nfreeman

Hall and Jack are both fast, powerful, pass-first guys who can also score a lot of goals. They will set each other up and complement each other beautifully. Meanwhile, VO, also fast, is much less able a playmaker than the other 2, but might be a better finisher. The mind reels.

BTW, Staal is another party whose spirits about the Sabres might've been flagging but who is undoubtedly more excited about this team after the Hall signing.

OK, but a good goalie on a 2-year deal will cost something, and I'd rather give up next year's #2 than, say, Borgen or Mittlestadt.

Well, I can't speak for others on this but I am interpreting statements by Hall, KA and RK as pretty consistently indicating that the plan is for Hall to be on Jack's wing.

I agree on targeting AZ, but I'd rather have Risto than Gogo. And if AZ is dumping a goalie, they want more than $1MM in cap space. I think they want picks/prospects. Next year's #2 for Kuemper maybe?

Well, I just listened to Hall's presser. Great stuff, and highly recommended. He's honest, articulate, earnest and is very psyched to be here. I think he's going to put up a big year and then re-sign here. And then we'll have a better combo on our top line than Matthews and Marner for the next 5 years.

I agree with most of this, but I also think Skinner wants to play with Eichel and was PO'd about not doing so last year, and some frustration with that and with crappy linemates crept into his play. I'd guess that he was hoping to play there this coming season. However, I think that if Staal is up to the task -- and there is a good chance he is -- Skinner-Staal-Reino could be a terrific 2nd line, and I think Skinner would buy in, play hard and score a ton of goals again. Good call here. A bit miffed, maybe, but not at Hall. As noted upthread he'll probably take it as a challenge and turn up his game.

Maybe. I don't think the Sabres will get much beyond, say, a 2nd and a 3rd, which will be selling Montour low. I will get over my disappointment pretty quickly though when I start thinking about the playoffs, which I think will be there for the taking with a MAF/Linus combo in net. EDIT: the problem though is that taking Montour and Hutton means that Vegas doesn't get much cap relief, which is their reason for trading MAF to begin with.

Toffoli is a good player, and I would've been happy with him at that contract if Hall had signed elsewhere, but I greatly prefer Hall on the one-year deal to 4 years of Toffoli. Hall is more explosive and productive. Hall also increases team speed, while Toffoli would've decreased it -- and there are already 2 slowpokes in the top 6 in Staal and Reino. Most importantly, signing Hall sends a huge message to Eichel, the rest of the team and the rest of the NHL that the Sabres are not giving up and resigning themselves to Mickey Mouse franchise status. Interesting. You could be right about this.

So...do we think in the 1st tweet he meant to say "was fantastic" instead of "wasn't fantastic?" Otherwise it doesn't make much sense. Wow. So he was ready for a long-term deal and the Sabres got him to take a 1-year deal? That is some great salesmanship by KA, RK and TP/KP.

That's pretty interesting and will likely factor into Reino's thinking and perhaps Hall's as well.

Awesome.

This is what I've been wrestling with after the initial shock and awe of the Hall signing dissipated. They need a goalie, and anyone looking to trade a goalie will want the Sabres to absorb a $3MM-$5MM cap hit in the deal. The Sabres won't be able to do so unless they separately unload Miller, Montour or (less likely) Risto in a deal where they aren't taking back much cap, or they decide not to bring back Ullmark, Reino or VO. I don't think the Sabres would dump Montour or Risto for a mediocre draft pick, but they might do so for Miller. I also don't think that they would decide not to bring back Ullmark, Reino or VO. I hope the outcome isn't that they stand pat at goalie. That would be a loser JB move.

So, RK made it sound this morning like he's optimistic that things can work out such that Hall stays here longer than 1 year. If that happens, the Sabres would have big, long-term deals with Eichel, Skinner, Hall and presumably Dahlin. If the Sabres want to retain flexibility -- which appears to be an organizational priority -- and the flexibility they want includes the flexibility to keep Hall, I think they are less likely to give Reino the kind of long-term deal that he would accept. It all depends on how much KA and RK like Reino, of course, but it seems like it would be consistent with their current approach to give Reino a short-term extension and see how things play out.

Based on the WGR interview with RK, it seems pretty clear that Hall will be playing with Jack, and pretty likely that VO and Cozens will play RW. RK stressed the flexibility and multitude of options they have, but I think he's thinking: Hall-Eichel-VO Skinner-Staal-Reino Reider/TT-Eakin-Cozens Zemgus-Lazar-KO

So, Vogl’s article in the Athletic tonight about the Hall signing mentioned briefly that they are negotiating an extension with Reino. No further deets.

SabreSpace insider @john wawrow: https://apnews.com/article/edmonton-oilers-nhl-edmonton-taylor-hall-hockey-169763225eec3e3839a6bf603db4e068

So, a few weeks ago, if someone had told us that the Sabres had added Taylor Hall and Eric Staal to their top 6, AND that Cozens was such a force of nature in training camp that he forced his way in and Reino to 3RW, I think 97% of us would have been insanely psyched for opening night. And, as long as we're entertaining the idea, it's worth noting that Reino is an RFA, and the Sabres just gave Montour, also an RFA, a contract that walked him to UFA. A 2-year contract would similarly walk Reino to UFA. If they gave him that contract, the Sabres might find themselves, next offseason, in the position of choosing between a fat extension for Hall and a fat extension for Reino. That would be an interesting subplot, and would probably motivate both guys throughout the season, and would lend extra weight to the question of which one plays with Eichel.

I think it's still possible that they bring him back, but it would certainly be at their terms, and he'll probably have to wait for them to make a bunch of other moves and then see if there's a spot and any money for him left.

Well, I sure like Hall for 1 season at $8MM at age 29 in a contract year more than TJ at age 30 for 4 years x $5MM. Well done, Sabres.

I think it's pretty unlikely that KO pushes into the top 6. He is in a pronounced decline IMHO and will get about 10-11 min per night on the 4th line with Zemgus and either Lazar or Reider. I think they think that Eakin will be the 3C with some combo of TT, Cozens and VO and that they'll be able to get much more 2ndary scoring than they have in the past few years. I would love this.

Oh, yeah. That's the good stuff right there.

I was thinking the same thing. It's very possible, but I'd guess that it's not an absolute requirement in the Sabres' perspective -- I think they will continue to be flexible. E.g. if they trade for Fleury they might rather include Hutton in the deal than Monty or Miller, or Vegas might prefer it, and then do a separate transaction involving the D (or not if the right one doesn't present itself).

Welcome and please keep posting!

I think there is a very low likelihood of this happening this coming season, BUT if he is stuck in Rochester all year, and the Sabres are good, and he gets to see what a good team looks like, and how hard he has to work and how much he has to deliver to be part of a good team, it might be the best possible thing for him in the long term.