IKnowPhysics

Because ethnic predjudices?

Things I am uninterested in: Trading down from #8. Selecting a defenseman in the top 8. Spending player assets that can be used to improve this year's roster to move up in this draft, unless it's an enormous steal.

So you broadcasted an offensive joke and regretted it when people found it offensive, to the point where you had to cut affiliation with the person who made the joke in order to protect the organization they were working for?

Infiltrate the reddits, twitters, and message boards using multiple accounts. Separately pose as longtime fans of the teams and disavow any Sabres-related anything. Pump up Sanderson by showing highlights and stats to create fandom and a positive image. Admonish how bare the teams' prospect pools are at D and highlight how strong rival teams' defensive depth are to stoke fears of inadequacy and need. Ignite debates about whether the teams should select Drysdale or Sanderson to establish a false choice and encourage the other users to promote the players through argument. Ignore, harass, delete, or downvote opinions that don't promote our goals. Go now. Report back later.

Never forget that the Sabres front office once drafted an unseen player that would never play in the NHL with eventual 4x Cup winner Stefan Persson still on the board. I can't with this organization. Everyone involved with that decision should retire and the owners should sell the team.

Now we just need someone to bite on Sanderson.

Maybe Milbury can join Roenick's Ass Action Lawsuit against NBC. Shitheads.

This is bad and you should feel bad. There's no room for discrimination in the game or this message board. Hurr durr muh straight rights isn't funny. It's dog whistle language used by hateful ***** to gather others to oppress a marginalized group of people. Know better.

Marcus Johansson can also be plugged in at 2RW, and will likely produce more points than if he plays 2C.

OG post and initial example have been fixed. I was misunderstanding performance bonuses. Performance bonuses count against the cap, however, what I didn't realize is that teams get an extra 7.5% cushion for them on top of the AAV salary cap. Sabres have $3.4875M in performance bonuses for next year; 7.5% of $81.5M is $6.11M. From here on out, we'll ignore them and assume they fit in that cushion and I won't incorporate them incorrectly. Sabres would have about $8.5M-$10.5M or so with which to acquire a 2C and LD if they kept all RFAs except Pilut and carried one extra F and Miller as extra D.

I wouldn't fret too much, as this assumes we qualify everyone except Pilut and we don't make any moves. It's just a starting point, which we already felt was bad.

(Now fixed the performance bonus error.) A hypothetical example 2020-21 salary cap scenario might look like the above contracted players (4F, 5D, 1G): $34.483M in space And retaining all RFAs except Pilut (4F, 1D, 1G), totaling $19.15M (8F, 6D, 2G), leaving $15.333M: Reinhart, $3.65M - min $3.75M - signed fo $7M Kahun, $0.925M - min $0.8325M - signed for $1.25M Olofsson, $0.7675 - min $0.7M - signed for $3.5M Lazar, $0.7M - min $0.7M - signed for $0.9M Montour, $3.3875M - min $3.525M - signed for $4M Pilut, $0.925M - min $0.8325M - ? Ullmark, $1.325M - min $1.325M - signed for $1.5M Thompson (currently on LTIR), $0.925M - min $0.8325M - signed for $1M Calling up (2F, 0D, 0G), leaving $13.408M : Mittelstadt, RFA - min QO $0.8325M - signed for $1M Ruotsaleinen - $0.925M With UFAs (2F, 0D, 0G), totaling $3.6M (10F, 6D, 2G), leaving $9.808M : Girgensens, $1.6M - signed for $1.8M Larsson, $1.55M - signed for $1.8M And then $9M of the $9.808M spent on three players: Bringing up Cozens, $0.925M 2C - $6M 3LHD - $2.075M This hypothetical example sets the lines at Skinner - Eichel - Reinhart Olofsson - 2C - Johansson Girgensens - Larsson - Okposo Cozens - Lazar - Kahun (Ruotsalainen - Mittelstadt - Thompson) Montour - Dahlin McCabe - Ristolainen 3LHD - Jokiharju (Miller) Hutton - Ullmark In practicality, you wouldn't carry the three salaries of Ruotsaleinen, Mittelstadt, and Thompson (~$3M) all at the same time; this frees up shoulder room for the 2C and 3LHD. And the RFA signings will assuredly vary from what I've written. And realistically, we're likely trading and making other moves, which can free up space, but this is sort of the default of what Botterill has left us with.

A thread to discuss the salary cap and contracts as we posture into qualifying offers and free agency. The salary cap for 2020-21 is $81.5M. As of today, 8/20/20, the Sabres numbers are as follows: The total 2019-20 NHL roster, not including LTIR: 13F, 7D, 2G. Cap committed to NHL players under contract (4F, 5D, 1G), totaling $46.225M of salary: Eichel, $10M Skinner, $9M Okposo, $6M Marcus Johansson, $4.5 Ristolainen, $5.4M Miller, $3.875M McCabe, $2.85M Dahlin, $0.925M Jokiharju, $0.925M Hutton, $2.75M Buyout: Hodgson, $0.792M For RFAs and UFAs and non-rostered players, this leaves $81.5M - $46.225M - $0.792M = $34.483M RFAs (4F, 2D, 1G) and previous salary, totaling $12.605M, and minimum qualifying offers, totaling $12.4975M: Reinhart, $3.65M - min $3.75M Kahun, $0.925M - min $0.8325M Olofsson, $0.7675 - min $0.7M Lazar, $0.7M - min $0.7M Montour, $3.3875M - min $3.525M Pilut, $0.925M - min $0.8325M Ullmark, $1.325M - min $1.325M Thompson (currently on LTIR), $0.925M - min $0.8325M UFAs (5F, 0D, 0G) and previous salary, totaling $17.975M: Simmonds, $2.5M Frolik, $4.3M Vesey, $2.275M Girgensens, $1.6M Larsson, $1.55M Sobotka (currently on LTIR), $3.5M Hunwick (currently on LTIR), $2.25M Non-rostered players and NHL cap hit if rostered (doesn't include UFAs): Oglevie, RFA - min QO $0.8325M Cozens, $0.85M Ruotsalainen, $0.925M Mittelstadt, RFA - min QO $0.8325M Asplund, $0.845M Pekar, $0.77833 Dea, $0.7M CJ Smith, $0.7M Remi, RFA - min QO $0.7M Murray, $0.775M Biro, $0.925M DiPietro $0.75M Hickey, RFA - min QO $0.8325M Bryson, $0.889M Borgen, $0.864M Fitzgerald, $0.858M Spencer, RFA - min QO $0.7M Samualsson, $0.925M Laaksonen, $0.853M UPL, $0.778 Jonas Johansson, RFA - min QO $0.7M Capfriendly chart: Contracts quantity rules: Maximum number of contracts, including NHL, LTIR, non-NHL players, and signed players returned to juniors, but not unsigned draft picks: 50. Minimum 24. Maximum active players on an NHL roster: 23. Maximum dressed players: 20.

We should start a 2020-21 cap thread to look at the big picture. It'll help weigh how much cap room we have in different UFA/RFA scenarios and inform threads like this and threads weighing whether we resign Simmonds, Girgensens, Vesey, Larsson, Sobotka, and Hunwick, etc.

Possibly. Could also have been Botterill stocking up on NHL-ready right shot Ds in case Ristolainen demanded a trade. At the time, after RIsto, the only right shot D we had was Montour. Bogosian had hip surgery the April right before that, and was expected to be out 5-6 months, threatening the season start. Borgen wasn't NHL ready, Casey Nelson was injured and wasn't NHL ready, Matt Tennyson wasn't NHL ready. I think Botterill bought Miller at a reasonable price, but still needed more depth, and taking on Jokiharju as a reasonable solution to a floundering Nylander was pretty no-brainer. Jokiharju was the blue chip prospect right hander we didn't have in the pipeline. It also gives Borgen, et al, time to develop. Wouldn't be surprised either way on who initiated.

New team, new environment, new coach, new culture, new partners (sometimes several), new personalities, new schemes, new outlet lanes and timing, new backcheckers, new goalies, new risk profiles, new player usage, new opponents. There's a lot to unpack. Certainly not insurmountable, but one or several challenges can impact time to maximum potential. That said, we're potentially jammed on NHL-quality right-shot D (Risto, Jokiharju, Montour, Miller) and bare on left-shot D (Dahlin [who plays the right side], McCabe, Pilut???). He's a workable contributor, 2nd pair on a decent team or 3rd pair guy on a contender.. But the roster currently being a mess makes it fuzzy on what his role will be.

No? Disagree.

Before this continues to spin feverishly into petty ridiculousness, this was already clarified and resolved on twitter. Lance Lysowski was interviewed by Gene Battaglia on ESPN Rochester. Gene tweeted Lysowski's answer to a question without context, and Lysowski immediately clarified and regretted his own poor wording. Communication about development with Rochester was run through the GMs, as you would expect it would be; he never intended to say that Kruger and Taylor never spoke:

When you hear dumbass rumors from the internet.

If we're talking Holtz, Sanderson, Lundell, Quinn, I'm with you. Trade them and take the now-talent. You'll definitely find a buyer. But this isn't Casey Mittelstadt or Alex Nylander. If we're talking Rossi or Perfetti (or better), and there's a very good chance we are, we're talking centers that will likely put up at least 35P their first year, and potentially be 60P+ centers in year two, and more in the future at a fraction of the cap hit of a veteran. You end up in the rare situation like Provorov being pushed out of the top five in 2015 and being taken by Philly at #7 simply because Eichel, McDavid, Strome, Marner, and Hanifin exist in the same year. It shouldn't be overlooked. We still need help on top of this kind of pick for next season, no question. But I think it's possible to move other pieces, even future 1st round picks, or go bigger in free agency to do that and preserve the pick.

On weighing draft vs trade, there's been more than a few sources indicating this a very strong draft for a few years now: Edmonton Journal: "2020 NHL draft has most attacking talent of any draft of this century" 5/14/2020 The Puck Authority: "The Historic Talent of the 2020 Draft" 9/24/18 SBNation: "Road to 2020: Could this draft get any deeper?" A #8 pick in a strong draft class with plenty of elite talent to go around is incredibly valuable, and while we'd have to wait a year to three years for that talent to develop, it may be worth the wait. I'd be more inclined to sell a weaker pick.

Not my personal overall favorites, but definitely shouldn't be missed: Miroslav Satan for Craig Millar and Barrie Moore. Jeff Skinner for Cliff Pu, 2019 2nd round pick, 2020 3rd round pick, 2020 6th round pick. Rhett Warrener and a 1999 5th round pick (Ryan Miller) for Mike Wilson. And who can't forget this chestnut: Islanders promised to not draft certain players in 1972 expansion draft for 1972 8th round pick (#117-Rene Levasseur).

More irrational thoughts: When I see package-for-player deals, in order to be a fair deal, they simply cannot be even. No matter what's involved, you have to understand and overaccount for the risk of failure. On the single player side, if a player is healthy and is a proven high-level contributor, there's considerably low risk. For usual package pieces, there tends to be a littany of reasons why individual pieces don't work out: A player with injury history may: Get injured. A prospect may: Get injured. Not develop to their fullest potential. Not fill changing team positional needs by the time they're NHL ready. Get logjammed behind other players. A draft pick may: Get injured. Not develop to any level. Not fill changing team positional needs by the time they're NHL ready. Get logjammed behind other players. Not sign with the team. Each of those line items carries some percentage risk or probabilty of failure that's different for each player and situation. If value-added return for sending a healthy proven player relies on every single piece being 100% to maximum potential, the chances of that trade working out fairly goes way down. The chance that any given piece of a multiple piece package doesn't work is much, much higher than the healthy proven player. Package deals must overcompensate for risk. Trigger warning. The O'Reilly trade is a fantastic example. O'Reilly pushed the Blues over the edge to a Cup. Buffalo needs all elements of Thompson, Sobotka, Berglund, 2019 1st (Ryan Johnson), and 2021 2nd to pan out in order for that trade to be considered remotely fair. Thompson's at risk of not develping, Sobotka's injured and his role is in question, Berglund left the team, Ryan Johnson's too-early-to-tell, and the 2021 2nd is most obviously unknown. More specifically, Thompson, Johnson, and 2021 are payment for future years of not having O'Reilly. Sobotka and Berglund, both on the wrong side of 30, were supposed to make up for not having ROR in the years we waited for Thompson/Johnson/2021 to be NHL ready, and not only are they not doing that, it's not even close. Each package piece has/d substantial chances of failure, and the probability that some number of elements didn't pan out, wrecking the return for one of Buffalo best assets, was extremely high. So if I see a package proposal for Sam Reinhart, a player that was the result of all of this catastrophe (all of this happened between 2/2013 and 6/2014, leading into Reinhart's 2014 draft): Ruff being fired the February before the season. An offseason that saw trading away Regehr, Leopold, and Pominville with no replacements. Ron Rolston being hired, then fired. Darcy Regier being fired. Tim Murray being hired. Ted Nolan being hired. Pat Lafontaine being hired then quitting. Ryan Miller and Steve Ott traded. Ryan Vinz. John Scott-Phil Kessel lumberjack in preseason. Cody Hodgson leading the team with 44 points. Ville Leino scoring zero goals in 58GP. Henrik Tallinder round two. The team intentionally finishing 21-51-10. ...and has finished ranked in the following spots on the team in points, starting with his rookie year: 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, get traded for anything but a singularly good player, we best see immediate, healthy, proven return that is low risk and high reward. Don't waste my next few years hanging hope of a return for one of the team's best players on a 2nd rounder in 2023.

The more you constrain the picks, the more certainty you get. If the top three are gone, two defensmen are gone, and Perfetti is gone, then you get one of Rossi or Raymond. Not bad at all. We should commit information warfare on other teams' social media to ensure two defensemen are taken before us.