GASabresIUFAN

So who are going to be our goaltenders next season?

He is a younger more talented version of VO. Wait until he adds 20 pounds. Like VO that part of his game will improve as he is better able to physically stand up to the hitting.

At 9 - 11 you take the top player on your list regardless of the position. Hopefully Lekkerimaki or Gauthier is still there. Most of the center are further down the draft board and would be good targets for the 16th overall pick like McGroarty, Geekie or Kasper.

I don't think you have to worry. Pickering is 20th on my board right now however Button listed him at 13th today. Pronman had him at 22.

A happy scream or a scream in anger? You didn't answer my question. Who is your next best RHD after Nemec & Jiricek?

There is a reason Button failed as a GM.

Lets screw Dallas and make an offer sheet for Oettinger. That could solve our goalie issue for the next decade or at least put the hated Stars in cap hell. We certainly have the draft capital to make such as offer.

After Nemec and Jiricek, who is the next RHD on your board? On my board in the 12-20 tier I have LHD Mintyukov, Mateychuk, Korchinski, and Pickering and centers Geekie, Lambert, Kasper and McGroarty. From 25 to 34 I have RHD Nelson, Luneau, and Chesley and centers DelBelBelluz, Gaucher, Kulich. and Beck Around 41 I have RHD Lamoureux and Casey, LHD like Hutson and Warren and then a pile of centers from Jack Hughes, Ostlund, Pooitras, Lorenz, and Trikozov. A couple of other RHD also have support in this area in Havelid and Salomonsson. Buffalo's board will obviously be different. They may have Kulich at 16 for example. However I doubt it so completely different. Last year I had Power at 1 (Sabres 1), I had Rosen at 21 (Sabres 14), I had Poltapov at 41 (Sabres 33) and I had Kisakov at 52 (Sabres 53)

Is it possible Oskari is injured? Maybe not enough to keep him from playing in an emergency, but enough to take away his best skills. Similar to VO’s injury that limited his shot.

No question other then center, but that’s not how the talent in this drafts falls. For us at 9 it looks like the best available will be a winger. At 16 LHD and center should be available. At 30 ish RHD comes into play. At 41 it looks like RHD and center are the top choices

Nothing precludes the team from also grabbing a rhd or additional centers with the Fla pick or our 2nd rd pick.

While you may have no interest the Sabres might especially if they know Johnson isn’t going to sign. The pipeline has no significant LHD if Johnson walks. Novikov is an intriguing prospect but is now a complete unknown given the Russia issues. The pipeline is also devoid of higher end centers. I’m also ok with Kasper or Rutger at 16.

I'm a no in general in the 1st rd on all Russian players playing in Russia, like Yurov or Trikozov. I don't see how in the current climate we can get them here for possibly 3 or more years. That's to long to wait. Miroshnichenko has the added risk of health. The caveat here is his immense talent. I don't think I'd even consider him at 28-32. However in the 2nd round a flier on him might be worth it, especially after drafting 3 1st rd players earlier in the draft. For me I really want Jiricek at 9, but doubt he'll be there (or Nemec either for that matter). Lekkerimaki seem like the obvious choice. I see him as Olofsson's replacement in a few years. At 16 someone like Mintyukov or Mateychuk seems to make sense. KA seems less worried about L vs R in DG system and if Johnson walks we need another top end LHD in the system.

Only the NHL could create a lottery system where you can't be sure where a team drafts even after the lottery.

He is a major talent. If he is still around at 16 do you take a chance and maybe get a superstar talent or would you play it conservatively and avoid the risk? Unless the kid is already playing in Europe or NA, I'm avoiding all Russian players in this draft. Too much political risk in that they maybe be allowed to leave or the US/Can could in theory bar teams from signing Russian players as part of the war sanctions. Hard enough to develop a prospect without the added issue of politics.

What makes you think KA would want him? He’s only 23. That’s 17 years to young for Adams.

I didn't realize he'd been there since 2018. The prospect pool looks thin. Outside Holmstrom, Raty and DuFour, there isn't much there. They do have a very talented but aging forward group and great goaltending. They need Granato to coach them up. They probably have to move Varlamov to add some D.

All coaches are hired to be fired. Isn't that the general rule in all pro sports. Also how many coaches have every won a Cup with more than one team besides Bowman? The answer is 1 and that is Dick Irvin in the 1930's and 40's with Tor and Mon. Ruff, Maurice and Vigneault all have 722 to 7823 wins and zero Cups. Good coaches usually have to go through the carousel a few times before finding the right situation. For example, Quenneville got his during his 3rd job, Trotz his second, Laviolette his second, and Sutter his 4th. I guess Lou being Lou decided it was time to put his stamp on this version of the NYI. Hard to question Lou given his track record.

Carolina won that Cup because rookie Ward played out of his mind.

I agree that the bridge goalie needs to be at least 3 years

https://nypost.com/2022/05/09/islanders-fire-barry-trotz-in-stunner/ The team completely underachieved this season. I guess he is the fall guy.

I've added a couple of Poll questions to see how Sabrespace thinks KA will resolve the goaltending issues.

I like this chart as well. It’s usually pretty close. There were three 2021 1st rd trades downs; 15 for 23, 48 & 138, 20 for 22 & 90, and 27 for 40 & 51. The chart said 15 was worth 28.5 pts and they received 26.25 pts in return. The chart says 20 was worth 22.4 pts and they got 21.1 in return. Last 27 was worth 16.3 pts and they accepted 14.8 in return. I’d say that’s pretty close. If anything, it may over value the 1st rd picks slightly.

There are really good players in this draft down to the mid 20’s. Make the pick and get another good player for the pipeline.

Really? So he let one “quality” player walk. He let a late round TM draft pick return to the draft after he had taken a serious step back in performance the year Jbot had to sign him. Hagel was not re-drafted, but after a huge overage season in the WHL he was given an ELC by the Hawks. He is the one in a million shot. On the other hand, Jbot took a similar chance on Murray and is getting decent results so far. Also Carmel saying that Jbot doesn’t get credit for taking Dahlin is ludicrous. There are no givens in the draft. GMs even get the 1st wrong frequently (See Nail Yakupov or Patrik Stefan). Does TM therefore not get credit for Reinhart and Eichel? Does KA not get credit for Power?