dudacek

Yeah, but how was your Corsi?

I agree with @thorny, but I also think Bjugstad is a pretty low bar to clear. Given his recent track record, it's not inconceivable that both Mittelstadt and Cozens have more to offer.

The Jets are horrible.

Edmundson was someone I had my eye on as a PK defensive LD. Good move if he signs, and they have the Cap space.

What a kid is at 20 or 22 is not a great indication of who he will be at 25 or 26, so be careful about giving up on young players, or projecting them too highly (See MIttelstadt, Thompson, Cozens or Jokiharju) Girgensons was in the NHL looking like a cinch to be a very good 2-way middle-six centre for a long time at 21 and ended up an OK bottom-six winger instead. Danault was looking like a bust at that age and ended up a very good 2-way middle-six centre.

Danault is another lesson in player development curves. He was a late 1st round pick. When he was Dylan Cozens age: 62 GP 18/53/71 in the Q (Fans: He didn't tear it up, but he's looking pretty good down there. I like him) Ras Dahlin: 56 23/62/85 in the Q (Fans: he took a big step. He's good one, might even make the team next year) Casey Mittlelstadt 72 6/20/26 as an AHL rookie (Fans: he had a tough adjustment to the pros, but he'll be alright) Alex Nylander 70 13/25/38 as a 2nd-year AHL pro (Fans: we needed to see better numbers, I'm worried he's going to be a bust) Jack Eichel 51 4/6/10 as an NHL rookie (Chicago fans: Bust! Burn the witch! Montreal fans: they did a bad job developing him, a change of scenery can turn him around) Sam Reinhart 82 13/27/40 NHL regular (Fans: This kid's a good one, Bergevin stole him!) Rasmus Ristolainen 52 8/17/25 NHL regular (Fans: he's a solid player, but he's never going to play in the top-six; we need better centres) Zemgus Girgensons 81 12/41/53 NHL regular (Fans: he did a good job at 2C and he'll be a great 3C when Kotkaniemi matures) Joel Armia 71 13/34/47 NHL regular (Fans: he's not good enough to be our 2C but too good to be our 3C. We'll trade him to you at bargain 1C prices) He was Sam Reinhart's age when he became an NHL regular and Gus' age when he became what he is.

Don't know that we are talking the same thing here. What I'm trying to say is that Terry has never once let money get in the way of the Sabres being competitive; on the contrary, he has spent lavishly on trying things that have provided little to no return. I think he is doing what he can to minimize COVID losses, and that he is clearing the building of people he doesn't think are his people, or providing good value. But I also think he will give the on-ice team a budget that will be competitive with other teams around the league, and if he is presented with a deal that clearly improves the Sabres, he won't let that self-imposed budget get in the way.

It's actually a great example of how Botterill focused more on assets than actual players. Bear with me here because I know this trade comes with a lot of baggage: The late 1st-round prospects cancel out, the 2nds cancel out. And you're left to choose between a pair of middle six forwards: one younger, the other with both a $3m cap dump, and a 1st rounder thrown in. Purely from an asset view, one could easily argue at the time that the St. Louis offer was better. Of course since then Danault has gone from a 35-point 2-way 3C to a 50-point 2-way 2C, while Berglund was out of the NHL within months. Botterill and his scouts whiffed badly on the actual players.

This just feels right. Terry has never once through words or actions given off the vibe that he's not willing to spend on helping the hockey team win. It feels that he's saying that this team in this climate is not willing to spend on things that generate no tangible return.

It's basically the same as signing Bjugstad to a one-year $4.1 million free agent contract. Helluva a good deal if he puts up the 49 points he did three years ago. A disaster if he puts up the 14 points he put up four years ago, the 26 he put up two years ago or the 2 points he put up this year. I might make that move if I was at the table empty handed at the end of free agency, but this early in the game I keep my powder dry for bigger targets, especially when the smarter money says there will be safer bets available at that price point. EDIT: Missed the retention part. That might have made it more palatable, depending on how much.

I don't think the media has very many insiders left in the Sabres hockey department; what they do have are a number of hockey insiders who lost, or whose friends lost, jobs in the purge. There will always be some fans eager to believe the best or the worst, and people ready to spread either. I am interested, of course, in the Sabres cap figure. But I am more interested in budgets of other teams and what they will have to do to make those budgets work and how the Sabres can potentially benefit. We just don't know what their plan is, or what opportunities may materialize based on the plans of others. This next month is tabula rasa for the entire league. Maybe the drastic cuts off-ice happened in order to subsidize the team on-ice.

Reinhart and arbitration-eligible players like him are in a real interesting situation. Do they play hardball and walk their teams to arbitration where they will probably get a bigger award for next year? Or does that carry the risk of a team walking away? Free agency will be done at that point, and no one will have any money left to spend on you. And there is a chance that this cap-crunch scenario repeats next summer. Finding the sweet spot will be so hard for either side.

There are still a lot of ways this can go. The Sabres spending $70 million in cap when 25 teams are at $80 is a terrible situation for us. The Sabres spending $75 million in cap when 15 teams are below $70 is wonderful. September is going to be the craziest off-season ever.

I tried to pick a bad team, a solid team and a great team, none of which operate in a big market. But it really is about looking at it on a team by team basis. The Coyotes have $80 million in salaries committed and 3-6 roster holes to fill. How the heck do they get their payroll down to $70 and ice a 21-man roster? Nobody is taking on bad contracts in this climate. The probably have to sell good players on big-money contracts for futures. So long Kuemper and Ekman-Larson, and to who, for what? Prices are going plummet because the sellers will far outnumber the buyers — in both trades and free agency. The Leafs getting a 1st for Kapanen is going to look real good for them by the time this is finished. But the fact is a $3 million good player will be far more valuable to most teams than a great player at $7 million.

Interesting to note that 15 teams have already committed at least $70 to the cap next season. Only five teams can ice a 20-man roster right now with the players they have under contract. Every owner is going to be taking a loss until butts are back in the seats. If the Sabres operate $10 million under the cap, that leaves them with $24 available to sign10-13 players. If the Canes operate $10 million under the cap, that leaves them having to shed $2 while signing 3-6 players. If the Lightning operate $10 million under the cap, that leaves them having to shed $5 million while signing 5-8 players, including Cirelli and Sergachev. The question is really about how much of a bath is each owner willing to take, and how creative can each GM be in order to get his team under their new budget? How many teams will be spending to the cap? Ten? 20?

This guy writes for hockeybuzz. How much credibility?

Cyclones goalie, behind UPL and Johansson.

My version of the O'Reilly trade is this: "I just gave that punk $52 million and he celebrates by driving his truck into a Tim Horton's? How can he embarrass me like that?" "What the hell? I give your brother an NHL salary to play in the minors as a favour to you and he treats our top prospect like dogshit?" "Terry, this team has deeper problems than I thought. Our best veterans are kinda dik-heads I think we should move them and turn the room over to Jack and the other young guys. Let me check the market." "My God that O'Reilly guy is getting annoying with his drinking and his holier-than-thou attitude. He's not playing hard any more. Got any good offers for him yet?" "Did you see that performance at clean out? I've had enough of that guy. It's time to pull the trigger. We're close, right?" "Jason, you said that douche would be gone by the draft. Why is he still here? I told you, I'm not letting him steal another $10 million from me on July 1. Get it done." It was personal, as opposed to coldly financial. The money was more a matter of principle on this player, than not wanting to spend.

Scary stuff. take care.

Thank you and enjoy your day

Imagine a flat cap and then taking another $100-200 million out of the pot. If several teams (a majority?) are looking to go this route, who will be taking the cap dumps from those teams who need to make them? How will there be any money to pay free agents anywhere near what they would have been worth pre-COVID? And no wonder there is such fear of arbitration. Going to be a strange off-season.

Well, he's 28, so it should be no surprise that he's already had his 'career years.' The question is 30 points is an outlier, or the new normal? Was he just a bad fit in Nashville (32 points in 79 games since being acquired at the deadline in 2019). Or has he game dried up (He had 49 points in 63 games in Minnesota prior to the trade.)

Luukkonnen is three years away from Buffalo.

Reinhart 47 50 65 50 Skinner 63 49 63 23 Granlund 69 67 54 30 Sabres could use a few more 3rd liners