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…one younger…and far more powerful.. You will not stop me. Darth Staal will be more powerful than either of us!

Unless Darth Pegulas the Wise falls for him (Staal).

I think it comes down to basic resource management, and paying someone appropriate to where they are in their career/game. We've seen the lineup without Dahlin, so Power isn't yet able to play to the level of a PP1 and 1st-pairing D-man. It's why they needed to bridge him in the interim. Especially if Adams/Pegula weren't going to spend anywhere near the cap during these initial seasons anyway. I think I can best illustrate it with a team they want to be: Carolina. Similar poor powerplay: BUF 18.78% PP this last season, CAR 18.70% PP. Buffalo pays Dahlin for poor PP%, but he's also an elite 60-point talent. (And they look much better when Zucker is on it operating behind the net and standing in front of the goalie.) By comparison, CAR pays Gostibehere $3.2M to be PP1 and Brent Burns $5.28M to be PP2. Essentially, what Buffalo pays Power ($8.35M) to not be an all-around guy. If Buffalo bridges Power, they can take $3M additional, group it with what they were paying either Joker (to be scratched) or Clifton to give a true top-4/2nd pairing all-zones guy $6M --- one who helps Power be the best he can be until he's ready to be that $8M player in two more years. It's why Buffalo can't afford Byram and Power to be a PP2. Not when, currently, neither of them is going to be any better leading their own pair than Gostisbehere.

I like this idea. I am absolutely not married to the idea of Levi becoming a franchise goalie. Demko has a lot of skill and IF he can stay healthy, can be a steal for Buffalo. And he is only signed for 1 more year

I’d also take Staal in the role over Adams tbf so either way I’m set if there’s a succession plan

Ya I just don’t see Staal commanding the respect necessary or having near the experience required to be the voice in the room that would come along with “GM.” He’s a glorified intern trainee at this time. If there’s a succession plan, it’s Adams to POHO, Jarmo to GM But it’s the sabres. So who knows right lol

I was referring to Grapevine, Texas, where he lived since age 9.

Jarmo would be the de facto GM Staals’ first couple years. People get wrapped up in titles. Teams do it all the time to keep assistants they want to keep, or like in St. Louis, to basically do on the job training.

We have a chance to finally not hire a first time GM and we’d install a completely green Staal in the role? No chance

If there is a planned succession, it’s more likely to end up Jarmo. POHC KA - President on the business side Eric Staal - GM

"What an advantage for us to have an NFL war room right at our fingertips." So... bigger screens and comfier chairs? What did you do last year? Watch TSN DraftCentre and NHL Network on laptops? Use a polycom and cell phones for intra-team conversations? Like, in previous years y'all sat at the same table and went over to talk to other GMs, then submitted a pick and went and walked up and announced it. You know what's more important? Scouting. Spending on quality scouts. Having good voices in the room. Listening to them. Having a plan. Not trading a 6th to move back one year and 25 picks for another 6th when the other team is trading "up". Spending to the cap and knowing how to build a team and a prospect pool. The war room is just a location. Maybe it gives you confidence? And if that's what you need to have a good draft, then I say ###'# ###### #### ###-#### ########### ##### ###.

I think it was decided to do the decentralised draft before the LV dome. No one really predicted that would be quite as good as it was. Will be shocked if it’s not back there tbh.

I have a feeling this is the only year they do this decentralized draft. Bettman is not for it and some of the teams are already regretting it,

But his draft picks are pretty good. Ironic, huh?

The bust is Kevyn Adams

LOL, so funny. So tell me, what Adams pick is a bust? Helenius? Östlund? Peterka? Benson? Kulich?

Forgot he's a Syracuse boy

Too bad if it’s not this summer. You are probably right about that aspect though. Just trying to see how this settles in, still, honestly. Can’t decide if I’m comfortable with it yet re: removing that conflict of viewing interest I have mentioned, personally. It’s certainly a good move. Whether it’s satisfactory for me I’m still deciding

I honestly don’t even think about goalie upgrades. We are going on 6 years now it’s just not an area Adams addresses. I guess with Jarmo in the fold I should at least start considering the possibility If we see a substantial move, it’s likely due to his influence

@Brawndo you can be our mole in the draft room and whisper @LGR4GM draft suggestions to those in the room making the selections. If caught, do what an accomplished spy would do i.e deny, deny and continue to deny. If that doesn’t work just spill the beans and blame @Pimlach for the espionage plot. He’s expendable.

He's going to draft D in the first for sure then, or trade out of the round.

Adams has been in the Bills Draft Room the first night of the draft the past few years

Just because he can play on his off-hand, doesn’t mean he should. Dahlin provides flexibility that other defenders do not but for planning, it needs to be RD. In addition, others on the farm (little Nikita and RJ) are LD and will soon need a vet RD to support. Let’s cross that bridge now in stead of waiting like they did with Owen.

Upon some reflection, I think JK is likely to be the next GM, but it hasn't been promised to him and it won't be this summer. I think TP wants to take a look at JK, see how things go this summer with JK a full participant and see how the season starts off. If it's a poop show, KA is gone and TP can decide about JK at that point. If it goes well and the team looks good, he can decide about both of them at that point. No one is hiring either of them away in the meantime. From JK's perspective, the 2024 and 2025 GM hiring seasons went by and he wasn't able to grab a spot. So this keeps him in the NHL and in the on deck circle for a GM job that is reasonably likely to open up soon (and for a billionaire owner who hasn't done so lately but previously spent to the cap and showered the franchise with money). That's a pretty good landing spot and probably the best one he could find.

I think it might be because those centers don't have consensus on who's best. Desnoyers, O'Brien, McQueen, Frondell, and perhaps Martin all have debates around how to rank them. Martone is pretty much locked into 3-4