- 3 months ago
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00:00Paul Hamilton now on the Wester Hotline. Good morning, Paul. You're there, I'm assuming.
00:05After the game, did you tell the WGRGM that you're not re-signing and you just want to play the
00:13last year of your contract?
00:14I got RFA rights. You know, arbitration could be in the cards. We'll take the team there.
00:20I don't know. It's going to depend on the coach. Coach Parker back there. We took too many men on
00:24the ice penalty.
00:25Uh-oh. I don't know if he's got everything together back there.
00:27Did he have you as the number one position, whatever position you were playing?
00:31He did have me on the top line, so I can't complain about that. No, he did a great job.
00:37And Paul, he wore a Panama hat, which, of course, we know in today's NHL is all you need to
00:41win coach of the year because John Cooper won coach of the year.
00:44Whatever. I'm not bitter. I promise I'm not still bitter. But, yeah, it was a great time.
00:49Didn't see you down there. Paul, you've been behind that bench. Where was Coach Hamilton?
00:52Yeah, no, that's softball day for me.
00:55All right. Of course, all this started going down, and I'm like, okay, guys, I've got to pay my bill
01:00and get out of here.
01:01Yeah.
01:02You know, and I said to Brian Cozy, I said, well, it takes me about 25 minutes to get home,
01:07so keep me updated in my car here.
01:10And I was pulling in my driveway as it happened.
01:12All right.
01:13I hope you won at least. I hope you won at least last night.
01:16We did win.
01:17Yeah, we had a good win.
01:19So we experienced learning about the Bo Byram trade on the bench last night.
01:24No one had their phones, so it was just Owen telling everybody, and it makes its way out.
01:27Were you in the middle of your softball game when the trade happened, or was that after?
01:31Oh, it was Bo Byram.
01:32I thought they traded Bobby Orr because I think that's what Chicago thinks, is they acquired Bobby Orr.
01:38Same number.
01:39He did wear number four for the Blackhawks very, very briefly because he had a knee injury and didn't really
01:45play for the Blackhawks all that much.
01:47But, yeah, it's – wow.
01:52You know, I think Bo Byram – I think Bo Byram was getting trashed for his defense yesterday by a
02:00lot of analytics people.
02:01I – quite honestly, then I will say the eye test was not matching the analytics test because I don't
02:08think he was all that bad defensively last year.
02:11I thought he actually performed – you don't be part of the top four defense in the league or quite
02:17– or close to it if you're that bad defensively.
02:20And they were just, like, trashing him defensively.
02:23Well, he's great offensively, and I'm like, well, he's not great.
02:28He's okay.
02:28You know, he's pretty good offensively, but, you know, I just thought they were going way overboard on his offense
02:35and way overboard on how bad he was defensively.
02:38I think I agree with that.
02:39I had seen some numbers yesterday, too, that said that even the defense should have been split, that his shorthanded
02:46numbers weren't as good, but his even-strength defense numbers were good.
02:49So, I don't know.
02:50Like, right, there was a lot of that.
02:52I thought he was fine defensively all year long.
02:54Yeah, no, I thought so, too.
02:55You know, I think he deserved to be talked about in a top four.
03:00Now, is he a number one defenseman?
03:03I don't know about that.
03:04He thinks he is.
03:05Very good for him.
03:06You know, he's going to make a lot of money, and he's going to get an opportunity.
03:09What's that?
03:10Sorry, Chicago thinks he is, clearly.
03:12And maybe he is.
03:13You know, he's close.
03:15But I don't think he was out of place being on Buffalo's second pair with who the Sabres had.
03:20And, you know, so it's just, if it would have just been Bo Byron for the number four pick, I
03:29would have said, good trade.
03:31And the next thing you know, you're getting the 45 pick.
03:33And, you know, a defenseman that, Crevier, that I say to myself, and I think I might have written this,
03:42he did play some top four minutes last year with Chicago and was not out of place.
03:48You know?
03:50And this is a 6'8 guy.
03:51And can he maybe get you, like, the bridge to your two really good young defensemen who probably aren't ready
04:02yet?
04:02You know, you've got Kleber at 20 years old.
04:06You've got Mirka at 19 years old.
04:07Mirka did get some time in the American Hockey League.
04:10Not a lot, but a little bit last year.
04:13But we've seen it.
04:15Rasmus Dahlien wasn't Rasmus Dahlien for a long time.
04:19Three, four years.
04:20Owen Power.
04:22Last year, finally.
04:25You know?
04:25But it takes a while for good young defensemen.
04:28And, you know, there's talk, you know, if the Sabres do actually make the pick, that they might get their
04:34pick a defenseman in this draft.
04:35And this is a very good defenseman draft because there's talk that the top three will be forwards.
04:41Which means Buffalo would have.
04:43But, if that's the case, you're probably picking a guy that's three, four years away of being a top defenseman.
04:52Now, it doesn't always happen that way.
04:54Quinn Hughes stepped right in.
04:56McCarr stepped right in.
04:58You know, there are exceptions to the rule.
05:02But it takes a bit.
05:04So, you know, do you want to be waiting that long for a defenseman to develop?
05:11Or are you going to use it to do other things?
05:15Right.
05:16There also is, like, San Jose, we'll get to, like, more and more on the prospects as the week goes
05:21on.
05:22The draft's got a whole lot more interesting.
05:23And the top five especially.
05:25The Sharks are taking calls.
05:28And, I mean, every reporter out there wants you to know that they would like to trade that pick.
05:32And I think part of it is that their build is they have a lot of guys and talent up
05:37front.
05:38Less because they traded Eklund yesterday.
05:40But they need defensemen.
05:42And I don't know what they're looking to get.
05:44Maybe it's trading down from two and getting a defenseman later.
05:47So, I don't know.
05:49We'll see.
05:49But, Paul, what Jarmo Kekalainen and the Sabres got for Byram, like, you're right.
05:55Like, Byram is a very good player.
05:57It's more about, I think, the price that Chicago paid and how rare it is that a top five pick
06:04gets traded.
06:05A top five pick's not been traded in the NHL since 2008.
06:08And a player has not been traded for a top five pick since Alexi Yashin 25 years ago.
06:16Like, this just doesn't really happen in the NHL.
06:20And I think that's kind of the head-scratching thing is, oh, wait, the time that it finally happened,
06:25it wasn't even for, like, a Quinn Hughes or somebody.
06:27Like, no offense to Bo Byram, but Bo Byram fetching number four overall just seems like an overpay.
06:33Oh, yeah, it definitely is.
06:35And, by the way, if the Sabres make the pick, they have never picked fourth or third.
06:41They've picked first, second, and fifth.
06:44Fifth a lot.
06:44They've had a lot of times where they've picked fifth.
06:47They have never picked third, and they have never picked fourth.
06:50So this will be a first if they actually do make the pick.
06:55So, and that's the thing, you know, when we talked about the 20th, you know, when they moved up there.
07:02It's like, well, did you do that because you have a deal in mind that you're working on,
07:08and then the 27th wasn't going to get it done, but maybe the 20th will, you know.
07:13And the type of player, Jerry Fortin's very good at slotting the draft.
07:19He's usually within a place or two with where guys are going.
07:24So he may have a guy, too, in the 20th, around 20, that he really likes.
07:32And it's like, well, I know he's not going to be there at 27, but he probably will be there
07:37at 20.
07:38You know, if, again, they're thinking of picking there.
07:42So there's just a lot of options that are open to them.
07:47Now, and I'll bring this up because a lot of people brought it up to me.
07:52This is just my opinion.
07:53I never, ever, ever, ever, ever trade the fourth over I'll pick for a goaltender.
07:58Ever, especially in the Sabres case because I'm not as hot to trot for a goaltender as maybe others are.
08:07I don't think their goaltending situation is even near their biggest problem.
08:13And we've talked about Ellis.
08:16I mean, by the end of the day, Ellis could be your goaltender.
08:20I mean, they like him a lot, and there were things to like, you know, watching him last year.
08:25You know, I talked to the goalie about it, and, you know, Owen would tell me things that he liked
08:32about it,
08:33but things that he did like about him also, you know, didn't like and did like.
08:39And he always seemed ready.
08:41You know, no matter how long it was in between starts, he could get you the win and, you know,
08:47find a way to win a hockey game or whatever, and it was his first trip into the NHL.
08:51And if he gets a little more consistent playing time, let's say there's an injury,
08:56if the goaltending is what it is now, and there's an injury and he gets an opportunity,
09:00he could turn that opportunity into being the Sabres goaltender.
09:04So I'm just never – I just don't – I think that's too much to look for a goaltender,
09:13especially if you're talking hellebuck.
09:14Look, you're going to put $8.5 million on your salary cap, which doesn't thrill me for a goaltender.
09:20And the fourth overall pick, I just – no, I wouldn't do that for a goaltender.
09:25Yeah.
09:26I've mostly been hellebuck or run it back for what I've wanted them to do in that,
09:32but I'm with you.
09:33Like, I think four is too much to pay for him.
09:36That's why yesterday when I saw the Kevin Weeks tweet about he just listed the Sabres
09:40among the Sergei Bobrovsky teams, and immediately I'm thinking that's not a –
09:48like, hellebuck, if I'm doing that, I'm doing it with the allure that he's going to be
09:52the top goalie in the world for me for another three, four years.
09:56Like, I'm interested in that.
09:57Bobrovsky's 38 years old.
09:58Like, what am I really hoping to accomplish there?
10:00Get one or two really good years from him?
10:04It just feels like much more of a Band-Aid to a problem that isn't really a problem.
10:09I would only want to do it if I feel like I'm getting a big upgrade.
10:13And I don't know about that for Bobrovsky.
10:15Now, I used to be staunch back when Tim Murray got Leonard.
10:18I remember saying, I do not give number one picks for goalies ever.
10:23I've kind of come off that a little bit.
10:25You know, if it's the 20th pick, well, yeah, all right.
10:29You know, because I've seen, you know, a guy like, you know, Veselesky,
10:36who was a first-round pick, you know, and they won a couple of cups with him.
10:41Yep.
10:41And goaltending is important.
10:43So, I've come off that – I don't, like, just have the blanket statement,
10:47oh, I don't give any first-round picks for a goaltender.
10:5020th, yeah, I'd listen to that.
10:52But I just – with the 4th, no, I just think that that's too much.
10:56The other parts of the trade, Paul Byram to Chicago,
11:00it's also Louis Crevier coming back at 6'8".
11:04They get the Jordan Greenway contract off their books and a second.
11:09Like, I think that's part of the reaction, too, is not only did you get four,
11:12but that's three things that all help the Sabres.
11:15How long have we been talking on the air about Jordan Greenway
11:18and getting that $4 million off the books?
11:20And I'll put McLeod into that picture also.
11:22Just because the Sabres have good replacements.
11:27You know, in Greenway – I like Greenway.
11:30He's one of the top penalty killers in the league.
11:33He's very good at anticipating plays and causing turnovers
11:37and good on the forecheck.
11:38He's awful on offense.
11:41But, you know, it's $4 million.
11:46And you've got a guy like Danforth who people forget about
11:49because he only played four games before he busted his kneecap
11:52and then got a knee injury to boot.
11:55A guy that Lindy Ruff really wanted from a face-off standpoint.
11:59You know, he's in the mid-50s when it comes to face-offs.
12:03So you've got him you could put in there.
12:05You've got Kozak you could put in there.
12:08If you re-sign Dunn, you've got him you could put in there.
12:10So you've got guys – and in my opinion, right now at age 21,
12:15Noah Ostland may be better than McLeod.
12:17He cannot skate like McLeod.
12:19And speed matters.
12:21I mean, you've seen speed matter with McLeod.
12:24And even though McLeod had a couple of more points last year,
12:27I didn't like him as well.
12:28I didn't like his defense last year, especially in the playoffs.
12:31His defense really tumbled in the playoffs
12:35to a point where they had to take him off his line.
12:38And Lindy Ruff loves Ostland.
12:41Ostland would be out there in key situations, last minute and everything.
12:45And he's – I think Lindy's comment was,
12:47I have time for Ostland all day long, you know, when it comes to that.
12:52So to me, if you were to trade McLeod and his $5 million,
12:57I think you would have a guy who was as good or better already at age 21.
13:01What about Crevier for you, Paul?
13:03Is he just a Logan Stanley replacement or more than that?
13:08He did – if you look at it, he got some top four minutes with the Blackhawks last year
13:14because they got a young defense.
13:16And he did well with it.
13:19And they really liked him.
13:21And that's why I say to myself, all right, he's not Bo Byron
13:27when you're talking about a top four defenseman.
13:28But can he get you to Mertka, who probably is not ready right now?
13:34You know, Mertka or Kleber.
13:36Kleber right now is still going to be going back to school for another year.
13:43Now, Mertka did play a little bit with the Amerks last year before going to junior.
13:48I would say probably neither are ready right now.
13:51But is Mertka ready next year or the year after, after he gets more seasoning maybe with Rochester
14:00and maybe get a taste of it with Buffalo?
14:03Because this is a guy – both these guys, I think, are projected to be top four guys in the
14:07NHL.
14:08And they're big.
14:09They're strong.
14:10And Buffalo's got two good ones here.
14:13So can a guy like Crevier maybe be the bridge to those two youngsters who aren't quite ready yet
14:21so he can give you a year or two until those guys are ready to step into that role?
14:26Yeah.
14:27Yeah, because we've talked about this.
14:29They don't really have another guy internally that if they were going to trade Byron
14:33that you would project to fit right into that spot.
14:37And this could be that guy.
14:39I mean, 17 minutes a night last year, can he play 18, 19 doing it this year?
14:46I mean, maybe even more than that.
14:47It was a team in Chicago, and he did well with it from what I'm gathering.
14:51And I always liked him when I saw him, the brief times I saw him play.
14:56So, yeah, it's – you know, they needed a defenseman.
15:00They got it in him.
15:01That's the other thing.
15:03Chicago gave up on a good, young, big defenseman because they've got other young defensemen,
15:08and they decided this is the guy they could part with.
15:12But, as I said, I've heard good things about him.
15:17Yeah.
15:17How about what their motivation was here, Paul, other than just the overpay from Chicago
15:22and Kyle Davidson?
15:23Like, the idea that they would be the team to get Byron, do you think they're ready for that?
15:29I mean, they are picking high this year because – they were picking high – because they
15:34were one of the worst teams in hockey a year ago.
15:36They have been for multiple seasons.
15:38And I don't know, like, unless I miss this somewhere, they don't, I think, have a commitment
15:43from Byron that he's staying past next season.
15:46I mean, I wonder if they must have known that he would or else they wouldn't pay that price
15:52because that would be unbelievable, wouldn't it, if you paid the price you did and he just
15:57walks in a year?
15:58It would be one of the worst looks I've ever seen from a general manager.
16:01That's why I'm thinking maybe it was one of the – because Byron basically made it known
16:07whether it's Buffalo or somebody else, they're going to free agency.
16:11That's that.
16:13But, you know, he wants desperately to be a number one guy.
16:19If Chicago is offering – now, Chicago's not offering the winning standpoint that Byron
16:24talked about on locker clean-out day where he wants to compete for a cup.
16:28Well, that's a ways away in Chicago.
16:31And the way they do business, it might be more than a ways away.
16:34I'm not real convinced they have a GM that can get this done.
16:38And, you know, so that's not what he's getting in Chicago.
16:42But he's definitely getting the opportunity to be number one.
16:45So maybe part of this trade is they've already worked out some type of – you know,
16:52the Sabres let Bo Byron's agent work something out with the Blackhawks that they know they
16:57can get a deal done and move forward with that deal.
17:02Because, yeah, to be – I've got to say to myself, the Blackhawks, they have to know
17:10that they can sign him.
17:12To give up this on the hope, you're going to do it on hope?
17:18Wow.
17:18That's really mismanagement.
17:20If you gave up all this on the hope, you can re-sign him when he basically is telling
17:25people, we're going to free agency.
17:26Right.
17:27The price they paid would lead you to believe that they think he'll sign.
17:31But I'm still kind of waiting for that Chicago reporter to tweet out that they believe that
17:38they'll, you know, get that deal done or that they have confidence in it.
17:42Or the other way around.
17:43Like, I remember when Alex DeBrinckit was traded to Ottawa for a top ten pick and everybody
17:48thought the same thing.
17:49Like, well, he must have a deal in place.
17:50And then we learned, like, pretty quickly, like, no, they did this without knowing.
17:54And so far, it's kind of been silent, I feel like, on the Chicago end.
17:59So, I don't know.
18:00It's a little bit, and it's not the same, but it's a little bit when Jimmy Vesey was told
18:07Nashville he's not signing.
18:09He's going to, you know, leave college and go to, you know, go to free agency, which was
18:15his right after playing four years at Harvard.
18:18And Tim Murray, the arrogance that he has, think, well, I'll get him.
18:23I'll get him.
18:23Don't worry about that.
18:25So, on June 20th, they trade his rights to Buffalo for a third-round pick.
18:31After he told everybody, and his agent told everybody, don't trade for me because I'm
18:36not signing.
18:37Guess what?
18:38He didn't sign.
18:39So, the Sabres just wasted a third-round pick because of Tim Murray's arrogance.
18:44Well, don't worry about it.
18:45I'm Tim Murray.
18:45I'll get him signed.
18:46You know, and Vesey, you know, became Sabre property and told Murray, no, we're not signing.
18:53Sorry.
18:54We're going to free agency.
18:55Remember?
18:55We told you that.
18:58But, yeah.
18:59So, it reminds you a little bit of that.
19:01If Byram walks, it'll be devastating for Chicago.
19:05I mean, they'll maybe try to recruit something back, but I can't imagine anyone's given them
19:09near what they just paid to get them.
19:11All right, Paul.
19:12Well, they make a big trade.
19:14Well, the draft week just got a whole lot more interesting.
19:16I mean, the trifecta of the Sabres being a good team, the draft being in Buffalo, and
19:23having a top-five pick, I mean, it's pretty tough to beat.
19:26So, Friday should be pretty cool.
19:27And the Sabres have already set up down near the stadium, so we will be talking to Yarmo
19:33at 1 o'clock at the stadium instead of the arena, and, of course, we'll have that.
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