GASabresIUFAN

Hopes and prayers to Kim and the entire Pegula family. I hope she recovers quickly and fully.

Yep. It's why so many people really like his game. I have him 13th on my board and I'd grab him at 16 if he is still available.

i have Howard at 20th on my current draft board with a recent ranking by Wheeler at the Athletic at 10. I would not be a stretch to see him taken at around 16. The biggest issue for me is our depth in the system Buffalo, Rochester and the draft picks at LW. Despite the groaning of people on this board, don't rule out KA taking a LHD at 16 like Korchinski, Mintyukov or Mateychuk. Kasper would be my personal selection at 16. Geekie will also get play at 16 is not taken earlier, but 9 is to early for him IMHO.

Here are the projections from 5 recent mock drafts. Some quick thoughts. No to Nazar or Geekie at 9. Lekkerimaki at 9 would be fine. I like Ohgren or Nazar at 16. 16 is much to early on Bichsel, or Pickering. I like Luneau, a RHD, at 28. I love Kulich there even more. Someone will fall to us at 41 that we didn't expect to be there like Seamus Casey, or even Bichsel.

Not eligible to play in Rochester next season.

I guess we can add Cedarqvist to the Amerks rookies with Rosen and Kisakov for next season. The Forward group is shaping up nicely for the Amerks with the 3 rookies, plus Mersch, Weissbach, Rousek, Pekar, plus probably Murray and possibly R2 as well. A very European group so far, with only Mersch from NA so far.

I edited my previous post after reading the linked article.

So what's his SHL contract status Mr. Baker? Well I went and researched it. Cederqvist signed a 2 year deal with Djurgardens in April 2021. That would seem to indicate that he can't join Rochester until after next season. https://www.difhockey.se/article/h1toaknob-1lead/forwardstalangen-filip-cederqvist-till-djurgarden

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nhl-draft-sabres-biggest-needs-top-prospects-144315374.html FYI

The best player available is Dumba. I don't see KA making a big move to acquire him. I'm probably willing to do much more than KA, but I suspect KA is going to go for smaller deals to maintain his assets while hopefully improving the team. Also Teppo and Lydman were small deals at the time, they just were master strokes. While I'm not sure KA will get that lucky, I do believe that Stralman could end up being a Teppo kind of value pick up.

Quick cap update $47,801,667 for 12 forwards, 4 D and ZERO G. This includes Bishops, CoHo, Bjork, JJP and Quinn. Add RFAs VO (5.5 for 4 years) and Bryson (1.67? for 3 years). Add these two and the team has 13 forwards and 5 D for $54,971,667 or about 7.5 mill under the cap floor with 2 goalies slots and 3-4 skaters to sign (the 4th slot would be a Bjork replacement).

Many of these guys are UFAs and would cost nothing but salary. Cost for the non-UFAs would depend on age, salary, term, and how desperate the seller is to get the cap space open. Take Orlov for example. He’s 30, has one year left at 5.1 and is still a very effective player. He’d likely cost the 41st pick, plus a pick next year. I’d pay that price for him. Honestly, Stralman, a UFA, is the most Teppo-ish player available. Anton can still add offense, but is still good defensively. He’d be a perfect mentor for the young D. At 35 he is a better player at both ends of the ice than Subban.

What we are looking for a good fits that might end up being cap dumps or cap casualties. For example Dumba or even Dmitry Orlov. Maybe TB lets Jan Rutta (UFA) walk. There is also Letang, Stralman, Jensen (Wash), or even Gudas. All would be better choices than Subban.

Yes if KA is willing to acquire someone via trade.

Or Toni Lydman or etc..... PK Subban's skill set simply doesn't fit with the team's needs. So many better choices. Quick cap update $47,801,667 for 12 forwards, 4 D and ZERO G. This includes Bishops, CoHo, Bjork, JJP and Quinn. Add RFAs VO (5.5 for 4 years) and Bryson (1.67? for 3 years). Add these two and the team has 13 forwards and 5 D for $54,971,667 or about 7.5 mill under the cap with 2 goalies slots and 3-4 skaters to sign (the 4th slot would be a Bjork replacement).

Subban couldn’t play top 4 minutes with NJ and now people want him to pair with Power and play top 4 minutes here. That makes zero scene. Power needs a smart defensive partner, not a has been offensive D.

Please explain what PK brings to the table that we actually need?

Noooooooo! I want a D who can actually play D

I think this deal is terrible news for next season. KA of course could prove me wrong, but getting a 4.9 mill cap hit is basically saying that he isn't even willing to spend money on even decent players to get to the cap floor. I'm now very worried that Anderson/UPL is the goaltending plan despite the Campbell rumors. That would be unacceptable and a show of bad faith from KA. The best that can be said is that KA did this to insure he gets to the cap floor and now can be flexible with whom he acquires. The transaction is nearly meaningless from an actual $ standpoint. Most of the money Bish will get will be paid by Dallas' insurance company. For Dallas this is a great deal. They clear Bish's cap hit for only a 7th rd pick.

Your not undervaluing him. He isn't close to as good as the player listed above. A 32 pt "breakout" season isn't worth 4+ a year. If some is dumb enough to give him that money and term they can have him. He is already 27, how much improvement will there be at this point? I'd much rather give VO the 5.5 he has earned. As to Vinnie vs Ilya, I'd rather give Vinnie 2 to 2.5 to stay and be the effective utility forward he was last year. If I have to replace Vinnie, I'd much rather try to re-acquire Compher from Colorado.

I find it interesting that most of the discussion is about improving the forwards. We need to solve the D and Goaltending before “fixing” the deepest part of the team.

It's called political spin and it's a bunch or crap. They knew full well that Anderson/Dell was a crap plan B. While I don't give KA a pass for that blunder, he gets another bite at the apple this off-season and how he handles it might change the direction of the franchise.

I didn’t know Rasmus Sandin played for us last season.

And… so what. That list includes 2 players acquired mid season who pushed crap players out of the lineup. Only Mitts missed half the season with an injury. Z missed 1/3. Remember I’ve been an advocate for bringing back Vinnie. People keep saying send JJP back to start and make him and Quinn earn NHL jobs. That’s great to say, but they are making this team next fall unless they fall flat on their faces in camp. Considering JJP almost made the team last fall out of camp, I sincerely doubt he won’t make the team this camp. Guys as young as Quinn and JJP who dominate in the A almost never return to the A.

I agree. Anderson Dell was the plan B when Ullmark walked. It was a stupid plan. Anderson UPL would be just as stupid of a plan this coming season.