GASabresIUFAN

I said "entering it's 3rd year" and that is absolutely accurate. So far all we have to show for 3 KA off-seasons so far is downgrading Ullmark to Anderson and a failure to secure even decent backup goaltending. Until he gets a real starter in the net in Buffalo, he has failed to adequately man that position.

Sad but true.

Day 1 - I’m not sure they could have done any better. My only gripe is that they didn’t take a RHD with the 28th pick, but that is a tiny criticism consider they grabbed Kulich at 28. They elevated our center pipeline from nearly non-existent to very deep, fast and skilled in a day. Savoie, whether on the wing replacing someone like Skinner or VO or at center is a huge upgrade in talent. Östlund, like Krebs, is a fast highly skilled playmaker, who just needs to add some muscle and improve his shot to make the NHL. Kulich is a Swiss Army Knife and my favorite player of our picks. Grade A+. I can see why others may downgrade us some for taking Östlund early and the lack of height on the 3 guys, but none of this trio plays small. Day 2 - My grade for day 2 is a B. On the plus side they added the top goalie on their board and drafted two huge value players in Neuchev and Lindgren in rounds 3 and 4 who the consensus had solid 2nd round grades on. I also like the Karlsson pick. On the downside, the team has now ignored RHD in the 1st 2 rounds for the 9th straight years. Hard to develop RHD if you don’t draft any. I also think that they took Topias much to early, but hard to be overly critical considering they drafted the guy they thought was the best goalie in the draft. I also didn’t like the overage player they drafted. He doesn’t look like he does anything at an elite level. With overagers like Morrison, Devine and Mittelstadt on the board, I would have rather had one of them. I also worry we may regret missing out on RHD like Luneau, Casey and Havelid in the second. I hope the plan is to restock our RHD with the 3 2nd rd picks next season. Overall KA and staff get an A-. I think it’s not unreasonable to believe that all 3 centers will become effective NHLers and that Neuchev and Lindgren have legit NHL potential. Getting 5 NHLers from a single draft would be an exceptional result.

I fully agree. Sometimes patience is not a virtue. He keeps watching as other GMs solidify their goaltending situations waiting for the right guy to fall in his lap. Last year, this lead to the Anderson Dell signings as a stop gap with less than stellar results. This year we seem to be going down the same rabbit hole.

He does. After Kasper this was my favorite player in the draft who I thought we had a reasonable shot at. Don't get me wrong, I really like Savoie and Östlund, but there is something about this kid that the team and the fans will gravitate to. He's one of those guys a coach loves because he can carry out anything the coach needs done; score, create, kill penalties, stop the opponents best line; done, done and done. I don't think his ceiling is as high as Savoie or even Östlund (at least as a playmaker), but he could become our Bergeron type player (no pressure kid).

I'm kind of surprised that this pick didn't get more interest from the board. How many guys do you find in the 6th round that scored 30+ goals (in only 41 games) in their draft season.

Debrincat (saves Chicago 6.6 mill on the way toward their tank)? Luke Kunin (saves Nash about 2.3 mill)? Carolina trading D'Angelo to the Flyers is certainly a cap saving move. Tony is coming off a 51 pt season and is an RFA. Carolina paid him only 1 mill last season and couldn't afford to re-sign him.

I have. I've seen great patience work both for him (Eichel) and against him (the continued failure to secure adequate goaltending entering it's 3rd season). I've seen him act quickly and get rewarded (Risto) and act quickly but not get a max return (Reinhart). I've seen smart moves to get to cap floor (Boychuk and Bishop) and a dumb move to get to the cap floor (Butcher). Ultimately, KA has been mostly on the plus side of his deals, but I don't think he has quite learned when to be aggressive and when not to be. Stevie Y wanted to improve his goaltending and went out and made it happen. KA is still waiting for someone to fall into his lap.

Is KA playing chicken with the UFA and trade markets to see who the 20 cap strapped teams need to dump to fit signings of guys like Kadri or Johnny Hockey under their caps?

That’s asking a lot especially with Tage, Mitts, Cozens, Asplund, Krebs and Girgensons already in the NHL

Apparently Stevie Y knows how to do this to get the goalie he wants. Come on KA step up.

The problem there is the defense not the goalies as Freddy Anderson proved last season. Maybe they should trade Nylander to open cap to get a real D or two. If not they are doomed to not compete for a Cup. So sad, to bad.

So would ours in pure joy.

Nothing will help Toronto’s porous defense. Murray needs all the protection he can get.

I wonder how many of the newly drafted prospects will attend? With the 11 new picks, there are now 41 prospects in our system. Sprinkle in some college UFAs and it should be an interest camp.

Just like last year. We maybe equally disappointed.

So you are unhappy in Ottawa because they are treating you poorly so you stayed to spite them? How about growing up and going somewhere where you were wanted and try to work things out with Bales.

Good question.

It will be interesting to see him at the development camp against some older players. It might help decide whether he goes to the A or plays in the CHL or goes home. Considering his International experience, I’m wondering if the A is the most likely scenario.

KA has already said both Johnson and Portillo will be attending the Development Camp.

KA say be patient, I'll have an answer for you

He'll just call him JRB.

I'm not a big fan of Bader's work.

Again, then you can't "count" on any draft pick, because all picks can tell their NHL teams to F-off after a certain period of time. Savoie can say he doesn't want to be a Sabre and return to the draft in 2 years. Is that going to happen? Unlikely but it could. Odds are he signs in the coming days and goes back to the WHL for next season. Euro's can also sign and return to their current clubs. This is probably why KA and his staff are concentrating on Euros in their drafts. They get 4 years to develop the player, but can still sign them. That's my biggest gripe with the college thing. Now with NIL, I think teams in all sports should be able to draft a college kid and return him to the school depending on the kids goals. It would eliminate this alleged problem.