Would have rather Sabres kept Zad; wouldn't have wasted time with Mez, Cola, BoLu, Kuli or pined for Guhle. Would have been in the same situation for alot less money.
Don't care for Compher or McGinn either way & Grigs flopped. Can't say the 2nd mattered after they wasted another on Guhle. Simply would prefer Zad to most acquisitions the past 3+ years.
I was always disappointed on some level not to get to see Myers, Zadorov and Risto being a tower of defense.
It would be an interesting what if to see if they don’t make any of the big trades until after the Matthews draft.
I think they could still trade Stafford for picks and the goalies. And that keeps you in last place, considering Bogo played his best hockey for that post trade stint.
It’s a defensive core that only needs one more top 4 guy to be a good unit or 1 top pair guy to be elite.
The forwards are barren after Jack and Sam, except for guys who bust Ennis and Girgs. But young depth in Compher, Armia and Carrier are coming up. Your leftover picks from the now killed trades land near talented prospects potentially.
And more importantly you are about to tank one last time for Matthews/Laine. And even a couple spots better in the lottery might get you Tkachuk or Keller or Dubois.