dudacek

Yeah, I thought this is where you are heading, and I agree up to a point. I'll pay the premium if we are acquiring a guy that can be a clear number one for this year and beyond (Kuemper?). I won't for a guy who's only going to be here for this year and probably only play 30 games (Raantta?) for the Sabres.

At what point does is become unwise to overpay for a goalie while at the same time giving a pretty good hockey player away for free? A first is a pretty steep price for a goalie, period. This board still moans about Lehner. I understand COVID has messed up the market, but Montour and a first is pretty clearly an overpay. Especially when you see what goalies have been going for over the past month.

IMO, he would be a worse option than Montour— a better player likely to garner a worse return because of the lack of teams that can fit him. But there are always going to be hockey trades available — talent and cap for roughly equivalent talent and cap. We just have to find the right fit.

Yes, I still think Montour is tradeable. Barely. And the landing spots are shrinking. I agree that the Sabres probably think they have options in terms of getting a goalie, but I also think those options might not be there when push comes to shove. Obviously there are moving parts, or the deal would already be done.. For sure. They just may prefer those other options.

Winnipeg's not going to have cap space to burn if they move Laine. The team acquiring him knows they've gotta keep space open for that fat extension. Cap will be going back. Or if they do, maybe they'll take Jake Gardiner for free instead? Or Sami Vatanen? Or Alex Killorn?

Yes, there's still a sense out there that you can just dump a contract like Vegas did with Schmidt, but there's just not enough teams willing to do that. I mean, a 3rd round pick for a 1st pairing defenceman? That tells you the supply of landing spaces is drying up. The New Jerseys of the world may have better options for their cap space than the Colin Millers of the world. There may be no takers at all.

Basically you're talking Ottawa, Detroit and New Jersey, although a few others can make it work if they really wanted to.

So from the Sabres point of view, Montour and a protected 1st for Kuemper and a 5th, give or take? And we go into the season with a Dahlin/Risto/McCabe/Joki/Irwin/Miller/Davidson/Borgen D core?

I think they would be fine with it. But like Freeman says, why wouldn't Sam just look at that and say "I'll take my chances with arbitration. There's a decent chance he'd get more and he's unlikely to get much less. The two years gives him a bit more security and guarantees he can maximize his UFA window.

He has two years @ $7 million each year. His contract would probably put the Sabres $5-7 million over the cap. How would you make that work?

Best-case scenario is that the arbitration cases leave us some wiggle room and we can snag Korpisalo for a 2nd. I'm not sure the Jackets do that. Raantta and Hjalmarsson for Montour and Hutton? Is that enough cap savings for Arizona? Can we squeeze it under the cap? Would Nik waive? Kuemper for Miller and protected 1st? Too much? Are there other options out there?

There is a lot of logic from both sides to agreeing to the Domi deal (two years @ $5.3) Gives Sam UFA status at 26 as the cap may be starting to open again. Gives the Sabres next summer to try to sign both Sam and Taylor to extensions and a year's safety net if they can't, as well as a better chance to add a goalie now.

A lot of us are of the opinion that with Hall and Staal and Montour and McCabe set to walk next summer, the Sabres need to maximize their chances this year by acquiring an upgrade in goal. Our @tom webster has been pretty adamant that it is a priority for the Sabres management team, and it will happen. With Taylor Hall here, I'm less certain. Here's why: The absolute best case scenario will see the Sabres exit arbitration with $2 or $3 million in wiggle room under the cap. It's just as likely that they come out of the process right up against the cap. The goalie market at the moment is basically limited to three teams Columbus has no incentive to trade Korpisalo (2x$2.8) for anything other than full value Arizona would ship out either Raantaa (1x$4.2) or Kuemper (2x$4.5) in order to cut costs but therefore do not want to take salary back in return Vegas has said it is not intending to trade Fleury (2x$7 million), although it is still over the cap the Sabres only real position of depth to trade from right now is RHD, but trading one for a goalie leaves them with only 5 "real" NHL defencemen the value of $4 million defencemen is in the toilet right now due to the flat cap up front, their only tradable chips of value are Olofsson, Reinhart, Mittelstadt and Thompson and only to that handful of teams with space. Teams aren't taking cap dumps for anything even resembling fair value Basically, it seems like the Sabres are limited to trading with a small number of teams with very little cap or roster flexibility, although they can gain an extra $1.1 by burying Hutton or $1.8 by buying him out. Obviously, they will wait on arbitration to determine how much flexibility they have to make a move. Do you think the Sabres will make a move? How will they make it work?

Dylan Cozens, Taylor Hall, Toby Reider and Cody Eakin are going to accelerate the Sabres breakaway potential this year. Jokiharju, Miller and Dahlin will be part of the cause and the effect.

Re: The bolded. Actually, sorta the opposite. I don't think we need a D upgrade to make the playoffs. I realize I might be in the minority, but when I look at the teams that made the playoffs, I think our best six defencemen are good enough to get us there, full stop. Forwards that can stretch the ice, keep the puck in the offensive zone and finish their chances are going to result in significantly better charts for all of them. As to the other, all I meant by the cap part is that most teams want trades in order to dump cap and we aren't in a position to really take any on.

I agree with this. More importantly, I think Adams does too. I'm not sure the league logjam under the cap is going to allow us the flexibility to do what we would ideally do (effectively trade a RHD and futures for a LHD and a goalie, without adding cap.) Would Arizona take cap back? Do we want to pay the futures price Columbus would demand? Are there any other goalies out there? Kuemper for Miller and a protected first? Merzlikins (with retention) for Mittelstadt and a pick?

I'm just happy we're at this point already. I think 2C was overwhelmingly the biggest problem, with 2ndary scoring clearly the next. Goaltending was number 3 on my list (I see the PK as almost as crucial, but inextricably tied to this) and honestly didn't think we'd have the bullets to address it this off-season. But we have addressed the first two priorities in overwhelming fashion, IMO, without using any of the bullets we thought we'd have to: #8, Mittelstadt or an RHD. So there remains both the need and the ammunition. However, we have to keep in mind the flat cap may block the opportunity. *** Related, I'm of the opinion that if Linus plays 2/3s of the games and our blind goalie really got his eyes fixed we can make the playoffs. Id just rather not chance it.

I think the theory our brass is running with is the system Ralph ran with last year has/will largely addressed the team’s 2018-19 defensive shortcomings and the expected goal charts seem to support that. But the offensive shortcomings have been based largely on talent. In theory, Thompson and Cozens replace the prorated 25 goals we got from Vesey and Sheary, while Hall, Staal, and Eakin for Johansson, RodrIgues/Mittelstadt and Larsson will jack our offence by 30-40 goals. And they’re probably counting on an additional 10 from Skinner. In theory, having Linus Ullmark level-goaltending for all 82 games would shave off about 15-20 goals against over the season.

Hope it gets some traction. Basically play the B team in an opening act, then the varsity in a nightcap. Would be great for development and creating synergy within the program and would almost certainly help cut costs in the wake of empty arenas. Be nice if they relaxed waiver and roster size considerations as part of it and basically treated it as one big team with players moving back and forth between the squads as the coaches see fit.

Can we say yet that the rumours of the Amerks being abandoned this year are proving false? Fogarty, CJ Smith, Dalton Smith, Oglevie, JS Dea and Brandon Davidson seem like a solid pack of veterans. Dawson Dipietro, Ryan Jones, Brandon Biro and Jesper Olofsson as free agent additions And some prospects like Casey, Asplund, Samuelsson and Lukkonen. Roster looking something like this? Ogelvie/Mittelstadt/Fogarty Olofsson/Ruotsalainen/Dea CJ Smith/Asplund/Murray Dipietro/Pekar/Dalton Smith Biro Davidson/Borgen Bryson/Fitzpatrick Samuelson/Laaksonen Jones Johannson/Lukkonnen Houser Not sure if there are any other vets on AHL-only contracts. Looks like there is room for one or two more signings.

Gotta say I've never heard of him. Here's a scouting report from a Rangers fan site: Considered a shutdown forward, Fogarty isn’t known for his offensive prowess but it caught the attention of Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton, who handed the 26-year-old a call-up to the NHL on Nov. 19, 2018. More known for his ability on the penalty kill and being able to disrupt the flow of the opposition, Fogarty wasn’t expected to be an offensive juggernaut during his time with the Rangers, rather a reliable stopgap whilst more notable figures came in and out of the lineup. And it panned out that way with Fogarty sticking to his defensive assignments, but failing to register a point in ten games, posting a +/- rating of -1. He averaged just 7:46 of ice time a game and put nine shots on goal, but he was a solid addition to the roster during his short stay in the big league and carried out the jobs asked of him. Fogarty was sent back down to the AHL on Dec. 11, 2018 and finished the year in good form for the Wolf Pack, ending his season with 52 points (21 goals, 31 assists) in 66 games played for a Hartford team who finished rock bottom of the Atlantic Division. As a result of that, Fogarty was rewarded with a new one-year deal at the trade deadline, and he remains a solid option for the Rangers if they are hit by injuries or need some grit in the bottom of the lineup.

Yep, I think the best we can hope for on the blueline is a straight hockey trade: an RHD for a LHD at a similar contract.

I assume you are talking about carrying the puck here, because he is very good in moving the puck through the neutral zone. Too lazy to look it up, but I seem to remember Sam as among the team leaders, or leading outright, in zone exits, zone entries and dump-in puck retrievals.

Wonder what else is coming up around the bend?

Interesting. Irwin is the guy our management team has referred to in post free agency interviews. Looks like they will be in competition, along with Borgen for the 7D slot. Davidson is 29 and has played 174 NHL games, 12 last year and never more than 51 in a season. Last year was the first time he's played in the minors since 2015. Irwin is 32 and has played 359 NHL games, 36 last year and hasn't played in the minors since 2016.