BillsFan4 Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) 14 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said: Who has the option to choose the pick - Sabres or Ducks? Hopefully us! lol. But in reality those 2 picks probably won’t be that far apart. I don’t see either team making it past Calgary and/or Winnipeg, and iirc the 1st round pick doesn’t drastically change positions until you reach the conference finals. Im good with either pick, really. I would have been very nervous if it were Buffalo’s own 1st but that isn’t the case. Edit - here @YoloinOhio Edited February 25, 2019 by BillsFan4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 8 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: Whoa! I love it! Montour is a heck of a defenseman and Guhle was really struggling in Rochester. hoping its our highest first (as in latest in the round). You brought up the trade talk swirling around Risto. The deal for Montour leads credence to that speculation because it gives Botts the flexibility to trade Risto in the offseason and strengthen our second line. The Sabres have some assets and cap flexibility that will allow the GM to reshape the roster and continue the upward trajectory. (Although some of my tough-minded friends see the franchise's current situation in a much darker light.) If our GM can bring in a Skinner type talent on to the roster and with the development of our young players this roster will be more robust and better positioned to move up the ranks. I'm a Botterill supporter. He seems much more thoughtful and calculating than our previous GM. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) Edited February 25, 2019 by BillsFan4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) 27 minutes ago, JohnC said: You brought up the trade talk swirling around Risto. The deal for Montour leads credence to that speculation because it gives Botts the flexibility to trade Risto in the offseason and strengthen our second line. The Sabres have some assets and cap flexibility that will allow the GM to reshape the roster and continue the upward trajectory. (Although some of my tough-minded friends see the franchise's current situation in a much darker light.) If our GM can bring in a Skinner type talent on to the roster and with the development of our young players this roster will be more robust and better positioned to move up the ranks. I'm a Botterill supporter. He seems much more thoughtful and calculating than our previous GM. It could still happen this season.... (hope not, unless it’s too good to refuse) Id still want a defenseman coming back in any Risto trade. Our blue line would going right back to being a weakness if we traded Risto for a forward only. But this does open the door to the possibility of moving Risto. It has to be the right deal though. ZERO interest in another ROR type futures trade. Give me a good young F and a good D prospect and we can talk! lol Man, too bad Edmonton wasn’t offering Hall for Risto this offseason (it was reported they offered him to Tim Murray before he was traded to NJ). Edited February 25, 2019 by BillsFan4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionallyUnstable Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 So why did the Ducks dump Montour? Was as it the deal or something about him as a player/person? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) 55 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: Id still want a defenseman coming back in any Risto trade. But this does open the door to the possibility of moving Risto. It has to be the right deal though. ZERO interest in another ROR type futures trade. Give me a good young F and a good D prospect and we can talk! lol Man, too bad Edmonton wasn’t offering Hall for Risto this offseason (it was reported they offered him to Tim Murray before he was traded to NJ). The ROR deal was a unique situation that was forced on the franchise by the player who didn't want to be here. With trades sometimes you are in a position of strength and sometimes not. You make the best of the situation and don't look back. Essentially the ROR deal as it stands is acquiring both Tage and Montour. (Sobotka and Berglund were throw ins that we had to take.) In addition, with the departure of ROR we got future cap flexibility that will allow us to sign Skinner and put us in a good situation when we scan the market this offseason. I'm a Risto fan. But he has to play with more maturity and discipline. He has a bad tendency to go away from his lane to tussle it up with someone who has goaded him into responding. Being rugged doesn't mean that you can't play smartly. I hope that we can keep him but that isn't how GMs think. Their calculation is simple: Are we better off with him or with the return in a trade? I have confidence in Botts's judgment. This offseason should be fun. Edited February 25, 2019 by JohnC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 16 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: It could still happen this season.... (hope not, unless it’s too good to refuse) Id still want a defenseman coming back in any Risto trade. Our blue line would going right back to being a weakness if we traded Risto for a forward only. But this does open the door to the possibility of moving Risto. It has to be the right deal though. ZERO interest in another ROR type futures trade. Give me a good young F and a good D prospect and we can talk! lol Man, too bad Edmonton wasn’t offering Hall for Risto this offseason (it was reported they offered him to Tim Murray before he was traded to NJ). Can you imagine Eichel paired with Hall and Skinner? I hope Risto isn’t traded as he is one of our few players with any amount of “jam” in his game. Granted, he’s a middle pair D man at best, but if he is traded it better be for what you said and no less. I trust Botterill will get a commensurate return. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 2 minutes ago, EmotionallyUnstable said: So why did the Ducks dump Montour? Was as it the deal or something about him as a player/person? This is part of a rebuilding plan. His contract has one more year on it so they wanted to move on from in advance so they would get more in a deal. He was a good player for them and will be a good player for us. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 17 minutes ago, K-9 said: Can you imagine Eichel paired with Hall and Skinner? I hope Risto isn’t traded as he is one of our few players with any amount of “jam” in his game. Granted, he’s a middle pair D man at best, but if he is traded it better be for what you said and no less. I trust Botterill will get a commensurate return. Oh man! That would have been amazing. Hall is one of my favorite wingers. I followed him pretty closely leading up to his draft year and always dreamed of buffalo drafting a player of his caliber (that was before the tank, when buffalo has never really drafted top 3 (in decades anyway)). But yeah, I’m nervous at the thought of Risto being traded for sure. It has to be the right return. And I don’t fully know what to make of Botts trades yet. He’s definitely earning my trust but I’m not 100% there yet. Really, I like every one but the ROR trade, so I’m hoping that was just due more to circumstance as John mentioned (massive bonus due, year end comments and all that stuff... who knows, maybe there was even pressure form ownership to move him before the bonus was due?). In his tenure so far, Botts seems to get pretty great value when trading FOR someone. He’s definitely earning my trust in that regard. It’s nice to get some good players for a fair price (or a steal in the case of Skinner). What a change from Tim Murray! lol But a potential Risto trade makes me a bit nervous because he’d be trading away someone. I don’t think there’s a pressure to trade him like there was with ROR though. And no “big bonus” deadline. I see no reason to force a trade by 3pm tomorrow if the right trade isn’t there. Risto is a young, offensively gifted RH D with term. Seems like there should be a demand there. I’d probably wait until the offseason when more teams will be interested and willing to include roster players, unless someone knocks Botterill’s socks off or something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 I like the conditions put on this pick. It looks like Anaheim wins because if both the Sam and STL pick fall in the 20’s they can pick the higher one. But its it’s a fair trade off because if the Blues finish lower than SJ (most likely) and get bounced from the playoffs in the 1st or 2nd, their pick could still fall in the 16-19 range, in which case Buffalo keeps it and gives Anaheim the SJ pick. As of now, STL sits in 14th overall and 16 teams make the playoffs. So their pick could easily still be in that 16-19 range I believe. Oh man that’s brutal for Zuccarello and Dallas. Obviously for Zucc being in a contract year at age 30/31. And Dallas just traded for him yesterday. Gave up a 2nd +3rd that can still turn into a 1st + 2nd even if Zuccarello doesn’t play another minute for Dallas before leaving as a free agent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: I like the conditions put on this pick. It looks like Anaheim wins because if both the Sam and STL pick fall in the 20’s they can pick the higher one. But its it’s a fair trade off because if the Blues finish lower than SJ (most likely) and get bounced from the playoffs in the 1st or 2nd, their pick could still fall in the 16-19 range, in which case Buffalo keeps it and gives Anaheim the SJ pick. As of now, STL sits in 14th overall and 16 teams make the playoffs. So their pick could easily still be in that 16-19 range I believe. Don't bother wasting any energy worrying about which first round pick is going to be dealt. I'm predicting that another one of the first round picks will be dealt in the offseason included with a trade to get a genuine second line forward or center.. It's obvious to everyone that this team currently lacks a credible second line to take some pressure off the first line. That's going to be a big focus for Botts in the offseason. Teams such as Tampa, Winnipeg and Toronto among others will be subjected to a great deal of cap stress that will impinge on their ability to retain players they want to keep. So the trading market is going to be very fertile. There are going to be some good young talent available to deal for who are ready to immediately play. The rule of thumb is basic: If you want something of value then you have to give up something of value. I like Risto a lot. I just wish he would be more cerebral and less visceral as a player. Without question he is going to be one of our most appealing chips for other teams to deal for. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 19 minutes ago, JohnC said: Don't bother wasting any energy worrying about which first round pick is going to be dealt. I'm predicting that another one of the first round picks will be dealt in the offseason included with a trade to get a genuine second line forward or center.. It's obvious to everyone that this team currently lacks a credible second line to take some pressure off the first line. That's going to be a big focus for Botts in the offseason. Teams such as Tampa, Winnipeg and Toronto among others will be subjected to a great deal of cap stress that will impinge on their ability to retain players they want to keep. So the trading market is going to be very fertile. There are going to be some good young talent available to deal for who are ready to immediately play. The rule of thumb is basic: If you want something of value then you have to give up something of value. I like Risto a lot. I just wish he would be more cerebral and less visceral as a player. Without question he is going to be one of our most appealing chips for other teams to deal for. The free agent market this summer looks like it could be insane too. Off the top of my head : Stone Duchene Dzingel Stralman Panarin Pavelski Staal Simmonds Lee Eberle Brassard Brock Nelson Karlsson Gardiner Edler Zuccarello Theres tons of potential help there, though not all will make it to UFA. Still... Lots of top 6 forwards and a few top 4 defenseman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 33 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: The free agent market this summer looks like it could be insane too. Off the top of my head : Stone Duchene Dzingel Stralman Panarin Pavelski Staal Simmonds Lee Eberle Brassard Brock Nelson Karlsson Gardiner Edler Zuccarello Theres tons of potential help there, though not all will make it to UFA. Still... Lots of top 6 forwards and a few top 4 defenseman. Skinner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 1 hour ago, shrader said: Skinner I was assuming he was already signed... ? lol For real though, I am pretty confident a deal gets done. Every indication we have points to it getting done. The latest I saw was from John Vogl on the Athletic the other day. He said in his mailbag “a deal will get done, and possibly soon”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 10 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: The free agent market this summer looks like it could be insane too. Off the top of my head : Stone Duchene Dzingel Stralman Panarin Pavelski Staal Simmonds Lee Eberle Brassard Brock Nelson Karlsson Gardiner Edler Zuccarello Theres tons of potential help there, though not all will make it to UFA. Still... Lots of top 6 forwards and a few top 4 defenseman. I don't see the Sabres signing one of the top free agents because of the high yearly salaries and more importantly length of contract that will put you in a cap bind. What I do see happening is the Sabres making trades with a team like Tampa that has a lot of cap pressure and some upcoming and emerging talent of young players that they can parlay. This will again be the scenario where you will here a lot of Risto trade talk. The challenge that Botterill has is to bring on board young and emerging players who will grow with our own young players. That's why I foresee a trade deal more likely than a blockbuster big name free agent deal. These type of deals are more likely to occur around the draft. YOLO may have more inside knowledge about Panarin but the rumor is that he wants to play in New York. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 9 minutes ago, JohnC said: YOLO may have more inside knowledge about Panarin but the rumor is that he wants to play in New York. Wasn't there talk about him wanting to be in Florida or at least it being interested in playing down there? That's the wonderful thing about this time of the year, so much information floating around and we have no clue which is a smokescreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 1 minute ago, shrader said: Wasn't there talk about him wanting to be in Florida or at least it being interested in playing down there? That's the wonderful thing about this time of the year, so much information floating around and we have no clue which is a smokescreen. Your guess is as good as mine. I got this information from the broadcast when the Sabres played Columbus. The take was that he wanted to play in a higher profile location. Tampa has no financial room for him and Florida plays in an empty building. Could you imagine if he played on a line with Barkov? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suorangefan4 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I wish there was a way the Sabres could get Kevin Hayes and Rickard Rakell. They could form a nice second line at an affordable price (salary wise). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I'm sorry but I have to do it every time I see the name... Well, you made a long journey from Milan to Minsk, Rickard Rakell. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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