nfreeman

I think most here agree with this. The question really is what is the right price to pay.

Any state fairs or car shows or air shows in your neck of the woods? Or does either of you have a dog that you can take to the park?

It's a tough call. I would freaking love to add a no-BS top-shelf goalie to this team and see what would happen over the next 3-4 years, with TT, Tuch and Dahlin entering their primes and Skinner and Helly squarely in their primes, plus all the up-and-comers. Ultimately though I voted no. Like some others upthread, I think an extension with Helly will cost too much, which would result in the Sabres being unable to keep a couple of guys I don't want to part with -- and, more importantly, I think the spread between Helly and the goaltending that they should be able to find (although they haven't done so yet), either from Levi or elsewhere, isn't large enough to justify the high cost.

Add a poll inky!

The sky is an apocalyptic gray-orange in NYC today.

Leaving aside the self-assured snark, he was 15th by ONE advanced metric, right? Not all of them? Any others in addition to the one you posted? FWIW, he was 22nd in SV% last year. Do you think he'll return something equivalent to #13, Kulich, Östlund, Rosen, etc.? It's also worth noting that a key factor here is Hart's value to the Sabres -- not just his overall market value in the NHL. I don't think KA is looking for, or willing to pay market price for, a goalie for the next 5 years -- he wants someone to work with Levi for the next 1-2 years until Levi is ready to be the 55-60 game starter. Good point -- certainly my willingness to part with some of the assets I mentioned would increase if there were more coming back than just Hart.

And some people think Sabrespace is a mean, heartless place. There are a number of reasons Briere might trade Hart for a 2nd plus UPL/other non-premium prospect: - Hart has a $4MM cap hit - Hart will need a new contract next summer (which, btw, likely depresses his market value in trade) - Hart might not want to be the goalie for more years of rebuilding Flyers suckitude - Briere might not like Hart's game - Briere might want to tank (probably not as Briere seems like a smart guy) - No one is willing to give up a better package for Hart -- among other factors, he has a good amount of Flyers stink on him at this point As for an equivalent-value prospect that the Sabres could offer -- that's a tricky one. His numbers for the last 2 years on a crappy Flyers team are decent, but not great -- 2 years ago, 13-31, 3.16, .905; last year, 23-33, 2.94, .907. I think it's pretty reasonable to value all of JJP, Quinn, Krebs, #13, Kulich, Savoie, Östlund and Rosen above Hart (factoring in Hart's contract status, Flyers stink and the inherent volatility of the G position), and to value Rousek, Novikov, Komarov, etc. below Hart. Not sure there is a good equivalent. EDIT: actually, as suggested upthread, Ryan Johnson might be a good equivalent.

It just seems like there's more of a numbers game at DE now with Floyd, Von and Rousseau as the clear top 3. Keeping all of AJE, Boogie and Shaq would mean 6 DEs, which doesn't seem likely. I suppose they could try to address it by moving on from one of the DTs, but it seems more likely, and in keeping with BB's history, that they'll try to get a draft pick for one of the DEs. Totally agree on WR and OL. They are dying for another stud opposite Diggs, and I don't think Davis has the goods. The other guys seem like they could be decent #3 or #4 guys, but none of them seems like a worthy #2. They do have 2 good weapons at TE, so hopefully they can develop an offense that utilizes the TE more than they've done previously.

I'll predict $9.7MM x 8 years.

I like the Floyd signing and assume it means curtains for either Epenesa or Basham, probably via trade for something like a 4th-rounder next year. I also like the Oliver extension, and Oliver generally, although I think his play tailed off last year, possibly due to injury. I still want another good WR.

I am not OK with #13 or any of the Sabres' recent 1st-rounders for Hart, but I am OK with some combo of #2, UPL and a lesser prospect for him.

@Marvinor @French Collection -- you're up. Great thread, @Eleven.

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the crib today.

Has anyone from the Sabres said this? It seems like they have been pretty consistent, and open, about wanting to get their prospects to Rochester.

KA may have cooperated, but I doubt this is his preferred outcome. I'd guess that Östlund just moved to the top of KA's "assets eligible to be traded" list.

As others have noted, the hit on Eichel was 100% clean, and Eichel made it worse by stumbling head-first into it. First things first -- the Sabres need to make the playoffs -- but this series should make it crystal clear that they need more nasty if they want to be Cup contenders. That was a bloodsport match last night. I counted six former Sabres in the lineup last night: Eichel, McNabb and Carrier for Vegas and Reino, Montour and Fitzie for Florida.

I hope Eichel is OK.

Good to see ya, friend!

So, Savoie played in games 3 and 4, which the Amerks lost, right? Did he play in game 5? Does anyone who's been watching this series have any impressions of his play?

Exactly. Kane was a 92-point guy the season before last. He's won Cups, a million playoff games and the Conn Smythe. His hip failed him and he couldn't skate last year, so he looked lousy. But if the surgery works and he can skate again -- and if he would sign a one-year contract -- he would be a major addition.

Kane had hip surgery today. Out 4-6 months. He might be available around Thanksgiving at a deep discount. Just sayin’…

The underlying point here is reasonable -- there's an opportunity to make next season the best Sabres season since 2006-2007, the Sabres seem to have a ton of good young prospects already, and advancing that opportunity by getting Helle is worth sacrificing a valuable asset in #13, which may or may not develop into another good young prospect -- but I think the bolded items are exaggerated. For the first one -- we cannot know how these prospects will develop. It's quite likely that more than one of them will wash out, get injured, decide to go back home, etc. In the meantime there is plenty of room on the Amerks' roster and all of them are far away from having to clear waivers. For the 2nd one -- not wanting to give up #13 this year is not equivalent to not putting any value on Helle. I, and I think most here, would give up the Sabres' 2024 #1 plus UPL and a decent prospect for Helle. That is a pretty good package for a guy with 1 year left before UFA. I'd be curious to know what other goalies with similar contract situations have recently been traded for better packages.

There's the rub though. There are a ton of pit bulls that haven't been properly raised and whose owners gave up on them and left them in shelters. People adopting them as rescues generally have their hearts in the right places but in most cases it's too late and that dog is a loaded weapon ready to go off and capable of causing major injury to people and other dogs.

I agree that the bolded is what this boils down to -- is KA willing to pay this price for a rental for what could be a special season (and, for Sabrespace purposes, should he be willing to pay this price)? It's a very interesting question. Among other factors, I also agree that unlike most goalies, Helle is a pretty safe bet to be a difference-maker, and he is exactly what the doctor ordered for this team. If they pick him up this summer along with a credible defenseman, I think I and everyone else here will be over their heartburn at the acquisition cost and will be extremely excited by opening night.

I agree with much of this but not with trading Helle at the deadline. If Helle is good, the Sabres will most likely be well in the playoff race. It would be nuts to trade their stud goalie at that point just to recoup some assets. At that point, I'm pretty sure they would stick with Helle and let the chips fall where they may in the offseason.