Confirmed Trade: [ARI/BUF]Brandon Hickey and Mike Sislo for Hudson Fasching

[1972]

Fasching skates in peanut butter and isn’t particularly talented. I had hopes for him, but there isn’t much there.

 

[HaNotsri]

God, what a waste of a 2nd round pick...

We actually spent two 2nd round picks and McNabb to get Fasching and Deslauriers...
Tim Murray...

 

[HaNotsri]

God, why did you remind us. I could have lived my life happily forgetting McNabb was part of the deal to acquire Fasching. In fact I'd like to forget everything Murray did for the organization. Well except the 4 word draft procedure, I would have kept him on staff just to have him announce our draft picks.

I’m hoping Botts goes with a two word draft procedure, one would be optimal but I don’t want to get the wrong Dahlin.

 

[HighLifeMan]

I don't know what happened to Fasching's production last season, but when I watched him, I saw a big powerful skater with decent hockey IQ at both ends of the rink. I still think he can carve out a solid NHL career for himself as a bottom 6 player.

ETA: Don't know anything about Hickey, really -- what's his upside?

Hickey has NHL tools. He is a a gifted skater that provides strong defensive positioning and a decent but not great transition game.
His upside is likely a bottom pairing defensemen, with the outside possibility of playing on your middle pairing.

Brandon lacks a certain assertiveness (specifically on the offensive end of the puck) in his game that can lead you to wanting more at times.

If he signs he certainly has the ability to one day contribute to the Sabres in some capacity at the NHL level even if that is as a depth defender.

 

[stokes84]

He took a chance on a prospect he liked and it didn't work out. I'm sure Buffalo would be much better off with Erik Cernak, Alex Lintuniemi and a bottom pairing defenseman. Man what a blunder.

That "bottom pairing defender" just player top 4 minutes for the Stanley Cup runner-ups and would be our 2nd or 3rd best defenseman right now. And yeah, we'd be much better off with those prospects.

 

[Blue Goose]

Isn't Fasching also not exempt from waivers this upcoming season?

Yes, his 3-year waiver-exempt status just expired: Hudson Fasching Waivers Calculator - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

This is either a minor league trade or Arizona is gambling on Fasching being able to fill a bottom-6 RW spot for them, since they're weaker on RW than any other position.

I always seem to remember Coyotes fans bemoaning their lack of right-shot wingers. This is who they still have at the NHL level: Christian Fischer, Josh Archibald, Freddie Hamilton. Archibald/Hamilton seem like borderline NHLers, so they might as well take a chance on Fasching.

From the Coyotes stand-point they traded a 30 year old AHLer, who was never going to play with the Yotes, for a 22 year old AHLer who could possibly be a 4RW. Hickey's an added bonus for Buffalo.

And Hickey wasn't going to sign with the Coyotes either, right? Here's hoping Fasching pans out in Arizona - he seemed like a solid prospect a few years ago. Interestingly enough, he scored in his first NHL game (I was there), but hasn't scored in the 21 games since.

 

[Potty John]

Hickey could be a solid pickup for Buf, I still like his game.

 

[McFlyingV]

Wonder what Hickey does. He's UFA in 2 months if he wants to be and it sounds like he didn't want to sign in either Calgary nor Arizona. Wonder if Buffalo is any different, or if he plans to pick his spot. Not overly high on the player, but if he wanted to sign back home I also wouldn't say no. Definitely has the potential to be an NHL player.

 

[SniperHF]

And Hickey wasn't going to sign with the Coyotes either, right?

Nope. It was a long shot he would ever sign here, a throw in from the Smith deal.

I think Hickey still has potential to be more than a depth-level NHLer so Buffalo certainly got the best potential asset in the deal if they lock him down.
Sislo was also a UFA and since he was both a big part of the AHL team's run and was traded I think it's clear he wasn't coming back either.

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

For those AZ fans who dont know, Hudson Fasching is a terrific person. You will like him for sure off the ice.

I think he may still have the chance to be a good bottom 6 player. Good size, good board work, pretty good hockey IQ, he can make some plays and has looked good with talented C's in the past. Not the fastest guy though. Not the slowest either, but his lack of high end speed could limit his upside.

 

[McDNicks17]

So Mike Smith for Fasching and a 3rd?

 

[ottawah]

Fasching was an interesting prospect 3 years ago. Why isn't he in the NHL yet? Is he going to be?

Average in most every aspect of the game except speed (below average), and more so foot speed, which is well below average. Does not cut it in todays NHL. I believe he needs to get much tougher and play more physical if he wants to make a bottom NHL role.

 

[is the answer jesus]

That "bottom pairing defender" just player top 4 minutes for the Stanley Cup runner-ups and would be our 2nd or 3rd best defenseman right now. And yeah, we'd be much better off with those prospects.

Those prospects are a whole lot of nothing. Like most 2nd round picks. Nothing they've done since being drafted indicates they'll amount to anything. McNabb would be an alright piece here. He wouldn't be our 2nd best defenseman as it currently stands Risto and Scandella are much better players, he might be considered our 3rd best defenseman (which is more of an indictement on Botterill and Murray for failing to address the blueline). He's an ok bottom pairing guy who played more minutes than he should have because he was on an expansion team. I know you'll use any excuse you can to pile on Murray, but in the end that trade was largely filled with insignificant pieces. LA had no problem exposing him in the expansion draft, because they knew bottom pairing defenseman are fairly easy to replace. Murray has plenty of significant black marks on his resume, this one isn't one of them.

 

[Booba]

Is Sislo the sweetener?

I don't really understand what's his role in this trade.

A 30-year old career AHLer set to become a UFA in two weeks shouldn't hold any value...

Sislo is an impending UFA. I know part of Sabres GM Jason Botterill's plan for improving Buffalo is a stronger AHL franchise, I wonder if he plans to re-sign Sislo, a good AHL scorer, to help bolster the Americans.

Buffalo signed Zach Redmond to a AHL contract, in part, to clear some space under the contract limit. Knowing this context, they might be reluctant to offer Sislo a NHL contract.

 

[dBoon]

Boy, Fasching was highly viewed during his time at the U of Minnesota. sad to see his star lose its shine.

 

[hbk]

So Mike Smith for Fasching and a 3rd?

there were fans in AZ willing to buy Smith out. Getting anything was viewed as a positive.

 

[FlamerForLife]

IIRC Hickey played with Eichel in college so maybe that factors in and he signs in Buffalo, he has the tools to be a solid but not flashy NHL player, a bit interesting though that he refused to sign or didn't want to sign with Arizona or Calgary.

 

[stokes84]

Those prospects are a whole lot of nothing. Like most 2nd round picks. Nothing they've done since being drafted indicates they'll amount to anything. McNabb would be an alright piece here. He wouldn't be our 2nd best defenseman as it currently stands Risto and Scandella are much better players, he might be considered our 3rd best defenseman (which is more of an indictement on Botterill and Murray for failing to address the blueline). He's an ok bottom pairing guy who played more minutes than he should have because he was on an expansion team. I know you'll use any excuse you can to pile on Murray, but in the end that trade was largely filled with insignificant pieces. LA had no problem exposing him in the expansion draft, because they knew bottom pairing defenseman are fairly easy to replace. Murray has plenty of significant black marks on his resume, this one isn't one of them.

First, I rarely take shots at Murray, so bold is just incorrect.

Secondly, he traded two 2nd round picks and a young NHL ready defenseman for a 4th round pick the previous year who is now a complete bust. That's the type of package you put together for a top 4 defenseman or a top 6 forward, not a 4th round pick. I mean, that trade was just insanely stupid.

 

[OCPenguin]

Fasching has been a major disappointment.

 

[is the answer jesus]

First, I rarely take shots at Murray, so bold is just incorrect.

Secondly, he traded two 2nd round picks and a young NHL ready defenseman for a 4th round pick the previous year who is now a complete bust. That's the type of package you put together for a top 4 defenseman or a top 6 forward, not a 4th round pick. I mean, that trade was just insanely stupid.

Insanely stupid? Not really. An overpayment that didnt work out? Yeah. If he had kept the 2 2nd round picks and drafted the majority of garbage that was selected in the area of those two picks (one was the very last pick of the 2nd round) it really wouldn't have made much difference except we would have likely had McNabb for a couple more seasons playing a bottom pairing role. Remember at the time we had Zadorov and McCabe in the pipeline and both were better prospects than McNabb. Fasching had a very good draft +1 year. Where he was drafted is irrelevant. He had the look of a pretty promising power forward prospect. Most Kings fans were upset to lose him, but of course hindsight is 20/20 and Murray is an idiot and our team would be leaps and bounds better with these 3 largely insignificant players and prospects in our system. He pursued a player he liked and it didn't work out. It happens all the time, it wasn't however the massive gaffe that you and others are portraying it to be.

 

[Djp]

First, I rarely take shots at Murray, so bold is just incorrect.

Secondly, he traded two 2nd round picks and a young NHL ready defenseman for a 4th round pick the previous year who is now a complete bust. That's the type of package you put together for a top 4 defenseman or a top 6 forward, not a 4th round pick. I mean, that trade was just insanely stupid.

Personally Ffasching got hurt in his first full year in the AHL and didn’t play much. He still wasn’t 100% last season.

Only on HF are 2bd round pucks so valued. It was a mid and late 2nd round picks acquired from LA fir Regger.

McNabb surgery McCabe coming out of college and not being waiver exempt promoted his trade. Buffalo had Zadiriv in the team then. McNabb if kept probably lost in expansion draft.

Thus trade is utterly stupid if buffalo doesn’t sign Hickey.

I have said nany times before buffalo needs to move some forwards fir equivalent Dnen.

Fasching for hickey signed would be an example of that.

 

[Zip15]

Fasching was caught in a numbers crunch. Buffalo had three young RWs who were all losing their waiver exemption next year: Bailey, Baptiste, and Fasching. Bailey and Baptiste are burners and the team wants to play with more speed. Both also put up better numbers than Fasching last season. It was obvious who the odd man out was going to be.

Fasching is a good kid. I hope Tocchet can get more out of him.

 

[Buff15Sabres]

Insanely stupid? Not really. An overpayment that didnt work out? Yeah. If he had kept the 2 2nd round picks and drafted the majority of garbage that was selected in the area of those two picks (one was the very last pick of the 2nd round) it really wouldn't have made much difference except we would have likely had McNabb for a couple more seasons playing a bottom pairing role. Remember at the time we had Zadorov and McCabe in the pipeline and both were better prospects than McNabb. Fasching had a very good draft +1 year. Where he was drafted is irrelevant. He had the look of a pretty promising power forward prospect. Most Kings fans were upset to lose him, but of course hindsight is 20/20 and Murray is an idiot and our team would be leaps and bounds better with these 3 largely insignificant players and prospects in our system. He pursued a player he liked and it didn't work out. It happens all the time, it wasn't however the massive gaffe that you and others are portraying it to be.

An overpayment for a guy that has 3 points in 3 NHL seasons ? I think that's the definition of insanely stupid...

McNabb would have been a quality, young, cheap option that the Sabres could have slotted on our 2nd pairing for years to come. Murray gave up that PLUS 2x 2nd round picks and turned it into nothing. The picks don't have much value individually, but for that package he could've gotten a pretty good NHL player.

This might've been Tim Murray's worst trade as GM, and that's saying a lot.

 

[Ace]

An overpayment for a guy that has 3 points in 3 NHL seasons ? I think that's the definition of insanely stupid...

McNabb would have been a quality, young, cheap option that the Sabres could have slotted on our 2nd pairing for years to come. Murray gave up that PLUS 2x 2nd round picks and turned it into nothing. The picks don't have much value individually, but for that package he could've gotten a pretty good NHL player.

This might've been Tim Murray's worst trade as GM, and that's saying a lot.

Let’s see what the Kings got out of the deal

McNabb who they found expendable and left for nothing. A guy I’ve never heard of. And a guy they already traded away.

It’s been four years since that trade. McNabb spent most of the first three sliding down the depth chart until he was often scratched and then found unworthy of even protecting.

Thinking he would have lasted those three years in Buffalo when they were ready to move on three years earlier is ridiculous.

Fact is...they weren’t even the last team to give up on him.

 

[Lays]

I don't know what happened to Fasching's production last season, but when I watched him, I saw a big powerful skater with decent hockey IQ at both ends of the rink. I still think he can carve out a solid NHL career for himself as a bottom 6 player.

ETA: Don't know anything about Hickey, really -- what's his upside?

Good chance he’s no more than a bottom pairing dman if even