Broken Ankles

The trade for Raanta included Tony DeAngelo and #7 overall. Now that #7 pick has not played out well for NY but would you trade a prospect #21 overall - say Joki, and this years #8 overall for a back up goaltender (low AAV not withstanding), and a 50 point center who makes $7.1m (cap adjusted for Stepan)? Stephan has quickly declined to a 30 point center and is now part of the cap Hell I was referring to. They have $1.5m is space, $5.5m with Hossa on IR, to sign 5 players. That’s well below league average. Darcy K was a nice find. Watched him play for the Kings a number of times. But he got paid, so now they have $9m of their cap dedicated to the position for both players. Also the Pacific division was a consensus worst of all 4 divisions this year, and last. If your argument is he’s better than JB I concede. But that is such a low bar. IMO, he has done nothing to warrant consideration for a top position with the Sabres organization.

What has Chayka done in 4 years? The team is worse for the wear under his 4 year tenure and they spend to the cap. Dare I say they are in 2020 cap jail? He has lost most of the trades they have made, including the Hall deal. He’s nothing better than JB, with the exception of his willingness, nay reliance on analytics in his decision making. Let’s review: Cap team, middling results, and loses trades - sounds like he has all the characteristics of a Pegula hire. p.s. A bit of schadenfreude, but considering how Buffalo has been the poster boy for dysfunction, I’m taking comfort in this debacle.

Why are you forgetting Little Nikita? He's the only one other than Point without a NMC. And his return would be bigger, would it not? Your valuation on Cernak is $5M? Or is it Serg with $5M and Cernak at $3M? If you offered 4 years at $4.2M for Cernak the Offer Sheet calculator suggests the comp is only 1 second round pick. A better bridge (outside State taxes) than Tampa could offer.

If that’s the case, you expect Vesey to take a haircut and Son of Lars penciled in for raise? Should make for an interesting experiment. Not that I want Vesey on our team, but I could see him get more and get signed faster than Larsson.

I don't usually like Chads suggestions but his logic is solid. Especially if they are not spending to the cap. Unlike Duda, I'm in the camp for trading both D. I think moderately priced Right handed D will yield a premium this off-season. Only disagreement is the Talbot signing. I prefer a buyout of Carter Hutton and allocate a little extra dinero to maybe Holtby. If no teams are offering long term deals, perhaps he takes a 1 year $5M offer.

For unto us, there is a lurker waiting to be born. And his name shall be ....Artyom "Fowl" Kryukov.

I think you will find that some of the holes will be filled over the Draft weekend in October, before street agents can be signed. There will probably be some RFA arbitration (maybe Linus, Reinhart or Kahun) that lingers or adds doubt, but there will be a general sense of what the 2021 roster will look like before UFA signings begin. I personally believe that Montour, Risto and Mitts are all traded before UFA opens, and at least two players under contract are added to the current Roster. As for free agency itself, it's unlikely the Sabres make a big splash and bid on one of these players who can spurn them if they had been interested. It's likely that these players are still going to get paid, and go to team that is either more competitive or one that overpays. And when they do, it will drive down the cost of the remaining pool of UFA's. Still operating under a Cap. And honestly, it might be a situation where playing the waiting game could pay even bigger dividends. Teams that don't free up the space on draft weekend to sign pending RFA's might be forced to accept a trade that otherwise would have been rejected. I think Cap space is paramount in negotiations this off-season. More so than any year in recent memory.

Turning your wife into a die hard Sabre’s fan as an answer is incredibly thoughtful. Speaks volumes about you and how you considered the question. Kudos to you both!

Apologies if this seemed antagonistic. There is an old rule in comedy that say you buy the premise, you buy the bit. I don’t buy the premise, hence my response. Meaning more propaganda. I am however open to changing the opinion and more posts like this could sway me. I don’t think Carter Hutton will help the Sabres in any way shape or form next year. I think the Sabres should commit short term on a pending UFA and really challenge Linus, whom you qualify. Carters AAV is not commensurate with his play since wearing a Sabres uniform. If you believe in Linus as the answer then ink him to a 4 or 5 year deal and bring in another backup under $2m.

How do you reconcile the abysmal post all star break performance in 2019? He was what 4-11 with a lackluster GA and poor SV%. He is the streakiest goalie I’ve seen for the Sabres probably ever. Like stealing games against the Kings to single handedly losing multiples for weeks on end. I would not dispute a good guy, but honestly why have the Sabres not commented on the story that was revealed by Huttons camp themselves? Could they look even worse if evidence suggests JB knew Hutton was seeking treatment and still played him? Or is it possible that there is a discrepancy in what Hutton leaked to Lance. Either way, he has a very friendly buyout this offseason and if he cannot be packaged they need to execute this option. The Sabres need to improve the position this offseason, not maintain status quo. Especially with a plethora of options in both RFA and UFA and an advantageous buyers market. There are no obligations to this guy, and unless Jack himself comes out and says he is a locker room guy we cannot live without, then Next.

Debrusk is less than Sam, so assume a two year deal of $3.3-$3.5M. Chara will take another team friendly $1.5-2M deal. Gryzlek and Bjork are also RFA and controlled. So their AAV may double. Nordstrom is a UFA and will walk. Leaving Krug. I calculate about $10.1M for the aforementioned. Is Krug going to get $8M? Not sure. I would not want to sign him to a long term deal for that. But to the original point, unless Krug is demanding more than $8M, I dont see a Debrusk sitution.

What could he be asking for? The Bruins have $18m and he is restricted. Why wouldn’t they bridge him? Krug is the only UFA they must pay.

This is F*cking Hilarious. I knew a Stosh or two when I lived in Buffalo.

Here are the top 11 Right handed D-men heading into free agency next season. Not all are necessarily "puck-moving", but the top available by AAV. The Sabres have two factors working in their favor for trading Montour: 1.) He is the only RFA in this list, which means cost controlled. In a year where every team is looking to shed Cap, Montour's contract over the next 2-3 years will be far less than those above him. If he files arbitration what could he make next season? $3.5m-$3.75m? 2.) It't likely that the UFA's sign long term deals and select a city they want to raise kids in and/or potentially retire from. What if Winnipeg or another city vying for one of these UFA's is a city where they have no interest in playing? The UFA's have the negotiating collateral. Montour has extremely little. I have a feeling he will be traded and his return will surprise some.

Is this one step below NFW? So you go all in on Cirelli (this years first, Mitts Johnson) and payout a higher Aav, or keep those assets to obtain a lesser player with a lower AAV and improve your Defense (at risk of an albatross in 3 years).

This is ? accurate. In Addition to these facts look at average time on ice five on five. He was third amongst forwards. Only Kuch and Pointe ahead of him. If you look at his line mates on Frozen Tools more than half his time was with Stamkos/Killorn/Johnson/Palat. Which implies Top 6. He even had about 5% with Nikita which means top 3. Question. If Cirelli is unattainable which may be true only by their expected return, would you take on cap hit like McDonogh to obtain a cheaper version in Gorde or Johnson?

Is this a thing now? If not, it needs to be.

I might recommend Smerconish on POTUS channel Sirius XM radio weekday mornings from 6-9am pacific. News topics are debated from both sides of the political spectrum. The host is well read and his guests are mostly writers, and Academics from higher institutions. Not like his CNN show on Saturdays.

According to the story in the Athletic https://theathletic.com/1909008/2020/07/03/all-the-details-of-the-current-framework-for-the-nhls-new-cba-agreement/?source=user_shared_article It it will go to the players this week for a vote. Interestingly absent from the agreement is compliance or amnesty buyouts. So if the terms are accurate and there is new min salary of $750k and the Cap will not increase for two years, and no team has a compliance buyout, how can it not be more advantageous than ever to have the amount of Cap space the Sabres possess? Yes, rookie GM and all, but he should be able to force a trade with a desperate team.

Execs have been known to take lesser positions to properly fit into a reporting structure. Especially those in the ‘winter‘ of their careers. I understand your sentiment and agree with most. If Dudley can contribute and be the appropriate teacher for Adams with commensurate pay, they will find a way. I have very little faith the Sabres organization will get there. For no other reason than Kim and Terry.

Joey played for Sabres, no? Is there a total game exception/waiver used for this Selection?

Memo to Kim. ‘Do-Right’ by your fans and f*cking sign this guy.

This is hilarious. I would go one step further. If he is NOT hired, then I must assume that he was offered a position and after speaking with NHL executives around the league, his decision not to accept the position was solely based on current ownership.

Gary and his misfits in the front office would find a way to manipulate the Expansion rules and f*ck us.