Curt

He may not have had a contract that had any guarantee or obligations to continue into 2019-2020.

Ok. I guess you don’t want to discuss it.

I kind of disagree. In what ways are Zegras and Krebs more physical than Dach?

I would personally. I know you are thinking of the O’Reilly trade, but honestly I have been fine with every other trade made by this GM.

I like him, but I wouldn’t count on Laaksonen being in Buffalo for the 2020-21 season. Maybe in Rochester though.

Ok. I’m not refuting your larger point. He was productive on the PP relative to his ice time. I actually just thought it was misleading to say Okposo rarely played on the PP, when he in fact got quite a lot of PP time. 4th most among forwards, and as you said was on the top unit for a large portion of the season.

Okposo played a lot on the PP. 1:53 per game, 4th most among forwards.

Yes, Carolina’s goaltending was greatly improved this past season and was a big reason that they were able to break through.

One of the 62 overall best defensemen in the league, and probably someone who can be effective at ES, PP or PK.

I didn’t say he should have been ready for 25mins per game at age 21. He has never and probably will never be ready for that role. I was just clarifying that he didn’t actually get tossed into that role as a rookie.

This isn’t really true. He was eased in to an extent. He wasn’t thrown into a top pair 25min role until he was 21 and in his 3rd NHL season. The first two seasons, he did not lead the team in ice time.

60 or more points in 2019-20? Man, I don’t know. He is capable, the talent is there, but will depend on so many things. He will only be 19, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a rough patch at some point. 60+ points at some point in his career, perhaps even annually, is a near given though. Would be surprised to see a few 70-80 point seasons a few years down the road.

I also believe this. I think the Eichel contract has set the ceiling on Sabres salaries for the foreseeable future, possibly for the duration (next 7 yrs) of the contract. Even Dahlin I would expect to sign for no more than a matching $10M salary. The reasons that I believe this: He is the #1C, captain, and face of the franchise. I doubt anyone will surpass his offensive production on a consistent basis. It just feels right.

So, from my view, Mitts didn’t really play a 2nd line role last season. There was no 2nd line. Every line apart from Eichel’s played about the same ES mins. If you want to get super technical, Mitts did not have the 2nd most ES time among Cs. Should Larsson have played 15 mins ES while Mitts played 9? Would it have benefited Mitts to center Girgensons or Thompson more often? The middle six was abysmal. There not many good options. If Berglund was given 15 ES mins per game, would he have been happy and stuck around? I’m doubtful and I would think that part of him falling out of favor relatively quickly may have been that he mentally already had one foot out the door.

Maybe he was, but I think he was also expecting more from Berglund!

Well, Eichel’s contract was signed the season before it went into effect, so that would drop the % a hair, but you are right. This crow actually tastes pretty good!

Yes, that’s better. His contract is really fantastic!

If only the Sabres would have extended Eichel 6 years ago! They could have gotten a bargain like Bergeron. I bet Eichel’s cap number will look pretty good in 2023 too.

UFA's get overpaid. They have all the leverage. They decide where they want to go. If they are good, they are usually going to get overpaid. That's pretty much just the way it works. It doesn't drastically alter the market or have any long term ramifications for other contracts in Buffalo. This is how it always is. UFA's get overpaid.

Any draft picks included as part of an offer sheet would be for the 2020 draft and later, because free agency doesn't start until after the draft.

Hey, with the new player tracking coming to the NHL, you may actually see this information in the near future!

Some of Boston's top players: Pasternak, Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci, DeBrusk, Heinen. None of them over 6'1" or over 195. Boston's team strengths are speed and the PP. A player doesn't need to be 6'2"+ and 200+ to be able to take the body or play playoff style hockey. Newhook is not a passive player. I believe that can play just like the guys in Boston's top-6. Also, he could definitely play on the wing. I agree that a team does need some size. However, at #7 overall you should be looking for a star player, regardless of size. Just take the player you think will have the biggest impact. You can fill some size around him. I actually would like to see a larger forward taken with the late 1st. Leason, Afanasyev, Beecher are some of the guys I'm looking at.

Why do we need another player who can make the players around them better? I think Buffalo needs more players who can do that and I believe that is what Newhook can do. Newhook is an offense creator. Both for himself and his teammates. He is an excellent skater with both speed and agility. He creates shooting chances for himself and teammates. He is not a pass only guy with a weak shot. He is not big but is a stocky 5'10.5". So not particularly small. He goes into the corners and to the net front. I like size, but Newhook has an extremely high upside. I like Dach better, but I believe Newhook is a legitimate option around #7, right there with Cozens and Boldy.

This is it. Nelson performed better when used as a part-time 3rd pair D than Risto did when used like one of the top-10 D in the entire league. The difference in their usage is so vast that it makes comparing their Corsi numbers almost completely irrelevant. And I don’t even like a Risto very much.

That’s fine, but I don’t see why Pekar and Ruotsalainen should be regarded any lower than Davidsson and Smith. Pekar especially, I love. He has an infectiously positive personality and willingness to play a scrappy, gritty, pesty game combined with a good amount of skill and skating. I think he is a no doubt NHLer and possibly a quality middle-6 winger. Ruotsalainen, who knows honestly.