LGR4GM

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8z174gk3jo The King will be opening the Canadian parliament, something no monarch has done since the 50s. The speech will cement Great Britain's commitment to Canada remaining a free and sovereign nation.

Did you watch Helenius in Liiga? Fully agree. There's a lot they can learn and even if it's 3yrs in the A, that's only 21yrs old for Helenius.

Such as? What do other teams have that we're missing? I don't think facilities being Vegas new or Detroit new is the biggest selling point. If it were free agents would never sign in some places.

One thing about Helenius and Novikov, both played in pro leagues before Rochester. They've got more experience than your average AHL player. Novikov is in his 4th pro season and turns 22 in July. He's the perfect 6th defender, big, mean, defensively sound.

Helenius is at least another year away if not 2. Novikov... depends on his short area burst. He'll need the agility and closing burst to be nhl effective. I haven't watched enough Amerks to answer if he is.

The Sabres have pretty decent facilities and that's not counting having harbor center. Also Rasmus' Wagoneer is nice. What's interesting is there's an interview with Zucker where he basically shoots down the narrative players think Buffalo is a bad org.

Idk his value but maybe Rosen? Devils have rhd up the wazoo and maybe they want some depth scoring? My first thought.

But he's another small skill player!?!? He's only 5'11" woe is us!

I wonder if the Devils make a rhd available. Seamus Casey would be interesting to grab with a prospect flip.

Karmanos will not be islanders gm

No Dobson is going to fill the role of making Power not a liability... or you trade Power and Dobson anchors the 2nd line with an unamed lw

Leave the talk of forwards elsewhere. Who would you target on defense? I've mentioned Dobson often but there are others. Trade, ufa, rfa, doesn't matter. This is where we focus in on fixing a bad defensive unit. I like Dobson and Whitecloud to help fix the right side. I've hypothesized that a new islanders gm might be willing to mix things up and Buffalo has Byram or Power to send the other way. Our 9th overall pick also has value. Whitecloud, I'm unsure of availability but Vegas will make changes after an early exit and I wonder if you could snag someone like him for cheap if they want a little more cap room. Perbix is another thought out there. Either way as I've maintained for awhile now, Samuelsson, Clifton, and 1 of Power or Byram has to go.

I've argued we need 3 new defenders. I think it's far harder for most to gauge defenders since you can't just use points. For goaltending, I'd move on from UPL but don't have a solution in mind.

Fixed it.

Rain will stop this weekend so that is nice.

The Buffalo Sabres are indeed bringing the exact same coaching staff back. This isn't my opinion.

Billionaires don't live in reality. They exist in a world of everyone rushing to please them, and their voice always being heard. It makes it very hard to identify weaknesses or have the self efficacy to address them. It's easier to be like "nah, I'm right" and since doing that has 0 consequences to them personally, it self fulfills.

It won't work. None of the 3 are good defensively and none of the 3 have a good checking element. That line is a 1 dimensional rush offense line that will get figured out. They'll score on quick breakouts or d zone screw ups but they'll never be able to run a cycle, dump and chase, or sustain zone time between their play styles and their youth.

Read the parts about Wheeler breaking down the skills of a player, especially skating. You might understand why Zach Benson is not a "bad" skater or why he is in fact good. That part is near the bottom of a really long piece that touches on how scouting works. "but I prefer a player who can move, change directions and turn feet attacking on tight angles than one who can explode down the boards with a longer stride. In today’s game, I believe changing tempo is now more important than top speed" - Wheeler

My 2nd round target is actually Vaclav Nestrasil at this point. He's a 6'5" winger who at worst ends to as a 4th line guy but he's got a lot of tools and is simply a little raw still. There's 2nd line power forward elements all over his game. He's going to UMass in the fall and I'd say leave him there for 3yrs so he can refine his game. The Czech forward is a physical player with increasing offensive ideas and skills. He's the perfect type of guy to explode and over play his draft position. I'd even trade up in the 2nd to get him. He's a guy who grew his game all year in NA and who is going to take some time but he's fun to watch.

The more I see of Mrtka, the less interested I become. At 15 or 16, sure but at 9... he's just not aggressive enough. I think you're better off taking the London Knights guy in the 2nd. Henry Brzustewicz.

The Sabres are bringing back all their coaches.

Jfc. Toronto tried to trade Marner for Rantanen and asked him to waive his ntc. His wife was like 6 months pregnant. The Sharks, yes. The Hawks... nope.