dudacek

They're lost and they're broken. They went all in on Ralph with the little bit of faith they had left and it crumbled like old cheese.

I'm not going to make any judgement on Borgen based on whether Jason Botterill thought he should have been in the NHL or not last year.

Haven't read the thread but here's what I saw: We are clearly transitioning to a different style; Instead of trying to be the worst offensive team in the league we are trying to be become the worst defensive team. Is it any surprise to anyone that the deliberate departure from a rigid structure has made Casey Mittelstadt and Jeff Skinner far more noticeable? Is there a single veteran other than Skinner who hasn't checked out since Ralph was fired? I can't recall ever developing such a raw hatred for a Sabre in such a short time as I have for Eric Staal. I haven't seen many 40-shot games where so many of those shots seemed to be high-danger. The charts should be interesting tonight. Rasmus Dahlin makes me want to weep. He has so far to go just to become a trustworthy NHL player again. Can't wait for the trade deadline.

That's not even what the blogger said the French guy said in his second language that his source said he was told by whatever Sabres official he talked to. That's assuming the French guy's source actually got his info directly from a Sabres source, which certainly isn't a sure thing.

Interesting. I've always thought what stood out about Borgen was how much better a skater he is than players who play a similar style.

I just want to point out an issue with "trade a D-man so you don't lose him for nothing" in the expansion draft. You enter the expansion draft with this as your D-core: Dahlin Risto Bryson Jokiharju Miller Borgen You expose Miller and Risto and lose Risto and are left with this: Dahlin Borgen Bryson Jokiharju Miller You trade Risto and expose Miller and Risto and lose Miller and are left with this: Dahlin Borgen Bryson Jokiharju Yes, you've got an extra pick, or an extra forward for Risto, but you have defence corps consisting of four players, with what, 400 NHL games combined? That's a serious hole.

I guess you're right it hasn't had much direct conversation lately, but there are a number of people who have been advocating a Risto trade for years. I don't think they've changed their minds, they've just become tired of talking about it. I like Risto more than some, but I think it's fait accompli that he gets moved. I think there's a better chance of Taylor Hall scoring a hat-trick tonight than there is of Risto re-signing in Buffalo. And it that's the case, you have to trade him. Even if he was willing to re-sign, I think the Sabres have to move on. I think Adams and Sam may reach a similar conclusion, although I hope that's not the case.

@Kruppstahl got the only real substance of this article: If Adams has actually talked price with his peers, that is an indication there is a willingness to at least consider offers. The next step is if a GM is actually willing to step up and make an offer based on those parameters. Matthew Tkachuk, Jacob Pelletier, Connor Zary and Sean Monahan is something you have to consider. Logan Brown, Ridley Greig, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Colin White is not.

This is how the internet works. No source actually says they have decided to move Eichel if the price is right. The lead of the story actually says the opposite No source actually says Eichel wants to stay. That's the writer's opinion. No source says they want actual picks. The article's only source actually says they are looking for players who were recent high picks and have that value. Don't want to get bogged down in the semantics of this, but any implication that the Pegulas are steering is not supported by the article. No source says they want actual picks. Again, no source says they want actual picks. What the article says is "a source" told Renaud Lavoie (a well-sourced French-Canadian hockey reporter) that GMs have been talking about Eichel and have been told that if they are seriously interested they need to come to the table with an offer that includes four significant young assets. That's it.

THis is the third time a version of this has been posted and the third time it has been misinterpreted. I give up.

No it actually fits — Risto's potential value to a Buffalo playoff push in the 2022 stretch drive should also be a factor in your decision-making. I think a Risto/Borgen argument ultimately comes down to which one you value more, I just think that "value" is more nuanced than which player you like more right now, and one of those nuances is market value. It's not just "would you rather Borgen on your roster next season and next summer, or Risto next season only?" It's "would you rather Borgen on your roster next season and next summer, or Risto and/or the proceeds of a Risto trade?" And you really don't know the answer to that without knowing the potential haul of a Risto trade.

Sorry, my poor choice of words has triggered one of your pet peeves. I was not referring to the likelihood of us being sellers, I was referring to the need to trade Risto before he walks to UFA for nothing. Just pretend "at the deadline" wasn't in my original post and carry on.

So, hopes and dreams? 😜

Why is it hopes and dreams to project Casey, but it's not to project Will? Right now, Casey is a good minor league centre showing signs that he could be a useful 3rd line winger. Will is a good minor league defenceman showing signs that he could be a useful 3rd pairing defenceman. Casey is younger and has a stronger pedigree. That's seems relevant to GA and not to you and that's fine. I'm more interested in why you think Borgen is clearly worth more to the organization than Mittelstadt.

Believe it or not asset management is a thing. It is Adams job to come out of the expansion draft with the best collection of assets possible, then parlay those assets into the best team possible. If you can trade Risto right now for a 2nd-rounder or a back-up goalie, why give him away for nothing in the expansion draft? And if you can trade him for that now, you can probably protect him and trade him for that any time between now and the deadline (assuming he isn't re-signing). Also, it is pretty hard for me to imagine a scenario where the Sabres have four defencemen better than Risto to start next year. If that's the case, it also makes an argument for protecting him. You also have to process Borgen through the same window.

The "and" was you had their ages wrong. To be clear, I think the discussion of who to expose: Mitts, Borgen or Risto is a good one; I posted my preference, but I don't think any is an obvious choice. The counterpoint on Borgen that we have to acknowledge is small sample size and a very real possibility that he has peaked as an NHL/AHL tweener. You don't have to go back very far to find posters who weren't willing to give up Jokiharju in a package for a 2C. I really liked what I've seen from Will the times I watched him in Rochester. He wasn't good in his four games last year. He looked ready in his four games this year. And he really seems to add the element this team lacks the most. I know there are some on this board who think Risto and Montour are crap, but if we are essentially walking away from three of our top four (McCabe) defenceman for nothing this summer, I hope we have a better replacement plan than Miller, Bryson and Borgen. It smells a lot like crossing your fingers and pencilling Mittelstadt and Johansson in at 2C.

Well he did say a weak version of that early, and re-emphasized more clearly later. And there isn't much he can do if other GMs, agents, editors and TV producers want to keep pushing the agenda.

Which might be the point. Maybe Adams has set a value that would make him move the asset to see if anyone will bite. He probably doesn't want to trade Eichel, and he's not in a position where he has to trade Eichel.

This is the same rumour being discussed elsewhere and it is not about actual picks, it is about young players who were first round picks and still have that value. So, Eichel for Cozens, Mitts, Reinhart and Risto. Eichel for Konecny, Sanheim, Provorov and Farabee... etc.

It is very hard to envision the Sabres not being a seller at the deadline with a defence of Borgen Bryson Dahlin Jokiharju Miller and even a good summer acquisition If you left Miller and Risto exposed, which one would Seattle take? How about Miller and Borgen? We have to go 7/3. You go 4/4 you are essentially offering them their choice of Mitts or one of Risto/Borgen/Miller You go 7/3 you are essentially offering them one of Risto/Borgen/Miller For me the fall back has to be protecting Dahlin, Joki and Risto and hoping they take Miller over Borgen. My preference is to convincing them to take a light sweetener to take Tokarski, or a better sweetener to take Eakin. Okposo is a pipe dream. Meanwhile, we have room to pick up other teams protection issues at forward and goalie. We are protecting Girgensons, Lazar, and Thompson as things stand right now under a 7/3 and we literally have no one to protect in goal.

Shh... Didn't ruin Ryan Miller at 23. Ended up playing 15 games. Even then he didn't make the Sabres until three years later; before the lockout there was that 3-game stint he had at 24 where he had a 5.08 GAA and a .795 S%

I really hope Borgen gets 20 games in at the end of the season to demonstrate whether this is warranted. Because I really like the concept of Borgen Will Borgen turns 25 this year and has played 8 NHL games. Casey Mittelstadt and is two full years younger. There is a potential opportunity cost to factor into leaving Risto exposed and that is the return he could garner as a trade deadline rental.

Under 2 different owners, four GMS and at least six head scouts.

It's an unconnected blogger putting his spin on a connected reporter's reporting. What Renaud Lavoie (the original source) is saying is the ask is roughly the equivalent of four Dylan Cozens: four talented young players at or near the NHL who are already good, or who you could reasonably expect to get good or better. So Turcotte, Byfield, Kempe and Bjornfot... Or Lafreniere, Chytil, Buchnevich and Lindgren... Or Keller, Crouse, Chychrun and Hayton... Or Suzuki, Kotkaniemi, Romanov and Poehling... Or Newhook, Byrum, Jost and Timmins... Pick your team and have at 'er

1) You, on the other hand, have never agreed with a poster who said "the goalie needs to save that," let alone posted that yourself. 2) If you think Sabrespace doesn't frequently blame the skaters you have to have either a reading comprehension problem, or 97 per cent of the posters here on ignore.