MarkusKetterer
Shoulda got one game in
Premise: this is the 3rd one I’ve done, as I started this after the latest roster update. So Power is part of the Sabres, along with other top prospects on their teams.
September 13, 2021: In a surprising turn of events, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has stepped away from his role and moved up to become the Sabres President of Hockey Operations. To replace his now departed role, he has tabbed Markus Ketterer as the teams new GM. “I felt it was time to fully put the plan for the Sabres into place,” said Adams. “We know what type of team we want. A team that the fans of Buffalo can be proud of. A fast, hardworking team loaded with skill. Markus has performed admirably in his scouting for talent, so I felt he deserved a bigger piece of the pie. I am confident that pairing him with our analytics department, the Sabres will be a force soon.”
“I will use the pre-season to evaluate the players on our NHL team,” said Ketterer. “Nobody on our team is off-limits, and I expect every player to give 110% every game, pre-season included. There will be no floating at any times. I know Buffalo hockey, and know what the fans expectations are. It’s shape up or ship out, starting now.”
After a pre-season where the team finished 6-1-1, the team starts the 2021-22 season in high spirits. They open the season with a win against the Montreal Canadiens, and during the game, GM Ketterer wasted no time putting his stamp on the team by making a minor trade with the Avalanche.
“The Sabres have traded Cody Eakin (80 TWF) exchange for Nico Sturm (78 TWF). We have retained 50% of Eakin’s salary, both to help Colorado and ourselves stay above the cap floor. We are excited to add Sturm to our young core, and he’s looking forward to the challenge of being Rochester’s 1C this upcoming season.”
From there until the new year, the Sabres battled up and down the Atlantic division, giving many players their first shots at the NHL due to injuries and ending the 2021 portion in 5th place, 1 point back of a wild card berth.
As the calendar rolls over to 2022, the Sabres make a very minor trade. They ship C Andrew Oglevie (70 TWF) to Boston for a 2023 7th. GM Ketterer had this to say about the trade “Andrew was buried on the depth chart in Rochester and hasn’t played a game for them. We were finally able to find a team with room to acquire him and will give him playing time. I wish him the best of luck for Providence.”
The Sabres take care of some minor business throughout January, expanding food options and re-signing Olofsson (83 SNP), Sturm (79 TWF), Bryson (76 TWD) and Luukkonen (80 HYB). The extensions break down as:
Olofsson = 4 x $4.6M
Sturm = 4 x $1.55M
Bryson = 1 x $1M
Luukkonen = 2 x $3M
The team gets healthy for the first time all season, and by Valentine’s Day, GM Ketterer decides to show the league and Sabres very little love. He makes 4 trades in one day and one free agent signing, completely overhauling the team in one fell swoop. 16 players change teams in total.
The first trade was with the Minnesota Wild. Gone to the Wild were D Mark Pysyk (80 TWD) and LW Drake Cagguila (80 TWF). Heading to Buffalo were D Jacob Middleton (78 DFD) and C Noah Stevens (76 TWF).
The next trade was with Chicago. Gone to the Windy City was G Craig Anderson (80 HYB) and D prospect Miska Kukkonen (58 DFD). Going back to Buffalo was DFD Alex Vlasic (77 rating).
To fill the gap of trading a goalie, the teams signed FA Artyom Zagidulin (75 HYB) to a one year, $925K contract.
Their next trade involved a swap of minor league goalies with the Anaheim Ducks. Malcolm Subban (79 HYB) goes to Orange County, and Olle Eriksson-Ek (71 HYB) goes to Erie County. Both players then get re-assigned to the AHL affiliates.
The day’s final trade involves Vegas, which is the teams second trade since the summer (Eichel trade in this instance and for the purposes of this game, even though that trade didn’t happen then in reality). Heading to Sin City are G Dustin Tokarski (78 HYB), D Will Butcher (80 OFD 50% retained), LW prospect Isak Rosen (70 SNP), and C John Hayden (75 TWF).
Going back to Buffalo are G Logan Thompson (76 HYB who grows to 78 upon his arrival), LW Pavel Dorofeyev (77 SNP) and D Zach Whitecloud (80 TWD).
All players get a week and a half to integrate themselves with the team, and both goalies win their Sabre debuts (5-0 over St. Louis, 6-1 over Dallas) and the team goes on a heater. By mid-March the team sits in 5th place in the Atlantic, 8th in the conference and 5 points (shockingly) up on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
They make one minor acquisition, picking up D Mark Stone (79 TWD) off waivers from Calgary and assign him to Rochester.
For a re-building team to be in contention for the playoffs at this point in the season is shocking. The fans are coming back in droves, shocking everybody around the league. It’s the home stretch of the season, so now to see if the Sabres can pull off what was deemed unthinkable at the start of the season, which is make the playoffs.
September 13, 2021: In a surprising turn of events, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has stepped away from his role and moved up to become the Sabres President of Hockey Operations. To replace his now departed role, he has tabbed Markus Ketterer as the teams new GM. “I felt it was time to fully put the plan for the Sabres into place,” said Adams. “We know what type of team we want. A team that the fans of Buffalo can be proud of. A fast, hardworking team loaded with skill. Markus has performed admirably in his scouting for talent, so I felt he deserved a bigger piece of the pie. I am confident that pairing him with our analytics department, the Sabres will be a force soon.”
“I will use the pre-season to evaluate the players on our NHL team,” said Ketterer. “Nobody on our team is off-limits, and I expect every player to give 110% every game, pre-season included. There will be no floating at any times. I know Buffalo hockey, and know what the fans expectations are. It’s shape up or ship out, starting now.”
After a pre-season where the team finished 6-1-1, the team starts the 2021-22 season in high spirits. They open the season with a win against the Montreal Canadiens, and during the game, GM Ketterer wasted no time putting his stamp on the team by making a minor trade with the Avalanche.
“The Sabres have traded Cody Eakin (80 TWF) exchange for Nico Sturm (78 TWF). We have retained 50% of Eakin’s salary, both to help Colorado and ourselves stay above the cap floor. We are excited to add Sturm to our young core, and he’s looking forward to the challenge of being Rochester’s 1C this upcoming season.”
From there until the new year, the Sabres battled up and down the Atlantic division, giving many players their first shots at the NHL due to injuries and ending the 2021 portion in 5th place, 1 point back of a wild card berth.
As the calendar rolls over to 2022, the Sabres make a very minor trade. They ship C Andrew Oglevie (70 TWF) to Boston for a 2023 7th. GM Ketterer had this to say about the trade “Andrew was buried on the depth chart in Rochester and hasn’t played a game for them. We were finally able to find a team with room to acquire him and will give him playing time. I wish him the best of luck for Providence.”
The Sabres take care of some minor business throughout January, expanding food options and re-signing Olofsson (83 SNP), Sturm (79 TWF), Bryson (76 TWD) and Luukkonen (80 HYB). The extensions break down as:
Olofsson = 4 x $4.6M
Sturm = 4 x $1.55M
Bryson = 1 x $1M
Luukkonen = 2 x $3M
The team gets healthy for the first time all season, and by Valentine’s Day, GM Ketterer decides to show the league and Sabres very little love. He makes 4 trades in one day and one free agent signing, completely overhauling the team in one fell swoop. 16 players change teams in total.
The first trade was with the Minnesota Wild. Gone to the Wild were D Mark Pysyk (80 TWD) and LW Drake Cagguila (80 TWF). Heading to Buffalo were D Jacob Middleton (78 DFD) and C Noah Stevens (76 TWF).
The next trade was with Chicago. Gone to the Windy City was G Craig Anderson (80 HYB) and D prospect Miska Kukkonen (58 DFD). Going back to Buffalo was DFD Alex Vlasic (77 rating).
To fill the gap of trading a goalie, the teams signed FA Artyom Zagidulin (75 HYB) to a one year, $925K contract.
Their next trade involved a swap of minor league goalies with the Anaheim Ducks. Malcolm Subban (79 HYB) goes to Orange County, and Olle Eriksson-Ek (71 HYB) goes to Erie County. Both players then get re-assigned to the AHL affiliates.
The day’s final trade involves Vegas, which is the teams second trade since the summer (Eichel trade in this instance and for the purposes of this game, even though that trade didn’t happen then in reality). Heading to Sin City are G Dustin Tokarski (78 HYB), D Will Butcher (80 OFD 50% retained), LW prospect Isak Rosen (70 SNP), and C John Hayden (75 TWF).
Going back to Buffalo are G Logan Thompson (76 HYB who grows to 78 upon his arrival), LW Pavel Dorofeyev (77 SNP) and D Zach Whitecloud (80 TWD).
All players get a week and a half to integrate themselves with the team, and both goalies win their Sabre debuts (5-0 over St. Louis, 6-1 over Dallas) and the team goes on a heater. By mid-March the team sits in 5th place in the Atlantic, 8th in the conference and 5 points (shockingly) up on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
They make one minor acquisition, picking up D Mark Stone (79 TWD) off waivers from Calgary and assign him to Rochester.
For a re-building team to be in contention for the playoffs at this point in the season is shocking. The fans are coming back in droves, shocking everybody around the league. It’s the home stretch of the season, so now to see if the Sabres can pull off what was deemed unthinkable at the start of the season, which is make the playoffs.