nfreeman

I don't give a crap what various internet yobs think about the trade, but either way: KA needs to be right about McLeod and the other moves he made this summer and going back to the Mittelstadt trade. He's accountable for the results.

Interesting. So at this point they probably value Rosen and Östlund (and Kulich and Helenius and maybe Wahlberg) higher than they valued Savoie.

I too wouldn’t call it arrogance – more a determination to follow one’s plan, and a belief in that plan – kinda like trust the process.

I think to get Farabee it would be something like Krebs plus a good asset like Östlund or 2025 first-rounder or similar. Philly would get much more than just Krebs from another team.

I would be interested in either of these deals but I don't see why Philly would trade Farabee.

Well, I'm not expecting much in the way of punishing physical play in the d-zone, but I am expecting McLeod to use that speed in a 200-foot game to be in the right place on the backcheck and disrupt the opposing offense.

Someone pls correct me if I'm wrong, but I think UPL has 2 more seasons before UFA -- so a 1-year arbitration award wouldn't be a disaster. Still, I think they need to sign him to a 3- or 4-year deal and get some stability at the position at long last.

Well, I don't see them taking on a guy who can't play just to burn some cap space and cash in exchange for a draft pick, but I think they are still very interested in getting a good player that a team has to move for cap/contract reasons -- which I think is kinda what just happened with the Oilers and McLeod and what might still happen with the Jets and Ehlers. I think there are still a few -- but only a few -- teams with cap/contract issues that are reasonably likely to result in good forwards moving. I think KA will be involved in those discussions if he likes the player. I had no interest in giving a questionable UFA a long-term contract, which is what it took to get most of the UFA top-6 forwards. Still, I too would like to see the financial commitment unquestionably being there, and with them still well below the cap, we can't really say that yet.

Me? Team Storm Cloud? I beg to differ. I am happy with today's trade, very happy with Lindy's return and reasonably happy with the offseason so far, I still believe in TP as an owner and in most of the players, including the ones who disappointed last year, and I'm reasonably open minded on KA.

Maybe. I guess that would move Benson to the 3rd line with McLeod and Zucker, which could work out pretty nicely. But now that Savoie is gone, KA probably woudn't give up both Kulich and Östlund for Ehlers. Maybe one of them plus a 2025 #1?

I think you're right about Byram and the impact on the likelihood of keeping Joki -- although this increases the pressure on KA to keep Byram. As for Joki, I think he'd be more attractive as a trade asset with at least another year under contract though, innit? I suppose that might've cost over $4MM per year though, and they weren't sure how attractive he'd be at that price. Still, it kinda seems like they're just letting a pretty solid asset go for nothing here.

I can see it for the FNG, but I kinda think they should've been able to make a deal with UPL without him needing to elect arbitration. It'll probably work out fine. The Ullmark debacle looms in the background though.

The Sabres having 2 out of the NHL total of 14 guys elect arbitration, comprised of their almost-certain starting goalie and a guy they just traded a pretty valuable draft pick for, isn't a great look. I sure hope they sign both to decent contracts before those hearings.

This is kinda strange -- Joki will be a UFA after next season, so, they've effectively escorted him to UFA and given up control over the asset.

Here's a somewhat related question, for those well versed in analytics: shouldn't the "goals above replacement" stat, in the defensive context, be "goals below replacement"? In any case I'm pretty sure I'm correct in interpreting the various fancystats that have been posted as meaning that McLeod's analytics are good, maybe even very good for the role he's going to play here. I like the trade so far. I'll take @tom webster's word for it about Savoie not being highy valued around the NHL, but he still seems to me like a pretty good asset and thus a real price to pay in this deal. This should be a good barometer of the Sabres' pro personnel aptitude. I think Savoie is also the first important asset brought in by KA that he subsequently traded (and Taylor Hall does not count IMHO). If McLeod is good, he's going to be here for a long time. Go Sabres.

I hate myself for googling this guy and checking this website. This is a clear indicator that I, too, am desperate for KA to bring in a good forward. Having said that, the question of 2 plum assets for an Ehlers rental is certainly more interesting than a price of 4 plum assets as previously rumored. At that price, @Thorny might be able to talk me into it.

Well, I was responding to a post that stated that Mitts was better than Quinn. You are of course right that they play different positions, but Quinn did miss most of last season. If he's healthy next season (an unfortunately big if, given his injury history), I think it's reasonable to look at him as a new addition relative to last season. You are also right IMHO that they need another center (although I don't agree with the implication in your post that Mitts was a good 200-foot player -- I think overall, after years of looking like a potential washout, Mitts evolved into a good NHL forward, who last season put up a bunch of empty-calorie numbers as one of the "leaders" of a hugely disappointing team). My point was simply that I think Quinn will produce more offense next season than Mitts did last season. As for the Mitts-Byram trade, IMHO it's still way too early to tell. I'm pretty optimistic that Lindy will bring out the best of BB, and that BB will prove out to be a better and more value-added player than Mitts. We'll see.

If Zucker still has his legs and his desire (2 big ifs!), he could be a very good addition.

Not me. I don't like Monahan's game at all.

Awesome. The Aud was so great.

lol! Haha! Your opinions are so laughable! I’m so clever I say everything 20 times in every thread! I say again, entirely in good faith: if Quinn stays healthy, he will be better for the Sabres this year than Mitts was last year. And part of that difference in value is that goals are materially more important than assists. You are of course free to disagree.

Sweet move! I think Helenius is going to be really good and we're going to be glad KA didn't trade him. Awesome.

Montour is a solid player but that contract is insane IMHO.

I think 4 of these are definitely wrong and the 5th (Skinner/Zucker) is probably wrong. And your repeated "Mitts was our best forward" refrain is both false and neither here nor there. He had 14 goals (7th on the team) for a hugely disappointing team. Whoop-de-dam-do. Dude.

Firing mortars for 2 hours? That can’t be legal.