2019 Free Agency Thread (Non-Sabres)

[Randall Flagg]

Just now, WildCard said:

Him or Marner, who do you take?

Aho, he's a better player and plays center. An absolute machine offensively and 100% hockey IQ 

Edited June 26, 2019 by Randall Flagg

[Brawndo]

Just now, Randall Flagg said:

A guy with a blue check on twitter said that Aho's initial ask was 5 yrs, 9.5 mil per. 

Go into the 4 firsts range and get Aho, he'd sign it 

Delay the First one to 2021 and go for it 

[WildCard]

Just now, Randall Flagg said:

Aho, he's a better player and plays center.

Sweet so I'm not alone in that. And he's cheaper 

Just now, Brawndo said:

Delay the First one to 2021 and go for it 

This is a good idea

[Brawndo]

If you front load the deal, Dundon might not match it 

[Randall Flagg]

If we somehow were blessed enough to acquire Aho, a forward structure of 
Skinner - Jack - xxx
xxx - Aho - Reinhart 

wins playoff series shortly

[Thorner]

10 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Delay the First one to 2021 and go for it 

Are you able to put the "off-year" for the pick in any of the 5 of your choosing?

[Brawndo]

4 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Are you able to put the "off-year" for the pick in any of the 5 of your choosing?

If the picks are all the same round yes, so it’s only valid on the max contract. 

[Thorner]

14 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

If we somehow were blessed enough to acquire Aho, a forward structure of 
Skinner - Jack - xxx
xxx - Aho - Reinhart 

wins playoff series shortly

With Cozens just being drafted, in this scenario does Mittelstadt become a trade chip for you or do you shift him or Cozens to wing? Lots of options. 

We'd be absolutely stacked at C basically right away, but even more so in a couple years. 

We should do it. 

Edited June 26, 2019 by Thorny

[Curt]

17 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Delay the First one to 2021 and go for it 

I don’t think you can choose to delay whenever you want, but if a team had already traded there 2021 1st, for example, they would still be able to offer sheet and it compensation would get shifted back a year.  I believe it can only be done in the case necessity, not purely by choice.

[WildCard]

 

[Derrico]

Wow.  So many unreal RFA out there.  I would want the sabres money to go to forwards so I’m out but he is such a good player.  First pairing for sure.  Him with Dahlin and Montour?  Crazy.

[WildCard]

 

[TrueBlueGED]

3 minutes ago, Derrico said:

Wow.  So many unreal RFA out there.  I would want the sabres money to go to forwards so I’m out but he is such a good player.  First pairing for sure.  Him with Dahlin and Montour?  Crazy.

I disagree. He was trending that way, but had a really poor season. He's not the kind of guy I'd throw a massive over sheet at even if we didn't have other needs. 

[dudacek]

Point Aho Tkachuk are the three I’d blow four 1sts on.

Some other great targets, but they are three best players AND the three best fits.

It just doesn’t seem like a Botterill move, but that Athletic report about other GMs suggesting Buffalo as a possibility to drop an offer sheet sure caught my attention.

IMO, between the cap space and the number of good players on our roster under 25, we will never be in a better position.

[TrueBlueGED]

3 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Point Aho Tkachuk are the three I’d blow four 1sts on.

Some other great targets, but they are three best players AND the three best fits.

It just doesn’t seem like a Botterill move, but that Athletic report about other GMs suggesting Buffalo as a possibility to drop an offer sheet sure caught my attention.

IMO, between the cap space and the number of good players on our roster under 25, we will never be in a better position.

Conceptual question: if Botterill actually signs an RFA to a four-1st offer sheet, do you think it might mean he feels more heat internally to win now than the conventional wisdom holds? Because I agree, it doesn't strike me as the sort of thing he'd do unless he felt he had to. 

Edited June 26, 2019 by TrueBlueGED

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Point Aho Tkachuk are the three I’d blow four 1sts on.

Some other great targets, but they are three best players AND the three best fits.

It just doesn’t seem like a Botterill move, but that Athletic report about other GMs suggesting Buffalo as a possibility to drop an offer sheet sure caught my attention.

IMO, between the cap space and the number of good players on our roster under 25, we will never be in a better position.

Does the 1 week that the current team has to match effect anyone's willingness to see Botterill put in an offer sheet?

Should the team decide to match, not having $10MM in cap space available until 7/8 might cause a lot of Plan B's to be out the window.

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, TrueBlueGED said:

Conceptual question: if Botterill actually signs an RFA to a four-1st offer sheet, do you think it might mean he feels more heat internal to win now than the conventional wisdom holds? Because I agree, it doesn't strike me as the sort of thing he'd do unless he felt he had to. 

I haven’t seen enough to dismiss that outright.

But Botterill also strikes me as the steadfast type that will sink or swim on his own terms regardless of the way the wind is blowing.

[Hoss]

56 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Him or Marner, who do you take?

Aho all day everyday

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

Does the 1 week that the current team has to match effect anyone's willingness to see Botterill put in an offer sheet?

Should the team decide to match, not having $10MM in cap space available until 7/8 might cause a lot of Plan B's to be out the window.

This is a valid point. Guess it depends on what the Plan Bs are.

What other reasons might we have to not drop an offer sheet? Fear of our pick winning the lottery? Odds aren’t great even if we stay bad, and I don’t think we’ll stay bad with Eichel/Skinner Aho/Reinhart Dahlin as our core for the foreseeable future.

Value? As far as I am concerned, I’d take Tkachuk over any four-pick stretch this franchise has ever had between 1972 and 2014.

Revenge? Just make sure you sign Dahlin next summer so they don’t get a chance. 

If Botterill does it, it will because he has done the calculation and doesn’t see it as a risk.

[Zamboni]

Prediction ... no GM this summer does an offer sheet where the team being offer-sheeted doesn’t match and keep the player.

Second prediction ... no player gets offer sheeted this summer.

one of those is likely to be true.

 

but I get it... every summer it’s nice to fantasize about offer sheets.

Edited June 26, 2019 by Zamboni

[TrueBlueGED]

4 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

Prediction ... no GM this summer does an offer sheet where the team being offer-sheeted doesn’t match and keep the player.

Second prediction ... no player gets offer sheeted this summer.

one of those is likely to be true.

 

but I get it... every summer it’s nice to fantasize about offer sheets.

I would like to offer a 3rd prediction: it snows in Buffalo again before January 1. ?

But yea, I don't think we see anything fun. 

[Taro T]

27 minutes ago, dudacek said:

This is a valid point. Guess it depends on what the Plan Bs are.

What other reasons might we have to not drop an offer sheet? Fear of our pick winning the lottery? Odds aren’t great even if we stay bad, and I don’t think we’ll stay bad with Eichel/Skinner Aho/Reinhart Dahlin as our core for the foreseeable future.

Value? As far as I am concerned, I’d take Tkachuk over any four-pick stretch this franchise has ever had between 1972 and 2014.

Revenge? Just make sure you sign Dahlin next summer so they don’t get a chance. 

If Botterill does it, it will because he has done the calculation and doesn’t see it as a risk.

If the GM of a team that was in 1st place in the entire league ~1/3 of the way through the season with most of his core 24 or younger doesn't put in an offer sheet for fear of giving up a lottery pick in the next 4 years, then that GM should be canned on the spot.

Would agree with you on value, but if there is a plan that making one of those signings could cost the team 2 of their other current "core" along with those 4 picks to keep this new guy and Dahlin when Dahlin has to get paid, could cut the GM some slack.

Fear of hurting another GM's feelings should never be a factor in decisions on how to improve your own team.  Like you said, sign Dahlin a year early.  Pretty much anybody else that might get targeted would likely end up messing up the other team's salary cap and the 4 1st rounders could be huge in replacing 2nd liners while keeping Eichel, Dahlin, & Aho (for sake of argument) and keeping that window open for the future.

 

[Brawndo]

Pavelski met with Dallas earlier today and is in Tampa Tonight 

Duchene met with Montreal earlier today and will meet with Nashville tomorrow 

[Brawndo]

3 hours ago, Curtisp5286 said:

I don’t think you can choose to delay whenever you want, but if a team had already traded there 2021 1st, for example, they would still be able to offer sheet and it compensation would get shifted back a year.  I believe it can only be done in the case necessity, not purely by choice.

This is where the idea came from, Dreger could be wrong of course. 

[Curt]

8 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

This is where the idea came from, Dreger could be wrong of course. 

It appears that it is possible to max offer sheet even if you do not have one of your next 4 1st round picks.  I was replying to someone who said that we should offer sheet and defer the compensation until the 2021 pick, keeping the 2020 1st.  I don’t think you can voluntarily defer the compensation.  I don’t think that’s what Dreger is saying.  I think you can only do that if you don’t possess the 2020 pick.