Call me crazy but if I am Buffalo I am paying whatever futures necessary for Chychrun + Vejmelka and filling massive holes in the lineup. I'm actually glad they passed. They would have been scary.
Kulich was #28
in a redraft he’d go mid teens. He’s a strong candidate for ROY…especially given this is his 18 yr old season…not 20+ like many others.
Chychrun doesn’t fit what Buffalo needs. He wouldn’t get PP time. Dshlin and Power get it.
the other issue is it’s a waste of resources. If the team was further along they wound have done this. They might not be peak contender for the cup until 25/26.
resigning chychrun is a serious concern come 2025 summer. By my projections, assuming no big trades other than filling short term buffalo probsbly has 2F and 2D roster spots with about $14M
in 2026 they expect to resign Tuch and some RFAs
in 27 Skinner comes off, and they use his $9M in space to spread out among the younger players. Given the Bally problems, the cap isn’t going to go up as much as earlier projections had.
with those 4 roster spots. 2 look to be a low cost vet at F in bottom 6 and a bottom pair D making around $2.5M. Those players could be Girgensons resigned after this year and Lyubushkin signed 1-2 yrs after current contract ends in 24. that leaves about $9M to resign Chychrun and say Greenway type ( who also is a UFA in 25). Can they resign both under $9M. I highly doubt that.
buffalo is more interested in a player who plays right side, can do mid pair minutes, has good D responsibility, and is under contract/ team conyptrol for 3-4 yrs.
then the idea is some of buffalo prospect at D they drafted in 21-23 drafts and Ryan Johnson would be ready to take over at a lower cost in 25-26 possibly or certainly in 26/27.
In 32 thoughts EF talked about a team asking San Jose about Ferraro. Buffalo could have been that team because he fits age/ term requirements and has a lower cap hit Of $3.25M.