i would become a full time sabres fan if CBJ did this

fair enough, did you see the report about the deal with CGY tho? Would be way worse.

I suspect CBJ fans will hate this but the return is in line with the other top ten picks traded in the cap era. It costs a lot to move up, but CBJ is weak at center and Leo doesn't necessarily help them while Gudreau and Laine are in the better years of their contracts.

What report? Wait... With Van or CBJ?

CBJ with CGY was basically Lindholm + 2nd for 3rd overall which seems crazy.

Cbj isn’t trading the 3oa for JT Miller lol

Just ignoring the 11th overall pick? CBJ desperately needs a #1C to play with their skilled young wingers , and they want to win now.

Ahh yes, that one. Agreed, I don't see CBJ giving 3OA for Lindholm alone. However, I also don't see Calgary giving Lindholm for just the LAK first rounder either. They would have to meet somewhere in the middle. If they do trade Lindholm, they will be forced to rebuild unless they can acquire another top line center (which seems unlikely).

CBJ isn't in win now mode, Jarmo has said as much. Aaron Portzline is a clown.

I don't know who Portzline is, but sure. Even if they aren't in win now mode, you don't want 3 years of Gudreau and Laine to be wasted without a Center.

You can do whatever you want. It's a "waste of money" I guess but you don't sink the future around a UFA signing. Boone Jenner was serviceable next to Gaudreau. Especially for his contract.

3OA, either Leo Carlsson or Adam Fantilli, will be good for the team for like 15 years. You don't trade it from someone who has max 8 years left.

Laine will get a look at C anyway.

They want to win now?

Tell me you know nothing about CBJ without telling me you know nothing about CBJ

Laine at C 😂😂😂

Maybe not win now in the sense of all in but they’ll want to tmake the playoffs. You don’t sign Johnny Gaudreau and Erik Gudbranson if you’re not trying to be competitive.

Fanitlli won't be available at 3OA. Carlsson is years away, unless they take Smith who might be ready sooner. I'm not suggesting they trade the 3OA for Lindholm, but they do have enough assets to trade the king's pick and prospects for an upgrade at center. Laine is no center, so that's just a fools errand.

I'll assume you didn't watch much of CBJ this year, because why would you. Laine was great and he played a couple of games in the middle of the ice. His game works better there because he loves tracking back in the D zone and retrieving the puck. Additionally, he's big and slow so the middle of the ice gives him more space to escape to. It allows him to use his handling to beat pressure instead of just getting pinned to the wall where he's not good. You're not wrong to be skeptical, but don't be surprised if he works tehre.

They do want to make the playoffs this year. They want to be competitive. They aren't mortgaging the future to try to get in the playoffs in 23-24 when the D corps is 2 or 3 years away.

My guess is that Carlsson has 1 year in the SHL and then he's in the NHL. He's been playing in the SHL for 2 years and was very very good in the SHL playoffs. He was Sweden's 1C at the World Championships. His World Junior's was stellar as well. His profile matches Backstrom and Lindholm's and is better, at this age, than Pettersson's. They were all NHL performers in D+2.

I have little doubt that Carlsson will be a good player. He was moved to the wing however when he started playing in the SHL. And while Nordic players drafted in the first two rounds tend to make it to the NHL sooner (Because they are already playing against men), they typically take longer to mature once there. Lindholm is a good example. He put up 30 points in 48 games in his last SHL year (similar to Carlsson's 25pts in 44 games). Even though Lindholm made the rebuilding Hurricanes right away he only averaged 0.5 ppg in Carolina. In Calgary he has average 0.88ppg albeit with two lackluster down years for the flames. It's not bad stats for a center generally regarded as a two way center.

CBj is in a tough spot by not getting 2nd OA. Consensus may be Carlsson, but I could see them going after a playmaker like Smith and trading down a few spots to parlay those assets for another Center. That's no knock on Boone Jenner. He very similar to Backlund: a great swiss army knife type center that thrives at 2C/3C, but CBJ lack of center depth is an issue if they don't want to waste the prime years of their expensive wingers.

I wish it did happen LOL.

We tried it at the end of last season with a lame-duck coach and few options. It didn't go well...

Gudbranson was an attempt to get more physical and change the makeup of the back end. If you get a chance to sign a superstar for free, you take it, regardless of where you are.

I think the FO is overly optimistic about the current roster, but they're not about to mortgage the best shot at a legit 1C in franchise history to try and hammer the window open to compete now. Laine and Gaudreau will still be in their prime in 2-3 years when that pick is ready to play at the NHL level. They're going to be very good for another 5-10 years. There's no need to make a huge trade with the 3OA.

"Aaron Portzaline who covers the jackets for the Athletic reporter that it could be possible that they move #3 overall." -> Portzline is generally an okay source, until he proposes something asinine with zero basis, which is what he's done here. It's created a windfall of 3OA trades on here that just aren't at all what the team is looking for.

Jarmo has said he's not trading 3OA unless we get back a 1C under 25, and there's only 2 or 3 in the league that would even be an option. It's just not going to happen.

It went very well, imo. He struggled with faceoffs but also put up 4 assists in those two games. Kekalainen and Pascal Vincent both agree

Uh, did you watch the games where he played center? He looked fantastic all over the ice and had 4 assists in 2 games. He has said that potentially playing center has him more excited for hockey than he has been in years. I'd be surprised if they don't try it out a bit more next year.