IKnowPhysics

Me too.

Who is Tim Stutzle?

Hot take.

The New York Rangers are proud to select Jack Eichel.

If there is, it helps us/gives us more options.

Hard to tell. GMs, scouts, and analytics personnel are going to look at best-player-available (based on their own metrics and perception), their prospect pool, organizational needs and playing styles. What I do know, based on process of elimination, is that if Drysdale and Sanderson are taken before 8, there will be one or more very good forwards available. I really want to see Rossi in a Sabres uniform flying around in 2021-22, not waiting for Sanderson until at least 2022-23.

Per our previous discussions, I sincerely hope so. Lafreniere goes 1 Stuetzle and Byfield, go next. ^ DET gets their pick of Perfetti/Raymond and OTT takes the other. There's a small chance DET or OTT reaches for Rossi. If I'm wrong and any of them fall to 8, we take them, but if Perfetti or Raymond get to 7, NJD will likely grab them instead. ^ At 6, Anaheim goes D. They either get Drysdale (likely) or Sanderson. If ANA takes Sanderson, NJD will take Drysdale if Perfetti or Raymond haven't fallen. If ANA takes Drysdale and Perfetti/Raymond are gone, NJD will have to decide between Sanderson or one of Rossi/Lundell/Holtz/Quinn. For us, that likely leaves us: one of Sanderson/Rossi/Lundell/Holtz/Quinn minus the NJD pick. We'll be happy, but I'm of the opinion Rossi is the best and most exciting player of this bunch, so we want him.

Must win.

Not going back to look, but was it Harrington? edit: It was Mike Pachla from Hockeybuzz.

We're cleaning out the UFAs and going right back into FA to restock. It's gonna be interesting. Simmonds, Sobotka, Vesey, Frolik, Hunwick, maybe even Larsson and Girgensens. Massive turnover and it starts on Friday at 12pm EST.

Question: "With the talks you've been having with everybody, do you see the ideal path towards getting better through free agency or through trade?" KA: "Trades are difficult in the sense that both sides have to be helping each other, in a sense. Nobody goes into a trade just saying 'hey, I want to help the other guy.' You're trying to figure out fits, and sometimes it can be financial, sometimes it can be your team or the dynamic. I think that there's the ability to do that through trade. So we're having these conversations all the time, everyday. It's been really busy the last few weeks leading up to the draft and the free agency this week. At the same point, you want to be looking at free agency and how you can help your roster. And that may not always be the big splash. It could be that player that maybe is a little bit under the radar, but he plays a certain role within your team that you really need. It's doing your homework on all those players across the league and across the world, quite honestly, that are out there and may be able to help."

Question: "Terry and Kim obviously had, as the NHL in general has, a focus on finances moving forward. It looks like there's some internal budgets involved. I'm not going you for specifics, but I would like to ask you: when you're looking at the roster and finances, are you focused on salary expenditures for this year or cap hit and how do any overages affect you moving forward?" KA: "Yeah, the overage's obviously something that affects from this past season to next season, so your mind's full of that and how you work off of that. When it comes to where our roster is, and I said this maybe two or three weeks ago, maybe longer now: I've been very fortunate. I think that Terry and Kim have showed over the years since they bought the team that they're going to put every resource possible to help the organization to be successful and their goal is to win a Stanley Cup. I've been put in a positition where they want to see us do better. They want to see us put a team on the ice that we're all proud of and we're going to work towards that. We've been very fortunate with the ownership we've had and the commitment they've put into this organization, and that hasn't changed at all. So, like any business, I think you want to look at things responsibly. You want to look at all different scenarios, say how does it affect you on the ice, how does it affect you financially, how does this put your organization in a position not just today but down the road. So you're constantly thinking about those things and having those conversations. So, when it comes to those types of conversations, I just be myself and pick up the phone or just walk into Terry or Kim's office and have a conversation. But those are daily, just so you know. These are things we talk about every day when it comes to decisions. My goal is to put out the best team we can on the ice and also to do it responsibly." Question: "With the frozen cap and all the uncertainty, do you expect unrestricted free agency to be different than in past years? Teams might have less money to play with or so much uncertainty that they might not make a move or two that they made in the past. DO you expect it to be a different market maybe? " KA: "It's interesting. I think you have teams that have room but there's so much uncertainty with 'when are going to start they season/what's it going to look like' and ultimately, long term, 'where are we going to be at/what are the revenues across the league.' These are all real questions that, in previous years, maybe weren't thought of as much. And the world's dealing with these types of questions in whatever industry people are involved in, so that's natural. How it affects Friday and what happens? I don't know- I think that there will be, like any year, players out there that are highly in demand and I think you'll see those players have the opportunity to go where they want to go or however that works out. And then there'll be maybe a bigger group of players that could be in these conversations with a lot of different teams. Where the money shakes out, I don't know, but it'll be interesting to see. We are preparing. And we have been preparing. We're looking at every possible scenario because we want to make sure if there's a position or a player that we think could help our team and it's the right one, we want to make the move and be able to do that. We're going to be ready."

Good wait-and-see contract. Only time will tell if it's worth the roster spot. With his potential, it's a good enough contract to interest other teams if he doesn't fit in the roster- a contract like that could be added as a sweetener or a functional part of a package.

Hot Take: The Sabres will rob a team in trade, and either: a) we won't be able to understand we robbed them until February-ish. b) it will be clear we robbed them at the time of trade even by admission of the other teams' fans- but there will still be claims of overpayment on this board.

I've heard mixed opinions, but he's not exactly going out on a limb here. I could say "The Sabres are intently looking to improve their goaltending," and I'd be right. Not prophetic, but right. Same as looking for LD. The only real insight here is KA is in active discussions and working the phones, but what else would we expect the day before the draft?

I'll be ok with this if certain other players are already taken, Rossi being one of them. But if Rossi's still there and we take a D, then I will definitely go full Scanners.

I look forward to buying my Jack Eichel Team USA 'C' Olympic jersey from the Sabres Store in 2022. And 2026. And 2030. And probably 2034. Hell, maybe even 2038 on Mars.

Anything is possible if you ignore enough reality.

Doesn't have to be bad on anyone. You can have a good GM, a good coach, and a good player, and it's perfectly ok for it not to work out. Learn and move on: move the player, change their role/usage, or change the team/line tactics/strategy to fit their existing role.

"It’s something that I want to make very clear: ... we’re not shopping Jack or talking to teams looking to do anything with Jack." - Kevyn Adams

I know it's hard to believe, but buckle your safety belts for this zaniness: it turns out that other teams are interested in acquiring good players. I know, it's crazy. And here's the really crazy part- they express interest by using -wait for it- the telephone. Who ever heard of such a thing. I mean one day you're GM and you sitting at your desk wondering how to improve your team, when your telephone (of all things!) rings and it's another GM calling you. They then mention some player of yours. Suddenly you're like woahwoahwoahwoah. WOAH. Slow down there. They should have written you a letter. And just by the very act of them saying that player's name via telephone(!) -without you even responding- suddenly you're taking calls about this player. Inquiries are being made about this player. This player could be available and teams are interested. Lord Jesus Stanley himself. You didn't even say hello and some Jeffrey Gorton of the New Amsterdam Gortons is breaking decorum by making a lewd telephonic suggestion that could be misconstrued as taboo, illegal roster sillynannery by the local printing press and carrier pigeon service. Now you're embroiled in a massive scandal only eclipsed by the owner's wife showing ankle and trying to vote: THE GM WANTS TO TRADETH THE ONLY UNTRADETHABLE ATHLETIC will be scrawled across the yellow journals. You should expect to be pistol dueled by both the player and player-agent, and bludgeoned by a couple of GMs on the windy sands of Lake Erie, and then, if you survive, lynched. How DARE this happen. How DARE it.

Rational, well-reasoned discourse has no place here. TERRY PEGULA MADE KEVIN ADAMS PICK UP THE PHONE

Episode 1: [Kevin Adams sits in his office. His cell phone rings and the caller ID shows Jeff Gorton. Kevin Adams swipes his phone screen to decline the call. Fade to black.]