Buffalo N.Y. (WGR 550) - After more than a week off from game action, the Buffalo Sabres have officially returned to the ice for practice, as they prepare for the final 32 games of the 2022-23 season.
At this point in time, the Sabres are within striking distance of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference Wild Card chase, just three points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins and four back of the Washington Capitals with three games in-hand.
While Buffalo was off for the All-Star break and the team's bye week, general manager Kevyn Adams was busy, re-signing forward Dylan Cozens to a seven-year contract extension with an average annual value of $7.1 million per-season.
Cozens is the third young piece of the Sabres' core that has been locked up to a long-term extension this season, joining Mattias Samuelsson and Tage Thompson to get seven-year contracts.
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Adams joined the “Howard and Jeremy Show” on Friday with the Sabres getting ready to face the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon at KeyBank Center. He discussed how the organization evaluates the group in place and picking out players to sign long-term.
"These type of decisions are not made in a vacuum. These are franchise-changing decisions, quite honestly, depending on how it comes together, what's the term of the contract and the dollar amount, and what it sets you up to do down the road. So they're not taken lightly, I promise you that," said Adams with Howard Simon and Jeremy White on WGR.
"Our internal process is from my day-in and day-out conversations, I spend a lot of time with the coaching staff and just making sure I understand exactly what they're seeing and feeling and what's going on on the bench. I'm having that dialogue on a daily basis. Then, within our hockey operations department, we have the pro scouting side with Jeremiah Crowe, we have Sam Ventura on the analytic side to lead that department, and then associate general manager Jason Karmanos and assistant general manager Mark Jakubowski have different day-to-day roles and responsibilities that are divvied up under them. As we begin these type of initial discussions, I ask the group to come to me with what they see. What are they thinking about? How does it make sense? And we make sure that we're aligned."
Adams likes to be proactive when he is making decisions, and wants to make sure that players are not waiting to get contracts done. He reiterates the need for the team to be able to draft well, and then develop those players the right way in order to play for a chance on the Sabres in the long-term.
“If we are going to build this the right way, we need to do it with people that truly care about this organization and this community," Adams said. "And I do believe in that wholeheartedly that the fans also then understand the other side of what these people mean to them when they come watch them play every night. I think it's very powerful."
When asked if there could be any thoughts of making a trade before the March 3 NHL Trade Deadline, Adams says wants to maintain the balance on the roster.
"You have to be really, really careful just trying to make a move and fast forwarding at the kind of expense of the development and future," he said. "I don't think that's something that is unheard of by any means in a team that's close, or they think, 'Hey, this player is going to put us over the top.' You see it all the time, every trade deadline. I just think you have to be aware of what the cost is. That's what it boils down to."
You can listen to Adams' entire appearance during the "Howard and Jeremy Show" available in the player below:
