I really liked Pilut and was excited when he signed with Buffalo, but IDK about him being a top 6 defenseman for Buffalo.
He played really well in Rochester, not so much in Buffalo
I also think we did not treat him well, giving him a two way contract
Remember he started the season hurt and at the time he returned which one of Dahlin, Scandella or McCabe would he have kicked out.
He certainly would not be playing RHD with Ristolainen, Montour, Miller and Jokiharju holding down the fort.
Let's be clear, Scandella played much better last year than the previous year, it would be difficult to knock McCabe out of the line up and Dahlin is immovable.
He did not earn his way into the line up with only 8 pts in 46 games and -12 rating. Especially when Scandella was +9 and had the best PDO of all defensemen.
He was offered a one way contract it was too late.
On the other hand, I really do not want a player who takes his ball and goes home when he does not get his way (Puljujarvi).

BTW getting only a fourth for Scandella was a terrible move made even worse by trading for Frolik.

Compher would be a good fit in colorados top 6

Gourde deal is awful, please take it 5 yrs at $4.5M for a small guy who has slowly disappeared since he got his extension. The only seasons he has scored 20+ his shooting percentage was 15+%.

Tell Mr. Gourde to pack his bags for Syracuse then

Tell Mr. Gourde to pack his bags for Syracuse then

Tell Mr. Gourde to pack his bags for Syracuse then

The Buffalo organisation is pretty incompetent so it's pretty harsh to hold it against him that he preferred to go to the KHL over being mismanaged by idiots.

I kind of view it as getting Namestnikov in UFA along with a free 1st.

Except with a 5yr contract where as I bet they could get Namestikov to sign a 3yr deal for less than Gourde even retained.

Namestnikov ($4m x 3 years) <------> Gourde ($4.5m x 5 years) + 2021 1st

Hmmm....

A GM would be unwise to destroy their reputation like that. Gourde has done nothing wrong. Sending him to the AHL would be an absolutely atrocious play.

Haha, what a great way that would be to maintain loyalty with players who sign lower AAV contracts in Tampa so they can get NTC's. That just tells players not to trust the organisation going forward because they couldn't care less about you, and that NTC means very little, so future contracts (eg. Cirelli, Sergachev, Cernak....) will go for the money rather than folding to Tampa's NTC setup with RFA's.

It happens all the time

Don’t forget the difference too is in 3yrs MacKinnon doesn’t sign an extension. 🧐

It happens when guys are outplayed and lose their roster spot (not the case here).

It doesn't happen to force a guy to waive the trade protection that they earned.

It happens when guys are outplayed and lose their roster spot (not the case here).

It doesn't happen to force a guy to waive the trade protection that they earned.

This is like telling your wife, "Honey, you have been a good and loyal partner. I appreciate you choosing me over your other options and sacrificing all other opportunities. However, I came across a younger and better looking lady and would rather keep her than you. While you did nothing wrong, I'm going to make your life a living hell unless you agree to a divorce without alimony and child support."

"Hi Yanni's agent. As you know we are in quite a pickle with the cap. I know Yanni has a NTC, but would you get with him and give me a list of teams you might consider? We are in a tough spot and a guy like Yanni might be attractive to a team. He is not the only player with a NTC that we are approaching. If we don't get permission from enough guys to get under the cap, we are looking at having to bury a few players to get there, so please take that into account."

"Dear Tampa, joe sakic is willing to take Yanni if you give him a first round pick, haha, you can't send him anywhere else."

"Dear Yanni's agent, tell him to pack his bags for Syracuse"

Phrasing it in a nicer manner doesn't make it any less ****ty. Tampa agreed to a contract with trade protection. They can ask Gourde to waive it. If he doesn't want to though, strong arming him is not a valid solution and does not happen all the time.

they aren't going to have a team left if the NTC guys act the way the thread starter proposes they act. there is a hard salary cap in the NHL. so i guess they should destroy their team to avoid hurting yanni gourdes feelings.

No, they should honor the contracts they gave out. They can ask guys to waive. If they don't though, then they have to trade Cirelli and/or Sergachev. They don't threaten and take retribution on guys that have honored their side of the bargain. That's a poor way to do business, and it will likelt hurt them in the long run.

its not retribution, its fitting under the salary cap. right now they have 5 million dollars under the salary cap for next year and only 15 players under contract. if they signed 8 players to the league minimum they would go over the cap, meaning they are already over the cap without signing any of sergachev, cirelli and cernak. 9 of those 15 players have a NTC or NMC.

so they should trade nikita kucherov to avoid upsetting yanni gourde?

Yeah because Gourde with a 23 team trade-to list with only 2 years remaining is going to be sooooo hard to move right

Yeah because I want a guy who managed his only 2 20 goal seasons shooting 18.4% and 16.9%, and when pushed down in the line up his shooting % and production dropped. Yeah I’ll pass on that and literally give Kaut a top 6 roll instead of hoping he rediscovers his scoring touch (wishful thinking hoping he gets a shooting percentage north of 13% again) and being stuck with that awful contract, knowing I’m giving extensions to everybody not named Girard or Rantanen.