nfreeman

Please forgive me, Mr. Grumpy! I thought the poll was worthwhile. Do you not find the results interesting?

I agree with much of this, but I think the bolded is not correct. There have been multiple reports from credible hockey writers that the injury is a major concern. Scott Burnside: https://theathletic.com/2690216/2021/07/07/is-this-the-nhls-summer-of-the-blockbuster-here-are-5-stars-who-could-be-traded/?article_source=search&search_query=eichel Michael Russo: https://theathletic.com/2689856/2021/07/06/wild-fan-survey-3-0-results-whats-it-worth-to-get-eichel-how-hard-to-push-in-kaprizov-talks/?article_source=search&search_query=eichel Elliotte Friedman: https://info.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/another-issue-emerges-in-potential-jack-eichel-trade?fbclid=IwAR3sAHiGBDbNhUVe1PJheQ5PygTDOkobM33YAWWENpgzEFdfW_tA8cbQVqA As for the reason KA hasn't said that he is assuming Eichel will remain a Sabre, this could simply be him trying to pump up the bidding frenzy -- i.e. trying to make the other GMs think that they are going to miss the boat if they don't pony up their crown jewels in the next 2 weeks. And while you are right that KA may simply be trying to squeeze more out of the interested buyers, it's also possible that he hasn't taken Comtois/3OA or the other offers because those offers may be contingent on the buyer getting comfortable with Eichel's health status, which KA may not want to agree to, or the offers may otherwise not be real. We'll see.

I doubt they would give up a good asset like a high 2nd-rounder for an expensive defenseman with lousy analytics and 1 season left before UFA.

FWIW, I think KA wants to trade him, but only for a rich package, and the injury creates a very real possibility that no one will offer a rich enough package, which in turn creates the possibility that he starts the season here -- and if that happens, and if the rest/rehab approach has worked, he could look like MVP-level Eichel, which would probably drive up KA's price, creating a longer period for him to play for DG and perhaps enjoy it, or perhaps make KA change his mind about keeping him, and give rise to the possibility of a reconciliation between Eichel and KA. Is it likely that all those ifs break just the right way so that he ends up staying? Definitely not. But possible.

Totally agree with the 1st 2 paragraphs -- there was a ton of wishful thinking around the Vegas expansion draft, and some of it is inevitable now. Not really on board with the last part though (although I think many here are), as I think KO is a net negative on the ice at this point.

Oooooooooooohhhh.

Interesting, but tricky to execute -- because as soon as KA starts providing names to the Kraken, they would know whom KA wants, which would eliminate their incentive to trade up from #2. I suppose they could do something clever like the Darcy napkin approach. But if they can work out the mechanics, I would do this in a heartbeat -- and it would be a great move by KA to shed KO without giving up anything of value. I totally agree with the bolded -- NFW would I give up a 2nd-rounder for them to take KO. But I would agree to make Miller available in the expansion draft if that's whom the Kraken want. Also, you're right that the Sabres aren't immediately desperate for cap space, but I think it's still a valuable commodity.

I agree, but it just seems like Seattle would require a much better sweetener than a 3rd or meh prospect.

So does that graph mean that 22-year-old defensemen contribute substantially more to wins than 28-year-old defensemen? If so, it's another reason to be skeptical of WAR, which to me seems like the least reliable analytical stat because my understanding is that it is built on assumptions on top of assumptions.

I think anonymous voting tends to give rise to higher participation and more accurate results, so would rather not make the poll results public. But I encourage anyone so inclined to declare how he/she voted.

Exactly. I'd also note that it's pretty unlikely that the Sabres get a better player than Marner in return if/when they trade Eichel.

At this point, we've heard plenty of speculation, although not many facts, about his injury, about KA's allegedly high asking price, about the teams who are interested, about what Jack wants and about what the Sabres want. The NHL season is over. We've been waiting for the shoe to drop for some time now. Is it going to happen in the next 2 weeks or not? Specifically, will Eichel be traded on or before the end of the first round of the draft, which is 2 weeks from today? I voted no -- I think the injury is creating uncertainty in the minds of the other GMs and driving down the prices they are willing to pay, to the point that their offers aren't good enough for KA to accept. Let's see what our collective wisdom thinks is going to happen.

FWIW, the Athletic's mock draft had Eklund falling to #9.

Now that is a beautiful spot, and is, in fact, where the salad dressing originated. If you can make it to the Canadian side, there is a great duty free store there to load up on booze and cigars.

Of course, but I am skeptical that any medical team is going to give an "I'm highly confident that Jack is going to be at 100% in October" determination to a trading partner -- I think it's much more likely that the medical advice will be qualified with enough uncertainty as to put the GM into the land of playing the percentages.

I think you're right that some won't entertain it, but I think others will simply play the percentages and discount their offers.

Good work inky.

Well, it seems like a million years ago, but I and I think most here thought the sky was the limit on Middlestadt when he was drafted. Reputable NHL writers were pretty high on him -- I think it was Corey Pronman who had him as the top prospect outside the NHL after the Sabres drafted him. Would the fan base have been excited to trade him for, say, Tyler Toffoli, who had just turned 25 and was a solid #2C? I kinda think we wouldn't have been that psyched about a trade like that.

Even in the GWN, sir, "lowsy" is not an accepted spelling. To my eye he looked unhappy on the ice too. Would you not be pretty surprised if he signed a long-term deal here this summer? I agree that he played well and conducted himself like a professional, and I'd like him back too.

It's an interesting question. The prudent move for him is to take $40MM or so if someone offers it, and someone probably will. He just seemed so unhappy this season (to me, anyway, although I know many here disagreed) that it seems likely that he won't sign a long-term deal here, at least not this summer, and, if he's traded, that he'll want to take his time and evaluate the new situation before signing a long-term deal with the new team.

OK, but do you think they'll get a top-10 pick for him? As for Hall and ROR, I don't think those examples support either side of the "Sabres stink" issue. They don't support your side because the Sabres received lousy value in both cases. They don't support my side because the lousy value wasn't due to Sabres stink IMHO -- it was because the Sabres had very few or no options (in Hall's case because of the NMC and in ROR's case because of the bonus deadline and JB's mishandling of the situation), so their trade partners had all the leverage.

You're right. What I meant was that he'll turn 27 at the start of the contract he signs at the beginning of his UFA period -- i.e. if he signs a 1-year deal now and then an extension with either the Sabres or his new team -- but of course that won't happen if he signs a long-term deal now. Yes on the charity wager, assuming we'll be reasonable if there are multiple pieces involved in the trade. $20 to the charity of the winner's choice? And, for good karma, we both donate if he starts the season with the Sabres? As for whether Staal is a fair comparable -- it's not a bad comparable, but I do think there is some daylight between them -- enough that I'm confident making the wager anyway.

Reino has Sabres stink on him, is a UFA in 1 year, will turn 27 at the beginning of his next contract, is a slow skater in a league that gets faster every year and, I'd guess, would be rated lower by at least 28 NHL GMs than Jordan Staal was rated at the time of that trade (when Staal was 23 and still far away from UFA). Reino is a good player that I'd like to keep, but top-10 picks are traded very rarely for a reason, and I don't see the Sabres getting one for him. I suppose it's more likely if Reino signs an extension as part of the trade, but that is also pretty unusual, and I think Reino might be disinclined to do so in light of the horrorshow he will have just escaped.

I think it's more accurate to say that they couldn't afford to match the FA offer he got from STL once they let his contract expire in July 2006 and he was able to solicit offers as a UFA -- in much the same clever way they handled Drury and Briere. Could they have afforded to sign him to an extension in the summer of 2005? We'll never know, but I'd bet the answer is yes.

I'll be very surprised if he signs a long-term deal with the Sabres this summer. I think he wants to see real improvement on the ice and organizationally before he commits the rest of his prime to this franchise. I do think it's possible that he signs a 1- or 2-year deal with the Sabres this summer and then a longer extension if they are able to turn it around, but it's more likely IMHO that he'll be traded this summer.