With hopes of breaking the longest playoff drought in NHL history (14 seasons), everyone thought that Buffalo Sabres general manager (GM) Kevyn Adams would be aggressive in adding pieces this offseason to help the team compete for a playoff spot in 2025-26.
Adams does not have a track record of being aggressive in trades or with signing free agents. His boldest move was trading Matthew Savoie for Ryan McLeod last offseason – that is, excluding the Jack Eichel/Sam Reinhart trades when his hand was pretty much forced. Eichel requested a trade, and Reinhart was not going to re-sign with the team. Outside of that, Adams is known for making minor moves.
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As he enters the final year of his contract, you’d think he’d be making any necessary improvements to the roster. However, to continue the trend, he has only made minor moves so far this summer. I won’t cover all of them, but I’ll grade some of the more important moves with my thoughts on each.
Trading JJ Peterka to Utah Mammoth for Michael Kesselring, Josh Doan
Before we knew what the Sabres got in return for J.J. Peterka, most thought it would be the Utah Mammoth’s fourth-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Instead, Buffalo received Michael Kesslering and Josh Doan. The more I think about this trade, the more I like it for both sides, not just the Mammoth. Kesselring is an excellent second-pairing defenseman to add to the Sabres’ blue line, and Doan will add some desperately needed defensive responsibility to the forward group. Losing Peterka’s offense will hurt, but the Sabres are good enough up front to survive without it.
Grade: B+
Trading Connor Clifton, 2025 Second-Round Pick to Pittsburgh Penguins for Conor Timmins, Issac Belliveau
This move was a cap dump. Connor Clifton has one more year on his current contract worth $3.3 million per season. Timmins had solid underlying analytics, which is likely why the Sabres brought him in. Management just signed him to a new two-year contract worth $2.2 million per season, as he is expected to rotate with Jacob Bryson in the sixth defenseman spot. The only downside to this trade is giving up the second-round pick, but that was strictly to avoid the Sabres having to retain any of Clifton’s salary.
Grade: C+
Re-Signing Jack Quinn to a Two-Year Contract
The Sabres re-signed restricted free agent Jack Quinn to a two-year bridge deal…
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