That pick could easily be 1st overall.

doesnt make sense for buffalo

yeah it does they are getting two amazing d men who immediately make their team so much better and they can't afford to be bad again next year otherwise Eichel is for sure gone if he's not already gone this summer

Buffalo is also going full rebuild so it doesn't make sense for them, I do think you could get a little more value for Ekholm and Ellis from another team though

how can you get better value then a possible first overall pick

A rental in ekholm and a 30 year old dman signed for 6 more years in ellis for our top goalie prospect who is probably close to the nhl, a possible second round dime of a pick, risto who's been good this year, don't care about tage, and a top 5 pick. I don't see it.

Full rebuild? Where?

Right....lottery pick plus a good prospect, another good prospect, and more....

Regardless of price, Buffalo is not in on either of those D

how does any of what your giving up make you better next year to stop Eichel from oficially demanding a trade

I don't think NSH would have as much interest in Luukonen considering their goalie pipeline right now (though always good to have options), and Risto + Thompson wouldn't be of much interest. JPP and the picks, sure --- but does BUF really want to trade good picks and prospects for older vets? They should be rebuilding now too to a certain extent. Just doesn't seem like a deal that makes a whole lot of sense to me.

Not gonna lie, Buffalo may not even be a playoff team with adding those players. Their problem is systemic. They need to fix their problem before selling the farm to add better players. Or else both guys will just struggle as every other player who goes to Buffalo does.

The last thing they need to do is double down on their suckyness. If it means losing Eichel, so be it. Having him be happy but the team still suck wont fix anything. Just get them farther down the rabbit hole than when they started.

Sabres decline, we don't buyers, we sellers.

They will trade him before he demands a deal, they have been listening to offers on him for a long time and this is one of two options.

buf doesnt need that.

They have Joki, Dahlin, McCabe (assuming he comes back), Bryson, and Borgen.

And Samuelsson, Laaskonen, and Johnson in the system. where do they have room for them

Dont get me wrong, Ekholm and Ellis are amazing, but theres no point of trading away assets when its clear buffalo needs to go into a full re-tool and count on their young players,

Building this around a pick is hard, because that pick looks like a top-five to Buffalo fans, but if NSH gives Buffalo enough help to get them to the playoffs, then it becomes about 18th overall.

Buffalo fans really like Ristolainen, and would want to dump at least Okposo, if not Skinner, if they're risking giving up their 2nd best prospect and a potential lottery pick. Of course, to take Skinner, NSH would want a lot more, or they'd want to move back a giant contract of their own. I could see Buffalo wanting to upgrade at #2C, though.

and if hes already gone, or will be gone then why would we trade for old defensemen?

also, if they are so great, keep them.

we aren't making the playoffs this year adding ekholm and ellis.

we are about in last place and eichel is out for several games if not longer.

Because this draft doesn't have a true stud so it is a crap shoot. Not saying its a good trade just saying 1st overall this year isnt like years with Connor or Matthews or even Hughes.