An Open Letter to the Buffalo Sabres: Don’t Do Anything

While many are begging the Sabres to make a trade, here's why they shouldn't.

The NHL trade Deadline is Friday, March 7, at 3 p.m. ET, and the Buffalo Sabres have been the subject of many rumors over the past few weeks. Teams from around the league have sent scouts to games, and insiders have been reporting about potential players who could be on the move.

We've heard names like Cozens, Byram, Power, Tuch, Greenway, and even Peterka get thrown out there as players teams are eying. There's just one problem: They likely aren't offering anything in return worthwhile.

Oh, they are asking players on these other teams for players to waive their no-trade clauses so they can get one of the names listed above. You can be sure of that. The players just aren't waiving them. Why? Because no one wants to play in Buffalo.

Sabres GM Rubs Fans the Wrong Way

Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams proclaimed earlier this season that no one wants to come to Buffalo because of taxes and a lack of palm trees. It angered Sabres fans, rightfully so. After all, a place like Edmonton isn't favorable to those things either, but they were in the Cup Finals last year. Buffalo may not be "perfect," but winning has happened here, bug names have come through, and anyone who gives the community a chance almost always falls in love with it.

The thing is, though, it's not us, Buffalo. While Kevyn isn't actually totally wrong, he left out the real reason they can't get players. Which is that the team stinks, has stunk, and everything they have done over the past 14 years has been publically embarrassing. They are the Washington Commanders "before they got a new owner" levels of embarrassing. The way they have mismanaged this team, fumbled coaches, team presidents, player contracts, and player issues have damned them.

The rumors about them aren't helping, either.

Rumors About the Buffalo Sabres Organization

The rumors are that the owner is cheap. It may not be true, but that's the perception, and like it or not, perception is reality to most people. They are believed to have an internal spending cap. Again, that might not be true, but it's out there.

This might be the biggest issue of them all: Forgotten by many is whatever really happened between the team and Jack Eichel's neck surgery. Their refusal to let Eichel get the surgery he wanted, be it within their rights or not, has perhaps irreparably damaged them toward the players around the league. They are viewed as not player-friendly. Why would anyone want to play for a team that doesn't let them take care of their own bodies? Even if Eichel was lying (which there is no evidence of) and just trying to force a trade, the damage is done.

The team is a disaster, and no one wants to come here.

But you know all of that. So, what's the point of all this?

Sabres Fans Should Prepare for Nothing to Happen

It's to make sure you're prepared for nothing to happen with the Sabres at the trade deadline on Friday. At least, nothing of real significance. No major shake-ups. Nothing is coming back to the Sabres with great value. Why? Because of everything I just wrote.

No one wants to come here unless they have no other options. That means good players, who overwhelmingly have no trade clauses, will veto any move to be traded here. The only chance of that changing is if the Sabres agree to overpay them with a new contract immediately. The thing is, if the rumors are true about their spending habits, then forget it. Plus, is that what we really want?

Why They Should Do Nothing

Believe it or not, as frustrated as I am, I want them to do nothing. With the exception of an actual great trade, of course. That's likely not on the table. But I reserve the right to take back this statement for a good trade or move.

I want them to do nothing. I want these players to sit in it. I want the Rochester kids to push the current roster hard and push them out naturally. I want no fresh starts for a guy like Dylan Cozens, who became a shell of himself from a few years ago. I want no easy outs for Owen Power, who honestly is getting too much heat as he is still very young and still learning. I want Alex Tuch to lead more and pull them out of oblivion. I want Byram to stop breaking sticks and start paying attention.

I want them to own their failures and grow up. Life doesn't give you an easy out whenever things fail or get hard. Sometimes, the only answer is to solve the issues yourself.

Plus, being objective and putting aside the last 14 seasons of failure, they are the youngest team in the NHL. Very few young squads have success early on. They need more time. No, the losing is not acceptable. Everything I just said about the organization is at least somewhat valid. But making trades just to make them and "shake things up" is pointless. Sure, we have a couple of guys with expiring contracts. I'd rather resign them. It's not like other free agents are banging on our door. Jordan Greenway, in particular, is a good player good teams need. Bo Byram has flaws, but boy, when he is on, he is great.

This season is done. They've now lost 3 games in a row.  They can't beat the Canadians at home for crying out loud. They lost again to them last night and went an abysmal 0-3-1 against them this season.  You're not fixing things at the trade deadline. Because there are so few moves of circumstance in the Sabres' favor, in all likelihood, the only thing that can be done is something that will weaken the team even more. There's no reason to do that.

I hate to say it, but Kevyn, don't do anything unless it's truly a hell of a deal. Your job is clearly not on the line. After all, most clubs would have canned you already. I'm not sure you deserve that, and I am also not sure you don't. I think you have an impossibly tough job. Don't make it harder by making a bad trade.

One Outside-the-Box Trade Idea

If I were to ask you to do one thing outside of the box, it would be at goaltender. No one wants to talk about that, but Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a GAA of 3.01 and a save percentage of only .894. No, he hasn't had the best defense in front of him, bailing him out. He also hasn't bailed them out. I'm not saying trade him, but either Reimer gets more time, or you get another goalie in here to compete with UPL. I know we have Levi in Rochester, but his time is best spent there now, not in Buffalo. Perhaps it's best spent in Rochester next season, too, as he adjusts to the pro game. More competition in the crease for now and next season would be nice.

What do you think? Pat@WBUF.com