BlizzardHockey2008
Registered User
As everyone probably already knows, the Capitals are one of the forerunners on the path to trading Ryan Miller. Apparently the Capitals almost struck a deal for him last trade deadline and are still interested and are pushing harder than ever as they are one point out of a playoff spot therefore need to secure a spot and will need someone solid between the pipes if they make the playoffs because Holty just doesn't seem to be getting the job done. Reports are saying that they are interested in trading away forward Martin Erat, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and goaltender Michal Neuvirth. Along with interest in Miller, they are reportedly looking for some more grit as well and may be interested in Steve Ott, who the Sabres should be looking to move at this point if the price is right. Given these players does it seem a fair deal could be met? I'm thinking a deal could be met using just these players and maybe throwing a pick or two in there. Here is what I'm thinking:
Sabres:
-Ryan Miller
-Steve Ott
Capitals:
-Martin Erat
-Dmitry Orlov
-Michal Neuvirth
-2014 first round pick
-If we can push for another later pick (maybe conditional third or fourth round) than do so, but no real problem if we can't.
I'm curious what you guys think of this deal and what types of deals you guys think would be fair if this one is not. There is no doubt that Miller would be starting goaltender for the remainder of the Capitals season and their playoff push, assuming that they make the playoffs. However, I would say there is no guarantee that Miller will stay in Washington at the conclusion of the season as Miller seems to be looking to get closer to Los Angeles (for his marriages sake) and is now looking for "Henrik Lundqvist money" (approximately 60 million dollars for 7 years; 8.5 per season; which would make him the top payed goaltender in the NHL) which the Capitals could afford next season as they will have approximately 10 million dollars cap space, but do they really want to use all their free space on one player? Therefore with no guarantee that Miller will stay there it may scare the Capitals a little bit. Steve Ott would be either a second or third line center for the capitals, with some grit, which the capitals could use and I would say there is a much better chance that Ott would stay in Washington, therefore if I was them I wouldn't be too worried about that. Now for the Sabres. Martin Erat would not necessarily help our team, but he sure wouldn't hurt either. This season he has 22 points (1 goal, 21 assists) in 51 games (which is not terribly good), but it would still make him currently the 5th highest point scorer on our roster. He would easily be our second line right wing and could even fight Stafford for the top line spot, given he has the opportunity to shine. He has one year left on a seven year deal, which will have a cap hit of 4.5 million next season, which is about 1.5 million dollars more expensive than the services of Steve Ott, but the Sabres could easily afford this, especially for one season. I believe that him having one year left on that contract is perfect because this gives him a year to prove himself and a year to decide whether he thinks he has a future in Buffalo. He is a player that has been very productive in the past and has slowly decreased as time has gone on, but he is only 32 years old so one has to think he still has something left in the tank, which Buffalo could give him a fresh start and an opportunity to tap into that. If he performs and has a liking for Buffalo I could see him being signed for a little cheaper than the current deal he has, maybe something like 5-6 years with a cap hit of 3.5 million or so per season, which again, if he performs, is a fairly decent price for the Sabres to pay. Now if he does not perform, or does not have a liking for Buffalo than we would have yet another player to trade at the deadline next season, the only problem being that on his own, Erat is not worth much, maybe a third or fourth round pick at most. This may be a little bit of a gamble for the Sabres, but it is one that I would be willing to see them take because if everything works out than I believe it has a decent pay out. Dmitry Orlov would be more of a farm team player for us. He is currently playing out the final year of an entry level contract, which has a cap hit of about 700,000 in the NHL, in which he has 33 games played this season, and a cap hit of about 70,000 in the AHL. He has 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 33 games this season, which like Erat, is not terribly good, but for a rookie player is respectable at least. I believe that being a rookie he would have no problem adapting to Buffalo and would probably be interested in staying here if traded for. I would definitely throw him on Rochester as a top pairing defenseman for the remainder of the season and for the AHL playoffs. and see how he handles himself down there. At the end of the season he could probably he resigned for about the same contract he has now, maybe deserving of a little raise (about 900,000-1 million cap hit NHL and 100,000 cap hit AHL; something along those lines) and for somewhere around 2-3 years. Beginning next season I would start him in the AHL as the top Rochester defenseman and have him be the first person we call up to Buffalo when we are in need of a defenseman. I'm not sure how happy he would be about playing in the AHL next season after playing in almost a half season on the Capitals roster this season, but he would find his place and eventually be happy. With a little bit of seasoning in the AHL I believe he has potential to be a top 4 defenseman in the NHL in a couple years and would be a good fit with someone like Tallinder, or of that skill level. Therefore, I believe he would be a good player to trade for and would definitely fit into the rebuilding phase that Buffalo is starting. Lastly we have Michal Neuvirth. Neuvirth has 13 games played this season (4 wins, 6 losses, 3 half games; and stats of 2.82 GAA and .914 save percentage). These stats, just as the other two players, is respectable and definitely backup goaltender worthy. Neuvirth has one year left on a two year contract with a cap hit of 2.5 million next season, which is obviously significantly cheaper than Miller and what Miller's new asking price is and is exactly double what Enroth will be making next season. The difference here is, compared to Miller, Neuvirth is significantly younger and the Sabres are looking for younger talent. Now there is no doubt that Neuvirth would be on the NHL roster, but I believe he would have to be backup for the remainder of this season. Enroth has shown that he has passion for this team and has talked about how he wants more playing time and with 3-4 seasons behind Miller and not getting too much playing time or opportunity to win, I believe he no doubt deserves the starting position for the remainder of this season and even if he screws up than this season is a tank season at this point anyway. But giving him the starting position gives us a chance to see if he can lead a team and can handle the pressure that comes with being an NHL starting goaltender. Now I do love Enroth, but I don't believe any goaltender can come out of the position that Enroth is in and just naturally lead a team to victory, he will need some time to learn the ropes. Now if I'm wrong and he becomes an amazing goaltender than by all means give him the starting position next season too. But, if I'm right than I believe him and Neuvirth need to begin splitting time next season and see what goaltender can lead the charge (at least until Hackett, Makorov, Ullmark, or whoever our future star goaltender is going to be, takes the charge). Just as Erat, I believe that Neuvirth having one year left on his contract will give him a chance to prove himself next year. Should he have a good season and prove that he has what it takes to lead this team for a few years than I believe he is worthy of resigning and could probably be bought for somewhere around 3-3.5 million cap hit per season, for maybe 3-5 years, which is still significantly cheaper than Miller. Enroth would still be backup than, but giving him a little more playing time than when Miller was on the team. Now if Neuvirth proves that he can't lead this team, than we will have again another player to trade at the deadline next season, but he has a little more trade value than someone of the likes of Erat just because he is a goaltender and there are teams in need of a goaltender. We could probably get a second round pick or a third or fourth and a decent prospective goaltender from a team in need of a goaltender, such as Calgary, Florida, etc. Than with Neuvirth traded we would have to rely on Enroth to get the job done or really speed up our training of the future star goaltender, which could be a bad thing. This does put us in a bit of a sticky situation, but hey, you gotta take some chances in the hockey world, and this is one I would be willing to see the Sabres take. Overall, I could see Neuvirth being a complete help, or a complete failure, no real in between. And this brings us down to the picks. Buffalo is in the rebuilding phase and wants young talent, specifically players that we draft on our own. Now if we are trading away our franchise player than obviously we are gonna want some good draft tools in return. Even with all the players we are getting in return, I believe what we are giving up deserves the capitals first round pick as well and I don't think they will really have a problem giving it up. They know Miller is arguably one of the best goaltenders in the world and is worth quite a bit, especially with a good team, such as the capitals, to back him up. The only real problem is the likelihood of Miller staying with the capitals that might make the capitals a little erie about trading away their best pick, but with the right talks and a little bit of smoothing I believe this can be worked out pretty easily (plus the Capitals GM, George McPhee, is basically in a position of either make a playoff run this year or be unemployed next year, which Miller could really help them do this and possibly save McPhee's job, even if Miller walks at the end of the season, McPhee just needs to make a bold move to prove the point that he is the right guy for the job). In addition to the first round pick, if the Sabres management can push for a conditional third or fourth round pick than I don't think it could hurt. Now they don't wanna push this too hard because you don't wanna scare the Capitals away, but hey, if it can get thrown in there at no extra cost than why not? I'm not too concerned about that extra pick, but it would be nice to see the Sabres push a little bit for once, instead of just giving the other team what they want without hesitation (maybe with the exception of the Hodgson-Kassian trade). Now back to the first round pick for just a second. Based on the position the Capitals are at now I could see their pick turning out to be around 13th-15th overall, which is a pretty good position to be at (considering that the Sabres are more than likely going to end up with the first overall pick as well), this pick could get a decent prospect that the Sabres would probably be able to put to use a few years down the road. However, since the Capitals would be receiving Miller in this trade than I believe that makes their pick drop back a little bit. I have no doubt that with Miller in net the Capitals would be able to make a playoff push and possibly get a couple rounds into the playoffs (dare I even say win the cup; although I think that would be a bit of a stretch). With Miller in net, I believe this would move the Capitals pick back to maybe 22nd-25th, which for a first rounder is a bit of a jump. With that pick the Sabres would still be able to get a player with tremendous ability, but may have to give them a little more time to develop (which at this point doesn't seem like a problem for the rebuilding Sabres). Therefore I believe the Sabres would in the end be very happy with whatever comes of this first round pick.
Now there is a couple problems I see with this trade:
-Will the Capitals give all this up knowing that Miller could just walk at the end of the season and they would basically lose everything?
-On the other hand, will the Sabres give up their franchise player knowing that one of the three people could walk at the end of the season and the other two the season after that?
-This all relies on Miller; will he even accept a trade to Washington, as he has a limited trade agreement in his contract.
-And finally, will the Sabres even have the guts to actually make a blockbuster trade like this? In the past they have been known to make pretty upsetting trades or just let players go without getting anything in return. The new GM Murray seems pretty set to trade anybody in order to help the organization and I admire that, but Miller is the last player (besides Tallinder and Stafford) from the golden ages of the Sabres and I feel as though they won't want to let him go without a fight.
Overall scope:
Washington: If this trade were to take place than potentially you could be looking at one of the best teams in the NHL. With Alexander Ovechkin (arguably one of the, if not the, best players in the entire world), Nicklas Backstrom; who sets up all of Ovechkin's goals (and could be considered one of the best center's in the league), Mike Green (who is considered by many one of the better defensemen in the league), John Carlson (who is also considered a pretty good defensive threat in this league), than the addition of Ryan Miller (arguably one of the best goaltender's in the entire world), it seems as though the Capitals would be unstoppable and be capable of winning their first ever Stanley Cup. This a move that I think benefits the Capitals in a variety of ways and would be a very smart move to make on McPhee's part.
Buffalo: Unfortunately we all know it, but MillerTime is over in Buffalo. The goaltender has little to no interest in playing for this organization next season and has made that point pretty clear over the year. Along with this, he is not in his prime anymore and it's only a matter of time before he really starts going downhill (unless he ends up like Martin Brodeur, which don't get me wrong, Miller has a massive amount of talent, but he is no Martin Brodeur). The Sabres would be insanely stupid to not trade him by the March 5th deadline because than we potentially have another Briere/Drury situation on our hands and that is the last thing we need as we are fully entering into this rebuilding phase. The way I see it is nothing can really hurt the Sabres at this point. They are the worst team in the NHL and need to do something to get back to where they were 7 years ago. If that means trading the face of the franchise than do it already, stop the hesitation. The assets we would be getting in this trade could potentially help our team get some younger talent which is exactly what we are looking for. I think the players we are receiving could help our team in a variety of ways and I would definitely be interested in seeing how it develops next season. Plus, the pick(s) we would be receiving could harvest into a top NHL star. Basically, I think this trade would help Buffalo start a new path and help us down the road much more than desperately clinging onto Miller and relying on him to win us every game.
Just a little side note to this whole trade. I am very interested in the whole Miller situation, but since Steve Ott could potentially be gone at the deadline and this trade proposal I have going would get rid of him, I am also very interested in the whole captain and alternate captain situation. I think for the remainder of the season they should just kinda ride out three alternates and make no permanent decisions until next season. However, once next season comes what are you guys thinking? Personally I believe it is a very hard decision as there is a number of candidates. Here is a list of people I think would be worthy of the captain tag: Stafford, Ehrhoff, Hodgson, and Moulson (if he remains on the Sabres next season). Now any of these players could be alternate's as well if not chosen captain, but here is a list of people I believe would also be candidates for the alternate positions: Girgensons, Ennis(if he remains on the Sabres next season), and Tallinder (if he remains on the Sabres next season). Really any combination of these guys would make me happy, but naturally I have my opinion on what I would like to see. This is what I'm thinking: Hodgson as captain (the Sabres really seem to want this guy to be the future face of the franchise so why not start now and make an identity for themselves, he plays well and deserves this role as well). First alternate, Stafford (he is one of the only players left on the team from our golden days and he has stuck by this teams side through thick and thin, he deserves a bigger role and given the opportunity I think he could be one of the Sabres star players; he knows the team better than most players and would work well in a leadership role. Second alternate, this is a bit of a harder decision, I can't decide between Ehrhoff and Girgensons. Ehrhoff got named an alternate this season and really hasn't done a bad job, so why mess with success, plus taking this away from him would probably crush his spirit and why do that to your team's best defenseman. However, I believe the Sabres are hoping Girgensons can be another future face to this franchise and he really hasn't had a bad rookie season, so why not reward that? I know he is young and may not have the experience needed, but give him a chance and maybe he will prove himself. I think this would be a smart choice in creating an identity for the Sabres and personally, I have a liking for Girgensons. Whatever choice the Sabres make they need to stick to it and make whoever they chose franchise players, we can't keep trading away captains and changing the leadership of this team, we need players that can lead the rest of this team to a cup!
Lastly, I just wanna say thanks for your time to all the people who read this through. I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts (it took me about 2 hours to write this all). I don't normally post on here, but this Miller and potential captain situation have really sparked my interest. I hope you guys enjoy the read and I would love to hear some feedback, that's the whole reason I did this, to see who agrees and see who would change it and how they would change it. I'm really excited to see what everyone else thinks about both the Miller trade and the potential captain situation. But, most importantly of all, GO SABRES!!!!!!!
Sabres:
-Ryan Miller
-Steve Ott
Capitals:
-Martin Erat
-Dmitry Orlov
-Michal Neuvirth
-2014 first round pick
-If we can push for another later pick (maybe conditional third or fourth round) than do so, but no real problem if we can't.
I'm curious what you guys think of this deal and what types of deals you guys think would be fair if this one is not. There is no doubt that Miller would be starting goaltender for the remainder of the Capitals season and their playoff push, assuming that they make the playoffs. However, I would say there is no guarantee that Miller will stay in Washington at the conclusion of the season as Miller seems to be looking to get closer to Los Angeles (for his marriages sake) and is now looking for "Henrik Lundqvist money" (approximately 60 million dollars for 7 years; 8.5 per season; which would make him the top payed goaltender in the NHL) which the Capitals could afford next season as they will have approximately 10 million dollars cap space, but do they really want to use all their free space on one player? Therefore with no guarantee that Miller will stay there it may scare the Capitals a little bit. Steve Ott would be either a second or third line center for the capitals, with some grit, which the capitals could use and I would say there is a much better chance that Ott would stay in Washington, therefore if I was them I wouldn't be too worried about that. Now for the Sabres. Martin Erat would not necessarily help our team, but he sure wouldn't hurt either. This season he has 22 points (1 goal, 21 assists) in 51 games (which is not terribly good), but it would still make him currently the 5th highest point scorer on our roster. He would easily be our second line right wing and could even fight Stafford for the top line spot, given he has the opportunity to shine. He has one year left on a seven year deal, which will have a cap hit of 4.5 million next season, which is about 1.5 million dollars more expensive than the services of Steve Ott, but the Sabres could easily afford this, especially for one season. I believe that him having one year left on that contract is perfect because this gives him a year to prove himself and a year to decide whether he thinks he has a future in Buffalo. He is a player that has been very productive in the past and has slowly decreased as time has gone on, but he is only 32 years old so one has to think he still has something left in the tank, which Buffalo could give him a fresh start and an opportunity to tap into that. If he performs and has a liking for Buffalo I could see him being signed for a little cheaper than the current deal he has, maybe something like 5-6 years with a cap hit of 3.5 million or so per season, which again, if he performs, is a fairly decent price for the Sabres to pay. Now if he does not perform, or does not have a liking for Buffalo than we would have yet another player to trade at the deadline next season, the only problem being that on his own, Erat is not worth much, maybe a third or fourth round pick at most. This may be a little bit of a gamble for the Sabres, but it is one that I would be willing to see them take because if everything works out than I believe it has a decent pay out. Dmitry Orlov would be more of a farm team player for us. He is currently playing out the final year of an entry level contract, which has a cap hit of about 700,000 in the NHL, in which he has 33 games played this season, and a cap hit of about 70,000 in the AHL. He has 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 33 games this season, which like Erat, is not terribly good, but for a rookie player is respectable at least. I believe that being a rookie he would have no problem adapting to Buffalo and would probably be interested in staying here if traded for. I would definitely throw him on Rochester as a top pairing defenseman for the remainder of the season and for the AHL playoffs. and see how he handles himself down there. At the end of the season he could probably he resigned for about the same contract he has now, maybe deserving of a little raise (about 900,000-1 million cap hit NHL and 100,000 cap hit AHL; something along those lines) and for somewhere around 2-3 years. Beginning next season I would start him in the AHL as the top Rochester defenseman and have him be the first person we call up to Buffalo when we are in need of a defenseman. I'm not sure how happy he would be about playing in the AHL next season after playing in almost a half season on the Capitals roster this season, but he would find his place and eventually be happy. With a little bit of seasoning in the AHL I believe he has potential to be a top 4 defenseman in the NHL in a couple years and would be a good fit with someone like Tallinder, or of that skill level. Therefore, I believe he would be a good player to trade for and would definitely fit into the rebuilding phase that Buffalo is starting. Lastly we have Michal Neuvirth. Neuvirth has 13 games played this season (4 wins, 6 losses, 3 half games; and stats of 2.82 GAA and .914 save percentage). These stats, just as the other two players, is respectable and definitely backup goaltender worthy. Neuvirth has one year left on a two year contract with a cap hit of 2.5 million next season, which is obviously significantly cheaper than Miller and what Miller's new asking price is and is exactly double what Enroth will be making next season. The difference here is, compared to Miller, Neuvirth is significantly younger and the Sabres are looking for younger talent. Now there is no doubt that Neuvirth would be on the NHL roster, but I believe he would have to be backup for the remainder of this season. Enroth has shown that he has passion for this team and has talked about how he wants more playing time and with 3-4 seasons behind Miller and not getting too much playing time or opportunity to win, I believe he no doubt deserves the starting position for the remainder of this season and even if he screws up than this season is a tank season at this point anyway. But giving him the starting position gives us a chance to see if he can lead a team and can handle the pressure that comes with being an NHL starting goaltender. Now I do love Enroth, but I don't believe any goaltender can come out of the position that Enroth is in and just naturally lead a team to victory, he will need some time to learn the ropes. Now if I'm wrong and he becomes an amazing goaltender than by all means give him the starting position next season too. But, if I'm right than I believe him and Neuvirth need to begin splitting time next season and see what goaltender can lead the charge (at least until Hackett, Makorov, Ullmark, or whoever our future star goaltender is going to be, takes the charge). Just as Erat, I believe that Neuvirth having one year left on his contract will give him a chance to prove himself next year. Should he have a good season and prove that he has what it takes to lead this team for a few years than I believe he is worthy of resigning and could probably be bought for somewhere around 3-3.5 million cap hit per season, for maybe 3-5 years, which is still significantly cheaper than Miller. Enroth would still be backup than, but giving him a little more playing time than when Miller was on the team. Now if Neuvirth proves that he can't lead this team, than we will have again another player to trade at the deadline next season, but he has a little more trade value than someone of the likes of Erat just because he is a goaltender and there are teams in need of a goaltender. We could probably get a second round pick or a third or fourth and a decent prospective goaltender from a team in need of a goaltender, such as Calgary, Florida, etc. Than with Neuvirth traded we would have to rely on Enroth to get the job done or really speed up our training of the future star goaltender, which could be a bad thing. This does put us in a bit of a sticky situation, but hey, you gotta take some chances in the hockey world, and this is one I would be willing to see the Sabres take. Overall, I could see Neuvirth being a complete help, or a complete failure, no real in between. And this brings us down to the picks. Buffalo is in the rebuilding phase and wants young talent, specifically players that we draft on our own. Now if we are trading away our franchise player than obviously we are gonna want some good draft tools in return. Even with all the players we are getting in return, I believe what we are giving up deserves the capitals first round pick as well and I don't think they will really have a problem giving it up. They know Miller is arguably one of the best goaltenders in the world and is worth quite a bit, especially with a good team, such as the capitals, to back him up. The only real problem is the likelihood of Miller staying with the capitals that might make the capitals a little erie about trading away their best pick, but with the right talks and a little bit of smoothing I believe this can be worked out pretty easily (plus the Capitals GM, George McPhee, is basically in a position of either make a playoff run this year or be unemployed next year, which Miller could really help them do this and possibly save McPhee's job, even if Miller walks at the end of the season, McPhee just needs to make a bold move to prove the point that he is the right guy for the job). In addition to the first round pick, if the Sabres management can push for a conditional third or fourth round pick than I don't think it could hurt. Now they don't wanna push this too hard because you don't wanna scare the Capitals away, but hey, if it can get thrown in there at no extra cost than why not? I'm not too concerned about that extra pick, but it would be nice to see the Sabres push a little bit for once, instead of just giving the other team what they want without hesitation (maybe with the exception of the Hodgson-Kassian trade). Now back to the first round pick for just a second. Based on the position the Capitals are at now I could see their pick turning out to be around 13th-15th overall, which is a pretty good position to be at (considering that the Sabres are more than likely going to end up with the first overall pick as well), this pick could get a decent prospect that the Sabres would probably be able to put to use a few years down the road. However, since the Capitals would be receiving Miller in this trade than I believe that makes their pick drop back a little bit. I have no doubt that with Miller in net the Capitals would be able to make a playoff push and possibly get a couple rounds into the playoffs (dare I even say win the cup; although I think that would be a bit of a stretch). With Miller in net, I believe this would move the Capitals pick back to maybe 22nd-25th, which for a first rounder is a bit of a jump. With that pick the Sabres would still be able to get a player with tremendous ability, but may have to give them a little more time to develop (which at this point doesn't seem like a problem for the rebuilding Sabres). Therefore I believe the Sabres would in the end be very happy with whatever comes of this first round pick.
Now there is a couple problems I see with this trade:
-Will the Capitals give all this up knowing that Miller could just walk at the end of the season and they would basically lose everything?
-On the other hand, will the Sabres give up their franchise player knowing that one of the three people could walk at the end of the season and the other two the season after that?
-This all relies on Miller; will he even accept a trade to Washington, as he has a limited trade agreement in his contract.
-And finally, will the Sabres even have the guts to actually make a blockbuster trade like this? In the past they have been known to make pretty upsetting trades or just let players go without getting anything in return. The new GM Murray seems pretty set to trade anybody in order to help the organization and I admire that, but Miller is the last player (besides Tallinder and Stafford) from the golden ages of the Sabres and I feel as though they won't want to let him go without a fight.
Overall scope:
Washington: If this trade were to take place than potentially you could be looking at one of the best teams in the NHL. With Alexander Ovechkin (arguably one of the, if not the, best players in the entire world), Nicklas Backstrom; who sets up all of Ovechkin's goals (and could be considered one of the best center's in the league), Mike Green (who is considered by many one of the better defensemen in the league), John Carlson (who is also considered a pretty good defensive threat in this league), than the addition of Ryan Miller (arguably one of the best goaltender's in the entire world), it seems as though the Capitals would be unstoppable and be capable of winning their first ever Stanley Cup. This a move that I think benefits the Capitals in a variety of ways and would be a very smart move to make on McPhee's part.
Buffalo: Unfortunately we all know it, but MillerTime is over in Buffalo. The goaltender has little to no interest in playing for this organization next season and has made that point pretty clear over the year. Along with this, he is not in his prime anymore and it's only a matter of time before he really starts going downhill (unless he ends up like Martin Brodeur, which don't get me wrong, Miller has a massive amount of talent, but he is no Martin Brodeur). The Sabres would be insanely stupid to not trade him by the March 5th deadline because than we potentially have another Briere/Drury situation on our hands and that is the last thing we need as we are fully entering into this rebuilding phase. The way I see it is nothing can really hurt the Sabres at this point. They are the worst team in the NHL and need to do something to get back to where they were 7 years ago. If that means trading the face of the franchise than do it already, stop the hesitation. The assets we would be getting in this trade could potentially help our team get some younger talent which is exactly what we are looking for. I think the players we are receiving could help our team in a variety of ways and I would definitely be interested in seeing how it develops next season. Plus, the pick(s) we would be receiving could harvest into a top NHL star. Basically, I think this trade would help Buffalo start a new path and help us down the road much more than desperately clinging onto Miller and relying on him to win us every game.
Just a little side note to this whole trade. I am very interested in the whole Miller situation, but since Steve Ott could potentially be gone at the deadline and this trade proposal I have going would get rid of him, I am also very interested in the whole captain and alternate captain situation. I think for the remainder of the season they should just kinda ride out three alternates and make no permanent decisions until next season. However, once next season comes what are you guys thinking? Personally I believe it is a very hard decision as there is a number of candidates. Here is a list of people I think would be worthy of the captain tag: Stafford, Ehrhoff, Hodgson, and Moulson (if he remains on the Sabres next season). Now any of these players could be alternate's as well if not chosen captain, but here is a list of people I believe would also be candidates for the alternate positions: Girgensons, Ennis(if he remains on the Sabres next season), and Tallinder (if he remains on the Sabres next season). Really any combination of these guys would make me happy, but naturally I have my opinion on what I would like to see. This is what I'm thinking: Hodgson as captain (the Sabres really seem to want this guy to be the future face of the franchise so why not start now and make an identity for themselves, he plays well and deserves this role as well). First alternate, Stafford (he is one of the only players left on the team from our golden days and he has stuck by this teams side through thick and thin, he deserves a bigger role and given the opportunity I think he could be one of the Sabres star players; he knows the team better than most players and would work well in a leadership role. Second alternate, this is a bit of a harder decision, I can't decide between Ehrhoff and Girgensons. Ehrhoff got named an alternate this season and really hasn't done a bad job, so why mess with success, plus taking this away from him would probably crush his spirit and why do that to your team's best defenseman. However, I believe the Sabres are hoping Girgensons can be another future face to this franchise and he really hasn't had a bad rookie season, so why not reward that? I know he is young and may not have the experience needed, but give him a chance and maybe he will prove himself. I think this would be a smart choice in creating an identity for the Sabres and personally, I have a liking for Girgensons. Whatever choice the Sabres make they need to stick to it and make whoever they chose franchise players, we can't keep trading away captains and changing the leadership of this team, we need players that can lead the rest of this team to a cup!
Lastly, I just wanna say thanks for your time to all the people who read this through. I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts (it took me about 2 hours to write this all). I don't normally post on here, but this Miller and potential captain situation have really sparked my interest. I hope you guys enjoy the read and I would love to hear some feedback, that's the whole reason I did this, to see who agrees and see who would change it and how they would change it. I'm really excited to see what everyone else thinks about both the Miller trade and the potential captain situation. But, most importantly of all, GO SABRES!!!!!!!
