He has to actually sign the contract, and no one's going to offer him a deal that walks him directly to UFA

Because the Ducks have more than enough space to match whatever offer sheet they make so they'd have to just massively overpay both the player and the Ducks. If you are going to offer sheet Zegras a fair amount just to see him paid fairly, it was detrimental to you to get involved in the first place.

I know this was a rumor from a few days ago but I just don't buy it. The Sabres are not in need of a center. They have Thompson and Cozens locked up long term to be 1C and 2C. Beyond that they have Krebs, Mittelstadt and top prospects. To give up a bunch of assets for a talented young C, seems like other teams will beat their offer by a mile. Boston would give up the farm for Zegras, he's their 1C day 1. That's just not where the Sabres are at. Personally, I'd much rather have Thompson and Cozens on those deals than Zegras.

I understand your point, and in general I agree, Buffalo doesn’t really need Trevor Zegras anyway. But Boston in particular has nothing for prospects. Their farm system is practically bone dry which I find hilarious. Yes, they have a couple top end prospects, but they need them to play right now so they can stay under the cap.

I was gonna say pretty much that about the Bruins. That's what happens in a flat cap league, where you have been very good for years, and you can't be guaranteed high end talent outside of the top 5-10 picks in the draft. The Sabres are gonna be linked to all the shiny toys for a bit, lots of high end prospects and at least some cap room. If you are selling a talented young player, Buffalo should be your first call.

That's not at all the point I'm trying to make, what I'm trying to say is offering 6-7M which I think is fair seems to be what Anaheim is not willing to give zegras so by only giving a 1st and a third or a first second and third but keeping all your current players is it not worth it sorry at first I offered 6.15M so that's a first and a third and you would assume Anaheim is not matching because if they idea is they have so much cap space then why is it reported that he has been offered in the 3M ballpark? And if they force Anaheim to match the price I actually believe it's a bit of a power move like I don't understand why organizations don't use tools available to force teams into decisions they seem reluctant to make because even if it seems a bit dirty you are still getting a leg up on that team

As a fan of the NHL I can't express how much more I'd rather watch zegras on a good hockey team in nyr or buffalo than in Anaheim especially after what's going on right now...selling good young prospects for a superstar is absolutely reasonable and I think Buffalo's in the perfect spot to do it...I don't know how you can deny having zegras on that team.

I think for me, pettersson is a lot more interesting, obviously the cost would be more. I look at what the Sabres have vs what they need, pettersson is selke caliber 100 point center (for me, the emphasis is on selke caliber, we have several young centers who could develop into defensively responsible, but pettersson is already elite). I'm not sure where zegras would fit, is he a center in buffalo, we have offensive centers, does zegras stay at center or move to the wing? With the talent the Sabres have coming, paying a boatload to acquire him, and then sign him to a lucrative extension, I'm just not sure I'd be aggressively targeting him. No disrespect, I don't think the juice is worth the squeeze.

That's where it doesn't end up making sense I'll explain zegras is perfect as a secondary guy to Thompson the problem with Petterson is he is always going to want to be the first option so you have confusion between first option minutes with Thompson and Petterson so IMO their production and utilization suffers but with zegras it's more obvious that he is the second option to Thompson there will be no battle for who is the lead guy

And on top of all that Petterson will not go to buffalo to make $7M he is going to be looking for a 10+ per year contract I would guarantee that as I said he will want to be the first option so that's what he will be seeking

That is the way I see it I'm not saying that is for sure what the situation is but it's how I see it.

How is this any different from the Aho situation? Carolina wasn't offering Aho money, Montreal made an offer sheet which was a more than reasonable cost for him, Carolina matched without even thinking twice and then Montreal paid the price in having their own guys offer sheeted by a team with more cap flexibility a few seasons later. It's the perfect encapsulation of everything you just said.

He's from NY and obviously not happy with ANA. I'd offer the max 5 years. So, there is someone. 5 years is a lot.

How much are you willing to offer him on a year deal? 7-7.5M is probably what he is willing to take on a bridge deal as he will almost certainly be a 9M+ player by the time it ends

No need to give up assets for a 1-yr deal. No thanks.

That was a typo, i meant 5 year deal

5yrs x $7mm ... could go higher but I'd like to keep him below Cozens.
4yrs x $7mm is cool too.

He's not going to sign 5 years at 7M. He is far more proven than Cozens was when Cozens signed that deal. The only reason he should sign anything less than 8M is if its a 2-3 year deal to cash in more later

Then don't need him. ANA is apparently offering $3-4MM. He can sulk and cry while he learns how to play a 2-way game.

And proven what? That he is a trick-shot artist that can't play D?

Huh? He's fine defensively. Pretty strange argument

77 takeaways to 158 giveaways...is not fine.

Giveaway and takeaway counts are not a reliable tell for defensive play lol. It's a better tell of who has the puck the most

This is a reliable tell for defensive play