Confirmed Trade: [BUF/VAN] Riley Stillman for Josh Bloom

[Asymmetric Solution]

It essentially was just a depth for depth trade, I don’t think either team won/lost in this scenario. Neither player had a place on their original team but had marginal use for the other

Exactly. I'm actually shocked we're on the 13th page of this trade discussion.

 

[UrbanImpact]

It essentially was just a depth for depth trade, I don’t think either team won/lost in this scenario. Neither player had a place on their original team but had marginal use for the other

Thats not what it is at all in a cap world.

Cap is king.

Depth move would be contract in contract out

Getting rid of a healthy scratch 1.3 mil contract w. term left without costing you a sweetneer AND getting a free prospect is a win move.

 

[AslanRH]

someone's team must need an offseason pat on the back to bump this over a contract slide ELC

 

[KrakenSabresMike]

Exactly. I'm actually shocked we're on the 13th page of this trade discussion.

Agreed - not sure what from my initial response to “ I still don’t understand this trade “ was so off the charts.

“Bc he’s ( bloom) like 25th on buffalos prospect depth chart …yes literally would be like 25. And y’all keep thinking about the version of Stillman you had - ours was actually quite good. An nhl 6/7 decent D is worth a 3/4 ( or in this case a guy that had 2 whole teams worth of fwd ahead of him in our system)

I’d rather have the D we drafted with out 3rd this year McCarthy than bloom ( and prob our 4th this year mielma too)”

Players are better on different teams all the team - hell skinner was useless on our OWN team 2 years ago until we switched coaches and now he’s great again.

The argument that Stillman HAD to have negative value is just false - both in the fact of what he was traded for and his performance both in Buffalo and Florida.

To my 2nd point this is what smart teams like Buffalo do - pay negligible price for a player that is being misused or miscast who they know us better than they are on their current team. This has nothing to do with how successful bloom eventually becomes, he’s essentially in queue at best to peak as a 3rd/4th liner - and the Sabres have about 20 guys that can fill that spot equivalently or better coming up. That’s how you understand the trade…also cap is not king to a team that had to trade for an injured 5 mil goalie last year just to get to the floor and took a 7th for it

 

[Grantham]

I'd actually forgotten all about Bloom. Looks good. However, this current management traded a 2nd and Dickinson to Chicago for Stillman.

“We see him as a third-pairing defenceman,” said Canuck general manager Patrik Allvin. “He’s a character player, hard to play against and will help us with our depth.”

lol

Yeah so not deserving of any pats on the back for fixing their own mistake

 

[Sabreality]

The Legend of Josh Bloom grows, hilarious

 

[Satanphonehome]

Thats fantastic im glad they did. Perfect opportunity to buy low on a player.....but instead of buying low and getting assets, they bought high and paid an asset.

If you say so.

Or maybe they gave up a player they thought would never play for them for a player they thought would (and did) play for them.

The word in Buffalo post-trade was that the Sabres staff thought that Stillman was a better fit for the Sabres system than the Canucks, largely based on how they saw him play in Florida.

This bump seems like an exceedingly odd flex for a trade involving a fringe NHL defenceman for a fringe NHL prospect.

Maybe you should have bookmarked the thread and saved it for when Bloom actually is playing regularly in your top 9?

 

[smitty10]

Thought there was a new trade...

 

[Beerz]

Now I know why Adams made the trade ... to get rid of a signed ELC spot for better prospects ..

 

[Irie]

Thats not what it is at all in a cap world.

Cap is king.

Depth move would be contract in contract out

Getting rid of a healthy scratch 1.3 mil contract w. term left without costing you a sweetneer AND getting a free prospect is a win move.

It was definitely a win for Vancouver, but it will be dependent on Bloom's development on whether or not it is a loss for Buffalo.

Sabres had like 80M in prorated cap, so taking on a defenseman making 1.3M for a team whose blueline was decimated with injuries is no big deal, and he was kinda-sorta serviceable for them.

If Bloom doesn't become an above average player, and Stillman fills in as a depth role again, this trade is likely a win-win deal for both clubs.

 

[Satanphonehome]

Now I know why Adams made the trade ... to get rid of a signed ELC spot for better prospects ..

Not sure if this is tongue-in-cheek or not, but there is some truth to it.

The Sabres have more forward prospects than they have space for.

The OP was talking about cap being king, which is true for the Canucks, but the Sabres have no such issues.

It's a minor trade that seems like it helped both teams. Hard to believe we're still talking about it.

 

[UrbanImpact]

It was definitely a win for Vancouver, but it will be dependent on Bloom's development on whether or not it is a loss for Buffalo.

Sabres had like 80M in prorated cap, so taking on a defenseman making 1.3M for a team whose blueline was decimated with injuries is no big deal, and he was kinda-sorta serviceable for them.

If Bloom doesn't become an above average player, and Stillman fills in as a depth role again, this trade is likely a win-win deal for both clubs.

Yes Bufallo had cap space but thats not a good reason as to why they didnt take the Canucks to the cleaners and got them to attach a sweetner, which probably should have been a 2nd or 3rd round pick.

The whole idea of Cap being King is being able to weaponize it and obtain draft picks from desperate teams such as the Canucks who were in cap hell.

Not only did the Sabres not do that, but they made it worse by giving up an asset. Regardless of how valuable that asset is (Bloom)

 

[BUCKSHOT]

How do I roll my eyes here?

 

[Irie]

Yes Bufallo had cap space but thats not a good reason as to why they didnt take the Canucks to the cleaners and got them to attach a sweetner, which probably should have been a 2nd or 3rd round pick.

The whole idea of Cap being King is being able to weaponize it and obtain draft picks from desperate teams such as the Canucks who were in cap hell.

Not only did the Sabres not do that, but they made it worse by giving up an asset. Regardless of how valuable that asset is (Bloom)

You are ignoring the fact that Buffalo was desperate for defensive help.

Just because Vancouver fans were willing to give up an asset to move Stillman out does not mean that Alvin was offering said asset, unless you have some insider GM information that I am not aware of.

Personally I was pissed because I liked Bloom as a prospect, but word out of the organization was that they were down on him and his potential, and the Sabres need contract slots in a big way with so many of their drafted prospects showing solid development. The Sabres lost Hagel for nothing a few years back because of lack of contract slots, so there is definite value in having an open slot that is being ignored here too.

 

[Hoglander]

Stillman was ass in Vancouver, so getting an asset for him was like getting a free gift.

Bloom is a B prospect though, who hasn't even played 1 game of pro hockey. He looked decent in an offseason scrimmage, but let's pump the brakes here Mr Urban.

That Benson clip made me laugh. Not sure who #54 is, but holy moly he looked drunk. Could barely skate or handle the puck, then just falls down for no reason. lol

 

[jackjohnson]

Stillman was ass in Vancouver, so getting an asset for him was like getting a free gift.

Bloom is a B prospect though, who hasn't even played 1 game of pro hockey. He looked decent in an offseason scrimmage, but let's pump the brakes here Mr Urban.

That Benson clip made me laugh. Not sure who #54 is, but holy moly he looked drunk. Could barely skate or handle the puck, then just falls down for no reason. lol

I would have even traded Stillman for a used toilet paper, so Canucks win by default here just for getting rid of stillman and his cap hit.

 

[UrbanImpact]

You are ignoring the fact that Buffalo was desperate for defensive help.

Just because Vancouver fans were willing to give up an asset to move Stillman out does not mean that Alvin was offering said asset, unless you have some insider GM information that I am not aware of.

Personally I was pissed because I liked Bloom as a prospect, but word out of the organization was that they were down on him and his potential, and the Sabres need contract slots in a big way with so many of their drafted prospects showing solid development. The Sabres lost Hagel for nothing a few years back because of lack of contract slots, so there is definite value in having an open slot that is being ignored here too.

No im not ignoring that Sabres wanted a Dman but again, that is irrelevant to the desperate position the Canucks were in with trying to get rid of Stillman.

- Cap Hell
- 1.3 mil player with term that was getting scratch on a daily basis and was playing once every two weeks and when he played he was bad, very very bad.

I dont need inside information to know that Alvin was desperately trying to off-load cap space. Heck he is still desperately trying to do that right now with Garland and Myers.

I think the Canucks would have been content to attach a 2nd/3rd round pick to get rid of 2 years of Stillman. Their jaws must have dropped to the floor when they realized not only will they not hve to add a sweetner, but a propsect was going to be given their way as well.

 

[RWatson29]

Lmao at these Canucks fans thinking they absolutley fleeced buffalo because a guy had a good devolpment camp making it like bloom is some can’t miss prospect. Don’t have enough pillows for all of these dreams

 

[Yatzhee]

I understand that Sabres are flushed with forwards, that should still have 0 effect on trading from a massive leverage position that they had on the Canucks.

Whats the value of getting rid of 1.3 mil anchor in cap space? 3rd? 4th round?

okay now factor in the fact that Stillman had term and is still under contract for 1.3 mil this year.

whats the value in that in terms of a sweetner? a 2nd or a 3rd?

If Sabre fans think they are so flushed with talent that they can afford to waste getting a 2nd and 3rd round picks then by all means.

In value , this trade should have been,

to Sabres
Stillman
3rd round pick

To Canucks
Future Consideration

Your formulation value isn't close to accurate. It's skewed by "your view" of value. We're talking a 3rd rd pick for a young depth d man here. Value at the time of the trade was level for both parties.
I love how so many actually believe GM's operate under a "squeeze every drop of juice" value system without taking in to consideration other factors.

And if you believe the Canucks were offering a 2nd and 3rd rd pick to take Stillman, well, I'll just say I have a bridge that crosses a huge bay entrance I'd like to sell ya

 

[LemonSauceD]

Ah yes, fans of two Stanley cup-less expansion siblings fighting about which team fleeced each other over a middling prospect and a middling depth defenseman.

 

[Djp]

I understand that Sabres are flushed with forwards, that should still have 0 effect on trading from a massive leverage position that they had on the Canucks.

Whats the value of getting rid of 1.3 mil anchor in cap space? 3rd? 4th round?

okay now factor in the fact that Stillman had term and is still under contract for 1.3 mil this year.

whats the value in that in terms of a sweetner? a 2nd or a 3rd?

If Sabre fans think they are so flushed with talent that they can afford to waste getting a 2nd and 3rd round picks then by all means.

In value , this trade should have been,

to Sabres
Stillman
3rd round pick

To Canucks
Future Consideration

trading $1.35M or about $450,000 above min salary does not cost that much to move him.

Thats not what it is at all in a cap world.

Cap is king.

Depth move would be contract in contract out

Getting rid of a healthy scratch 1.3 mil contract w. term left without costing you a sweetneer AND getting a free prospect is a win move.

He wasn’t viewed as a bust player but more of not a system fit player.

it was a contract for contract swap.

 

[Yatzhee]

Ah yes, fans of two Stanley cup-less expansion siblings fighting about which team fleeced each other over a middling prospect and a middling depth defenseman.

I don't see Sabres fans saying they fleeced anyone.

 

[KrakenSabresMike]

I don't see Sabres fans saying they fleeced anyone.

None of us are saying anything about fleecing the Canucks in the least!

 

[Irie]

No im not ignoring that Sabres wanted a Dman but again, that is irrelevant to the desperate position the Canucks were in with trying to get rid of Stillman.

- Cap Hell
- 1.3 mil player with term that was getting scratch on a daily basis and was playing once every two weeks and when he played he was bad, very very bad.

I dont need inside information to know that Alvin was desperately trying to off-load cap space. Heck he is still desperately trying to do that right now with Garland and Myers.

I think the Canucks would have been content to attach a 2nd/3rd round pick to get rid of 2 years of Stillman. Their jaws must have dropped to the floor when they realized not only will they not hve to add a sweetner, but a propsect was going to be given their way as well.

So Vancouver being desperate for Cap space should be the only factor and the Sabres being desperate for D help and targeting a player that Granato had coached before is irrelevant?

One thing we know about Kevyn Adams is that he tries hard to do well by his players and prospects and give them a chance if there is no longer a spot for them with the Sabres. By all reports, the Sabres FO had Bloom very low on their depth charts, so moving him somewhere where he would get a chance he couldn't get in Buffalo while making room for a prospect they are higher on was likely the goal.

And yes, at the time of the trade, Alvin won the deal from a value perspective, I posted that the day of the trade on this very board and reiterated it today, but in terms of the big picture, the Sabres got value for something they were trying to move on from, and depending on Blooms development and Stillman's play this upcoming season, the jury is still out on who won or lost that deal. I am pulling for Bloom and if he develops, Vancouver will have won that trade in a big way, but if he busts, then maybe it is a rare win-win trade that benefited both teams.

The biggest mystery in all of this is why anyone would necrobump this thread in the first place. When Bloom is putting up decent numbers in the NHL, feel free to bump this thread and prate on if you want, but in the future, it is good advice to wait until you have the ball before trying to dunk.

 

[valet]

sabres fan here. we totally fleeced the nucks in this trade. stillman is a bonafide fringe nhl defensemen. he got punched in the head in his first fight in buffalo and had to miss a bunch of games. meanwhile bloom still isn’t even in the NHL!! what kind of a name is josh???? lmao pick a better name next time (parents)