What makes it good, i dont like any of the forwards. Just because theyre high in the draft doesnt mean theyll be a Rantanen

What specifically don’t you like about Guenther, Eklund, Lysell, Benier, or Johnson?

Yeah i didnt say #1 sucks, i said the draft sucks, 1 - 8

And I'm telling you that is wrong because it doesn't. You just don't know anything about the draft

No i do you just think high pick = NHLer. The forwards arent that good

Most of the forwards in this top 10 are better than Jack Quinn? So I guess Quinn isn't a future NHLer in your eye's

Based on what

Based on actually doing research on the draft instead of being ignorant.

I don't even have to think about Beniers, Eklund, or Guenther, they are obviously better. I would probably take Johnson over Quinn too.

As a starting point yes. Second piece would also need to be better than Petruzelli.

Go look at the 2014 draft. This one is gonna be worse than that

Pertruzzelli's right can be traded, a la Adam Fox, up until August 15th (I suspect that'll remain the date). If a guy is looking to get into the NHL quickly, BUF would be a good route (it's not like anything in front of him is blocking his path).

I love this statement. You don't have the slightest clue if that is true

Trade Eichel give them 10mm in cap space. Cap space isn't cumulated and retained if not used, it's annual.

And I'm not talking about cap space. I'm talking about cash. Pegula is notoriously cheap, and removing $19mm in salary would have an owner like that salavating. Replacing Eichel and Skinner with cost controled players would be huge for Pegula.

Trading Eichel might be a bigger business decision because it's a horrible hockey decision.

Adam Fox had the same opportunity, and he was traded twice in a couple of months at the end of his college career. Giving someone months of exclusive bargaining has value, which is why GMs keep doing it..

A crystal ball tell you that? Even that draft has a Norris caliber defense first overall (Ekblad) and a top 5 player in (Draisaitl).

So I’ll ask the same question I asked @Shibbal18 whom hasn’t answered, what makes the 5th-8th selection in this draft any different than last year? What specifically don’t you like about that range of forwards or defensemen? Just for your reference, I’m talking about Sanderson, Drysdale, Holtz, and Quinn versus the 2021 crop.

Edit - Clarity

Thanks kid, to make it clearer for you the Sabres have 33.9 mill in cap space after July 1 right now, subtract Eichels 10 mill, the Sabres have 43.9 mill, therefore trading Eichel gives them over 40 million in cap space. Pegula has spent to the cap almost every year aside from the legitimate tank years

The sabres dont need d prospects but probably end up taking one because the best forward in the draft is projected to be a 2c, not only that they havent been scouted properly and the forwards have fluctuated in value all year.Raty was a sure fire number 1 last year is now out of the top 10. That combined with the lack of skill the % chance of taking a bust is significantly higher this year than is has been in decades. Sabres need a much safer play on their investments. Trading Eichel sets the team back no matter what, what they get back determines for how long

But those are no longer Detroit's after Aug 15.

That still doesn’t really answer the question or you’re amending your original comment from “the 2021 draft class sucks” to “Buffalo would rather have Eichel”. This draft sucks because Buffalo needs forwards & they’re less scouting chances for those in that 5-8th selection? Buffalo I’d argue needs help just about everywhere including defensemen. Who is on the blue line in 5 years outside of potentially Dahlin? Where do you rank Quinn versus Beniers, Guenther, Eklund, Johnson, and Lysell?

Beniers is the best sure fire center prospect but isn’t the slam dunk best forward prospect as it’s debatable. Eklund produced the most for an SHL draft eligible forward except for Elias Lindholm in recent time. His production also dropped once he had Covid and out produced Holtz while driving the offense of that line. Guenther was 2 PPG in the WHL and boasts a complete game that translates to the NHL. Just to name two.

Raty was a sure fire 1st overall two years ago and last year many questioned it. Even more so this year with two subpar seasons. Players rise and fall on draft boards all the time.

Really? Please enlighten me with your superior knowledge

The Calgary to Carolina trade happened a season before Calgary was going to lose his rights and in that trade he was little more than sweetener. If I remember correctly Fox had no interest in playing in Carolina and wasn't going to sign there anyway so his rights got traded NYR.