Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-22-2017
The Buffalo Sabres came away from the expansion draft relatively unscathed last night. The Las Vegas Golden Knights stayed away from projected target, goalie Linus Ullmark, and instead plucked 22 yr. old winger William Carrier from Buffalo's roster. Unlike other teams who had more to lose to Vegas, the Sabres only needed to add in a sixth-round pick to get the deal done.
Las Vegas came away with two extra first round picks in this weekend's draft courtesy the Columbus Blue Jackets and NY Islanders plus landed some pretty good players in Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT,) James Neal (NSH,) Jonathan Machesault and Brendan Smith (FLA,) plus veteran d-men Marc Methot (OTT) and Alexie Emelin (MTL) as well as prospects/young players in Calvin Pickard (COL,) Brendan Leipsic (TOR,) Shea Theodore (ANA) and Oscar Lindberg (NYR) among others.
The Sabres weren't on the hook for anything major although Carrier's north/south speed and corner work was very enticing. It took him a while to get rolling in Rochester scoring 23 goals and adding 33 assists in 127 games for the Amerks over three seasons while adding eight points (5+3) in 41 games for the Sabres.
It would have been ideal for the Sabres to unload an undesirable contract on Vegas GM George McPhee but by the looks of it, the price may have been too steep for his Buffalo counterpart, first-year GM Jason Botterill. With that not being feasible, Botterill instead focused upon keeping his slim goaltending depth intact. Right now the Sabres have starter Robin Lehner in net and it looks as if Ullmark will be backing him up in Buffalo this year. The Sabres signed Jonas Johansson to his entry-level deal and if things go as planned, he'll get thrown into the fire as Rochester's No. 1. After that, there's Jason Kasdorf, who was a part of the Tyler Myers/Evander Kane trade three years ago. He'll likely be in net for the Cincinnati Cyclones, Buffalo's new ECHL affiliate.
After that, nothing. Unless Cal Petersen decides he wants to play in Buffalo. The 2013 fifth round pick has opted to leave Notre Dame early and the Sabres retain his rights until the end of this month. Afterwards he becomes a free agent and as it stands now, it's unlikely Petersen signs with Buffalo.
That said, sending Carrier and a sixth-round pick to Vegas to keep what shreds of a goaltending pipeline the have in tact is a small price to pay.
*****
Las Vegas is already moving some of it's bounty from last night. Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, whom the Knights drafted from Chicago, was shipped to Carolina along with a seventh round pick for a second rounder. The Knights also traded defenseman Dave Schlemko (SJS) to the Montreal Canadiens for a 2019 fifth round pick.
McPhee loaded up on defenseman at the expansion draft in order to work deals. The d-men that remain are:
Lucas Sbisa (VAN)
John Merrill (NJD)
Brayden McNabb (LAK)
Jason Garrison (TBL)
Deryk Engelland (CGY)
Collin Miller (BOS)
Marc Methot (OTT)
Griffin Reinhart (EDM)
Alexei Emelin (MTL)
Clayton Stoner (ANA)
Nate Schmidt (WAS)
The quantity is there but the quality isn't which means anyone looking for one of their better players will need to ante up.
There are a few d-men on that list that might be of interest to Buffalo. Methot played alongside 2017 Norris Trophy finalist Erik Karlsson who called Methot his rock and Emelin was a pain in the ass for Buffalo whenever they played against the Canadiens. Probably the most intriguing is Schmidt who looked great in a limited role in the playoffs for the Capitals. He's a mobile puck-mover that looks to be a mid-lower pairing d-man.
Other than that, if you're a Sabres fan looking for an impact defenseman headed to Buffalo in a trade, names like the Minnesota Wild's Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella are still out there.
Presently there's word that the 'Canes, who are flush with defensive talent, may be looking to move one of them for a top-six forward. Although the name Evander Kane might be the first out of a Sabres fan's mouth, methinks a player like Sam Reinhart might be of more interest to Carolina.
Just a thought.
Showing posts with label 2017 Expansion Draft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2017 Expansion Draft. Show all posts
Friday, June 23, 2017
Anticipation? Leaks may give us muc of Vegas' roster before tonight
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-21-2017
The NHL offices wanted to keep the lid tight on anything expansion draft related as they want to put on a good show at their awards ceremony tonight. With that in mind very little has been leaked lately but as we gear up to the 8 p.m. show live from Las Vegas, some things are leaking out concerning moves that the Golden Knights may be making. Remember, nothing is finalized.
Pierre LeBrun tweets Knights taking Ottawa d-man Mark Methot
Frank Seravalli hearing that VGK is interested in Montreal defenseman Alexie Emelin
Bob McKenzie tweets that those two d-men could be flipped to 3rd team
Both of those defensemen may be of interest to the Buffalo Sabres as they try to enhance their blueline although both are more top-four, shutdown d-men that may not fit into how new coach Phil Housley wants to build his defense.
Darren Dreger is hearing that the Toronto Maple Leafs might lose left wing prospect Brendan Leipsic who had 51 points (18+33) in 45 games for the Marlies last season.
Also mentioned amongst the Golden Knights picks are David Perron (STL) and James Neal (DAL.)
None of those three would seem to be of immediate interest to Buffalo GM Jason Botterill, but you never know. The Sabres maybe losing young left-winger William Carrier in the expansion draft and the rumors of left wing Evander Kane being traded continue, albeit they've subsided quite a bit as of late.
Also of interest, Mike Russo of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes that sources are saying that Vegas signed restricted free agent center Erik Haula which counts as the one player taken from Minnesota. That signing keeps key defensemen Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella in Minnesota but will cost the Wild 2014 first round pick (18th-overall) Alex Tuch. The Golden Knights will be sending a conditional draft pick Minnesota's way.
At one time the Sabres may have been in the running for a direct deal with Minnesota to land one of their defensemen who could've been left unprotected or they could've been in on a deal to trade with Vegas after the selection ceremony. Any thought of landing Wild d-men Jonas Brodin (protected,) Dumba or Scandella have been effectively squashed.
The rumor in Southern California is that the Anaheim Ducks have swung a deal with Las Vegas to keep them away from Sami Vatanen and Josh Manson. Reportedly heading to Vegas is defenseman Shea Theodore. Up the I-5 to Los Angeles, rumor has it that the Kings will be losing defenseman Brayden McNabb to the Golden Knights.
Both would be possibilities in a Sabres deal with Vegas save for the fact the McNabb was a Sabres draft pick before being traded to the Kings. While in Los Angeles McNabb found time on the top-pairing but slowly fell down the depth chart. Sounds a lot like recently acquired Buffalo d-man Nathan Beaulieu and his time in Montreal. Pretty sure the Sabres don't need another reclamation project.
As for Theodore?
Hmmmm...
The Knights are said to be loading up on defensemen with their picks with the hopes that they'll be able to flip some of them for more picks. Many of the headliners will not be chosen because of the deals Las Vegas has made with teams trying to keep their best players.
Knight's GM George McPhee is getting himself an unprecedented haul this expansion draft which is the return on Las Vegas $500 million expansion fee.
Will the Sabres be in on any of this?
One would think they will if there's something they deem necessary and if the price is right. Word on the street is that Vegas will announce their roster tonight, along with a few trades but that much more will be revealed tomorrow. The NHL expansion draft trade freeze ends at 5 a.m. tomorrow and fireworks are expected.
The NHL offices wanted to keep the lid tight on anything expansion draft related as they want to put on a good show at their awards ceremony tonight. With that in mind very little has been leaked lately but as we gear up to the 8 p.m. show live from Las Vegas, some things are leaking out concerning moves that the Golden Knights may be making. Remember, nothing is finalized.
Pierre LeBrun tweets Knights taking Ottawa d-man Mark Methot
Frank Seravalli hearing that VGK is interested in Montreal defenseman Alexie Emelin
Bob McKenzie tweets that those two d-men could be flipped to 3rd team
Both of those defensemen may be of interest to the Buffalo Sabres as they try to enhance their blueline although both are more top-four, shutdown d-men that may not fit into how new coach Phil Housley wants to build his defense.
Darren Dreger is hearing that the Toronto Maple Leafs might lose left wing prospect Brendan Leipsic who had 51 points (18+33) in 45 games for the Marlies last season.
Also mentioned amongst the Golden Knights picks are David Perron (STL) and James Neal (DAL.)
None of those three would seem to be of immediate interest to Buffalo GM Jason Botterill, but you never know. The Sabres maybe losing young left-winger William Carrier in the expansion draft and the rumors of left wing Evander Kane being traded continue, albeit they've subsided quite a bit as of late.
Also of interest, Mike Russo of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes that sources are saying that Vegas signed restricted free agent center Erik Haula which counts as the one player taken from Minnesota. That signing keeps key defensemen Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella in Minnesota but will cost the Wild 2014 first round pick (18th-overall) Alex Tuch. The Golden Knights will be sending a conditional draft pick Minnesota's way.
At one time the Sabres may have been in the running for a direct deal with Minnesota to land one of their defensemen who could've been left unprotected or they could've been in on a deal to trade with Vegas after the selection ceremony. Any thought of landing Wild d-men Jonas Brodin (protected,) Dumba or Scandella have been effectively squashed.
The rumor in Southern California is that the Anaheim Ducks have swung a deal with Las Vegas to keep them away from Sami Vatanen and Josh Manson. Reportedly heading to Vegas is defenseman Shea Theodore. Up the I-5 to Los Angeles, rumor has it that the Kings will be losing defenseman Brayden McNabb to the Golden Knights.
Both would be possibilities in a Sabres deal with Vegas save for the fact the McNabb was a Sabres draft pick before being traded to the Kings. While in Los Angeles McNabb found time on the top-pairing but slowly fell down the depth chart. Sounds a lot like recently acquired Buffalo d-man Nathan Beaulieu and his time in Montreal. Pretty sure the Sabres don't need another reclamation project.
As for Theodore?
Hmmmm...
The Knights are said to be loading up on defensemen with their picks with the hopes that they'll be able to flip some of them for more picks. Many of the headliners will not be chosen because of the deals Las Vegas has made with teams trying to keep their best players.
Knight's GM George McPhee is getting himself an unprecedented haul this expansion draft which is the return on Las Vegas $500 million expansion fee.
Will the Sabres be in on any of this?
One would think they will if there's something they deem necessary and if the price is right. Word on the street is that Vegas will announce their roster tonight, along with a few trades but that much more will be revealed tomorrow. The NHL expansion draft trade freeze ends at 5 a.m. tomorrow and fireworks are expected.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Catching up with recent headlines.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-20-2017
Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu
The Buffalo Sabres made another trade with Montreal for a defenseman.
During former GM Tim Murray's first off-season with the Sabres he traded a second round pick to the Canadiens for defenseman Josh Gorges. New Sabres GM Jason Botterill went back to the well over the weekend sending their third round pick (#68-overall) to Les Habitants for defenseman Nathan Beaulieu. Buffalo still has the third round pick, 89th-overall, that they received from the Washington Capitals in the Mike Weber trade.
Beaulieu said on a conference call Sunday that the trade was "a huge sigh of relief." The 24 yr. old Strathroy, Ontario native fell out of favor in Montreal and was not going to be included on their protected list for the upcoming expansion draft. He told the media that being traded "definitely took the stress level off me," and also said that "going to Buffalo was a bonus."
Playing in Buffalo is "a huge opportunity," said Beaulieu. He continued saying that the Sabres have a "young, bright future." Beaulieu is a puck-moving defenseman who admitted that he didn't know much about Sabres bench-boss Phil Housley as a coach, but after a quick chat loves what he's getting into. "I'm excited because of the style of play he wants to go forth with," said Beaulieu, "it fits right into my game."
In a trade that defined how Montreal's back-end wanted to play, the Canadiens sent elite puck-moving, offensive defenseman PK Subban to the Nashville Predators in exchange for hard-nosed, yet still offensively gifted, defenseman Shea Weber. The Preds made it to the Stanley Cup Finals with the most dangerous defense in hockey with Housley coaching them. The Canadiens were dropped in the first round with Beaulieu on the bench as a healthy scratch in the Game-6 finale.
The move for Beaulieu represents an huge opportunity for the former 17th-overall ;pick (2011) to restart his career while the Sabres paid little for a player that may have significant upside. No one is expecting Beaulieu to be starting on the top pairing next to Rasmus Ristolainen in Buffalo, although he was on the top-pairing next to Weber to start last season, but on a Sabres defense in transition, he'll get his playing time.
Right now Beaulieu slots in as the fourth-best defenseman on the team. In a righty/lefty scenario, the Sabres top-four are:
Jake McCabe-Ristolainen
Beaulieu-Zach Bogosian
The remaining defensemen vying for the bottom-pairing/reserve spots are all lefties: rookie Victor Antipin, Gorges, 19 yr. old Brendan Guhle and Justin Falk.
Botterill still has some work to do in revamping their defense but as of right now, in effect they've lost a slow-footed Cody Franson and an injured Dmitry Kulikov to free agency and replaced them with active, puck-movers in Antipin (free agent) and Beaulieu.
George McPhee is the man with the plan
And if you haven't made a deal with him yet, you're S.O.L...for now.
Word is out that McPhee, the Las Vegas Golden Knights GM, has a number of deals in place heading into his final roster decision which he stated will be made today. The final roster will be revealed tomorrow night in Las Vegas during the NHL Awards Show.
The Golden Knights reportedly made a very early deal with the Chicago Blackhwaks in which Vegas helps Chicago create cap-space (Marcus Kruger) but it will cost them defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. The Columbus Blue Jackets are reportedly sending the 24th overall pick to Vegas to keep their core intact while the NY Islanders are said to be jumping into the fray offering a first-rounder as well. The Anaheim Ducks are another team that may end up sending a first round pick to Las Vegas to keep their core roster, most notably their defense, intact.
The NHL imposed a trade freeze beginning Sunday afternoon with only the Knights being able to make trades. Las Vegas also have the opportunity to negotiate with pending free agents ahead of the start of the July 1 start to free agency. The trade-freeze lifts at 5 a.m. on Thursday the day before Day-1 of the NHL Entry Draft.
Most around the NHL are expecting plenty of trade action at the draft with Vegas holding plenty of cards. Backroom deals for players Vegas picks in the expansion draft are still a possibility as they'll be able to trade players they picked to other teams. And, of course, they'll be able to move up and down the draft as well.
For now, you were either on the bus or off the bus during the Sin City, pre-expansion draft wheeling and dealing. Some teams paid the price to secure their roster, others (like Minnesota) balked, while still others, like the Sabres, may be very interested in a player that Vegas selected and is willing to trade for them.
It's all a part of the process.
Evander Kane's name keeps propping up
There will always be a debate in Buffalo as to the worth of LW Evander Kane. One could easily conclude that the split between his backers and detractors is around 50/50 and that those two sides could spend the next two decades arguing their cases without ever coming to a consensus. Maybe even longer.
Here the opinion about Kane is that his past problems, balanced by his recent on-ice successes represent the ideal situation for a shorter-term contract for the 25 yr. old. One could easily assume that Kane would be looking for a more lucrative, longer-term deal and if it gets out of hand, Botterill may balk and trade him. Which would be justifiable.
Teams like Los Angeles and Vancouver are still said to be in the mix while Anaheim has also been mentioned. Perhaps we shouldn't dismiss Las Vegas either.
He could end up doing his money thing in a city he seems to enjoy.
Kris Baker is back with his draft preview
Back in 2012 I watched the Blue and Gold Scrimmage at (then) First Niagara Center from the stands while Kris Baker was ushered to a rink-side seat along the benches by Brian Duff. The two sat and watched indulging in hockey talk throughout and it would be the beginning of a strong relationship between the two.
Duffer was intrigued by what Baker was doing with sabrespropspects.com, a site devoted to "the future of the Blue and Gold" as described by it's creator. That little soiree at the scrimmage lead to more interest in Baker's prospect work and eventually to a top-30 Draft preview and the Prospects Avenue pod-cast, among other things, for the Sabres.
During his time working on things for Sabres.com Baker, who also works a full-time job, couldn't give enough attention to his own site, but he's back in full form with his 2017 draft preview.
Baker comes out in full draft force with an extensive overview of where the Sabres stand entering the draft, throws in some history, adds in his depth-chart and a contemporaneous "blueprint," and focuses on areas of need before diving into the 2017 draft prospects.
The site had always been a labor of love for him and there's seems to be a lot of love in this one as it's extensive and well thought out.
With the 2017 NHL Draft only a few days away Sabres fans can be well prepared for what Buffalo might do.
http://www.sabresprospects.com/2017/06/buffalo-sabres-2017-draft-preview.html
How far should GM Botterill go in altering the Sabres this off season.
Available talent and the cost to acquire said talent will be the determining factors in how far Botterill will go.
There are two camps at war in the great Sabres debate as to why the club finished in 26th place last season. On the one side there are the Murray-haters who feel his moves didn't bring enough talent to the club, especially on the back-end. On the other side there are the Bylsma-haters who think that he didn't do nearly enough with the talent he was given, especially up-front.
It's probably more a combination of the two as the defense just couldn't keep up this season and the offense couldn't get untracked because of the supposed strict adherence to Bylsma's X's and O's. And injuries need to be factored in as well--Kane and Jack Eichel up-front, both of whom missed significant time and with Kulikov on the back end as a lingering back injury plagued nearly his entire season.
The Sabres have a new coach in Housley and have already began revamping the back-end with the signing of Antipin and the trade for Beaulieu. But no matter which way you slice it, there's a hole on the left side of the top pairing.
Many want to use either Kane or 2014 second-overall draft pick Sam Reinhart as the main ingredient in trying to land a top-four/possibly top-pairing defenseman. However, using one of those two will leave a gaping hole in the top-six forward group. No matter which way you slice it, the Sabres have no one in the system right now who could fill a hole left by one of those two. Not William Carrier (who may end up in Las Vegas,) not Nick Baptiste or Justin Bailey or Evan Rodrigues or, as of yet, Alexander Nylander.
As mentioned above, if Kane can't be signed to a reasonable deal, then the best course of action may be to trade him. But this should be done out of necessity, not choice. In chasing after a top-four d-man, moving on from Reinhart at this point in time might be premature as well.
Throughout this century fans of both the Buffalo Sabres and Bills have seen talent leave their teams on a regular basis and I for one would like for them to hold on to good players instead of seeing them leave. Right now I see both Reinhart and Kane a good pieces to build with.
Count me in the anti-Bylsma camp when it comes to this upcoming year. I think him and his system did some serious damage to his player's individual confidence as well as the overall confidence in the team. Although confidence is an unquantifiable thing, year-long disconnects throughout the team ultimately lead to their demise.
In saying that, save for the Kane contract-extension status, I'd like them to make minimal moves unless Botterill can work out a deal to bring in a bona fide top-two defenseman. Other than that, reaching for a top-four d-man while creating a hole in the top-six forward group doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu
The Buffalo Sabres made another trade with Montreal for a defenseman.
During former GM Tim Murray's first off-season with the Sabres he traded a second round pick to the Canadiens for defenseman Josh Gorges. New Sabres GM Jason Botterill went back to the well over the weekend sending their third round pick (#68-overall) to Les Habitants for defenseman Nathan Beaulieu. Buffalo still has the third round pick, 89th-overall, that they received from the Washington Capitals in the Mike Weber trade.
Beaulieu said on a conference call Sunday that the trade was "a huge sigh of relief." The 24 yr. old Strathroy, Ontario native fell out of favor in Montreal and was not going to be included on their protected list for the upcoming expansion draft. He told the media that being traded "definitely took the stress level off me," and also said that "going to Buffalo was a bonus."
Playing in Buffalo is "a huge opportunity," said Beaulieu. He continued saying that the Sabres have a "young, bright future." Beaulieu is a puck-moving defenseman who admitted that he didn't know much about Sabres bench-boss Phil Housley as a coach, but after a quick chat loves what he's getting into. "I'm excited because of the style of play he wants to go forth with," said Beaulieu, "it fits right into my game."
In a trade that defined how Montreal's back-end wanted to play, the Canadiens sent elite puck-moving, offensive defenseman PK Subban to the Nashville Predators in exchange for hard-nosed, yet still offensively gifted, defenseman Shea Weber. The Preds made it to the Stanley Cup Finals with the most dangerous defense in hockey with Housley coaching them. The Canadiens were dropped in the first round with Beaulieu on the bench as a healthy scratch in the Game-6 finale.
The move for Beaulieu represents an huge opportunity for the former 17th-overall ;pick (2011) to restart his career while the Sabres paid little for a player that may have significant upside. No one is expecting Beaulieu to be starting on the top pairing next to Rasmus Ristolainen in Buffalo, although he was on the top-pairing next to Weber to start last season, but on a Sabres defense in transition, he'll get his playing time.
Right now Beaulieu slots in as the fourth-best defenseman on the team. In a righty/lefty scenario, the Sabres top-four are:
Jake McCabe-Ristolainen
Beaulieu-Zach Bogosian
The remaining defensemen vying for the bottom-pairing/reserve spots are all lefties: rookie Victor Antipin, Gorges, 19 yr. old Brendan Guhle and Justin Falk.
Botterill still has some work to do in revamping their defense but as of right now, in effect they've lost a slow-footed Cody Franson and an injured Dmitry Kulikov to free agency and replaced them with active, puck-movers in Antipin (free agent) and Beaulieu.
George McPhee is the man with the plan
And if you haven't made a deal with him yet, you're S.O.L...for now.
Word is out that McPhee, the Las Vegas Golden Knights GM, has a number of deals in place heading into his final roster decision which he stated will be made today. The final roster will be revealed tomorrow night in Las Vegas during the NHL Awards Show.
The Golden Knights reportedly made a very early deal with the Chicago Blackhwaks in which Vegas helps Chicago create cap-space (Marcus Kruger) but it will cost them defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. The Columbus Blue Jackets are reportedly sending the 24th overall pick to Vegas to keep their core intact while the NY Islanders are said to be jumping into the fray offering a first-rounder as well. The Anaheim Ducks are another team that may end up sending a first round pick to Las Vegas to keep their core roster, most notably their defense, intact.
The NHL imposed a trade freeze beginning Sunday afternoon with only the Knights being able to make trades. Las Vegas also have the opportunity to negotiate with pending free agents ahead of the start of the July 1 start to free agency. The trade-freeze lifts at 5 a.m. on Thursday the day before Day-1 of the NHL Entry Draft.
Most around the NHL are expecting plenty of trade action at the draft with Vegas holding plenty of cards. Backroom deals for players Vegas picks in the expansion draft are still a possibility as they'll be able to trade players they picked to other teams. And, of course, they'll be able to move up and down the draft as well.
For now, you were either on the bus or off the bus during the Sin City, pre-expansion draft wheeling and dealing. Some teams paid the price to secure their roster, others (like Minnesota) balked, while still others, like the Sabres, may be very interested in a player that Vegas selected and is willing to trade for them.
It's all a part of the process.
Evander Kane's name keeps propping up
There will always be a debate in Buffalo as to the worth of LW Evander Kane. One could easily conclude that the split between his backers and detractors is around 50/50 and that those two sides could spend the next two decades arguing their cases without ever coming to a consensus. Maybe even longer.
Here the opinion about Kane is that his past problems, balanced by his recent on-ice successes represent the ideal situation for a shorter-term contract for the 25 yr. old. One could easily assume that Kane would be looking for a more lucrative, longer-term deal and if it gets out of hand, Botterill may balk and trade him. Which would be justifiable.
Teams like Los Angeles and Vancouver are still said to be in the mix while Anaheim has also been mentioned. Perhaps we shouldn't dismiss Las Vegas either.
He could end up doing his money thing in a city he seems to enjoy.
Kris Baker is back with his draft preview
Back in 2012 I watched the Blue and Gold Scrimmage at (then) First Niagara Center from the stands while Kris Baker was ushered to a rink-side seat along the benches by Brian Duff. The two sat and watched indulging in hockey talk throughout and it would be the beginning of a strong relationship between the two.
Duffer was intrigued by what Baker was doing with sabrespropspects.com, a site devoted to "the future of the Blue and Gold" as described by it's creator. That little soiree at the scrimmage lead to more interest in Baker's prospect work and eventually to a top-30 Draft preview and the Prospects Avenue pod-cast, among other things, for the Sabres.
During his time working on things for Sabres.com Baker, who also works a full-time job, couldn't give enough attention to his own site, but he's back in full form with his 2017 draft preview.
Baker comes out in full draft force with an extensive overview of where the Sabres stand entering the draft, throws in some history, adds in his depth-chart and a contemporaneous "blueprint," and focuses on areas of need before diving into the 2017 draft prospects.
The site had always been a labor of love for him and there's seems to be a lot of love in this one as it's extensive and well thought out.
With the 2017 NHL Draft only a few days away Sabres fans can be well prepared for what Buffalo might do.
http://www.sabresprospects.com/2017/06/buffalo-sabres-2017-draft-preview.html
How far should GM Botterill go in altering the Sabres this off season.
Available talent and the cost to acquire said talent will be the determining factors in how far Botterill will go.
There are two camps at war in the great Sabres debate as to why the club finished in 26th place last season. On the one side there are the Murray-haters who feel his moves didn't bring enough talent to the club, especially on the back-end. On the other side there are the Bylsma-haters who think that he didn't do nearly enough with the talent he was given, especially up-front.
It's probably more a combination of the two as the defense just couldn't keep up this season and the offense couldn't get untracked because of the supposed strict adherence to Bylsma's X's and O's. And injuries need to be factored in as well--Kane and Jack Eichel up-front, both of whom missed significant time and with Kulikov on the back end as a lingering back injury plagued nearly his entire season.
The Sabres have a new coach in Housley and have already began revamping the back-end with the signing of Antipin and the trade for Beaulieu. But no matter which way you slice it, there's a hole on the left side of the top pairing.
Many want to use either Kane or 2014 second-overall draft pick Sam Reinhart as the main ingredient in trying to land a top-four/possibly top-pairing defenseman. However, using one of those two will leave a gaping hole in the top-six forward group. No matter which way you slice it, the Sabres have no one in the system right now who could fill a hole left by one of those two. Not William Carrier (who may end up in Las Vegas,) not Nick Baptiste or Justin Bailey or Evan Rodrigues or, as of yet, Alexander Nylander.
As mentioned above, if Kane can't be signed to a reasonable deal, then the best course of action may be to trade him. But this should be done out of necessity, not choice. In chasing after a top-four d-man, moving on from Reinhart at this point in time might be premature as well.
Throughout this century fans of both the Buffalo Sabres and Bills have seen talent leave their teams on a regular basis and I for one would like for them to hold on to good players instead of seeing them leave. Right now I see both Reinhart and Kane a good pieces to build with.
Count me in the anti-Bylsma camp when it comes to this upcoming year. I think him and his system did some serious damage to his player's individual confidence as well as the overall confidence in the team. Although confidence is an unquantifiable thing, year-long disconnects throughout the team ultimately lead to their demise.
In saying that, save for the Kane contract-extension status, I'd like them to make minimal moves unless Botterill can work out a deal to bring in a bona fide top-two defenseman. Other than that, reaching for a top-four d-man while creating a hole in the top-six forward group doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Golden Knights want Will Carrier? Plus Las Vegas picks from all 30 teams
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-19-2017
William Carrier was selected 57th overall in 2013 by the St. Louis Blues. In February, 2014 then GM Tim Murray received Carrier as a part of the Ryan Miller to Blues blockbuster trade and since then the 22 yr. old LaSalle, Quebec native has been slowly making his way to the NHL.
After finishing his junior career in 2014 with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL, Carrier spent two seasons in Rochester registering 20 goals and 31 assists in 119 games for the Amerks. He began last season with the AHL club (3+1 in seven games) before being called up to Buffalo in November. In 41 games for the Sabres he had five goals and three assists as he was used up an down the lineup by former head coach Dan Bylsma.
Carrier has tremendous speed for a 6'2" 212 lb. player and he loves to go full-bore into the corner. Unfortunately to this point in his very young career he's been unable to hit the scoresheet with any kind of regularity at the NHL-level but regardless of his stats with the big club last season, he still has upside. He also has that speed and tenacity which is one thing he'll always have going for him, especially with the way the NHL game is played today.
Which is why he'd be a good choice for selection by the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft--Carrier is young, has Western Conference size, can skate, plays a north/south game and has upside.
Buffalo's protected list did not include Carrier or goalie, Linus Ullmark. Instead the Sabres chose to protect forward Tyler Ennis (amongst other forwards like Johan Larsson and Zemgus Girgensons) and starting goalie Robin Lehner. Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News framed the decision like this, "As the theory goes, [Knights GM George] McPhee made it clear he wants to pluck Ullmark, the 23-year-old slated to be Lehner's backup next season. [Sabres GM Jason] Botterill, knowing the organization is thin in goal, told McPhee he didn't want to lose Ullmark. McPhee, as he is doing with every team, simply said it will cost Botterill something.
"That something is likely Carrier."
Which is very sound reasoning.
Buffalo could've chosen to expose Ennis and his $4.6 million cap-hit over the next two seasons and/or Lehner, who's a restricted free agent. The duo would have been added to three bloated contracts in Zach Bogosian ($5.14M/three years remaining,) Matt Moulson ($5M/two years) and Josh Gorges ($3.9M/one year) and an exposed list of marginal players that included Nicolas Deslauriers, Brian Gionta, Derek Grant, Justin Kea, Cal O'Reilly, Cole Schneider, Brady Austin, Matt Bodie, Cody Franson, Dmitry Kulikov and Anders Nilsson.
In that scenario the Golden Knights may have selected Lehner, which would have put the Sabres in a bind, but he still would be the (probable) second choice amongst starting goalies behind Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, the likely starter in Vegas next season. Washington's Philipp Grubauer, who many feel is a lock to be plucked by the Golden Knights as well, would also likely make for a better understudy to MAF than Lehner, so Lehner to Vegas would only seem to work in a draft and trade scenario. Without Lehner in the mix, Buffalo would be offering Vegas a choice between vets with a bloated contracts, younger players with limited (or no) upside, or free agents who may be available July 1 anyway. Unless both McPhee and Botterill had a strong interest in Ennis.
If Carrier is the preferred choice of McPhee, having Botterill expose the young forward put the teams on a two-way street giving the Vegas GM something to work with as well. And if the Sabres hope to further bolster their blueline via the expansion draft, there's still a possibility for them to do so, which may also be a possible reason for them to leave Carrier available to Vegas. McPhee will be able to trade drafted players to other teams and it looks as if there might be some decent defensemen for Buffalo to take a run at.
The Golden Knights will be selecting one player from every team and they must take a minimum of 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies from the lists of unprotected players. Since defensemen are of the utmost importance they may choose to select two or there extra d-man for trade purposes. Here's my list of two players from each team that Las Vegas may strongly be considering, plus a goalie where applicable with and the bolded name of who the Golden Knights might choose. Of note, some teams are rumored to have deals in place, so I'll try to work around that.
--Anaheim (rumored deal to keep D, Josh Manson and D, Sami Vatanen: F, Emerson Etem, RW, Nick Sorensen
--Arizona: C, Alexander Burmistrov; F, Teemu Pulkkinen
--Boston: D, Adam McQuaid; D, Linus Arnesson
--Buffalo (rumored Vegas will take): LW, Will Carrier
--Calgary: RW, Kris Versteeg; D, Matt Barkowski
--Carolina: RW, Lee Stempniak; D, Klaus Dahlbeck
--Chicago (rumored deal with Las Vegas): C, Marcus Kruger; D, Trevor van Riemsdyk
--Colorado: F, Mikhail Grigorenko; D, Mark Barberio; G, Calvin Pickard
--Columbus (rumored deal to protect core): F, William Karlsson; F, Matt Calvert;
--Dallas: C, Cody Eakin; D, Dan Hamhuis
--Detroit: C, Riley Sheahan; D, Xavier Ouellet; G, Petr Mrazek
--Edmonton: D, Kris Russell; D, Griffin Reinhart
--Florida: C, Jonathan Marchessault; D, Jason Demers
--Los Angeles: D, Matt Greene; D, Brayden McNabb
--Minnesota: C, Eric Staal; D, Matt Dumba
--Montreal: C, Tomas Plekanec; D, Alexei Emelin
--Nashville: LW, Pontus Aberg; LW, James Neal
--New Jersey: RW, Beau Bennett; D, Ben Lovejoy
--NY Islanders: C, Ryan Strome; D, Calvin de Haan
--NY Rangers: RW, Michael Grabner; C, Oscar Lindberg
--Ottawa: RW, Bobby Ryan; D, Mark Methot
--Philadelphia: LW, Michal Raffl; RW, Matt Read
--Pittsburgh: F, Carl Hagelin; D, Ian Cole; G, Marc-Andre Fleury
--San Jose': C, Joe Thornton; LW, Mikkel Boedker
--St. Louis: LW, David Perron; RW, Dmitrij Jaskin
--Tampa Bay: D, Jake Dotchin; D, Slater Koekkoek
--Toronto: LW, Kerby Rychel; LW, Brendan Leipsic
--Vancouver: C, Brendan Gaunce; D, Luca Sbisa
--Washington: RW, TJ Oshie; D, Karl Alzner; G, Phillip Grubauer
--Winnipeg: F, Marco Dano; D, Toby Enstrom
Las Vegas has an exclusive window now through 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 20 to sign free agents and make trades with other teams. That night their roster will be revealed at the NHL Awards ceremony.
William Carrier was selected 57th overall in 2013 by the St. Louis Blues. In February, 2014 then GM Tim Murray received Carrier as a part of the Ryan Miller to Blues blockbuster trade and since then the 22 yr. old LaSalle, Quebec native has been slowly making his way to the NHL.
After finishing his junior career in 2014 with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL, Carrier spent two seasons in Rochester registering 20 goals and 31 assists in 119 games for the Amerks. He began last season with the AHL club (3+1 in seven games) before being called up to Buffalo in November. In 41 games for the Sabres he had five goals and three assists as he was used up an down the lineup by former head coach Dan Bylsma.
Carrier has tremendous speed for a 6'2" 212 lb. player and he loves to go full-bore into the corner. Unfortunately to this point in his very young career he's been unable to hit the scoresheet with any kind of regularity at the NHL-level but regardless of his stats with the big club last season, he still has upside. He also has that speed and tenacity which is one thing he'll always have going for him, especially with the way the NHL game is played today.
Which is why he'd be a good choice for selection by the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft--Carrier is young, has Western Conference size, can skate, plays a north/south game and has upside.
Buffalo's protected list did not include Carrier or goalie, Linus Ullmark. Instead the Sabres chose to protect forward Tyler Ennis (amongst other forwards like Johan Larsson and Zemgus Girgensons) and starting goalie Robin Lehner. Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News framed the decision like this, "As the theory goes, [Knights GM George] McPhee made it clear he wants to pluck Ullmark, the 23-year-old slated to be Lehner's backup next season. [Sabres GM Jason] Botterill, knowing the organization is thin in goal, told McPhee he didn't want to lose Ullmark. McPhee, as he is doing with every team, simply said it will cost Botterill something.
"That something is likely Carrier."
Which is very sound reasoning.
Buffalo could've chosen to expose Ennis and his $4.6 million cap-hit over the next two seasons and/or Lehner, who's a restricted free agent. The duo would have been added to three bloated contracts in Zach Bogosian ($5.14M/three years remaining,) Matt Moulson ($5M/two years) and Josh Gorges ($3.9M/one year) and an exposed list of marginal players that included Nicolas Deslauriers, Brian Gionta, Derek Grant, Justin Kea, Cal O'Reilly, Cole Schneider, Brady Austin, Matt Bodie, Cody Franson, Dmitry Kulikov and Anders Nilsson.
In that scenario the Golden Knights may have selected Lehner, which would have put the Sabres in a bind, but he still would be the (probable) second choice amongst starting goalies behind Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, the likely starter in Vegas next season. Washington's Philipp Grubauer, who many feel is a lock to be plucked by the Golden Knights as well, would also likely make for a better understudy to MAF than Lehner, so Lehner to Vegas would only seem to work in a draft and trade scenario. Without Lehner in the mix, Buffalo would be offering Vegas a choice between vets with a bloated contracts, younger players with limited (or no) upside, or free agents who may be available July 1 anyway. Unless both McPhee and Botterill had a strong interest in Ennis.
If Carrier is the preferred choice of McPhee, having Botterill expose the young forward put the teams on a two-way street giving the Vegas GM something to work with as well. And if the Sabres hope to further bolster their blueline via the expansion draft, there's still a possibility for them to do so, which may also be a possible reason for them to leave Carrier available to Vegas. McPhee will be able to trade drafted players to other teams and it looks as if there might be some decent defensemen for Buffalo to take a run at.
The Golden Knights will be selecting one player from every team and they must take a minimum of 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies from the lists of unprotected players. Since defensemen are of the utmost importance they may choose to select two or there extra d-man for trade purposes. Here's my list of two players from each team that Las Vegas may strongly be considering, plus a goalie where applicable with and the bolded name of who the Golden Knights might choose. Of note, some teams are rumored to have deals in place, so I'll try to work around that.
--Anaheim (rumored deal to keep D, Josh Manson and D, Sami Vatanen: F, Emerson Etem, RW, Nick Sorensen
--Arizona: C, Alexander Burmistrov; F, Teemu Pulkkinen
--Boston: D, Adam McQuaid; D, Linus Arnesson
--Buffalo (rumored Vegas will take): LW, Will Carrier
--Calgary: RW, Kris Versteeg; D, Matt Barkowski
--Carolina: RW, Lee Stempniak; D, Klaus Dahlbeck
--Chicago (rumored deal with Las Vegas): C, Marcus Kruger; D, Trevor van Riemsdyk
--Colorado: F, Mikhail Grigorenko; D, Mark Barberio; G, Calvin Pickard
--Columbus (rumored deal to protect core): F, William Karlsson; F, Matt Calvert;
--Dallas: C, Cody Eakin; D, Dan Hamhuis
--Detroit: C, Riley Sheahan; D, Xavier Ouellet; G, Petr Mrazek
--Edmonton: D, Kris Russell; D, Griffin Reinhart
--Florida: C, Jonathan Marchessault; D, Jason Demers
--Los Angeles: D, Matt Greene; D, Brayden McNabb
--Minnesota: C, Eric Staal; D, Matt Dumba
--Montreal: C, Tomas Plekanec; D, Alexei Emelin
--Nashville: LW, Pontus Aberg; LW, James Neal
--New Jersey: RW, Beau Bennett; D, Ben Lovejoy
--NY Islanders: C, Ryan Strome; D, Calvin de Haan
--NY Rangers: RW, Michael Grabner; C, Oscar Lindberg
--Ottawa: RW, Bobby Ryan; D, Mark Methot
--Philadelphia: LW, Michal Raffl; RW, Matt Read
--Pittsburgh: F, Carl Hagelin; D, Ian Cole; G, Marc-Andre Fleury
--San Jose': C, Joe Thornton; LW, Mikkel Boedker
--St. Louis: LW, David Perron; RW, Dmitrij Jaskin
--Tampa Bay: D, Jake Dotchin; D, Slater Koekkoek
--Toronto: LW, Kerby Rychel; LW, Brendan Leipsic
--Vancouver: C, Brendan Gaunce; D, Luca Sbisa
--Washington: RW, TJ Oshie; D, Karl Alzner; G, Phillip Grubauer
--Winnipeg: F, Marco Dano; D, Toby Enstrom
Las Vegas has an exclusive window now through 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 20 to sign free agents and make trades with other teams. That night their roster will be revealed at the NHL Awards ceremony.
Monday, June 19, 2017
Sabres jump on expansion draft casualty--3rd for MTL's Beaulieu
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-17-2017
The Buffalo Sabres need to bolster their blueline and there was a possibility that the Montreal Canadiens were going to lose d-man Nathan Beaulieu to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Now they'll get something in return. According to the Habs, the Sabres have traded the 68th pick in the NHL Draft to the Canadiens for Beaulieu.
The 6'2" 205 lb Strathroy, Ontario native was selected by Montreal with the 17th overall pick in the 2011 draft. After finishing his final season with the St. John's Sea Dogs, Beaulieu split time between Montreal and their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. In 225 games for the Canadiens over the last five seasons Beaulieu totaled 60 points (7+53) and had a plus-19 rating with only one season on the negative side.
Beaulieu was projected as a mobile, puck-moving defenseman with size, offense and the ability to qb the powerplay. Opportunity knocked for him last season but according to a June 13 article by Joey Allen of Pro Hockey Talk, "Expectations were high for Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu going into last season, but things definitely didn’t work out as planned. He opened the regular season on Montreal’s top pairing with Shea Weber. But after just a handful of games, Michel Therrien decided he had seen enough."
New coach Claude Julien didn't have a lot of faith in him either as Beaulieu was a healthy scratch for Game-6 of the Habs/NY Rangers series. Montreal lost that game 3-1 at Madison Square Gardens and lost the series 4-2.
In dropping down the depth chart the expansion draft demanded the Canadiens make a choice--leave him unprotected with the possibility that the Knights might take him or trade him. Allen would conclude that "Even though the 2011 first rounder’s stock is at an all-time low, you’d have to think that Vegas would pounce on him if he’s left unprotected by the Canadiens.
"Over the last three seasons, there have been moments when Beaulieu has looked terrific on the ice, but like most young defensemen, consistency has been a problem."
The 24 yr. old Beaulieu joins 22 yr. old Rasmus Ristolainen and 23 yr. old Jake McCabe in young but inconsistent category for the Buffalo Sabres, but new head coach Phil Housley looks to have some mobility with which to revamp his defense-corps.
In trading for Beaulieu to likely join Ristolainen and McCabe, it looks as if the Sabres will be leaving two veteran players unprotected in the expansion draft--Zach Bogosian and Josh Gorges. Bogosian has three years left on his contract with a $5.14 million cap-hit while Gorges has one year at $3.9 million.
Will Las Vegas GM George McPhee be interested in either of those two and/or will there be enticements for him to select either of them or the high-dollar contracts of Tyler Ennis or Matt Moulson?
We won't know until next week, but the Sabres did themselves some good by landing a d-man like Beaulieu.
Buffalo's draft picks as of now are:
#8
#37
#54 (from Minnesota)
#89 (from Washington)
#99
#161
#192
Defense -- shoots L
Born Dec 5 1992 -- Strathroy, ONT
[24 yrs. ago]
Height 6.02 -- Weight 205
The Buffalo Sabres need to bolster their blueline and there was a possibility that the Montreal Canadiens were going to lose d-man Nathan Beaulieu to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Now they'll get something in return. According to the Habs, the Sabres have traded the 68th pick in the NHL Draft to the Canadiens for Beaulieu.
The 6'2" 205 lb Strathroy, Ontario native was selected by Montreal with the 17th overall pick in the 2011 draft. After finishing his final season with the St. John's Sea Dogs, Beaulieu split time between Montreal and their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. In 225 games for the Canadiens over the last five seasons Beaulieu totaled 60 points (7+53) and had a plus-19 rating with only one season on the negative side.
Beaulieu was projected as a mobile, puck-moving defenseman with size, offense and the ability to qb the powerplay. Opportunity knocked for him last season but according to a June 13 article by Joey Allen of Pro Hockey Talk, "Expectations were high for Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu going into last season, but things definitely didn’t work out as planned. He opened the regular season on Montreal’s top pairing with Shea Weber. But after just a handful of games, Michel Therrien decided he had seen enough."
New coach Claude Julien didn't have a lot of faith in him either as Beaulieu was a healthy scratch for Game-6 of the Habs/NY Rangers series. Montreal lost that game 3-1 at Madison Square Gardens and lost the series 4-2.
In dropping down the depth chart the expansion draft demanded the Canadiens make a choice--leave him unprotected with the possibility that the Knights might take him or trade him. Allen would conclude that "Even though the 2011 first rounder’s stock is at an all-time low, you’d have to think that Vegas would pounce on him if he’s left unprotected by the Canadiens.
"Over the last three seasons, there have been moments when Beaulieu has looked terrific on the ice, but like most young defensemen, consistency has been a problem."
The 24 yr. old Beaulieu joins 22 yr. old Rasmus Ristolainen and 23 yr. old Jake McCabe in young but inconsistent category for the Buffalo Sabres, but new head coach Phil Housley looks to have some mobility with which to revamp his defense-corps.
In trading for Beaulieu to likely join Ristolainen and McCabe, it looks as if the Sabres will be leaving two veteran players unprotected in the expansion draft--Zach Bogosian and Josh Gorges. Bogosian has three years left on his contract with a $5.14 million cap-hit while Gorges has one year at $3.9 million.
Will Las Vegas GM George McPhee be interested in either of those two and/or will there be enticements for him to select either of them or the high-dollar contracts of Tyler Ennis or Matt Moulson?
We won't know until next week, but the Sabres did themselves some good by landing a d-man like Beaulieu.
Buffalo's draft picks as of now are:
#8
#37
#54 (from Minnesota)
#89 (from Washington)
#99
#161
#192
Defense -- shoots L
Born Dec 5 1992 -- Strathroy, ONT
[24 yrs. ago]
Height 6.02 -- Weight 205
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Exansion draft protected list--final version.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-13-2017
GM Jason Botterill and the Buffalo Sabres will be submitting their expansion draft protected list by 5 p.m. Saturday and things are working in their favor. Unlike the Minnesota Wild who are destined to lose a significant piece to their roster puzzle, the Sabres have enough room for their key pieces. Part of it is that Buffalo still doesn't have a the talent that some other teams have and part of it also revolves around the fact that some of their key players are automatically exempt.
In saying that, Botterill will need to make a couple of decisions while having to choose between protecting a young player and an older one. Case in point, the goalie situation.
Each NHL team must expose one goaltender. Buffalo will need to choose whether or not they will protect 25 yr. old Robin Lehner, their starter last season, or 23 yr. old Linus Ullmark, who's been paying his dues and moving up the ladder.
I posted version 1.0 of my protected list on May 15 but I'm going to make one change to it. In the earlier version the goal was to expose as much salary as possible and in the process it was believed that forward Tyler Ennis would be the player Vegas Golden Knights GM George McPhee may end up taking. Ennis is a good player who put up good numbers before battling injuries the last two seasons.
In the last version I also chose to protect defenseman Taylor Fedun, who may not need protection, unless you believe the Knights would sign the UFA. In that case, that takes care of Buffalo's one player contribution to Las Vegas' roster. However, it might be best for Buffalo to protect Justin Falk instead.
Using CapFriendly's Expansion draft tool, here are the players I'd like to see Buffalo expose:
Forwards: Matt Moulson, Tyler Ennis, and Nicolas Deslauriers
Defensemen: Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges.
Goalie: Robin Lehner
There are other UFA's like Fedun available and some RFA's like defenseman Brady Austin and Justin Kea, but nobody that would make management lose any sleep over.
Here's a reprint of Version 1.0 with Falk added and Fedun removed.
ForwardsKyle Okposo--this was an easy one as he was already checked because of his no-movement clause. Even if Okposo didn't have that clause, it's still an easy one as he's their top right-winger.
Ryan O'Reilly--another easy one. O'Reilly is the Sabres best two-way center and their premier all-situations forward. Despite lacking numbers that some would suggest don't justify his cap-hit, Botterill has already singled him out as one of two centers teams "crave."
Evander Kane--over the course of the last 11 months many thought he would be a perfect candidate for exposure as his $5.25 million cap-hit, average production and off-ice issues seemingly had him out the door in one way or another. However, a 28-goal season changes the conversation completely.
Marcus Foligno--he's a big body that can hit, fight, play defense and score. He was placed well above his talent-level last season while getting an inordinate amount of time in the top-six, but he did manage a career-high 13 goals and there's no reason to think that he can't continually produce double-digit goals in a bottom-six role.
Zemgus Girgensons--the former first-round pick was the first player in former coach Dan Bylsma's doghouse but with Bylsma gone things could be different. Girgensons doesn't seem to have the offensive acumen for a scoring role and at 23 yrs. old he could be settling into the player he is, but he works the forecheck hard, defends well and, unlike former Sabre Mike Grier who had very similar traits, can score on a breakaway. As of right now he's a very solid bottom-six player that every team could use.
Johan Larsson--he and Girgensons have basically come up through the ranks in Buffalo together. Larsson is known for his pesky play and defensive acumen, but he can score as well. Before his injury he was Buffalo's third-line center and didn't look out of place. It was a pretty gruesome injury, however, and we've not heard anything as to his recovery time or prognosis, but based upon his play, he's another strong bottom-six player.
William Carrier--although he had a rather pedestrian rookie campaign in Buffalo that was also cut short by injury, Carrier's got the wheel's Botterill seems to like. At 6'2" 212 lbs. he's got heft as well but it doesn't detract from his skating one bit. Carrier climbed through the ranks in Rochester and upped his production in year-two for the Amerks. There's no reason to think that he can't continue to develop in Buffalo and may end up being at least a top-nine player for the Sabres.
Defensemen
Rasmus Ristolainen--another no-brainer. Enough said.
Jake McCabe--a new GM usually talks in generalities at his introductory presser, especially when it comes to the roster. Players like Jack Eichel, O'Reilly and Ristolainen are well-known commodities and referencing them by name is not unusual. But Botterill also mentioned McCabe by name as well while also mentioning that he thought McCabe had some untapped offensive, puck-moving potential. McCabe is already known for is solid defensive work and also laying out big hits so adding in more offense would really round out his two-way game.
Justin Falk--Perhaps when Murray extended Falk in February, he was doing so in order to leave him exposed. Or perhaps he thought, like many watching seemed to think, that Falk had carved himself out a niche as a depth defenseman at the NHL level. He was very steady for the Sabres last season and there's no reason to believe he'll be anything else moving forward. Even if Buffalo brings in enough defensemen to push him down to Rochester, the Amerks are always in need of quality vets to help the youngins along.
Goalie
Linus Ullmark--there are a lot of angles for this choice beginning with Botterill having no ties to Lehner who surely would have been protected over Ullmark under Murray. Lehner played well for Buffalo last season, as his numbers would indicate, but there's a sense that many are not convinced he's the answer going forward and a lot of it has to do with him looking very shaky in odd-man rush situations and breakaway situations, the shootout in particular. And with the market being somewhat set by Ben Bishop's $4.9 million cap-hit in Dallas, the Sabres may be looking at a $4-4.5 million Lehner contract extension that Botterill might not be thrilled with. The Sabres could be placing themselves in treacherous waters if Lehner were to be snatched up by Las Vegas, but I don't think the Knights would do it and even if they did, Ullmark, with a strong veteran presence as a back-up, looks like he'd be able to handle the heat. By protecting Ullmark, odds are that they could go into the season with a Lehner/Ullmark tandem if Lehner went unprotected.
GM Jason Botterill and the Buffalo Sabres will be submitting their expansion draft protected list by 5 p.m. Saturday and things are working in their favor. Unlike the Minnesota Wild who are destined to lose a significant piece to their roster puzzle, the Sabres have enough room for their key pieces. Part of it is that Buffalo still doesn't have a the talent that some other teams have and part of it also revolves around the fact that some of their key players are automatically exempt.
In saying that, Botterill will need to make a couple of decisions while having to choose between protecting a young player and an older one. Case in point, the goalie situation.
Each NHL team must expose one goaltender. Buffalo will need to choose whether or not they will protect 25 yr. old Robin Lehner, their starter last season, or 23 yr. old Linus Ullmark, who's been paying his dues and moving up the ladder.
I posted version 1.0 of my protected list on May 15 but I'm going to make one change to it. In the earlier version the goal was to expose as much salary as possible and in the process it was believed that forward Tyler Ennis would be the player Vegas Golden Knights GM George McPhee may end up taking. Ennis is a good player who put up good numbers before battling injuries the last two seasons.
In the last version I also chose to protect defenseman Taylor Fedun, who may not need protection, unless you believe the Knights would sign the UFA. In that case, that takes care of Buffalo's one player contribution to Las Vegas' roster. However, it might be best for Buffalo to protect Justin Falk instead.
Using CapFriendly's Expansion draft tool, here are the players I'd like to see Buffalo expose:
Forwards: Matt Moulson, Tyler Ennis, and Nicolas Deslauriers
Defensemen: Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges.
Goalie: Robin Lehner
There are other UFA's like Fedun available and some RFA's like defenseman Brady Austin and Justin Kea, but nobody that would make management lose any sleep over.
Here's a reprint of Version 1.0 with Falk added and Fedun removed.
ForwardsKyle Okposo--this was an easy one as he was already checked because of his no-movement clause. Even if Okposo didn't have that clause, it's still an easy one as he's their top right-winger.
Ryan O'Reilly--another easy one. O'Reilly is the Sabres best two-way center and their premier all-situations forward. Despite lacking numbers that some would suggest don't justify his cap-hit, Botterill has already singled him out as one of two centers teams "crave."
Evander Kane--over the course of the last 11 months many thought he would be a perfect candidate for exposure as his $5.25 million cap-hit, average production and off-ice issues seemingly had him out the door in one way or another. However, a 28-goal season changes the conversation completely.
Marcus Foligno--he's a big body that can hit, fight, play defense and score. He was placed well above his talent-level last season while getting an inordinate amount of time in the top-six, but he did manage a career-high 13 goals and there's no reason to think that he can't continually produce double-digit goals in a bottom-six role.
Zemgus Girgensons--the former first-round pick was the first player in former coach Dan Bylsma's doghouse but with Bylsma gone things could be different. Girgensons doesn't seem to have the offensive acumen for a scoring role and at 23 yrs. old he could be settling into the player he is, but he works the forecheck hard, defends well and, unlike former Sabre Mike Grier who had very similar traits, can score on a breakaway. As of right now he's a very solid bottom-six player that every team could use.
Johan Larsson--he and Girgensons have basically come up through the ranks in Buffalo together. Larsson is known for his pesky play and defensive acumen, but he can score as well. Before his injury he was Buffalo's third-line center and didn't look out of place. It was a pretty gruesome injury, however, and we've not heard anything as to his recovery time or prognosis, but based upon his play, he's another strong bottom-six player.
William Carrier--although he had a rather pedestrian rookie campaign in Buffalo that was also cut short by injury, Carrier's got the wheel's Botterill seems to like. At 6'2" 212 lbs. he's got heft as well but it doesn't detract from his skating one bit. Carrier climbed through the ranks in Rochester and upped his production in year-two for the Amerks. There's no reason to think that he can't continue to develop in Buffalo and may end up being at least a top-nine player for the Sabres.
Defensemen
Rasmus Ristolainen--another no-brainer. Enough said.
Jake McCabe--a new GM usually talks in generalities at his introductory presser, especially when it comes to the roster. Players like Jack Eichel, O'Reilly and Ristolainen are well-known commodities and referencing them by name is not unusual. But Botterill also mentioned McCabe by name as well while also mentioning that he thought McCabe had some untapped offensive, puck-moving potential. McCabe is already known for is solid defensive work and also laying out big hits so adding in more offense would really round out his two-way game.
Justin Falk--Perhaps when Murray extended Falk in February, he was doing so in order to leave him exposed. Or perhaps he thought, like many watching seemed to think, that Falk had carved himself out a niche as a depth defenseman at the NHL level. He was very steady for the Sabres last season and there's no reason to believe he'll be anything else moving forward. Even if Buffalo brings in enough defensemen to push him down to Rochester, the Amerks are always in need of quality vets to help the youngins along.
Goalie
Linus Ullmark--there are a lot of angles for this choice beginning with Botterill having no ties to Lehner who surely would have been protected over Ullmark under Murray. Lehner played well for Buffalo last season, as his numbers would indicate, but there's a sense that many are not convinced he's the answer going forward and a lot of it has to do with him looking very shaky in odd-man rush situations and breakaway situations, the shootout in particular. And with the market being somewhat set by Ben Bishop's $4.9 million cap-hit in Dallas, the Sabres may be looking at a $4-4.5 million Lehner contract extension that Botterill might not be thrilled with. The Sabres could be placing themselves in treacherous waters if Lehner were to be snatched up by Las Vegas, but I don't think the Knights would do it and even if they did, Ullmark, with a strong veteran presence as a back-up, looks like he'd be able to handle the heat. By protecting Ullmark, odds are that they could go into the season with a Lehner/Ullmark tandem if Lehner went unprotected.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Kane still in the mill. Will Boogieman in FLA = Housley in Buffalo? Plus...
TSN insider Darren Dreger joined the Instigators in his usual Friday spot and before they were finished he was directed towards Buffalo Sabres players in the rumor mill. Dreger, as with everyone these days, immediately went to Evander Kane like a moth to a flame. Dreger said that there's still trade talk around the league and that he's "sure that (new GM) Jason Botterill and the Buffalo Sabres are deeply involved in some of that."
But the big name for Buffalo is Kane and Dreger said, "[There's] much specutlation about where he might end up. How eager is Botterill and the Sabres to move him?" Dreger would mention a couple of destinations later on in the segment like Anaheim and San Jose, both of whom are aging teams"who are kind of in 'win-now' mode," but he stressed that it's pure speculation.
The interesting aspect of Dreger's Kane discussion was less about moving him and/or the troubles he may have had and more about the hole he'd leave in Buffalo were he to be traded. "The problem that Buffalo has in moving Kane is," began Dreger, "now you have a pretty big hole on that left side. That's not to say they're reluctant to trade him. Maybe they have pieces who can fill that void, or they can acquire something in return. Or they can make another transaction. Or they can sign a free agent."
Dreger said that the hosts would know more about who might fill the void internally, and in looking at the Sabres roster and what's in the system, I don't see a top-six 25-30 goal scorer anywhere. They've tried a couple of centers in that role including Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons and tried the slow-footed Matt Moulson there while also promoting a bottom-six player (Marcus Foligno) for a rather long, somewhat productive stint there. In the system they have Will Carrier, who may or may not be capable as the sample size of 41 NHL games is still very small, and 19 yr. old Alexander Nylander who just finished his rookie pro season.
As for the other two notions, if Kane is traded, one could almost bet the farm that a defenseman will be coming back in return and as we look at the free agent market this season some of the better players are all in their 30's and would be a better fit on teams
Evander Kane is 25 yrs. old and coming off of a strong, 28-goal season. Like Dreger said, moving him would create a big hole and on the Sabres that kind of production, especially when he did nearly all of his scoring 5v5, is hard to replace.
The Kane situation, like the player himself, is complicated right now in that there are a number of variables. If Kane does get moved, there's a feeling that he'd create a big hole on the left side for the Sabres constructed as is and it will take some work and some pretty smooth maneuvering to fill it.
*****
Dreger's counterpart at TSN, Bob McKenzie, tweeted today, "Barring any last-minute hiccups, FLA and Bob Boughner are closing in on a deal for him to be the Panthers' new head coach."
The Panthers and the Sabres are the only two teams in the NHL without a head coach at this juncture and it would seem as if they were both interested in only a handful of candidates. Buffalo had already interviewed Boughner, according to reports, and it's somewhat of a surprise that he's slated to take over the Panthers bench. Many thought that they were the front-runner for Nashville Predators assistant coach Phil Housley and they, like the Sabres, would wait until after the Stanley Cup Finals to interview Housley before making a decision.
A move like that bodes well for Housley landing in Buffalo, but we should not count out Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Rick Tocchet. Buffalo GM Jason Botterill and Tocchet worked together in Pittsburgh the last few years and both are very familiar with each other. As the Sabres start anew with a philosophy borne of Botterill and the Championship team he helped build in Pittsburgh, one would thing that Tocchet would be able to help transfer that philosophy to the KeyBank ice.
The latest the Finals can conclude is Thursday, June 14th which means by this time next weekend Buffalo should know who their coach is. Speculation here is that Housley is now the front-runner for the Sabres spot.
*****
The Stanley Cup Finals are probably holding up things in the trade market right now. Dreger suggested, as have many others, the a respect for the league's premier product has teams taking a back seat until they're completed.
Which is cool.
Come next Friday and Saturday I wouldn't be surprise to hear a number of deals involving the Las Vegas Golden Knights as they gear up for the expansion draft. Teams are required to submit their protected list by 5 p.m. June 17 and the Knight will then have a weekend window to look them over and see what else is available on the free agent market. Come June 20 they will have their roster in place and the following night it will be announced at the NHL Awards Ceremony held in Sin City.
Could one of the deals involve Buffalo? Many hope so. One of the keys for the Sabres will be to hopefully unload a undesirable contract whilst keeping the players they want. It may cost them a third, or even second round pick in the upcoming draft, but the have an extra one in each round anyway.
That said, my original protected list exposed as much salary to the Golden Knights as possible while retaining young players like Will Carrier and Linus Ullmark, both of whom have plenty of upside and have been paying their dues in the system.
Buffalo has one slot to protect on defense and hopefully they'll use it to protect an incoming top-four d-man. If Botterill can't bring one in, then it will probably go to Justin Falk, who did yeoman's work for the Sabres in a bottom-pairing/reserve role.
But the big name for Buffalo is Kane and Dreger said, "[There's] much specutlation about where he might end up. How eager is Botterill and the Sabres to move him?" Dreger would mention a couple of destinations later on in the segment like Anaheim and San Jose, both of whom are aging teams"who are kind of in 'win-now' mode," but he stressed that it's pure speculation.
The interesting aspect of Dreger's Kane discussion was less about moving him and/or the troubles he may have had and more about the hole he'd leave in Buffalo were he to be traded. "The problem that Buffalo has in moving Kane is," began Dreger, "now you have a pretty big hole on that left side. That's not to say they're reluctant to trade him. Maybe they have pieces who can fill that void, or they can acquire something in return. Or they can make another transaction. Or they can sign a free agent."
Dreger said that the hosts would know more about who might fill the void internally, and in looking at the Sabres roster and what's in the system, I don't see a top-six 25-30 goal scorer anywhere. They've tried a couple of centers in that role including Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons and tried the slow-footed Matt Moulson there while also promoting a bottom-six player (Marcus Foligno) for a rather long, somewhat productive stint there. In the system they have Will Carrier, who may or may not be capable as the sample size of 41 NHL games is still very small, and 19 yr. old Alexander Nylander who just finished his rookie pro season.
As for the other two notions, if Kane is traded, one could almost bet the farm that a defenseman will be coming back in return and as we look at the free agent market this season some of the better players are all in their 30's and would be a better fit on teams
Evander Kane is 25 yrs. old and coming off of a strong, 28-goal season. Like Dreger said, moving him would create a big hole and on the Sabres that kind of production, especially when he did nearly all of his scoring 5v5, is hard to replace.
The Kane situation, like the player himself, is complicated right now in that there are a number of variables. If Kane does get moved, there's a feeling that he'd create a big hole on the left side for the Sabres constructed as is and it will take some work and some pretty smooth maneuvering to fill it.
*****
Dreger's counterpart at TSN, Bob McKenzie, tweeted today, "Barring any last-minute hiccups, FLA and Bob Boughner are closing in on a deal for him to be the Panthers' new head coach."
The Panthers and the Sabres are the only two teams in the NHL without a head coach at this juncture and it would seem as if they were both interested in only a handful of candidates. Buffalo had already interviewed Boughner, according to reports, and it's somewhat of a surprise that he's slated to take over the Panthers bench. Many thought that they were the front-runner for Nashville Predators assistant coach Phil Housley and they, like the Sabres, would wait until after the Stanley Cup Finals to interview Housley before making a decision.
A move like that bodes well for Housley landing in Buffalo, but we should not count out Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Rick Tocchet. Buffalo GM Jason Botterill and Tocchet worked together in Pittsburgh the last few years and both are very familiar with each other. As the Sabres start anew with a philosophy borne of Botterill and the Championship team he helped build in Pittsburgh, one would thing that Tocchet would be able to help transfer that philosophy to the KeyBank ice.
The latest the Finals can conclude is Thursday, June 14th which means by this time next weekend Buffalo should know who their coach is. Speculation here is that Housley is now the front-runner for the Sabres spot.
*****
The Stanley Cup Finals are probably holding up things in the trade market right now. Dreger suggested, as have many others, the a respect for the league's premier product has teams taking a back seat until they're completed.
Which is cool.
Come next Friday and Saturday I wouldn't be surprise to hear a number of deals involving the Las Vegas Golden Knights as they gear up for the expansion draft. Teams are required to submit their protected list by 5 p.m. June 17 and the Knight will then have a weekend window to look them over and see what else is available on the free agent market. Come June 20 they will have their roster in place and the following night it will be announced at the NHL Awards Ceremony held in Sin City.
Could one of the deals involve Buffalo? Many hope so. One of the keys for the Sabres will be to hopefully unload a undesirable contract whilst keeping the players they want. It may cost them a third, or even second round pick in the upcoming draft, but the have an extra one in each round anyway.
That said, my original protected list exposed as much salary to the Golden Knights as possible while retaining young players like Will Carrier and Linus Ullmark, both of whom have plenty of upside and have been paying their dues in the system.
Buffalo has one slot to protect on defense and hopefully they'll use it to protect an incoming top-four d-man. If Botterill can't bring one in, then it will probably go to Justin Falk, who did yeoman's work for the Sabres in a bottom-pairing/reserve role.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
George McPhee's potential top-three unprotected Buffalo Sabres
Published by hockeybuzz.com 6-4-2017
Las Vegas GM George McPhee was in Buffalo for the annual NHL Scouting Combine getting a good look at over 100 prospects who were in town for interviews and testing. It was a lot to take in for the expansion Golden Knights GM but as he walked about downtown discussions with other GM's invariably were directed towards potential deals. "It seemed the other day we go down to lunch, and I ran into a few GMs and the conversations started," McPhee said, via TSN. "It's been a busy week, but certainly productive."
Productive in the sense that he's already "far enough along with a few teams that my plan is to sit on the phone all day Monday, Tuesday to see what we can accomplish," according to the TSN piece.
With Buffalo as the host city, of course McPhee would hook up with new Sabres GM Jason Botterill to exchange wants. McPhee was quoted as saying that their first and only discussion went very well and that they would be talking soon.
The Sabres are in good shape when it comes to potential exposure to the draft. Names like Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Justin Bailey and Nick Baptiste did not meet the requirements to be exposed and of the ones that do, only a couple would represent a loss to a degree. The key for Botterill will be to entice McPhee into taking on a bloated contract. There are four on the books ranging from $3.9-$5.1 million ranging from one to three years. McPhee intimated that teams looking to either keep their roster intact or ditch a hefty contract will pay a price.
One should expect a deal to be made between Buffalo and Vegas. The Golden Knights have a prospect pool to fill and are looking for as many draft picks as they can get their hands on. Buffalo will be heading into the NHL Draft on June 23, a mere two days after the announcement of Vegas' roster, with one extra second and one extra third rounder. Would one of those be enough of an enticement to take on one of those four contracts?
We'll see. But in lieu of that using CapFriendly's mock expansion draft tool to come up with the top-three players left exposed by Buffalo that McPhee might be interested in.
1. LW, William Carrier
Carrier's speed and quickness are tailor-made for the way the NHL is played these days. He also has size (6'2" 212 lbs.) and a some good scoring instincts. Although he didn't dazzle when he played in Buffalo last season with eight points (3+5) in 41 games, the 22 yr. old second round pick has upside and might just be of interest to McPhee.
It looks as if Botterill and Co. might have a decision on their hands between exposing Carrier and F, Zemgus Girgensons, who's a year older and is more versatile up-front in that he could play every position.
2. G, Linus Ullmark
If former Sabres GM Tim Murray was still at the helm, it would be a slam dunk that Ullmark would be exposed. Murray's the one that traded the 21st overall pick to Ottawa for Murray and there's no way he'd expose Buffalo's starter last season. But even though he's gone, Botterill still may opt to expose Ullmark over Murray.
The Knights will have some pretty good goalies to pick from at the expansion draft which will probably names like veterans Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT) and Jimmy Howard (DET) for the starters role. But they'll have three other slots to fill in the organization. Washington's Philipp Grubauer tops the list of good young goalies who will be on the Knights' radar and Ullmark, who's waivers-exempt, could easily fill in one of the two remaining spots for Vegas.
3. D, Taylor Fedun
Normally an unrestricted free agent like Fedun would still be under contract with the Sabres until July 1. For expansion draft purposes, the Knights will have an exclusive window during the weekend of the expansion draft to negotiate with UFA's. However, if they do sign a team's UFA, that will count as that team's player selected in the expansion draft.
The 29 yr. old Fedun has been wallowing away in the minors for the better part of five year professional career. Last season injuries in Buffalo gave him the opportunity to showcase his talents for an extended period. He played a career-high 27 games for the Sabres registering seven assists and a plus-3 rating. As a puck-mover with offensive acumen and the ability to man the point on the powerplay, Fedun fits right into how the game is geared towards more mobile defensemen.
Las Vegas GM George McPhee was in Buffalo for the annual NHL Scouting Combine getting a good look at over 100 prospects who were in town for interviews and testing. It was a lot to take in for the expansion Golden Knights GM but as he walked about downtown discussions with other GM's invariably were directed towards potential deals. "It seemed the other day we go down to lunch, and I ran into a few GMs and the conversations started," McPhee said, via TSN. "It's been a busy week, but certainly productive."
Productive in the sense that he's already "far enough along with a few teams that my plan is to sit on the phone all day Monday, Tuesday to see what we can accomplish," according to the TSN piece.
With Buffalo as the host city, of course McPhee would hook up with new Sabres GM Jason Botterill to exchange wants. McPhee was quoted as saying that their first and only discussion went very well and that they would be talking soon.
The Sabres are in good shape when it comes to potential exposure to the draft. Names like Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Justin Bailey and Nick Baptiste did not meet the requirements to be exposed and of the ones that do, only a couple would represent a loss to a degree. The key for Botterill will be to entice McPhee into taking on a bloated contract. There are four on the books ranging from $3.9-$5.1 million ranging from one to three years. McPhee intimated that teams looking to either keep their roster intact or ditch a hefty contract will pay a price.
One should expect a deal to be made between Buffalo and Vegas. The Golden Knights have a prospect pool to fill and are looking for as many draft picks as they can get their hands on. Buffalo will be heading into the NHL Draft on June 23, a mere two days after the announcement of Vegas' roster, with one extra second and one extra third rounder. Would one of those be enough of an enticement to take on one of those four contracts?
We'll see. But in lieu of that using CapFriendly's mock expansion draft tool to come up with the top-three players left exposed by Buffalo that McPhee might be interested in.
1. LW, William Carrier
Carrier's speed and quickness are tailor-made for the way the NHL is played these days. He also has size (6'2" 212 lbs.) and a some good scoring instincts. Although he didn't dazzle when he played in Buffalo last season with eight points (3+5) in 41 games, the 22 yr. old second round pick has upside and might just be of interest to McPhee.
It looks as if Botterill and Co. might have a decision on their hands between exposing Carrier and F, Zemgus Girgensons, who's a year older and is more versatile up-front in that he could play every position.
2. G, Linus Ullmark
If former Sabres GM Tim Murray was still at the helm, it would be a slam dunk that Ullmark would be exposed. Murray's the one that traded the 21st overall pick to Ottawa for Murray and there's no way he'd expose Buffalo's starter last season. But even though he's gone, Botterill still may opt to expose Ullmark over Murray.
The Knights will have some pretty good goalies to pick from at the expansion draft which will probably names like veterans Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT) and Jimmy Howard (DET) for the starters role. But they'll have three other slots to fill in the organization. Washington's Philipp Grubauer tops the list of good young goalies who will be on the Knights' radar and Ullmark, who's waivers-exempt, could easily fill in one of the two remaining spots for Vegas.
3. D, Taylor Fedun
Normally an unrestricted free agent like Fedun would still be under contract with the Sabres until July 1. For expansion draft purposes, the Knights will have an exclusive window during the weekend of the expansion draft to negotiate with UFA's. However, if they do sign a team's UFA, that will count as that team's player selected in the expansion draft.
The 29 yr. old Fedun has been wallowing away in the minors for the better part of five year professional career. Last season injuries in Buffalo gave him the opportunity to showcase his talents for an extended period. He played a career-high 27 games for the Sabres registering seven assists and a plus-3 rating. As a puck-mover with offensive acumen and the ability to man the point on the powerplay, Fedun fits right into how the game is geared towards more mobile defensemen.
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Let's Make A Deal? George McPhee & Jason Botterill talk
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-3-2017
Reports from the Buffalo media have the Sabres and the Las Vegas Golden Knights talking expansion draft. According to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, Knights' general manager George McPhee had a conversation with new Sabres GM Jason Botterill and said "that [it] went really well,” McPhee who was at HarborCenter in downtown Buffalo for the NHL Scouting Combine, has a lot on his plate as he's laying the foundation for how he will build the expansion Knights.
Each NHL team will lose a player to Las Vegas and must submit their list of protected players by 5 p.m. June 17, the Knights will finalize their choices by June 20 and the results will be announced on June21 during the NHL Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.
McPhee has been busy making contact with GM's around the league as both sides get a feel for that the other may be interested in. McPhee told the media today that he expects for things to "pick up next week" as the deadline for submitting protected lists is getting closer.
Botterill took over as the Sabres GM on May 11 and he inherited an immense workload from previous GM Tim Murray. Amongst the things on Botterill's plate is finding head coaches for the Sabres, the AHL Rochester Americans and the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones after their affiliation with Buffalo was announced. The NHL Entry Draft is in late June and during his first full week on the job, Botterill huddled with this scouts in a dual "get-to-know-them/get-to-know-their-prospect -lists" week. Also on tap are 20 or so free agents to decide upon and, of course, the upcoming expansion draft. McPhee was certainly aware of what Botterill has on his plate saying, "He’s certainly had a lot going on as well.”
WGR Sabres beat writer Paul Hamilton tweeted that McPhee "expects to [talk to Botterill] again soon." Hamilton also said to be on the lookout for trades tweeting that McPhee "also said there could be trades with teams in the next few days."
The Sabres have an interesting scenario in that their protected list is pretty solid and they won't need to expose a highly coveted player to the draft. There will be teams like Nashville and Anaheim who may be in that situation and McPhee, according to Hamilton said, "There are teams that really want to protect some people and they’re willing to pay a pretty fair price to get us to lay off people."
For the Sabres, "laying off people" isn't really the ideal, getting the Knights to take on an undesirable contract would be more to Buffalo's liking. The Sabres have four players making close to $4 million or more who's production hasn't warranted that kind of salary. Hamilton said the Vegas GM has the same approach there as well, "McPhee also confirmed they're willing to take on contracts and probably will," said Hamilton. "He said teams will [have] to pay a high price to keep teams together."
The Sabres have some extra draft picks in their arsenal with which to entice McPhee to take on an undesirable contract. They have Minnesota's in the second round (54th overall) and Washington's in the third (89th.) Perhaps they can bring things full circle with the Knights taking an undesired contract with the 89th pick as an enticement.
Just a thought.
Reports from the Buffalo media have the Sabres and the Las Vegas Golden Knights talking expansion draft. According to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, Knights' general manager George McPhee had a conversation with new Sabres GM Jason Botterill and said "that [it] went really well,” McPhee who was at HarborCenter in downtown Buffalo for the NHL Scouting Combine, has a lot on his plate as he's laying the foundation for how he will build the expansion Knights.
Each NHL team will lose a player to Las Vegas and must submit their list of protected players by 5 p.m. June 17, the Knights will finalize their choices by June 20 and the results will be announced on June21 during the NHL Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.
McPhee has been busy making contact with GM's around the league as both sides get a feel for that the other may be interested in. McPhee told the media today that he expects for things to "pick up next week" as the deadline for submitting protected lists is getting closer.
Botterill took over as the Sabres GM on May 11 and he inherited an immense workload from previous GM Tim Murray. Amongst the things on Botterill's plate is finding head coaches for the Sabres, the AHL Rochester Americans and the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones after their affiliation with Buffalo was announced. The NHL Entry Draft is in late June and during his first full week on the job, Botterill huddled with this scouts in a dual "get-to-know-them/get-to-know-their-prospect -lists" week. Also on tap are 20 or so free agents to decide upon and, of course, the upcoming expansion draft. McPhee was certainly aware of what Botterill has on his plate saying, "He’s certainly had a lot going on as well.”
WGR Sabres beat writer Paul Hamilton tweeted that McPhee "expects to [talk to Botterill] again soon." Hamilton also said to be on the lookout for trades tweeting that McPhee "also said there could be trades with teams in the next few days."
The Sabres have an interesting scenario in that their protected list is pretty solid and they won't need to expose a highly coveted player to the draft. There will be teams like Nashville and Anaheim who may be in that situation and McPhee, according to Hamilton said, "There are teams that really want to protect some people and they’re willing to pay a pretty fair price to get us to lay off people."
For the Sabres, "laying off people" isn't really the ideal, getting the Knights to take on an undesirable contract would be more to Buffalo's liking. The Sabres have four players making close to $4 million or more who's production hasn't warranted that kind of salary. Hamilton said the Vegas GM has the same approach there as well, "McPhee also confirmed they're willing to take on contracts and probably will," said Hamilton. "He said teams will [have] to pay a high price to keep teams together."
The Sabres have some extra draft picks in their arsenal with which to entice McPhee to take on an undesirable contract. They have Minnesota's in the second round (54th overall) and Washington's in the third (89th.) Perhaps they can bring things full circle with the Knights taking an undesired contract with the 89th pick as an enticement.
Just a thought.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Could Marc Methot be on the market?
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-27-2017
Everyone in hockey knows the Buffalo Sabres are in need of defensemen. Even though they'll have at least one, and maybe two additions to the defense-corps, there's still that spot on the top-pairing next to Rasmus Ristolainen that remains a question mark.
Over the past two seasons we found veteran Josh Gorges being overextended in that slot and youngin Jake McCabe was stretched to the extremes of his talents as the Sabres' No. 2 defenseman. Gorges did a respectable job there during the 2015-16 season and so did McCabe last season. But neither were in a position to make the most of what they had to offer. McCabe may end up being in that top spot but he's much better suited to a second-pairing role while age is creeping up on Gorges and it looks as if he'd be best suited to a bottom-pairing/penalty kill role in Buffalo.
Victor Antipin is the new kid on the block for the Sabres defense. The former KHL d-man looks as if he has top-four potential but we won't know how his game transfers over to the NHL. Soon to be 20-yr. old Brendan Guhle has shown that he can play at the pro level but there's a big difference between spot starts and full-time duty. Both players, however, are not expected to be a top-pairing defenseman at this point in time. Which means that if nothing changes, McCabe will probably be slated for No. 2 duty.
Yesterday we looked at one possible expansion draft casualty that the Sabres could trade for in Minnesota's Jonas Brodin. The Wild have a bit of a problem on their hands as a number of no-movement contracts are hampering their protected list. Brodin is a bit down the depth-chart but every bit a top-four d-man with top-pairing potential. If the Wild can't make a deal to maneuver out of this jam, one of Brodin or Marco Scandella might get picked by the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
Come to find out yesterday that another team may have a bit of a problem when it comes to the expansion draft--the Ottawa Senators.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that the Senators will be facing some tough decisions with their protected list which might leave Methot exposed. "[Sens GM Pierre] Dorion has to put together a protected list and there are decisions to make. On defence, the expectation is they’ll choose to protect three blueliners. The popular opinion is the Senators will have a difficult time putting Marc Methot on that list."
Garrioch goes on to say that the Sens could ask defenseman Dion Phaneuf to waive his no-trade clause and make a side deal with Vegas not to take him.
The 6'3" 224 lb., left-handed Methot logged some big minutes for Ottawa in this year's playoffs pulling in the second-most 5-on-5 time on ice/game behind only Eric Karlsson. The staunch defensive, defenseman was also third on the team in PK average time on ice. Methot is known for his strong defensive presence and solid play with very few breakdowns.
That would seem like a pretty good match for Buffalo as Ristolainen is a righty who has offense on his mind but has been focused on the defensive side of things the past two seasons. It's not to say that he can't play defense, it's more like he has a lot more to give from an offensive perspective and setting him loose might help get the offense reach a another level.
Too bad GM Tim Murray isn't around. Murray was in the organization and seemingly made a 2015 Draft-Day trade that had "future considerations" written all over it.
Back in June, 2015 Murray traded the 21st overall pick to his former team, the Ottawa Senators, for goalie Robin Lehner and aging center David Legwand. It was a rather steep price to pay but in doing so with his uncle Bryan, it's possible that a trade like that with the elder Murray was to set up something down the road. Unfortunately both Murray's are no longer GM's so anything worked out between the clubs would stand on its own.
With the expansion draft protected lists due less than a month from now, there will be plenty of speculation as to who will or will not be protected and whether or not there are deals to be made. Most are calling for the time between the end of the season and the end of the NHL Draft to be the busiest time in NHL history for trades. I'm not sure if I'd go that far yet and as a Sabres fan all I care about is being able to do one trade--for a No. 3-2 d-man.
Get that done and we could go into the season with greater expectations.
Everyone in hockey knows the Buffalo Sabres are in need of defensemen. Even though they'll have at least one, and maybe two additions to the defense-corps, there's still that spot on the top-pairing next to Rasmus Ristolainen that remains a question mark.
Over the past two seasons we found veteran Josh Gorges being overextended in that slot and youngin Jake McCabe was stretched to the extremes of his talents as the Sabres' No. 2 defenseman. Gorges did a respectable job there during the 2015-16 season and so did McCabe last season. But neither were in a position to make the most of what they had to offer. McCabe may end up being in that top spot but he's much better suited to a second-pairing role while age is creeping up on Gorges and it looks as if he'd be best suited to a bottom-pairing/penalty kill role in Buffalo.
Victor Antipin is the new kid on the block for the Sabres defense. The former KHL d-man looks as if he has top-four potential but we won't know how his game transfers over to the NHL. Soon to be 20-yr. old Brendan Guhle has shown that he can play at the pro level but there's a big difference between spot starts and full-time duty. Both players, however, are not expected to be a top-pairing defenseman at this point in time. Which means that if nothing changes, McCabe will probably be slated for No. 2 duty.
Yesterday we looked at one possible expansion draft casualty that the Sabres could trade for in Minnesota's Jonas Brodin. The Wild have a bit of a problem on their hands as a number of no-movement contracts are hampering their protected list. Brodin is a bit down the depth-chart but every bit a top-four d-man with top-pairing potential. If the Wild can't make a deal to maneuver out of this jam, one of Brodin or Marco Scandella might get picked by the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
Come to find out yesterday that another team may have a bit of a problem when it comes to the expansion draft--the Ottawa Senators.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that the Senators will be facing some tough decisions with their protected list which might leave Methot exposed. "[Sens GM Pierre] Dorion has to put together a protected list and there are decisions to make. On defence, the expectation is they’ll choose to protect three blueliners. The popular opinion is the Senators will have a difficult time putting Marc Methot on that list."
Garrioch goes on to say that the Sens could ask defenseman Dion Phaneuf to waive his no-trade clause and make a side deal with Vegas not to take him.
The 6'3" 224 lb., left-handed Methot logged some big minutes for Ottawa in this year's playoffs pulling in the second-most 5-on-5 time on ice/game behind only Eric Karlsson. The staunch defensive, defenseman was also third on the team in PK average time on ice. Methot is known for his strong defensive presence and solid play with very few breakdowns.
That would seem like a pretty good match for Buffalo as Ristolainen is a righty who has offense on his mind but has been focused on the defensive side of things the past two seasons. It's not to say that he can't play defense, it's more like he has a lot more to give from an offensive perspective and setting him loose might help get the offense reach a another level.
Too bad GM Tim Murray isn't around. Murray was in the organization and seemingly made a 2015 Draft-Day trade that had "future considerations" written all over it.
Back in June, 2015 Murray traded the 21st overall pick to his former team, the Ottawa Senators, for goalie Robin Lehner and aging center David Legwand. It was a rather steep price to pay but in doing so with his uncle Bryan, it's possible that a trade like that with the elder Murray was to set up something down the road. Unfortunately both Murray's are no longer GM's so anything worked out between the clubs would stand on its own.
With the expansion draft protected lists due less than a month from now, there will be plenty of speculation as to who will or will not be protected and whether or not there are deals to be made. Most are calling for the time between the end of the season and the end of the NHL Draft to be the busiest time in NHL history for trades. I'm not sure if I'd go that far yet and as a Sabres fan all I care about is being able to do one trade--for a No. 3-2 d-man.
Get that done and we could go into the season with greater expectations.
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Antipin signs. Let's fill in the blanks on the Sabres blueline
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-26-2017
With former KHL defenseman Viktor Antipin finally in the fold, a soon to be revamped Buffalo Sabres defense got it's first new face.
Antipin just finished his fifth full KHL season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk scoring 24 points (6+18) in 59 games. In all the 24 yr. old Antipin played 266 games for Metallurg scoring 36 goals and adding 62 assists. The 5'9" 179 lb. all-situations defensemen just finished a bronze medal run in the IIHF World Hockey Championships with four assists and a plus-5 rating in 10 games.
What will he bring to the Sabres defense?
It looks as Buffalo has a top-four d-man in Antipin, one who is a very capable skater and puck-mover, can play defense and also jump into the play on offense. He saw plenty of time on the penalty kill during the Worlds and if you watch some of his highlights from the KHL, he has a nose for pinching in on offense and has shown the ability to finish.
The addition of Antipin gives the Sabres three certainties on defense, barring a trade of any sort. Rasmus Ristolainen is the workhorse on the back-end while Jake McCabe has solidified his spot in the top-four, ideally on the second pairing.
Buffalo also has three other defensemen under contract any of whom may be exposed to the upcoming expansion draft. Zach Bogosian has three years remaining on his deal while both Josh Gorges and Justin Falk have one year. Bogosian and Gorges have been in the top-four for Buffalo with both looking as if they'd be more suited to a role in the No. 4-6 range. Falk was re-signed by former GM Tim Murray to a one-year extension after proving to be a very reliable reserve defenseman last season.
A wild-card in this whole process is Brendan Guhle. The soon to be 20 yr. old acquitted himself very well at the pro-level which included a three-game stint with Buffalo as an emergency recall from his Canadian Junior team in November. He joined the Rochester Americans after finishing his last two junior seasons and looked right at home. In 12 games with the Amerks he scored two goals, added four assists and was a minus-3. Where his development will take him next year is still unknown but most think he has a great shot at joining the Sabres defense.
If the season started today, this is the possible defense-corps we'd see hit the ice:
Ristolainen-McCabe
Antipin-Bogosian
Guhle-Gorges
Falk
New GM Jason Botterill has stated that upgrading the defense is a top priority wants and he may have the opportunity to do so with as the upcoming expansion draft will put a few teams in a bind come when protected lists are submitted. Two of them, the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild, may be forced to expose a good defenseman and risk losing him for nothing if they don't work something out in a trade prior.
With the signing of Antipin and the possibility of Guhle joining Buffalo's defense next season, barring anything weird happening the Sabres may be looking at one move on the back-end as they attempt to bolster the blueline. Here are a couple of possibilities for Buffalo to upgrade their d-corps:
Anaheim Ducks
Because of their depth on defense, the Ducks will more than likely protect eight skaters instead of seven forwards and three defensemen. On defense, despite injuries that will sideline them for months, Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatenen are locks to be protected and with his performance in the playoffs, Cam Fowler will be protected as well. What they do with Kevin Bieksa will shape how they approach the final spot. Because of his no-movement clause, Bieksa is required to be protected leaving young d-man Josh Manson as possibly being exposed.
If the Ducks fail to do anything with Bieksa, the Sabres could be looking at the 6'3" 215 Manson as a possible addition. The right-handed Manson is quite mobile for a player of his size and played well in a third-pairing defensive role for the Ducks. He's steady on the back-end but one shouldn't expect much on offense. A trade for him shouldn't cost too much and one could plug him in alongside the left-handed Guhle on the third pairing in Buffalo.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild is a team that probably would like to go with eight skaters in order to protect four d-men, but three NMC's amongst the forward group coupled with three young players who have plenty of upside has Minnesota looking at the 7/3 model. On defense the Wild will be protecting Ryan Suter and it looks as if Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba aren't going anywhere either. That leaves two pretty valuable pieces exposed--23 yr. old Jonas Brodin and 27 yr. old Marco Scandella.
Brodin is an excellent puck-mover who had 25 points (3+22) in 68 games for Minnesota last season and would net them a pretty good return. The left-handed all-situations defenseman would look good in the top-four on the Sabres, especially at a favorable $4.16 million cap-hit.
Landing a player like Brodin, or even Scandella from Minnesota would be a pretty good upgrade for the Sabres. Problem is, there are a ton of other teams looking for he same thing. Would the Sabres be willing to trade the No. 8 overall pick at this year's draft, and possibly more for Brodin? If they're looking at a run to the playoffs this season, I could see them doing a deal like that.
With former KHL defenseman Viktor Antipin finally in the fold, a soon to be revamped Buffalo Sabres defense got it's first new face.
Antipin just finished his fifth full KHL season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk scoring 24 points (6+18) in 59 games. In all the 24 yr. old Antipin played 266 games for Metallurg scoring 36 goals and adding 62 assists. The 5'9" 179 lb. all-situations defensemen just finished a bronze medal run in the IIHF World Hockey Championships with four assists and a plus-5 rating in 10 games.
What will he bring to the Sabres defense?
It looks as Buffalo has a top-four d-man in Antipin, one who is a very capable skater and puck-mover, can play defense and also jump into the play on offense. He saw plenty of time on the penalty kill during the Worlds and if you watch some of his highlights from the KHL, he has a nose for pinching in on offense and has shown the ability to finish.
The addition of Antipin gives the Sabres three certainties on defense, barring a trade of any sort. Rasmus Ristolainen is the workhorse on the back-end while Jake McCabe has solidified his spot in the top-four, ideally on the second pairing.
Buffalo also has three other defensemen under contract any of whom may be exposed to the upcoming expansion draft. Zach Bogosian has three years remaining on his deal while both Josh Gorges and Justin Falk have one year. Bogosian and Gorges have been in the top-four for Buffalo with both looking as if they'd be more suited to a role in the No. 4-6 range. Falk was re-signed by former GM Tim Murray to a one-year extension after proving to be a very reliable reserve defenseman last season.
A wild-card in this whole process is Brendan Guhle. The soon to be 20 yr. old acquitted himself very well at the pro-level which included a three-game stint with Buffalo as an emergency recall from his Canadian Junior team in November. He joined the Rochester Americans after finishing his last two junior seasons and looked right at home. In 12 games with the Amerks he scored two goals, added four assists and was a minus-3. Where his development will take him next year is still unknown but most think he has a great shot at joining the Sabres defense.
If the season started today, this is the possible defense-corps we'd see hit the ice:
Ristolainen-McCabe
Antipin-Bogosian
Guhle-Gorges
Falk
New GM Jason Botterill has stated that upgrading the defense is a top priority wants and he may have the opportunity to do so with as the upcoming expansion draft will put a few teams in a bind come when protected lists are submitted. Two of them, the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild, may be forced to expose a good defenseman and risk losing him for nothing if they don't work something out in a trade prior.
With the signing of Antipin and the possibility of Guhle joining Buffalo's defense next season, barring anything weird happening the Sabres may be looking at one move on the back-end as they attempt to bolster the blueline. Here are a couple of possibilities for Buffalo to upgrade their d-corps:
Anaheim Ducks
Because of their depth on defense, the Ducks will more than likely protect eight skaters instead of seven forwards and three defensemen. On defense, despite injuries that will sideline them for months, Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatenen are locks to be protected and with his performance in the playoffs, Cam Fowler will be protected as well. What they do with Kevin Bieksa will shape how they approach the final spot. Because of his no-movement clause, Bieksa is required to be protected leaving young d-man Josh Manson as possibly being exposed.
If the Ducks fail to do anything with Bieksa, the Sabres could be looking at the 6'3" 215 Manson as a possible addition. The right-handed Manson is quite mobile for a player of his size and played well in a third-pairing defensive role for the Ducks. He's steady on the back-end but one shouldn't expect much on offense. A trade for him shouldn't cost too much and one could plug him in alongside the left-handed Guhle on the third pairing in Buffalo.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild is a team that probably would like to go with eight skaters in order to protect four d-men, but three NMC's amongst the forward group coupled with three young players who have plenty of upside has Minnesota looking at the 7/3 model. On defense the Wild will be protecting Ryan Suter and it looks as if Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba aren't going anywhere either. That leaves two pretty valuable pieces exposed--23 yr. old Jonas Brodin and 27 yr. old Marco Scandella.
Brodin is an excellent puck-mover who had 25 points (3+22) in 68 games for Minnesota last season and would net them a pretty good return. The left-handed all-situations defenseman would look good in the top-four on the Sabres, especially at a favorable $4.16 million cap-hit.
Landing a player like Brodin, or even Scandella from Minnesota would be a pretty good upgrade for the Sabres. Problem is, there are a ton of other teams looking for he same thing. Would the Sabres be willing to trade the No. 8 overall pick at this year's draft, and possibly more for Brodin? If they're looking at a run to the playoffs this season, I could see them doing a deal like that.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Buffalo Sabres Expansion Draft protected list, Version 1.0
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-15-2017
New Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill has said that he'll be focusing upon his amateur scouting department this week as he huddles with his scouts to compare notes for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft in June. In addition, Botterill will also be prepping for the upcoming NHL Scouting Combine later this month which will once again be hosted by Buffalo.
After the combine ends on June 3, the next big event facing Botterill will be preparing for the Expansion Draft which begins with teams submitting their list of protected players by 5 p.m. on June 17.
Botterill is familiar with the Sabres roster as he was in charge of keeping tabs on all NHL teams, their players and salary cap situation as an assistant/associate GM with Pittsburgh over the last eight years. Add in the proximity between Buffalo and Pittsburgh plus any games between their AHL affiliates and Botterill has a general idea as to what the Sabres have in the organization.
The Sabres right now are close to the salary cap with a number of contracts that are rather unsightly and one would think that a capologist like him might look at the expansion draft as a way of moving one of them. It might take some extra incentive if the form of a draft pick for the Las Vegas Golden Knights to sign-on to a proposition like that, but deals like that happen more often than we think.
The cool part about Botterill taking over right now for deposed GM Tim Murray is that he's totally unencumbered by the former GM's decisions. Players like Matt Moulson, Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges and Robin Lehner, all players acquired by Murray, are now fair game and for players like that any idea of a comfort zone has evaporated with the new GM.
It's something to keep in mind.
The Expansion Draft has a ton of rules but the best way to wade through them and pick your protected list is to go to CapFriendly.com's Expansion Draft page. Players who must be protected are already checked and all you need to do is start clicking.
Here's what I came up with while protecting seven forwards, three defensemen and on goalie as I went down CapFriendly's list of Buffalo Sabres players:
Forwards
Kyle Okposo--this was an easy one as he was already checked because of his no-movement clause. Even if Okposo didn't have that clause, it's still an easy one as he's their top right-winger.
Ryan O'Reilly--another easy one. O'Reilly is the Sabres best two-way center and their premier all-situations forward. Despite lacking numbers that some would suggest don't justify his cap-hit, Botterill has already singled him out as one of two centers teams "crave."
Evander Kane--over the course of the last 11 months many thought he would be a perfect candidate for exposure as his $5.25 million cap-hit, average production and off-ice issues seemingly had him out the door in one way or another. However, a 28-goal season changes the conversation completely.
Marcus Foligno--he's a big body that can hit, fight, play defense and score. He was placed well above his talent-level last season while getting an inordinate amount of time in the top-six, but he did manage a career-high 13 goals and there's no reason to think that he can't continually produce double-digit goals in a bottom-six role.
Zemgus Girgensons--the former first-round pick was the first player in former coach Dan Bylsma's doghouse but with Bylsma gone things could be different. Girgensons doesn't seem to have the offensive acumen for a scoring role and at 23 yrs. old he could be settling into the player he is. But he works the forecheck hard, defends well and, unlike former Sabre Mike Grier who had very similar traits, can score on a breakaway. As of right now he's a very solid bottom-six player that every team could use.
Johan Larsson--he and Girgensons have basically come up through the ranks in Buffalo toghether. Larsson is known for his pesky play and defensive acumen, but he can score as well. Before his injury he was Buffalo's third-line center and didn't look out of place. It was a pretty gruesome injury, however, and we've not heard anything as to his recovery time or prognosis, but based upon his play, he's another strong bottom-six player.
William Carrier--although he had a rather pedestrian rookie campaign in Buffalo that was also cut short by injury, Carrier's got the wheel's Botterill seems to like. At 6'2" 212 lbs. he's got heft as well but it doesn't detract from his skating one bit. Carrier climbed through the ranks in Rochester and upped his production in year-two for the Amerks. There's no reason to think that he can't continue to develop in Buffalo and may end up being at least a top-nine player for the Sabres.
Defensemen
Rasmus Ristolainen--another no-brainer. Enough said.
Jake McCabe--a new GM usually talks in generalities at his introductory presser, especially when it comes to the roster. Players like Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly and Ristolainen are well-known commodities and referencing them by name is not unusual. But Botterill also mentioned McCabe by name as well while also mentioning that he thought McCabe had some untapped offensive, puck-moving potential. McCabe is already known for is solid defensive work and also laying out big hits so adding in some offense would really round out his two-way game.
Taylor Fedun--this was a tough one. Fedun basically got robbed of playing time in Buffalo last season because he was waiver-exempt and the Sabres had seven defensemen on the roster. However, he made an impact with the team when he did play as he showcased his puck-moving ability and offensive instincts during his stint in Buffalo. He also did some nice work against Pittsburgh back in November with a primary assist on Carrier's first NHL goal. Fedun seems to be the type of defenseman that Botterill would be interest in. Then again, he may have soured on Buffalo and, as an unrestricted free agent, may be taking headed elsewhere.
Goalie
Linus Ullmark--there are a lot of angles for this choice beginning with Botterill having no ties to Lehner who surely would have been protected over Ullmark under Murray. Lehner played well for Buffalo last season, as his numbers would indicate, but there's a sense that many are not convinced he's the answer going forward and a lot of it has to do with him looking very shaky in odd-man rush situations and breakaway situations, the shootout in particular. And with the market being somewhat set by Ben Bishop's $4.9 million cap-hit in Dallas, the Sabres may be looking at a $4-4.5 million Lehner contract extension that Botterill might not be thrilled with. The Sabres could be placing themselves in treacherous waters if Lehner were to be snatched up by Las Vegas, but I don't think the Knights would do it and even if they did, Ullmark, with a strong veteran presence as a back-up, looks like he'd be able to handle the heat. By protecting Ullmark, odds are that they could go into the season with a Lehner/Ullmark tandem if Lehner went unprotected.
Probably the toughest decision may have come with the forward ranks, specifically with Tyler Ennis.
Ennis has struggled lately due to injuries, most notably concussion issues, which caused him to miss 90 games over the past two seasons. Perhaps that's why he had a pretty dismal 2016-17 campaign with only 13 points (5+8) in 51 games. Then again it could be his East/West, jitterbug style of play that kept him from moving his production close to pre-injury levels.
Regardless of the reasoning behind his scoring woes last season, Ennis is carrying a $4.6 million cap-hit over the next two seasons. For Buffalo, it's a burdensome hit for his production when placed in a group that includes Moulson ($5 million,) Bogosian ($5.1m,) and Gorges ($3.9m.)
Ennis may provide the bridge that can help both Las Vegas and Buffalo. The Golden Knights can get themselves a former three-time 20-goal scorer who has the skill to be in their top-six while the Sabres can continue to move on from the tank years as well as jettison a rather large cap hit. And with Ennis now a part of two former regimes, it might not be that far-fetched of an idea.
New Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill has said that he'll be focusing upon his amateur scouting department this week as he huddles with his scouts to compare notes for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft in June. In addition, Botterill will also be prepping for the upcoming NHL Scouting Combine later this month which will once again be hosted by Buffalo.
After the combine ends on June 3, the next big event facing Botterill will be preparing for the Expansion Draft which begins with teams submitting their list of protected players by 5 p.m. on June 17.
Botterill is familiar with the Sabres roster as he was in charge of keeping tabs on all NHL teams, their players and salary cap situation as an assistant/associate GM with Pittsburgh over the last eight years. Add in the proximity between Buffalo and Pittsburgh plus any games between their AHL affiliates and Botterill has a general idea as to what the Sabres have in the organization.
The Sabres right now are close to the salary cap with a number of contracts that are rather unsightly and one would think that a capologist like him might look at the expansion draft as a way of moving one of them. It might take some extra incentive if the form of a draft pick for the Las Vegas Golden Knights to sign-on to a proposition like that, but deals like that happen more often than we think.
The cool part about Botterill taking over right now for deposed GM Tim Murray is that he's totally unencumbered by the former GM's decisions. Players like Matt Moulson, Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges and Robin Lehner, all players acquired by Murray, are now fair game and for players like that any idea of a comfort zone has evaporated with the new GM.
It's something to keep in mind.
The Expansion Draft has a ton of rules but the best way to wade through them and pick your protected list is to go to CapFriendly.com's Expansion Draft page. Players who must be protected are already checked and all you need to do is start clicking.
Here's what I came up with while protecting seven forwards, three defensemen and on goalie as I went down CapFriendly's list of Buffalo Sabres players:
Forwards
Kyle Okposo--this was an easy one as he was already checked because of his no-movement clause. Even if Okposo didn't have that clause, it's still an easy one as he's their top right-winger.
Ryan O'Reilly--another easy one. O'Reilly is the Sabres best two-way center and their premier all-situations forward. Despite lacking numbers that some would suggest don't justify his cap-hit, Botterill has already singled him out as one of two centers teams "crave."
Evander Kane--over the course of the last 11 months many thought he would be a perfect candidate for exposure as his $5.25 million cap-hit, average production and off-ice issues seemingly had him out the door in one way or another. However, a 28-goal season changes the conversation completely.
Marcus Foligno--he's a big body that can hit, fight, play defense and score. He was placed well above his talent-level last season while getting an inordinate amount of time in the top-six, but he did manage a career-high 13 goals and there's no reason to think that he can't continually produce double-digit goals in a bottom-six role.
Zemgus Girgensons--the former first-round pick was the first player in former coach Dan Bylsma's doghouse but with Bylsma gone things could be different. Girgensons doesn't seem to have the offensive acumen for a scoring role and at 23 yrs. old he could be settling into the player he is. But he works the forecheck hard, defends well and, unlike former Sabre Mike Grier who had very similar traits, can score on a breakaway. As of right now he's a very solid bottom-six player that every team could use.
Johan Larsson--he and Girgensons have basically come up through the ranks in Buffalo toghether. Larsson is known for his pesky play and defensive acumen, but he can score as well. Before his injury he was Buffalo's third-line center and didn't look out of place. It was a pretty gruesome injury, however, and we've not heard anything as to his recovery time or prognosis, but based upon his play, he's another strong bottom-six player.
William Carrier--although he had a rather pedestrian rookie campaign in Buffalo that was also cut short by injury, Carrier's got the wheel's Botterill seems to like. At 6'2" 212 lbs. he's got heft as well but it doesn't detract from his skating one bit. Carrier climbed through the ranks in Rochester and upped his production in year-two for the Amerks. There's no reason to think that he can't continue to develop in Buffalo and may end up being at least a top-nine player for the Sabres.
Defensemen
Rasmus Ristolainen--another no-brainer. Enough said.
Jake McCabe--a new GM usually talks in generalities at his introductory presser, especially when it comes to the roster. Players like Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly and Ristolainen are well-known commodities and referencing them by name is not unusual. But Botterill also mentioned McCabe by name as well while also mentioning that he thought McCabe had some untapped offensive, puck-moving potential. McCabe is already known for is solid defensive work and also laying out big hits so adding in some offense would really round out his two-way game.
Taylor Fedun--this was a tough one. Fedun basically got robbed of playing time in Buffalo last season because he was waiver-exempt and the Sabres had seven defensemen on the roster. However, he made an impact with the team when he did play as he showcased his puck-moving ability and offensive instincts during his stint in Buffalo. He also did some nice work against Pittsburgh back in November with a primary assist on Carrier's first NHL goal. Fedun seems to be the type of defenseman that Botterill would be interest in. Then again, he may have soured on Buffalo and, as an unrestricted free agent, may be taking headed elsewhere.
Goalie
Linus Ullmark--there are a lot of angles for this choice beginning with Botterill having no ties to Lehner who surely would have been protected over Ullmark under Murray. Lehner played well for Buffalo last season, as his numbers would indicate, but there's a sense that many are not convinced he's the answer going forward and a lot of it has to do with him looking very shaky in odd-man rush situations and breakaway situations, the shootout in particular. And with the market being somewhat set by Ben Bishop's $4.9 million cap-hit in Dallas, the Sabres may be looking at a $4-4.5 million Lehner contract extension that Botterill might not be thrilled with. The Sabres could be placing themselves in treacherous waters if Lehner were to be snatched up by Las Vegas, but I don't think the Knights would do it and even if they did, Ullmark, with a strong veteran presence as a back-up, looks like he'd be able to handle the heat. By protecting Ullmark, odds are that they could go into the season with a Lehner/Ullmark tandem if Lehner went unprotected.
Probably the toughest decision may have come with the forward ranks, specifically with Tyler Ennis.
Ennis has struggled lately due to injuries, most notably concussion issues, which caused him to miss 90 games over the past two seasons. Perhaps that's why he had a pretty dismal 2016-17 campaign with only 13 points (5+8) in 51 games. Then again it could be his East/West, jitterbug style of play that kept him from moving his production close to pre-injury levels.
Regardless of the reasoning behind his scoring woes last season, Ennis is carrying a $4.6 million cap-hit over the next two seasons. For Buffalo, it's a burdensome hit for his production when placed in a group that includes Moulson ($5 million,) Bogosian ($5.1m,) and Gorges ($3.9m.)
Ennis may provide the bridge that can help both Las Vegas and Buffalo. The Golden Knights can get themselves a former three-time 20-goal scorer who has the skill to be in their top-six while the Sabres can continue to move on from the tank years as well as jettison a rather large cap hit. And with Ennis now a part of two former regimes, it might not be that far-fetched of an idea.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Las Vegas Black Knights (?) may inflict a flesh wound on Sabres roster
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
We all know that Buffalo Sabres winger Evander Kane has thing for Las Vegas and even though he has a penthouse at the Cosmopolitan and seems to enjoy playing high-roller--"Money" Mayweather-style (hello, money phone)-- we're pretty sure he won't end up in Sin City after next year's expansion draft.
Money will be flying around now that Las Vegas has been granted an NHL franchise, so much so that owners will be able to build a money jet--equipped with a money seat in the cockpit for Gary Bettman--as there will be a $500 million infusion of cash for the owners. That's a huge price-tag, one that may have forced Quebec to wait on the sidelines for a team that will be relocated.
The immediate influx of cash is a bonanza for teams, but with expansion comes the expansion draft which the Las Vegas team will use to fill their roster. At that time they will be selecting one player from each team with a minimum of three goalies, nine defensemen and 14 forwards to be selected and because we live in a cap-world, they're required to reach at least 60% of the projected salary cap for the 2017-18 season.
We all know that Buffalo Sabres winger Evander Kane has thing for Las Vegas and even though he has a penthouse at the Cosmopolitan and seems to enjoy playing high-roller--"Money" Mayweather-style (hello, money phone)-- we're pretty sure he won't end up in Sin City after next year's expansion draft.
Money will be flying around now that Las Vegas has been granted an NHL franchise, so much so that owners will be able to build a money jet--equipped with a money seat in the cockpit for Gary Bettman--as there will be a $500 million infusion of cash for the owners. That's a huge price-tag, one that may have forced Quebec to wait on the sidelines for a team that will be relocated.
The immediate influx of cash is a bonanza for teams, but with expansion comes the expansion draft which the Las Vegas team will use to fill their roster. At that time they will be selecting one player from each team with a minimum of three goalies, nine defensemen and 14 forwards to be selected and because we live in a cap-world, they're required to reach at least 60% of the projected salary cap for the 2017-18 season.
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