DarthEbriate

Splitting Charlotte with the Panthers this season, then Palm Springs full roster next season and likely an ECHL affiliation as well. IT's all good. We can sign Dalton Smith to an NHL contract again. 🍺

Holistically, yes. But I was speaking specifically from Buffalo's available list. Miller, he's peaked and his pricetag isn't great for being a #7. Girgs was hurt and is JAG, plus overpaid. Okposo would be a good choice, but the injuries, no way. Skinner: ha! Give me the upside. The total sleeper would have been Ogelvie, because Seattle also needs to fill out half an AHL roster this season, but he also cannot seem to stay healthy.

For me, I'd have had Miller + our MTL 5th (we don't own ours, so it's late 5th round) on the table instead of Borgen, and I could have caved for the 4th. We've got 10 picks in this year's draft. It costs more to replace him in UFA than if we'd have spent a mid-round pick, especially if it's a JAG that we overvalue (Matt Irwin, for example), or worse, a multi-year deal on an overpay for someone who is fine, but whom Borgen quickly outgrows.

It's the best choice from a Seattle perspective.

To be fair, it's just a couple hosts and their producer talking at the moment. I know one of the daytime hosts is really into hockey and does the T-Bird play-by-play/coverage so he'll know it. But at the moment, as an example, they read off as one of the names dropped McDermid from the Kings... who's just a guy. If they take any calls, the sports fans will know more.

Listening to Seattle sports radio... which I don't normally do, is fun today. They're trying. But they're not hockey people and even though they've had a couple years to get ready. But they don't know any names, they don't know any pronunciations, etc. It's a bit silly. But they seem genuinely excited.

They do want high-character guys. And Okposo is one of the top guys available for that. (And he'd get them to the minimum pick floor.) But I doubt Buffalo would give them any sweeteners to take him; his cap hit is no longer all that constricting. We're more fun this way.

I'll bite... We sent the 1st overall pick to protect Miller!!!!!! What?

I knew it wasn't Domi. But golly, should have been Gerbe. I'll bet Gerbe would play defense if asked.

Skinner!

My guess would be double-dipping on some teams with a pick now plus free agency. Couldn't get Landeskog in their window, but maybe in regular UFA, and add another guy like Compher.

Tanev from PIT instead of Aston-Reese surprises me. It's got me wondering if PIT sent a pick/sweetener to take Tanev. Especially since they also moved out McCann to avoid him getting picked from their roster.

All three get traded eventually. Two before the end of the 1st round on Friday, the remaining one before the trade deadline.

Columbus 10 picks in and we've already got 5 defensemen... Lots of defensemen later in the alphabet. I count 3 that should be their team's picks. Columbus should be Dean Kukan RHD 1 year / $1.65M then UFA. Then, look to trade him if necessary. That's the sane pick. However, in an alternate reality... Pu, Stenlund, Sherwood, meh. Grigorenko is KHL-bound. Nah, give me a guy who'll pass through waivers and be a feisty 20-game call up veteran when injuries hit, then pass right back through waivers. Your one-year "Seattle-captain" of the AHL Charlotte Checkers (shared with Florida). He's got the experience to keep a partial team together. Plus, the fans love him when he mixes it up with someone twice his size. F Nathan Gerbe. 1 x $750k.

If we can get Ullmark 3x$3.5... Do what must be done, GM Sheevyn. Do not hesitate! Show no mercy him the money. Ullmark will go higher. Driedger is coming off a sub-$1M deal and had the benefit of a solid defensive roster in front of him. He's good, and I like him, but unless he'd stolen a series against Tampa, he was going to get stymied by his previous deal and get a 1B deal. On the other hand, Ullmark made Buffalo look respectable. He'll be like the most recent wave of starting goalies: Demko, Holtby, Kuemper, Markstrom. $4.5M minimum is my guess. And it only takes one GM to not be scared by the injuries and give him $6M like Markstrom got (it's unlikely, but... so was Skinner's contract).

It's a terrible cap hit. We all laughed at Montreal when Price signed the deal because it was too high for a goalie (we'd been seeing MAF, Crawford, and Matt Murray play well... but really just be passengers on their team's prowess. Some great saves, but not stealing series because they didn't have to.) That's where... MTL really has to entice me to make the move. And I don't think the Habs are willing to do it. Bergevin knows they're pretenders. I think Weber plays again and sooner than expected. Both he and Price were suddenly getting offseason surgery as they got exposed. MTL might be happier for neither of them to play again to free up the cap space. But I'm guessing they are on the ice in the season after this one (22-23). I like Tarasenko a lot. But not enough to pass on Dunn. Soooo many good young defenders to build around. Bean, Dunn... and they won't break the bank. Get a couple really solid veterans (Giordano, maybe a Shattenkirk/De Haan) to keep them company on expiring deals, and stockpile the younger guys.

I'm out of it for a little while and everyone gets delusions of grandeur (for Luke Adam). Looking forward to it. If it's too cold for speeders you take tauntauns. If your tauntaun dies... you're in trouble. Gotta be able to skate well enough to make an impact.

This is a good move for Seattle. Guy coming into his own, like an Ullmark. Not an overpay. From Florida's list, he's the best player with upside and production. I like Acciari's game, but there are other 3rd liners available who bring more. I could see a one-year on Stralman as a cagey vet who could be moved at the deadline, but there are so many other defensemen available (see other threads re: Borgen/Miller). If I'm Seattle I look at Montreal returning to the Atlantic next season and smile. This Habs team has pieces... but remove Weber or Price and rely on Allen? In Tampa/Boston/Toronto's division. That's not a playoff team. So I squares up to the Habs... casual-like. What's it worth the Habs to get Price's contract off their books? 2022 MTL 1st and 2023 MTL 1st? Picks must be lottery unprotected. When Bergevin balks I ask the same question for Shea Weber. Have a friendly discussion. I don't think Montreal does it, but I inquire. Maybe I can get a MTL 2022 1st and 2023 1st/2nd to take a Weber/Price. If I do, that's where I seriously consider spending the cash on them. Because the Habs are a 5th-place in their division even with both guys healthy in the lineup. So is MTL rebuilding (in which case they don't trade the picks) or are they deluding into thinking they've got a playoff-caliber roster? What does Bergevin think of his team's future? I bank on Seattle spending near to the cap on opening day this season (maybe less next season after some bad contracts come off the books), LTIR being available, and... by the time 2024-25 rolls around, the cap beginning its resurgence. The last two years of Price's deal won't be bad cap hits.

He is a UFA. But if Seattle negotiate with and sign him during their exclusive UFA window the next few days -- then he's the pick. All unprotected UFAs are in that boat.

Skinner, Okposo, Eakin, Girgensons, Oglevie, Dea, Fogarty, Sheahen, Caggiula, Smith CJ, Rieder Miller, McCabe, Borgen, Davidson, Irwin Hutton, Tokarski, Houser (and we hold Pilut's rights for trade)

If Seattle takes Borgen, I hope he does well out here in Seattle in the mold of Weber, but we Sabres folks have a top-flight d-corp anyway. If we keep him, the I hope he's a McKee complete with timely playoff goals in a Sabres uni. (Still hoping it's Miller and a 6th so the Kraken can fill out their prospects list with some JBot-special puck-moving d-man from Sweden.)

I look at Borgen as anywhere from McCabe to McKee/Warrener (all 2nd-rounders). He can skate well enough, he was starting to get more involved offensively in Rochester two seasons ago. He projects out to 3-6D, and can be the stabilizing force for a young puck-moving partner. The thing is... he's cheap now. And if we were to keep him and sign him, he'd be a) still cheap, b) getting better each season, and c) because of how he plays -- becoming a fan favorite. He'll give us 6 solid seasons, ala McCabe, before he becomes the really cagey veteran who gets $4M (like McKee or Gorges or Rivet) and then we have to let him go or trade him for a 2nd if we're missing the playoffs that season. If we lose The Concept of Borgen, we either get another Matt Irwin on the cheap, or we have to pay $4M for that grizzled vet that Borgen should become -- and still likely is on the 3rd pairing. At least, that's all my Concept of Borgen. We drafted and developed him... let's reap some of the benefits. Let he and Samuelsson become the next McKee/Warrener or McCabe/Risto (except better, because the team is hopefully better). All this novelization... and I'm still thinking we sweeten Seattle with a 5th-6th pick to take Miller who can be a PP2nd. JBot liked Miller a lot at one point and likely still does; Borgen was a GMTMer.

That's the key. Then Seattle needs to figure out what the Habs will give up to a) waive his NMC and b) keep Allen. Sure, he's not been great in the regular season recently, but neither had MA Fleury been before Pittsburgh let Vegas have him. Seattle needs to be on the pillaging path.

Re: Price. That's a gigantic cap it. 10M+ for years... but within 3 seasons the cap should start going up again. If I'm Seattle, I give MTL a call and ask for a 2022 or 2023 1st to relieve them of the burden of Price's cap hit. Or alternately, what kind of pick I can get for them to not lose the face of their franchise. See if I can make them sweat a little bit. If Seattle took Price and Driegder/Vanecek, their goaltending at the NHL level is set. And likely at $12M to bridge the backup... while super-high, isn't completely unreasonable. Montreal just did it.

Ah, yes. I'll edit to add. I like Ullmark a bunch, but this non-contact knee injuries scare the stuffing circuits out of me. In this day and age, unless the goalie is a Price, Roy, Brodeur, Hasek -- someone who has dragged and carried a team to a conference Final or further... no need to go to 7 or 8 years. Markstrom only got 6 last season, and it's unlikely any of the good-but-not-great goalies this 2021 UFA season get full-term contracts, either.