Timo Meier rumour - Sabres contact Sharks

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Is there anything in the world stopping us from paying Dylan $20 million next year, then an 8-year, $48 million extension?

Somebody get Sam Ventura on the phone now!

A player's max salary can only be 20% of the total cap, so he couldn't get $20, but $16 & change would be allowable.  They'd need to trust Cozens implicitly because they can't have a subsequent deal finalized until January 1.

Surely the league would fuss, but it would just be something they'd "correct" w/ the next CBA.

Liking where this is heading.

[dudacek]

8 minutes ago, Taro T said:

A player's max salary can only be 20% of the total cap, so he couldn't get $20, but $16 & change would be allowable.  They'd need to trust Cozens implicitly because they can't have a subsequent deal finalized until January 1.

Surely the league would fuss, but it would just be something they'd "correct" w/ the next CBA.

Liking where this is heading.

Cozens is exactly the type of kid you could trust to do it and you could trust for it not to carry issues with him or his teammates, now or later.

[French Collection]

4 hours ago, Taro T said:

A player's max salary can only be 20% of the total cap, so he couldn't get $20, but $16 & change would be allowable.  They'd need to trust Cozens implicitly because they can't have a subsequent deal finalized until January 1.

Surely the league would fuss, but it would just be something they'd "correct" w/ the next CBA.

Liking where this is heading.

Wow, you guys just came up with a new way to save cap space, I like it.

An up front big “bonus” to lower the AAV on the next deal. 
The other thing I like is that not many other teams could do that right now. Watching all of the cap “geniuses” squirm would be great.

[Flashsabre]

From 32 Thoughts:

"10. As part of reshaping their franchise, San Jose is asking about goaltending prospects. They drafted OHL Sarnia’s Benjamin Gaudreau 81st overall in 2021. He was the backup on Canada’s recent World Junior gold medallists, but the Sharks seek to add more depth."

You could let the Sharks talk to Portillo's camp and see if there was interest. Or at the least throw him in as a piece on a potential trade and let them figure it out after the fact.

[kas23]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

From 32 Thoughts:

"10. As part of reshaping their franchise, San Jose is asking about goaltending prospects. They drafted OHL Sarnia’s Benjamin Gaudreau 81st overall in 2021. He was the backup on Canada’s recent World Junior gold medallists, but the Sharks seek to add more depth."

You could let the Sharks talk to Portillo's camp and see if there was interest. Or at the least throw him in as a piece on a potential trade and let them figure it out after the fact.

They want goalie prospects? I would send them Levi for Meier straight up. 

[LGR4GM]

6 minutes ago, kas23 said:

They want goalie prospects? I would send them Levi for Meier straight up. 

No

[Brawndo]

9 hours ago, dudacek said:

My 2nd Meier thought is are we in a position manipulate the cap in a Meier trade?

Think about what the Canes did with the Kotkaniemi offer sheet, or the Sharks with Kevin Lebanc: essentially secretly agree to one multi-year deal, but officially break it into two contracts.

For example, we sign Meier to his $10 million qualifier, or hell, give him $14 for next year. We’ve got the room under the cap. Then, when the calendar rolls around, sign him to a 5-year, $40-million extension. Effectively, he gets his 6-year $9million deal, but we save a $1 million under the cap when we need it more

 

9 hours ago, dudacek said:

Great point. Why not?

Sure would be a great way to weaponize cap space.

 

9 hours ago, Taro T said:

A player's max salary can only be 20% of the total cap, so he couldn't get $20, but $16 & change would be allowable.  They'd need to trust Cozens implicitly because they can't have a subsequent deal finalized until January 1.

Surely the league would fuss, but it would just be something they'd "correct" w/ the next CBA.

Liking where this is heading.

This is a great idea. 
 

Say the Cozens original extension is going to be 8 years 64 Million and they give Him a one year deal worth 16 million, followed by a seven year deal with an AAV of 6.875 Million, that offers a lot more flexibility. 
 

To entice His Camp Further, the deal could be 1 million with a 15 Million signing bonus to reduce His Escrow Contribution 

[Marvin]

15 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

 

This is a great idea. 
 

Say the Cozens original extension is going to be 8 years 64 Million and they give Him a one year deal worth 16 million, followed by a seven year deal with an AAV of 6.875 Million, that offers a lot more flexibility. 
 

To entice His Camp Further, the deal could be 1 million with a 15 Million signing bonus to reduce His Escrow Contribution 

After the Ryan O'Reilly debacle, I can not see Pegula going for this.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, kas23 said:

They want goalie prospects? I would send them Levi for Meier straight up. 

Absolutely not! 

[Buffalonill]

1 hour ago, kas23 said:

They want goalie prospects? I would send them Levi for Meier straight up. 

[kas23]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

No

 

18 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Levi has tons of promise, but that’s about it. His numbers have reverted to the mean this season, which is still a very high mean. But, he’s never won an NHL game and like every goalie prospect, he’s certainly no sure thing. Timo Meier is. Heck, Levi isn’t even signed to a Sabres contract. 

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, kas23 said:

 

Levi has tons of promise, but that’s about it. His numbers have reverted to the mean this season, which is still a very high mean. But, he’s never won an NHL game and like every goalie prospect, he’s certainly no sure thing. Timo Meier is. Heck, Levi isn’t even signed to a Sabres contract. 

Not only is Timo Meier not signed to a Sabres contract he also plays the 1 position this team has in abundance, wing. Mitts, Olofsson, Quin, JJP, Tuch, Skinner, Savoie, Kulich, Östlund, Rosen, Kisakov, Weisbach, Nadeau, Cederqvist, Rousek, etc... alll can play wing. 

Here is our goalie depth: UPL. That's it. So if we sign Levi and lose Portillo that gives us UPL and Levi but if you trade him for what right now would be a rental that is some short sightedness that Tim Murray would be proud of. 

[Radar]

12 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Not only is Timo Meier not signed to a Sabres contract he also plays the 1 position this team has in abundance, wing. Mitts, Olofsson, Quin, JJP, Tuch, Skinner, Savoie, Kulich, Östlund, Rosen, Kisakov, Weisbach, Nadeau, Cederqvist, Rousek, etc... alll can play wing. 

Here is our goalie depth: UPL. That's it. So if we sign Levi and lose Portillo that gives us UPL and Levi but if you trade him for what right now would be a rental that is some short sightedness that Tim Murray would be proud of. 

Would he be a rental? Thought he'd be an RFA. So he could be open to an offer sheet.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Radar

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, Radar said:

Would he be a rental? Thought he'd be an RFA. So he could be open to an offer sheet.

He's a rental in my mind until he has a deal longer than 1 year. He could sign a 1yr deal and then be a UFA in a year when the cap goes way up and he could make all the money. My issue with Meier isn't the player, who I think is good, it is he doesn't play somewhere we are even remotely thin and what do you have to pay to get him to stay? Why invest that much in a 27yr old winger? You already have Skinner on the wing making a ton. If you can get him and have him sign for like 8milx 3-4 more years, sure I might be in (Levi isn't on the table under any circumstances) but I just doubt the feasibility of that. 

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, Marvin said:

After the Ryan O'Reilly debacle, I can not see Pegula going for this.

Dylan Cozens doesn’t seem like the type of player who will lose His Love for the game, especially on this team 

[Crusader1969]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:43 PM, LGR4GM said:

He's a rental in my mind until he has a deal longer than 1 year. He could sign a 1yr deal and then be a UFA in a year when the cap goes way up and he could make all the money. My issue with Meier isn't the player, who I think is good, it is he doesn't play somewhere we are even remotely thin and what do you have to pay to get him to stay? Why invest that much in a 27yr old winger? You already have Skinner on the wing making a ton. If you can get him and have him sign for like 8milx 3-4 more years, sure I might be in (Levi isn't on the table under any circumstances) but I just doubt the feasibility of that. 

I agree.  Meier would be fantastic for them this season , maybe next as well but soon the wingers you mention up thread will fill the roster.  

 

[Eleven]

On 2/1/2023 at 3:39 PM, Radar said:

Would he be a rental? Thought he'd be an RFA. So he could be open to an offer sheet.

Yes.  They can't afford him long term.

[Radar]

16 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Yes.  They can't afford him long term.

I suppose it would take some combination of contracts being structured certain ways on upcoming signings due and increasing cap levels. More than likely not happening nonetheless.

[tom webster]

29 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Yes.  They can't afford him long term.

I don’t think they trade for him but they definitely can afford him.

[sabills]

30 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Yes.  They can't afford him long term.

So I'm no cap expert, but why not?

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/sabres

We currently have the most cap space in the league, next year the Ben Bishop contract is coming off, and Okposo's contract is done (even if they resign him it will be for what, 2m? Currently he's at 6m). Anderson is gone, which is another 1.5. My belief is that one of Mittelstat or Olofsson will have to go out with Meier coming in, which is another 2-5m right there.

23-24 is Cozen's contract, but I don't think that'll break the bank; he's been good, but he's not pushing for all star status or something. Maybe 5.5-7M per? So we basically swap his and Okposo's contract.

Granted, they can't spend crazy; 24-25 is the year to keep your eye on:


Dahlin, Powers, Krebs, UPL. That could be expensive, especially if Powers keeps rising here.

But still, thats 2 years off. HOPEFULLY the cap rises (no guarantee with Bettman in charge, but still). I think you can make it work with some good contract negotiating.
 

[TheAud]

On 2/1/2023 at 12:19 PM, kas23 said:

 

Levi has tons of promise, but that’s about it. His numbers have reverted to the mean this season, which is still a very high mean. 

[Eleven]

13 minutes ago, sabills said:

But still, thats 2 years off.

Those two years come fast, and if the Sabres are going after Meier (they're not), it would be for six to eight years.

Dahlin, Power, Skinner, Cozens, Thompson, another defenseman, and a goalie are going to be costly.  Probably Krebs and Quinn too.  

[sabills]

41 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Those two years come fast, and if the Sabres are going after Meier (they're not), it would be for six to eight years.

Dahlin, Power, Skinner, Cozens, Thompson, another defenseman, and a goalie are going to be costly.  Probably Krebs and Quinn too.  

You're not wrong, but I don't think its impossible. Quinn and Peterka are 4 years from being RFAs, you can't worry about them right now. Thompson is on what looks like an incredibly friendly deal until 2030, plus he and Skinner are already baked in to, again, the team with the most cap space in the league. Next years goalies are probably UPL and Comrie, the next year you're hoping its UPL (who you probably bridge unless he turns out to be Miller) and Levi.

Dahlin, Power, Cozens, maybe Krebs (who's looking like a nice 3rd line Center, but not a superstar), that's what we're talking about, and again thats next year for Cozens, 2 years for the other two. NHL projections have the cap rising 10m by then (probably generous, but still): https://www.capfriendly.com/salary-cap. Thats one of those contracts right there.

You can say they don't want to go get him, and you're probably right, but the reasoning shouldn't be "he's too expensive". You can make it work. He's young, fills a role they don't really having now or in the pipeline, and is ready to play today. He also would have the 4th most playoff experience(35 games) on the team after Anderson(48), Jost(46), and Tuch (44).

Edited February 3, 2023 by sabills

[aristocrat]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:39 PM, Radar said:

Would he be a rental? Thought he'd be an RFA. So he could be open to an offer sheet.

i hadn't even thought of that strategy of signing him. we could potentially get 2 firsts, a second and third pick back if a team were to offer sheet him above 8 mil

[Mr. Allen]

I think we could basically “rent” him for a year.  Give up draft picks to acquire him, let him help us in the playoffs, and then recoup those assets by trading him at the deadline next year.  We even have the financial flexibility to take on a lot of his contract to maximize the assets we get next year.