Adams: Sabres are 'thrilled' with additions of Krebs, Tuch

Kevyn Adams reiterated throughout the summer and into autumn that the Buffalo Sabres would not compromise on what they felt was an appropriate return in a trade for Jack Eichel.
The Sabres stood firm as perceived pressure points came and went - the draft, free agency, training camp. Finally, the right offer arrived early Thursday morning.
The Sabres acquired forwards Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch, a top-10 protected pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, and a second-round pick in 2023 from Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Eichel and a third-round pick in 2023.

"We got to a point where this was the offer that we felt was the strongest that we had up to this date, and we felt very good about it," Adams said. "We worked extremely hard for months and months. And we were not going to compromise on what we felt we needed as a return.
"This was a really important decision for us. So, however long it was going to take it was going to take. But at the same point, when we felt it was the right time, we were going to make the deal."

Buffalo adds another talented young forward with NHL experience in Krebs, who played alongside Dylan Cozens with Team Canada at World Juniors in January. He will begin his tenure with the organization in Rochester, joined up front by fellow dynamic prospects Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka.
Adams has preached the importance of building around players who want to be in Buffalo. He got one in the 25-year-old Tuch, a Syracuse native who grew up playing street hockey with Tim Connolly and cheering on Sabres teams led by Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek.
Tuch also happens to be a pretty good hockey player. He has 139 points (61+78) in 249 games after being drafted 18th overall in 2014. He is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery but could settle into a top-six role when healthy.
"He was unbelievable in my conversation with him, and how excited he is to be a Buffalo Sabre," Adams said of Tuch. "He told me this is a dream come true for him. That's exactly the type of person and talent on the ice we need. And exactly the type of personality we need off the ice as we drive our culture forward.
"And in terms of Peyton Krebs, it's really important that we targeted young players that are going to fit us moving forward. And he has a lot of what we were looking for in terms of the way he plays the game, his approach, his on-ice approach, his off-ice approach, his character, his leadership qualities.
"That all played a part in it. We're thrilled. We're thrilled about both of them."

The youth movement in Buffalo began last season, when Don Granato took over as interim head coach just before the departure of veterans Taylor Hall and Eric Staal via trade. Granato leaned heavily on a like-minded group of youngsters during the final month of the season, headlined by Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Dahlin, and Henri Jokiharju.
It continued into the offseason, when Rasmus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart were traded to Philadelphia and Florida, respectively. The specter of an Eichel trade loomed as the next domino to fall after the former Sabres captain said during his season-ending press conference that he and the organization disagreed on the type of surgery he would receive to repair a hernia in his neck.
Adams said he had a long conversation with Eichel after the trade and wished him well.
"I wish him the best, I really do," Adams said. "I think he's in a really good spot. And I think we got a really, really good return in a really challenging situation that we can move forward with in our organization. That's what I'm thankful for and thinking about."
With the returns from the Vegas deal and the two trades that preceded it, the Sabres now have nine first-round picks age 22 and under within the organization. The group includes current pro players in Cozens, Krebs, Mittelstadt, and Quinn at forward and Dahlin and Jokiharju on defense.
Defensemen Owen Power (1st overall in 2021) and Ryan Johnson (31st in 2019) are excelling in the NCAA. Forward Isak Rosen, the 14th overall pick this year, is playing in Sweden's top pro league.
That group doesn't include forward JJ Peterka and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, two second-round picks that the organization coveted as first-round talents.
The Sabres now also possess three first-round picks in 2022 and three second-round picks in 2023. (The picks from Vegas will slide back a year and become unprotected if the Golden Knights select in the top 10.)
"What we're working toward is building around this young core that ultimately keeps getting better, keeps growing and then we can move forward with (them)," Adams said.
The team will continue to compete in the meantime. The Sabres conclude a four-game trip along the West Coast on Thursday night in Seattle. Adams lauded the habits he has seen to this point through a 5-3-1 start, starting at the top with Granato and alternate captains Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo.
"When I see our team practice, I see a team that cares about each other, that has fun, that loves competing in practice and you can't fake that," Adams said. "And then that carries over to the games. Guys really care about each other, they want to play hard, they enjoy each other, they want to see each other have success.
"That's really powerful. So that's an exciting thing for us to build and continue to build and work on moving forward."