You, firehalo, are the "popular" in "popular demand". You'll get to scout the Sabres in our upcoming first-and-last tilt.
Rather quietly, Drew Stafford has potted 5 goals in his last 8 games, (including one tonight). He is the most aggravating player on the Sabres' roster because of his inconsistency. But inconsistency indicates that when he's hot, he can be very hot. With one year remaining on his contract at $4MM, Stafford will get some attention before March 5th. I have maintained for some time that any SC contender that lands him is likely to be very happy with the results. He will also be cheaper than Moulson - Buffalo will not need a top prospect along with a first. The first alone, even from a team drafting in the low end, should be enough. (Moulson will command a first and a top prospect.)
I heard that the sabres just might want to make a move for cally, and then that might want to keep miller in buffalo. All of a sudden it doesn't look so bad, you make some other FA deals in the off-season, grigorenko comes into the fold next season, and all of a sudden you have a contending team. I don't think a total dismantle is the best option at all times, you could be down there for a long while.
Here's the God's honest truth: things are not that bad in Buffalo. - Mikhail Grigerenko may or may not be ready next year, but he will be AHL eligible once he turns 20, so he'll be in camp with a chance to establish that he belongs. - Mark Pysyk was sent down to Rochester for the sole purpose of allowing him to play through the Olympic break, and he's tearing up the minor league talent. He is permanently a Sabre right after the break. - Rasmus Ristolainen has been playing at an elite level in Finland for a couple of years; he's not your typical teenager. He, too, will likely be in Buffalo next year. With Tyler Myers again playing like his first season, suddenly the Sabres' D looks much more formidable. - Joel Armia needs some time to acclimate himself to the North American game, but he looks like a top six forward. - Johann Larsson, obtained in the Pominville trade, is netting over a point/game. There are several players scattered around the globe that will have a chance to crack the NHL roster next season. Of course, one of these will be a top-three selection in the upcoming draft. Miller has, IMO, only a 50:50 chance of being traded by March 5th, (mostly that will be due to the soft market for goalies and the current cap limitations). If he sees that the rebuild is charging ahead then he may very well resign with the Sabres. If Callahan hits the open market then I expect that Pegula & Co. will throw a huge contract his way. I think that it's wildly optimistic to expect the Sabres to contend next year. In fact, I expect they'll contend for Connor McDavid. However, with several high picks(*) over the next two drafts, Buffalo may be ready to contend by the 2015-16 season. (*) The NYI appear to be locked in to a high pick this year; the first from the Vanek trade is top-ten protected. I expect that satisfaction will be delayed until the 2015 draft, and I think there's a chance that their first could be [del]good[/del] bad enough to be a lottery pick.
Contending might be wildly optimistic if you're talking about contending for a cup, agree. I just meant a playoff spot, if they add the right veteren presence, keep miller, and the young kids develop the right way, a lot of things have to fall in place of course. Cally would be a big addition in the leadership role, and he's from rochester, so it could happen, they could be anywhere from a playoff contender to contending for the #1 overall, that's how up in the air it looks.
I do not see any realistic way for the Sabres to be a playoff contender next year - I hope that I am wrong. It appears very likely that the NYI will retain their 2014 first since it looks like a top-five selection. It would be amazing if the Sabres were to win the draft lottery in 2015 with the NYI pick! Meanwhile, the trade-freeze deadline went with much less activity that what many expected. Does this foreshadow a slower than expected deadline on March 5? Steve Ott may be moved with everyone in Buffalo hoping that he returns after July 1. He is exactly the type of rental that many SC wannabes often covet. Moulson has an attractive contract, and assuming that his injury is healed after the break, he is the most likely Sabres to be moved. I believe that Buffalo will get what they want for him. Good luck, and thanks, Matt. Evidently, before Murray was hired, Pat LaFontaine offered Miller to Anaheim for their first and Gibson, (a very highly regarded goalie prospect). I do not think it took long for the Ducks to say no to that. Washington and Minnesota are considered the front-runners for Miller. Washington is almost at the cap, and many of their players have NMC so I cannot see this happening easily. Although the Olympic break will give the pause needed for complex trades to be worked out. The Sabres already have the Wild second round pick, and I doubt that they will give up their first easily. I am moving my odds that Miller is traded down from 50:50 to 40:60. Henrik Tallender will become superfluous in Buffalo soon because the team has great prospects ready for the NHL at the blueline. Drew Stafford is scoring frequently and I do not think the Sabres expect a great return, (they will ask for a first, but are likely to settle for a second). These two should probably be discussed more in trade speculation than the big three.
Dan, I'm not sure what's going on there, if its a fire sale, then we might not see the sabres be relevant for a long while. If they keep some key pieces, add free agents, and develop the youth, it might not be that bad in a couple of years, I think they should tread lightly.
The Sabres are being led by Murray, Patrick, and LaFontaine. That's much better than being led by fan sentiment and sports' message boards. Sabres fans, for the large part, just know that most players should be traded. I demure. I agree with you entirely. The team will rebuild much more quickly and effectively if they retain some of their veterans, (the more the better, IMO). In fact, one cannot even call it a "rebuild" until after the "razing" is completed. March 6 will mark that milestone. Things are looking very good in Rochester right now, and the team has a bulging pipeline of still-to-be-signed prospects and many high draft picks. I do not expect that it will result in one the ice success next season, but Buffalo is likely to be a playoff contender as soon as 2015-16.
My biggest problem with Sabres' fans is that many view this as an opportunity. The low salary situation if not addressed early can do more to derail the Sabres' rebuilding than any hack player like Leino or Scott. The cap floor may force to sign players like these just to be compliant. "That's no problem", they respond, "Pegula is willing to spend". The implication is that money is the sole motivator for NHL FA's. Winning matters too, and even if it were all about the money, there are plenty of other teams with money to spend this off season. The team better hold on to some of their veterans so that they avoid the salary floor pergatory, and have some veterans around to help mold the young players.
My opinion is that we(STL) gave up a whole heck of lot. I'm excited to have Miller but Stewart was a good player and we gave a nice piece of the farm. If we don't win this year and we can't sign these guys then we gave up a ton for nothing.
My Opinion of the Miller/Ott Trade I could write a book, so I figured I would give it a title. The fact is that I am feeling a little stunned; the trades were coming and we all knew that. The finality of it, however, is going to take some time to sink in. The trade helps the team become better in a couple of years - and that is what a deep rebuild is about - but we lost some great players. St. Louis just got MUCH better, and I commend them for making a very ballsy high-risk deal. The Blues are certainly on the short list of SC favorites this year. If they fail to make a deep playoff win, then they gave a lot with not much to show for it. That's how this deal needs to be viewed. Buffalo gave up a huge name, and a player in Ott that is just what contenders like to add at this time of year. Miller can stand on his head and win games - win playoff series. Ott is never a pleasure to play against. I expect that Buffalo asked for someone other than Stewart, and I doubt he will have much success in Buffalo. I do not like him in the Sabres lineup. Of course, his stay in Buffalo could be less than a week. I do not know much about Carrier, but based on what I've read tonight he looks very promising. The 2015 pick is likely to be low in the first, but it always helps to have more pieces to trade up with, and that may be more important in a strong draft like it looks to be. The third in 2016 is conditional, and I believe there's mind boggling complexity to what it could become. My understanding is that if the Blues reach the WCF, or if Ryan resigns with them, then it would become a 2014 first. The deal probably improves the odds that Buffalo will have the #1 pick in 2015. If Connor McDavid becomes a Sabre, then the team may be ready to compete for a playoff spot as early as his rookie season. Buffalo gave up some great players, but St. Louis took all the risk. They're both UFA's in July, and given that fact, I am pleased that Buffalo was able to extract such a good return given the soft market for goalies, and especially in a cap-strapped league. Needless to say, I expect the Sabres to remain active toward the trade deadline. This deal is probably one that GM's were looking for to break the ice a bit, and it could get interesting. Hell, I am rambling at this point, and few care to read a stream of consciousness screed. I am sure I will post more once I've composed my thoughts.
good to get a Blues opinion too, thanks mutigers. I'm along the same lines of thinking as you on this but you know the pieces headed to Buffalo, Stewart specifically, better than me Im sure.
thats what its all about right? I think that Buffalo did extremely well in this deal, better than I thought they would get for those 2 players under the circumstances surrounding their UFA. Its human nature to be worried about loss aversion and the endowment effect...... I just read that in a Grantland article and it makes sense in my mind anyway. but did they? Ive always liked Halak and still believe that he is underrated. His injury concerns are very real so that only diminishes his value come playoff time but is the 2014 version of Ryan Miller that much better? I don't know. Miller has been fantastic this year for a very weak team but other than the Vancouver games in 2010 I can't think of too many strong playoff performances. My point is that Im not automatically giving Miller a pass as a top tier money-game goalie any more. He needs to prove it to me. His last playoff performance he was the higher seed and was outplayed by a young Tuukka Rask if I recall. true, no arguments here. id want him on my side in a tight checking post season game. I haven't seen enough of Stewart to have a great opinion but I think of him as a better overall player than Ott and I think Buffalo could use his grit especially w/ them losing Ott's. As we both well know Dan, someone needs to be able to stand up to the Lucices of the world and I think Stewart is at the very least willing to. you have me excited for that draft too Dan, happy for you that you got more pieces to play w/ for that draft. McDavid and Eichel maybe?!?!?! Noah Hanafin too, don't overlook him. He is skipping his senior year of h.s. to join the BC Eagles next year and they are ecstatic to get him, if even for only 1 year. I had read those conditions but mustve missed the part where it becomes a 2014 first, i was under the impression that it would be a 2016 1st, good to know, thanks. any shot Buffalo now moves Halak before the deadline?...... although he is a better option than Ryan Yinz in there. kidding, kidding, would assume Hackett gets the call if needed no doubt about it. adding pieces to war w/ the Hawks w/ is ok in my book. good luck to Miller and the Blues and well done Tim Murray.
Halak reminds me a lot of Tomas Vokoun in the sense that he is underrated/passed on when people think of good goalies. But he is underrated because he can't win a best-of-7 series. Basically he wont win you the game, but he wont lose it. If you have stacked talent everywhere else you can get away with that, but the Pens and their defense couldn't against Boston last year. The Blues will have a lot of cap room. If the cap goes over 70 mil as suspected; St. Louis will be 26.3 mil under the cap as estimated by capgeek. Miller, Berglund, Schwartz, and Sobotka are the 4 you'd think would be getting a big chunk of that--especially Berglund. Roy, Ott, and Coliocovo are the 3 who can either stay or go. Gotta figure he and Evgeni Nabokov will be the 2 biggest names. I doubt the Devils would just let Brodouer go like that unless he comes to a mutual agreement (I don't follow the devils so maybe or maybe not) to try and win 1 more. Do the Sens like Lehner enough to want to move Craig Anderson? I don't think as of right now, Anderson is in contract year next year.
agreed completely with this. i think it's really premature to judge this deal yet from the blues' side. the sabres, on the other hand, look like they did pretty well, and it could possibly get better. miller was damaged goods in buffalo, and to get anything of value for the guy is a win in my book.
