Crusader1969

They have Bozak, JVR and Komarov coming up as UFA's at the end of 2017/18 - big pieces that need to be moved or re-signed. They will also have Nylander coming off his ELC. If you ranked the top prospects from the Sabres and Leafs I'd say Nylander, Guhle and Pu and Asplund are 4 out of the top 5. who are the 5 rookes that will be added next year? Kapanen - not sure who else.

I'm not considering trading either of Kane or Reinhart (unless you know that Kane is not going to sign an extension). How many Dmen are we really missing? you just need 6. Yes, the prospect pool is currently weaker at D than forward but the cupboard isn't exactly bare. Guhle, Stephens, Borgen and FitzGerald isn't a bad place to start. McCabe, Risto, Guhle, Antipin, Bogo and Gorges are here currently. I'll bet that at least 1 dman is added via trade or UFA. Plus, not sure if anyone has noticed but 4 out of the 6 draft picks in 2015 were Dmen.

Latest mock draft from Craig Button - has Sabres selecting Liljegren with Makar and Heiskanen off the board. http://www.tsn.ca/nolan-or-nico-button-says-it-s-still-nico-in-latest-mock-1.750199

Here are a couple of possibe 2nd round options in case the Sabres do take a forward at 8. 1) Henri Jokiharju - plays for Portland in the WHL. He is a puckmover and was one of the top dmen for the winter hawks once he adjusted to the smaller NA rinks http://www.dubnetwork.ca/interviews/nhl-draft-profiles/2016-17-nhl-draft-profiles-henri-jokiharju/ 2) Erik Brannstrom - Swedish dman who plays in the SHL for HV71. Very smart player with elite offensive abilities but is undersized at 5'10. Could go in first round but size may see him slip into the 2nd http://thehockeywriters.com/erik-brannstrom-2017-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/

Completely agree if the dman they want is on the board Liljegren at 8 is a real possibility even with a lot of shade being thrown his way about his hockey IQ. That being said, I don't think you can find a forward at 8 that is without warts. Tippet's work ethic, Vilardi's skating, Glass needs to be stronger. I'm taking Liljegren, Unless you have a forward available that is substantially rated higher.

I don't think Petterson is that much of a reach. Good Mock draft! hope you are right about Heiskanen. If the top 5 go as you say, I really hope the Sabres are on the phone with LV to get in front of Arizona.

why dont we have time? Sabres going to be cup contenders next season? The guy drafted at 8 has a good shot at the NHL in 18-19 and has a chance to be way better than a middle pairing Dman. and if a team is desperate, why the heck am I giving up the 8th pick?? makes zero sense. sorry but this is a terrible idea. Sabres need puck movers not stay at home Dmen! I can sign a UFA if i need another stay at home dman. the Voice of Reason! thank you :)

are we still that desperate for Dmen after adding Guhle and Antipin? I don't think they should be. If I'm making a trade im contacting a team like Nashville who have Subban, Elkholm, Josi and Ellis worth protecting. Will you be able to pry one of them out at a discount? I always thought Ellis would be the guy, especially with a couple of prospects ready to make the move to the NHL. Not so sure with the way he has been playing in the Playoffs. They have Arvidsson and Johansen as RFA's. Mike Fischer as an UFA. Maybe Elkholm and his $3.75Mill may be too expensive for them (even though its a great deal). Ellis is making 2.5M over the next 2 seasons. Im not trading the 8th overall pick, I think that is completely reckless. Why trade away a guy who has a good chance to become a top pair or Top 6 dman (and cheap) for a guy who is my 3 or 4 dman. Makes no sense to me. Sabres won't be a cup contender next season so I am not making moves out of desperation. Im also not trading Kane, unless you know he will not sign an extension or if he is starting to alienate his teammates. Is he one of the ones Jack was talking about when he said "you can't be just happy to play in the league"? You may be able to get a team with a cap crunch to take a couple of draft picks and not have to trade away a top prospect.

one of my favorite draft publications: http://www.draftbuzzhockey.com/2017-nhl-draft-april-ranking For those interested - Glass is listed as centre but also can play Right Wing. Compared to Mark Scheifele.

Not at 8 and doubt he is there for Round 2. Good player, great skater and may have been Swedens best Dman at u18s.

Every draft is different. This year Makar and Heiskanen are top 5 picks. Doesnt mean that Liljegren cant turn out to be the best of the lot. If the Sabres don`t like Liljegren they will take the top Forward and that may not be a bad thing either. Adding Guhle and Antipin to next years team is already a huge upgrade in the puck moving ability of the D. Seems like the draft has a lot of good quality to it and is about 20 players deep. It just doesn`t have the Eichel/Mcdavid Laine/Matthews immediate impact to it. Depends on who you listen to. There is no doubt some teams will have Heiskanen above Makar. Case in point bob mckenzies lottery edition. http://www.tsn.ca/patrick-hischier-in-tight-race-for-no-1-in-tsn-draft-ranking-1.736258

I`ll never understand this way of thinking. Why trade away a guy who could become a top 2Dman or top 6Forward for a guy who is your number 3 or 4?. What the Sabres are missing is a guy to pair with Risto for the next 10 years. maybe its Antipin? Maybe its Guhle? Maybe its the guy you draft at 8. Trading away the pick for a 3/4 isnt solving that. Now that Antipin seems to be signed, im even more unlikely to want to trade away a top 8 pick.

I think your guess is wrong. the Top 2 will be gone before the Sabres draft IMO. So Id' say there is basically 0 chance of one of them play for the Sabres next season (unless they trade up). Heiskanen is the only one I can see playing in the NHL next season. Dominated against his peers and played pro hockey. Liljegren can from a physical stand-point but maybe another year of pro hockey in Sweden would serve him well. He had a tough year with being sick

I'll respectfully disagree. I think he is gone top 3. It will be great if you are right though.

2 years and your mind is set that it didnt or won't work? seems way too hasty to me.

Makar could be available at 6 - most exciting offensive Dmen in years. He is the only guy I'm moving up for. If they stay At 8 I'm rolling the dice with liljegren. My early mock NJ - Hischeir PHI -Patrick Dal- Heiskanen Col - Makar Van - Rasmussen Vegas - Vilardi Ari - Mittlestadt Buff - Liljegren Tippett, Glass and Necas would be a consideration.

Could be a trade option for Sabres if the guy they want is on the board at 6. Sabres have 2 2nds and 2 3rds. Extra draft picks may be what the expansion team is looking for?

+1 It would never happen but it would have been great to see them offer Murray a bag load of money to stay and over see the scouting department and move away from the GM position. Murray wont be out of work long.

http://www.tsn.ca/patrick-hischier-in-tight-race-for-no-1-in-tsn-draft-ranking-1.736258 newly released rankings. Makar at 7 would be a Godsend for the Sabres IMO. They should be doing handstands on the way to the podium to select him.

If Taylor Hall is only getting you Larrson are we sure Samson would even fetch a legit top 4 dman at this time? To get Seth Jones the Hurricanes had trade a #1 centre.

I hope your right but I don't think Hischeir and Patrick are definitely going 1 and 2. Heiskanen's u18 performance seems to have vaulted him way up the draft board. I wouldn't even be surprised if he goes #1 anymore. He seems to be a better version of Juolevi. Phoenix is interesting because they already have OEL and Chychrun but their prospect pool is deep at Center. With the analytics driven GM maybe a trade up with them may be possible?

more and more likely that both Makar and Heiskanen don't make it to 6.

Totally Disagree.

Agreed 3 balanced lines that can score is what you want. ROR, Eichel and Reinhart are your 3 centres. Larrson or Girgs on the 4th line.

I think the reason for Chychrun falling was people started to question his hockey IQ. That seems to happen a lot to highly ranked Dmen going into their draft year and is definitely is happening to Liljegren this season. Heiskanen is thought of as this smart, smooth skating dman - much in the mold of Juolevi. And Liljegren is the elite skater, offensive dman who tries to force a play when the easier option may have been better. I dont think I would have a problem taking Liljegren even as high as 6th (assuming Makar is gone)