2024-25 Trade Rumors and Speculation

[Crusader1969]

19 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

If they just wanted him off the books; I’d send them our Russian who’s hiding in the KHL, our 2nd and Lafferty. 
 

Id see him as a solid add if garnered cheaply since he’s a net front menace with playoff experience coming out his ears. 
 

Otherwise his underlying decline in play would keep me unwilling from offering any sizable offer.

I pretend I didn't read this.... 

The regret for trading away Poltapov would be extremely high in a few years , especially for a guy who is at the end of his career 

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

I haven’t watched any Ranger games this year (I even missed their game against us). So, I haven’t seen Kreider play this year. His fancy stats aren’t good. He is on pace to score 38 goals, which is basically what he scored the last two years. Not sure if the “0” assists portends something ominous or is just an early season statistical fluke. I’m not sure if it would be good value to move Kulich for him.  I think that right now in this moment, Kreider likely makes us a better team. 

We run into some trouble though if every prospect who gets to the NHL and shows some signs of being a legit NHL player, then becomes untouchable (not suggesting @JohnC, that you are saying Kulich is untouchable; I recognize you are just saying you wouldn’t trade him for Kreider or Jiricek). This was the board’s general position on Quinn 5 months ago.  If we can’t move Quinn or Kulich or Benson for a veteran top-6 upgrade, then we are left with no room, not only for the prospects not yet in the NHL, but for any forward that we might acquire for those prospects. 

I'm not suggesting that anyone is untouchable. That's not what I am arguing. But it makes no sense from a Sabre perspective to trade promising young players for fading and more expensive veteran players. The reality is that the Sabres are at a stage where at best they will be vying for a lower playoff spot. They are at least a few years away from being serious Cup contenders. So, if that team ranking is reasonably accurate, then it would make no sense to trade younger players for fading stars? 

I'm not inflexible on this issue. If a deal makes sense and enhances the roster, then make the deal. If not, then it makes sense to bide your time for the right deal/s at the right time/s. 

[Cranky old man]

This trade idea is very 2022-2023. We are in a new spot now, with a new coach. 20 odd games in and the team is jelling. It’s been said already, we need help on defence now. A team on the brink maybe adds Kreider, we aren’t there. Maybe kn the brink of going backwards at any given moment. 😉

[Jorcus]

20 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Kulich for Jiricek

Kulich for Kreider

would people make those trades is they were on the table

 

I don't have an opinion on Jiricek but If I were in Adams shoes I would take Kreider for Kulich. Kreider may end up scoring more goals than Kulich, Benson and Quinn combined. Having him instantly shores up the second line and helps us push for the playoffs. I can't imagine Adams lasting in his job if we miss the playoffs so why would he not do it?  

Now the reality is Ranger rumors are a dime a dozen. Moving on from the much loved Kreider is going to take a lot more than Kulich. My guess is rangers want a known good player in return without a big contract. They would want Tuch, Peterka or Byram. Moving Tuch or Peterka just creates another hole you have to fill, You might survive by dealing Byram but there must be other options to fill that second line hole not using Byram as a chip.   

[thewookie1]

55 minutes ago, Jorcus said:

 

I don't have an opinion on Jiricek but If I were in Adams shoes I would take Kreider for Kulich. Kreider may end up scoring more goals than Kulich, Benson and Quinn combined. Having him instantly shores up the second line and helps us push for the playoffs. I can't imagine Adams lasting in his job if we miss the playoffs so why would he not do it?  

Now the reality is Ranger rumors are a dime a dozen. Moving on from the much loved Kreider is going to take a lot more than Kulich. My guess is rangers want a known good player in return without a big contract. They would want Tuch, Peterka or Byram. Moving Tuch or Peterka just creates another hole you have to fill, You might survive by dealing Byram but there must be other options to fill that second line hole not using Byram as a chip.   

None of those offers even make sense because a 33 year old winger isn't worth trading a young Top 4 Dman or worth the bother of trading one of our other Top 6 Forwards

[PerreaultForever]

Kulich is the one prospect I would be reluctant to give up (assuming you are not considering Benson as a prospect since he's on the roster, he is near untouchable to me). I'm fine to give up anything in Rochester except Levi. We don't have the goalie depth to give up a goalie unless we are getting one. But would I give Kulich up for Kreider? Yes. Absolutely. 

Personally I want to send Quinn, Rosen and 2 firsts to Ottawa for Tkachuk.  Don't care if you think that's too much. It's not, we get much better now, and one hole is fully filled. His presence will be infectious too, in a good way.

Kreider? Slightly less than that. 

Trouba? Jokiharju, a prospect and some middle pick/whatever.

Jiricek? How about 2 first round prospects for their first round prospect? Ideally I give them Rosen and Östlund if they would take it. 

I'd still see if the Bruins want to part with pending UFA Frederick as well. He's having a bad year and they want scoring and speed so a deal should be easy there if they are looking to move on from him. 

[thewookie1]

3 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Kulich is the one prospect I would be reluctant to give up (assuming you are not considering Benson as a prospect since he's on the roster, he is near untouchable to me). I'm fine to give up anything in Rochester except Levi. We don't have the goalie depth to give up a goalie unless we are getting one. But would I give Kulich up for Kreider? Yes. Absolutely. 

Personally I want to send Quinn, Rosen and 2 firsts to Ottawa for Tkachuk.  Don't care if you think that's too much. It's not, we get much better now, and one hole is fully filled. His presence will be infectious too, in a good way.

Kreider? Slightly less than that. 

Trouba? Jokiharju, a prospect and some middle pick/whatever.

Jiricek? How about 2 first round prospects for their first round prospect? Ideally I give them Rosen and Östlund if they would take it. 

I'd still see if the Bruins want to part with pending UFA Frederick as well. He's having a bad year and they want scoring and speed so a deal should be easy there if they are looking to move on from him. 

Not entirely sure why you're disagreeing with my take

Why would you trade Byram, Tuch or Peterka for Kreider? It wouldn't exactly improve the team as its a net neutral Forward-wise or puts us in a real shortage of defenseman.

 

I did hear one guy propose Muel for Kreider and that seemed kind of interesting.

[PerreaultForever]

7 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Not entirely sure why you're disagreeing with my take

Why would you trade Byram, Tuch or Peterka for Kreider? It wouldn't exactly improve the team as its a net neutral Forward-wise or puts us in a real shortage of defenseman.

 

I did hear one guy propose Muel for Kreider and that seemed kind of interesting.

This isn't at you but to the Muel comment I get really sick and tired of fans who think they can make trades by giving away the garbage you don't want for quality on some other team. Like all the other GMs are idiots. It's so divorced from reality. Nobody wants your garbage, If you want quality you have to give up quality. 

To your comment I've already said I would prefer not to give up roster players but Byram would be a consideration if you made a deal for Trouba and Kreider (or Tkachuk) especially if you are projecting a big salary ask from him for next year. That aspect also has to be considered as a factor. I don't know what he will want but I suspect it'll be more than I think he's worth. I'm not trading Tuch or Peterka but Quinn for sure and maybe I'd consider Cozens.

I'm just reacting against the idea of staying the course and waiting. We blew the moment 2 years ago and missed by a point. (Imagine if we had gotten in instead of Florida that year? The entire division could have changed). I do not want to blow it again. We are positioned to possibly make a leap forward and we need a GM ready to make the bold moves to take us over the top. If the opportunity presents itself you take it. 

[thewookie1]

1 minute ago, PerreaultForever said:

This isn't at you but to the Muel comment I get really sick and tired of fans who think they can make trades by giving away the garbage you don't want for quality on some other team. Like all the other GMs are idiots. It's so divorced from reality. Nobody wants your garbage, If you want quality you have to give up quality. 

To your comment I've already said I would prefer not to give up roster players but Byram would be a consideration if you made a deal for Trouba and Kreider (or Tkachuk) especially if you are projecting a big salary ask from him for next year. That aspect also has to be considered as a factor. I don't know what he will want but I suspect it'll be more than I think he's worth. I'm not trading Tuch or Peterka but Quinn for sure and maybe I'd consider Cozens.

I'm just reacting against the idea of staying the course and waiting. We blew the moment 2 years ago and missed by a point. (Imagine if we had gotten in instead of Florida that year? The entire division could have changed). I do not want to blow it again. We are positioned to possibly make a leap forward and we need a GM ready to make the bold moves to take us over the top. If the opportunity presents itself you take it. 

If Kreider were 29, I'd be far more open to Quinn but I'm disinterested in trading him for a 33 year old player.

Cozens is a guy I'd want to still be here with a Kreider since he'd make for a great example to him if we were to convert him to RW.

[Thorner]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

I'm not suggesting that anyone is untouchable. That's not what I am arguing. But it makes no sense from a Sabre perspective to trade promising young players for fading and more expensive veteran players. The reality is that the Sabres are at a stage where at best they will be vying for a lower playoff spot. They are at least a few years away from being serious Cup contenders. So, if that team ranking is reasonably accurate, then it would make no sense to trade younger players for fading stars? 

I'm not inflexible on this issue. If a deal makes sense and enhances the roster, then make the deal. If not, then it makes sense to bide your time for the right deal/s at the right time/s. 

“At least a few years from being cup contenders”

the sabres aren’t a few years from anything. They are only a few years away from *what they MAKE happen*. Our two best players far and away are solidly in their prime RIGHT NOW. in a “few years”, Thompson will be in his 30s and his prime will be past. 

saddling ourselves with that type of thinking necessarily is a mistake. When the Jets made the playoffs in 2018 they were “ahead of schedule” in making the conference finals. Haven’t been back since. We JUST appear to *maybe* be getting away from “this year wasn’t about winning, anyways” and we are itching to sign up for another “woah woah, slow down” window? You make the playoffs and you see what you can do.

You don’t want to trade for “fading” players, regardless. But if a player is going to be better, right now, and not drop off a cliff in the immediate future, than whatever future assets we are dealing out, it’s worthy of consideration. The improvements we saw this year aren’t from waiting: they are coming from the moves we made out of a sense of urgency 

Edited November 26 by Thorner

[Thorner]

3 hours ago, Cranky old man said:

This trade idea is very 2022-2023. We are in a new spot now, with a new coach. 20 odd games in and the team is jelling. It’s been said already, we need help on defence now. A team on the brink maybe adds Kreider, we aren’t there. Maybe kn the brink of going backwards at any given moment. 😉

Not NECESSARILY re: Kreiderrrr, and If Adams can’t make a move he can’t make a move, but if we are sitting here looking at how swell his now-roster trades and signings are looking, and re: this summer, we do seem to be doing that of late, I can’t for the life of me understand why we wouldn’t want more. They’ve been the key to the positives 

How old is Zucker? 32? The thread is full of comments that he’s too old. We are far far more likely to be bit by youth than old age in our current format 

we are absolutely on the brink. The brink of a playoff berth. That’s the goal, now 

Edited November 26 by Thorner

[PerreaultForever]

36 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

If Kreider were 29, I'd be far more open to Quinn but I'm disinterested in trading him for a 33 year old player.

Cozens is a guy I'd want to still be here with a Kreider since he'd make for a great example to him if we were to convert him to RW.

This is where we clearly disagree. Kreider is still a good player and even if you only get 2-3 good years out of him (or even just until the end of his current deal) if he gets you in the playoffs now it's a win. Quinn gone would just mean room for Kulich or whichever prospect steps up and is next (or ready in 2-3 years to bump Kreider out). 

Take a look around the league. While building through the draft is a solid plan for your foundation the teams at the top and the ones that stay there make bold moves every year and they focus on winning now, not in 5 years. 

[Thorner]

4 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

This is where we clearly disagree. Kreider is still a good player and even if you only get 2-3 good years out of him (or even just until the end of his current deal) if he gets you in the playoffs now it's a win. Quinn gone would just mean room for Kulich or whichever prospect steps up and is next (or ready in 2-3 years to bump Kreider out). 

Take a look around the league. While building through the draft is a solid plan for your foundation the teams at the top and the ones that stay there make bold moves every year and they focus on winning now, not in 5 years. 

Because most recognize that the easiest hack to winning later… *is* winning now.

Our collective mindset was so perverted by the tank, I think. It still clings on. The “be bad now, to be good later” line of thought was a bill of goods sold and purchased and revealed as a lie, time and again

you lay the first brick. You win a little bit first. You make the playoffs first by any means necessary, THEN sort the rest out. We were stacking bricks on a philosophical ideal and acted surprised when it collapsed 

[French Collection]

Why is Kreider available?

My take is he is nearly done. However, he can provide immediate help and much needed experience. I’ll take him and deal with the remaining 2x $6.5 later.

The Rangers need to be told he is a cap dump and you are helping them get younger and cheaper reinforcements, pure and simple. They are not throwing in the towel and going full rebuild. They will keep maxing out their cap and will be going after talent in another deal if his return is picks and prospects.

He is not worth his 39 goal 75 point self of 23/24. He is heading for around 40 points on a good team and playing PP1. He is 33 and a cap dump. Jokiharju and Rosen is my max. The offer can be leveled up with a swap of picks, 2nd for a 3rd or some such thing if one team’s feelings are getting hurt.

 

[thewookie1]

37 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

This is where we clearly disagree. Kreider is still a good player and even if you only get 2-3 good years out of him (or even just until the end of his current deal) if he gets you in the playoffs now it's a win. Quinn gone would just mean room for Kulich or whichever prospect steps up and is next (or ready in 2-3 years to bump Kreider out). 

Take a look around the league. While building through the draft is a solid plan for your foundation the teams at the top and the ones that stay there make bold moves every year and they focus on winning now, not in 5 years. 

I just don’t see the same play out of him this year as we’ve seen the past 3. His analytics are way down, he’s got no assists yet and his style of play doesn’t exactly match longevity besides his tipping skill. Also as mjd mentioned his skating seems to be tailing off. 
 

I just don’t want to play the game of praying a 33 year old can outplay a 22 year old for the next 2.5 years. Because if he’s only good for 21 goals and 15 assists this year we’d be in trouble if his skating falls off. Plus we’d be trading Quinn who has shown great skill up until this year and likely a bit more to grab a ticking time bomb 
 

God I hate this because I’ve loved Kreider as a player for many years because he and Pavelski were favorites of mine due to their deflection skills. 
 

 

35 minutes ago, French Collection said:

Why is Kreider available?

My take is he is nearly done. However, he can provide immediate help and much needed experience. I’ll take him and deal with the remaining 2x $6.5 later.

The Rangers need to be told he is a cap dump and you are helping them get younger and cheaper reinforcements, pure and simple. They are not throwing in the towel and going full rebuild. They will keep maxing out their cap and will be going after talent in another deal if his return is picks and prospects.

He is not worth his 39 goal 75 point self of 23/24. He is heading for around 40 points on a good team and playing PP1. He is 33 and a cap dump. Jokiharju and Rosen is my max. The offer can be leveled up with a swap of picks, 2nd for a 3rd or some such thing if one team’s feelings are getting hurt.

 

I’d certainly take that deal and find a way to eat those next two years. 

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, French Collection said:

Why is Kreider available?

My take is he is nearly done. However, he can provide immediate help and much needed experience. I’ll take him and deal with the remaining 2x $6.5 later.

The Rangers need to be told he is a cap dump and you are helping them get younger and cheaper reinforcements, pure and simple. They are not throwing in the towel and going full rebuild. They will keep maxing out their cap and will be going after talent in another deal if his return is picks and prospects.

He is not worth his 39 goal 75 point self of 23/24. He is heading for around 40 points on a good team and playing PP1. He is 33 and a cap dump. Jokiharju and Rosen is my max. The offer can be leveled up with a swap of picks, 2nd for a 3rd or some such thing if one team’s feelings are getting hurt.

 

I agreed with everyone you said until you said Joki plus Rosen. I wouldn't even do that.  NOT because I over-rate them, but because I think you can get something better than an aging Kreider for those 2 if you wait a bit.

[Flashsabre]

[DailyFaceoff] Frank Seravalli says he believes Waddell has 5 to 6 offers on the table for Jiricek. The teams that are in the mix are Minnesota, Flyers, Penguins and to some degree Sabres and Sharks. Columbus is looking for a young top end prospect of the same calibre in return

 

”Hey Waddell you will love this guy we call Muel. I even locked him up long term so no contract issues.”😄

I can see Anton Wahlberg being a piece teams would be intrigued by.

Edited November 27 by Flashsabre

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

[DailyFaceoff] Frank Seravalli says he believes Waddell has 5 to 6 offers on the table for Jiricek. The teams that are in the mix are Minnesota, Flyers, Penguins and to some degree Sabres and Sharks. Columbus is looking for a young top end prospect of the same calibre in return.

Hello Mr. Rosen.  Columbus on the White Courtesy Phone.  Mr. Rosen, please pick up the White Courtesy Phone.

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, Thorner said:

“At least a few years from being cup contenders”

the sabres aren’t a few years from anything. They are only a few years away from *what they MAKE happen*. Our two best players far and away are solidly in their prime RIGHT NOW. in a “few years”, Thompson will be in his 30s and his prime will be past. 

saddling ourselves with that type of thinking necessarily is a mistake. When the Jets made the playoffs in 2018 they were “ahead of schedule” in making the conference finals. Haven’t been back since. We JUST appear to *maybe* be getting away from “this year wasn’t about winning, anyways” and we are itching to sign up for another “woah woah, slow down” window? You make the playoffs and you see what you can do.

You don’t want to trade for “fading” players, regardless. But if a player is going to be better, right now, and not drop off a cliff in the immediate future, than whatever future assets we are dealing out, it’s worthy of consideration. The improvements we saw this year aren’t from waiting: they are coming from the moves we made out of a sense of urgency 

I'm open to any deal within reason that makes this team better. But that doesn't mean that I would be receptive to a deal such as acquiring a veteran player like Krieder at the cost of losing a player like Kulich, JJP or Quinn. Would Krieder or a similar veteran player help us in the short term? Probably so. But that would be at the expense of players who have a lot of upside for a competent veteran player whose upside is long past. 

I believe that the Sabres are at a point where they are good enough to make the playoffs as a low rung qualifying team this season. As far as being serious Cup contenders, in my opinion they are at least two to three years away from that loftier goal. Even if our GM made some nifty deals this season, we are still not close to being near that cup challenging level. 

Again, I'm not against making deals to improve the team. But there needs to be a recognition of where we are at and how far we are away before rolling the dice.  

 

[Crusader1969]

9 hours ago, Jorcus said:

 

I don't have an opinion on Jiricek but If I were in Adams shoes I would take Kreider for Kulich. Kreider may end up scoring more goals than Kulich, Benson and Quinn combined. Having him instantly shores up the second line and helps us push for the playoffs. I can't imagine Adams lasting in his job if we miss the playoffs so why would he not do it?  

Now the reality is Ranger rumors are a dime a dozen. Moving on from the much loved Kreider is going to take a lot more than Kulich. My guess is rangers want a known good player in return without a big contract. They would want Tuch, Peterka or Byram. Moving Tuch or Peterka just creates another hole you have to fill, You might survive by dealing Byram but there must be other options to fill that second line hole not using Byram as a chip.   

Craziness.   

[Crusader1969]

8 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

None of those offers even make sense because a 33 year old winger isn't worth trading a young Top 4 Dman or worth the bother of trading one of our other Top 6 Forwards

 

6 hours ago, French Collection said:

Why is Kreider available?

My take is he is nearly done. However, he can provide immediate help and much needed experience. I’ll take him and deal with the remaining 2x $6.5 later.

The Rangers need to be told he is a cap dump and you are helping them get younger and cheaper reinforcements, pure and simple. They are not throwing in the towel and going full rebuild. They will keep maxing out their cap and will be going after talent in another deal if his return is picks and prospects.

He is not worth his 39 goal 75 point self of 23/24. He is heading for around 40 points on a good team and playing PP1. He is 33 and a cap dump. Jokiharju and Rosen is my max. The offer can be leveled up with a swap of picks, 2nd for a 3rd or some such thing if one team’s feelings are getting hurt.

 

I can't believe what some people would give up for a 33 year old player.   
 

and you are absolutely right "why is he available?"   

3 hours ago, Taro T said:

Hello Mr. Rosen.  Columbus on the White Courtesy Phone.  Mr. Rosen, please pick up the White Courtesy Phone.

Now trading for Jiricek makes a lot of sense for both teams 

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, Thorner said:

Because most recognize that the easiest hack to winning later… *is* winning now.

Our collective mindset was so perverted by the tank, I think. It still clings on. The “be bad now, to be good later” line of thought was a bill of goods sold and purchased and revealed as a lie, time and again

you lay the first brick. You win a little bit first. You make the playoffs first by any means necessary, THEN sort the rest out. We were stacking bricks on a philosophical ideal and acted surprised when it collapsed 

I agree with this. The proper plan is to mix veterans with young talent and as the vets age out you bring the kids in and so the cycle continues. We are so damn close but a lack of action now and they might blow it again and if they blow it too many times you fire the GM again and that cycle continues again. 

We actually have TOO MANY prospects. There's no future pathway where they all get to play unless you are trading away your core again like you did with Eichel and Reinhart. We should do whatever it takes right now. 

[Flashsabre]

5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I agree with this. The proper plan is to mix veterans with young talent and as the vets age out you bring the kids in and so the cycle continues. We are so damn close but a lack of action now and they might blow it again and if they blow it too many times you fire the GM again and that cycle continues again. 

We actually have TOO MANY prospects. There's no future pathway where they all get to play unless you are trading away your core again like you did with Eichel and Reinhart. We should do whatever it takes right now. 

You are right.  I mean this team could only hold on to Kulich, Helenuis and say Komarov and Strabek, and move all the other prospects and still be in as good of shape as some other franchises. 
 

They can easily move a couple for pieces to help this team win now. I expect that to happen.

Adams fully realizes that his career is on the line if he doesn’t get this team into the playoffs this season. And with the likes of Boston and Pitt falling and Ottawa and Detroit sputtering there is a real opportunity to make a serious run at the playoffs. Bring in a vet piece or two and at this team up to succeed.

 

[Archie Lee]

Krieder and Trouba are not likely to be realistic options. Both have partial NTCs with a 15-16 team list. It is near certain we are on the no trade side of their splits. So, it is likely a pointless discussion, except for considering both players as stand-ins for what might become available and what the acquisition cost would be. 

On Krieder specifically, I will defer to those who have seen him play this year more than me. Yesterday, Biron and Shayna Goldman were of the view that he is still an attractive player to add and that the 5v5 defensive system Laviolette runs is not well suited to many of the Ranger veterans. Interestingly, Biron and Goldman said this independently during different segments. My take from their comments, was that Krieder’s centre, Zibanejad, is struggling offensively because he has to focus so much on the defensive requirements of the system and this is impacting the even strength production of his line and Krieder. I have not seen Krieder play a minute this year though. 

Also, I understand the sentiment about not wanting to move players like Quinn or Kulich without getting a return that is a closer to a guaranteed good fit. The problem here is that, looking ahead to next year, Thompson, Tuch, Peterka, Cozens, Benson, Quinn, Kulich, McLeod = 8.  Add in that Krebs is emerging as a possible middle-6 option and that’s 9. This assumes we just let Zucker and Greenway walk in free agency, which would be odd considering they have been very good in their roles this year.  There is no room here to promote a prospect like Rosen. And how much better are we if we let Zucker go and replace him with the sort of vet you would get in return for Rosen?

I don’t think we are getting a legit top 6 forward, under 30 with term and a reasonable AAV, for Kulich or Quinn (or both combined). If that is the required return, it is likely better to just say you are ok with what we have. 
 

 

[sabresparaavida]

18 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

Krieder and Trouba are not likely to be realistic options. Both have partial NTCs with a 15-16 team list. It is near certain we are on the no trade side of their splits. So, it is likely a pointless discussion, except for considering both players as stand-ins for what might become available and what the acquisition cost would be. 

On Krieder specifically, I will defer to those who have seen him play this year more than me. Yesterday, Biron and Shayna Goldman were of the view that he is still an attractive player to add and that the 5v5 defensive system Laviolette runs is not well suited to many of the Ranger veterans. Interestingly, Biron and Goldman said this independently during different segments. My take from their comments, was that Krieder’s centre, Zibanejad, is struggling offensively because he has to focus so much on the defensive requirements of the system and this is impacting the even strength production of his line and Krieder. I have not seen Krieder play a minute this year though. 

Also, I understand the sentiment about not wanting to move players like Quinn or Kulich without getting a return that is a closer to a guarantebed good fit. The problem here is thaet, looking ahead to next year, Thompson, Tuch, Peterka, Cozens, Benson, Quinn, Kulich, McLeod = 8.  Add in that Krebs is emerging as a possible middle-6 option and that’s 9. This assumes we just let Zucker and Greenway walk in free agency, which would be odd considering they have been very good in their roles this year.  There is no room here to promote a prospect like Rosen. And how much better are we if we let Zucker go and replace him with the sort of vet you would get in return for Rosen?

I don’t think we are getting a legit top 6 forward, under 30 with term and a reasonable AAV, for Kulich or Quinn (or both combined). If that is the required return, it is likely better to just say you are ok with what we have. 
 

 

To be fair, odds are that someone in that top 9 would be hurt for any given game, freeing up a slot for Rosen. 

Edited November 27 by sabresparaavida