Still not a big fan of the depth down the middle, need more reliable players to win the cup.

We got Cozens developing that could potentially fill in Mittelstadt’s slot and slide him over to the wing like they did with Reinhart. Also I think theSabres know they won’t be in contention for the cup yet but need to establish their top 6 with getting a top 6 RW and then go from there and then build the lower 6 foundation. The Sabres surprisingly turned over the D core within a year and have multiple of D prospects developing so they are set on D

This team needs a Brayden Point or Sean Monahan type player at 2C without losing any major roster piece besides likely Mittelstadt to compete. Also need a 2LD like Sergachev or Leddy

Seems to be working so far

Jets trade never happens.

That would be cozens

Johansson is realistically a 3C like he was playing in Boston.

Johansson is realistically a middle six winger prolly

In how long tho till he becomes a 50-60+ point 2nd line center player? When u have to pay Dahlin 10+, get a better goalie and give raises to Mittelstadt, Reinhart and Montour, you will be kind of in the same position the Leafs are in

Risto and a 3rd (potential 2nd) seems to be a fair trade for both sides. Winnipeg desperately needs a defenseman Buffalo doesn’t really need but would like a top 6RW at the moment. Buffalo could go into the offseason and try to obtain a RW. Winnipeg needs D and they will have to gamble if they want their D to not get stomped over

You said it "desperation" because that's what this move is for Winnipeg. IMO, who cares if Winnipeg finishes at the bottom, thatd be good for them. You get rid of a lot of dead weight, not too many RFAs to re-sign, sign a guy like Hamonic, draft a centre top 10, and regroup to compete next year. Also, figure out goalie situation and maybe trade Helleybuck for a D or centre

Attention.

God, Eichel was good last night.

That is all.

Why would Winnipeg trade a solid winger for a “replaceable” defenseman in buffalo? I mean if he isn’t good enough to be top 4 on a healthy roster why trade an assets for him? Value isn’t their. Would you trade reinhart for a #4-6 dman? Let’s say Pionk?

2 years from now probably. If he continues on the trend that he is currently on. Mitts and Montour shouldn't make more than probably 5 mil per year each. Reino should be 8 probably. With bogo scandella and sobotka at least coming off the books, the Sabres should be looking decent with a rising cap.

I would say two years for Cozens, he needs to develop a bit more but was strong in preseason (dosen’t say much really) but he showed he is strong with the puck and make good plays away from the puck. I mean it’s possible that he could be brought up to Rochester halfway through the year and have a legit shot making the team next year. We have Ukko Pekka Luukkenon as our future goaltender (hopefully) a year, year and half he could be ready to be in the NHL. Reinhart and Dahlin will get their desired contracts, Muttelstadt will won’t be getting a big contract yet since he really hasn’t proved himself yet.

I think Mitt takes a 2 year bridge at 3-3.5 and cashes in 2 years on a longterm deal. Montour should get a contract similar to Morissey

Sooo the jets are gonna lose badly on a trade because they need D? Doesn’t really work like that ehlers could forsure catch a better dman risto wouldn’t even help our Dzone.. and if I’m shopping a fwd it would be Connor which could also catch a better dman.

I think pilut is the 2lhd. I try not to be a homer in evaluating players, we have 2 guys that non-sabres fans probably won't know- olofsson and pilut. These guys are our best prospects not named cozens, except they aren't 18 year old raw talents, they are older and much more polished. Scandella is the fly in the ointment right now, we already have dahlin and McCabe on the left, so scandella will play and pilut will wait in the ahl until a spot opens, just because he can.

Mittelstadt isnt moving to the wing. Also Larsson's line has been really good, i dont see them sitting him for Rodrigues unless he plays much better than last night

goalies are fine and the cap will be going up considerably over the next 3 years

First of all, I am a huge advocate of show casing players who may be traded. I do not think that is the plan, but I like your thought process. BTW our crash line is also getting more ice time than Mittelstadt’s line, could they also be dangled as trade bait? I think everyone knows how much I like Larsson and Girgensons, but maybe Asplund and Lazar could play nearly as well at half the Salary?
@Csick I agree, Johansson is a smart player and a great free agent acquisition, but he is not a # 2 center on a playoff team. I also agree that Buffalo could be in cap hell in two years.
@gerowrj16 Cozens is certainly making a case to be in the NHL this season with 5 goals and 9 pts in only 4 games. Next year could be interesting with Cozens and Thompson performing really well in the lower leagues.
@Cheddamonkey37 I agree that trade never happens, IMO Betterall is very happy with his depth on the blue line. I have been watching the Sabres since their inception, I never remember the blue line being this strong. But if Ristolainen is traded this is the return that Betterall would want.
@Capitalfail67 you are correct Buffalo’s RHD is very deep but that does not mean Buffalo should discount one of them to a team that needs defensemen. Ristolainen is still playing 24 minutes a night, so I would hardly call him a #4-6 dman. But you are correct, I would not trade Reinhart for Pionk.
@Wojme I do not think Ristolainen will be traded unless it is for a 60 pt forward.
@Shibbal18 Let’s get excited about the current team, but you are correct the future looks even better.

Agreed