African Hunting Dog

Team: 2022-23 Buffalo Sabres

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 16, 2022

Published: Jun. 20, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Trade Explanation:
Washington Trade: Victor Olofsson is a player that has one year until UFA and will see a reduced role in Buffalo with the addition of Jack Quinn to the lineup. However he still has an elite one-timer and could be a valuable powerplay specialist for a team. The reason Washington has interest is because Olofsson could provide a lethal left-handed one-timer opposite of Ovechkin on the power-play. Buffalo would get the 47th pick in this year in this deal. They would also add Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, a player they claimed off of waivers last year but ended up returning to Washington before he could play a game with the team.
Edmonton Trade: Klefbom is unlikely to play hockey again in the NHL under this contract. The Oilers should look to move this deal so that they can accrue cap-space and make additions at the deadline this year. The reason the return is greater than the Ben Bishop trade is because there is significantly more cash owed to Klefbom this year.

Free Agent Explanation:
Andre Burakovsky: Legitimate Top 6 option for the Sabres here, he would pick Buffalo in this scenario because of the term that is offered.
PK Subban: PK joins a blue line that needs a veteran in the room. He would also be in the same organization as his brother Malcolm.
Jack Campbell: Campbell has most likely priced himself out of Toronto. He would serve as the Sabres bridge to their young goalies.

Draft:
Round 1
1. Shane Wright (Montreal Canadiens).
2. Juraj Slafkovsky (New Jersey Devils).
3. Logan Cooley (Arizona Coyotes).
4. David Jiricek (Seattle Kraken).
5. Simon Nemec (Philadelphia Flyers).
6. Matthew Savoie (Columbus Blue Jackets from Chicago Blackhawks).
7. Cutter Gauthier (Ottawa Senators).
8. Jonathan Lekkerimäki (Detroit Red Wings).
9. Frank Nazar (Buffalo Sabres). : A smaller prospect that has a high ceiling that will take a year a Michigan before turing pro.
10. Kevin Korchinski (Anaheim Ducks).
11. Joakim Kemell (San Jose Sharks).
12. Brad Lambert (Columbus Blue Jackets).
13. Conor Geekie (New York Islanders).
14. Noah Östlund (Winnipeg Jets).
15. Danila Yurov (Vancouver Canucks).
16. Rutger McGroarty (Buffalo Sabres from Vegas Golden Knights). : A player that compared himself to an African Hunting Dog. He is a hard worker who would probably jump to the NHL after a year at Michigan.
17. Marco Kasper (Nashville Predators).
18. Isaac Howard (Dallas Stars).
19. Jimmy Snuggerud (Los Angeles Kings).
20. Seamus Casey (Washington Capitals).
21. Tristan Luneau (Pittsburgh Penguins).
22. Filip Mesar (Anaheim Ducks from Boston Bruins).
23. Ivan Miroshnichenko (St. Louis Blues).
24. Ryan Chesley (Minnesota Wild).
25. Denton Mateychuk (Toronto Maple Leafs).
26. Jack Hughes (Montreal Canadiens from Calgary Flames).
27. Elias Salomonsson (Arizona Coyotes from Carolina Hurricanes).
28. Lian Bichsel (Buffalo Sabres from Florida Panthers). : A huge defenseman who played very well in the SHL. He would be a very good addition to the Sabres prospect pool.
29. Calle Odelius (Edmonton Oilers).
30. Liam Öhgren (Winnipeg Jets from New York Rangers).
31. Jiri Kulich (Tampa Bay Lightning).
32. Alexander Perevalov (Arizona Coyotes from Colorado Avalanche).

Round 2
33. Ty Nelson (Montreal Canadiens).
34. Pavel Mintyukov (Arizona Coyotes).
35. Paul Ludwinski (Seattle Kraken).
36. Lane Hutson (Arizona Coyotes from Philadelphia Flyers).
37. Jagger Firkus (New Jersey Devils).
38. Adam Sýkora (Chicago Blackhawks).
39. Sam Rinzel (Ottawa Senators).
40. Nathan Gaucher (Detroit Red Wings).
41. Gleb Trikozov (Buffalo Sabres). : After taking 4 Russians last year, the Sabres swing on one here who is a younger player that has plenty of runway ahead of him before he comes to North America.
42. Filip Bystedt (Anaheim Ducks).
43. Devin Kaplan (Arizona Coyotes from San Jose Sharks).
44. Rieger Lorenz (Columbus Blue Jackets).
45. Viktor Neuchev (Arizona Coyotes from New York Islanders).
46. Julian Lutz (Buffalo Sabres from Washington Capitals from Winnipeg Jets). : A former teammate of JJ Peterka, with a high ceiling. While he was hurt for a large portion of his draft year, but when he played in the DEL, he showed similar numbers to Peterka in his draft year.

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