Expansion protection list doesn't really matter if we're paying them to take Bogosian.
EDIT: Guess I'lll make an exemption list for the sake of it, NSH trade happens before draft.
O'Reilly - Kane - Okposo - Foligno - Larsson - Wilson - Carrier
Ristolainen - McCabe - Ellis
Lehner
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I wanted to try and find teams to take on Moulson and Ennis, but realistically there won't be many that bite at those prices. Maybe you can move Ennis to a team like Arizona for a 4th or 5th or something, but even then it's unlikely. So buying them both out makes the most sense IMO. Carries a cap hit for a little longer but with our younger players we can last through I'd think.
Even buying them out and being stuck with the cap hits, after this year we'd have about 18M in cap space to re-sign Eichel and likely Kane, as well as our RFA's and any other free agents, barring trades.
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I know everyone is sick of seeing Vegas as a cap dump kingdom, but they get some value in Bogosian. He's still young and can make an impact in the bottom 4 of a defense, maybe a change of scenery gets him back to his old form. Large cap hit but still serviceable, likely brings more to the table than Moulson or Ennis at this point.
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Originally I had Reinhart going to Anaheim, swapping for Vatanen, but I thought this could be interesting. Nashville gets 2 young, team controlled players as well as the 8th overall pick in exchange for one of their bottom 6 C/W and arguably one of the top d-men at the moment. Have to give up a little extra in order to snag Ellis because of his great contract and how good he has been.
Making this move allows Nashville to protect 7-3-1 instead of 8-1, allowing them to save some of their younger forwards AND keep veterans like James Neal, while keeping Subban, Josi, and Ekholm in tact. Reinhart can fill in immediately as the 2C, or play the wing on any other line as well, and Nelson is a bit of a downgrade from Ellis but provides depth on the right side and gives them more team control in the long term. Could develop nicely if Housley stays in Nashville as well.
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Everyone's worried about the left side of the defense, but I think it's in better shape than most think. Signing Alzner definitely helps either way though, immediately filling in a top 4 (likely top pair) role, alleviating some pressure off of Ristolainen. McCabe fills in nicely as a second pair d-man, and Antipin anchors the bottom pair, playing in the KHL against men and playing top minutes and excelling in the post season, making the transition easier, regardless of protected minutes.
Ristolainen is the staple on the right side, Ellis brings a whole other dimension to this defense. Can take minutes off of Ristolainen, keeping both of them fresh and providing some much needed offense from the back end. Yannick Weber was originally going to be Michael Stone, but I think Weber can provide stable defense at a lower cost, also having made a playoff run this year with Nashville, providing additional experience.
Not to shabby! Much better def pairings!! Colin Wilson isn't my ideal top 6 forward, but if he's skating with ROR & Kane, he might be a 45 + point guy. Only thing I don't like is Gorges still on the team. I'd bring up Guehle and play him game 1, and buyout Gorges to conserve for cap room in 2018, which we'll need for Jack's long term extension/etc. Overall though, I like it!!
Not to shabby! Much better def pairings!! Colin Wilson isn't my ideal top 6 forward, but if he's skating with ROR & Kane, he might be a 45 + point guy. Only thing I don't like is Gorges still on the team. I'd bring up Guehle and play him game 1, and buyout Gorges to conserve for cap room in 2018, which we'll need for Jack's long term extension/etc. Overall though, I like it!!
Wilson may not be ideal, but as you said, he could be productive on that line. Solid defensive line with some scoring punch in Kane. Could swap Wilson and Baptiste, but I like Baptiste on that third line to add some speed, whereas Kane has speed on the second with O'Reilly and Wilson not being toooo far behind.
Gorges is there simply as depth. Sure you could buy him out, but his contract is up after this year so why not let it ride out and be clear the entire 3.9M next year rather than tack on an additional 1.3M to your cap hit? Someone goes down, then the bottom guys slide up and Gorges fills in on the bottom pairing, period. Ideally never higher than that imo.
As far as Guhle, this lets him play top minutes in the AHL rather than bottom pair minutes/being a healthy scratch up in the big leagues. I really like the idea of letting d-men play a year in the AHL, and I think it did wonders for Ristolainen's development and could do the same for Guhle.
Nylander over Kane? he is not NHL ready....Sam is not going to be traded we tanked for him. No upgrade on offense Bailey is a gamble, over paid for weber
Nylander over Kane? he is not NHL ready....Sam is not going to be traded we tanked for him. No upgrade on offense Bailey is a gamble, over paid for weber
I think the Weber deal is fair, he made 1.5 this year and played solid over the season and is on a team going to the conference finals, he'll get some kind of raise.
I have the forwards grouped like that because I think it plays best to each of their strengths. You don't always need your best players paired together, spread the offense around. I think Baptiste is ready to take the next step and compliments that line perfectly.
Even if Nylander doesn't make the cut, then Kane can slide up a line and I liked the way Carrier played with O'Reilly this past year so he can plug in there. We have an abundance of forwards on the cusp of making this team and a lack of defenders. Trading from areas of strength, I think Ellis is more valuable than Reinhart on this team. Sam also is better suited as a center and I think ROR stays in the middle so Sam isn't going to crack the top 6 outside of injury and can play his best hockey on that Nashville team. You wouldn't trade a winger (which we have plenty of) for a very good, if not great, d-man on one of the league's best contracts? Just because we lost and got a top pick doesn't mean they can't be traded.
Vegas would have no interest in taking Bogo, and play and his contract. Sorry Sabres fan, you traded for Bogo he's yours as is Moulson and Ennis.
If they're getting an additional 2nd or 3rd round pick in 2017 (higher in the round), I don't see why they wouldn't have interest. Ennis and Moulson I understand the lack of interest, but Bogosian is serviceable, young, and yeah the cap hit sucks but he's still a top 4 defender on a new team. It's not like they don't have the cap space.
Who else on the Sabres would they be interested in? Our top players are exempt for the most part, so we're protecting the role players like Larsson, Foligno, etc. Ullmark would be the only one I could see them having real interest in, but there are plenty of other young goalies that I'm sure will be available if they want to split vet/young (Korpisalo/Subban?).
I think it's reasonable to think that you could pay Vegas a 2nd or 3rd to take Bogo, at worst you retain some of his salary.
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