Today marks the lead-in day to the NHL Draft as general managers meet to discuss various league issues before hitting the stage in what might be the second-most popular draft amongst the big-four major North American pro sports. The season finished, the NHL Awards ceremony was last night and scouting departments are putting the final touches on their list and all that's left to do is hit the floor and make your selections.
Pending, of course, whatever deals might be made between teams.
GM's burn up the phone lines leading up to this week and today in Vancouver they'll all have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with parties of interest regarding possible deals. Sure, they'll discuss issues like video review, etc. but one area of focus involves deals discussed over the phone, or even those that begin this day. The Buffalo Sabres have been in the rumor mill on many fronts for a while now and it seems as if they'll be active during a potentially busy trade weekend.
We've all heard the rumors and all have our opinions on what the Sabres should or should not do and we've all heard from Buffalo GM Jason Botterill that he's looking to add talent to the team. Just what that talent will look like and the cost of attaining that is still up in the air, but it's safe to say that we'll here something involving the Sabres in the next two or three days. It might be a deal that involves moving up or down in the draft or it might be some kind of blockbuster, but whatever the deal may be it will illicit strong opinions from a fan-base dying for a winner.
Having said that, fans can get over-emotional as their impatience rises to high levels. Just because the fan in all of us wants something now doesn't necessarily mean it will happen no matter how well it might be backed up by stats, sound capology or opinion. Botterill is the GM of the Buffalo Sabres and it's his responsibility to structure the organization as he sees fit. What he's looking at is an obviously flawed team, with a new head coach that will be playing in a tough division and an even tougher conference. Botterill is under some pressure to do something, but the general consensus is that the high-point of prognostications would center on just making the playoffs. There is no need for the Sabres to mortgage the future for a rental-type piece at a high cost.
What we're in the middle of is...
The Process.
So as we delve into the rumor mill, thoughts concerning possible trades from this blogger use the aforementioned as a backdrop. It might also be added that we're really unsure just how bad of a head coach Phil Housley was and the depth of what needs to be done might not fully be determined until we're well into the 2019-20 season. Although it would be an interesting to see just how bad it was by making minimal moves with a new head coach, that won't happen nor should it. The Sabres need to add to the talent they have and make no mistake, the likes of Jack Eichel, Rasmus Dahlin, Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart have a lot of talent. But they--we in Sabreland--need more talent and trades are the best route for this team moving forward.
And forward we march.
Rasmus Ristolainen
The debate as to Ristolainen's worth and now his usage has been debated ad nauseum here for years. What's been debated in Sabreland is inconsequential as we the peons have no say in what teams will or will not do and the general consensus throughout the league is that the big Finn is at least a top-four d-man who has plenty of offense within him. Ristolainen's defense was awful last season, as was the entire teams, and were not sure just how much Housley's lack of a system had to do with it. We do know this much--Steve Smith, who was in charge of that area, was retained by new head coach Ralph Krueger so that may say something about who was in charge of that mess.
Ristolainen is not untouchable, but he should also not be given away for a bag of pucks, as many have indicated they'd like to do. He has value, and he has immense value on the Sabres in that unless they get themselves a top-four d-man, there will be a huge 23:00+ hole on defense this season. Sorry, the likes of Marco Scandella, Casey Nelson, Lawrence Pilut or Will Borgen won't be able to fill that and Alexander Nylander won't bring a top-four d-man in return.
The opinion here is that he should be kept unless a significant return can be had and that might come from a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning. Luckily Ristolainen's had some of his best games against the Bolts so they should be enamored with him enough to really get serious. Should the Lightning be willing to part with a forward like Anthony Cirelli and a defenseman like Mikhail Sergachev, the Sabres most definitely should be listening and if forward Ryan Callahan's one-year at $5.8 million
is a necessary piece for the Bolts to move, then so be it. If it takes a swap of draft picks to get it done than so be it.
The bottom line for this blogger when it comes to Ristolainen is not so much his analytics or deployment, it's about his usage during his 424-game NHL career. He's played a lot of hard minutes and it will eventually catch up to him no matter how great a shape he's in. He may have only two or three years left before injuries set in and he'll probably be at peek value for the remaining three years of his contract.
Jimmy Vesey
This trade makes absolutely no sense. Why on earth would the Sabres trade for a player who shunned them in the first place?
Vesey's rights were acquired by former GM Tim Murray for a third round pick after the soon to be college graduate indicated he wouldn't be signing with the Nashville Predators, who drafted him 66th-overall in 2012. He made it known that he would be going to free agency but Murray believed he could get Vesey to sign with the Sabres.
It didn't work as he signed with the NY Rangers.
Vesey looks as if he'll be a solid third-liner potting goals in the mid-upper teens while accumulating 30-35 points.
If he's worth much to the team moving forward, why would the Rangers want to trade him? And secondly, why would the Sabres want to double-down on a lost deal by adding another pick or prospect to the third-rounder they already gave up?
It makes no sense.
PK Subban
The Sabres should definitely look into this but at the forefront of their negotiations should be the fact that they'd be doing the Predators a huge favor.
Subban did not have the greatest of seasons in 2018-19 but the 30 yr. old still managed 31 points (9+22) which would have been third amongst defensemen on the Sabres. He's a right-handed shot, can still skate and move the puck and if you want a replacement for Ristolainen, he's the guy.
Subban's $9 million AAV is weighing the Preds down this off season but as of now it wouldn't be that much of a burden to the Sabres this year or next. The biggest cap problem Buffalo might have would be in Subban's final year when Dahlin will be getting a huge raise that may take him into the $8-10 million range.
It's the opinion here that the pros outweigh the cons and one would hope that the Sabres can get him at a bargain rate that doesn't include a first rounder or a top prospect...because, remember, they're doing Nashville a favor despite the fact that him moving to Buffalo would include significant other, Lindsey Vonn.
Lucic for Okposo
Would you trade two terrible contracts one-for-one?
Why not?
The irony in a straight up Kyle Okposo for Milan Lucic deal is that when he was with Boston, Lucic actually set the wheels in motion for what the Sabres have gone through the last seven years. His hit on Ryan Miller exposed GM Darcy Regier's soft Sabres club as well as the individuality with which his core played. Beginning in 2012, Regier began dismantling his core group and the team eventually focused upon a tank-rebuild.
Both players are 31 yrs. old and both have four years remaining on their contracts with a $6 million cap-hit.
Go for it.
The Sabres might be giving up 10-15 points in a bottom-six player, but having Lucic's Cro-Magnon demeanor in Buffalo might not be a bad thing.
Jesse Puljujarvi
He's touted as a buy-low move by proponents of the Sabres trading for the 21 yr. old but when all's said and done, what's considered low would be dependent upon how much he can increase his production.
The Edmonton Oilers have been in as bad a mess as Buffalo the last seven or so years with Puljujarvi and his 37 points in 137 NHL games has demanded a trade. Edmonton must be thrilled with this as his declining value just got worse.
If the Oilers will take one of Buffalo's sixth-rounders this year or a future fifth, go for it. The last thing the Sabres need is another first-round underachiever bordering on bust. They already have one in Alexander Nylander and if they're going to keep it to one, keep Nylander.
Jason Zucker
There are a lot of fans in Sabreland who are on the Zucker train and he'd be a good get for Buffalo. However, it's a player they could live without if the price isn't right.
Zucker, the reigning King Clancy Memorial Award winner for leadership on and off the ice, has a lot of good traits and pays a sound game. He had a magnificent 64-point 2017-18 season on a Minnesota Wild team with promise but fell to 42 points (21+21) last season.
Could the Sabres use 42 points off the wing? Most definitely this season. Is a $5.5 million cap-hit worthy of that production?
Kyle Okposo scored 13 less points last season.
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