Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-25-2019
Sabres GM Jason Botterill made the big move last night in trading for Anaheim Ducks defenseman Brandon Montour. Buffalo gave up one of it's three 2019 first round picks (but not their own) and 21 yr. old d-prospect Brendan Guhle for Montour although the 24 yr. old Brampton, Ontario native won't be in the lineup tonight against his the Toronto Maple Leafs. Botterill told the gathered media that the team wasn't interested in rushing Montour to Toronto on a red-eye to play tonight but that he'll be in the lineup tomorrow night in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
In the only other move by Botterill and the Sabres, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2019, sixth round draft pick. Beaulieu was acquired by Botterill on June 17, 2017 from the Montreal Canadiens for a third round pick (Scott Walford) and played in 89 games for the Sabres scoring four goals and adding 12 assists with a minus-18 rating while averaging 15:32 of ice time. Beaulieu's time dwindled with Buffalo this season and he was often a healthy scratch causing him to ask for more ice-time while indirectly saying he wanted to be traded if Buffalo couldn't accommodate. His wishes came true today as the Jets added him for defensive depth.
Showing posts with label Nate Beaulieu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nate Beaulieu. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Of Nathan Beaulieu, plus league standings and a pull at the lottery simulator
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-16-2018
If you've watched Nathan Beaulieu in his 51 games as a Buffalo Sabre defenseman this season, it seems as if every game he has an egregious turnover that leads to a golden opportunity for the opposition with many of them ending up in the Buffalo net. That trend has subsided as of late but the numbers are still pretty ugly at this point in the season as Beaulieu has only seven points (1+6) in those games and is a minus-19, third-worst on the team.
Despite those numbers and the fact that this particular blogger wanted him run out of town earlier in the season, Beaulieu has grown on me lately.
The 25 yr. old has a skill-package that's made for the way the game is played today from the back end and it's probably why Sabres GM Jason Botterill sent a third-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens to acquire him last off season. Beaulieu was selected 17th-overall in 2011 by Les Habitants after helping the St. Johns Sea Dogs (QMJHL) to the 2011 Memorial Cup.
An offensive-minded defenseman with excellent skating and puck-moving abilities, Beaulieu spent five years in the Montreal organization, the last of which had him skating on the top-pair early in the season but slowly seeing his role reduced to the point where he was in the press box for the decisive Game-6 loss by Montreal to the NY Rangers in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. He was traded by the Canadiens just prior to the NHL roster freeze heading into the expansion draft.
All the traits he was traded for on his new Phil Housley coached team remained when he hit the ice in Buffalo, as were the turnovers and missed coverage. As in Montreal, Beaulieu started out logging big minutes but slowly saw his time reduced and had been a healthy scratch for a number of games this season. Yet it's hard not to like him when you see him get on his horse and move that puck up ice as it's exactly what Housley wants his defensemen to do.
In watching Beaulieu all season, the 6'2" 200 lb. d-man also plays with an edge as he's looking to make a hit or try an clear the front of the crease. He's also willing to drop the gloves as he did last night against rugged Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matt Martin. Although Martin and his 6'3" 210 lb. gave him a size advantage, Beaulieu didn't hesitate and also said afterwards that he was grateful that Martin obliged.
"Sometimes it's just something you need to do," Beaulieu told the gathered media after Buffalo's 5-2 loss to the Leafs last night. "[I] have a lot of respect for him over there to give me an opportunity. He's a tough customer. I was just trying to wake the boys up."
It's the fourth time that Beaulieu has dropped the gloves this season and it wasn't against Alex Semin-type buttercups either.
Probably the most endearing aspect of this whole situation is Beaulieu's thoughts on the Leafs, Buffalo's rival to the north. The Strathroy, Ontario native grew up not far from Toronto but never bought into Leaf Nation and has a healthy dislike for the Maple Leafs. "I've had a hatred for them since I was born," he said last night before giving them props for being "one of the best organizations in all of sports."
Beaulieu has one more season left on his contract with Buffalo and a lot can happen. Hell, a lot has happened already as the Sabres are once again the laughingstock of the league, presently sitting in last place. Although were not sure that Beaulieu will clean up his turnovers and d-zone mishaps, it is refreshing to see spunk and grit coming from a player that has skills to contribute in the way the game is played today.
Where it all leads is another story for another day, but for now it was good to see some fire coming from a Sabres player and good for Beaulieu to land a punch that buckled Martin's knees.
(Thx, Extremeya)
One final note on the fight, prior to that Martin downed Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues with a slew-foot. Whether that was part of the throw down isn't known but the league should take a look at it and fine Martin for pulling that stunt.
*****
The Sabres were clearly not ready for the game last night and looked every bit the team that were five games between games. It didn't help that they let in a bad goal to start things off and were playing from behind all night. It's something you can't do against a speedy, talented club like Toronto.
With the loss, the Sabres remain in last place in the standings:
26th--Montreal (64 points)
27th--Detroit (63)
28th--Ottawa (61)
29th--Vancouver (59)
30th--Arizona (57)
31st--Buffalo (56)
With 12 games remaining in the season, Buffalo in last place and if the season were to end now, they'd have a 18.5% chance of winning the lottery to select first-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.
31st place--18.5%
30th--12.5
29th--10.5
28th--9.5
27th--8.5
26th--7.6
There is an NHL lottery simulator web site which has become very popular for Sabres fans the last few years, when you go there you can pick the winners for the first three spots in the draft.
For today this is what I came up with:
1. Montreal
2. Arizona
3. Buffalo
*****
4. Vancouver
5. Ottawa
If you've watched Nathan Beaulieu in his 51 games as a Buffalo Sabre defenseman this season, it seems as if every game he has an egregious turnover that leads to a golden opportunity for the opposition with many of them ending up in the Buffalo net. That trend has subsided as of late but the numbers are still pretty ugly at this point in the season as Beaulieu has only seven points (1+6) in those games and is a minus-19, third-worst on the team.
Despite those numbers and the fact that this particular blogger wanted him run out of town earlier in the season, Beaulieu has grown on me lately.
The 25 yr. old has a skill-package that's made for the way the game is played today from the back end and it's probably why Sabres GM Jason Botterill sent a third-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens to acquire him last off season. Beaulieu was selected 17th-overall in 2011 by Les Habitants after helping the St. Johns Sea Dogs (QMJHL) to the 2011 Memorial Cup.
An offensive-minded defenseman with excellent skating and puck-moving abilities, Beaulieu spent five years in the Montreal organization, the last of which had him skating on the top-pair early in the season but slowly seeing his role reduced to the point where he was in the press box for the decisive Game-6 loss by Montreal to the NY Rangers in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. He was traded by the Canadiens just prior to the NHL roster freeze heading into the expansion draft.
All the traits he was traded for on his new Phil Housley coached team remained when he hit the ice in Buffalo, as were the turnovers and missed coverage. As in Montreal, Beaulieu started out logging big minutes but slowly saw his time reduced and had been a healthy scratch for a number of games this season. Yet it's hard not to like him when you see him get on his horse and move that puck up ice as it's exactly what Housley wants his defensemen to do.
In watching Beaulieu all season, the 6'2" 200 lb. d-man also plays with an edge as he's looking to make a hit or try an clear the front of the crease. He's also willing to drop the gloves as he did last night against rugged Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matt Martin. Although Martin and his 6'3" 210 lb. gave him a size advantage, Beaulieu didn't hesitate and also said afterwards that he was grateful that Martin obliged.
"Sometimes it's just something you need to do," Beaulieu told the gathered media after Buffalo's 5-2 loss to the Leafs last night. "[I] have a lot of respect for him over there to give me an opportunity. He's a tough customer. I was just trying to wake the boys up."
It's the fourth time that Beaulieu has dropped the gloves this season and it wasn't against Alex Semin-type buttercups either.
Probably the most endearing aspect of this whole situation is Beaulieu's thoughts on the Leafs, Buffalo's rival to the north. The Strathroy, Ontario native grew up not far from Toronto but never bought into Leaf Nation and has a healthy dislike for the Maple Leafs. "I've had a hatred for them since I was born," he said last night before giving them props for being "one of the best organizations in all of sports."
Beaulieu has one more season left on his contract with Buffalo and a lot can happen. Hell, a lot has happened already as the Sabres are once again the laughingstock of the league, presently sitting in last place. Although were not sure that Beaulieu will clean up his turnovers and d-zone mishaps, it is refreshing to see spunk and grit coming from a player that has skills to contribute in the way the game is played today.
Where it all leads is another story for another day, but for now it was good to see some fire coming from a Sabres player and good for Beaulieu to land a punch that buckled Martin's knees.
(Thx, Extremeya)
One final note on the fight, prior to that Martin downed Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues with a slew-foot. Whether that was part of the throw down isn't known but the league should take a look at it and fine Martin for pulling that stunt.
*****
The Sabres were clearly not ready for the game last night and looked every bit the team that were five games between games. It didn't help that they let in a bad goal to start things off and were playing from behind all night. It's something you can't do against a speedy, talented club like Toronto.
With the loss, the Sabres remain in last place in the standings:
26th--Montreal (64 points)
27th--Detroit (63)
28th--Ottawa (61)
29th--Vancouver (59)
30th--Arizona (57)
31st--Buffalo (56)
With 12 games remaining in the season, Buffalo in last place and if the season were to end now, they'd have a 18.5% chance of winning the lottery to select first-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.
31st place--18.5%
30th--12.5
29th--10.5
28th--9.5
27th--8.5
26th--7.6
There is an NHL lottery simulator web site which has become very popular for Sabres fans the last few years, when you go there you can pick the winners for the first three spots in the draft.
For today this is what I came up with:
1. Montreal
2. Arizona
3. Buffalo
*****
4. Vancouver
5. Ottawa
Friday, March 9, 2018
Can the Sabres get "geared up" for an out of conference game against the Flames?
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-7-2018
Buffalo Sabres head coach Phil Housley did his weekly radio thing this morning on WGR550. GR host Howard Simon brought up the point that the Sabres have been playing very well against their Atlantic Division foes as of late, which is true. Since a loss to the Florida Panthers on February 1, Buffalo has gone 6-1-1 which includes two wins each against the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning and the second place Boston Bruins as well as a win on Monday against the division's third place team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Housley was asked by the host if he's seen anything differently from his group when it comes to playing the top teams in the division. "I think the preparation by our guys has been really good," said the coach, "and they know that they have to come to play." Which is a curious response in that what the hell were they doing the other 60 or so games? Chllin' like Bob Dylan thinking that they don't "have to come and play?"
"We want to have that same preparation every game," continued the coach, "but it just seems as of late in these last 15 games, we've seen a lot of Boston and Tampa and now Toronto and they're getting geared up. It's a divisional opponents, they have rivalries that in the past have been physical, intense games.
"I just think they're on their mark and ready to play [in those divisional games] and it's a great challenge for us, and if you're not ready to play, you're going to get embarrassed."
Like the 14 times this season they've lost games by three or more goals.
Tonight the Calgary Flames come to town. They're in the Western Conference so is the motivation there for this group to "gear up?"
The Flames are having a pretty good season and right now they're five points out of a wild card spot with three teams to jump. Present Sabres backup goalie Chad Johnson, who will get the start tonight, played for Calgary last season and posted good numbers in his 36 appearances for the Flames. Perhaps the team will come to play for him.
Buffalo defeated the Flames in Calgary back in January 2-1. The overtime win came with Johnson in net and kicked off a very successful three-game western Canada sweep where they defeated the Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks by a combined 11-1 score. Sabres starter Robin Lehner posted back-to-back shutouts in the other two games.
Overall the Sabres are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games against Calgary, according to Sabres PR, and a very sound 9-0-1 at home.
Perhaps they can get "geared up" in an effort to keep that going.
Individually there are some Sabres players who'd like to keep things rolling. Sam Reinhart has 23 points (9+14) in his last 22 games. Linemate Ryan O'Reilly has 12 points (3+9) in his last 11 games and has a four-game point streak going. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen seems to have found his game with six points (1+5) in his last six games and 24 points over his last 29.
As for Johnson, at one point in the season he couldn't stop a beach ball but lately he is 6-2-0 in his last nine appearances with a .933 save percentage and a 2.05 goals-against average in those contests. (All numbers courtesy Sabres PR.)
Johnson is also on a three-game winning streak with all of those wins coming against the top three teams in the Atlantic (Tampa, Boston, Toronto) and has won five of his last six starts. In those five wins he's allowed 10 goals on 154 shots for a .935 save % while the team in front of him scored 20 goals.
Here's the lineup as seen by those at the morning skate:
Girgensons-O'Reilly-Reinhart
Wilson-Larsson-Pominville
Nolan-Josefson-Okposo
Baptiste-Pouliot-Griffith
Scandella-Ristolainen
Guhle-Nelson
Beaulieu-Antipin
*****
Housley was also asked about defenseman Victor Antipin and what he's seen of him so far this season. The coach mentioned that the Russian rookie has been adjusting to the North American game, most notably "players being on top of you right away and not having that extra time with the puck."
You see that with a lot of players, most of whom have been groomed in North America, in that they just can't seem to figure out that there's very little time to make a decision in the NHL. How they handle that and what kind of fast puck decisions they make are a good indication as to what kind of success they'll have at the NHL-level.
Antipin is looking more and more comforatable with every game played. Although there was the #FreeAntipin movement early in the season, his play had a number of holes in it which warranted some time watching from the pressbox. If he continues to progress, Sabres fans will hopefully get to see some of what he did in Russia which was find that soft spot in the offensive zone for a scoring opportunity.
*****
Antipin's partner is Nathan Beaulieu a defenseman who has driven many nuts over the course of his first season in Buffalo.
If one were to go back and review every one of his games this season, in nearly every game a Beaulieu turnover will either lead to a golden opportunity or goal against. Yet, his skating is fluid and top-notch, which is something that will continue hooking people for years to come.
The Sabres aren't good enough to overcome Beaulieu's brain-fart(s)/game right now and no team should ever be subjected to that. But if they could ever become a team that has the goaltending and/or goal-scoring to overcome his mistakes, when he's on his game Beauliue's kinda fun to watch. Got an little edge to his game too.
Buffalo Sabres head coach Phil Housley did his weekly radio thing this morning on WGR550. GR host Howard Simon brought up the point that the Sabres have been playing very well against their Atlantic Division foes as of late, which is true. Since a loss to the Florida Panthers on February 1, Buffalo has gone 6-1-1 which includes two wins each against the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning and the second place Boston Bruins as well as a win on Monday against the division's third place team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Housley was asked by the host if he's seen anything differently from his group when it comes to playing the top teams in the division. "I think the preparation by our guys has been really good," said the coach, "and they know that they have to come to play." Which is a curious response in that what the hell were they doing the other 60 or so games? Chllin' like Bob Dylan thinking that they don't "have to come and play?"
"We want to have that same preparation every game," continued the coach, "but it just seems as of late in these last 15 games, we've seen a lot of Boston and Tampa and now Toronto and they're getting geared up. It's a divisional opponents, they have rivalries that in the past have been physical, intense games.
"I just think they're on their mark and ready to play [in those divisional games] and it's a great challenge for us, and if you're not ready to play, you're going to get embarrassed."
Like the 14 times this season they've lost games by three or more goals.
Tonight the Calgary Flames come to town. They're in the Western Conference so is the motivation there for this group to "gear up?"
The Flames are having a pretty good season and right now they're five points out of a wild card spot with three teams to jump. Present Sabres backup goalie Chad Johnson, who will get the start tonight, played for Calgary last season and posted good numbers in his 36 appearances for the Flames. Perhaps the team will come to play for him.
Buffalo defeated the Flames in Calgary back in January 2-1. The overtime win came with Johnson in net and kicked off a very successful three-game western Canada sweep where they defeated the Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks by a combined 11-1 score. Sabres starter Robin Lehner posted back-to-back shutouts in the other two games.
Overall the Sabres are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games against Calgary, according to Sabres PR, and a very sound 9-0-1 at home.
Perhaps they can get "geared up" in an effort to keep that going.
Individually there are some Sabres players who'd like to keep things rolling. Sam Reinhart has 23 points (9+14) in his last 22 games. Linemate Ryan O'Reilly has 12 points (3+9) in his last 11 games and has a four-game point streak going. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen seems to have found his game with six points (1+5) in his last six games and 24 points over his last 29.
As for Johnson, at one point in the season he couldn't stop a beach ball but lately he is 6-2-0 in his last nine appearances with a .933 save percentage and a 2.05 goals-against average in those contests. (All numbers courtesy Sabres PR.)
Johnson is also on a three-game winning streak with all of those wins coming against the top three teams in the Atlantic (Tampa, Boston, Toronto) and has won five of his last six starts. In those five wins he's allowed 10 goals on 154 shots for a .935 save % while the team in front of him scored 20 goals.
Here's the lineup as seen by those at the morning skate:
Girgensons-O'Reilly-Reinhart
Wilson-Larsson-Pominville
Nolan-Josefson-Okposo
Baptiste-Pouliot-Griffith
Scandella-Ristolainen
Guhle-Nelson
Beaulieu-Antipin
*****
Housley was also asked about defenseman Victor Antipin and what he's seen of him so far this season. The coach mentioned that the Russian rookie has been adjusting to the North American game, most notably "players being on top of you right away and not having that extra time with the puck."
You see that with a lot of players, most of whom have been groomed in North America, in that they just can't seem to figure out that there's very little time to make a decision in the NHL. How they handle that and what kind of fast puck decisions they make are a good indication as to what kind of success they'll have at the NHL-level.
Antipin is looking more and more comforatable with every game played. Although there was the #FreeAntipin movement early in the season, his play had a number of holes in it which warranted some time watching from the pressbox. If he continues to progress, Sabres fans will hopefully get to see some of what he did in Russia which was find that soft spot in the offensive zone for a scoring opportunity.
*****
Antipin's partner is Nathan Beaulieu a defenseman who has driven many nuts over the course of his first season in Buffalo.
If one were to go back and review every one of his games this season, in nearly every game a Beaulieu turnover will either lead to a golden opportunity or goal against. Yet, his skating is fluid and top-notch, which is something that will continue hooking people for years to come.
The Sabres aren't good enough to overcome Beaulieu's brain-fart(s)/game right now and no team should ever be subjected to that. But if they could ever become a team that has the goaltending and/or goal-scoring to overcome his mistakes, when he's on his game Beauliue's kinda fun to watch. Got an little edge to his game too.
Friday, July 7, 2017
A look at Buffalo's three arbitration cases
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-6-2017
A total of 30 NHL players elected for arbitration yesterday. If a contract can't be finalized before their scheduled hearings, both sides sit down and plead their cases to an arbitrator who makes a binding decision on salary. Hearings are scheduled between July 20 and August 4 this year and most are settled beforehand. In many cases player selected arbitration is a way to ensure a contract negotiations don't drag on all summer.
If the two sides do end up at the arbitrator's table things can get contentious as players and their agents espouse their virtues while teams highlight the players' shortcomings. CSN Mid-Atlantic's Chuck Gormley reminded us recently that in 2002, after the Brendan Morrison hearing, then Vancouver Canucks GM Brian Burke had this to say about the process, “After inviting us into the alley, you can't complain if you get kicked in the groin.”
Oh the pugnacity.
Some other examples of rough negotiations pointed out by Gormley, 2015 piece:
--in 1997 then NY Islanders GM Mike Milbury reportedly drove goaltender Tommy Salo to tears by telling his agent he was one of the poorest conditioned athletes he’d ever seen.
--in 2003, the Phoenix Coyotes called Mike Johnson the “worst forward in the NHL”
--during the Canucks/Morrison hearing metnioned to above, at one point during their briefing the Canucks likened Morrison to a mouse who was carried across a river by two elephants, linemates Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund.
In player elected arbitration the team can walk away from the deal if they get a result that's not to their liking. Since 1995 when the system was set up only a handful of players were left at the altar. The first was in 1999 when Boston said no to a $2.8 million award to Dmitri Khristich. Goalie Anti Niemi's case was a big one in 2010 as the cap-crunched Chicago Blackhawks walked away from that $2.75 million decision. Neimi's was one of three cases that year where teams balked as the Atlanta Thrashers said no to former Buffalo Sabre Clarke MacArthur's award and the Sabres themselves walked away from an award to Tim Kennedy.
That was the second time Buffalo had scoffed at a decision. The first time was in 2006 when they said no to JP Dumont's $2.9 million award. Just prior to that then GM Darcy Regier accepted the $5 million an arbitrator awarded forward Daniel Briere which put the Sabres in a bit of a cap-crunch of their own.
The Sabres have some flexibility under the cap for the 2017-18 season, but not too much. As outlined yesterday, if salaries for their roster free agents remain on the conservative side they'll be $8.5 million under the NHL's cap ceiling this year. However, they also need to take into consideration the possibility that $5.5 million could be paid out in performance bonuses to Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart which could reduce it to about $3 million.
Buffalo has five arbitration-eligible restricted free agents with two of them--Zemgus Girgensons and Evan Rodrigues--not headed to arbitration. Girgensons' eventual salary will affect the Sabres cap situation while Rodrigues is probably headed to Rochester for another year of seasoning. That leaves us with the three who are headed to arbitration.
F, Johan Larsson
Why he chose this route is a head-scratcher, unless he simply wants to get this over with so he can enjoy the rest of his summer. Larsson is a good forward and a real good bottom-six center when he's on his game. On a contender he'd be a pesky fourth-line center and he may end up there for Buffalo this year dependent upon how the roster pans out. It's really not a good time for him to be headed to arbitration as he hasn't played since suffering multiple upper-body injuries sustained when he crashed into the boards on December 31 in Boston. Larsson's statistical highs came the prior season as he had 17 points on a career-high 10 goals in 74 games.
Speculation: Larsson was qualified for just under $1 million by the Sabres to retain his rights. Call it an even $1 million and be done with it.
D, Nathan Beaulieu
In the first trade of his GM career, Jason Botterill acquired the Montreal defenseman for a third round er. The 24 yr. old Beaulieu is a former first round pick (17th-overall) who spent five years with the Canadiens working his way up the ladder. Last season he was placed on the top-pairing with Shea Weber but was eventually dropped to the third pair. Beaulieu is an all situations defenseman who was fifth in overall time on ice for the Habs defensemen last season, sixth in even strength ATOI, although his 28 points (4+24) tied him for third in scoring amongst Montreal's defensemen.
Speculation: Beaulieu made $1 million last season. It's a new team and a new system where he may be able to really ramp up his production but we're not sure how this will all play out. A $1.5 million deal gives Beaulieu a nice 50% increase and keeps Buffalo happy during this feeling out period.
G, Robin Lehner
This is the big one for Buffalo. The Sabres picked up goalie Chad Johnson to be Lehner's backup, but the good thing about Johnson is that he can play the role of a team's No. 1. It's not ideal, but he can make it work. Lehner is coming off of an escalating three-year deal that averaged $2.25 million/season but paid him $3.150 million last year and that will be their jumping off point as he proved to be a legit NHL starter. In 59 games for the Sabres last season Lehner posted a 2.68 GAA and .920 Sv% while facing the third most shots in the league (1,910.) Montreal's Carey Price set the new bar for goalies as his new deal pays him $10.5 million AAV and others above Lehner in save percentage have cap-hits in and around the $4.2M (Craig Anderson, OTT) to $5.3M (Jimmy Howard, DET) range
Speculation: One can see Lehner and his agent expecting to land in that range while the Sabres probably want to max out at $4 million or so. Perhaps $4.25 million will be the number they settle at, but it will be interesting to see what Botterill does if an arbitrator puts the number at $5M.
A total of 30 NHL players elected for arbitration yesterday. If a contract can't be finalized before their scheduled hearings, both sides sit down and plead their cases to an arbitrator who makes a binding decision on salary. Hearings are scheduled between July 20 and August 4 this year and most are settled beforehand. In many cases player selected arbitration is a way to ensure a contract negotiations don't drag on all summer.
If the two sides do end up at the arbitrator's table things can get contentious as players and their agents espouse their virtues while teams highlight the players' shortcomings. CSN Mid-Atlantic's Chuck Gormley reminded us recently that in 2002, after the Brendan Morrison hearing, then Vancouver Canucks GM Brian Burke had this to say about the process, “After inviting us into the alley, you can't complain if you get kicked in the groin.”
Oh the pugnacity.
Some other examples of rough negotiations pointed out by Gormley, 2015 piece:
--in 1997 then NY Islanders GM Mike Milbury reportedly drove goaltender Tommy Salo to tears by telling his agent he was one of the poorest conditioned athletes he’d ever seen.
--in 2003, the Phoenix Coyotes called Mike Johnson the “worst forward in the NHL”
--during the Canucks/Morrison hearing metnioned to above, at one point during their briefing the Canucks likened Morrison to a mouse who was carried across a river by two elephants, linemates Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund.
In player elected arbitration the team can walk away from the deal if they get a result that's not to their liking. Since 1995 when the system was set up only a handful of players were left at the altar. The first was in 1999 when Boston said no to a $2.8 million award to Dmitri Khristich. Goalie Anti Niemi's case was a big one in 2010 as the cap-crunched Chicago Blackhawks walked away from that $2.75 million decision. Neimi's was one of three cases that year where teams balked as the Atlanta Thrashers said no to former Buffalo Sabre Clarke MacArthur's award and the Sabres themselves walked away from an award to Tim Kennedy.
That was the second time Buffalo had scoffed at a decision. The first time was in 2006 when they said no to JP Dumont's $2.9 million award. Just prior to that then GM Darcy Regier accepted the $5 million an arbitrator awarded forward Daniel Briere which put the Sabres in a bit of a cap-crunch of their own.
The Sabres have some flexibility under the cap for the 2017-18 season, but not too much. As outlined yesterday, if salaries for their roster free agents remain on the conservative side they'll be $8.5 million under the NHL's cap ceiling this year. However, they also need to take into consideration the possibility that $5.5 million could be paid out in performance bonuses to Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart which could reduce it to about $3 million.
Buffalo has five arbitration-eligible restricted free agents with two of them--Zemgus Girgensons and Evan Rodrigues--not headed to arbitration. Girgensons' eventual salary will affect the Sabres cap situation while Rodrigues is probably headed to Rochester for another year of seasoning. That leaves us with the three who are headed to arbitration.
F, Johan Larsson
Why he chose this route is a head-scratcher, unless he simply wants to get this over with so he can enjoy the rest of his summer. Larsson is a good forward and a real good bottom-six center when he's on his game. On a contender he'd be a pesky fourth-line center and he may end up there for Buffalo this year dependent upon how the roster pans out. It's really not a good time for him to be headed to arbitration as he hasn't played since suffering multiple upper-body injuries sustained when he crashed into the boards on December 31 in Boston. Larsson's statistical highs came the prior season as he had 17 points on a career-high 10 goals in 74 games.
Speculation: Larsson was qualified for just under $1 million by the Sabres to retain his rights. Call it an even $1 million and be done with it.
D, Nathan Beaulieu
In the first trade of his GM career, Jason Botterill acquired the Montreal defenseman for a third round er. The 24 yr. old Beaulieu is a former first round pick (17th-overall) who spent five years with the Canadiens working his way up the ladder. Last season he was placed on the top-pairing with Shea Weber but was eventually dropped to the third pair. Beaulieu is an all situations defenseman who was fifth in overall time on ice for the Habs defensemen last season, sixth in even strength ATOI, although his 28 points (4+24) tied him for third in scoring amongst Montreal's defensemen.
Speculation: Beaulieu made $1 million last season. It's a new team and a new system where he may be able to really ramp up his production but we're not sure how this will all play out. A $1.5 million deal gives Beaulieu a nice 50% increase and keeps Buffalo happy during this feeling out period.
G, Robin Lehner
This is the big one for Buffalo. The Sabres picked up goalie Chad Johnson to be Lehner's backup, but the good thing about Johnson is that he can play the role of a team's No. 1. It's not ideal, but he can make it work. Lehner is coming off of an escalating three-year deal that averaged $2.25 million/season but paid him $3.150 million last year and that will be their jumping off point as he proved to be a legit NHL starter. In 59 games for the Sabres last season Lehner posted a 2.68 GAA and .920 Sv% while facing the third most shots in the league (1,910.) Montreal's Carey Price set the new bar for goalies as his new deal pays him $10.5 million AAV and others above Lehner in save percentage have cap-hits in and around the $4.2M (Craig Anderson, OTT) to $5.3M (Jimmy Howard, DET) range
Speculation: One can see Lehner and his agent expecting to land in that range while the Sabres probably want to max out at $4 million or so. Perhaps $4.25 million will be the number they settle at, but it will be interesting to see what Botterill does if an arbitrator puts the number at $5M.
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.
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
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