dudacek

I think this sells Pesce short. In terms of ice time, Pesce was actually #2 on the Canes and they are right there with Vegas in terms of having the best D corps in the league. All of their top 4 play a lot and fairly equally. Power is more talented and certainly will be better down the road, but I doubt he was more effective than Pesce last year. And Pesce is what we think Mule will become. Plus the fit - defence-first RHD who can match up against top forwards - is ideal. None of them are sure things for me as first-liners and Quinn is the only one I feel very strongly about hitting that level. I do agree JJ has an “it” factor and very well could.

In order of what I think is most people’s preference: Legitimate top 4 defenceman. Goalie capable of carrying the load if Levi is not ready Veteran savvy, more grit throughout the lineup Faceoffs

Refresh my memory on how you’re getting Hanifin? Was it pick 13? This definitely makes the team better at no cost to the current roster. What contract would it take to convince the other two to sign in Buffalo?

And before we go too far down the rabbit hole, regardless of what my earlier post implies, I’m not an advocate of trading JJ. I’m more inclined to be a Wookie and keep all my good players when I add other team’s good players. Im more trying to have a conversation, in the spirit of the thread, on what people might might think is necessary, tolerable, or possible in order to make the kinds of improvements the team needs. I added top 4 shutdown defender who can kill penalties, a veteran leader who can win faceoffs, a middle-six winger with size and snarl, and a proven starter capable of giving a buffer to Levi - largely by using our areas of depth and strength. “But Gibson sucks” or “JJ is untouchable” are fair replies. I’d like to see other people’s options.

If he is Pominville, then isn’t a trade for Pesce kinda fair value? Considering we may have a lot of Pominvilles and we don’t have any Pesces?

I don’t think Adams would either, I was wondering if you would trade any of the Sabres youth for Pesce. To me, Pesce is a known factor; his value is established. I’d trade a Max-level player for him any day. I’d bet good money that not all of JJ Quinn Savoie and Kulich will reach Max’s level, let alone Vanek’s. It sounds like (from that group) JJ is the one you’re betting on to hit big, and that’s fine, he could be that guy. But it’s only logical that they aren’t all going to be that guy. You pick the Paul Cyr and trade him for Pesce, you’re going to win that trade big time. Is there any one of those guys you trade for Pesce, assuming a contract can be reached?

You are clearly tuned in to the Bruins. I’ve seen you post more than a few items about players the Bruins are bringing in and for the life of me I don’t see how. The thought of the Bruins with 1 pick in the 1st 2 rounds over the next 3 years, perhaps the weakest pool of prospects in the NHL, 10 unsigned roster players, and less than $5 million in cap space acquiring anyone of significance - particularly a someone who is not a forward - seems crazy to me. Does the talk ever include how they are going to make this work? https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/bruins

So Martin? Why do you think so? Would you substitute Quinn, Kulich or Savoie for that deal? Do you see all them reaching Vanek levels?

What level do people expect JJ to settle into over his NHL career? Rick Martin? Thomas Vanek? Max Afinogenov? Clarke McArthur? Paul Cyr? Nothing in his career so far rules any of them out.

I was interested to read in the Athletic that goalie Dan Vladar of the Flames is being shopped and is expected to return a 2nd round pick. He’s turning 26 this summer and had put up an .899 save percentage over 55 NHL games, mostly as a Flames backup. UPL is 2 years younger and has an .898 save percentage over 48 NHL games. Its been clear to me for a while that if the Sabres bring in another goalie UPL is gone. I wonder what his value is?

Trying to get into the spirit of this thing with my picture-perfect, almost vaguely realistic off-season: Trade Victor Olofsson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and the 45th pick in the draft to the Ducks for John Gibson and pick 59. Trade JJ Peterka to Canes for Brett Pesce. Pesce signs a 5-year $32-million extension. Trade pick 13 to the Wings for pick 17 and pick 43. Trade pick 59 and 43 to the Bruins for Trent Frederic Draft defencemen Dimitri Simashev and Martin Strbak with picks 17 and 39. Sign Johnathan Toews to a 1-year $4 million deal. Start the season with: Skinner Thompson Tuch Mittelstadt Cozens Greenway Frederic Toews Quinn Girgensons Krebs Okposo Samuelsson Dahlin Power Pesce Lyubushkin Jokiharju Levi/Gibson Rousek and Stillman would be the extras with Johnson and Kulich likely the first call-ups.

Are you surprised? Im started to think he’s not a real person.

It wasn’t the board that told me what Kevyn Adams thinks about handedness. It was Kevyn Adams in a video I watched where a reporter asked him about it.

Thought so

Are they? Do you know this like you know the Sabres have done nothing 3 years running?

It was tongue-in-cheek. The article reported Bryson was the other guy Donnie would use off-hand, even when he was playing with Ras.

Maybe Michkov decides he’s not going home after the draft 🤔 😜

Donnie coached him for a year at Program. And why am I not surprised that you’re jumping to conclusions that a player who has spent 8 years in the NHL without a whiff of trouble is probably a ***** because he was on the same team as Jack Eichel when they were teens. You know Alex Tuch was on that team too, right?

I guess we shall see how Conroy handles it in the wake of the recent mass revolt, but the early reports were that Calgary was more interested in a retool than a rebuild. If that’s the case, I’m wondering if the deal could be based around Hanifin for Olofsson and Jokiharju? I realize I’ll get flamed by the “Joker and VO are trash” crowd, but the fact is Vic is a 25-goal scoring PP weapon and Henri is a 24-year-old, mobile, minute-munching RHD. They have value. And it’s an old school hockey trade, the likes of which teams made all the time prior to the cap era. From the Flames perspective they downgrade on a top 4 D, but add a cheaper contract who is under team control for a lot longer than a year at a hard-to-fill position for a player who was going to walk, as well as filling a big hole up front. It’s pretty easy to see them imagining Huberdeau to VO lighting things up with the man advantage. And as Brawndo says, if Vic doesn’t fit into their long-term plans, he’ll be pretty easy to flip. The Sabres will have to backfill on the 3rd pair, but they’ve upgraded their top 4 with a talented player who suits their timeline. Maybe there’s an add somewhere, and I apologize for the “our trash for your good player” nature of this idea, but I can see a world where it might make sense.

And Bryson. Don’t forget Bryson. I didn’t walk away with the same reading you did. To me, it reinforced my take that it’s not about the concept, it’s about the individual players. Nice bit of work by the author. Of course I’m using it. It’s a perfect example of how “doing something” isn’t what you pretend it is. If you posted “the Sabres haven’t made the playoffs in a decade” I wouldn’t have argued. Instead you posted that they have done nothing for three years running, which is a lie and you should get called on it.

It really is that simple. It is odd how the NHL can simply ignore the Twitter mob on so many issues but decides they can’t on this one.

I don’t think Carolina has any intention of trading Brett Pesce unless he”s stuck on a contract demand the Sabres won’t be willing to pay.

Just coming to post this. They’re also reporting that “teams are calling on Duclair but Florida doesn’t want to give him up” which is Lebrun speak for a GM wanting to convince a trade partner to pull the trigger. Calgary needs scoring wingers, so I don’t mind connecting dots. Is Duclair more attractive than Olofsson? If so, how much? What are the other pieces involved? As Brawndo said the Sabres have a ton of trade currency Florida doesn’t have. I think the decision to trade Hanifin now has been made and it’s just about Calgary maximizing the return. I read the item as saying the Sabres and the Panthers are the final suitors. I think Hanifin is an excellent fit. Let’s see if Adams can pull this off.

3 years ago they made one of the biggest moves of the off-season in acquiring Taylor Hall. They also added “proven veterans” Eric Staal and Cody Eakin. 2 years ago they made the biggest move of the off-season with the Eichel trade. They also traded core guys in Reinhart and Ristolainen. As usual, you’re making things up again.

We can. It seems important to you that Adams bears a degree of responsibility for the COVID season, and I’m not going to debate that either. What I will debate is anything that hand waves how bad that season was. I think it was the absolute nadir of my fandom, which is now approaching 50 years.