Sabres GM talks NHL Trade Deadline, Eichel's return to Buffalo with Vegas
Adams also discusses job Granato has done as coach in Q&A with NHL.com
With a team full of young players and prospects, including Tage Thompson, Peyton Krebs, Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Dahlin, the Sabres don't have the same cache of available veterans they had a year ago when they traded forward Taylor Hall to the Boston Bruins for forward Anders Bjork and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft on April 12, 2021.
"I can just give you from my perspective because last year was my first year," Adams said. "There was so much attention and focus on Taylor Hall, so that's obviously different this year.
"But it's a different era for us. It's such a young team and the core is so young. Right now, our main focus internally is to get our guys better."
RELATED: [NHL Heritage Classic against Maple Leafs will be special for Sabres GM]
However, that doesn't mean Adams, who was hired as Sabres general manager on June 16, 2020, won't listen to any calls.
"I mean, for me, when it comes to this deadline right now, the nature of it creates a lot of talking," he said. "Even things that are being discussed now may not happen at the deadline but may work into a plan you see further evolving into the offseason.
"Like I said, I've made this clear to everyone across the League, we're open to anything if we think it's the right thing for our franchise to move ourselves forward. But for us, we're so focused on internally getting better with the players and bringing them along. And you know, that's really a big thing for me as we go into the deadline.
"Of course, if we think there's something that makes sense, we would do it."
In a wide-ranging interview, Adams discussed the development of the Sabres, how impressed he is with coach Don Granato, and the return of former captain Jack Eichel to Buffalo next week.
Aside from the Hall trade, one of the biggest deals you made was trading center Jack Eichel, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, to the Vegas Golden Knights in a package that included forwards Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch on Nov. 4. Eichel will return to play in Buffalo for the first time since the trade when the Golden Knights visit KeyBank Center next Thursday, March 10. Your thoughts on his return?
"There's been so much going on, I haven't really thought a lot about that next week. But on a personal level, I'm really happy for Jack that he's back playing and he's where he wants to be. Again, for me, I'm honestly just so focused on what we're doing and our situation and how we continue to build our players and build the organization. That's where my head is. But in terms of him and being back, I am super happy for him.
I'm just really excited about the way Alex has come in and what he's done on the ice. The leadership he's showed on and off the ice and embracing how bad he wants to be a Buffalo Sabre and be part of the solution, it's been great. Really excited about Peyton Krebs. I get more excited about him every day just watching the details of his practices and his habits and how smart he is on the ice and his vision. Really excited about what he's going to ultimately become. And then obviously, you know, one of our picks (acquired in the trade) is the first-round pick this year that and this is a really important draft for us. So that's, I guess, so much of my focus is on that part that I just, you know, that's kind of where I'm at."
Would you like to see the Buffalo crowd give Eichel a nice ovation, given he scored 355 points (139 goals, 216 assists) in 375 NHL games in a Sabres jersey?
"As an organization, we want to do everything first class, and in every part of our organization, and whether it's Sam Reinhart or Rasmus Ristolainen, who were on our team last year, or Jack Eichel coming back, you want to see our fan base that loves this organization appreciate what people did before for the team. So I guess that's the way I would look at it. Again, everything we do we want to be first class in it, and in this case, this doesn't change."
You've struggled at times in terms of wins and losses this season but the improvement in some of the younger players like Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin has been noticeable. What's your take on the progression of the team this season?
"It's a great question because, I think, big picture I am extremely excited about where we're headed. You hit the nail on the head. There are players on our team right now that have taken huge strides from day one of the season to 50-something games in. Thompson, Dylan Cozens, Krebs, they've elevated their games and have taken that next step. So, to me, it's been a critical process that we need to go through. And so, big picture, super excited where it's at. But it's hard. We all want instant success and the competitiveness in you wants results immediately and every day. But we have to hang in there and keep thinking about what we need to do now to become the best we can be. We have lots of promising kids in AHL Rochester. Jack Quinn was leading the AHL in scoring when he got hurt and that doesn't happen often with a 20-year-old. So, we can't fast forward it. We have to trust it and we have to stay disciplined in our decisions. And that's just that's where we're at."
Finally, Don Granato coached the likes of future NHL stars like Eichel and Auston Matthews with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. What is your take on how he's coached this season and, more importantly, how he's teaching your young players to get better?
"Absolutely I've been impressed with the job he's done. For me, when I took a look at our organization, and then thought about where we need to get to, ultimately that was such a big part of the decision moving forward, was to find someone that was going to embrace the process of development and what we needed to do to get the most out of players. It also meant that, as a coach, not being afraid to put players in a situation that they might fail in. And that's okay because they're going to get better for it. And that's what we've seen.
Donnie and the staff have been unbelievable at balancing the emotion of the day, [being] in the moment versus the big picture of where we need to get to, and letting these players grow and finding ways to struggle without losing confidence. That's something that I talk to Donnie about all the time. It's okay to struggle, but you've really got to keep the confidence in our guys even at times when there's been struggles. They have to believe in themselves. As they get better, they deal with things better. We look forward to seeing exactly that."
