dudacek

Hope that's what happens. We will be in good shape when Sam is the 4th or 5th best player on this team instead of the 2nd.

I don't know if everyone factors in the fact that you still are losing somebody. If we trade Risto and protect Borgen, we are still losing Girgensons or Bjork or Miller as well as Risto. If we get a ton for Risto it might make sense, but the team trading for Risto is also giving up a protection slot for him, which has to devalue the return. Are we going to get a return for Risto that is more valuable than Bjork or Girgensons? We have to, or trading Risto doesn't make sense.

This. I'm not one who thinks that Sam is slow, but his game has little to do with the speed of his feet and he takes great care of himself. Barring a debilitating injury he will be fine at 32.

But who will you troll @LGR4GM with? 😜 Of the choices available, the highest I'd go is 7X7. I think 6X6 is closer to market value. He's 25, consistent and durable. Term doesn't scare me at all. He's also been significantly underpaid over his career. I have no idea how the flat cap affects this contract. Recent comparables: Bjorkstrand 5X$5.4 Mantha 4X5.7 Gallagher 6X6.5 (was pending UFA) Guentzel 5X6 Schmaltz 7X5.8 Domi 2X5.3

This is sorta where my mind went. Trade for Dumba or some other good D to protect along with Dahlin and Joki. Leave Risto and Borgen unprotected. Lose one, keep the other, and improve your D.

Some fodder from the Athletic's Pierre Lebrun: https://theathletic.com/2530945/2021/04/21/seattle-kraken-expansion-draft-6-teams-in-play-to-make-a-side-deal/ Carolina has Pesce, Slavin, Bean, Skjei and Hamilton (UFA) to worry about on D. Colorado might have to leave at least one Johnson (NMC), Toews, or Graves, or up front Landeskog (UFA), Burakovsky, Nichushkin and Donskoi unprotected Oilers: Klefbom, Barrie (UFA), Larsson (UFA), Nurse and Bear Panthers: Yandle (NMC) Ekblad, Weegar, Nuttivaara Wild: Spurgeon, Brodin and SUter have NMCs. Dumba does not. The feeling I'm getting is a lot of teams will have better unprotected D than the Sabres.

Thanks for taking the time. By the eye test, this is Risto's career. Semi-related, remember how one of the reasons Corsi was touted as much better than plus/minus because it gave you a much-better sample size and removed the noise? Now people are regularly dropping period-by-period no-context charts where you were out shot-attempted 8-2 as "proof" of how bad you are. Not talking about last night specifically, but don't you think constant forward motion is generally the thing the Sabres have done better systemically under Granato? it's certainly been the key to Mittelstadt's improvement. Krueger seemed very rigid in where you had to be, making it predictable, and easier to attack and to defend.

Be interesting to see what the kids learned from that one. That’s what it looks like when well-coached teams play hard and smart. Drake Caggiula was billed as a Tasmanian devil. Looked more like a milky wombat. Taylor Hall still sucks. Tuuka Rask does not (pending UFA) Casey Mittelstadt was still making plays despite the way the Bruins were checking. I think I’m starting to believe.

I know Weissbach’s deal was for next year.

This 100% I offer them a 3rd to take Miller. If they don’t, protect our 10 and let them take who they want. We will survive.

Not sure how trading one of our best forwards for assets we don’t have to protect and Will Borgen makes us better. Especially when Seattle is still going to take a player possibly as good as Borgen (Thompson, Bjork, Asplund?)

JJ has yet to sign, correct? When are we expecting him to come over? Also, can't find a DEL NHLe calculator, how does JJ's 20 points in 30 DEL games compare to Quinn's 9 points in 15 AHL games? How much better is the AHL than the DEL? (Big fan of what I've seen from both these guys.)

What do you think we could get for Will Borgen in a trade prior to the ED? What about Risto?

How?

The concept of Borgen Samuelsson Risto Johnson Jokiharju Bryson and Dahlin is an almost perfectly balanced 7 with snarl, size, skating, skill and smarts. None of them are one-trick ponies and some of them tick several of SDS' boxes. There's enough overlap that we have backup for any role, but no two guys exactly the same creating redundancies. The issue is experience, and how many will actually fulfill their potential.

Too many centres? Just for the record: Eichel Reinhart Cozens Mittelstadt Asplund R2 Eakin Sheahan Girgensons Fogarty That's 10 guys who are natural centres. And Bjork and Caggiula apparently can also play it.

Exactly. The new regime needs to recognize and nurture the right players. Borgen might be one. But why are you, @Randall Flagg so convinced that he is?

This man gets it.

Not saying you're wrong. I am saying the amount of faith some are putting in Borgen relative to what they've seen him do is considerable. It's a hard conversation to have on a forum because it is inextricably tied to to what you think of Risto, which ranges from "top 3" to "shouldn't be in the lineup"

The concept of Will Borgen is strong. This is exactly the move I would be making. And I would take it, if I was Francis.

See I look at that a month ago and I'm vomiting in my coffee. This morning it doesn't look bad at all. Donnie Meatballs, stop messing with my mind!

His NMC means he is automatically on your protected list. He does have the option of waiving, which would allow the Sabres to use that spot for another player.

Here's another way of looking at it: Is Will Borgen really one of this team's 8 or even 10 best players?

We need more elation around this team.

He's gotta be pretty close. They were predicting a return for this week. He's been skating for a while, but I think this might be his first full practice.