Curt

Thanks for the break downs! I just wanted to add that even if the Sabres wanted to put an emphasis picking physically strong players, there are even more forward possibilities at 13OA. Specifically, I’m thinking of Ryan Leonard, Dalibor Dvorsky, Nate Danielson, and Samuel Honzek. How do you see these guys stacking up versus Wood, Barlow, and Ritchie?

Purposely omitted Dragicevic for the exact reasons you listed. I’m looking for guys with complimentary, not overlapping, skills to Dahlin and Power.

I don’t disagree. Just casting a wide net.

I’ve been checking out some options for defensemen in rounds 2-4, because Sabres have picks 39, 45, 86, and 109. Some RHD who caught my eye were: Tom Willander Oliver Bonk Hunter Brzustewicz Maxim Strbak Cameron Allen Aran Minnetian Andrew Gibson Dylan MacKinnon Gavin McCarthy Anyone have strong opinions about any of these guys?

I would be careful trading Jokiharju for an 18 year old defender who is still a couple years from the NHL. I don’t know how the future will unfold, but Jokiharju is a 23 year old NHL defenseman. That’s generally still a few years from their peak for defensemen. Seems dangerous to assume that because he hasn’t quite been up to the task of playing serious top-4 mins, that he won’t get there in the future. I can definitely see him settling in as a #4 for several years, from ages 25-32,for example.

Meh, difference in verbiage maybe. I agree his split season does really count, but…… After his D+2 season, he was a full time NHLer and never played another game in the minors, so I say it took him 2 years.

Thomas has 77 points in 72 games last season for a 109 point team. I don’t think he is a borderline 2/3 C. That’s a bit harsh. He probably isn’t good enough to be a 1C on a good team, but he is probably a good 2C for a top team.

It took Jokiharju 1.5-2 seasons to establish himself as a regular nhl player. He played nearly half a season in 2018-19 and a full NHL season in 2019-20.

What? Can you please elaborate?

Has there been any indication from the NHL or NHLPA that this is being discussed? Have to echo @Taro T here. This doesn’t really add up. The cap number is not directly tied to the number of games, but instead to the overall league revenue. And it would really help to smooth out the cap increase transition because whatever increase it results in one year, is also going to be there for all following years. Seems weird that the NHLPA would agree to an increase in number of games just for a slight bump in the salary cap. Also there is a CBA in effect, no? That’s signed contract. To change it if that is even possible all), the NHLPA would need to get buy in from a majority of the players. There are lots of hurdles. I don’t see it happening. This seems like something that is being kicked around on HFBoards and no where else.

But have you taken into consideration the fact that being a GM is kinda hard? This thought process kind of breaks down in hilarious when applied to other consumer industries. Sure your mechanic didn’t fix your car’s issue, but if you can’t define exactly what he should have done differently, can you really complain? Sure that sweater you just bought fell apart after one wearing, but if you can’t detail what exactly was wrong with the manufacturing process, can you really complain? Sure the Sabres goalies stink, but if you can’t give specific examples of what alternatives were available and and what they would have cost, can you really complain? Actually, yeah, we can complain.

Maybe he did say that……..to Kevyn Adams.

I wear it 100% of the time. Driving, passenger seat, back seat, doesn’t matter. Only exception is if I end up in the middle back seat or something and there literally isn’t one. And if I’m driving, everyone puts it on or we aren’t going anywhere.

It is a little confusing why he didn’t sign earlier, but it’s hard to say it’s definitely a negative issue without knowing anything. Maybe he was just truly conflicted about where he wanted to sign and was meticulous taking his time making a decision. Maybe he is dealing with some injury from the college season and though it was better that he heal up instead of rush into the end of the pro season, so there was no rush to sign anyway.

They won’t

Possible but I think it’s unlikely. I don’t think there are really that many options to disagree on. I think the bonuses for ELC contracts are set in stone by draft position. I think the only variable is the actual salary, but we are just talking about the difference between 725k and 950k. I feel like Sabres would just give him the max.

I think it could really help a team if they put this into action. Even if it’s just the bottom half of the lineup. The NHL mindset generally seems to be to “go till you break”. I think a little more “rest up so you don’t break” could help. Especially for older guys and guys who like to play a more physical, checking game. Heck, it might even allow some guys to play a heavier game who feel like they can’t hold up playing that way for 80+ games, but maybe for 50 games they could. Only thing is that it’s kind of hard to do too much roster rotation with size of active rosters and the waiver rules.

I don’t know how good Rosen will end up being but he is doing just fine. He always needed to put on muscle so it’s been no surprise that he has been handled a little slowly. With that said, he just turned 20 a couple months ago and he is playing an important role and producing in the AHL playoffs, so I think he is coming along just fine.

It’s still up on Eliteprospects, but they move the info to the bottom of the player page.

Knit picking on my part, but this might be slightly overstating his draft rankings. I THINK his consolidated “average” draft ranking was 17. He was in the top 25 on almost any list you could find, but he often was ranked in the 15-20 range. If I’m remembering correctly.

To your ultimate question, I hope not! I think they should work with Okposo to give him more games off. Plan on him playing ~60 games, no more than 3 games per week and no back to backs. I think it would go a long way towards keeping him fresh through the season and hopefully into the playoffs. I think that the GM/Coaches are wise enough to do what is best for the team, and I think Okposo is humble enough to accept whatever decisions they need to make without it becoming any type of an issue.

Yeah, it definitely is fake.

Yeah, it’s a concern, but honestly a lot of guys, even top 5 picks who go straight to the NHL, are not real contributors until their 3rd or 4th season post draft anyway. For example, look at Jack Hughes. A player of comparable size and talent to Mitchkov. A great player now and a #1 overall pick. He jumped straight to the NHL, but wasn’t really a difference maker until his 3rd season.

Mitchkov is almost definitely not going to come to the NHL until the 2026-27 season when he is 21. He has a KHL contract until then and there has been legal consequences for players trying to leave without honoring their KHL contracts. However, I don’t see any reason for concern that he might not come over at that point.

He was probably thinking Montour was about to be a UFA in a couple months, things were not going well for him in Buffalo, he wasn’t going to resign, and the Sabres should get what they could for him before the deadline. Sardarian may have turned out to be a bad pick but that’s a different issue.