St. Louis and San Jose Watch (1st round picks)

[Ace]

Allen had a great first period and has a .931 save percentage in his last 9 games. So that narrative of all they need is better goaltending is going to have to take a backseat. This team isn’t a goaltender away.

 

[Snippit]

 

[Ace]

*Checks in on the Blues at home against Vancouver*

 

[DolanPlsGoSabres]

Robin Lehner won 3 straight games in Western Canada and played amazing.

 

[MackAttack26]

Maybe the best hope for the Blues is they fail so spectacularly this season, are forced to do an Ottawa type blowup (including trading Pie, etc) and bottom out next year.

I thought it was just a goalie and coach thing but it has to be more.

 

[Aavvaa]

There seems to be some locker room stuff going on there, and their athletic beat reporter reckons they're probably going to have to do something substantial, which means Pietro, Steen or Tarasenko are likely to be involved in hella trade rumours. Really have no idea which way they're going to go, it would be almost unheard of for them to crumble like Ottawa have, but anything is possible I guess.

It also entirely depends on how they address their issues and how their young players develop, even if they aren't just a goalie away, teams can suck one year and instantly be better the next. Really don't want a repeat of the Isles pick where it's top 5 one year and 20 something the next.

 

[1972]

Were not getting the blues first pick...

 

[enthusiast]

It always niggles me a little bit that there's protection on that pick. We took a bath on the trade in terms of personnel.

 

[Yatzhee]

Outside of the Sabres offer sheeting Marker or Mathews, I keep all 4 picks.

 

[enthusiast]

Offer-sheeting Matthews would be great, if only to clear up cap space for Skinner to play at home.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Offer-sheeting Matthews would be great, if only to clear up cap space for Skinner to play at home.

Offer sheeting Matthews would be the greatest thing in Sabres history. It could almost make sense too but Skinner would have to be moved.

Here this out. Skinner gets moved for a 1st and second likely in 2021 and 2022 to prepare for this.

We’d lose four straight firsts but likely have St. Louis pick in 2020. Then we have pick for Skinner in 2021 and try to package the second with our ST Louis second and some young talent for one more first 2022. We trade the San Jose pick this year for a 2023 first, protected likely.

We are back in the first round every year and Matthews is with Eichel and they’re buddies.

Pure fantasy but why not dream. We offer Matthews 7 x $15 M and when they match, we just mucked up the Leafs a bit.

 

[Zip15]

Allen had a great first period and has a .931 save percentage in his last 9 games. So that narrative of all they need is better goaltending is going to have to take a backseat. This team isn’t a goaltender away.

Well, that narrative doesn't really exist. People have correctly identified that goaltending and coaching are two of their biggest issues, but nobody is saying that goaltending is the only issue, or that goaltending and coaching are the only two issues. But, as the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres have demonstrated, if you can go from getting bad goaltending to above-average goaltending, your fortunes can swing in a big way.

As for your stat, those are arbitrary end points. After yet another Allen stinker today, the Blues currently employ goaltenders with SV%'s this season of .899 and .884, respectively - do you remember how much digital ink was spilled in here last year over Lehner/Johnson going .908/.891, which is still better than the Allen/Johnson combo? That's horrific NHL goaltending any way you slice it.

Do the Blues have other issues? Of course. But goaltending is one of their biggest issues, if not their biggest issue.

 

[beerme1]

O'Reilly must look around at this Blues team and think to himself, "How the **** am I STILL on an NHL team that employs Chad Johnson and Jordan Nolan."

This is great LOL

Outside of the Sabres offer sheeting Marker or Mathews, I keep all 4 picks.

I believe we keep all four. I think Botts is not the offer sheet type of GM for one thing but TO would certainly do whatever they have to to match. I really do hope the Isles do it to them though. Paybacks a bitch!

 

[Gordo21]

This is great LOL




I believe we keep all four. I think Botts is not the offer sheet type of GM for one thing but TO would certainly do whatever they have to to match. I really do hope the Isles do it to them though. Paybacks a *****!

I hope so. This team needs to simmer more. The stew is simply not done.

 

[Djp]

Offer sheeting Matthews would be the greatest thing in Sabres history. It could almost make sense too but Skinner would have to be moved.

Here this out. Skinner gets moved for a 1st and second deadly in 2021 and 2022 to prepare for this.

We’d lose four straight firsts but likely have St. Louis pick in 2020. Then we have pick for Skinner in 2021 and try to package the second with our at Louis second and some young talent for one more first 2022. We trade the San Jose pick this year for a 2023 first, protected likely.

We are back in the first round every year and Matthews is with Eichel and they’re buddies.

Pure fantasy but why not dream. We offer Matthews 7 x $15 M and when they match, we just mucked up the Leafs a bit.

This is nuts....

If I was OS Matthews I only do it for 4 yrs. when he is done with it he’s a UFA if Toronto matches.

Buffalo has their pick in 19
St. Louis in 20
San Jose pick in 20
The team would trade Reinhart or Skinner for a 1st

They would have 3 or 4 1sts over 20-23 seasons. They will be fine.

 

[Jim Bob]

Offer sheeting Matthews would be the greatest thing in Sabres history. It could almost make sense too but Skinner would have to be moved.

Here this out. Skinner gets moved for a 1st and second deadly in 2021 and 2022 to prepare for this.

We’d lose four straight firsts but likely have St. Louis pick in 2020. Then we have pick for Skinner in 2021 and try to package the second with our at Louis second and some young talent for one more first 2022. We trade the San Jose pick this year for a 2023 first, protected likely.

We are back in the first round every year and Matthews is with Eichel and they’re buddies.

Pure fantasy but why not dream. We offer Matthews 7 x $15 M and when they match, we just mucked up the Leafs a bit.

Until Dahlin hits RFA...

 

[tsujimoto74]

Until Dahlin hits RFA...

Has a retaliatory offer sheet ever actually happened? Because I feel like it's a figment of HFB's collective imagination.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

Has a retaliatory offer sheet ever actually happened? Because I feel like it's a figment of HFB's collective imagination.

Pretty easy to stop. Just sign him when July 1 rolls around. Leafs don't get that

 

[Reddawg]

Has a retaliatory offer sheet ever actually happened? Because I feel like it's a figment of HFB's collective imagination.

Yeah, at least once. July 1st 2008, Vancouver signed David Backes to an offer sheet which was matched...7 days later the Blues retaliated with an offer sheet on Steve Bernier which was also matched.

 

[Jim Bob]

Pretty easy to stop. Just sign him when July 1 rolls around. Leafs don't get that

If the Sabres have Eichel and Matthews eating up $25M in cap space, good luck with locking Dahlin up long term prior to hitting RFA.

 

[Zip15]

Has a retaliatory offer sheet ever actually happened? Because I feel like it's a figment of HFB's collective imagination.

In summer 2008, Vancouver signed David Backes to an offer sheet. The Blues matched. One week later, the Blues signed Steve Bernier to an offer sheet. Bernier, had just been traded by the Sabres to Vancouver, so he had not yet played a game for the Canucks when he was given the offer sheet by STL.

At the time, the rumor was that STL was just sending a message to Vancouver and fully expected Vancouver to match. IIRC, if Vancouver did not match, they would have only received one 2nd round draft pick in compensation for Bernier. That would've made Vancouver look dumb since they had just traded a 2nd and 3rd to BUF for Bernier - it'd be like they just gave away a 3rd rounder for no reason.

More likely, the only "retaliation" for these offer sheets is a cold shoulder at league meetings, and some side-eyes at the Old Boys table.

 

[Jim Bob]

Has a retaliatory offer sheet ever actually happened? Because I feel like it's a figment of HFB's collective imagination.

I'm not talking about just the Leafs.

If the Sabres have Eichel and Matthews costing $25M against the cap, that makes Dahlin as attractive an RFA OS target as Matthews and Marner next summer.

 

[tsujimoto74]

I'm not talking about just the Leafs.

If the Sabres have Eichel and Matthews costing $25M against the cap, that makes Dahlin as attractive an RFA OS target as Matthews and Marner next summer.

I think the Leafs match any OS for Matthews, and they'll move whoever they have to in order to keep him. The "hope" of a Matthews OS would be to blow up their cap structure and force them to make those moves, depleting their depth.

ETA: Of course, the very real downside of that is you wind up inflating player salaries for everyone down the road, yourself included.

 

[Jim Bob]

I think the Leafs match any OS for Matthews, and they'll move whoever they have to in order to keep him. The "hope" of a Matthews OS would be to blow up their cap structure and force them to make those moves, depleting their depth.

Well, the talk was that the Sabres would make a monster offer that TO wouldn't match because we have the 2 extra 1sts.

The idea that signing Matthews to a 7 yr $15M per OS wouldn't make it harder to re-sign Dahlin is pretty hopeful, IMO.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

Meanwhile at Blues practice...