe is, you know, a good asset anyway, and maybe they can do that.
14:45Do you think they have a big move in them is basically what I'm trying to ask you here.
14:50Yeah, I think they've got one more.
14:52What that's going to be is going to be difficult.
14:56I agree with you that I think the defenseman is a little bit more difficult to replace, and that'll probably
15:01have to be in the trade market.
15:02I mean, for forward, there's not a lot of great free agent options.
15:06But if you want to dip into it, you can.
15:08There's Zuccarello.
15:09There's, you know, some other guys.
15:11If you wanted to go there for a year to kind of pull you along, you could find that, too.
15:15That won't kill you on the cap.
15:17You know, there's some options there from a free agent standpoint at Ford.
15:20But, yeah, defenseman, they're probably going to have to make a trade.
15:25I think they can, you know, I don't want to be crazy in a sense, but really I think they
15:28could do whatever they wanted.
15:30They have the assets to be able to play in any sort of game as long as a player wants
15:35to come here, of course.
15:37They can get any conversation they want.
15:39So, you know, we'll see.
15:42It's hard for me right now to box them into what I think they're going to do.
15:47And I think you're right.
15:48They have nothing behind them, and Mirka for sure isn't an option there.
15:53I wonder if they pick a defense in the top five that makes Mirka more tradable.
15:57I mean, they basically almost traded them twice at the deadline, so they wouldn't be surprised if they do that
16:02again here.
16:04So, yeah, but, yeah, I mean, they have the pieces to really do whatever they like.
16:08And I'm confident they're going to do one more, whether that's a forward or defenseman or even a goaltender.
16:15It's hard to pigeonhole them right now to figure out where they're going to go.
16:19There's been some chatter today connecting them to Vincent Trochak of the Rangers.
16:25I'm not sure.
16:26I feel like that's a Ryan McLeod, Sam Carrick spot.
16:32And so, you know, I guess you could divest yourself of McLeod, I suppose.
16:37I don't really see a fit there.
16:38Do you?
16:40No, I think you're going to pay a lot for duplicating skill set.
16:45Right.
16:46No, he's just not the guy he was a few years ago.
16:48There's still a few years on that contract.
16:50I don't remember how old he is exactly, but the production was there this year with the Rangers, so I
16:55get that part of it.
16:56But just, I don't know, am I going to pay a hefty price for a guy that the only thing
17:00different he gives me to what I have is he wins more faceoffs?
17:03Like, I don't think it's worth to pay enough for it.
17:06I think you're then, I don't know, you're pigeonholing into a weird spot, and I'm certainly not going to give
17:13up McLeod to get him.
17:15I think McLeod's, you know, better suited for this team than Trochek would be.
17:19I have significant concerns about his foot speed slowing down in this system on this team.
17:25So I just, I have no, I hope that's not what their plan is.
17:28Same here, yeah.
17:30That's a bad idea.
17:3132 years old, 5.625, runs through 2029.
17:36That's the contract there.
17:38So I'm a hard no on that.
17:41But, yeah, same for me.
17:44I never really liked that idea in the beginning when it was brought up.
17:47A couple quick ones if you have time, Chad.
17:49What about goaltending?
17:51What do you think they want to do?
17:52Leave it alone?
17:54It's tough.
17:56Listening to Tech Alliance today, you would say that they're probably going to leave it.
18:02But I don't know if he's just playing the game or he's really okay with that.
18:07But I know that they were on Hellebuck a little bit or at least had discussions.
18:14It's possible they had discussions and then it's, nope, not going to be able to do that.
18:17And, you know, they decided they're just going to keep their goaltenders.
18:20That's very possible.
18:21Things can change.
18:24I think I'll sit with they're probably just going to go with their group they have sitting here right now.
18:32And I'm okay with that.
18:33You know, we've got conversations on that.
18:34I'm fine.
18:34I don't need to pay to stay the big assets.
18:38I mean, the argument I can make for it now that I touched about in your article I did when
18:42we knew Byron was going,
18:43well, if you can't replace Byron and you can't replace Tuck, what is one thing you can do?
18:49Well, you can get one of the best goaltenders in the league and cover up some of those holes for
18:52you.
18:53So that's the way to get around it.
18:55So I could understand that logic of it.
18:57But, you know, we'll see.
18:59It, again, kind of seems like it's how I'm going to go.
19:02You know, Florida is back in this now that it's going to be, oh, okay.
19:05So he's going to end up going to one of those three teams that all these American guys want to
19:08go to at the end of the day.
19:09So, yeah, we'll see.
19:11Yeah.
19:11The way you described the goalie move, if there were to be one, is kind of how I hope they
19:17are viewing it.
19:18I can't do this.
19:19Can't do that.
19:20Well, we got to do something.
19:22Well, you know, we're a couple.
19:23Okay, let's do that then.
19:25And I know that's not a great process.
19:26And, of course, they would never tell us that was actually a process.
19:30But I would hope that they are prioritizing the, you know, the skaters more than the, you know, replacing the
19:37skaters more than the goaltending myself.
19:40I agree.
19:41Chad, one more for me.
19:43The Kekalainen, just in general, your experience covering him, writing about him, and just watching the changes with the Sabres
19:51in the last year or so.
19:54I mean, I'm ready to devote with this.
19:58I just, I love the, I love the, sort of his, his persona.
20:03And, I mean, he's active.
20:05And we have this, here's Bowen Byram, who was excellent on a team that just shocked everybody and restored the
20:12Sabres' dignity, if you will.
20:14And, like, okay, he's gone.
20:16I mean, I respect that.
20:18I know there were reasons.
20:19So, and he wasn't my favorite player anyway, as we talked about.
20:22But what is your vibe on Yarmo?
20:26Yeah, very straightforward.
20:28I'll tell you what he's thinking.
20:29That was always kind of the vibe I got from talking to people in Columbus, even when they hired him
20:34as the advisor.
20:35He will tell you what he thinks.
20:37He will tell the players what he thinks.
20:39So, and we're seeing that play out.
20:41I mean, I think we've seen that today on Tuck and Byram.
20:43He was very honest on both of those situations.
20:46So, that's always good, because then you can really know what he's thinking.
20:50He's not, and that's why I get away from the, I don't know if he's really playing the game on
20:53goalies, because he doesn't do that.
20:54He just tells you what he thinks.
20:57So, yeah, that's good, and he's going to take his chances.
21:00He's going to take his swings.
21:02You know, you're not always going to hit a home run, like maybe he did with Byram.
21:06He might take a big swing, and it might not work out.
21:08But, you know, I'd rather take those cuts than kind of sitting on your hands and hoping and praying you
21:13get some, you know, money ball stuff to work for you.
21:15So, you know, I think it kind of cuts both ways.
21:18I think he's a very analytical guy, too.
21:21So, you know, that plays to my, you know, side of things, of course, which is good.
21:26Yeah, I think he truly is trying to look at this team in the short-term and the long-term
21:33vision.
21:34Because you remember a lot of, you know, last season when he talked, he always said, yeah, this team is
21:38doing well.
21:38But he always threw it in.
21:40There's still a long way to go.
21:42And I think he's trying to take that look, too.
21:44Maybe the Byram thing is part of that.
21:46We're going to do a move for the future, but we're also going to be going to use some of
21:50these assets to improve in the short-term, too.
21:52So, you know, I think we'll see that.
21:54You just alluded to, like, maybe Hellebuck ends up in Florida and, you know, on one of the three teams
22:01that all these American guys want to end up on.
22:04How much of a problem, if any, do you think the league has in this department with guys, like, you
22:11know, calling their shots?
22:12I mean, this is how, you know, the NBA and the NFL have worked like this for many years.
22:18Hockey players generally stay in their lane.
22:20But I think once they started peeking their heads up and, you know, forcing things, I think they realize the
22:27fallout's not that hard to live with.
22:29And it really maybe doesn't even exist, only in the city that you've spurned, right?
22:33So, I get it and I understand it, but, I mean, as a hockey fan, we had a call early
22:41this week after the Kachuk thing, like, do we have a problem now?
22:44Like, is Florida just going to get all the good guys?
22:47I mean, I know there's limitations to it, but I feel like if Hellebuck were to end up there on
22:52top of what happened with Kachuk,
22:54a lot of hockey fans and a lot of markets are going to be raising their hands going, like, what
22:58are we doing here?
23:00Yeah.
23:00Yeah, I mean, and the thing we're going to see after the draft is what happens with Wierenski, too.
23:03That's going to be another one.
23:04Right.
23:06Yeah, so, you know, I think Pandora's out of the box a little bit with the trade protection that happened
23:12a few years ago.
23:13Like, everybody gets it now.
23:15So, you know, the NHL GMs kind of put themselves in that position to give the players so much power
23:20to dictate where they want to go.
23:21So, the rising cap is now contributing to that because now everybody has cap space, where before it's like, I
23:28don't know, how is Vegas going to fit this guy in?
23:30They have to put three guys on long-term reserve, and it's not a thing anymore teams have to do.
23:34They have the cap space to make it work.
23:37So, yeah, I mean, I think we're headed towards an issue.
23:41I think it's going to be interesting where which side decides they're going to run things.
23:46Do the GMs get together and say we're going to stop letting the inmates run the asylum and not so
23:52much, you know, fold to these requests?
23:55But, you know, how is that going to look for you if you don't have happy players?
23:58And I don't know.
23:58It's tough.
23:59The NBA found their way out of it eventually.
24:02So, maybe it's just a period where you kind of got to sit here and just let it play out.
24:06But, yeah, I mean, it's beyond those guys.
24:08You know, you've got Berenski.
24:09You've got Matthews next year potentially.
24:10And, you know, thank goodness the Sabres made the playoffs, or we'll probably be having a TAGE conversation right now
24:15too.
24:16So, we'll see how it goes.
24:18Chad DiDomenicis, expected Buffalo for all the best on the latest with these trade rumors and moves the Sabres are
24:26making.
24:27Who's coming up on the farm from Rochester?
24:29All of it.
24:29It's a great sight.
24:30Chad, thanks for your time, as always.
24:32Enjoy draft weekend.
24:34Yes, thanks.
24:35You too, guys.
24:37Chad DiDomenicis right there on the West Her Hot.
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