nhl2012

Wait a minute, i never said Ekblad for Connor alone. I said "bait." Clearly it would also be the Sabres 2015 1st and maybe St. Louis' and NYI's first rounders. Just an idea and not nuts when you consider the differnce between Ekblad and Bennett or SR. The 2014 draft is weak. And if the goal is to tank and get Connor, and when there might be expansion in 2015 (changing draft orders), you need to think outside the box.

With the forwards in this draft being unpredictable (not like Stamkos, Nathan M., etc.), the Sabres should select Ekblad and use him as bait in 2015 for Connor. Especially if it is the Flames or Oil that finish last in 2015 -- they will want Ekblad even more and he will be even better. He is a sure thing guy and an asset to deal in 2015 IMO for the top pick. Obviously this is a huge risk but the team would be better served with a risky move like this than drafting a project forward from this off class (i.e., avoid the next Alexander Daigle or Patrick Stefan).

1) To the poster who compared Jamie Benn to Compher. No, Benn is a top 10 player in the National League and is 6'2 and 215 pounds. Compher is 5'11 and 185 pounds. Compher will be good PKer and 15 G, 40 A man (2nd PP unit). He is like a faster John Madden and will be very good. Benn is almost as good as Rick Nash -- with a great stride, size, and heavy shot and hockey smarts. 2) Possler is a ? b/c of his knee injury. Should he have surgery? 3) Kea is a fine prospect. The leader of the Saginaw team. His offense has gone up each year (1994 DOB). He will fight anyone. Good on draws. He has the potential to end up like a Guastad or Brian Boyle type. The other Saginaw guy to watch is Locke. He is smaller but has a wicked snap-shot -- poor man's J. Pominville. Is there room on the roster for a Pat Verbeek, Ray Ferraro type?

Outside of Grigs and Armia, the best prospects are: JT Compher is the real deal. If he was taller, he would have been a 1st rounder. He will be a sure thing PKer and roll player in the 3rd line for 10 years. I like that he was the captain of the -18 USA team. Fashing is a project but could do some damage on the 3rd line as well. He might end up being a better (not as mean) Mike Rupp/ Sergo Momesso/ Dustin Penner. Nick Baptiste has good speed and scores a lot of goal near the net. He is physical -- fought Danny Nurse last year. Scoring 40 goals in the OHL isn't too impressive (Norm Miley scored 50, I think twice). If Nick can stay physical and go to the net, he could end up like a Tyler Kennedy type. Zadorov -- commanding presence on the ice. London leader. Can play PK and PP -- good skater. Will play physical. Happy to apply a cross-check. Austin -- +51 plus /minus See Zadorov. This is the Jay McKee of the group. RIsto -- a taller and better Kimmo TImonen. Hurley -- either the second coming f Tim Kennedy or another Brendan Morrison type. Lanky guy. Played at the three best Minnesota prep schools. McCabe --21 US captain. Has all the tools. Plays at a higher level than the other players. Has the potential to be like Duncan Keith but could end up like Chris Butler (decent).

The goal is to draft Connor M. next year. As such, all goal scorers needed to go. Bye bye MM. Team needs to tank in 2015. That is the only goal here.

Nice. A big fella who will take the puck to the net. Husky. Good attitude, good room guy from Minnesota.

Is that Gerry Meehan in the room?

Great. He can play wing and score 12 goals in 2015 as the march to Connor M. starts...

Agree, Stewart needs to go right now. And he should have never played last night. And isn't it interesting how had Stafford all the sudden is playing hard!? Loafs all season and turns it up when he needs a new salary or wants to be traded. He needs to go this deadline.

Something has to "give" on defense. Myers is the leader of the hen house. You then have blue chip guys: Risto, Zadorov and McCabe. Then you have Pysyk -- a serviceable 3rd, 4th or 5th guy. Then you have McNabb or Brady Austin as your stay at home shot blocking 5th and 6th guys. This all mean that they have five solid guys for the 2016 season. To me, Pysyk has real value and should be moved. And maybe McNabb as well. It would be interesting to see if the Oil or Flames bite on either of these young WHL fellas. Again, the goal is to get Connor M. next year -- nothing else.

I don't think anyone in their right mind is going to give up more than a 4th for Halak. What starter is he better than on any playoff team? He needs to stay with the Sabres to back-up Enroth in 2015 on the march for Connor M. Maybe Enroth gets moved? TM likes taller goalies. Enroth might be the only guy in the league under 6 foot. Better question is what is going to happen to Matt Hackett. Nathan L. has outplayed him in Rochester. Maybe package Hackett, Grigorenko and two 2nds to Calgary for their 2015 1st.

Conacher would be a good pick-up. Local guy who could pot 10-13 goals in 2015 for cheap. Keeping Nolan in 2105 is vital b/c he is willing to smoke-and-mirror his lineup to ensure that it can't win enough games as so to push the team out of the 2015 Connor M. running. He is perfectly happy starting John Scott at D, Ellis on the 4th line, D'gostini anywhere, and Leino anywhere. BTW, Leino should fetch a 4th or 5h rounder from the Ducks. Tallinder should fetch a 4th rounder from San Jose.

Myers stays for now. At the 2015 draft, I would try to deal him along with the team's 2015 1st and 2nd rounders and Grigerenko and/ or Armia for whoever has the first pick (i.e., Florida, Calgary, Oil) -- so they can get either Connor M. or Jack Eichel. If that trade is not available, I would offer the exact same to the Caps for E. Kuznetsov. If that trade was not available, I would offer the exact same for John Tavaras. Another trade idea would be send D. Stafford to Tampa straight up for Adam Erne. Erne could then play with Grigorenko (if he is around). I would draft Ekblad this year. He is Shea Weber PART II. Another deal would be Stewart and a 2nd for Ryan Hartman. Erhoff to Philly for a 2nd or an AHL (23 yr old) makes sense. Moulson would fit in nicely with Colorado for a 2015 1st.

It will be interesting to see what Stafford brings at the deadline. I assume only a 2nd rounder. Or maybe a prospect and a 3rd. In college, he was a role player with good leadership and speed and size along the wall to get after pucks in the corners. For some reason, in the NHL, he never added much more to that basic platform. Even he admitted two years ago that he needed to learn some new tricks. NHL players are all pretty much the same. They all have size, skating, shooting, stick handling, etc. The difference in the standouts and the average ones is the aggressive style, emotion, passion, pride, grit and compete level that each develops as they grow into their bodies between the ages of 18 to 23. Even the smaller non-contact players who excel have this same determination and grit (see Doug Gilmour, M. St. Louis, Zetterberg, Sedins, Briere, etc.). These players, and those in their ilk all have a fire in their belly and it was honed and shaped during the early stages of their careers. Stafford developed bad habits and probably never had the killer instinct anyway. He is a nice player (above average) who should be allowed to float around on the 3rd or 4th lines on a contender. Having him the PP and first line is absurd. Ala Danny Paille, he will resurface to be an asset to a team that can hide him on the 3rd line and spring him come playoff time when he gets passionate about things b/c. I could see him being traded to the Kings or Anaheim.