nfreeman

From the Athletic's Winnipeg Jets writer (Murat Ates) yesterday: This leads me to a few conclusions: - No one has yet offered Winnipeg something on the level of Kulich or Savoie -- i.e. a crown-jewel-level prospect -- for Helle without an extension as part of the deal. - It's pretty likely that no one is going to offer a crown-jewel-level prospect for Helle without an extension as part of the deal. - It's pretty likely that no one is going to offer Helle a fat extension at this point. - Chevy is doing what he needs to do in order to avoid losing all leverage in trade negotiations -- i.e. claim that he would like to keep Helle for next year -- and Helle is, so far, playing ball by not publicly demanding a trade. - However, it's likely that the underlying facts have not changed -- i.e. the Jets are rebuilding and Helle isn't interested in sticking around for that. - So, what is most likely happening is that Chevy is playing chicken with KA (and any other GM who is interested in trading for Helle) -- but it's pretty likely that Chevy is going to have to reduce his asking price to account for the limited demand for a good player who is only 1 year from UFA. - KA knows this and is happy to wait until the price drops, even though doing so increases the risk of not bringing in a meaningful upgrade in net.

Regarding Hanifan, IMHO it's worth noting that none of him, Pesce and Helle -- all of whom have 1 year left before UFA -- has been traded yet. Cap space is tight around the NHL, and I would guess that is depressing the trade market for good-to-excellent players who are close to UFA and want fat extensions.

I said 1 season of Helle, not 1 season of Hart. OK. I don't agree at all, but I appreciate you staking out a specific position on this.

And are you trading Savoie or Kulich for 1 year of Helle, or is that only with an extension as part of the deal? And if you are giving Helle an extension -- are you giving him $9MM per year x 6 years? And thus writing Levi out of the Sabres' plans? Because that's what it will cost and that's what it will mean.

OK, but IRL, are you trading JJP or Kulich or Savoie or Benson for Gibson, Hart or 1 year of Helle?

Not sure where I saw it -- maybe on Twitter -- but someone posted that before Boston traded for Orlov, CC played something like 18 games with Hamphuis Lindholm, and in those games, CC's offensive fancystats were outstanding.

Like the other goalie thread: yes, yes and a fair amount.

How about a poll you hoser?

Wow. I really enjoyed reading that thread. Recommended to all. Some nuggets (recognizing that these are all message board Avs fan takes):

This is the kind of ill-conceived crap that you just all too frequently belch out onto your keyboard. It annoys everyone and detracts from everyone's experience on this board. It's not about being pessimistic about the team or any individual move. It's the wasting of everyone's time with utterly thoughtless takes. Eliminate these types of posts and everyone will be happier.

I voted yes, yes and a fair amount. I am not giving up a top-3 prospect (which I assume does not include Quinn, JJP or Levi, but does include Benson, Savoie and Kulich) at this point in time for any goalie in the NHL.

I would love it if they signed Tarasenko, but he's not coming here. The Sabres would need more than the 1 Russian they currently have on the roster to keep him out of Florida, California or NYC.

I do not think KA would give up Joki, who just turned 24 and who played 21 min per game last year and will play pretty close to that amount this year, for Helle. I think the absolute highest KA would go for Helle is the 2024 #1 and either VO or UPL -- and I kinda don't think he would do that unless Winnipeg's 2024 #2 were coming back. Well, this was a fair amount of pointless bickering. It's obvious that at the end of this year, one of you thinks KA will have 4 years on the job, and the other thinks the first year shouldn't count. There are valid points on both sides.

I think it's about 70% likely that the Sabres do not bring in a goalie, and they solve their roster issues by sending Bryson and either Stillman or Comrie to Rochester. None of those 3 is likely to be claimed, and if he is, it's not a big loss.

This is probably true — my point was just that 1 year of Helle isn’t the right deal to part with an asset of that caliber IMHO (and I think I KA’s opinion too).

I asked this in the Benson thread and I’ll ask it again: would any of those who were advocating to trade #13 for Helle now trade Benson for Helle? I’m assuming the answer is no, but if not please correct me. At this point, is anyone on board with trading any of the following for Helle (and I think an extension would almost certainly not be part of the deal): Kulich Savoie Rosen Östlund JJP 2024 #1 Of the assets on this list, I would only trade the 2024 #1 for Helle, and I’m not sure KA would trade any of them.

Now this sounds like Tim Murray with coins burning a hole in his pocket. I agree, and I think that means they either keep 8 D, or keep 7 D and waive the other one of Stillman/Bryson. It's reasonably likely that both would clear waivers (and Bryson is close to a lock to clear IMHO), at which point they become good depth in Rochester. Dahlin-Mule Power-Clifton/Joki Johnson/Loobie - Clifton/Joki Johnson/Loobie Stillman-Bryson I agree with much of both of these, but I put the odds of a Joki trade at less than 50% and I think there will be an ongoing competition between CC and Joki for the spot opposite Power.

I don't think this will happen today, but I think it will happen in the next week or so.

Here's a 31-year-old top-4 LHD who has played over 20.5 min per game for Pittsburgh for the last 7 years:

Huh?

I would gladly take Tarasenko on a 1-year deal, but he's not coming here.

If the Sabres want to bring in a forward on a short-term deal to fill Quinn's spot this season, how about Blake Wheeler or Matt Duchene, both of whom are being bought out? Both have scoring skill and a ton of experience, and neither would be expensive.

I agree with all of this, although I think JJP is close to Quinn in terms of upside. Still it would be much better to have both of them. As I said upthread, best case is a full recovery and Quinn becoming a contributor before the end of the season.

ESPN says it's a ruptured achilles: https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/37933899/reports-sabres-forward-jack-quinn-suffers-ruptured-achilles That stinks.

Well, that would be amazing. Datsyuk was a freaking fantastic player.