dudacek

Reinhart for what is currently pick 9 only makes sense if there is no way you can sign him, and if there is no intention to try to make the playoffs next year.

Can’t read the article, but it will be very interesting to see how many of Donnie’s meatballs stick. Did the late-season roster prove the Sabres pipeline was actually strong, graduating Cozens, Mittelstadt, Thompson, Asplund, Ruotsalainen, Bryson, Borgen and Samuelsson into real NHLers, but also gutting it for the present? Personally, I think the pipeline beyond those guys consists of four likely NHLers: UPL, Quinn, Peterka and Johnson. Which is pretty typical for an NHL team

I think Benning’s statements are more smoke than fire. They aren’t moving EP, Quinn, or Horvat. Moving Boeser or Miller is hard because it creates new holes. No one else is worth a significant return. As far as the Sabres are concerned, Reinhart for their 1st rounder or Miller or Boeser might have some sense from a value perspective, Im not sure it makes sense from a team-building perspective, from either side. Risto for Schmidt maybe?

I think Adams believes Jack being the main focus of this org is something he needs to change. Still too many variables to predict who is most likely to go, but he seems to be the player they most want to move.

Isn’t the elephant in the room as far as Eichel’s possible surgery goes is that the Sabres would ideally want the team trading for Eichel making the call on that surgery? Or at least get some direction from potential partners as to what they are comfortable with happening? If I read Vogl’s report correctly Eichel wants surgery scheduled for next week, with the idea it could be cancelled if it was deemed unnecessary by the pending review. The Sabres didn’t want to discuss that option until the pending review has been heard and discussed. I believe the Sabres will deliberately stretch out the process in order to make sure Eichel suitors are on board with the next step in his treatment plan.

I count 4 by the Sabres? J T Compher, Braden McNabb, Marcus Foligno and Jake McCabe. Brendan Lemieux will get there this season and Victor Olofsson would be if not for the pandemic. Ullmark is another worth mentioning.

Newhook?

Dumba’s clause doesnt kick in until July 1. That plus the Clauses given Suter, Spurgeon and Brodin is the reason Dumba is trade bait. He’s likely to be expose to the Kraken.

I expect the Sabres coming early season crowds to be among the worst in franchise history. And I don’t think anything they can do this summer short of acquiring Crosby or McDavid would change that. It’s going to take wins.

I’ll say it again, the Wild have $17 million in cap space this summer. They can fit Eichel under the cap. And clearing salary cap space by including a big contract like Dumba in the deal is not the same thing as taking on a salary dump. And taking on a salary cap dump like Rask (1 year at $4 million) is not the same thing as tying yourself to a Skinner.

What would you say to Fiala, Dumba and Rossi?

You may be right, but it certainly is a fan thing. That said, the Insiders have listed the Wild among the teams heavily interested in Eichel.

Well, they seem poised to trade Dumba for a much more insignificant return than Jack prior to the expansion draft deadline. And trading Jack for Dumba leaves them with about $14 million to sign Kaprizov, Fiala and Erikson Ek, which doesn’t seem impossible to me. Maybe a one-year cap dump like Rask would have to play a part, but their cap situation doesn’t look dire to me. Suter and Parise are bad contracts, but they will be there with or without Jack, who certainly makes their team better.

Entirely fair. But I think this conversation has to be predicated on the supposition that the acquiring team is OK with Eichel’s health.

Of the players that were available at 8? Do you know where he was ranked overall on the Botterill list? Or on the Adams list?

Apologies for bringing the Wild thread over to the Rangers, but when I see names like Turcotte, Rossi and Caufield being taken for granted as part of their team’s package, I can’t see the Rangers even getting a seat at the table if Lafreniere and Kakko are not part of the conversation. If they are serious, those names have to be involved because other teams will certainly be offering better centrepieces than Filip Chytil.

A 2nd for Merzlikins seems more than fair for either side given the Kraken. I’m skeptical of another team offering more than the Bruins pick. Chicago? San Jose?

I don’t know that I agree with that. Boldy outscored him in both college and the minors, and IMO looked better at the WJC. He’s an underrated and very complete player. Rossi’s draft year was better than Turcotte’s. I think it’s pretty hard to argue Turcotte is on a higher tier. And part of the appeal with this deal is two Turcotte-level prospects.

Bob Hartley is a Neanderthal.Hope they stay far away. Can’t see Babcock ever working for the Pegula’s after jilting them on the altar last time.

Will they be interested? Highly. Minnesota has been surprisingly successful this year despite not having a clear-cut top line centre. In fact, it’s been the story for them pretty much their entire existence. General feeling is they see an Eichel as a bridge to becoming a true contender. Do they have the pieces? There seems to be a sweet spot in the Eichel trade market buzz for prospects who aren’t sure stars, but do have first line potential. The Wild have two such prospects in Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi. They have NHL pieces the Sabres could use like Foligno, Greenway, Erickson Ek, Fiala and Matt Dumba, who is vulnerable to the expansion draft. And they have two firsts this year. Would this work? Boldy, Rossi, Dumba and a 1st for Eichel When the report surfaced that the Sabres were looking for the equivalent of 4 firsts in an Eichel trade, this certainly fits the bill. Boldy and Rossi certainly show every sign of being a Pominville/Roy level combo and Dumba effectively is a replacement and upgrade for Risto. Doctors would have to clear Rossi, just as they would Eichel. The Wild give up a hefty chunk of their future, but console themselves with Jack Eichel. It’s not as sexy as some proposals fans might prefer, but it is a solid, competitive offer. Is there a deal to be made with the Wild?

It was a demotion. He was a random pro scout with a USNDP background elevated to being the head of all scouting - pro and amateur. He was asked to re-rank the work of Botterill’s large team on grading the 2020 draft based on new criteria from Adams, with greater analytics input from Nightengale, but no further input from any new scouts. This resulted in the somewhat controversial pick of Quinn, and in moving up for Peterka. He oversaw a skeleton group of scouts gathering info on this year’s prospects while also leading the pro scouts through a patchwork pandemic few months of hockey before being shuffled into a strictly pro scouting role again, with his amateur duties handed over to Jerry Forton, a pre-existing college scout. It seems like his scouting director responsibilities have been passed over to Karmanos, who will lead the still-small staff through creating the list, based on whatever information has been acquired under Crowe’s part-time direction. It has also been hinted that a real scouting director will be hired after this year’s draft. All told, it doesn’t bode well for this year’s draft.

How much are we reading into Jeremiah Crowe leading last year’s draft, and now being moved out of amateur scouting altogether? Is that an indictment of who we picked?

Great question. I know I saw it, but I don’t remember where, or how old or credible the list was.

Depends on the team picking there and their need for offence. Ive seen Beniers ranked in the 7-8 range. Pronman and McKenzie each had him at 4.

Beniers is literally the only name I’ve seen linked with them, although I’ve yet to really dive into the draft. They are likely picking at three, and I will be surprised if Beniers isnt the pick. Given Power’s growing consensus as #1 and your well-considered arguments as to what that means, it also seems likely Power is the man at #1. Therefore, they will be picking #2.