Post by brob89 (NSH) on Jan 26, 2017 13:23:57 GMT -5
ESPN -
What a season it's been for the Buffalo Sabres. Few could see them having reached the heights that they did so quickly, and once they did, those same few wouldn't have predicted them to have fallen short in the final steps. But against the expectations of experts somehow, the Buffalo Sabres looked like the team to beat, and yet still, the Vancouver Canucks are the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions. The future looks bright in Buffalo. On Monday, ESPN's Barry Melrose sat down with Sabres GM, Kris, to ask him about this season just finished and plans for the future.
BM: Thanks for sitting down with me, Kris.
GMK: No problem, happy to be here.
BM: How do you evaluate a season like this? There’s so much to like about what your team did this year and yet, coming up short in the final period of game 7, how do you analyze that as a manager?
GMK: You have to evaluate it as a tremendous season for our franchise. In two years we’ve gone from contending for the draft lottery to being five minutes away from holding the Stanley Cup. That’s a pretty dramatic turnaround by any standards.”
BM: Maybe it’s unfair to look at trades this way, but surely you have to be second guessing yourself after moving Drouin to the Canucks only to see him score the Stanley Cup clinching goal against your team with less than two minutes to go in game 7?
GMK: Look, that goal was all about our mistakes – a lazy turnover on our blue line, compounded by not playing hard enough to get the puck back once we’d lost it - so it could have been anyone on the end of that pass to score the winner. The fact it was Drouin was ironic, but nothing more than that. As for the trade itself, no, I don’t regret it and I’d make the same move again in a heat-beat – we got a king’s ransom for Drouin and that allowed us to bring in superstars like PK and Anze, without mortgaging the future of our franchise to do so.
BM: How long will that stick with you, falling short in the final stretch?
GMK: We were right there. Five minutes. You’re close, but you are so far away, really. Not gonna lie, it hurts like hell to lose like that on home ice in game seven. But will we dwell on it? Not at all. We’re professionals and this team is already itching to set the record straight next season.
BM: At the same time surely you’ve got to be proud of your young team and how they battled, and even dominated at times, during the season and in the playoffs?
GMK: Absolutely. You look at the strength of the Eastern conference and some of the win streaks we put together – how could I not be proud?”
BM: At the start of the year, most analysts had your team as one that would continue to improve, but no one picked you to go as far as you did and to do this well? What were your feelings going into this season, and what do you think contributed most to your success?
GMK: It might sound odd to say this, but getting swept in the first round of the playoffs the year prior was the real catalyst, I think. That experience hardened the guys – I could see it in the locker room after the game, the way they sat there, jaws clenched, eyes like steel, a fire burning within them, determined not to let a humiliation like that befall them again. I told them not to lose that fire, to take it away with them over the summer and stoke it until it was a raging furnace – and they did just that. From the first day of pre-season there was an intensity and hunger to the team that I knew would take them far, so I had no doubt we were going to surpass expectations.”
BM: The other big happenings for the Sabres this season happened recently before and at the 2019 Entry draft. Firstly, the question that is foremost on everyone’s minds, what went into the Patrick Laine trade? Were there internal issues that hadn’t come to light that precipitated this move? Why move a player of his age and talent?
GMK: Two words: Andrei Svechnikov. If you guys thought Laine was a dominant player, just wait till you see this kid suit up in blue and gold. So yeah, you can afford to trade a young star when you have another one waiting in the wings. That’s how you grow and manage a franchise and ensure the locker room doesn’t get stale. Plus, let’s be honest, the salary cap comes into it. Laine’s a great player, but at the end of this year he’s going to be demanding – and likely fully warranting – Ovi, Toews or Crosby-like levels of money. We don’t want to handcuff ourselves to those sorts of contracts long-term. I mean, think about this for a moment – every other contender that you’d care to mention is pressed up tight to the cap like a fat kid with his face against the glass of a cake shop. The Sabres meanwhile have just a $67m cap obligation next season. That means we have cap flexibility to upgrade if we want, but also gives our fans the security of knowing that we won’t need to blow things up year after next, or trade away picks and prospects to get rid of bad contracts.”
BM: Ok, secondly, you surprised a number of ESPN and hockey analysts around the world taking Marshall Warren 2nd overall when he was ranked lower, and the consensus #1 and #2 best players in the draft were still both available. What went into that decision? What do you see in Marshall that led you to take him at that point in the draft?
GMK: Well, when we looked at Marshall it was his skating and puck-moving ability that really stood out for us. People have dubbed him as the new PK – and aside from the shallow media link that they are both black and both defensemen – in terms of playing style the comparison is fully warranted. Marshall is a really dynamic player who can change the direction of play in an instant, plus he has that determination and will to win that you only find in all top athletes. We have every reason to believe that he and Jakob Chychrun will be franchise cornerstones on our blueline for years to come, so that’s why we were delighted to take him 2nd overall.”
BM: How’s the offseason shaping up for Buffalo? What are you looking to do during this period with free agency and the roster in preparation for next season?
GMK: We’d perhaps like to strengthen our bottom six a little, but other than that we’re happy with where we are. Let’s not forget that whilst we were contesting the Stanley Cup finals the Rochester Americans went and won the Calder Cup, so that shows we have tremendous strength in depth throughout the organization.”
BM: As disappointed as fans are about the moving on of Patrick Laine, there is a buzz around the city regarding the pending arrival of the Svechnikov brothers. How are you planning to use them, and will they get an opportunity to play together on the same line?
GMK: It’s only right that the city is excited. I think they’re the most dynamic set of hockey siblings since the Sedins, and with Henrik retiring this year, it’s time for the brothers Svechnikov to take up their mantle. As for how we’ll utilize them… ultimately it’s our intention to use them together on the same line, yes. Whether that’s this season or next, I’ve yet to decide. I guess I’ll just have to say, watch this space in that regard.”
BM: What’s your opinion on the outlook for the 2019/2020 Buffalo Sabres?
GMK: We’ve retooled slightly but still fully expect to be in contention again this season. Our fans have got used to playoff hockey the past couple of years and we’ve no intention of letting them down this time around.”
BM: Thanks for this.
GMK: Thank you.
- End -
What a season it's been for the Buffalo Sabres. Few could see them having reached the heights that they did so quickly, and once they did, those same few wouldn't have predicted them to have fallen short in the final steps. But against the expectations of experts somehow, the Buffalo Sabres looked like the team to beat, and yet still, the Vancouver Canucks are the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions. The future looks bright in Buffalo. On Monday, ESPN's Barry Melrose sat down with Sabres GM, Kris, to ask him about this season just finished and plans for the future.
BM: Thanks for sitting down with me, Kris.
GMK: No problem, happy to be here.
BM: How do you evaluate a season like this? There’s so much to like about what your team did this year and yet, coming up short in the final period of game 7, how do you analyze that as a manager?
GMK: You have to evaluate it as a tremendous season for our franchise. In two years we’ve gone from contending for the draft lottery to being five minutes away from holding the Stanley Cup. That’s a pretty dramatic turnaround by any standards.”
BM: Maybe it’s unfair to look at trades this way, but surely you have to be second guessing yourself after moving Drouin to the Canucks only to see him score the Stanley Cup clinching goal against your team with less than two minutes to go in game 7?
GMK: Look, that goal was all about our mistakes – a lazy turnover on our blue line, compounded by not playing hard enough to get the puck back once we’d lost it - so it could have been anyone on the end of that pass to score the winner. The fact it was Drouin was ironic, but nothing more than that. As for the trade itself, no, I don’t regret it and I’d make the same move again in a heat-beat – we got a king’s ransom for Drouin and that allowed us to bring in superstars like PK and Anze, without mortgaging the future of our franchise to do so.
BM: How long will that stick with you, falling short in the final stretch?
GMK: We were right there. Five minutes. You’re close, but you are so far away, really. Not gonna lie, it hurts like hell to lose like that on home ice in game seven. But will we dwell on it? Not at all. We’re professionals and this team is already itching to set the record straight next season.
BM: At the same time surely you’ve got to be proud of your young team and how they battled, and even dominated at times, during the season and in the playoffs?
GMK: Absolutely. You look at the strength of the Eastern conference and some of the win streaks we put together – how could I not be proud?”
BM: At the start of the year, most analysts had your team as one that would continue to improve, but no one picked you to go as far as you did and to do this well? What were your feelings going into this season, and what do you think contributed most to your success?
GMK: It might sound odd to say this, but getting swept in the first round of the playoffs the year prior was the real catalyst, I think. That experience hardened the guys – I could see it in the locker room after the game, the way they sat there, jaws clenched, eyes like steel, a fire burning within them, determined not to let a humiliation like that befall them again. I told them not to lose that fire, to take it away with them over the summer and stoke it until it was a raging furnace – and they did just that. From the first day of pre-season there was an intensity and hunger to the team that I knew would take them far, so I had no doubt we were going to surpass expectations.”
BM: The other big happenings for the Sabres this season happened recently before and at the 2019 Entry draft. Firstly, the question that is foremost on everyone’s minds, what went into the Patrick Laine trade? Were there internal issues that hadn’t come to light that precipitated this move? Why move a player of his age and talent?
GMK: Two words: Andrei Svechnikov. If you guys thought Laine was a dominant player, just wait till you see this kid suit up in blue and gold. So yeah, you can afford to trade a young star when you have another one waiting in the wings. That’s how you grow and manage a franchise and ensure the locker room doesn’t get stale. Plus, let’s be honest, the salary cap comes into it. Laine’s a great player, but at the end of this year he’s going to be demanding – and likely fully warranting – Ovi, Toews or Crosby-like levels of money. We don’t want to handcuff ourselves to those sorts of contracts long-term. I mean, think about this for a moment – every other contender that you’d care to mention is pressed up tight to the cap like a fat kid with his face against the glass of a cake shop. The Sabres meanwhile have just a $67m cap obligation next season. That means we have cap flexibility to upgrade if we want, but also gives our fans the security of knowing that we won’t need to blow things up year after next, or trade away picks and prospects to get rid of bad contracts.”
BM: Ok, secondly, you surprised a number of ESPN and hockey analysts around the world taking Marshall Warren 2nd overall when he was ranked lower, and the consensus #1 and #2 best players in the draft were still both available. What went into that decision? What do you see in Marshall that led you to take him at that point in the draft?
GMK: Well, when we looked at Marshall it was his skating and puck-moving ability that really stood out for us. People have dubbed him as the new PK – and aside from the shallow media link that they are both black and both defensemen – in terms of playing style the comparison is fully warranted. Marshall is a really dynamic player who can change the direction of play in an instant, plus he has that determination and will to win that you only find in all top athletes. We have every reason to believe that he and Jakob Chychrun will be franchise cornerstones on our blueline for years to come, so that’s why we were delighted to take him 2nd overall.”
BM: How’s the offseason shaping up for Buffalo? What are you looking to do during this period with free agency and the roster in preparation for next season?
GMK: We’d perhaps like to strengthen our bottom six a little, but other than that we’re happy with where we are. Let’s not forget that whilst we were contesting the Stanley Cup finals the Rochester Americans went and won the Calder Cup, so that shows we have tremendous strength in depth throughout the organization.”
BM: As disappointed as fans are about the moving on of Patrick Laine, there is a buzz around the city regarding the pending arrival of the Svechnikov brothers. How are you planning to use them, and will they get an opportunity to play together on the same line?
GMK: It’s only right that the city is excited. I think they’re the most dynamic set of hockey siblings since the Sedins, and with Henrik retiring this year, it’s time for the brothers Svechnikov to take up their mantle. As for how we’ll utilize them… ultimately it’s our intention to use them together on the same line, yes. Whether that’s this season or next, I’ve yet to decide. I guess I’ll just have to say, watch this space in that regard.”
BM: What’s your opinion on the outlook for the 2019/2020 Buffalo Sabres?
GMK: We’ve retooled slightly but still fully expect to be in contention again this season. Our fans have got used to playoff hockey the past couple of years and we’ve no intention of letting them down this time around.”
BM: Thanks for this.
GMK: Thank you.
- End -