thewookie1

A small addon would be, if Scheifele was interested in being a Sabres leader and culture fixer perhaps he could work given the right circumstances. Essentially could he and few other players get us to the playoffs and reset this franchise after this whole terrible decade. And then allow us to fix the whole system from prospects up. Does he have a never say die, do anything to win, persona? Could he help give us a new identity and help guide the young players we have coming through the ranks?

The Athletic had an article regarding Dahlin's next contract and it boiled down to 2x5.5mil or 8x8mil Since on my scenario we'd have Cozens, Jokiharju, and Turcotte all coming off their respective contracts after 2 years. That's why I went long term with Dahlin who's agent turns out to be the same as Skinner's *ugh* On the topic of Eichel & Reinhart for Scheifele & Ehlers, I wouldn't do it. Let's just equate their present stats as equal. Scheifele is 28 and under contract for 3x6.125mil Ehlers is 25 and under contract for 4x6mil Reinhart is 25 and would likely get 7x7mil Eichel is 24 and has 5x10mil The major problem comes to Scheifele being much older than Eichel and under contract 3 more years versus 5. But worse, he's approaching the age where players drop off and they always seem to do that here. Ehlers vs Reinhart is more of a toss up. They both are 25 and contribute similar numbers but in different ways. IF Scheifele was a couple years younger I'd be far more willing as his timeline would line up better with the youngsters. In reality, we'd have him around 2 years as a solid to great player and 1 year of mediocre to solid play. Barring him turning into Gordie Howe, he will begin to waste away by the end of the contract meaning we'd either have no 1C, have to pray who we still have has become a legit 1C, pay Scheifele a lot to just likely be mediocre and kind of hold the 1C spot, or end up with a lesser version of our 2011/2012 teams where we had no 1C.

I'd make sure we can extend him, prior to any trade, at about 8 mil, after all he trended down last year. I've got Eichel, Johnson, and Thompson for Zary, Tkachuk, Lindholm, 2021 1st and 2022 3rd Risto to Anaheim for their 2021 2nd and 2022 3rd BUF 2021 2nd and 2022 3rd for Garland Olofsson & Reinhart to LAK for Turcotte, 2021 1st and TOR's 2022 3rd Skinner - Lindholm - Garland Tkachuk - Mitts - Cozens Ruots - Turcotte - Bjork Asplund - Girgs - 4RW Dahlin - Jokiharju McCabe - Borgen Bryson - VET Ullmark Mrazek Okposo is a scratch presently Signings: Garland 4x4.5mil McCabe 1x2.5mil Ullmark 3x4.5mil Mrazek 1x3.5mil Mitts 5x3mil Dahlin 8x8mil Tkachuk 6x8mil extension Jokiharju 2x2.5mil Borgen 3x1.5mil Asplund 2x1.35mil We'd still have 11.7mil in cap space for the remaining holes.

If you can get him to sign 5x3mil you do that, otherwise bridge him

Wouldn’t do Eichel + Reinhart for 2 Dmen, a Forward and a 1st. Then we’d have way to many D without any offense

I like Lindholm, but without any extension this really doesn't help us much. 3OA will take another 2 to 3 years to get here and contribute and I want to compete immediately. (Essentially playoffs or not, I want a team that is both entertaining and capable of making the playoffs if a few things go our way.)

Typo, you said we signed Peterka next year

Zegras would be key to me, he's a potential 1C and a bit into his development already. 3OA we are looking at 2 to 3 years down the line and that is unacceptable. My offer on CapFriendly was: Eichel & Olofsson for Zegras, Comtois, Henrique, 2021 2nd, 2022 2nd, and 2023 2nd The 2022 2nd becomes a 2022 1st if Eichel plays 41 games or gets 40 points. (This 2022 1st is Lottery Protected) If they decide to use that condition, the 2022 2nd stays a 2nd and instead the 2023 2nd becomes a 1st but not protected.

Perhaps in the end we tanked too hard; we needed a 1C primarily because no team of middling centers would get us anywhere in the playoffs unless Miller played out of his mind. The other thought I have is that McDavid was so integral to Murray's plans that not getting him specifically set his entire strategy into a tailspin. Essentially, regardless of the skill difference between Eichel and McDavid; it was the personality that was the biggest difference. Eichel was a brash Bostonian kid who devoured his savior of the franchise moniker. He's not a bad guy, just more aggressive in his persona. McDavid is the stereotypical Canadian player; very competitive still but far more outwardly quiet and boring. I highly doubt McDavid becomes best buds with Evander Kane and even if given the Captaincy, ROR likely backs down and never sulks due to who the player was. Furthermore McDavid would of been more likely to side with Gionta's supposed faction. Effectively our acquisitions worked better on paper with a McDavid personality type better than an Eichel type. What we needed was either a couple very well known players which Eichel would of been so star-struck he would of listened to whatever they said or a Joe Thornton type who is a bit crazy but a masterful manipulator in terms of channeling the more brash youngsters into pouring it into their on ice play.

A curiosity I've always had is whether Eichel isn't a good team player or he's unintentionally made look that way. As in, when Eichel plays, 90% of the team merely defaults to giving him the puck and standing around. Yet when he was injured the players actually seemed to try and adjust and work together game to game. Does Eichel demand the puck constantly? Alternatively it could be the other 22 players wanting Eichel to literally carry them to wins so they personally don't have to worry about it; and without that pressure release they are all forced to play harder. Dahlin is one of the few players who, when confident, never merely deferred to Eichel. Yet when he wasn't confident he was just as willing to force feed Eichel. Perhaps, Eichel isn't a bad guy or teammate but he's been placed on this pedestal. Most of the team never get their confidence up and thus immediately give up and hand it off to their best player. When Eichel was out, guys like Mitts and Reinhart seemed to honestly grow up. There was no Eichel safety blanket; figure it out or just keep losing. Essentially an even less successful version of the Oilers reliance on McDavid and Draisital to effectively carry the team. In a strange sense, I wonder if that's what we did wrong to begin with. We gave players this idea that all we need to do is ride Eichel to success instead of a team working towards the playoffs. Essentially if all the players feel they are truly important to a piece of the whole, an Eichel will actually be a full-blown star since he's merely the cherry on top of a solid team. All superstars thrive when they are a major cog within a machine versus the only cog.

Well I guess that keeps all the targets still on the board

I say we just stick out our middle finger and start aggressively talking with Anaheim.

That's aggravating, I guess we move on to the Ducks because I refuse to keep him in the East. Or better yet, you figure out how to mend the fences seeing as there are zero scenarios in which we are better next year without Eichel than we are with him.

My personal sources have alluded to him liking to drink, not to an alcoholic level mind you, but he's very fond of drinking. It certainly has always lingered about Eichel not being a great leader. Though if anything, I wonder why his off-ice persona with the media went from civilized captain for one year to being right back to miserable grumpy Jack we got again this year. I can understand being pissed off Botts didn't go after something at the deadline to help them last year but to regress the way he did is unusual.

🤣

Its more they have the same GM and he's already proven he'll fleece you when given any opening.

Seeing as he's been in only 3 playoffs during his career I can't exactly be angry that the Pegula's couldn't look into a crystal ball and know how Hall would play in a regular playoff series.

Not interested to be honest, Robert Thomas has fallen off a cliff after their Cup Run and Tarasenko hasn't been the same since his 1st major injury. Plus I won't trade with St. Louis after the ROR deal.

1st trade is ok, but I'd want an extra conditional 2nd in 2022 that becomes a protected 1st in 2022 based on Eichel's games played/points. The 2nd trade feels to risky on our part. Reinhart has got better every year whereas Monahan has become far worse these past two seasons and I see no reason to believe he'd bounce back due to the trade. Rasmus Andersson is a certainly interesting player but this past year and 2 years ago he was only a tad better than Risto analytically while logging easier minutes. So I'd have to pass as of now. Trade #3 is obviously tied to Trade #2 but in a vacuum I don't have a problem with it. Garland just seems ready to take off while presently not breaking the bank to sign him. Trade #4 again isn't terrible, although trading Asplund and Bryson for only a slightly better version of Asplund seems redundant. I'm not a fan of Schwartz, he hasn't played all that well since the Blues Cup run and will be looking for a long term lucrative contract. Goaltending is a fickle thing, I have difficulty trusting Driedger due to his 1 hit wonder potential. Raanta is a solid goalie but often injured. To be honest I'd rather just keep Ullmark over Raanta due to age, seeing as both miss 40% of the season anyway. Driedger would be a very cap hit based decision. All in all, interesting but there are some serious frightful outcomes that could spiral from this roster. The Defense, for instance would be fielding 3 rookies, 2 players coming off their ELCs and a guy who is coming off his worst season of his career. (Not exactly a great situation)

Yes, and No. You need high skill and speed to win during the regular season whereas playoff hockey requires more attention to dirty goals and defensive play. Both work in the opposite situation but are far less effective generally. To win a Stanley Cup or at least advance in the playoffs you need: - Both high skill and depth for skaters - A goalie who can step up and generally handles high pressure very well - Full buy in to the Playoff System being used - Star players either need to contribute with points heavily or play suffocating defense/check/ etc when unable to put up points. - A few depth vets that can help steer the ship and to be honest its rather paradoxical. As a rule of thumb, any vet worth anything, still seem to de-age about 10 years when you get to the playoffs.

Post Expansion Draft, sure I'd spend a 3rd on him but otherwise I don't see much of a purpose.

I think that's a bit inaccurate; I highly doubt the Sabres would deal him from an extremely weak position regardless the situation.

Hypothetically if Buffalo acquired pick 8, and we took Power 1st Overall how would you use it? If there was a run on forwards would you take Hughes at 8 even after drafting Power? Ideally there’s a run on Dmen and Detroit takes the goalie leaving us with 1/3 of the top forwards still around such as Johnson, Guenther, or Eklund

If we end up with #8 from the Kings, he’d certainly be near the top if not the top choice for me.

Would Owen Power become the spokesperson for Integris Energy seeing as he’d now literally be the “power behind the Buffalo Sabres?”