Love the building blocks of the Minnesota deal for both teams

Same here. I added Rask to offset some cap and give BUF I number 1 or 2 C filler for a yr

MIN makes the most sense. Good young players and the timeline makes the most sense where they’ll be willing to give up assets.

Problem is the Sabres passed on Marco Rossi last year, they must see issues there. That plus losing a whole year of dev is an issue. Erickson Ek has to be the guy to target.

I predict that Buffalo fans will be severely disappointed with the actual return for eichel

So IMO i have 2 reasons why they passed on Rossi.

1.) He is undersized at 5'9

2.) At the time they had the future looking like Eichel, Cozens, Mitts down the middle. Where does a guy like Rossi fit there ? I think that's why they picked Quinn, a playmaker that can put the puck in the net with one of those 3 guys down the middle. Who knew that the Eichel situation would turn into what it is.

I am leaning towards that as well. However, KA knows this could be his job on the line. There is no need to move him if the right deal does not present itself. Eichel has 5 more yrs in BUF. If he wants to act like a baby and complain, so be it. I'd rather have a whiny super star then a weak return.

Yeah Buffalo has all the leverage. Is Jack Eichel going to sit out the next 5 years and miss out on 50M dollars? Not a chance.

With Fiala and Rossi both in the trade already I'd prefer it be a pick over Addison from MN's PoV.

I was not 100% sure on Addison's value tbh. I could live with a pick, depending on what round. I think as long as the value is smiliar to Addison, i dont see that being a problem.

As much as I would hate to see Kakko or Lundkvist go. Rangers would pull the trigger on this.

I tried being realistic and as unbiased as possible.

Value aside, I would rather have Zegras, Lindholm and at worst 4th OA than Eichel, He doesnt make ANA good enough to justify paying for him.

That's a fair opinion. I can see an argument for wanting to make the move as well as not wanting to.

I just dont see how we'd be more than 10 points better than BUF if we get him once you factor in the cost of getting him, and thats still finishing in the bottom quarter of the league

Probably higher than his draft position (53rd). Late 1st to early 2nd is where I have him. I'd like to have him in the AHL another year and bring him up for injury replacement.

I think a better RD target for BUF would be Menell. A little older, has a more developed game, and has earned everything.

I've gotta think that there isn't an Eichel deal in the universe that doesn't need to be signed off on by the Pegula's before it happens. The fact that they refuse to hire a director of hockey ops to oversee the team, and instead continue to meddle with it doesn't bode well for anyone involved. I'm sure KA is a fine GM, but I feel like he's been given an impossible task.

I don't even know that I'm prepared to call Eichel a "whiny superstar" yet. The organization has been badly mismanaged since long before he got there, and I definitely don't blame him for trying to do what's best for his own health. I feel like there's a lot more going on behind the scenes down there than we have any clue about.

This is how I view a lot of Eichel trades. They end up gutting teams that end up helping neither team long or short term.

NYR, MN, and VGK are the teams that have the assets it could work for without completely killing them. CBJ does a lot of strange things, so they are a wildcard.

AZ, LA, and ANA I just don't see them being better with Eichel as opposed to keeping their own stuff.

SEA is the darkhorse for me. Depending how their expansion draft goes they might be able to put together a very nice package for Eichel.

Yeah NYR, MIN, VGK are the three that make the most sense to me, LA is my dark horse, especially after Rob Blake said "We need to add to this roster to be better" when asked if the roster can make playoffs without adding "established" players.

The only reason the Ducks are connected (imo) is salary cap room and the pieces to get a trade done. Eichel is not a good fit for the Ducks, we only finished 6 points ahead of BUF this season, Gutting the team for one player (Even if its McDavid) doesnt make a 40 point team into a playoff contender let alone a cup contender.

TBF any other team (in any major sport) trading away a player like Eichel it would have to be signed off by the owner too. Other teams might have more layers before anything gets to the owner, but at the end of the day it is the owners toy box and his toys.

That sounds more like normal vague GM speak to me from Blake. He can't come out and give a Red Foreman "****" replay to question.

Thoughts on

Kakko
Strome
Georgiev
2021 1st
2022 1st

The Rask and Skinner duo will save buffalo

I'd rather have Lundquist. Georgie is an avg goalie at best and is fine for a #2, but the sabres can grab a #2 in the UFA market. So I'd much rather have Lunquist then another late first round pick and Georgiev. I would not be against switching out for B, Schneider and maybe another pick or prospect. But to me Lunquist was the 2nd best piece in that deal.

Haha, yea, deff wouldnt be looking forward to that, however it would be a tank yr/limbo yr to get guys like Rossi, Quinn, JJP, UPL, and whomever the Sabres draft, another yr of growth before the come in the NHL.

Like Florida against Tampa! Jokes aside yeah probably