dudacek

Staal was two months shy of his 24th birthday and a 6th-year pro, a year away from unrestricted free agency coming off a season of 50 points, which was his career high. Reinhart is seven months past his 25th birthday and a 6th-year pro, a year away from unrestricted free agency coming off a season of 40 points, and a career high of 65. As far as comparables go, they are a lot closer than you say. I am very confident that Sam will get a top 10 pick or similar prospect. Care to make a charity wager?

I would suspect that Vancouver at 9 and LA at 8 would add sweeteners for Sam. He’s definitely comparable to Jordan Staal, when Staal was traded for 8, Doumoulin and Sutter,

There is a large segment of (mostly non-Sabre) fandom that thinks this is about Jack forcing his way out. But anyone who has watched this develop should have no doubt it is Adams-initiated. He pretty clearly thinks that Jack is a detriment to the culture he wants to build. That said, Jack is also pretty clearly ready for a change and has very little faith that the organization is capable of giving him the support he needs. It’s broken relationship with both parties ready to move on - a divorce.

While I think Matty Beniers would quickly become one of my favourite players and I drool over the thought of alternating him and Cozens in their primes, I am all in on Eklund at #1.

100 per cent agree with your first 2 sentences. Really worried about Casey and Dylan as 1C and 2C next year and I wonder about the cost/benefit of keeping Sam until the deadline versus signing or acquiring (a likely inferior) someone else to protect them.

Hall had an NMC. And he also had 2 goals and quit on his team. Sabres still got 2 pieces.

Will they be interested? Apparently? The Avs have one of the most star-studded rosters in the league and will have to buck up big time in the next year or two for Grubauer, Makar, Landeskog and MacKinnon, so one would think it would be exceedingly difficult to accommodate Eichel and his $10 million under the cap. But they are oh so close to a cup and may see a stud to anchor their 2nd line as the missing piece. And it was reported this week that they have entered the bidding. Do they have the pieces? They have the most important piece: a prospect with 1C potential in Alex Newhook. They also have blue-chip defence prospect Bowen Byrum. Beyond that, the prospect pool is a little thin and the Sabres would almost certainly be taking a contract back, since the Avalanche has $25 million in space to re-sign or replace Saad, Landeskog, Grubauer and Makar. Would this work? Newhook, Girard, Jost, Compher and a 1st for Eichel, the Bruins 2nd and Asplund Asplund for Compher gives Sakic a similar player at a lot cheaper price. Girard opens up an expansion protection spot for Graves while Byrum fills his role. The Sabres meanwhile get their 1C prospect, and a quality young PMD on a long-term deal in Girard while adding a couple lottery tickets in Jost and the 1st. Is there a deal to be made with the Avalanche?

According to the Athletic, Kaprizov is telling the Wild he wants to see a big move for a centre before he’s willing to commit long term. Will that affect Guerin’s offer?

I think Comtois and 3OA is likely the best centrepiece on the table. The question is how much more can Adams squeeze out of Murray? What is the least amount acceptable?

Are you kidding me? Nick Foligno and David Savard got that. Pageau, Zucker, Coleman…

“If it does not happen soon, one team is out” I believe that is mostly media posturing, but there is an element of truth in the idea of “let’s get Jack fixed ASAP”. If serious threat, would it not be best for the team in question to sweeten its offer now in order to force some movement?

This. It’s in the stare down stage. We will see who bends.

Good on ya, Kevyn. Stay strong.

I hope we pick Eklund. Player most likely to be this draft’s Barzal or Sakic.

His work in contracts is an interesting element to his resume. It will be interesting to see what the Sabres do with what promises to be significant cap space and some interesting free agent decisions coming up and how those decisions play out.

No. He’s strictly assistant scouting director now, although I imagine that includes analytics. This guy is now our chief analytics guru.

Interesting that his already moving on after getting promoted last fall. Clearly a Karmanos guy in Burke/Hextall world. Seems to be highly qualified, but that must be wrong because nobody good ever wants to come to Buffalo.

It’s a rule. Seattle can’t just load up on cheap young guys. It has to take on about $50 million in contracts during the expansion draft -minimum 60% of the cap. They are expected to snag a few pricey vets with one year left on their deal, with the idea they can flip them for picks as rentals at the deadline.

If Adams gets 2 of Anaheim’s big 3 (Zegras, Drysdale, 3OA) I will be shocked and very happy.

There are no Cup final games in the weekend. I think the shoe is about to drop.

How did the primaries and ES look? Id imagine the former was quite good, given how far ahead he was of his next teammate in total points.

Have you done a deep dive into Johnson’s numbers the previous year in Trail? He had 41 goals and 101 points in 52 games - 10 goals and 30 points more than the next highest scorer in the league. Alex Newhook led the league the previous year with almost identical numbers: 38 goals and 102 points. Newhook was 9 months older.

My takeaways: First and foremost, Granato is a hockey coach; it’s what he does, it’s who he is, it’s what he cares about. @SwampD said it earlier: I like listening to this guy talk about hockey. Any lingering concerns about experience were eroded. Every response leaned into his experience. He exuded unforced, natural confidence and he shared more about coaching philosophy and strategy in one presser than we got in four years of Housley and Krueger. The repeated references to a smart, passionate fan base and an obligation to them were interesting. I think it will be mantra of the culture change plan and one Adams and Granato appear on the same page with. Donnie was clearly trying to set a tone when he talked with such conviction about “wanting this so badly” Whether it is primarily going to be a marketing strategy or a hockey strategy (I think it’s both) next year is going to be about forging a band of brothers identity for the team. The Peca Sabres had it, the Briere Sabres had it. Even if they had very different play styles, they had an attitude of being for each other that the community bought into and fed off, which the team then fed off. Granato’s anecdote about the alumni event and recapturing the identity he felt from those players was a perfect illustration of what this management team wants to recreate. The above is why I believe Adams thinks Jack has got to go. Right now, we have an Eichel-centred culture, something Ralph fully embraced. I don’t think that’s automatically a bad thing; it worked for Michael Jordan. But I do think Adams believes it is a bad thing for this group, at least given Jack’s current state of mind. You can’t have a team-first mentality when one player is placed on a pedestal and that player does not respect or empower the pieces around him. @Thorny has expressed some very pertinent concerns about this being another “evaluation” year that allows management once again kick the can down the road. I liked the way Donnie addressed that. His focus seems to be on active improvement. He wants to challenge his players reach and grow and believes they can. He basically said the talent around them in the division is irrelevant. It is their job to become better than them, and it is something within their grasp. “If we stay focused on getting better we will hit a tipping point, it’s inevitable.” They want to get people here who believe, and who thrive on the above challenge. My favourite quote was “Don’t wait to win. Find a way,” and “We have talent in place to take big steps very fast.” Donnie came across as a good choice for this situation and this plan.. Now it’s up to Adams to get him the right pieces.

That tells me Jack’s camp believes a trade is close. With Vogl reporting yesterday there was no chance the team and the player would kiss and make up, it’s pretty hard to read this any other way.

Kings wanted two top-6 forwards and a 1st pairing defender this summer. They got a top 6 winger for three years on a good contract and didn’t touch their treasure chest of prospects. They still have plenty of ammo for a bigger move and will probably make it. They’re a team with a plan in a division with room to make a leap.