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. Because no one wants to play in Buffalo. 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 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.
