I’d take Connor McDavid over Rasmus Dahlin

Mario Lemieux may have saved a franchise in Pittsburgh so you think he might be the most important pick ever. Good luck to Dahlin, and to the Sabres. One player can't solve the Sabres woes immediately though.

Just like Matthews didn’t solve the Leafs woes. Got it.

Except Dahlin is 11.6 million cheaper for each of the next 3 years. Also Dahlin will play more minutes and will have just as big of an effect on his team. Not saying he'll be better than McDavid but in terms of value to their team, maybe

I wouldn’t put him as the most valuable asset just yet. He still hasn’t stepped ice on an NHL rink, by no means do I think he will bust, but players of the caliber and value of Mcdavid, eichel, etc. are of more value for now.

I mean, it is one of the most valuable. That being said, why would anyone trade it unless they don't think he'll be a savior to a franchise which by all indications he'll help a ton.

Would you draft Karlsson over Crosby?

That Tavares kid is pretty valuable and could be a pretty significant gain if someone can lure him away from the Islanders. Karlsson and Doughty are also pretty valuable assets as both are actual Norris winning d-men and not just bag of potential.

They will make 11+ mil though.

Far and away the most valuable asset in the NHL.
Defensemen get more ice time than any other player except for GK. I have not seen him play, I can only go by the reports.
Over the last 10 years THE most valuable player in the NHL is Drew Doughty. It does not matter who the Kings have in nets they all have very high save percentages.
If Dahlin is as good as the report that I have been reading, the Sabres will be in the playoff hunt for the next 10 years.

So? Are we talking about value from a monetary standpoint or what they'll bring to their team? Dahlin could come here and be a bust, superstar or somewhere in between. You know what you have in JT, DD & EK, right? I mean how many d-men come in and dominate day 1? Hedman took time, as did Karlsson, Doughty, Burns and many others. Defense is one of the hardest positions to play in the NHL.

I’m talking about straight up value to General Managers. This includes age, contract, potential etc. For example Roman josi is not as good as PK Subban, but because Josi is on a deal that pays him 4M for 3 more years, I think he would get more in a trade than PK. That’s why I’m thinking that this is the most valuable asset, bc there’s like 2 maybe 3 players is consider moving for and that’s Matthews and McD. And even then, if you add those players you have to pay them and essentially chunk out 15% of your cap. You have that same level talent making peanuts for 3 more season. Idk, just a fun discussion

"... and will have just as big effect... "

We don't know that yet. It's a good bet that Dahlin will have a great career in the NHL, but it's impossible to predict his impact. That's why McDavid is worth more - known quantity vs unknown.

I guess it depends on the team. Again Dahlin is still an unknown, so a team that is trying to win now is looking for pieces they know help them win now. I'd still argue that JT is the most valuable seeing as he'd step in as a #1C day one for a team and is in his prime. In an average year you can expect JT to give you 30+ goals and 40+ assist.

I too do not know how the forums work on this website, lets just dump everything in armchair GM

No, of course not. By far the most valuable to the Sabres, but that doesn't mean y'all are going to be able to find a buyer that'll get what you want, and that's really the practical objective of determining asset value. There's contending teams out there that already have killer defenses and thus have greater needs than a young up-and-coming blueliner, given what would be demanded in return. Indeed, there is no concept of objective player value in the NHL to begin with anyways, so there's not much point in speculating on what it is unless you have some desire to sell.

He may very well be but for tit to be 100% certain, he'll need to prove it in the NHL first. That's the only way he can be considered the most valuable asset in the NHL. Till then he is a extremely high ceiling prospect but we've heard that before so.....let's let him prove it first.

The Leafs did have Nylander who was NHL ready and the unexpected Marner who was NHL good, plus better than average goaltending all coming to the team in 2016/17. If the Sabres can get those pieces (and they might already have some of them) then the Sabres can make a move upwards quickly.