Gabrielor
"Win with us or watch us win." - Rasmus Dahlin
That's probably why I'm comfortable in here engaging with the Tampa Bay fans. I'm not super concerned with 'losing the trade by value'. I'm trying to build a Sabres roster to make and then compete in the playoffs.Bolded - I disagree. There's a huge difference between Byram & Cernak. We've only just traded for Byram and that trade took a lifetime in coming. Adams isn't trading him so soon after acquiring him. He should be working on extending him.
Again - I'm not saying I wouldn't want Cirelli or that he wouldn't be valuable to this team. And it doesn't matter if i call him a 'third line' C or you call him a 'defensive matchup' C - we both know what type of player he is & those players do not have the value of top pairing defenseman - which Byram certainly is. Byram is also four years younger than Cirelli. Their trade value is not even close.
Our team has holes to fill - but it's really only the 'bottom third' of the roster that needs overhauling. And we have an over abundance of futures to make that happen without needing to trade away core pieces.
If TB decided to 're-tool' this offseason & Cirelli was available - I'd offer one of our forward prospects not currently in the NHL. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't get a better offer than that from any other team & if they were hell bent on getting a defenseman, they would need to make a follow up trade.
Adding Cernak doesn't do a huge amount for me. Maybe I'd add a Cernak/Samuelsson swap into the deal - but that is only because of Samuelsson's complete inability to stay healthy.
Cirelli and Cernak both played big roles as catalysts to the battle on the current dynasty. I'm game to overpay for that.