DarthEbriate

Every word of what you just said is correct.

League-wide, yes. The owners should want players making tons because that means the league revenue is higher and the owners make their equal amount. But you know on the individual team level each owner is happy to pay less and get someone on a cheaper contract, even if just because of a possible LTIR or buyout. As you noted on the previous page, the Sens got Stepan and $2M remaining, and not Point's $18M remaining. It's the perception of it.

What if we don't make the playoffs? But it's a whole 'nother year! It's only one shortened-season more. This training camp, we'll make enough on the rookie crop that I'll be able to trade for some more picks, and then you can go to the playoffs next year.

If that's from the Pitt article it's really odd. It seems like they would have listed Kahun among our key losses. I'd say Larsson, Kahun, Johansson, and Simmonds as they had defined roles or were acquired as a future for the team. That said: Hall > Kahun. Cozens > Simmonds. Staal > Johnasson, and Eakin > Larsson (offensively only). So all-in-all we're improved.

Even better would be if Hutton comes in lights-out and in February he's 8-0-1... and then he just plays average hockey the rest of the year and coasts to something like 13-5-2. (And Linus is similarly average and ... do some math, carry the one... 18-14-4.).

There is the owner perspective as well that an offer sheet (successful or unsuccessful) also drives up player costs overall for the league, which is bad. And it also reduces their low-cost draft assets. It's a lose-lose for the owners bottom line, unless it helps the team reach and win playoff games.

Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right. (Just a lightsaber is a potential suicide-lobotomy-device if you're some unsupervised Youngling holding it upside down and looking at it...) Yes, it is a risky tool when doing trades/interacting with the GM inner circle. But one shrewd move like this can make your team a lot better quickly. It also is something that agents and players should be looking to use to get maximum dollar during the flat cap. From the Sabres perspective, Dahlin's cost should be lower next season based on the flat cap and what Sergachev signed for (4 years x 3.6M). That's laughable. So a team like Los Angeles next season should be ready to pounce on that. They've got high picks the past few years including Byfield. They've got Koptiar and Doughty on pricey contracts, but that's all. If Buffalo offers Dahlin in the 5M-area for a bridge with promises to give a pay raise on the next contract when the cap jumps back up.... then LA should definitely go 6.5M on a bridge (1st and 3rd for Dahlin --- hell yes that's easy to give up for him). Or even 7M (1st, 2nd, 3rd) --- make Buffalo really sweat it. Then, just lock Byfield up before he becomes available, and have a set price on all your other player --- so if someone comes for revenge and overpays for a guy, you take the picks and let them self-cripple their cap further. Exactly. A GM either gets canned in just a few years with never another sniff, or they join the re-tread circuit and are employed in some capacity for a decade or more. It could be well worth it to take the shot.

Welcome to 'breSpace... the final frontier. 🍺

Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future. The condensed schedule this season could easily see us needing 5-10 games from a center callup or line shuffle. If Mitts were to play 7-10 games and manage to score in a couple shootouts that get us into the playoffs? He's not what we've wanted in an 8th overall. But neither is Nylander what Chicago wants yet. In 2023, we can write the book on Mittelstadt.

You never know unless you try. For super-cheap, yes the Sabres likely match. But it's also a Sabres team no one fears (yet). Push the money higher into a 3rd-round pick range and then it could make sense. You get the 2 years to see if he pans out as an offensively-minded 3C who can win shootouts and play higher up with injuries at still a bottom-end salary (Girgensons-level). Mitts is more dangerous than Girgs offensively. And just in general, these next 2-3 seasons you should be weaponizing your cap if you have it. If some GM had forced TB to sign Sergachev for 4.5M, and another had forced TB to sign Cernak for 4M, then Cirelli couldn't be signed even with Kucherov sitting the season on LTIR. In the good-case, you get a player before normal market value during the next couple seasons. In the best-case, you force Cirelli off the TBL and maybe you can get him. Or you force TBL to trade Point and a 1st just to clear cap space. Your fellow GMs are just as much your enemies as are their roster/assets.

This is why all the major sites need an additional distinction in their columns. UFA, RFA, RFA102c, etc. Let the uninformed like myself be informed. Knowing is half the battle as they say. I dunno.... If he had been QO eligible and the Sabres had just signed Hall, Staal, and Eakin... say you're Detroit. You wouldn't toss Mitts a $925K to give him a two-year look-see in Grand Rapids, knowing he's liable to get through waivers that first season? (Remember, anything under 1.4M isn't even a single draft pick). He still has upside and skill. If he ever "gets" it, he could be a solid alternate scoring threat.

Gahhhh! Then how do us hockey peons in the Outer Rim like me know? Where is this listed and described? (Sorry @Taro T, I know better than to doubt you.) I mean.... Isn't there like some "Rule III FA" designation like in baseball that could be given?

What a bizarrely wicked schedule. I kind of love it. Except no Vancouver road trip this year (not that I could get across the border legally anyway at this point). All we need to do is skate fast and overwhelm some teams, get a few stretches of hot Ullmark, and basically exhibit youthful exuberance and desperation for awhile. Can you imagine having to face angry Eichel in 2 games in 3 nights in Buffalo after you just came off a tough back-to-back in Boston?

But @Taro T, every site had him listed as an RFA: NHL.com, Sportsnet, Sportrac. I'm not saying offer sheet now on Xmas EveEve, I mean as soon as the window opened and the qualifying offers were extended. Mitts never went to arbitration. Just like Barzal. Any team could've extended an offer to Barzal. None did (or he didn't sign, which is ridiculous with the flat cap). "Hey Matt. There's a flat/reduced cap. Every day you remain unsigned you're going to make less money --- even as a higher stature player. Here's 6.5M/2 years. Is it slightly below your value? Absolutely. But sign it and get a paycheck rather than settling 4.5 once all the money is gone. It's a bridge. We're glad to trade a first and a third for you." Or any of a number of other guys, like Mitts. (Though of course, Mittestadt could've been offered what we signed Tage Thompson for or less.)

And that said, not a single GM was willing to offer sheet Mitts for $1.0M as a 13th forward for no compensation whatsoever (no picks required up to $1.4M). Hmm.

Welcome back to the Sabres, Casey! Go get 'em and make the world regret not believing in you.

Well sure we can't, but what's the fun in that? ;-] All I'm saying is Boston lost Krug and could've submitted an offer-sheet to Sergachev. Get a better, up and coming Krug at a cheaper price on a bridge (say $4.2M x 2) at the cost of a 2nd round pick, and then possibly sign him long-term --- OR --- have it get matched by Tampa, putting your main competition in even further financial constraints. And if Sergachev turns down 4.2x2 to sign 3.6x4 (which he did sign with TB) to be off the market longer after the cap goes back up, to play for an equally matched team, but be the top PP guy immediately, he and his agent are foolish. BOS signed Grzelcyk for an identical 4x3.6M deal that Sergachev signed with TB.... Grzelcyk is a good player, but I'll take Sergachev all day of the two. GMs just aren't using a tool available to them, and they aren't using the cap as a weapon. And they must use all the tools available, especially with a reduced/flat cap for 2 years.

The backup goalie. I have confidence Ullmark plays well and the team is better than last year. We need a backup goalie who doesn't fall apart. It can be Hutton. I hope it's Hutton for Hutton's sake. He doesn't need to be undefeated for the first month of the season like last year, but he needs to be consistent and solid and above a .910 sv% for the season. Do that, with the continued growth of the youngsters, the infusion of Hall and Staal, and the depth down the center.... But we need a 2nd goalie who isn't almost a guaranteed loss for 3/4 of the season.

So what's the point of having offer sheets if no other NHL GM was willing to compensate a single 2nd round pick to sign Cernak anywhere in the $3-3.5M range? (And all the way up to $4.3M.) Cowards.

TL;DR = Why, whatever do you mean it's holiday week and I have too much free time? With the mention of 4-team divisions above I decided to just do a buddy-up system with pre-existing rivalries from the NFL. I give you: the NFL/NHL division alignment. (NFL Equivalent in parentheses) In the American Hockey Conference AHC East: Sabres (Bills), Bruins (Patriots), Panthers (Dolphins), Islanders (Jets). This one was a 1:1 match. All too easy. AHC North: Penguins (Steelers), Leafs (Browns), Devils (Ravens), Senators (Bengals). I considered a Saints/Devils balance, but really, the Devils and Ravens have been defense-first for 30 years and are very close geographically. Plus, the Leafs get to be their historical NFL Equivalent: the Browns (or Bengals) -- doesn't matter. They don't matter. AHC South: Predators (Titans), Blue Jackets (Colts), Oilers (Texans), Canucks (Jaguars). The Edmonton Oilers replace the replacement of the Houston Oilers. Makes sense. The Canucks and the Jaguars -- opposite corners -- some good seasons but never the best... sure. That was one of the weakest matches. AHC West: Blues (Chiefs), Golden Knights (Raiders), Avalanche (Broncos), Ducks (Chargers). Another easy division with almost perfect matches. Chargers and Ducks match up because the Rams/Kings have been better more recently. In the National Hockey Conference NHC East: Capitals (Team); Stars (Cowboys); Rangers (Giants); Flyers (Eagles). Another 1:1 alignment. And a fun hockey division. NHC North: Here's where I caveat this as a Packers fan. This division has three teams that are pre-existing (NFL/NHL city crossover), so the final team needs to match the spirit of the Packers.... insufferable holier-than-thou fanbase, media darlings... Toronto? No. Also, they need the hardware of the most-decorated franchise in League history. Habs. This way, Toronto can be matched to the Browns or Bengals. Canadiens (Packers), Blackhawks (Bears), Wild (Vikings), Red Wings (Lions). NHC South: Flames (Saints), Lightning (Buccaneers), Jets (Falcons), Hurricanes (Panthers). The matches plus the former-Atlanta franchises. NHC West: Kraken (Seahawks), Coyotes (Cardinals), Kings (Rams), Sharks (49ers). Another 1:1 alignment, especially with the 49ers now playing in Santa Clara instead of Candlestick.

For realignment, I really like @Let's Go B-Lo's approach of 4 division winners x 4 wild cards. It makes division battles extremely important (see the NFL) which generates rivalries if they play each other a sufficient number of times. And you still have a wild card to get the other contenders in. Wild cards also prevent a crap division (see NFL NFC East this year) from sending two sub-.500 (not including loser points, of course!) to the playoffs. The alternative would be the top 2 from each division making the playoffs -- and then they face each other to advance. (You hate your division rival and they're really, really good? Well, you've gotta get past them in the opening round every year. And hate leads to Suffering!) Either way, smaller divisions increase the rivalries... aka... give in to the hate.

No, and yes. McAvoy is great. Pastrnak is excellent. And then it's reliant on an aged core group (Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci - and Chara if he plays) playing a condensed season. Chara may have only skated 20/game but it was an ice-tilting in the regular season because folks don't really run and pressure him and beat him up until you're into a series. Losing Krug is huge for their PP. From a recent Boston board meeting: Cassidy Tagge: Until this Boston Station is fully operational, we are vulnerable. The Eichel Alliance is too well equipped. They're more dangerous than you realize. Gen. Managio Sweeney: Dangerous to your skaters, Coach, not to this Boston Station. Tagge: They're the same thing! Sweeney: <nervously tugging at collar as though choking> (And we all know how that turned out.)

I don't like our division. I was hoping for a Great Lakes Division of: Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Detroit, Chicago, and Minnesota, and throw in Boston for good measure. You know... so we could win our division. But. This one is going to be all the sweeter when we qualify on the strength of a renewed Skinner, a reborn Staal, a Cozens-for-Calder-push, a Dahlin-gets-a-few-Norris-votes eyebrow raise, and the Hall-Eichel-Reino onslaught on terrified goalies. Start fast again (third year in a row) and this time the secondary scoring keeps it going. Let's go, Buffalo! (Expectation: 4th place in the new division... squeaking into the playoffs)

Adding a 2C (and a good one at that in Staal) to this roster, plus Hall, and another year of experience from Ullmark --- we're on the cusp of the playoffs depending on the alignment (and able to compete in all permutations). I look at all the teams we could be grouped with for 48-56 games and... Better than us: Toronto, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa, Carolina, Washington Let's go play hockey!: Columbus, Boston, Florida, Pittsburgh Worse than us: Ottawa, Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, New Jersey, Minnesota, Nashville

Our prospect is the top-line center for Team Canada. Our other prospect is the top-line winger (albeit the "other guy" on the line) for Team Canada. This is so wizard, Ani --- in the parlance of our times.