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00:00I appreciate being reminded of that now that we know their first two games.
00:04I was sitting here thinking I would ask Paul to predict the outcomes, the scores even,
00:08of the October 1st game in Columbus and the October 3rd home opener against Chicago.
00:13But just to make sure, Paul, you're not going there, are you?
00:17No, no, I'm not going there.
00:19Too soon? Too early? Maybe the day of, but probably not, right?
00:23We're not predicting hockey games.
00:26Fun to think of the Blackhawks for the opener, though, the home opener, right?
00:29I mean, that's happened a long time ago, but not a conference opponent.
00:34And it's Bo and Byram on a Saturday night.
00:36You can start to look forward to that.
00:39Yeah, I mean, they pretty much finished the year in Chicago right at the end of the year.
00:45Now they're going to start the home part of the year against Chicago.
00:51So, yeah, Bo Byram, it'll be a homecoming right away for he and Jordan Greenway.
00:58So we'll see how he feels about training camp and his new team when he gets here
01:03and see what the Sabres will be all about then and see if what we're looking at now
01:08is what we'll be looking at that night or will we be looking at some other things.
01:13Right, Greenway too.
01:15Paul, how much do you think the Sabres will miss, Byram?
01:19Quite a bit.
01:20I mean, the thing is, to have a guy, I mean, he is talented and he was basically your number
01:25three
01:26or four defenseman, probably number four once power really started to come into his own last year.
01:31And that was no insult to Byram.
01:33It's just who Buffalo has.
01:36And that's one thing Kekalainen talked about in his press conference at the end of the year,
01:42how he felt they had the best four in the NHL, and I could make that argument too as far
01:50as that went.
01:51So then that's really one of the biggest reasons he wanted to leave.
01:56He didn't want to be a number three or four defenseman on a team.
01:58He wanted to be a number one defenseman.
02:00And that was not going to happen here.
02:02It wasn't going to happen in Colorado either for him with Makar.
02:06So now he's in a place where it is going to happen for him.
02:10And, you know, but he doesn't have a real good team around him.
02:14So I think his numbers aren't really going to come out real well unless the Blackhawks shock us
02:20and, you know, become a very good team quickly.
02:23And, you know, I think, you know, he's got some suffering ahead of him right now.
02:29He got that money, though.
02:30Like you talked about.
02:32He got his number one defenseman money for sure.
02:35I mean, he might be tops in the league now at the position.
02:38No, I never would have dreamed that he would have been able to get that.
02:42And, yeah, Quinn Hughes will surpass that without question.
02:46So, yeah, especially with the salary cap going up as much as it has,
02:52which tells us the NHL is doing quite well because that means revenues are going up.
02:57Yeah, how about that?
02:58At a big pace for the salary cap to go up at the pace that it's going up.
03:04You know, we're only in the middle of this sort of new, exciting period in their history.
03:11You don't know how long it'll last.
03:13Hopefully it's not already the end of it.
03:14But, you know, it's the beginning of a stretch here where you'd like to think by their roster and the
03:21ages of their players that they could sustain success for several years here.
03:25I wonder how Byram, if that happens, I wonder how Byram will be remembered as a Sabre, as a part
03:33of the, you know, the team where they popped it, where they broke through.
03:37Because he was no small part of that.
03:39I mean, he, like you talked about, he wasn't Darlene either, but he wasn't insignificant to the story here.
03:47And he had a rough start this year.
03:49I mean, a lot of people point to his numbers this year, and I think part of that is before
03:55December when they got hot.
03:56He wasn't very good.
03:57It wasn't going well for him.
03:58And then he got really good and played well, as did the rest of the team.
04:03And they all just kind of gelled where it almost didn't matter which defensive pair was on the ice.
04:09The Sabres were giving up very few scoring chances.
04:12They weren't turning the puck over, you know, to produce those scoring chances against their goaltenders.
04:17Their goaltenders were, you know, their save percentage was number two or three in the NHL last year.
04:26And a lot of that is because they cut way down on the types of scoring chances that they were
04:32allowing.
04:33And Byron was a big part of that.
04:36He played a lot of penalty kill for them and eventually wound up on the number two power play for
04:42power.
04:43I mean, let's just face it.
04:45As a young defenseman, the power play is not working for Owen Power in the National Hockey League.
04:49I'm not saying it never will, but it just wasn't.
04:54And they recognized that finally and pulled him off it and gave Byron an opportunity, which, if we're all being
05:01honest, I don't think went real well either.
05:05So, but he'll be on the number one power play, I'm sure, in Chicago.
05:09Paul Hamilton on the Western Hotline.
05:11I'm Mike Shope getting some hockey talk in.
05:13Bulldog is off this week.
05:15So, we're just kind of like maybe now more back in our chairs with the idea of there being a
05:22big move coming from the Sabres.
05:24The farther we get into the summer, the less likely it would seem.
05:28But that doesn't have to be, you know, like it's not 0% or anything at this point.
05:33You know, thinking about Hellebuck again, Paul, and what the Sabres might have to give up to get him.
05:39Do you have an idea of like what you think he might take in a trade?
05:43Are we looking at three of these young pieces in your mind?
05:46Are we looking at even possibly the draft picks they just made?
05:52I don't know if it would ever get to that point.
05:54But what would you see a trade looking like?
05:57Well, it sounds like if reports are correct, and this would track with Kekalainen,
06:05it sounded like he just didn't want to give Winnipeg the fourth overall pick.
06:09It sounded like he wanted the eighth overall pick in return as part of the deal.
06:15And Winnipeg was going to, no, that's not going to happen.
06:18And then, you know, Winnipeg, you know, went a little too far.
06:23I think Mirka, fine, but, you know, we're not going to throw the number four pick
06:28and Hellenus in there, you know, type of a thing.
06:32And, you know, it was just a big ask.
06:35You know, Jack Quinn was involved in that also.
06:38And it was just a big ask.
06:39And to me, it just appeared that, all right, no, they want Hellenus?
06:44Nah, you know what?
06:47No, this is going to have to come down a little bit before we're interested if you're the Sabres.
06:51Now, that doesn't mean they still won't talk about it.
06:54They probably have.
06:56It sounds like they have.
06:58But if the price doesn't come down, I would be shocked if that trade is made,
07:05especially since Kekalainen has said more than once that his goaltending,
07:10he's happy with his goaltending.
07:11And he's even indicated there's a pretty good chance they will run back the three goaltenders that they had
07:16because he liked them.
07:17And I've said, and I'll say it again, it wouldn't shock me if there's an injury to Luka in their
07:22line,
07:23if all of a sudden Ellis took the bull by the horns here and wound up in their net.
07:27I mean, that wouldn't shock me at all.
07:30There are a lot of folks who think highly of Colton Ellis.
07:33And so if he gets an opportunity like Bussey did this year in Carolina,
07:38and that's, I don't know if I mentioned this year or not,
07:41but that makes me scratch my head the reports that Carolina's in on Hellebuck.
07:45It's like Bussey had a really, really good regular season.
07:49I mean, he came from nowhere off the waiver wire and played really, really well
07:55and put up really good numbers.
07:56And then when they needed him the most at the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs,
08:00he was fantastic.
08:02So I'm kind of scratching.
08:03And then you signed him to a contract.
08:05So why would you be interested in Hellebuck?
08:08You just won the Cup with what you have.
08:12That's strange to me.
08:13I don't know why they would have an interest in that,
08:15give up assets to get something that, I don't know, I just don't feel they need.
08:19Not to mention Freddie Anderson, who got them to the finals, basically,
08:23you know, with a dominant playoff season as well.
08:26He's gone, but they still have Bussey and the Russian kid, who they're high on.
08:32You know, so they're still in the, you know, they had three goaltenders.
08:36And he got into a little bit of the playoffs once it was Bussey and him,
08:40because they didn't dress Anderson as the backup because of his injury.
08:44So, yeah, I just, that's why I just wonder if that, how accurate that report is,
08:51because I don't understand if you're Carolina, why would you be in on this?
08:55Your Ellis point is interesting.
08:57I mean, for all the time I've spent talking about just how random goaltending is in terms of predictability,
09:03there's a guy that they liked well enough to keep him around all season.
09:07It was somewhat controversial, at least for a while, they're doing that.
09:12And so, yeah, I mean, if he's somebody that they're right in terms of projecting his talent,
09:18I mean, he'd have to get a chance, which probably means something is going wrong,
09:21whether that's an injury or something else.
09:23Not necessarily for him to get that chance, but if he were to,
09:27I wouldn't assume that he couldn't play well.
09:29And, Mike, I think more and more teams are going to do it.
09:32You know, go with three goaltenders.
09:34Because of the e-bug rule, you have to have the e-bug, but, you know,
09:38you can have three goaltenders, which means you can do what the Sabres did twice this year
09:43when one of their goaltenders got hurt.
09:47Lucan did it once, and Lyon did it once, where they came down from the press box dressed.
09:52They couldn't sit on the bench, which I don't understand.
09:55I don't know why they can't get on the bench, but they can't.
09:58But they can sit in the locker room ready to go if the goaltender that's in.
10:02And that's the only way they can go in is if the second goaltender gets hurt,
10:06and then you can put him in.
10:08So they don't have to go to the e-bug, and I think more teams are going to do that
10:12now.
10:12It just, from what I'm reading, we're going to see a lot more teams have three goaltenders
10:17because you don't want to get down to that e-bug, not that it happens all that often anyway.
10:21You're still going to have to have one there for the visiting team.
10:25But, you know, if you've got your three goaltenders.
10:27So I think more are going to do it.
10:29And the thing I liked about Ellis is he could sit there for a month and be ready to play.
10:36I mean, he would stay after practice and work on things that players wanted to work on
10:41or he wanted to work on.
10:43And sometimes it was long periods of time in between starts, and he'd start and win the game.
10:47And, you know, and I thought, well, there's a kid that keeps himself ready
10:51and keeps himself ready to go, and this is his first NHL season.
10:55Then I see what Bussie does, and he came to Carolina the same exact way off waivers
11:00in the beginning of the year, and he got his opportunity, and look what happened.
11:06So, you know, I'm not saying it's definitely going to happen.
11:08All I'm saying is it wouldn't surprise me at all if it did.
11:11What do you think about Quinn as a piece in a trade offer involving Hellebucker?
11:17I suppose anyone else.
11:19I mean, we all maybe have different rankings of the young players
11:22and just, like, how willing you might be
11:25or you think the Sabres might be in disposing them.
11:28None of that will be easy if it comes to it.
11:30Quinn, for me, is one of the more obvious ones where, I mean, I appreciate his talent,
11:36but I'd have an easier time letting go of him than certain others.
11:39Absolutely.
11:40No, there's no question.
11:41I would get rid of him before Ostland or Helen Euse
11:44or even some of the guys who we haven't even seen sign contracts yet.
11:49And Jerry Fortin said something the other day, which is very true.
11:52If you don't keep stocking the cupboards as you go along, it will hit you rather quickly.
11:59So, yeah, people say, well, you've got a lot of these prospects.
12:02Well, yeah, you can use them for trades.
12:04You've got a lot of them, and we know they all can't be in Sabre uniforms,
12:10but you might need something at a trade deadline or now if there's a player.
12:15You know, let's say all of a sudden Dylan Larkin says he would come to Buffalo.
12:19Okay?
12:20It's going to take some of these guys then that you've got stocked in college hockey
12:24or up in junior or overseas or wherever they happen to be.
12:29And Jerry Fortin, he's very, very good at judging talent.
12:34And I found that out when he was an assistant coach at Niagara.
12:38And Niagara would wind up with players that I'm sitting there going,
12:40how is this player not Wisconsin or North Dakota?
12:44You know, he would get these blue-chip guys that you wonder how he got them.
12:49But, you know, and then Niagara would wind up in the NCAA tournament
12:52or they would upset some – they had some pretty big upsets along the way
12:57back when I was doing hockey there and Jerry Fortin was there.
12:59And he showed me how he really has a good eye for talent.
13:03And I think, you know, he's done that with the Sabres too
13:06and now is in charge of their drafts.
13:10Steve Iserman, Paul, sort of resigns.
13:13I mean, he's going up, not down.
13:14But that didn't work out, Detroit.
13:17Yeah, I'm not kind of buying that.
13:20That is, in my estimation, this is my opinion,
13:24one of the best players in Detroit Red Wings history.
13:26And we're going to try to not embarrass him as much as we can.
13:31So let's call it a resignation or whatever.
13:36So, you know, if he doesn't have another job somewhere else,
13:41then we'll just use him as an advisor.
13:43But how much is he actually going to be advising?
13:46So, yeah, that's just understanding what you –
13:51you know, the type of player he is in Detroit Red Wings history.
13:55And we just don't want to throw him out the door.
13:59But the timing of it is interesting.
14:02I mean, you've let him go through the draft.
14:04It's late.
14:04And free agency and, you know, whatever trades might be there.
14:11And now the question in my mind is, does that change Dylan Larkin's mind at all?
14:16Because there was credible reporting out there that Dylan Larkin and Eisenman did not see eye to eye on things.
14:23And that was part of what this is about.
14:27So now that Steve Eisenman isn't in charge, is it possible Dylan Larkin might say, okay,
14:33he might wait to see who is in charge and say, you know what, maybe I like the direction this
14:40is headed in now
14:40and rescind the trade, you know, request.
14:44So we'll see how this goes down and if it changes anything for Dylan Larkin.
14:49Or perhaps Eisenman couldn't get him moved or wasn't willing,
14:53and we're going to have somebody else take the wheel on that.
14:57So we'll see.
14:57Well, Jason Bottrell, he wasn't willing to purge his hockey department.
15:01And that cost him his job because it was just a – I don't even know if it was a
15:05month
15:06where Kim Pagula had said Jason Bottrell was staying and everything.
15:10And I don't even think it was a month earlier.
15:12And the next thing you know, Terry Pagula and Kim Pagula are sitting at a press conference
15:17saying we do not believe we were being heard.
15:21And that's when Kevin Adams was hired and he purged the hockey department.
15:26Now, I will give Kevin Adams credit.
15:28It was a huge – a lot of people lost their jobs.
15:31But Kevin Adams realized rather quickly this – we went too far.
15:35I mean, the guy that left today, Jeremiah Crowe,
15:38he was in charge of amateur and pro scouting.
15:42That's too big of a job for one person.
15:44It just is, especially an inexperienced at the time person.
15:48And Kevin Adams realized that and said, well, we've got to change this.
15:52I mean, we went too far here.
15:54We've got to start getting some people back in the organization, and they did.
15:57So I'll give him credit for that to realize that this went too far
16:01and convincing Terry Pagula that it went too far.
16:03And now we have John Davidson, Paul.
16:06Yeah.
16:06Yeah, he's an advisor.
16:09And it sounds like he has the role – same role with the Sabres
16:11as Kevin Adams has with the Bruins.
16:13So he's a senior advisor and somebody that Kekalainen
16:18is very familiar with in Columbus.
16:22And I think Davidson might have been the one that fired Kekalainen, wasn't he?
16:27Maybe.
16:27Yeah, they were there together for a bit.
16:29So maybe.
16:30So maybe – well, not maybe.
16:32There are no hard feelings there.
16:33Otherwise, Kekalainen wouldn't have brought it in, brought him in.
16:37And maybe Kekalainen felt, I didn't get the job done.
16:40So maybe, you know, he was well-founded to do it or whatever.
16:45But whatever – if there was any problem, it's been healed.
16:49And they are now –
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