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00:00So, we don't have anything new from yesterday.
00:02We had Byram to talk about.
00:04Yeah.
00:05Well, Benson.
00:05Benson is new.
00:06That's right.
00:06Benson happened last night after our show.
00:08That's right.
00:09I don't think, I mean, it's, everyone saw it coming, I think.
00:14So, I don't think there's a lot of surprise.
00:18I think, when were you not, Friday.
00:21Yeah, you weren't here Friday.
00:23And I talked about it in this way.
00:29Usually, any move the Sabres make, or the Bills, really, the teams we care about, any move that gets made,
00:36there's, it's not always a split, you know, there's, but there's yay and nay.
00:41And I thought Benson, being extended, had the potential to be the most positively received contract the Sabres have ever
00:51handed out.
00:52Like, is there a Sabres fan out there that would go, oh, yeah, but, I mean, maybe, I did hear
00:59from some of them on Twitter, but I even.
01:01There is, yes.
01:02But I even said, I think that's just people that argue about everything.
01:08Like, I don't know that it's necessarily, like, people that really think it's a terrible idea.
01:13It's just like, let me be argumentative.
01:15Let me take the other side.
01:16Don't be so sure there isn't a fan that would use maybe his points or his size.
01:22I had a guy that I was sort of caught up in a Twitter thing between other people, and I
01:29would see.
01:29I hate when that happens.
01:30I know.
01:31But, yeah.
01:32And there was somebody who was, like, kind of just on an island yelling at Benson, yelling about Benson to
01:41us.
01:42Mm-hmm.
01:42Like, you know, basically the guy said, you have to be a homer to like him.
01:46Now, this is from before the playoffs.
01:48Oh, okay.
01:49Yeah.
01:49And maybe, I don't think I've heard from this guy recently.
01:52Right.
01:52I think the playoffs changed even people.
01:58I would say, I think we talked about him and, you know, the offseason coming eventually while the season was
02:06still going on or as the playoffs maybe had just started.
02:10And, you know, one day you might have just looked at their salary cap page and said, like, what are
02:15they going to have to – what's the offseason going to be like?
02:17Not that I'm in a hurry to get there or anything, but, like, what – and Benson is an RFA.
02:21And I think I said, bridge.
02:24I bet you can bridge him.
02:25You know, he hasn't really fully formed yet.
02:28And so, you can probably get away with a couple of years and see what it looks like down the
02:36road.
02:36And then the playoffs happened.
02:39And he became somewhat of a celebrity, I think, during the playoffs.
02:44Now, solely that is not why you pay a guy, but it's a part of it.
02:48Like, his style, his impact on the game was much more far-reaching than just the points and assists or
02:57the goals and assists.
02:58And there were enough of those in the playoffs that I think could satisfy you.
03:04But just the – you know, how much of a center of attention he was on the ice and, I
03:10think, a pain in the neck to play against, I think his whole profile changed.
03:16And, I don't know, like, maybe even fans who were hung up on – and I admit this – I'll
03:20always point out, like, how excited do you want to get about a guy that had to – you know,
03:24it's like 40 points.
03:25It's not – you're not looking at a big producer yet.
03:29And that was the reasoning behind maybe a bridge.
03:32But I think once the playoffs happened, like, oh, okay, I can see it now.
03:36I can see him becoming, like, a 60-point guy on a top line.
03:41And, okay, that makes sense.
03:42So, sign me up.
03:44So, I don't know.
03:46Maybe there still is pushback.
03:47But, I mean, I'm certainly not going to – I'm certainly not going to get on that train.
03:52Seven for seven and a half sounds just fine to me.
03:56And has, I think, the potential in a couple of years to look like the Tage Thompson contract looks right
04:03now.
04:04Which is – I'm not saying Benson's going to score like that.
04:06It's just having a player that I think is going to be what Benson should become and already is becoming.
04:13Locked in for seven years at that number is going to look – it's going to age really well.
04:18I hope so.
04:21I think it's not inexpensive, this price for this player.
04:26And he's a challenge for me just to try to keep it interesting.
04:30I mean, I – there were times in the playoffs when, you know, my jaw dropped from some of these
04:38Benson shifts.
04:40There was one against Montreal in a game they lost.
04:42It might have been game two where he produced a goal or even scored it from behind the net just
04:48sort of checking two guys.
04:49Yeah, like a little off-the-net pass to himself kind of thing or the boards, whatever it was.
04:54Yeah, yeah, I know what you're talking about.
04:55Yeah, I mean, there were some really incredible Benson highlights in the playoffs.
05:01I think, you know, it's – I'm not sure how much of a bargain it will ever look like.
05:06But, I mean, perfect world it does.
05:09I think probably the Sabres, the best they'll do is to not be picked at for this contract, you know.
05:16They eliminate the possibility of an offer sheet.
05:19Like, nobody is going to be able to come for him now.
05:22And I don't know, maybe that would have happened given what the last point was.
05:26If somebody – I think if somebody would have been willing to go to, like, $10 million a year for
05:30him,
05:30then you could have had a real hard time.
05:33Otherwise, you're just matching.
05:34Otherwise, I think you're just matching.
05:36Yeah, yeah.
05:37You know, and I don't mean to set the number at $10.
05:39Maybe $8 would have been too much for them.
05:40I don't know.
05:41But you would have had to go – if you think the Sabres extended themselves,
05:45which they did.
05:46I mean, it's a prognostication.
05:48You're expecting this guy to be this impactful and more moving forward
05:53based on the evidence that you've seen so far from how he's played.
05:57And to go above and beyond that just would have been, I think, really hard.
06:02Well, I'm not sure exactly the right word is intangibles for Benson.
06:06But I just mean that in terms of it not necessarily being in the numbers, his value.
06:12And that'll be a challenge for me.
06:15I mean, I'm certainly excited about him and their future with him.
06:19I'm not negative at all toward this deal.
06:23I wonder, though, as it goes along, I mean, if the team isn't winning,
06:28then I think he might be somebody we point to.
06:31Like, well, you spent this – here's how you did your stuff.
06:34And that probably just – that probably only happens down the road.
06:38But you have to hope that – and I'm, again, not going to predict that this won't happen,
06:43but you have to hope that Benson is mature enough to handle this moment
06:48and what it means for his future.
06:50His career is really just getting started.
06:52But he kind of became Brad Marchand.
06:55I think if you ask fans of other teams what they remember about the Sabres in the playoffs
07:02and they weren't watching regular season games, he might be the first thing they would say.
07:06Like, just what – it wouldn't be Thompson or Tucker.
07:09That's why I would focus on that because it happened for me.
07:13Like, I literally – again, maybe right as the playoffs were beginning,
07:18I don't remember the timeline – would have thought, yeah, two for ten.
07:22And, you know, let's see what he looks like, you know, in a couple of years, and we'll revisit.
07:28But then the playoffs got here, and, yeah, he became, like, the guy on their team
07:35that I think the league was really sort of opening their – oh, wow, look at this guy.
07:40Wow, that – ooh, he's annoying.
07:43He's good.
07:44Like, you know, hockey fans generally respect that guy.
07:47They hate him if he's not on their team, but will always tell you,
07:51I'd love to have him on my side.
07:53He's that guy, right?
07:54You mentioned Marchand.
07:54That's quintessential in the last 15 years.
07:57That's an example of the very top of the heap there.
08:00And, you know, Benson's got a lot of work to do to get to producing like that.
08:05I mean, Marchand was, you know, a top-level scoring player, top-line player on a cup-winning team.
08:12So Benson's got a lot of work to do to reach that, but I –
08:17It's not impossible, is it?
08:18No, I don't think it is at all because you mentioned numbers,
08:21and while the points have still not been there, everything else says, like,
08:29they're maybe at the peak of their powers when he's on the ice.
08:32He has a very positive impact on the game.
08:35Scoring chances, five-on-five, all that stuff, I'm pretty sure anyway,
08:39that he's really good in those areas, which is a reason why if you're the Sabres
08:44and you respect those kind of numbers, you make this bet.
08:48You just expect the rest of the stuff is going to come along with, you know, the rest of it.
08:55And maybe now he settles into, you know, whatever –
08:58wherever they're going to put him in the lineup because, you know,
09:00we don't really know the team's not fully formed right now.
09:03There are probably going to be some more guys in or out before we get to even training camp
09:09in the regular season, but hopefully he lands somewhere.
09:13You know, if he's on a line with Thompson, then I feel like the table is set for him
09:18to become, you know, a 60-point player in the league.
09:22And I know that might not sound – you know, it's not a point of game or anything,
09:25but $7.5 million is about what that costs in the league now.
09:30That's just how it is.
09:32Are you making lines yet?
09:33Are you going to put him – you want to wait another week?
09:35I haven't done it – no, to me there's no point in doing it until we get through, you know,
09:40the holiday weekend, you know, next weekend I think is – you know,
09:43when I get back in here after the holiday I think is when it's time to start drawing that up.
09:48You don't want to put that down on paper until Robertson shows up.
09:53Right, right, that's right.
09:55And then you just have to start over.
09:56Right.
09:58Yeah, no need to rush that.
10:00So, yeah, I did – it was funny, you know, we left here.
10:05I had a bit of a ride yesterday.
10:08Like, I was feeling really great when we started.
10:11And then, like –
10:12I have this effect on people.
10:13Ninety minutes into the show I just sort of was like, oh, I don't like how this is –
10:17I'm getting all these Vincent Trocek messages on my phone and, like,
10:21I don't really like that idea very much at all.
10:26And by the end, you know, I sort of got to Robertson and, you know, pie in the sky.
10:32I did mention how – and maybe a lot of Sabres fans were like this –
10:36night before last, right, the Byram news happens Tuesday night.
10:41So, Wednesday morning I wake up early.
10:44First thing I think is, did they make another thing?
10:46Did they do something else?
10:47So, I'm all excited to get up today.
10:49Maybe the rain had something to do with this too.
10:51Today, I was like, roll over, go back to sleep.
10:54I don't want to look at my phone.
10:56I guess I'm – like, I don't want to see this Vincent Trocek news.
11:00I don't want to – and it still hasn't happened in – who knows?
11:03Maybe it won't.
11:04Maybe it will and it won't be bad.
11:05I don't know.
11:06But I'm not excited about that.
11:09But, you know, still a lot to be determined.
11:12Like, it very much to me sounds like –
11:15I watched a lot of Pierre Lebrun on TSN SportsCenter this morning.
11:22After you got up.
11:23After I got up and looked and saw that there wasn't the thing I was dreading.
11:27Like, okay, let's just dig in what's going on.
11:31And, you know, the way the big guys are talking is like Kekalainen's talking to everybody about the fourth pick.
11:37You know, so –
11:38Well, he sounded yesterday – this is not necessarily a story.
11:42It wasn't a point I made yesterday.
11:44But when he was talking about the pick, we had a sound bite of his that we played back.
11:50And he didn't – to say the least, he didn't slam the door on trading the pick.
11:55He's like, for now it's ours.
11:56Yeah.
11:56So, he has been a pretty straight shooter, Kekalainen.
12:02And at every turn.
12:03Benson, he called it.
12:05Tuck, he called it.
12:08And even Byram.
12:10Like, that was – kind of everybody found out that Byram was probably going to have to go.
12:14And then he left.
12:15So, I don't think we're getting really any surprises or, depending on how you feel, disappointments from him.
12:22I said yesterday, I'm sort of – I'm kind of falling for this guy.
12:26Like, I feel like I want to trust him just at press conferences, and that's risky.
12:31And that is not – I got to be careful.
12:33But I think, you know, with this pick, how he described the situation yesterday did not –
12:40he could have just said, no, we wanted this pick.
12:42Like, this is – the draft is here, we're going to celebrate it, and use it.
12:47And he just didn't say that.
12:49And you don't have to say it, but some people would.
12:52You know, maybe somebody else in the top five is not even open to a question about a trade.
12:57But, again, most of the time in sports, the GM is.
13:01They say that they are.
13:02Yeah.
13:02So, I wonder if they won't just go right up to – if they prefer to move it.
13:09And assuming that there is – you know, there could be three, four, five more.
13:15I don't know.
13:16There could be a lot of people that could be interested in that pick.
13:20A lot of different scenarios.
13:21Defensemen, forwards, centers, wingers, goalies even.
13:25Like, I don't know.
13:25I'm sort of with Paul.
13:27He said late in our show yesterday, like, I don't want to trade the fourth pick in the draft for
13:31a goalie.
13:31And I'm with you there.
13:34I'm with Paul on that, I mean.
13:38But maybe they go right up to the end.
13:41Maybe it's even the Sabres are on the clock.
13:44And when the – I don't know if this is how it will still work with the draft being the
13:47way it is.
13:48But when the pick is to be announced, if it's the commissioner or whomever it is, Bill Daly, it's, you
13:55know, we have a trade.
13:56And that's where they announce, like, whatever they did with the fourth pick.
14:00Like, who's got it now, and here's what the Sabres just traded the fourth pick for.
14:04This is when the commissioner comes out, and he likes to read the trades.
14:09Yes, right.
14:10He reads the trades in the first round.
14:11He might do everything in the first round, like in the NFL.
14:14But, yeah, like, that I can remember seeing Gary Bettman do is, we have a trade.
14:19And he sort of drags it out and, you know, a good chance for him to not get booed, basically,
14:24just to –
14:24Yeah.
14:25When you're reading a trade, you're not –
14:27Probably not.
14:28You're not really getting booed.
14:28Well, provided your fans like the trade.
14:30I mean, I don't know, right?
14:31I mean, I saw Brian Mazeroski tweeting about this earlier today from our sister station, WBEN.
14:38Big Sabres fan.
14:40He said –
14:41He's a Penguins fan.
14:43He doesn't want that out?
14:45Also, I guess, I think we want to say.
14:48He said, imagine that – nice for the fourth pick being announced at the draft with a bunch of –
14:55I would imagine a lot of Toronto fans are going to come to the draft.
14:58The Leafs have the first overall pick.
15:00Yep.
15:00So – and Sabres fans live here.
15:04I would think there's going to be a hearty contingent of Sabres fans in there.
15:07You get that trade.
15:09Like, I wonder how that – how that, you know, our Leafs fans – oh, we've got the fourth pick.
15:14That's awesome.
15:15But we also just traded away this guy.
15:18We, you know, really like this guy.
15:19He's young and awesome.
15:21And same way with Sabres fans.
15:23I mean, that's what makes sports so great.
15:25There's – I'm getting a lot of people that I don't – either they don't really know what I think
15:31Matthew Nyes is, or they do and they just don't care.
15:34They'd rather have the cheap, young fourth overall pick, which is fine.
15:38I mean, that's where you want to stand.
15:40So I wonder even how that would go if that were – if that were the trade and it gets
15:44announced at, you know, whatever, 725 or 745 on Friday night.
15:49What is the reaction in the building?
15:51Because you've got the two fan bases that I think would be the majority of the crowd there on site,
15:57which would be a pretty wild dynamic.
15:59And it really, I think, would be tough to call.
16:02Yeah.
16:02That's what you're saying.
16:04I'm not sure it wouldn't be pretty evenly split, both fan bases, by that move.
16:09I know Chad doesn't like that idea.
16:11He doesn't think the four – yeah, four –
16:13He doesn't think Nyes is worth four.
16:14Four is too much for – yeah, he's – and a lot –
16:17Look, it might be right if you want to treat that pick like you should, which for the value that
16:24it is, it's got to be, what, a number one center or a top pair D.
16:29You know, Bowen Byram, I guess, as an example.
16:32Although, you know, we'll see if he actually can become that.
16:35He's not been that yet in his career.
16:37And he was the fourth overall pick.
16:39Yeah.
16:39So, if anything, I might be guilty of just sort of treating the pick like found money.
16:48But, like, my process is this.
16:52I think I said when it first became known that it was going to be unlikely that the Sabres were
16:59going to be able to keep Byram,
17:01they're like, I don't want to trade this guy, but I would trade him for Matthew Nyes.
17:06And so, if I use the fourth pick to get Matthew Nyes, I effectively have done that.
17:13I mean, I know I'm not – I'm probably not properly valuing the fourth pick,
17:17but it still is an outcome that I would be more than happy with.
17:21I got some other stuff, too.
17:23I got rid of Greenway.
17:24I got this defenseman who might be a third pair guy.
17:27I feel like I'm in pretty great shape.
17:28And I replaced Alex Tuck with Bowen Byram.
17:30I am on team use the pick or trade around if you need to, even trade down.
17:37Yesterday you were laying out maybe two, three, four.
17:41Could be teams where moving down a couple spots, which I'm always here for that, could be advantageous.
17:47Otherwise, I'm on team use the pick.
17:49And I'm considering a sign today that in the slate.com crossword, there was an entry – see if you
17:58can get it.
17:59Okay.
18:00Five letters.
18:03Spacey Icelandic songstress.
18:05Oh, that's easy.
18:08Bjork.
18:08Right.
18:09Yeah.
18:10Viggo Bjork, baby.
18:11Let's go.
18:12Fourth overall.
18:14No?
18:14Is that – should I not be so mystical about this and just sort of be pragmatic about it?
18:18No, I mean, that's fine.
18:19You want to use the pick.
18:21I mean –
18:22You could do worse, right?
18:24Well, sure.
18:24Or you could – I mean, San Jose is thought to need a defenseman.
18:30There's been a lot of talk that maybe they'll just stay at two and take the defenseman.
18:36But they could – I said this yesterday.
18:37They could probably get paid to move down and still get potentially, at worst, the second best defenseman in the
18:46draft.
18:47Maybe even the first defenseman in the draft.
18:49Right.
18:51Go up to two and get Stenberg.
18:53Like, he's on your team next year.
18:55You don't sound like you believe in using crossword puzzles as your guide when it comes to drafting hockey players.
19:01Well, that's okay.
19:02I'm supporting the idea of using the pick, but I'm using it.
19:05I'm paying to use it.
19:07I'm going to give San Jose something to go draft Stenberg.
19:11I don't know.
19:11Two spots?
19:12I don't know what that costs.
19:13Four to two.
19:14Do I get out Jimmy Johnson charts for this?
19:16I don't know if we have that.
19:17Is it the same?
19:19It wouldn't be cheap to move from four to two.
19:22I don't think so.
19:23No.
19:24Next year's one.
19:26Pick 20.
19:27Does four and 20 get you two?
19:30Maybe.
19:34803-0550.
19:35Let's talk about this.
19:35So there's an idea.
19:37Draft is tomorrow night.
19:38Sabre's picking fourth for now.
19:40We've been through all of it.
19:42Benson signs.
19:43That's new.
19:44Tuck is gone.
19:46Press conference tomorrow in Washington.
19:48Virtual press conference tomorrow with Washington.
19:51We've got the goalie stuff.
19:53We've talked about a lot and Byram and more.
19:56How would you do it?
19:57How would you want to do it?
19:59Later.
19:59Stephen Ellis from Daily Faceoff on the draft and all of this.
20:04Paul Hamilton will join us too.
20:06Mike Schoep and the Bulldog.
20:07Thanks for listening.
20:07Thanks for listening.
20:07Thanks for listening.
20:07Thanks for listening.
20:08Thanks for listening.
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