Around the NHL 2017-2018 Offseason Edition

[Ulysses31]

Leafs will be a juggernaut D upgrade or not.

That said Nylander would be more valuable to another team as a scoring winger or 2c/3c and could get a nice return on D.

But if they do keep him he can slot into that 3c spot if kadri matthews or JT goes down.

As for Matthews vs JT debate they are about equal but matthew wins all things considered because he is younger

 

[obey86]

You know what's really sad? There's a fairly good chance Buffalo finishes behind Detroit in the standings AGAIN, even after adding a generational prospect. After trading ROR, their center/forward depth is fairly pathetic despite having all those high picks. Nylander looks like a bust in the making and Sam Reinhart, despite being the #2 overall pick, is basically average and can't play center in the NHL.

 

[Dotter]

TML gave up depth that scored over 100 points combined for 1 center that will score 80-85 points, costing as much as the other two they lost... combined. Seems like a lateral move at best. They still don't have defense. When people talk about the 1-2 punch at center, they are talking about generational centers such as Crosby/Malkin, or elite centers Kuznetsov/Backstrom + worlds best goal scorer. Not saying TML can't win the cup in the next 7 years, but as of now I don't think they are favorites on paper. Add in the fact Babcock can be his own worse enemy at times...

I still think Edomonton or Winni will be the next Canadian team to win the cup.

 

[Winger98]

You know what's really sad? There's a fairly good chance Buffalo finishes behind Detroit in the standings AGAIN, even after adding a generational prospect. After trading ROR, their center/forward depth is fairly pathetic despite having all those high picks. Nylander looks like a bust in the making and Sam Reinhart, despite being the #2 overall pick, is basically average and can't play center in the NHL.

If Reinhart can be a consistent ~50 point wing, that's not a bad thing. You probably want more at 2nd overall, but I think the hope in Buffalo is that Eichel and Mittelstadt can hold down the top2 center spots going forward. Berglund can either slide in behind or between them for now depending on readiness. That club has sucked for awhile, but you start looking at the ages of the guys they hope to lean on and I don't think time is a pressing issue. Dahlin steps in this year, matures the next couple of years, maybe they grab a good forward next year when they also have gobs of money coming off their budget in Pominville and Moulson.

 

[Heaton]

If Reinhart can be a consistent ~50 point wing, that's not a bad thing. You probably want more at 2nd overall, but I think the hope in Buffalo is that Eichel and Mittelstadt can hold down the top2 center spots going forward. Berglund can either slide in behind or between them for now depending on readiness. That club has sucked for awhile, but you start looking at the ages of the guys they hope to lean on and I don't think time is a pressing issue. Dahlin steps in this year, matures the next couple of years, maybe they grab a good forward next year when they also have gobs of money coming off their budget in Pominville and Moulson.

Ristolainen will also benefit quite a bit by the addition of Dahlin, that could be a very good top 2 for a long time. Eichel still has room to improve and Hutton is potentially an upgrade over Lehner with Ullmark getting time as well.

I wouldn't be surprised if Buffalo is really bad again, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they made a lot of progress too.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

I think Buffalo improves this year, but I’m definitely less than confident in their goaltending. I think Dahlin is going to need a year before they’re ready to ready make noise.

 

[FunkyColdZadina]

Really admire Buffalo's commitment to their rebuild. Amid all the talk about "loser culture" they've stayed the course and drafted elite young talent at the most important positions. They might not compete for the playoffs next season but they're transitioning from the "stockpile assets" phase to the "maturation" phase of the rebuild and are setting up their youngsters to grow into their roles. Reinhardt might not be who he was projected to be on draft day and Nylander is trending toward bust status, but they have this year to grab another high pick while Dahlin gets used to the NHL, Eichel takes on more responsibility without ROR, and Middlestadt develops as a C.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Really admire Buffalo's commitment to their rebuild. Amid all the talk about "loser culture" they've stayed the course and drafted elite young talent at the most important positions. They might not compete for the playoffs next season but they're transitioning from the "stockpile assets" phase to the "maturation" phase of the rebuild and are setting up their youngsters to grow into their roles. Reinhardt might not be who he was projected to be on draft day and Nylander is trending toward bust status, but they have this year to grab another high pick while Dahlin gets used to the NHL, Eichel takes on more responsibility without ROR, and Middlestadt develops as a C.

Even if they get better, they'll never stay good for very long until they learn to find anything at all outside the 1st round. Lack of any kind of depth is hurting them bad.

 

[Peiskos]

Which one, I mean I doubt they ship OEL now. I guess they could offer the Leafs and one for one for him.

Matthews to Arizona would be huge there, that is 15 years of business certainty for your biggest struggling franchise in Arizona.

I would love to see it happen. As a USA hockey fan I don't want him playing second fiddle on his club team.

As a Leafs fan coming in peace it'll be more like a 1A, 1B centre situation in Toronto with Matthews-Tavares rather than a 1C, 2C situation. Just look at Crosby-Malkin. Pretty sure Malkin doesn't have any animosity towards Crosby or the Penguins for being in the 2nd centre slot. Besides we don't even know yet if Tavares will be on the 2nd line or 1st.

Cheers, ps great pick with Zadina and Veleno. Montreal and Ottawa are going to regret not taking Zadina.

 

[lomekian]

Really admire Buffalo's commitment to their rebuild. Amid all the talk about "loser culture" they've stayed the course and drafted elite young talent at the most important positions. They might not compete for the playoffs next season but they're transitioning from the "stockpile assets" phase to the "maturation" phase of the rebuild and are setting up their youngsters to grow into their roles. Reinhardt might not be who he was projected to be on draft day and Nylander is trending toward bust status, but they have this year to grab another high pick while Dahlin gets used to the NHL, Eichel takes on more responsibility without ROR, and Middlestadt develops as a C.

I'd be more impressed if they hadn't been SO bad for so long, and I'm not sure trading ROR for the return they got was a good call. A pity as they so won on the first trade (using more bad ex- high draft picks)

 

[Claypool]

Really admire Buffalo's commitment to their rebuild.

They went through two or three rebuilds already since 2008 and have failed miserably each time. They are on their third head coach and third general manager since 2012 alone. There's nothing admirable about what Buffalo has been doing. It's one of the worst run franchises in sports. Their starting goalie is a 33 year-old journeyman backup. We all know how this is going to play out next season.

 

[Heaton]

They went through two or three rebuilds already since 2008 and have failed miserably each time. They are on their third head coach and third general manager since 2012 alone. There's nothing admirable about what Buffalo has been doing. It's one of the worst run franchises in sports. Their starting goalie is a 33 year-old journeyman backup. We all know how this is going to play out next season.

And... that's why rebuilds take 10+ years. Bad management is always the culprit.

 

[NickH8]

I think it was stupid of Buffalo to trade O'Reilly. He's not old so he can still be a contributor in the future. Instead they are throwing Mittelstadt to the wolves. They need to start adding instead of making at best lateral moves.

 

[Winger98]

I think it was stupid of Buffalo to trade O'Reilly. He's not old so he can still be a contributor in the future. Instead they are throwing Mittelstadt to the wolves. They need to start adding instead of making at best lateral moves.

I thought there were rumors of ROR becoming a bit of an issue attitude wise. I don't think Mittelstadt is being thrown to the wolves, either. Eichel is the clear #1 there, and Berglund can step in and be the vet #2 with Mittelstadt can be the #3.

 

[ricky0034]

I think it was stupid of Buffalo to trade O'Reilly. He's not old so he can still be a contributor in the future. Instead they are throwing Mittelstadt to the wolves. They need to start adding instead of making at best lateral moves.

yeah he definitely should have been on the market for teams to make offers on

but for what they got? eh i'd have just kept him

 

[NickH8]

yeah he definitely should have been on the market for teams to make offers on

but for what they got? eh i'd have just kept him

They got a bunch of pieces you hope turn into Ryan O'Reilly for Ryan O'Reilly.

 

[FunkyColdZadina]

Rebuilds are painful, as we're all faced with now in Red Wing land. Seems much more likely that a rebuilding team ends up looking more like Buffalo, Arizona, Edmonton, or Vancouver than they do Toronto. Chicago went through hell; Pittsburgh almost lost their team.

Buffalo also wasn't rebuilding the whole time. They made the playoffs in 2010 and 2011. They signed that god awful Leino contract July of 2011. Then the wheels fell off.

Tim Murray made some big mistakes too. He lost the Myers trade big-time. They'v had a lot draft busts, notably Nylander and basically every other non-first rounder as Lomekian pointed out.

But Botterill has been pretty good for them. Got a first out of Kane, which I certainly wasn't expecting. Added Sheary for cheap and I don't think he lost the O'Reilly trade as bad as people make it seem. Berglund and Sobotka are way better than the third liners they've had recently and Thompson is a tweener with potential. They were never gonna get Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, or the 3rd overall pick. And there wasn't a Pierre Dorion around to drastically over-pay.

All in all perhaps I just admire the amazing young players they have. It takes a lot of losing to draft them, but I think their future is gonna be pretty bright.

 

[NickH8]

Rebuilds are painful, as we're all faced with now in Red Wing land. Seems much more likely that a rebuilding team ends up looking more like Buffalo, Arizona, Edmonton, or Vancouver than they do Toronto. Chicago went through hell; Pittsburgh almost lost their team.

Buffalo also wasn't rebuilding the whole time. They made the playoffs in 2010 and 2011. They signed that god awful Leino contract July of 2011. Then the wheels fell off.

Tim Murray made some big mistakes too. He lost the Myers trade big-time. They'v had a lot draft busts, notably Nylander and basically every other non-first rounder as Lomekian pointed out.

But Botterill has been pretty good for them. Got a first out of Kane, which I certainly wasn't expecting. Added Sheary for cheap and I don't think he lost the O'Reilly trade as bad as people make it seem. Berglund and Sobotka are way better than the third liners they've had recently and Thompson is a tweener with potential. They were never gonna get Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, or the 3rd overall pick. And there wasn't a Pierre Dorion around to drastically over-pay.

All in all perhaps I just admire the amazing young players they have. It takes a lot of losing to draft them, but I think their future is gonna be pretty bright.

They have collected the pieces, now they have to execute. The execution phase of the rebuild is the toughest part. Every dolt knows high pick=good. The challenge is building around those high picks.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I thought there were rumors of ROR becoming a bit of an issue attitude wise. I don't think Mittelstadt is being thrown to the wolves, either. Eichel is the clear #1 there, and Berglund can step in and be the vet #2 with Mittelstadt can be the #3.

It is the same as when Yzerman got Oates shipped out of town. Now is Mittelstadt going to turn into Fedorov?

But if ROR and Eichel aren't seeing eye to eye that is a pretty easy choice and honestly I still like what Buffalo is. They won't be good next year, but they are basically what people are begging for us to become. They have tanked and played the living **** out of their young players. They finally have the young core that looks like they might run the league. We will see. Dahlin, Risto, Eichel & Mittlestadt is the best young cornerstones in the league in my opinion. Now they have to go out and prove it. But I don't think there is a single team with that much young talent.

Those four are going to run our division at some point. Mostly because they have the two pieces on the back-end already sorted. We will have to see if the Leafs figure that out when they trade Nylander until they do I cannot say it will be them.

 

[Frk It]

Babcock goes from having Datsyuk/Zetterberg to Matthews/Tavares... what a lucky guy.

 

[DatsDeking]

I feel bad for Isles fans. First the Tavares situation. Now they traded for Matt Martin... C’mon.

And I never realized Dubas is so young. Is that common for GMs?

 

[Frk It]

Seeing some Karlsson to Dallas buzz here... I would like us try and swing a deal for Honka if he’s not included in that trade.

 

[ricky0034]

I feel bad for Isles fans. First the Tavares situation. Now they traded for Matt Martin... C’mon.

And I never realized Dubas is so young. Is that common for GMs?

not at all,there's also Chayka over in Arizona who's a few years younger than Dubas but the mean age for NHL GMs is 54

 

[Winger98]

I like the De Haan signing by Carolina. He's a good, steady D who I could see being a nice partner for either Faulk or Hamilton.

 

[lomekian]

The Sabres situation is interesting, simply because they really should be considerably better then they are for all the high picks and quality players to have passed through their organisation since they were last competitive. There is no doubt that they have at least as much in place in a rebuild as us if not a fair bit more, but they have been so badly managed for so long, it's hard to feel comfident. Can they suddenly find their feet like Colorado?

You look at organisations like Arizona, Buffalo and Edmonton and it's almost implausible that thry've remained so bad.