DarthEbriate

Yup -- Okposo is a really solid player, just not a 6M/season player. And with the flat cap there's no way we're getting out of that contract unless we give Seattle/other team a 1st to take him.

He had a couple absolute laser blasts, not asteroids, for goals last season. His shot has rounded into form the last couple years. While I would like one bigger/stronger winger in the top six to disrupt and go into corners, Reino works the boards nicely and he's also the only guy who consistently jumps into the fray no-questions-asked whenever someone runs Eichel.

Free would be a pretty good deal for Athanasiou. 🍺 I'm not sure where he'd play unless we moved out someone. Would you overpay him a touch (the Tage 1.5M route; so maybe like a 1.9 or such) to entice other teams to lay off him if you need to send him through waivers? I'm not sure Athanasiou is yet ready to go for a 2-way contract to rebuild himself.

Really nice deal for the Sabres. For the first time in <mumble> years we're going to have two complete top-six lines with NHL players across the board and no rookies who need to deliver to make it a viable lineup. Once Olofsson is locked up, we'll have a solid group of forwards for a admittedly unstable season. The Okposo and Skinner contracts are spinning wrenches in the sky, and the Girgs contract is like a banana peel on the floor, but this allows some good flexibility for our juggling next year. Edit: By midseason (whenever it is) we may even have some really nice lineup flexibility with Ruotsalainen adapted to the NHL rink size after some ROC time, Cozens with the ability to move around, and the Asplund/Mitts possibility of pushing for a callup with strong play (ideally).

Especially considering Carolina's cap situation at the time. It simply served up the contract for Carolina to sign.

Wait... we could be getting paid (minimally) to voice our opinions in much the manner we are now? But... in longer posts. Is it possible to learn such a power?

The Merzlikins contract earlier this year is what Linus has he eyes on. Only 33 GP, 2-yr extension at $4M.

Precisely. Hey GMs, if you win a Cup you'll get to stick around for awhile... and someone else will hire you no problem. You'll be in the game for 15 years. If you stink, you'll be gone in 3-5 years anyway. Live a little!

These look good. Everything I'm seeing being signed has me suspecting we'll get this all taken care of in about $11M, with 2M to spare below the cap. Then, it'll be time to look at Dahlin and Joker and how to get Seattle to take Okposo's cap hit (or Skinner). And seriously, how has Cirelli or Sergachev not been enticed to sign an offer sheet yet? C'mon GMs --- this is THE season to poach if you're going to do it. Lock up a 23-year old Cup winner stud in your top 6 or top pair for the next 7 seasons at a good price ($6M). For a 1st and 3rd in a season when there might not even be junior hockey/NCAA to play.

Sorry -- been so busy with work I hadn't had time to research. I stand corrected. The sum total of the 1+2+1+1 (wrong film!) exchanges was essentially: ROR + Kane + 2nd ==> Skinner + Montour + Miller + Johnson (1st #31). Which isn't bad. With JBot it was the lower rounds, especially this gem: 2018 BUF 6th for 2019 TOR 6th (trading back in the 6th round), which was then packaged with 2019 BUF 7th to trade into the 5th round with Detroit to draft Cederqvist (after trading our own 5th to Detroit for Scott Wilson the previous season. Nah, I criticize them both for different reasons. I also like certain things each of them did. My proceeding post was more attempting to be encompassing of each of the previous GMs than to call out JBott over Murray.

Let me look on them with my own eyes. And typically through the rose-colored glasses in my helmet, while drinking something tasty, via the NHL.tv account. And once a year in person in Vancouver, until 2021-22 when it'll be twice a year in Vancouver and Seattle.

This makes sense for the franchise. He's a solid AHL guy, and is a needed veteran presence for all the kids in Rochester (with Irwin/Davidson, whichever goes down). If Montour or Risto is moved, or if Montour just plays the left side... any injuries and Casey would be competing with Borgen for the initial RHD callup. And for Nelson, perhaps just the familiarity in unfamiliar times.

Through the Concept Of the pumpkin things you will see: other places; the future, the past; old gourds long gone.

Yes -- I had listed the 7 years we've been rebuilding and figured I should include something of Murray's as well to show it's not just JBott handing out high picks in an effort to improve the current roster.

It's not my fault! I trusted them to fix it! The other excuse I’ll make for our prospect pool is that we’ve traded away a lot of picks and we haven’t returned a lot of prospects in our trades. We’ve traded to improve the NHL roster --- which sounds odd when you consider we’ve been in a tear-down and rebuild for the last 7 seasons. And no, it doesn’t mean we would’ve drafted better, just more volume and the chance for more hits. On the one hand, it’s OK to trade picks to rebuild the NHL roster because “you can’t sign them all” and you want to “Win now!”. On the other dismembered-by-lightsaber hand, it impacts the prospect pool. It’s especially glaring for JBott who vowed to rebuild the pipeline and Rochester, and then traded away high picks several times. Examples: Traded a 1st for Lehner ; Traded a 1st for Montour ; Traded two 2nds for Skinner. Edit: The ROR trade only brought back Tage as a prospect along with two NHL roster players; the Kane trade (admittedly a rental so we weren't getting a top prospect, only brought back O'Regan with the 1st and not some 19 year-old "reach" prospect in SJ's pipeline.)

The question is if the Bader system includes Dahlin and Jokiharju. And who'll be laughing all the way to the Space Bank when Cronholm, Worge-Kreu, Kukkonen, and Laaksonen, and Davidsson, Cederqvist, and Rousek all turn in NHL-roster caliber players in 3 years. JBot! That's who.

That armor's too strong for blasters. Rogue Group, everything just RICOCHETS! Hope Doc has a happy retirement!

I like Miller, but he's not coming back east. Also, unless Hutton's eye is inoperable/beyond repair by bacta or an artificial limb... at this point Hutton > Miller.

The Wolf Pack's former captain and Porter as yet unsigned? I would like to see someone of the younger crew that will always ever be a tweener take on some of the leadership.

That is a very young d-corp. I wouldn't turn down an AHL contract on Paetsch (or equivalent) for practices/road trips. Not necessarily to play, just to be the grizzled wookiee on the ship. Edit: Is MacWilliam (an AHL JAG) sticking around as D?

++ You don't believe in the Concept Of, do you? --- Kid, I've skated from one side of this Conference to the other. I've seen a lot of strange goals. But I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Concept Of fixing this team. There's no mystical Kassian or Kahun that controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple grit and "compete".

Arttu! Where are you? Edit: Yes, we absolutely need to talk Ruotsalainen because the possibilities are limitless. Rockets-in-legs and plot-device-gadget limitless.

Mind tricks don't work on Jeff; only money! I'm sure he's just happy the team looks improved on paper, the offense isn't all on him (and Jack's line), and he'll have the chance to win more games.

True. However, if Hall is only here one year, then we can get next year's UFA like Toffoli (as well as sign Dahlin) with some of the freed up cash, as there will still be tons of cash-strapped teams and internal-capped teams. That's the benefit of the one-year deal.

Not anymore. Now we've got to ink him in the 3.7 (Kubalik) to 4 range. Until the cap resets and goes up, we've got to get players to settle a smidgen lower. That's where the Girgs deal baffles me. It's not a significant overpay; it's not 3x3. But it's an overpay that equates to another ELC/tweener guy, or a sweetener to a scorer these next couple years.