Canes decline. KK's MUCH more valuable than Smith. And he's unlikely to go anywhere, this certainly doesn't make Carolina consider this.

I saw some Canes post where people were saying that they wouldnt mind KK gone. It frees up cap long-term for the Canes. They get a Teuvo replacement and can run Aho, Drury, Kuzy & Staal as their C core.

Issue is they don't need a Teuvo replacement. That would be the point in bringing Guentzel back. Staal's going to be the one to go since he's 35 and as old as time itself, and Kotkaniemi's just 23. There's no reason for the Canes to give up on him.

If the pens are taking on a 6 year cap dump I think they want more than a 4th round pick.
KK is overpaid by about 2 mil and still hasn't shown anything beyond being a bottom 6er in nearly 400 nhl games. At this point he is what he is.
Maybe if the canes want to retain 1 or 2 mil I could see the pens taking him on.

Buffalo has zero reason to make that trade. UPL is playing better than jarry.

It is the first season Jarry is playing subpar and the first season UPL is playing well. Making this deal gives them two goalies who can compete, and it allows the org to keep Levi in the AHL for a year or two to develop.

Please stop trading us jarry

I'd argue jarry has only ever had 2 good years.

U aren’t gonna find Sabres fans that would agree to this

It’s only mildly possible, bc Sabres mgmt might not think our goaltending has been solidified as of yet
However, UPL was pretty great for most of this season & we do still have high hopes for Levi should UPL struggle

It’s just not a totally insane idea like many will think
Bc it is conceivable we wanna take our time w Levi and 1 year of good play from UPL might not be enough to convince us the goaltending is “all set” moving forward

It is an unlikely idea by you though
If u guys held a couple mil in salary, then it’s maybe a bit more realistic- still a longshot though

What about a team like Jersey or the Leafs even?
I’m sure u guys could move Jarry if u really want to

I'm absolutely thrilled that upl was really good this year, and that Levi has quietly gotten a lot better since he went down to Rochester. It means that we can now be excluded from these conversations.

That’s the optimistic view for sure
It’s possible UPL takes a step back next year too though
Idk that we can count on him to always be this good
Hopefully though…. !

Canes accept this without thinking

yes, 100%. its not close, I have no idea what Caniac2000 is ever thinking but him not agreeing on this is complete lunacy. frees up long term cap and probably makes enough room to get Guentzel back. It's a no brainer.

We can’t afford him long term anyways, not w/ UPL and Levi and some young Forwards needing contracts. Bo Byrum also.