Brighter Future: Buffalo or Colorado?

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Avs. Both teams are better than the Jets. Both bright futures.

No one has better future than the almighty Toronto Maple Leafs.

 

[jvcjdudu jcycyxjene]

No one has better future than the almighty Toronto Maple Leafs.

Glad you said it because I was thinking it.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Good question. 2 of the brightest young cores in the NHL. I would like to see how the cap shapes up for these 2. But right now I do like Eichel's contract. The Sabres were wise to lock him up early. 10M per for him is looking like a discount now. And that money saved may go a long way to locking up other key parts. Rantanen contract may be close to this. And based on his play, I may pay him.

 

[cgf]

Good question. 2 of the brightest young cores in the NHL. I would like to see how the cap shapes up for these 2. But right now I do like Eichel's contract. The Sabres were wise to lock him up early. 10M per for him is looking like a discount now. And that money saved may go a long way to locking up other key parts. Rantanen contract may be close to this. And based on his play, I may pay him.

The Eichel contract tips this for you? Not the MacK contract?

 

[BKarchitect]

If anything, it's MacK's contract that could tilt the ice towards Colorado - it's the bargain contract in the league and gives the Avs many more years of incredible financial flexibility (with that coming in handy to pay Rantanen of course).

Talent-wise, need to see what Makar does at the NHL level first. He's an electric talent but Dahlin looks every bit of the potentially best young defender of this generation so far. Makar is more of a Mittelstadt-level talent on defense and while Makar/Girard/Timmins is a fantastic young blueline core - it's not Dahlin.

And the Avs' prospects of getting a Hughes/Kakko level addition in the 2019 draft seem to be growing dimmer although I still think they'll have a top tier lottery selection and be able to grab a Dach/Cozens/Podkolzin/Newhook level stud. But it's far from guaranteed.

 

[nickdawg95]

Good question. 2 of the brightest young cores in the NHL. I would like to see how the cap shapes up for these 2. But right now I do like Eichel's contract. The Sabres were wise to lock him up early. 10M per for him is looking like a discount now. And that money saved may go a long way to locking up other key parts. Rantanen contract may be close to this. And based on his play, I may pay him.

eichel contract is not a steal, he paid very fairly for what he brings to the team

with that being said i have to pick buffalo i mean they have 3 1st next year, and have young prospects like Nylander smith Guhle borgen Oloffsson in the AHL

 

[cgf]

Why do my fellow avs always forget about Meloche? That kid's skill level is a lot closer to EJ or even big Z's than it is Cole or Nemo's; plus he's a nasty defender who will punish teams who try to take any liberties with Samwise, Tboobs, or DW. Makar is in a class of his own, but whether hindsight will prove Meloche or Timmins to be our next best blueline prospect is still very much up in the air...even if Timmins makes a full recovery & cleans up his skating the way Meloche has.

eichel contract is not a steal, he paid very fairly for what he brings to the team

with that being said i have to pick buffalo i mean they have 3 1st next year, and have young prospects like Nylander smith Guhle borgen Oloffsson in the AHL

I haven't watched any AHL action this year, but I do like Guhle a lot. Wouldn't be suprised at all to see him lock up the middle pairing LD spot behind Dahlin for years. He's like the Meloche of Buffalo's prospect pool; though less powerful & a more fluid skater.

 

[Mrb1p]

Until Colorado has a D as good or near Dahlin, its Buff. Mack is quite a bit better than anything Buffalo has, but Dahlin is just next level and i trust Mittlestatd to be a decent to good 2C.

 

[Mrb1p]

Why do my fellow avs always forget about Meloche? That kid's skill level is a lot closer to big EJ or even Z's than it is Cole or Nemo's; plus he's a nasty defender who will punish teams who try to take any liberties with Samwise, Tboobs, or DW. Makar is in a class of his own, but whether hindsight will prove Meloche or Timmins to be our next best blueline prospect is still very much up in the air...even if Timmins makes a full recovery & cleans up his skating the way Meloche has.


I haven't watched any AHL action this year, but I do like Guhle a lot. Wouldn't be suprised at all to see him lock up the middle pairing LD spot behind Dahlin for years. He's like the Meloche of Buffalo's prospect pool; though less powerful & a more fluid skater.

Those names are amazing ill tell you that

I change my vote.

 

[cgf]

Until Colorado has a D as good or near Dahlin, its Buff. Mack is quite a bit better than anything Buffalo has, but Dahlin is just next level and i trust Mittlestatd to be a decent to good 2C.

No one is going to have a blueliner as good or near Dahlin for a long time.

 

[Mrb1p]

eichel contract is not a steal, he paid very fairly for what he brings to the team

with that being said i have to pick buffalo i mean they have 3 1st next year, and have young prospects like Nylander smith Guhle borgen Oloffsson in the AHL

Colorado does have two first and the much, much better pipeline, especially defensively.

 

[Mrb1p]

No one is going to have a blueliner as good or near Dahlin for a long time.

Fair point, but is Makar or Timmins going to be LEET enough? What about Colorados depth? I see Colorado winning heavily on the offensive top end, but thats one line.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

No one has better future than the almighty Toronto Maple Leafs.

what about the Toronto Marlies?

 

[cgf]

Fair point, but is Makar or Timmins going to be LEET enough? What about Colorados depth? I see Colorado winning heavily on the offensive top end, but thats one line.

I think Makar can be really special; the way he can explode with the puck on his stick + his hands + his shot + his instincts; it's like watching a smaller MacKinnon who plays on the blueline...that said,we can't know atm if he'll reach that more-explosive-Duncan-Keith ceiling that he has, or even how close to it he will get. I'm very comfortable with our depth and think we'll be able to comfortably roll 3 pairings deep for the foreseeable future once Makar arrives, but I dunno if any of them become that Norris-Finalist-caliber #1 Dahlin will undoubtedly soon be.

This is why I really want us to add a 1b Center who's Landy's age or younger. Recent history has shown that you can win cups without an elite #1 if you've got a deep blueline, great firepower and are DEEP down the middle. With Soderberg, Kamenev & Bowers we should have some great bottom 6 options in the short & medium term...as all of them are either current higher end middle-6 C's (Soda), or are prospects with that caliber of talent who are making good progress (Kam & Bowers)...and I'm really comfortable with our winger situation...Jost / Compher / Kerfoot + prospects: Kaut / Greer / Shvyryov / Weiss / Kovalenko / Ranta...but I don't think we have that 1b C in our organization that we need to be contenders without an elite #1 blueliner; as none of our non-MacK Centers are the kind of guys I'd trust to drive a scoring line that can consistently produce & handle really tough minutes.

So hopefully, the Ottawa pick or a draft day trade for someone like Zibanejad will solve that for us before next season...



That's why I don't mind people voting for Buffalo and was tempted to do so myself...as they have the cornerstone skaters in place and we know that they're set there; there's still some growth that needs to be waited on, but there's little uncertainty left...at least for me. Dahlin, Eichel & Mitt fill the three most important skater-positions a cup contender needs, and they do it delightfully well.

I think we have a lot more of the other questions answered and our top line is an ace in the hole that could arguably negate the difference between Dahlin & a "standard" elite-#1, but if Makar doesn't develop well and the Ottawa pick doesn't give us a potential 1C, then we'll be 1 pretty-significant piece away from being true cup contenders.

 

[nickdawg95]

Colorado does have two first and the much, much better pipeline, especially defensively.

I disagree with this I think our prospect group come June will be more favourable, unless your ottawa pick ends up being top 3

 

[Puckstuff]

wow the polls are 60-60

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

Avs. Both teams are better than the Jets. Both bright futures.

Ya they both went way further in the playoffs last year and are way ahead of the Jets in the standings this year. Wait what? That's not right?

 

[cgf]

wow the polls are 60-60

Which, as an avs fan who went to college in Buffalo & worked at the cancer institute there for a few years; falling in love with a girl from Cheektowaga and adopting the Sabres as my Eastern Conference team while there; feels fair.

I'd love for these two to have a trilogy of SCF meetings with these young cores.

 

[Lonewolfe2015]

Banking of the Avs pipeline coming through for them in the long run. They're set-up in such a way that they could grab a good free agent this summer and then grow into a cup contender frame over the next few years using cheap ELC contracts to bolster their depth while MacK and Landy are still finishing off sweetheart deals.

That's a winning recipe, just remains to be seen if the Avs screw up in the kitchen or not.

 

[cgf]

I disagree with this I think our prospect group come June will be more favourable, unless your ottawa pick ends up being top 3

Depends on graduations as well.

With the expansion draft on the horizon, it would make sense for Makar to not play any NHL games this season if UMASS makes it to the Frozen Four and he's not done with the NCAA season until April. The ED could also keep Kaut from playing in the NHL this season the same way the last one kept Mikko in the AHL all year. With Timmins' injury & our NHL depth keeping Meloche from getting a crack at the third pairing RD spot yet as well; there's starting to become enough holdover prospects who won't have technically graduated yet this summer, for a top 10 pick from Ottawa + another full draft class of our own picks + our current prospects who aren't yet close to graduating; to add up to a top 5 prospect pool at that time.

...but this gets into some of the pedantries that are why I prefer to compare U23 talent in the organization at any level to compare franchises.

I'm not as well versed with the Buffalo prospect pipeline so I dunno if this draft will be put their pool in the top 5 discussion as well, but Colorado is awash with aged 23 or younger talent throughout the organization. We're starting to approach a point where we really need to consolidate some of our young talent/assets into upgrade(s) before a development-stunting-logjam forms. That #'s game will soon prove a headache for both Meloche & Timmins when they make their pushes for a regular spot on our blueline.

 

[Mrb1p]

I disagree with this I think our prospect group come June will be more favourable, unless your ottawa pick ends up being top 3

How ? I voted for the Sabres here, but I think you're out to lunch on that one.
Colorado sit in 5th place in the league atm, and Sabres sit in 4th, so lets say each of you picks is going to be a late-ish one, 20s or so.

Value is equal.

Senators's pick is going to be top 10, guaranteed.
They have a 2nd, two thirds, a fifth and a sixth.

The Sabres have
Three first, two in the 20's and one that is likely lottery pick, but this one is lottery protected.

So basically, two picks in the 20's, vs one pick in the twentys and one top 10 ?
Sabres also don't own a 2nd and hav eonly one 3rd.

How exactly is your team going to get the better end here ?

Avs have
Makar, Timmins, Bowers, Kaut, Meloche and a lot of depth that is doing well...

Meanwhile the Sabres have Guhle, Borgen and Ollofsson, plus a few guys, like the Avs, who are looking good but long shots (Asplund, Sammuelson, Pekar, etc.)

There's literally no way the Avs don't have a better pool on july 1st.

 

[Mrb1p]

Depends on graduations as well.

With the expansion draft on the horizon, it would make sense for Makar to not play any NHL games this season if UMASS makes it to the Frozen Four and he's not done with the NCAA season until April. The ED could also keep Kaut from playing in the NHL this season the same way the last one kept Mikko in the AHL all year. With Timmins' injury & our NHL depth keeping Meloche from getting a crack at the third pairing RD spot yet as well; there's starting to become enough holdover prospects who won't have technically graduated yet this summer, for a top 10 pick from Ottawa + another full draft class of our own picks + our current prospects who aren't yet close to graduating; to add up to a top 5 prospect pool at that time.

...but this gets into some of the pedantries that are why I prefer to compare U23 talent in the organization at any level to compare franchises.

I'm not as well versed with the Buffalo prospect pipeline so I dunno if this draft will be put their pool in the top 5 discussion as well, but Colorado is awash with aged 23 or younger talent throughout the organization. We're starting to approach a point where we really need to consolidate some of our young talent/assets into upgrade(s) before a development-stunting-logjam forms. That #'s game will soon prove a headache for both Meloche & Timmins when they make their pushes for a regular spot on our blueline.

Unless they get STL's first rounder, theres no chance they land in the top 10.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

The Eichel contract tips this for you? Not the MacK contract?

They are both great contracts moving fwd.

Mackinnon's runs out 22-23
Eichel's runs out 25-26

Mackinnon's is better right now, and he was signed earlier, however the window for Eichel's is longer. And I suspect his contract in a few years will look Mackinnon-esque now if the cap rises and the sabres continue to improve the talent around him.

 

[nickdawg95]

How ? I voted for the Sabres here, but I think you're out to lunch on that one.
Colorado sit in 5th place in the league atm, and Sabres sit in 4th, so lets say each of you picks is going to be a late-ish one, 20s or so.

Value is equal.

Senators's pick is going to be top 10, guaranteed.
They have a 2nd, two thirds, a fifth and a sixth.

The Sabres have
Three first, two in the 20's and one that is likely lottery pick, but this one is lottery protected.

So basically, two picks in the 20's, vs one pick in the twentys and one top 10 ?
Sabres also don't own a 2nd and hav eonly one 3rd.

How exactly is your team going to get the better end here ?

Avs have
Makar, Timmins, Bowers, Kaut, Meloche and a lot of depth that is doing well...

Meanwhile the Sabres have Guhle, Borgen and Ollofsson, plus a few guys, like the Avs, who are looking good but long shots (Asplund, Sammuelson, Pekar, etc.)

There's literally no way the Avs don't have a better pool on july 1st.

Oloffson Nylander smith pilut are all ppg in the ahl, Guhle is a very promising D prospect. ukko pekka luukkonen is having a great year, Pekar look promising as well for a late pick (czech roster for WJC) and we have 3 first this year on top of that

Like I said if ottawa pick ends up top 3 you probably have the better high end pool if not buffalo ends up with the more desirable pool if we have 3 picks between 11 - 25. on top of the group we already have on the Sabres. it's gonna be war come training for either teams prospect to try and break through

 

[tony d]

Close but Buffalo.