Duhatschek
Buffalo Sabres
The pick:
Colin Miller
Jeff Skinner poses the biggest question mark here. He has full no-move protection and is wildly overpriced at $9 million a year on a contract that doesn’t expire until 2027 and the Sabres would heavily have to incentivize Seattle to take him, likely by eating half the value of the contract just for starters and probably having to throw in additional sweeteners to make it worthwhile. The only reason Seattle would do it is 1. They’ll have the cap space, and 2. Two of Skinner’s biggest supporters are currently in the Seattle front office. Francis, who knew Skinner from his Carolina days and assistant
GM Jason Botterill, who signed him to that contract extension in the first place when Botterill was running Buffalo. But Seattle might just decide that it’s more of a commitment than they want to make and opt for an easier choice, Colin Miller, who is priced right at $3.875 million on a contract that expires in 2022 and thus, could likely make a great trade-deadline acquisition for someone next year. Miller also has the benefit of experience — he was a useful player on Vegas’ expansion team. The other option would be the 24-year-old
Will Borgen, if they lean for a younger, cheaper option.
Ryan S. Clark
Buffalo Sabres
The pick: Colin Miller
It goes back to what was just said: Colin Miller has value. If the Kraken are a playoff team, then, they already have a top-four defenseman on the roster. If not? They could hypothetically trade Miller, who would be a pending UFA, for assets.