nfreeman

What is this based on? Reino is a good but not great player and in any event didn't comprise 85% of their offense, nor did he plus Risto comprise 85%. There is always a better option than tanking. Sure, but if teams aren't willing to part with their crown jewels for Eichel, they definitely won't do so for Reino plus sweeteners.

I highly doubt KA is planning to tank, nor do I think trading Risto and Reino (and Eichel, if and when that happens) should be interpreted as planning to tank. He is rebuilding the team culture, which was terrible. He's now shipped out 2 guys who pretty clearly wanted out and were both highly likely to leave after this year in UFA. I, whacked-out on hopium, believe he is planning on a major upgrade in goal, which by itself will create a huge improvement over last year and keep the Sabres well clear of the bottom 5. I think he also plans on adding at least 1 center and 1 defenseman who both fit his fast-gritty-good character target profile. Let's see how it goes.

I watched and I think both Harrington and Vogl are exaggerating on this. Yes, KA is communicating with the agent and not with Eichel directly. I think that is pretty common, especially in a situation like this where the player is estranged from the team. I think KA's view hasn't changed: he wants to trade Eichel but only for a rich package. If the right package doesn't materialize -- and the odds of that outcome increased substantially after last night passed with no trade -- he won't be traded.

FWIW, Florida's 2nd-rounder is #56 overall. That might be one of the "picks" that are being finalized. Or maybe the Sabres are throwing in #33 and Florida is sending us Barkov, who has told Florida he won't re-sign there and has always dreamed of living near Duffs and playing for Donnie Meatballs.

I have been saying for a while that I don’t expect Reino to sign an extension as part of a trade. I think after his experience with the Sabres, he wants to take his time and make sure he’s found a strong organization before committing anywhere long term. If that’s true, the Sabres weren’t going to get much for him — certainly not a crown jewel prospect like Lundell or Knight.

Well, I’ll guess they take a C at #33 unless there is someone they really like a lot at a different position.

Holy mackerel. I guess that's what happens when you subtract Risto, Borgen, Bogo, Scandella and Montour in a big hurry, after the previous bozo GM spent way too much time and resources accumulating a glut of defensemen. In any case it sure looks like Samuelsson will be on the Sabres next year, and perhaps Power as well.

Now that is some stinky #hammymath right there.

Me too. He looks like he could be an exciting player, maybe like Caulfield on the Habs.

I don't think they'll take a goalie. Top non-goalie choices, please?

OK: 2 more picks before we're up. Could whoever read McKeen's or otherwise developed knowledge please give us your top choice to fall to the Sabres?

Goaltending is indeed essential but more ephemeral, and easier to find, than franchise defensemen. Stevens, Niedermayer, Pronger, Doughty, Weber, Keith -- those guys can be huge pillars of top-end teams for a decade. The Sabres might have two.

Good. Defense wins championships. They might have a fire and ice situation with 2 great defensemen for a new Sabres generation.

I feel your pain gentlemen. But the bed was made. Risto was almost certainly not re-signing here unless a semi-miraculous turnaround occurred. So this was the right asset management move, and KA got more value than I think most here expected (including me). It also looks like KA is sticking with his "I only want guys who want to be here" approach -- hello, @Thorny They still need a few roughnecks who are both nasty and good enough to play big roles. I'll miss Risto and wish him well, although not for the GD Flyers. Onward.

If true, this reflects well on KA.

Tick tock... Anyone wanna change his/her vote?

This is fair. My point was more that the decision as to whether to draft Power shouldn't be informed by the loss of Borgen, since they play different sides.

It doesn't really matter what the Sabres could've gotten in trade for Borgen. What matters is what he was worth to them -- i.e. what they would've accepted in trade for him. The return for Risto needs to be higher than that. Otherwise, they made a mistake in exposing Borgen instead of Risto (unless they get Borgen back via waivers).

Well, as I've said previously, losing Borgen will constitute bad asset management unless (i) the return for Risto clearly exceeds Borgen's value or (ii) they reclaim Borgen from waivers. Both of these are quite possible IMHO, but so is the bad asset management outcome.

Also, FWIW, Borgen is RHD and Power is LHD, where the Sabres are deep. Having said that, I'm fine with Power if he's BPA.

Damning with faint praise was exactly my intention. We all have our whipping boys -- I'll freely admit that Roy was one of mine. But I don't think he by any stretch was a "very good NHL 2C." More like a guy who could put up good empty-calorie numbers in the regular season on a high-scoring team. However, I agree that Mitts becoming another Roy would be a good outcome for Mitts given where he was before DG took over.

I don't doubt you, but again -- he turned down an offer for a deal that the NHL almost certainly would not have approved. They weren't going to approve a deal that moved the Sabres and they absolutely weren't going to approve a sale to Balsillie. So I don't think it was any great noble gesture by TG, since there was no sacrifice. Just the opposite, in fact -- he claimed credit for not doing something he wasn't going to be allowed to do anyway.

We've been over this before. There is zero evidence in support of either of the statements in the bolded sentence, both of which arise from self-serving statements made by TG and LQ, and a million years' worth of reality justifying skepticism. The NHL almost certainly would've prohibited a buyer from moving the Sabres, so the "turned down a better offer" point is really "turned down an offer for a better deal that would never have closed". And the no-move clause almost certainly includes loopholes based on financial thresholds, which the Sabres almost certainly are going to fail to meet next year. Until the agreement, or at least the no-move clause, is published, it can't be taken seriously. And did you see me say anything about the accuracy of the $300MM number?

I voted Mitts for last season, since he went from being a completely useless sack of flesh on the ice to someone who looked like he could develop into a Derek Roy type -- i.e. a credible 3C who isn't what you want at 1C or 2C and is probably useless in the playoffs but can center a lower-lineup scoring line, put up numbers in the regular season and take some pressure off the top 6. I said Cozens for this coming season, mostly out of hope that he has a great season that will contrast with an injury-marred rookie year in which he showed flashes but didn't produce much.