GDT: Fall Free Agent Frenzy 2

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Waiving Okposo this year is not smart. You save 1 mil...and then have to have a roster player replace him. Okposo is still an NHLer and can play an effective role.

he is just extremely overpaid. But you don’t think about doing anything about it until next year

My thing is- it might be smart to overpay in a trade to get rid of him? Like, package him with Mitts and a first rounder just to get rid of the contract. If that would clear up enough space to sign all the guys we want- otherwise we could effectively lose Kahun and/or Reinhart instead of losing KO and a prospect who might be good in a few years.. and I think the Sabres have gotta focus on building the best roster right now. Brining in guys like Eakins- to me, it feels like we have more pieces than places if we re-sign all the guys we’d want back, so offloading Okposo before the market really tightens up might be.. prescient. Idk, I can see the price for this sorta thing only going up, unfortunately, so while I like KO.. I like scoring more.

Edit- just to be clear, I view Eakins as freeing up Lazar, who I really like, to take KO’s role. Or Thompson, or a cheaper RW coming back in the trade- but once again, this all assumes a buyer could be found.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

Fix the goal tending. Get Raanta and include the expiring contract of Hutton going back.

 

[Dirty Dog]

My thing is- it might be smart to overpay in a trade to get rid of him? Like, package him with Mitts and a first rounder just to get rid of the contract. If that would clear up enough space to sign all the guys we want- otherwise we could effectively lose Kahun and/or Reinhart instead of losing KO and a prospect who might be good in a few years.. and I think the Sabres have gotta focus on building the best roster right now. Brining in guys like Eakins- to me, it feels like we have more pieces than places if we re-sign all the guys we’d want back, so offloading Okposo before the market really tightens up might be.. prescient. Idk, I can see the price for this sorta thing only going up, unfortunately, so while I like KO.. I like scoring more.

Edit- just to be clear, I view Eakins as freeing up Lazar, who I really like, to take KO’s role. Or Thompson, or a cheaper RW coming back in the trade- but once again, this all assumes a buyer could be found.

the price to get rid of a contract has never been bigger, and can only go down next year. Why pay a gigantic premium to get rid of him now? He isn’t a big issue this year.

 

[Buffaloed]

the price to get rid of a contract has never been bigger, and can only go down next year. Why pay a gigantic premium to get rid of him now? He isn’t a big issue this year.

I expect compliance buyouts next season. The NHLPA is going to have to give in on that when the NHL revenue figures come in. Okposo will be cheap enough to trade with a sweetener or Pegula could buy him out.

 

[Djp]

I expect compliance buyouts next season. The NHLPA is going to have to give in on that when the NHL revenue figures come in. Okposo will be cheap enough to trade with a sweetener or Pegula could buy him out.

If they got a CBO I’d hold onto it and not use it in Okposo.

I’d save it for Skinner if he doesn’t rebound.

 

[Djp]

I’m there are CBOs I’d save it and not use it on Okposo.

Okposo last year can be bought out.

I’d save it for Skinner if he doesn’t rebound

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

the price to get rid of a contract has never been bigger, and can only go down next year. Why pay a gigantic premium to get rid of him now? He isn’t a big issue this year.

I’m saying IF the money saved would be useful/necessary in signing reinhart/olofsson/ullmark/kahun then they should consider making the move- because while the price seems like it’s never been higher I wouldn’t be shocked if that price actually rises, depending on how things go, and there may still be a GM or two you can work with before the new standard price is really realized. Lotta “ifs” in there and I have no problem holding onto KO, it’s admittedly the most likely outcome.

 

[Jim Bob]

I expect compliance buyouts next season. The NHLPA is going to have to give in on that when the NHL revenue figures come in. Okposo will be cheap enough to trade with a sweetener or Pegula could buy him out.

I won't.

There is not enough cash to pay for them. Some teams were trying to get them this off season and there weren't enough owners willing to OK it because of the lack of money coming in.

I expect that we see the same type of thinking after next season.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

I won't.

There is not enough cash to pay for them. Some teams were trying to get them this off season and there weren't enough owners willing to OK it because of the lack of money coming in.

I expect that we see the same type of thinking after next season.

Just like how the Sabres have an internal budget in the low 70s...instead we are going to have zero cao space.



And sending down Okposo is not just to essentially free up money for a 1 million dollar player. It is so he has to endure a year of riding buses and playing minor league hockey for potentially 3 years unless he retires. I don't care if its cutthroat, we need him off the cap by next summer

I’m there are CBOs I’d save it and not use it on Okposo.

Okposo last year can be bought out.

I’d save it for Skinner if he doesn’t rebound

I hope they give out 2 like last time. Teams were expecting a cap that would continually rise. In 22-23 pre pandemic there could have been a cap in the mid 90s making Skinners 9 managable. I think I would also CBO skinner unless he puts up 35+ goals this year and next. They should give each team 2 CBOs that expire after 2 seasons of play

 

[Buffaloed]

I won't.

There is not enough cash to pay for them. Some teams were trying to get them this off season and there weren't enough owners willing to OK it because of the lack of money coming in.

I expect that we see the same type of thinking after next season.

They'll work something out so teams that don't use them get a kickback.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

If they don't want to do CBOs then even as much as when waiving/sending down a player for cap purposes you should get 25-50% of said players AAV. If we can't CBO him a la Cody and Ehrhoff then being able to waive a player and have him only count say half to 2/3rds of the cap is plenty. 2-3 mil to bury Okposo pays for a replacement and gives us 1-2 mil more in cap.

 

[Jim Bob]

They'll work something out so teams that don't use them get a kickback.

31 Thoughts: Inside the tough, tense early days of NHL free agency

According to multiple sources, several agents and general managers tried to build support the last few weeks for the addition of a compliance buyout to ease the crunch and create flexibility. (A compliance buyout, which does not count against the cap, was part of both the 2005 and 2013 negotiations.) However, the plan failed for the same reason it failed during CBA negotiations — who was going to pay for it?

There’ve been some intense stories. One player told of getting 15 minimum-salary offers just after free-agency arrived, a painful realization that a pay cut would be unavoidable. Another said he was coming to grips with accepting a deal he didn’t want, only to be pleasantly surprised out of nowhere. Teams, agents and players are grinding.

And from before the re-start of the season:

31 Thoughts: Best-case scenario for resumption of NHL season - Sportsnet.ca

14) This is going to be an incredibly popular sentence, but what if the key to resuscitating NHL business is allowing the revenue powerhouses to flex their financial muscle? A growing number of executives say owners are against compliance buyouts, because they don’t want extra costs. If the cap stays at $81.5 million for the next two or three years, there’s going to be a squeeze. (It’s also going to be an enormous advantage for Seattle.)

In general discussions, I think the players threw out the idea of a lower cap, but the response was, “Only if there’s a salary rollback.” There wasn’t a ton of enthusiasm for that. That’s why I liked the creativity of agent Kurt Overhardt’s idea for an “exception player” to the cap. Unlike a compliance buyout, it’s not punitive. It doesn’t have to be used, and if it does there should be an equal luxury tax payment to everyone who doesn’t use one.

There is willingness to dump all over it, but I like this idea instead of hurting teams that draft and develop star players who are getting paid more money earlier than ever. We need creative solutions.

The issue continues to be that the owners are unwilling to cut the checks for compliance buyouts. I doubt that they warm to the idea as long as they are bleeding money.

 

[Jim Bob]

Bruins GM 'comfortable' with waiting for Chara to decide future

 

[Vito_81]

Bruins GM 'comfortable' with waiting for Chara to decide future

Chara/Risto pair please!

 

[jc17]

Chara/Risto pair please!

That would actually be interesting. Chara is probably one of the few guys risto would respect enough to really take what he has to say to heart.

Sometimes I think risto overlooks his own shortcomings because he knows he's been more physical and a harder worker than 90% of our team the past few years. But if zdeno chara starts telling you to make better decisions you can't really argue or even have a mindset to write it off.

 

[tsujimoto74]

[

And from before the re-start of the season:

31 Thoughts: Best-case scenario for resumption of NHL season - Sportsnet.ca



The issue continues to be that the owners are unwilling to cut the checks for compliance buyouts. I doubt that they warm to the idea as long as they are bleeding money.[/QUOTE]

I mean, that was before return to play. Now that we're well into the off-season and the owners are seeing that they can't really get rid of cap any other way, I wonder if that sentiment has changed?

 

[Jim Bob]

I mean, that was before return to play. Now that we're well into the off-season and the owners are seeing that they can't really get rid of cap any other way, I wonder if that sentiment has changed?

The first one is from last week's edition of 31 Thoughts.

So, I doubt that anything has changed. I doubt there will be any real support from owners to add compliance buyouts until they know they can have a lot of home games that they can sell tickets to.

 

[dotcommunism]

I mean, that was before return to play. Now that we're well into the off-season and the owners are seeing that they can't really get rid of cap any other way, I wonder if that sentiment has changed?

Getting rid of cap is more of a management problem than an ownership one, I'm not sure how much the owners really care about it when it comes down to it.

Really, when it comes down to it, compliance buy-outs are an area where the interests of ownership and management don't really line up. Management likes them because it gives them more flexibility and allows them to make more moves. Ownership doesn't really care for them because when it comes down to it, they don't really save any money with them. Any savings on an individual contract will inevitably go away when management uses whatever cap space they cleared with the buy-out. Really, what compliance buy-outs encourage is more spending. With the way things are right now, owners are trying not to spend money, so why would they want something that only encourages more spending?

 

[Jim Bob]

Getting rid of cap is more of a management problem than an ownership one, I'm not sure how much the owners really care about it when it comes down to it.

Really, when it comes down to it, compliance buy-outs are an area where the interests of ownership and management don't really line up. Management likes them because it gives them more flexibility and allows them to make more moves. Ownership doesn't really care for them because when it comes down to it, they don't really save any money with them. Any savings on an individual contract will inevitably go away when management uses whatever cap space they cleared with the buy-out. Really, what compliance buy-outs encourage is more spending. With the way things are right now, owners are trying not to spend money, so why would they want something that only encourages more spending?

Yeah, the stories of GMs and agents wanting compliance buyouts and owners giving them the thumbs down makes perfect sense right now.

GMs want to be able to get out from under bad contracts.

Agents want more money being spent on players.

And owners are wondering where the money will come from to buy guys out and pay new guys to replace the bought out guys.

 

[joshjull]

 

[joshjull]

 

[joshjull]

 

[joshjull]

 

[Dirty Dog]

God, how awful is the abbreviation, Jerz?!

 

[K8fool]

the price to get rid of a contract has never been bigger, and can only go down next year. Why pay a gigantic premium to get rid of him now? He isn’t a big issue this year.

I agree. Some of the others that you wrote this about..

I feel like some of you are watching two different teams..

Pay a team a first and give mitts and okposo to take 6 million off the books ?

. firsr.. Mitts is not a bust..i dont know what he is or will become other than a talented idiot that has barely made it thru puberty. Id love to take money from people that think he will suck and wash out over a couple YEARS .

Kyle Okposo is a better hockey player than say Dominic kahun..and is bought in after losing three years to a concussion issue that we understand way more now by the looks of the fluid and inflammation leaving his face.. He may not have the speed to keep up w our top line but he drives the net, is tough on the puck and arguably shoots all better than kahun or Reinhart.. He's paid 2. 5 to 3. 5 more than he's currently worth and i see a 40 point season from him this year as a reward for us backing his recovery and his own compete and personal pride and shame.

The same goes for Skinner.. Playing around a better team. Linemates and improved dahlin and montour/x will elevate good players that are harder on themselves than you are and mutts is a doughy boy in progress like your pet giraffe , sam and your cozens..
I imagine olofson shot into the sun by you guys if he was brought up a year earlier and played w larson and girgenson
.
Ps.. I like you all better than the idiots on sabres basic as i actually read they want to fire beane now because star is lounging in ibiza and nobody wanted to make us better by gifting us a dt .. Tools.