JohnC

I would be happy with a Minnesota deal, especially if it included Rossi. And if it were required I would want the Sabres to take back money in order to get this deal done. But my sense (my opinion) is that financial considerations are being required by the ownership when these deals are made. I'm hoping that a reasonable deal for Jack can get done and everyone can move on.

For where this team is and where it is going in the near future the financial strategy that @Pimlach gave is relevant to the Sabre situation.

I highly doubt that the Sabres will take back any of Jack's salary if/when dealt. The appeal of Jack for teams interested in him is that he still has plenty of term left. So there will be little worry about keeping him in the fold for the near future. My understanding of what is happening in the Pegula owned team that money considerations are very much being factored in hockey decisions, at least for right now.

There is another way of looking at the Jack value chart. The multiple reports are that other teams haven't as yet increased their price offer to fall within the Sabres' acceptable range. That is the right strategy to take when you have the player in question under contract. I have no problem with the way Adams is handling this issue.

Excellent job. The return on Jack seems to be declining. There are a lot of realistic trade possibilities that you listed. The absolute minimum return needs to include a potential 1C player such as Rossi from Minn. and Turcotte from LA. I would love to have Anaheim's Zegras but not sure he is attainable. That is the floor that needs to be met.

There are many reasons why over the years the Sabres have fallen by the wayside. The organization has displayed many facets to the concept of incompetence. The soul-crushing that happened last year had a lot to do with Krueger and his anachronistic approach to the game. Shortly after he was dispatched there was a stunning display in the difference of what he had done and how the team transitioned out of its collective depression after the coaching change was made.

I'm sure Ullmark and his agent have the outline of a deal with the Sabres. It is a contract that he can compare to other offers. If another team is willing to go much beyond it he might consider the outside offer. But I lean towards what @tom websterstated in his post.

The situation in Buffalo from a hockey perspective is a good situation for him. If he signs it is likely that he will be our #1 goalie. Will he get the same opportunities to burnish his stats with another team? I'm not sure that is the case. Will he be offered more money than what Buffalo is willing to pay him? That's what he and his agent will soon find out. I'm also sure that although he is not going to garner a very long term contract I don't think he is willing to settle for a one year deal. As I said in a prior post if Ullmark wants to remain in Buffalo he will get paid a fair market contract for the caliber that he is. If he would rather be someplace else then so be it. I'll wish him the best and the organization will proceed to pursue other options. That's how the business works.

Assuming Jack is healthy he is not going to sit under any circumstances. It wouldn't be in his best interest. KA has a value range for Jack. If a deal can be made within the range he will make a deal. If not he will hold on until the range is met.

Maybe he will eventually be a second pairing defenseman but if he makes the roster next year it will be as a third or fourth pairing player. That in itself would give him a great opportunity to show what he is capable of. If he doesn't make the big club roster at the start of the season he will be getting a lot of playing time in the AHL and be better prepared when he gets an opportunity.

The Sabres and Jack have one thing in common. Both sides recognize that it is time to move on. Jack is not buying in to the rebuild just as Risto and Reinhart were not invested in it. What Jack wants is a fresh start somewhere else; what the franchise wants is a reset. It's in the interest of both sides to move on. How it gets done and the timing of it are to be determine. But the inevitable divorce will get done. Adams has not been subtle about the buy-in required from his players, and Jack has made his feelings known to the organization not so much where he wants to go to but where he doesn't want to be.

Samuelsson's father is well schooled in the world of the NHL. If he is counseling his son he would certainly be telling him that he is in a situation where he will be afforded a golden opportunity to play sooner and establish himself as a player in the league than he would be with other franchises. He would be telling his son to prepare himself the best he can and seize this opportunity in front of him.

You have a choice: You get what you can get or you wait it out a little longer and start the season with Jack on the roster. By moving out Risto and Reinhart you make it more likely that the return on Jack is less because teams recognize that eventually Jack will have to be moved. I was happy with the return for Risto but disappointed on the return for Reinhart. But when you are cornered and in a tough situation you have to adjust to it. There is no hiding the fact to the rest of the league that the Sabres want to move on from the three players who formed the old core. It's not a question of being in a position of strength or weakness as it is the reality of the direction where this organization is heading toward i.e. rebuilding. I believe that it's in Jack's and the franchise's best interest to move on from each other. I have little criticism for Jack wanting to have a fresh start somewhere else. When you have systemic failure it's not surprising that you get more player/s disillusionment. I'm at the point where if the return meets my lower expectation of getting a respectable return I will be sufficiently satisfied.

The desire that the Sabres wanted 4 good young pieces for Jack that are at a 1st round value were returns that were hoped for. There is nothing wrong with starting off negotiations at a highpoint. If the market doesn't respond to your initial high stance then you adjust and move your expectations downward. If the Sabres can come away with 2 or surprisingly 3 high value returns I will be more than satisfied. The Sabres are not driving this market; it is responding to it. It comes down to expectation facing the reality of the marketplace.

Excellent analysis and clearly stated. This is a fair appraisal of the situation. The only part of your post that I can quibble with is the timeline for the rebuild. Will it take 2-3 or 3-4 years? I'm not sure? As you smartly point out it is essential to not try to the force the rebuild and let it run its course. This is how Ottawa has done it. Now they are at a stage where it can be a competitive team for a long time. It's a tough process that requires vision and fortitude.

The good old days of players staying with the teams that drafted them are not only over with but have been gone for a long time. Loyalty from players to teams and teams to players is mostly nonexistent. In the era of free agency and the cap player movement is an established part of the fabric of pro sports. As you wisely noted relationships don't always work. There isn't an organization in any pro sport (and increasingly in the college ranks) where relationships get frayed and the inevitable outcome is breaking up. More often than not the most important issue isn't whose fault it is for the erosion as it is how do you react to it. (Again, as you noted with your don't give up comment.)

He's going to be dealt. It's just a question of when.

The young players currently on the roster and in the short-pipeline that you list offers some hope. But the reality is that it is going to take at least another couple or few years for those players to be at a stage where this roster will be seriously competitive. What has to happen is for this regime to have the courage of its conviction to follow through with their rebuilding plan. As you well know and have vigorously stated that it is imperative that the goaltending is upgraded so that it can undergird the rebuilding process. There are a number of roster issues that need to be addressed. And that is the most important one.

The organization had an opportunity to sign him to a longer term deal a couple of years ago, if not earlier. There were at least two contract negotiations where he was only offered short term deals. So this year he took advantage of his contract status and used it as leverage to get out. The organization miscalculated and ended up losing one of their primary players for less than full value. The onus is on the organization for how the situation developed. The main factor for players wanting out is not about money as it is about the persistent losing. It can be demoralizing for players who have been subjected to it for extended periods of time. I don't blame any player who wanted to find greener pastures. The lesson to be learned is that systemic organizational failure has consequences. I'm not a pessimist about the future. But no one can deny that the recent past has been a disaster.

I can't say for sure if he is happy or not. What shouldn't surprise him is that the 3 core players will be moved. Unless he is clueless he knew fully well that those soon to be dispatched players didn't want to be here. The reality is that the Sabres are in a rebuild situation. Does he want to be part of it? If he doesn't then the organization will move on. In my opinion from a professional standpoint Ullmark is in a good situation here. He has a good chance of being a #1 goalie and an opportunity to improve his status for his next contract. Ullmark has steadily worked his way up the developmental ladder in this organization. Each year he has gotten better and moved up the ranks. Through his contract stance it will soon be known whether he wants to be here or not. If he doesn't then the organization will simply seek other options. That's life in the hockey business.

Your thinking is skewed beyond repair. Samson's worth is determined by the market. His contract status as an UFA next year diminished his talent worth. In the real world you get what you can get. And that doesn't always conform to what you want to get. That really isn't a difficult concept to understand.

Do you honestly believe that if KA had better offers he would have declined them to make this deal? Whether one is an experienced GM or a neophyte GM no GM who is half sentient is going to decline a better offer for a player that is going to be traded. I thought the Sabres would have gotten more in a Reinhart trade. I was wrong. Why is it surprising that when a player has leverage and has preferences as to where he wants to go that he will exercise that leverage? And why is it surprising that by exercising his contract leverage the market is going to be suppressed? Some hockey fans believe that real life NHL hockey should correspond with their fantasy hockey outlook on things. For those in their delusional world: It doesn't!

I'm confident that some people will say that it is a stinky pick.

If you live in New Jersey is that possible? 🤡

You excel at stereotyping. You must believe all Italians like pasta.