nfreeman

This is what I've been wrestling with after the initial shock and awe of the Hall signing dissipated. They need a goalie, and anyone looking to trade a goalie will want the Sabres to absorb a $3MM-$5MM cap hit in the deal. The Sabres won't be able to do so unless they separately unload Miller, Montour or (less likely) Risto in a deal where they aren't taking back much cap, or they decide not to bring back Ullmark, Reino or VO. I don't think the Sabres would dump Montour or Risto for a mediocre draft pick, but they might do so for Miller. I also don't think that they would decide not to bring back Ullmark, Reino or VO. I hope the outcome isn't that they stand pat at goalie. That would be a loser JB move.

So, RK made it sound this morning like he's optimistic that things can work out such that Hall stays here longer than 1 year. If that happens, the Sabres would have big, long-term deals with Eichel, Skinner, Hall and presumably Dahlin. If the Sabres want to retain flexibility -- which appears to be an organizational priority -- and the flexibility they want includes the flexibility to keep Hall, I think they are less likely to give Reino the kind of long-term deal that he would accept. It all depends on how much KA and RK like Reino, of course, but it seems like it would be consistent with their current approach to give Reino a short-term extension and see how things play out.

Based on the WGR interview with RK, it seems pretty clear that Hall will be playing with Jack, and pretty likely that VO and Cozens will play RW. RK stressed the flexibility and multitude of options they have, but I think he's thinking: Hall-Eichel-VO Skinner-Staal-Reino Reider/TT-Eakin-Cozens Zemgus-Lazar-KO

So, Vogl’s article in the Athletic tonight about the Hall signing mentioned briefly that they are negotiating an extension with Reino. No further deets.

SabreSpace insider @john wawrow: https://apnews.com/article/edmonton-oilers-nhl-edmonton-taylor-hall-hockey-169763225eec3e3839a6bf603db4e068

So, a few weeks ago, if someone had told us that the Sabres had added Taylor Hall and Eric Staal to their top 6, AND that Cozens was such a force of nature in training camp that he forced his way in and Reino to 3RW, I think 97% of us would have been insanely psyched for opening night. And, as long as we're entertaining the idea, it's worth noting that Reino is an RFA, and the Sabres just gave Montour, also an RFA, a contract that walked him to UFA. A 2-year contract would similarly walk Reino to UFA. If they gave him that contract, the Sabres might find themselves, next offseason, in the position of choosing between a fat extension for Hall and a fat extension for Reino. That would be an interesting subplot, and would probably motivate both guys throughout the season, and would lend extra weight to the question of which one plays with Eichel.

I think it's still possible that they bring him back, but it would certainly be at their terms, and he'll probably have to wait for them to make a bunch of other moves and then see if there's a spot and any money for him left.

Well, I sure like Hall for 1 season at $8MM at age 29 in a contract year more than TJ at age 30 for 4 years x $5MM. Well done, Sabres.

I think it's pretty unlikely that KO pushes into the top 6. He is in a pronounced decline IMHO and will get about 10-11 min per night on the 4th line with Zemgus and either Lazar or Reider. I think they think that Eakin will be the 3C with some combo of TT, Cozens and VO and that they'll be able to get much more 2ndary scoring than they have in the past few years. I would love this.

Oh, yeah. That's the good stuff right there.

I was thinking the same thing. It's very possible, but I'd guess that it's not an absolute requirement in the Sabres' perspective -- I think they will continue to be flexible. E.g. if they trade for Fleury they might rather include Hutton in the deal than Monty or Miller, or Vegas might prefer it, and then do a separate transaction involving the D (or not if the right one doesn't present itself).

Welcome and please keep posting!

I think there is a very low likelihood of this happening this coming season, BUT if he is stuck in Rochester all year, and the Sabres are good, and he gets to see what a good team looks like, and how hard he has to work and how much he has to deliver to be part of a good team, it might be the best possible thing for him in the long term.

And Eichel!! The story is far from written. I think it's 75% likely that they bring in a goalie. Separately: Holy freaking mackerel!! I think they are done signing forwards. But there is going to be a real goalie upgrade, also in a low-risk, sensible deal, and maybe, but maybe not, a LHD-RHD adjustment. Hall-Eichel-Reino Skinner-Staal-VO TT-Eakin-Cozens Zemgus-Lazar/Reider-KO Maybe TP found the right guys to run the Sabres.

Yeah baby! Yeah!

I think the likelihood that the Sabres end up with any of those 3 is less than 10%.

OK, so let's pull ourselves together here. Eakin appears to be the plan at 3C and to be Larsson's replacement, although probably not between Zemgus and KO. It appears that the Sabres chose to bring back Zemgus and not to bring back Larsson, and that they prefer Eakin to Larsson. Eakin will turn 30 towards the end of next season. He's 6'0", 183 lbs. Next year will be his 9th full NHL season. He played 14:39 per game this past season for Vegas before getting traded to Winnipeg at the deadline and 15:23 per game for a good Vegas team the previous season, in which he put up 22 goals at 41 pts. He's played 3C/4C for playoff teams the last 3 seasons and 4 of the last 5, averaging 16:39 of ice time per game in the playoffs for his career. He's a decent skater (about the same level as Larsson), has a good wrist shot, has had seasons with 22 goals, 19, 16 and 16, kills penalties and is pretty decent at faceoffs. Having him ensures that the Sabres do not have to play Cozens at 3C and do not have to have Mitts anywhere near an NHL roster. It also gives the Sabres a decent chance at getting some offense out of that 3rd line, with Eakin centering some combination of TT, Cozens, Kahun (if he returns), VO (if Toffoli or another good winger is brought in above VO in the rotation) or some other FNG. I think KA wants the 3rd line to contribute offense and for Zemgus-Lazar-KO to play fewer ES minutes, and a less important role, than Zemgus-Larsson-KO played last year. I also think it's a pretty solid plan and has a pretty decent chance of working to the Sabres' advantage. They still need a goalie and another good forward though.

I suppose from the Sabres' perspective, Montour is an asset they don't want to lose for nothing, but don't like enough to give a longer-term deal at the price he would demand. This way, they keep him during his contract year, when he'll presumably be playing his best, and they either get something for him at the deadline, keep him for a playoff run, or sign him to an extension if both parties are happy. But trading him this offseason for a good forward seems pretty unlikely, although not impossible. If someone needs to unload a $5MM or so forward and needs a defenseman, that team could take Montour in exchange and save a bit of cap space (or more than a bit if the Sabres keep some of Montour's cap hit). Still, not a move to get excited about.

The timing is a huge part of the question, and a major reason that I do not expect the Sabres to claim TJ. As I posted in a different thread, I think their plan is to be patient and retain flexibility. Committing to TJ by noon today would eliminate a big chunk of their budget and thus flexibility. If the Sabres don't claim him, they are essentially banking on being able to do better over the next week or so than the addition of TJ and his contract. There's a real risk that they won't be able to. From TB's perspective, they might've had a better chance of someone claiming TJ if they had waited until today or tomorrow to waive him, as the musical chairs game is just getting started. It's an interesting situation.

What's this alleged reason? You omitted Darcy and Sexy Rexy, 2 very experienced guys, from your list. Is the last sentence a "speculate that" or "speculate whether"?

I too would've been happy with Crawford or Holtby at the contracts they got.

OK, so Johnson, a longtime productive C, just turned 30 and has 4 years left on his contract at $5MM per year. He's 5'8", 183 lbs and his #s have been in decline for the past few years -- from 50 pts to 47 to 31 pts in 65 games this year, and, in ice time, from 18:49 to 17 to 15:57 to 14:33 this year. HOWEVER, he would unquestionably represent a major upgrade for the Sabres at 2C/3C or 2LW/3LW, would provide scoring depth and lineup flexibility, would cost zero assets to acquire and would probably be a pretty good player for at least 2 years. It's also worth noting that the Sabres need to make this decision ASAP, because once he clears waivers, his NTC reactivates. I'm pretty interested.

"MacKenzie MacEachern" has to be a top-5 Canadian name of all time.

Here's what I think the plan is: - Obtain 2C -- done, although I don't think they are opposed to bringing in another 2C if the right situation presents itself and making Staal the 3C - Draft the guys they like -- done - Keep TT at the price they've budgeted -- done - Keep whichever of Zemgus and Larsson is willing to sign at the number the Sabres have budgeted -- done - Keep Kahun at the price they've budgeted -- TBD - Bring in a good penalty-killing forward to improve an awful PK unit -- done - Do not go crazy in FA, but rather make their interest known to the guys they like and try to get them signed at the numbers they've budgeted -- TBD - Bring in a goalie -- TBD - Bring in a top-6 to top-9 forward --TBD - Above all, retain flexibility to allocate resources in either trade or FA towards filling the above needs, and recognize that the cap and economic environment will result in quite a few good players becoming available at good prices, and that the glut of goalies will result in quite a few of them becoming available at good prices. Let's see how they do.

The RK point is right on -- I am highly confident that RK's view of Kahun is a major factor in the Sabres' calculation here. I agree with this but I can't tell which one you believe! I'll guess it's that the #s are wrong, which is what I think.