What we learned from the Sabres on deadline day

Neuvirth trade sparks the most predictable reaction

After being red-hot through February, the Sabres traded their only NHL-worthy goalie, and upcoming UFA, in Michael Neuvirth. Of course co-dependent “hockey” fans and media hacks welcomed the move as tank insurance, but a clear-eyed view of the move shows that Tim Murray got value for a UFA that he had all year to assess. If Neuvirth was so good, Murray would have locked him up with a long term deal.

With the dawn of the behemoth goalie, there’s a lot of netminders out there that can put down a run just as good as Neuvirth. One of them will get a great deal this summer when the Sabres make free agent moves to get to the cap floor.

New cap era

Speaking of the cap, the Sabres are nowhere near it. Murray knows it’s a seller’s market in July, but with a shit-ton of cap room, a billionaire owner and a most likely a top-two draft pick – players will be giving Buffalo a serious look this summer.

Addition by Subtraction

The rest of the moves on deadline day got the veritable bag of pucks that they were worth, but a side-effect of those moves is dispatching journeymen players that do nothing to advance the Sabres team identity.

Can someone explain to me what kind of player Torrey Mitchell is? Is he a sniper? Is he a set-up man? A PK specialist? A goon?

Dispatching these face-less veterans means the team can concentrate its identity around its hard-hitting core of Zadorov, Foligno, Deslauriers, Bogosian and Kaleta.

Murray’s survival instincts

While I can’t stand tank riders, they do have a point when it come to Murray covering his own ass. Make no mistake – if he hadn’t moved Neuvirth and the team didn’t finish last, the media and a certain subset of Sabres fans would never let him forget it. Like Omar said, “When it come at the king, you best not miss.”