Targets in Potential Eichel/Reinhart/Risto trades

[Der Jaeger]

My plan:

First move: Eichel to LA. Makes sense for LA as long as they don't give up Byfield. Add Ristolainen to the deal. He's a LA type of heavy player they'd need to a playoff run. And he's pending UFA, so if it doesn't work, no issues flipping him at the deadline. The Kings have about $20M to play with, so the cap won't play into this move much. LA can begin their playoff push next season, with Eichel, without gutting the team. Buffalo can add key players to the current core, which played well down the stretch. The players that LA has are the type Buffalo wants. This also helps Buffalo for the expansion draft. LA has room to protect Eichel, and Seattle isn't taking Ristolainen.

Eichel and Ristolainen to LA for Turcotte, Vilardi, Bjornfot, 2021 1st, 2022 1st

Second Move: 2021 3rd rounder (Florida) to Washington for Vanecek. Caps can't protect him, Buffalo can. Seems like a pretty simple pre-ED move.

Expansion Draft:
Forwards: Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Olofsson, Thompson, Asplund, Bjork, Skinner
Defense: Dahlin, Jokiharju, Borgen
Goaltender: Vanecek

Exposed (with term left): Okposo, Eakin, Girgensons, Miller, Toharski. No real loses among that group. I expect a choice between Miller and Girgensons. Miller is probably the choice, with Botterill in Seattle.

Third Move: Reinhart established himself as a top 6 center who can produce in the worst of situations. That's going to command more attention than I think fans think. Imagine you were a GM of another team, looking at Reinhart. On wing? Produces. Center? Produces. Good teammates? Produces and makes them better. Average to bad teammates? Still produces. He's got a Brayden Schenn trajectory, and he's at the point Philly traded him to St. Louis. The Blues switched him to center full time, and he's anchored their second line for a Cup team.

Calgary is a good landing spot for Reinhart. They've got Monahan and Backlund, but that's not getting them anywhere. The easy answer is to trade Gaudreau and Monahan, but they need someone to backfill Monahan before they make a move. Calgary might move Monahan for Reinhart, but that's more of a lateral move. They'd be better off landing Reinhart, then moving Gaudreau (Philly) to fill in the gaps. For Calgary to make this work, it's probably a futures deal for Buffalo.

Reinhart to Calgary for Connor Zary, Jacob Pelletier, and 2022 1st.

Draft:
1a: Matthew Beniers, C, Michigan. The no-brainer move. With the way Adams is building the roster, you couldn't draw up a better two way center who fits the line-up.
1b: Fyodor Svechkov, C, Ladia Togliatti (MHL and VHL). Superb two way ability who does all the little things right. No flashy but the kind of player who anchors a 3rd line for a Cup winner.
2a: Tyler Boucher, LW/RW, USA U18 (USHL). Tom Wilson-lite without the d-baggery.

Draft Day trade: 2021 2nd round pick (Boston) to NJ for Miles Wood. The Sabres need someone in the line-up to play at the net and bring some toughness.

Free Agency: Sabres lineup looks like they've got two big needs: Goaltender, Defense.

Goaltender: Ullmark is the add as a goaltender. He loves it in Buffalo, loves the support he's been given, and seems organizationally loyal. I'd also re-sign Houser as Rochester's goaltender as the back-up plan, since Ullmark is injury prone.

Defense: I'm really not interested in making a splash at RHD and pulling in a Dougie Hamilton. I'd much rather let the kids develop. He probably doesn't want to come to Buffalo either. I'd rather make a small, short term move here, adding a safe, defensive minded player (or two). So I'm good with adding Brendan Smith. Short term deal, dependable, easy to add into the roster and easy to move if a kid takes a spot.

Opening Night Line-up
Asplund - Mittelstadt - Thompson
Skinner - Cozens - Ruotsalainen
Bjork - Vilardi - Olofsson
Wood - Girgensons - Okposo
x Eakin, Murray

Dahlin - Jokiharju
Samuelsson - Smith
Bryson - Borgen
x Bjornfot

Ullmark, Vanecek

The key to this isn't who is one the roster... it's who's not on the roster and coming.

Center: Turcotte, Beniers, Zary, Svechkov
Winger: Pelletier, Quinn, Boucher, Pekar, Huglen, Weissbach, Rousek, Biro
Defense: Johnson, Laaksonen, Fitzgerald
Goaltender: Luukanen, Portillo

The opening night line-up is a pain-in-the-a$$ team to play because of their speed, forechecking, and puck movement skills. Then start adding in players like Turcotte and UPL as the season progresses. Quinn, Johnson, Zary, and Beniers could also play their way onto this team.

This is the re-start I'd want. Solid, young NHL line-up with a ton of kids coming.

My plan

 

[Rowley Birkin]

Um how eaxctly??? some NMC clause isnt going to scare teams away. things can be different next year is say hoq they played this year continues.




flat cap has no barring in this when it comes to players like Eichel. First in NA such a flatcap wont be an issue in 22/23 season when everyone in US and canada is likely caxxed and arenas are full.

sure some salary could factor in but using the Rangers as a hypothetical example...

say Buffalo trades Eichel for Fox+Kakko+1st. both have their ELC ending. likely those 2 players salries would be around $7M vs Eichels $10M.

there is no need to get back a cap dump




the NC doesnt carry that kind of weight with a player like Eichel. a new GM acquiring such a player wuill not be fazed by it. There might be concern in a place like Ottawa or Calgary or San Jose should Buffalo try to send him to those places.

We saw the damage a NMC inflicted with the Hall return. Do you want Eichel to choose the team he goes to, then have Adams try to negotiate with that team with zero leverage?

I can't even understand the rest of your post.

Good luck trying to get the Rangers to part with Fox/Kaako/1st. That would be a great haul. We'd still need to take a cap dump & even after that the Rags say no.

 

[elchud]

What is the expectation given that Eichel has an unresolved neck issue. How much lower is the ask.

 

[dickiedunnwrotethis]

If you involve Seattle I think you can diminish some of the cap implications and open up more potential trade partners. I still like NYR package centering around Lafreniere and a Russian goalie/Miller. Given Dolan's win now attitude I think that's doable regardless of what the Rag fanbase says.

 

[jc17]

My fear with Byfield is that we would rush him.

Idk if either would be on the table but I'd still rather have Laf, particularly if Reino stays, but thats a big if.

I think its funny/sad that two guys picked right after our picks in zegras and Rossi are either being proposed or rejected in deals by ANA and MIN fans

 

[BananaSquad]

Lafreniere + for Eichel is the trade I want.

 

[BuffaloGooner]

Lafreniere + for Eichel is the trade I want.

Me too. I THINK you can salvage the Reinhart relationship. I think you can survive with Reinhart/Mitts/X/Girgensons as a center spine

adding Laf + Miller + pick your Russian goaltender of preference is not at all bad.

 

[Rowley Birkin]

If you involve Seattle I think you can diminish some of the cap implications and open up more potential trade partners. I still like NYR package centering around Lafreniere and a Russian goalie/Miller. Given Dolan's win now attitude I think that's doable regardless of what the Rag fanbase says.

Rags can certainly give up a blue chip prospect & it hurts them less than any other team.

HUGE difference in value between the goalies. Georgiev is basically a throw in. Shesty is legit.

Miller would be a very nice 'secondary' piece.

It would be interesting to see the perceived difference in value between Lafreniere & Kakko - from both fanbases. I think either has to be the 'primary' piece in any Eichel deal. Don't get fixated on the fact they don't play centre.

 

[debaser66]

Lafreniere + for Eichel is the trade I want.

yes + because Laf is a tier below Eichel

 

[Rowley Birkin]

Me too. I THINK you can salvage the Reinhart relationship. I think you can survive with Reinhart/Mitts/X/Girgensons as a center spine

adding Laf + Miller + pick your Russian goaltender of preference is not at all bad.

Regarding Reinhart - can you? He sounded like he wanted out more than Eichel.

You could stupidly overpay to keep him but at this point it's probably smarter just to move on.

That said - I'd keep him around until next season's TDL unless some team blew me away with an offer for him.

 

[TehDoak]

Getting Eichel should be a gutting, painful, and rough extraction where the cost is so high, you wonder if its even worth it. It's a franchise center under 25 with 5 years of team control left. It's a huge pile of gold.

The offers from fans on a hockey board are going to be shitty.

Even Adams can't f*** up the return. He's a rookie real estate agent selling the hottest piece of property in the hockey world, nearly every NHL team will put in a bid. His only job is to let them drive up the price between them. The only dumb thing he can do is let Eichel get to NMC without a trade at this point.

 

[jc17]

Getting Eichel should be a gutting, painful, and rough extraction where the cost is so high, you wonder if its even worth it. It's a franchise center under 25 with 5 years of team control left. It's a huge pile of gold.

The offers from fans on a hockey board are going to be shitty.

Even Adams can't f*** up the return. He's a rookie real estate agent selling the hottest piece of property in the hockey world, nearly every NHL team will put in a bid. His only job is to let them drive up the price between them. The only dumb thing he can do is let Eichel get to NMC without a trade at this point.

Except the basement flooded and people are arguing how it should be fixed, while also taking themselves into believing the value is diminished

 

[Nikolajs Sillers]

Pegulas should have targets on their backs for hammering Sabres in the ground.

 

[debaser66]

this years first overall just doesn't cut it for Eichel, its a second tier talent draft

 

[sabremike]

Getting Eichel should be a gutting, painful, and rough extraction where the cost is so high, you wonder if its even worth it. It's a franchise center under 25 with 5 years of team control left. It's a huge pile of gold.

The offers from fans on a hockey board are going to be shitty.

Even Adams can't f*** up the return. He's a rookie real estate agent selling the hottest piece of property in the hockey world, nearly every NHL team will put in a bid. His only job is to let them drive up the price between them. The only dumb thing he can do is let Eichel get to NMC without a trade at this point.

He is absolutely going to get sharked. Feel free to put money on it. Everyone is licking their chops at the thought of swindling a franchise player from a guy who has zero business being an NHL GM.

 

[TehDoak]

He is absolutely going to get sharked. Feel free to put money on it. Everyone is licking their chops at the thought of swindling a franchise player from a guy who has zero business being an NHL GM.

You are vastly underestimating the volume of calls that will be coming in. Maybe if he had an asset that only a few teams could use. 90% of NHL teams could use Jack Eichel. We aren't limited by a NMC, he's in his peak, and he's locked up for 5 more years.

Only thing Adams has to do is to let teams bid, see who is willing to pay the absurdist price, than figure out what best fits the teams needs.

My worry is mostly about the Adams knowing what will be the best fit long term and roster building part of it, not the value of the return. The value will be outstanding. The question is more what will Adams do with the bounty he gets, not whether or not he's going to take a bag of magic beans in return.

 

[explore]

You are vastly underestimating the volume of calls that will be coming in. Maybe if he had an asset that only a few teams could use. 90% of NHL teams could use Jack Eichel. We aren't limited by a NMC, he's in his peak, and he's locked up for 5 more years.

Only thing Adams has to do is to let teams bid, see who is willing to pay the absurdist price, than figure out what best fits the teams needs.

My worry is mostly about the Adams knowing what will be the best fit long term and roster building part of it, not the value of the return. The value will be outstanding. The question is more what will Adams do with the bounty he gets, not whether or not he's going to take a bag of magic beans in return.

How do you look at this clown show of a franchise where three core players all but publicly demanded out, see the trail of wreckage left behind in the ROR and Taylor Hall trades and think, "This will end well this time"?

 

[OKR]

Failed over and over again. Being a below ppg player for the Sabres and never playing a full season.
Then gets upset about not being allowed to go gung ho on his own neck.

I don't want to see him enjoy life in Boston or New York. I wish we could trade him to Novosibirsk. Ottawa was the best option I could come up with.

Get ready for the player replacing him ”fail over and over again” then as well, because no matter who you’re trading Eichel for, the best player on that trade will be Eichel.

 

[Flash20]

So we're gonna trade a center for a winger?

Makes sense

Hope cozens is ready for that number 1 role then

 

[2 others]

For the love of god, wait it out. This screams ROR 2.0. You would be selling at an all time low right now, i can't believe this shit.

 

[markpenske]

We’re pumping Turcotte as an acceptable piece? Jesus Christ.

If this organization settles for Tier 2 players...my god

Turcotte instead of Byfield
Kakko instead of Laf
No Zegras

That would be wholly unacceptable.

you better brace yourself my friend. has history not taught you anything? I hope i'm wrong but it seems like we lose all trades.

 

[elchud]

What is the precedent for trading a superstar with an unresolved cervical issue?

 

[slip]

For the love of god, wait it out. This screams ROR 2.0. You would be selling at an all time low right now, i can't believe this shit.

The important thing is we've hired yet another ex-Penguins AGM to walk us through the possible trade permutations.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[jcbeze]

this years first overall just doesn't cut it for Eichel, its a second tier talent draft

in other news, the sky is blue and grass is green