Confirmed Trade: [BOS/BUF] Taylor Hall (50%) and Curtis Lazar for Anders Bjork and 2021 2nd round pick

[CanadienShark]

Yeah I honestly forgot this was a thread about Hall while reading this thread.

 

[Kcoyote3]

beauty of a goal tonight

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Have you actually watched Robert Thomas play this season? He’s struggling.

what about Mittelstadt? Because he’s playing the best hockey of his career, by far. He has been better than Thomas this season.

If we were having this discussion last season i’d totally agree. Most of us Sabres fans had pretty much started writing Mitts off, but he looks like a different player this season. It looks like he’s finally figuring things out.

The sample size is too small to say for sure he’s going to be a long term top 6 C, but it’s also too soon to say he’s not.

I’m not saying he’s ahead of those guys, but they are also not way ahead of where Mittelstadt is right now (certainly not “way, way better” as the previous poster claimed)., and their total career NHL production is pretty similar.

There certainly isn’t anywhere near the gap between Mitts and those guys as there is between Debrusk/Senyshyn and Barzal/Connor (which is what the initial discussion was about).

Thomas has been injured most of this year. Of course he's "Struggling". But, then again, who hasn't been struggling on the Blues this year. (Besides RoR and Perron)

 

[wintersej]

beauty of a goal tonight

Hey cut that out this is the Casey middlestat thread

 

[BostonBob]

beauty of a goal tonight

Hey cut that out this is the Casey middlestat thread

I heard Casey Mittelstadt really liked Hall's goal tonight.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

I will continue to say the Sabres had a choice on Hall and his NMC. They could have told him give us other teams or you stay. They didn't call his bluff and they got a second. Hall needed a deal as much as Sabres to save his season and his next contract. This has been proven. I NMC means you can veto deals, it does not mean your team MUST trade you. There is no onus.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

I will continue to say the Sabres had a choice on Hall and his NMC. They could have told him give us other teams or you stay. They didn't call his bluff and they got a second. Hall needed a deal as much as Sabres to save his season and his next contract. This has been proven. I NMC means you can veto deals, it does not mean your team MUST trade you. There is no onus.

Getting a 2nd back is better than nothing back.

 

[Djp]

I will continue to say the Sabres had a choice on Hall and his NMC. They could have told him give us other teams or you stay. They didn't call his bluff and they got a second. Hall needed a deal as much as Sabres to save his season and his next contract. This has been proven. I NMC means you can veto deals, it does not mean your team MUST trade you. There is no onus.

To be fair nobody is going to sign a 1yr contract thrn risk getting traded unless they have some control on it. The debate could be a NTC vs NMC.

 

[Blackjack]

I will continue to say the Sabres had a choice on Hall and his NMC. They could have told him give us other teams or you stay. They didn't call his bluff and they got a second. Hall needed a deal as much as Sabres to save his season and his next contract. This has been proven. I NMC means you can veto deals, it does not mean your team MUST trade you. There is no onus.

I agree. Adams actually did have some leverage. At least he could have held on until the deadline and tried to force a better package out of Boston or additional options from Hall. If Hall opened it up to five teams, and a 2nd round pick was still the best offer on the table, okay, I think you have to accept that that's just the market. But letting the player dictate the trade partner, and the trade partner dictate the price is a little much for me.

Getting a 2nd back is better than nothing back.

A late second round pick is not enough for Taylor Hall. Not after you've paid him almost $8 million and are going to eat half of the remainder of his prorated contract. Forcing Hall to remain in Buffalo could have cost him a lot of money, and Boston is under pressure to do something in the playoffs with their older core players. I don't feel like digging through the old threads, but I believe the general consensus was if Hall couldn't return a 1st, it would probably be two second round picks. Adams should have demanded that. Especially to trade him to a rival.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

I agree. Adams actually did have some leverage. At least he could have held on until the deadline and tried to force a better package out of Boston or additional options from Hall. If Hall opened it up to five teams, and a 2nd round pick was still the best offer on the table, okay, I think you have to accept that that's just the market. But letting the player dictate the trade partner, and the trade partner dictate the price is a little much for me.



A late second round pick is not enough for Taylor Hall. Not after you've paid him almost $8 million and are going to eat half of the remainder of his prorated contract. Forcing Hall to remain in Buffalo could have cost him a lot of money, and Boston is under pressure to do something in the playoffs with their older core players. I don't feel like digging through the old threads, but I believe the general consensus was if Hall couldn't return a 1st, it would probably be two second round picks. Adams should have demanded that. Especially to trade him to a rival.

I agree that Hall is worth more than a 2nd and the Sabres had enough leverage this off season to not give him the NMC

But a 2nd is better than nothing there's no point in hurting your team to spite others. Fans are the only ones that give a shit about rivalries.

 

[Blackjack]

I agree that Hall is worth more than a 2nd and the Sabres had enough leverage this off season to not give him the NMC

But a 2nd is better than nothing there's no point in hurting your team to spite others. Fans are the only ones that give a shit about rivalries.

Obviously there's some point at which you walk away. If Sweeney told Adams that he would go no higher than a 5th round pick, Adams wouldn't have done that. All I'm saying is that I think Adams's walk away point should have been higher than that.

And no, fans are not the only ones that care about rivalries. GMs of rival team generally don't do as many trades with each other, and will usually look to make trades with teams in other conferences before dealing in their own.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Getting a 2nd back is better than nothing back.

Or you play hardball with him and get a first when he and his agent realize you are not bluffing about keeping him if he doesn't agree to other teams and the Bruins realize it too. It might be worth a second long-term for Buffalo management to have a better reputation as negotiators. Right now, they continue to look like the biggest chumps in the NHL, scared to walk away from any deal or free agent signing leading to overpayments and underwhelming player returns. Shall we go through the list?

 

[Sheppy]

He's been damn solid defensively, too.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

I agree that Hall is worth more than a 2nd and the Sabres had enough leverage this off season to not give him the NMC

But a 2nd is better than nothing there's no point in hurting your team to spite others. Fans are the only ones that give a shit about rivalries.

Who wants a deal for spite? Not me. But Hall had two goals, 17 assists and was a -21. You want to talk about who also needed to get something done? Hall. Imagine going into offseason looking for another deal. How would rest of year looked for him in Buffalo. Sabres blinked. Got a second. (Let's not forget Lazar/Bjork cap relief part of deal too.)

It's called negotiating. Everything is on the table. Worst poker players in the league in Buffalo. Everybody knows it. I've been a Sabres fan for 40 plus years. Darcy Regier wouldn't NEVER have given up anywhere as much as Sabres have the the last few years on free agent and trade fronts.

 

[wintersej]

I agree. Adams actually did have some leverage. At least he could have held on until the deadline and tried to force a better package out of Boston or additional options from Hall. If Hall opened it up to five teams, and a 2nd round pick was still the best offer on the table, okay, I think you have to accept that that's just the market. But letting the player dictate the trade partner, and the trade partner dictate the price is a little much for me.



A late second round pick is not enough for Taylor Hall. Not after you've paid him almost $8 million and are going to eat half of the remainder of his prorated contract. Forcing Hall to remain in Buffalo could have cost him a lot of money, and Boston is under pressure to do something in the playoffs with their older core players. I don't feel like digging through the old threads, but I believe the general consensus was if Hall couldn't return a 1st, it would probably be two second round picks. Adams should have demanded that. Especially to trade him to a rival.

My impression is that Boston upped their offer from 3rd + Bjork to 2nd + Bjork after they lost to Washington. The difference between Bjork and a 2nd in value... was it worth Boston saying "screw it" and moving on to another deal?

 

[Blackjack]

My impression is that Boston upped their offer from 3rd + Bjork to 2nd + Bjork after they lost to Washington. The difference between Bjork and a 2nd in value... was it worth Boston saying "screw it" and moving on to another deal?

There was no other deal to be had. Palmieri had already been traded. There was no other scoring winger even close to Hall that got moved. I know Forsburg's name had come up, but Nashville had turned around by then.

Do you think Dubas opened the bidding for Foligno at a 1st round pick? Ditto for Tampa and Savard? No one thought those guys were getting 1sts. The GMs got the 1sts because they understood that they had leverage and were willing to walk away.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

There was no other deal to be had. Palmieri had already been traded. There was no other scoring winger even close to Hall that got moved. I know Forsburg's name had come up, but Nashville had turned around by then.

Do you think Dubas opened the bidding for Foligno at a 1st round pick? Ditto for Tampa and Savard? No one thought those guys were getting 1sts. The GMs got the 1sts because they understood that they had leverage and were willing to walk away.

Didn't those players have teams bidding for their service? Hall said Bruins. End of story. Buffalo risking not trading Hall when the plan from the start was to trade Hall at the deadline to a contender would have veteran UFAs thinking twice about signing in Buffalo going forward.

This was terrific value for Boston but pretending Buffalo had much choice between the 2nd or nothing isn't realistic.

 

[Mr Positive]

Hall was an awesome Oiler. Would have loved him back. He was here for the worst of our rebuild and never complained, never opposed coaches, and brought a great effort consistently. He was pissed off that he was traded away even.

So I hope him the best in Boston. I dont think theres a player who deserves a good playoff run more than him

 

[explore]

Glad to see Hall is continuing to play well for the Bs

Still fine with the return. If Hall didn't have a NMC it'd be a different story, but he did, so it's a moot point

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Didn't those players have teams bidding for their service? Hall said Bruins. End of story. Buffalo risking not trading Hall when the plan from the start was to trade Hall at the deadline to a contender would have veteran UFAs thinking twice about signing in Buffalo going forward.

This was terrific value for Boston but pretending Buffalo had much choice between the 2nd or nothing isn't realistic.

That's how weaklings negotiate. Typical Sabres attitude. And Pierre LeBrun has said there were larger offers out there. No push back from Sabres. No idea what they are doing.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Glad to see Hall is continuing to play well for the Bs

Still fine with the return. If Hall didn't have a NMC it'd be a different story, but he did, so it's a moot point

Actually not. The NMC gives him a veto. True. There is no requirement to trade him either. He needed a trade desperately to re-establish value. Is anybody going to argue otherwise?

 

[WidgitRibbit]

I hate to toot my own horn? But I called this one first in this thread of Hall reviving his game. Took on like 10 board members of being crazy for such a thought. Boston has always been good. Anyone who touches that team seems to be revitalized. And proof in the pudding now. Sometimes it feels good to be right when majority says wrong

 

[Number8]

In fairness to Buffalo, they took a gamble and it only cost them money. Not to poo poo the importance of money, but it’s not like they gave up any player/draft assets for Hall. It didn’t work, but they got a 2nd and Bjork. I think Bjork could work out well for them long-term. Good kid who had brutal injuries to start off.

 

[wintersej]

Actually not. The NMC gives him a veto. True. There is no requirement to trade him either. He needed a trade desperately to re-establish value. Is anybody going to argue otherwise?

It was in both Buffalo's and Hall's interest to have a deal happen, obviously.

Your philosophy is strong arm UFAs that sign with your team for marginal upgrades in the return for one trade?

You think that's going to go well in the long run for your ability to retain talent and be an attractive location for talent?

Why do you think teams like Boston and Tampa are able to get people to continually sign below market contracts?

You are playing checkers, buddy.

 

[Baddkarma]

People still think the Sabres should have got more for him. Hall held all the cards. Buffalo did well under that scenario.