dudacek

Well, they seem poised to trade Dumba for a much more insignificant return than Jack prior to the expansion draft deadline. And trading Jack for Dumba leaves them with about $14 million to sign Kaprizov, Fiala and Erikson Ek, which doesn’t seem impossible to me. Maybe a one-year cap dump like Rask would have to play a part, but their cap situation doesn’t look dire to me. Suter and Parise are bad contracts, but they will be there with or without Jack, who certainly makes their team better.

Entirely fair. But I think this conversation has to be predicated on the supposition that the acquiring team is OK with Eichel’s health.

Of the players that were available at 8? Do you know where he was ranked overall on the Botterill list? Or on the Adams list?

Apologies for bringing the Wild thread over to the Rangers, but when I see names like Turcotte, Rossi and Caufield being taken for granted as part of their team’s package, I can’t see the Rangers even getting a seat at the table if Lafreniere and Kakko are not part of the conversation. If they are serious, those names have to be involved because other teams will certainly be offering better centrepieces than Filip Chytil.

A 2nd for Merzlikins seems more than fair for either side given the Kraken. I’m skeptical of another team offering more than the Bruins pick. Chicago? San Jose?

I don’t know that I agree with that. Boldy outscored him in both college and the minors, and IMO looked better at the WJC. He’s an underrated and very complete player. Rossi’s draft year was better than Turcotte’s. I think it’s pretty hard to argue Turcotte is on a higher tier. And part of the appeal with this deal is two Turcotte-level prospects.

Bob Hartley is a Neanderthal.Hope they stay far away. Can’t see Babcock ever working for the Pegula’s after jilting them on the altar last time.

Will they be interested? Highly. Minnesota has been surprisingly successful this year despite not having a clear-cut top line centre. In fact, it’s been the story for them pretty much their entire existence. General feeling is they see an Eichel as a bridge to becoming a true contender. Do they have the pieces? There seems to be a sweet spot in the Eichel trade market buzz for prospects who aren’t sure stars, but do have first line potential. The Wild have two such prospects in Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi. They have NHL pieces the Sabres could use like Foligno, Greenway, Erickson Ek, Fiala and Matt Dumba, who is vulnerable to the expansion draft. And they have two firsts this year. Would this work? Boldy, Rossi, Dumba and a 1st for Eichel When the report surfaced that the Sabres were looking for the equivalent of 4 firsts in an Eichel trade, this certainly fits the bill. Boldy and Rossi certainly show every sign of being a Pominville/Roy level combo and Dumba effectively is a replacement and upgrade for Risto. Doctors would have to clear Rossi, just as they would Eichel. The Wild give up a hefty chunk of their future, but console themselves with Jack Eichel. It’s not as sexy as some proposals fans might prefer, but it is a solid, competitive offer. Is there a deal to be made with the Wild?

It was a demotion. He was a random pro scout with a USNDP background elevated to being the head of all scouting - pro and amateur. He was asked to re-rank the work of Botterill’s large team on grading the 2020 draft based on new criteria from Adams, with greater analytics input from Nightengale, but no further input from any new scouts. This resulted in the somewhat controversial pick of Quinn, and in moving up for Peterka. He oversaw a skeleton group of scouts gathering info on this year’s prospects while also leading the pro scouts through a patchwork pandemic few months of hockey before being shuffled into a strictly pro scouting role again, with his amateur duties handed over to Jerry Forton, a pre-existing college scout. It seems like his scouting director responsibilities have been passed over to Karmanos, who will lead the still-small staff through creating the list, based on whatever information has been acquired under Crowe’s part-time direction. It has also been hinted that a real scouting director will be hired after this year’s draft. All told, it doesn’t bode well for this year’s draft.

How much are we reading into Jeremiah Crowe leading last year’s draft, and now being moved out of amateur scouting altogether? Is that an indictment of who we picked?

Great question. I know I saw it, but I don’t remember where, or how old or credible the list was.

Depends on the team picking there and their need for offence. Ive seen Beniers ranked in the 7-8 range. Pronman and McKenzie each had him at 4.

Beniers is literally the only name I’ve seen linked with them, although I’ve yet to really dive into the draft. They are likely picking at three, and I will be surprised if Beniers isnt the pick. Given Power’s growing consensus as #1 and your well-considered arguments as to what that means, it also seems likely Power is the man at #1. Therefore, they will be picking #2.

It was Pronman who had Quinn to the Sabres: Buffalo Sabres: Jack Quinn, RW, Ottawa-OHL Trying to figure out the Sabres has been tough with the moving pieces from new management coming in, but the two names I’ve heard the most are the two Ottawa forwards in Quinn and Marco Rossi. I’ve been hearing Quinn more often now and think that could be the pick

Interesting take from veteran Athletic writer Eric Duhatschek: “If I was L.A. and nervous about Eichel’s health, I would be prepared to part with both Alex Turcotte and Gabe Vilardi, two recent first-round picks, to bring in Reinhart.“

I know either Wheeler or Pronman from the Athletic had Quinn or Rossi to Buffalo in his final preview. For what it’s worth, none of the talking heads during the draft showed any surprise whatsoever. The Sabres were known to be very high on Sanderson and were also thought to be Rossi fans. Prioritizing size and position for Quinn is strictly your own conclusion right? I can’t recall anything from the Sabres that indicated any of this. They talked about Quinn’s skill and character, but the thing they really emphasized was upside: they loved his development curve and thought the package of attitude and athleticism offered the best chance for continued growth.

Looks like we’ve got 4 D, 2G and 8F under contract that could be in Rochester next year, although Borgen, Bryson and R2 may have fully graduated to Buffalo. Borgen, Bryson, Samuelsson, Laaksonen, Lukkonnen, Tokarski, Biro, Quinn, Murray, Pekar, Oglevie, Rousek, Weissbach, Ruotsalainen Fitzgerald and Dipietro (who doesn’t appear to have played hockey at all this year after signing as a college free agent) are listed as RFAs. I think Ryan Johnson is expected to go back to Minnesota for his junior year. Peterka is really the only other unsigned guy in the system I could see being added. Not sure of his contract situation over there. Lots of blank canvas to paint.

New GM, two straight disappointing playoffs, I’d say it’s likely. I’d also say he’d rocket straight to the top of our list if it happens.

I missed this. I can’t see how anyone who ever played would think there isn’t an advantage to shooting from your offside.

Who thinks Kakko is going to be a superstar? Landeskog, Reinhart... isn’t that more his general expectation?

Terrific interview. I won’t have any issues with him getting the job.

Well, so far he’s better than Dylan Cozens and Trevor Zegras. Power forwards tend to develop more slowly, yet he is the leading goal scorer and 2nd leading point scorer from his draft class. His career numbers aren’t out of line with Jarome Iginla’s at the same age. He’s skilled and he’s good.

I doubt we get a better offer. Or one that good.

Not really, at least not with such good comparables. Dubois for Laine and Roslovic? Jeff Carter for Jack Johnson and a first? Domi for Anderson? Mantha for Vrana, Panik (cap dump) 1st and a 2nd. Lindholm plus for Dougie Hamilton plus?

I really think Philly will be among the more highly-motivated teams to make a deal for Jack and they do have intriguing pieces. I am also far more interested in Couturier than some of you here as the secondary piece. He’d be the ideal player to shield Casey and Dylan. You can’t trust that he will re-sign and that will have to be factored into the value, but I think we can re-sign him if we look like an up-and-comer, and also get a decent return at the deadline if it doesn’t work out.