Also wondering how much you guys think Coleman, Saad and Hyman would fetch in FA!

Probably just a pick for Risto (2nd/3rd?) Either that or one of the goalies

Greenway: Late(very late) 1st or 2nd+prospect(A-/B+)

Some people will say Risto is worth nothing and hes terrible, and then there is other people who are right. Ristos value will be all over the place

Hakapaa gets 1-1.2 milion? maybe less but probably not more

I figured that. I don't think he's a terrible player at all. Big physical defensemen who has put up in points in BUFFALO. I was thinking like a 2nd and a good prospect.

Hakanpaa has been getting some big numbers on this site but can’t see him getting much more than $1M on a 1-2 year deal. He’s big and physical and he’s not bad but on a contending team he should probably be your 7D, otherwise you’re probably not a top contender.

I'd ask for McCann in a 1 for 1 swap if I'm Guerin

Yes, a player like McCann is also a good value if we are not looking for futures

Only puts up points on power play, where he often plays in front of the net. Liability defensively. He is hated by advanced stats people, he kills possession, coughs the puck up in the worst spots, cannot complete passes, and has one of the lowest WAR ratings of anyone in NHL.

He will be very cheap. Late pick.

You can take your advanced analytics and shove them where you can put your late pick. I guarantee you if he gets traded it will be for more than whatever you think he’s worth. Of course that’s probably not very hard because you would think the Sabres would have to pay someone to get rid of him.

No, I would say they would have to pay my team to take him. But I clearly said “late pick” for another team.

There is a difference. Here is why Devils do not want Risto.

1. Devils don’t want rentals. Unless they are cheap Ryan Murray type deals, they won’t likely be paying for 1-year of any player.

2. Devils put more into analytics than almost any team. It’s been a big part of their hockey operations and scouting departments since Fitzgerald became GM.

3. Devils are building around a possession style game. Mostly, around the style of play for Hughes, Hischier, Bratt. That is an area of weakness for Risto.

4. Devils want to add a defensive d-man. They have guys like Smith, Subban, Severson who can move puck, help offensively. They don’t have any shut-down d-man on their roster. Andy Greene was the last. Kulikov was close last year before we dealt him. Risto is not a defensive d-man.

5. Devils do not really need size on blue-line. Many of the prospects are quite large.

6. The one thing we need a new d-man to do more than anything is provide high breakout success rate. When games were on the line, we often would get trapped in our own zone. Risto has one of leagues lowest breakout rates.

7. Since Andy Greene left, we have sorely missed his shot-blacking ability. Ideally, we would boost this category as well as we were 12th in possession and 22nd in shots against. Risto blocks at same rate as Will Butcher, so not a big help in that category.

If all of that is true, why would there be a rumor that the devils are interested in trading for Risto?

ROFL no

Got me there.
Have no idea - it was surprising to me to see Devils connected to Risto.
And until we hear anything from Devils side, hard to put much stock into it.

My theory - which is worth as much as most 'theories' - is this...

Before Subban acquisition, Devils had been connected to Risto (Ray Shero era).
(A big difference in Shero and Fitzgerald eras is the current regime is very tight-lipped. Shero's days had constant rumors).
Sabres wanted to create a market for Risto this time around, and floated Devils name to Sabres beat reporter.
Since Devils don't respond directly, and have been connected to player in past, the rumor mill takes over.

I don't know what this means, but I am guessing you disagree with my assessment on Risto's ability.
If so, that's fine.

I doubt Risto pulls much value unless there is retention. Most contending teams (which are the teams that’d go after him) would likely want him in a sheltered 3rd pair role. I can’t see teams giving up a lot for a guy making over 5 million to fill that role when they could go after Lyubushkin in AZ, or a few guys in FA for free. Maybe he gets more when some of those free agents are off the board. Hakanpaa would probably be more bang for your buck as he should be considerably cheaper. If we are going 3rd pair RD, Larsson/Lyubushkin would be the best gets imo.