Why are Sabres paying for a 34 year old ufa bottom six center?

No thanks. Rather have Krebs. Take him out and sure

that package is closer to getting u scheif lol

Excellent two-way center who's tough in the PK, can move in the mid-six and had 54 pts last season.

That's a good add, imo.

Is the price high? Probably. That's why I posted it, to find out where people stand on a trade for him.

Mmmmm. Maybe.

Fair enough.

I mean the guy was among Kopitar, Petersson, Barkov for Selke votes this year, Marchand, Aho, Zibanejad the year before. I get he slots in the bottom 6 but he had more minutes per game last season than Cozens and almost the exact same as Thompson. He also take most of his draws in the D zone as opposed to the top two C's in Buffalo. So slotting in one of the best defensive centers in teh game to a line up that was among the Chicago's and Arizona's of the world in goals against may not be the worst idea on the planet. It could help a young line up that loves getting caved in on defense with suspect goaltending going into this year from giving up grade A chances from all 4 lines.

Do I think he's worth the package above, no. To try diminish the value of Backlund with "34 year old ufa bottom six center" like he should be a cap dump is absolutely ridiculous though.

Safe to say u can change that “probably” to an “ABSOLUTELY”

Even a Leafs fan (@Jake6) is telling you it’s too much !


Not to mention, this just isn’t a move Adams is gonna make right now. Maybe at the deadline, but our roster is set until camp

No one called him a “cap dump”
You’re just putting words in his mouth

And Yes, Backlund is a good defensive center
And No, he won’t get more icetime than Tage or Cozens
HENCE, the “bottom6” Center comment
Bc he absolutely will be a bottom6 Center in our lineup


Also,
the main point that all who are against this trade is that we’re giving up too much- too much for a guy who will play in our bottom6- and too much for a guy his age, bc we are unlikely to extend someone that old

If u look at it from the Sabres perspective, it doesn’t make much sense for us
Maybe at the deadline a team like Boston would overpay for him?

Like the fit for the Sabres, hate the price.

Backlund would be a strong add to the Sabres as their top defensive center - he reminds me a lot of how JG Pageau fits on the Islanders. He's acceptable on offense and is your #1 penalty killing forward. I think adding him to the Sabres would make them a strong playoff contender, he's kind of the "final piece" type of guy that lets you mix and match a lot better.

However, the price is a lot. He's 34, a pending UFA, and makes $5.35M - and while the cap hit doesn't matter much to the Sabres, the Flames would surely be happy to clear that off since they're basically at the cap right now with 12 F / 8 D / 2 G (if we assume Oliver Kylington is ready to play.) It also doesn't make sense for Olofsson to be involved for that exact reason - this deal actually adds money to the Flames' cap situation, which doesn't help at all.

I think a 2nd & Krebs is still too much - I think Krebs is expendable in this case (even if you don't keep Backlund for 2024-25, you can easily slot probably half a dozen guys that are currently in the org into that 3C spot), but I'd almost lean 1-for-1 in that case. I think it would be an interesting swap - Buffalo gets the dependable 3C/PK1 forward while Calgary gets a little worse in a season they should probably be treating as a transitional year.

"Why are Sabres paying for a 34 year old ufa bottom six center?" is exactly what he said.. Not "paying" for a player would certainly indicate that his value is so low that a team would not pay for him but take him on as a dump.

I didn't say he would, I said that in the most recent season he did get more ice time than Cozens and extremely similar to Thompson, don't put words in my mouth.

He was a bottom 6 player in the Flames line up last season, still among the best in the league as a defensive forwards, where he slots changes nothing. If Backlund were to be in the Sabres line up next season I bet the ice time would be a lot closer than you think because your top 2 centers seem to require OZone starts to shelter them from getting trapped in their own ends. A team that gave up similar goals against to the team that just picked 1st overall in the draft really shouldn't be turning their nose up at an elite defensive center at any age right now. Especially with only a -4 goal differential, imagine having a line competent enough to start in the DZone and not get whipped over teh head by the other teams best line every night. It would be a world changer in that line up

I even said above, I don't think that's the framework for a deal but it would be a phenomenal add for Buffalo.

Interesting idea Boos, I wouldn't include Krebs in this deal though. There's plenty to pick from, maybe Poltapov,Kisakov or Neuchev.

Only bc you’re ONLY focusing on the “bottom6” part and IGNORING the “UFA” and the “34 YEAR OLD” part

Those play HEAVILY into why we wouldn’t pay for a bottom6 guy

For example:
If he was 28 & signed for 2 more years, then we would be A LOT more likely to be willing to pay for him, even though he’d be a bottom6 center for us

Hopefully u can grasp this concept, as it’s not difficult & this is the most simply i can spell it out for you

"A team that gave up similar goals against to the team that just picked 1st overall in the draft really shouldn't be turning their nose up at an elite defensive center at any age right now. Especially with only a -4 goal differential, imagine having a line competent enough to start in the DZone and not get whipped over teh head by the other teams best line every night. It would be a world changer in that line up"

Just willingly ignoring that whole part eh?? Don't get louder when you're wrong, just fix it.

I’m not wrong
And it was ignored for GOOD REASON

We are not looking to acquire OLD RENTAL PLAYERS at this point- PERIOD, The End
Sorry u can’t understand any of these simple concepts

Would be a real shame to see a borderline playoff team miss again because they get caved in their own zone! You can feel as right as you'd like about it but saying that Backlund would not be a wicked add for the Sabres is nuts.

Points taken. I like Backlund and am convinced he would be a huge add for this team.

Victor Olofsson and his $4.75 M are headed the Flames way.

Do you want the best shot at making the playoffs this season? Tightening up the defensive side of the equation will go a long way.

Didn't they just sign a old Basic Rental as you call it in Johnson. He's a good Defensively Sound Center that can dish the puck. Basically be getting him for a Million dollars. Krebs is probably the only part that doesn't make sense.

Kind of
I want us to keep building so we can WIN THE CUP
And overpaying for a rental doesn’t really help the “winning the Cup” goal

I like Backlund, i think he would help
BUT i absolutely would not overpay for him either

And we didn’t OVERPAY with assets to get E.Johnson
All he cost was Cap space

Yes they did, probably by 2mill in Cap Space. Backlund would help IMO

I never said he wouldn’t

IN FACT, if you’d have read my other posts then you’d have seen me say that i think he would help too

Just not gonna overpay for him (personally)
And i don’t think Adams would either

Don't think Adams would overpay either, think most here have said Krebs shouldn't be involved. Don't think Olofsson and a 2nd and a B prospect is to much though. Sabres aren't gonna be able to fit all there prospects as is.