DarthEbriate

This is the year for Quinner! Right?

They could keep Byram now and have a solid top 4. But, yes... hopefully his move gets them the goal-scoring that JJP's departure created. Robertson is the ideal target, but you'd likely need a 3rd team because Byram is redundant with Heiskanen and Harley, just as he was with Dahlin/Power. Adams can't do 3rd teams. Jarmo has many times, though.

Doan's ceiling could be higher, but I'm hopeful that with the right guidance, coaching, and on-ice opportunity, we'd see a bigger version of Jason Zucker. Which... is good. He is not Marcus Foligno, though. He has no career NHL fights and is not an enforcer by any stretch despite being a go-to-the-net and forechecking type. His "stand up for teammates" credibility has never been tested and is unknown.

Absolutely. I think the first time he did it was well before we knew the cap would be $95M this season and over 100 next year. (And he has the silly unspoken internal cap and now the Skinner buyout cap to manage.) But, the RFAs change. Quinn, JJP, and Levi and have transformed into Quinn on a bridge only, McLeod for a real contract, maybe Byram, JBD, and Levi. It's still applicable. (But we all know he'll trade Kesselring at the deadline or next summer for another 1-year until RFA guy. Unless the team starts winning and Power/Levi start looking the part of their potential.)

I'd rather have him as 2C than Kulich (this season at least, maybe not for the duration of the contract he'd need to sign), but I think his price tag will be significantly beyond what Pegula is willing to offer.

No. Krebs plays center and has turned himself into a fair grinder/checker, he throws about twice as many hits per game than Doan (even with Buffalo's low hits statisticians for half Krebs' games). Doan is wing only, but still with upside.

But we aren't being lied to. (Except by Sheevyn, a bit, but does he count?) The owner said the new path of the team is EEE in 2020, and hasn't refuted that new direction in a press conference since. The purpose of the Buffalo Sabres is to keep your distance from the cap without looking like you're trying to keep your distance from the cap. I don't know, fly casual! This could all change with one easy thing. Pegulas the Wise comes out next week and says, "our purpose is to win the Cup, EEE is over, I expect us to be at the limit of the cap and... Adams is relieved of his duties as GM. He's now my right-hand POHO guy." The odds of this happening are approximately 4,659,230 to one.

Cons: I'm going to miss "meesa Jar Jar Peterka! Meesa score bombad goals!" and the Peterka Puts It Away cat. Pros: He's the d-man that made the Kesselring in less than 12 parsecs! He's a spice mine! So... it'll all work itself out on the board.

Don't sell the rest of the trade short. Yashin netted Chara, Muckalt, and #2 overall (Spezza). Ottawa got a HOF defenseman and a better center who gave them 11 seasons of point-per-game production.

I like the d-corps as currently constructed. It could have a solid 3-year window to gel with bridges (or more) on Byram, Kesselring, and JBD. Byram-Dahlin Power-Kesselring Samuelsson-JBD (Clifton, Bryson-waive to AHL/tweener callup) The issue of course, is that it's not EEE if Byram, JBD, or Kesselring don't want to be here or want long-term deals. With the cap escalating, though, why would you go for a long-term deal if you're still on the ascent? As others have said along the thread, this trade lacks a 2nd or a swap of the firsts. Add #4, take away #9 and this trade works. Or, more likely, at least get that 2nd if they're being punks. Honestly, add #4 and I'm happy because I think you can still get more out of Quinn and Benson. And if Byram moves for a top-6 forward, it can still be OK. If this is the case, we have to wait for Peterka to become a legitimate star, lead the Coyotes to a President's Trophy, a WCF... before departing in free agency. We'll be at year 19 by then.

It is the future you see.

Is the quest at an end, or just beginning (again)? I like Kesselring. Now, win games and convince him to stay awhile.

Kesselring one season and then move him when his cost is too high as an RFA? It’s the same trade as Mitts-Byram. Get one year of a player at a time. Announce the end of EEE and then get a real GM. You want to be a hockey owner and win the Cup, don’t you?

I guess now the money is there for Byram if he doesn’t want out. But they’ll probably trade him at midnight tomorrow.

Unless, somehow, despite the EEE and the GM, they win. Then maybe. But that’s a lot to overcome for a group of players outside of a movie script.

84 games? Now everybody's gonna be a 20-goal scorer!

It'd be really fun if they still had JT Miller on the team. Add Kane to the EP-JT discourse. First liner (on this team) under team control/contract for several more years? Time to move them out. Sounds like a case of the someone doesn't want to be heres.

Going home for a season. That's a good move for Edmonton to free up (unless retention in play) $5M for defense/goaltending. For Vancouver, they get muscle, and maybe a longer-term hometown discount extension to wind out his career as a 3/4W. There are worse grinders out there.

Given their most recent 1st round picks (Benson, Helenius in the AHL playoffs) and also Ziemer, and also the in-division dominance of tougher teams Florida/Tampa/Boston, I have slightly better feeling that they will prioritize the aggression in the player. So I think there's a better chance they do prioritize Martin, Bear, Aitcheson, Smith, or Eklund (though very lightweight) over the less-attacking O'Brien, Mrtka, etc.

Except the continued support and favor of his boss. All they are is a typical failson-type setup franchise so the owner has a toy. That's not new or different. At least with the Pittsburgh Pirates there's no confusion; they're just there to collect the revenue sharing. The Pegula-Adams dyad whines that winning is hard because Buffalo. It's pathetic in a game (sports ownership) where no one has sympathy for you; they're glad you stink. But, not too bad, because they do want you to bring in some ticket sales.

This is the follow-up to what would you want to do with #9 overall. Now, it's the easy poll. Knowing what you know, pre-pressers in the fold, with only days to go, will Adams make the pick at 9 or send it on the go?

This is the correct answer.

All futures all the time. Never win now. Peterka + nothing extra to Chicago for 2025 3OA, RHD Rinzel, and the unprotected 2026 CHI 1st. Be silly. If they want JJP, they can give him a four-1st offer sheet or they trade only three assets. Sheevyn has never intentionally tanked, but now is his chance. You only get... from 6 to 18 years to be an NHL GM your first time around. Have fun with it.

I'm not watching the video, not because I don't like torture, but because I don't like listening to Sheevyn talk anymore. What would've happened if the injury had been TNT, or Tuch, or Skinner during that season? More excuses? Let's Look at the Timeline! 6/29/23: Quinn has successful Achilles surgery. That means Sheevyn knew about the injury a few days up to a couple weeks (depending on swelling, etc.) beforehand. That gives you a week, maybe more, to plan for UFA on 7/1 and address the now gaping hole in your top 6 (because you established at the end of the previous season that it wasn't Olofsson per the coach's usage), because even after the recovery, Quinn is unlikely to be at full speed this season. So... go get a Zucker-type in UFA. 7/1: UFA opens. They get EJohnson and Clifton. They don't trade VO or retain his salary. Sheevyn has $10M remaining in cap space to address a critical need for a team trying to make the playoffs for the 1st time in 12 years and that finished 1 point (2 points with tiebreakers) out of the playoffs previously. Here are some available UFAs that signed on 7/1: Kerfoot, Compher, Eller, Miles Wood, Galchenyuk, Acciari, Killorn, Namestnikov, Glendening, Bonino, Zucker, Steel, Duchene, Sprong, Conor Sheary, Pacioretty (off Achilles injury), Craig Smith, Blueger, Lucic, Gustav Nyqvist (2-yr deal), Morgan Geekie, Blake Wheeler, JVR, ROR, Reaves. Some wouldn't be fits. But you only need 1, technically, if Benson makes the team or if you don't trade VO. Here are some available UFAs on 7/2/2023 and the term they signed for: Evan Rodrigues-(4 yr), Tyler Bertuzzi (1-yr), Max Domi (1-yr), Vinnie Hinostroza (1-yr), Filip Zadina (1-yr), Jesper Boqvist (1-yr), Oskar Sundqvist (1-yr), Tomas Nosek (1-yr), Vladimir Tarasenko (1-yr), Pius Suter (2-yr), Tyler Motte (1-yr), Tomas Tatar (1-yr). There are a few you could take a stopgap for Quinn. I've always thought Tarasenko would've been the right move. 12/19/23: Quinn returns to the lineup. Current record: 13-17-3. You're waiting on him to SAVE your season, you should've already made a move in the summer. Your desperation move should've taken place in November! (For the record, Sheevyn did trade for Eric Robinson on 12/6 -- too late and not really the right guy to replace Quinn's point production.) 1/27/2024: Quinn is injured the game before the All-Star Break. 22-23-4. Luukkonen has been playing out his mind, you're still under DeLuca.500 by 5 games. At season's end, 39-37-6 is 4 games under DeLuca.500 and 7 points clear of the final Wild Card. You needed Quinn's replacement all season long. ######.

Yes. He isn’t 100% dependent on speed and his primary RW competition is TNT on an excellent contract. If he gets to UFA, he’ll be in the 8.5 ballpark. If he has another season like the one he just did, and is the #2-3 UFA on the market next summer (excluding McDavid) he could be looking at 10+ with the cap as high as it will be.