nfreeman

I feel your pain gentlemen. But the bed was made. Risto was almost certainly not re-signing here unless a semi-miraculous turnaround occurred. So this was the right asset management move, and KA got more value than I think most here expected (including me). It also looks like KA is sticking with his "I only want guys who want to be here" approach -- hello, @Thorny They still need a few roughnecks who are both nasty and good enough to play big roles. I'll miss Risto and wish him well, although not for the GD Flyers. Onward.

If true, this reflects well on KA.

Tick tock... Anyone wanna change his/her vote?

This is fair. My point was more that the decision as to whether to draft Power shouldn't be informed by the loss of Borgen, since they play different sides.

It doesn't really matter what the Sabres could've gotten in trade for Borgen. What matters is what he was worth to them -- i.e. what they would've accepted in trade for him. The return for Risto needs to be higher than that. Otherwise, they made a mistake in exposing Borgen instead of Risto (unless they get Borgen back via waivers).

Well, as I've said previously, losing Borgen will constitute bad asset management unless (i) the return for Risto clearly exceeds Borgen's value or (ii) they reclaim Borgen from waivers. Both of these are quite possible IMHO, but so is the bad asset management outcome.

Also, FWIW, Borgen is RHD and Power is LHD, where the Sabres are deep. Having said that, I'm fine with Power if he's BPA.

Damning with faint praise was exactly my intention. We all have our whipping boys -- I'll freely admit that Roy was one of mine. But I don't think he by any stretch was a "very good NHL 2C." More like a guy who could put up good empty-calorie numbers in the regular season on a high-scoring team. However, I agree that Mitts becoming another Roy would be a good outcome for Mitts given where he was before DG took over.

I don't doubt you, but again -- he turned down an offer for a deal that the NHL almost certainly would not have approved. They weren't going to approve a deal that moved the Sabres and they absolutely weren't going to approve a sale to Balsillie. So I don't think it was any great noble gesture by TG, since there was no sacrifice. Just the opposite, in fact -- he claimed credit for not doing something he wasn't going to be allowed to do anyway.

We've been over this before. There is zero evidence in support of either of the statements in the bolded sentence, both of which arise from self-serving statements made by TG and LQ, and a million years' worth of reality justifying skepticism. The NHL almost certainly would've prohibited a buyer from moving the Sabres, so the "turned down a better offer" point is really "turned down an offer for a better deal that would never have closed". And the no-move clause almost certainly includes loopholes based on financial thresholds, which the Sabres almost certainly are going to fail to meet next year. Until the agreement, or at least the no-move clause, is published, it can't be taken seriously. And did you see me say anything about the accuracy of the $300MM number?

I voted Mitts for last season, since he went from being a completely useless sack of flesh on the ice to someone who looked like he could develop into a Derek Roy type -- i.e. a credible 3C who isn't what you want at 1C or 2C and is probably useless in the playoffs but can center a lower-lineup scoring line, put up numbers in the regular season and take some pressure off the top 6. I said Cozens for this coming season, mostly out of hope that he has a great season that will contrast with an injury-marred rookie year in which he showed flashes but didn't produce much.

This is very, very far from certain. This may be reported in Forbes or somewhere similar, but TP almost certainly wouldn't get this number if he were to sell now. I can't speak for @Xzy89c, but I would assume the $300MM is just total cash burn and doesn't include changes in the value of the team.

Well, if they get a solid prospect and a 2nd-rounder for Risto, that's a pretty decent return and probably enough to justify exposing Borgen. Of course it will depend on how good of a player Borgen becomes. I'm not sure that I'd want the Sabres to give up a mid-2nd-round pick plus, say, Portillo or Johnson for Borgen.

@WildCard -- is the question "which of the 3 will be moved at or before the draft?" or is it "which of the 3 will be moved before the start of the season?" Or other?

@Buffalonill -- When someone corrects your factual assertions, you need to check your facts and you absolutely need to stop wasting everyone's time. He wasn't an all-star and he didn't play in the all-star game. He was selected for some rookie skills competition. Those are 2 different things. Claiming late afternoon is the same as midnight or 2+2=5 isn't good hockey talk.

Sekera does not belong on this list. Next season will be his 14th in the NHL, he's averaged 20 min per game and has always been an excellent skater.

I think it's pretty much impossible that the Habs would let Price go after that SCF run in which he was their MVP.

Indeed. I think @GASabresIUFAN needs to come up with a name here to justify all of this sturm and drang.

Well this thread sure took a turn. Good riddance.

Well, I think “squandering” works if you think there was a better way of handling the situation that would’ve resulted in a better outcome.

Also fair and there are probably a bunch of GMs who would come to the same conclusion in wargaming this out. I wouldn’t fret about losing Borgen though if I knew he would end up being a Carrier-level player. I do fret about mismanaging our way into losing a McKee-level or McCabe-level player, which I believe is a significant step up in asset quality from Carrier-level.

Possibly. Certainly Driedger is a better asset. I’d guess that most of the guys taken though will be in the same approximate neighborhood of asset quality/current market value as Borgen, with similar uncertainty and a wide range of outcomes. I think at that point it comes down to being right about as to a guy’s potential and likelihood of his reaching it. I like what I’ve seen from Borgen so far and think he could be a McCabe-like legit 2nd pair guy who is tough and steady in his D zone, sticks up for his teammates, makes the other team pay a price and has a long NHL career. If I’m right about him, then that’s a better asset than 2/3 of the guys who are going to be taken by Seattle.

Good call. I don’t think the Sabres will get more than that for Risto, but they’ll probably get something like that at the deadline. I guess that means the question is whether you’d rather have a low 2nd rounder or Borgen.

He’s an asset that has a reasonable chance of becoming a solid contributor. Good organizations don’t squander assets of this caliber.

Maybe they inquired. I think the price would’ve been exorbitant.