OK, here's the case: many Buffalo fans have been interested in taking Hornqvist for free. Some, however, think the Panthers' only option is to pay to get rid of him. I got in an argument with two of that kind, and their bottom line was the Panthers are so tight money-wise that they'd have to pay Buffalo to take him. (They also see Horny as a complete cap dump, which he isn't.) I raised up the point of a buyout, the penalty of which is 1,7M, but they thought that would make it impossible to ice a full roster.
So I made this ACGM to prove it ain't impossible.
As we see, with a few bottom-liners added, the Panthers can form a full and competitive roster even if they bought Hornqvist out. I don't believe they'll have to, since his 8-team NTC really doesn't hold a trade back all too much, but that's Sabres fans for you! They're not used to thinking positively, and I don't blame them. With no buyout, the Panthers would have roughly 3,3M in cap space to upgrade the roster. With a buyout, it's just 1,6M, so Some, Bum would probably have to stick around.
I've left stuff such as offseason adds (I'd like Soucy) and Marchment's new deal out because they'd make this more unrealistic, or in Marchy's case, his deal is too difficult to estimate. We'll probably lose him no matter what. Unless he takes a massive hometown discount, I think he'll command an AAV near 4,5M, and that's just too big of a risk. It would also mean saying bye to Huberdeau.
Now, I don't believe the Panthers would have to retain, since Hornqvist has gathered interest and is still worth his paycheck. However, this was the argument, since these kids were adamant the Panthers couldn't possibly retain (or buyout) and ice a full roster. The only option according to them was to gift Buffalo Gudas so they could take Horny out of our hands. (And later flip him for a 3rd, because his value increased right after putting on a Sabres jersey :D)
Someone will take Hornqvist off your hands for a little return, I wouldn't worry about the Sabres fans. Guys still playing at about a .5 point per game pace and while playing on the 4th line. He'd be a good pickup for a team like Arizona to get for free and sell off on at the deadline.
Someone will take Hornqvist off your hands for a little return, I wouldn't worry about the Sabres fans. Guys still playing at about a .5 point per game pace and while playing on the 4th line. He'd be a good pickup for a team like Arizona to get for free and sell off on at the deadline.
Yeah, there is interest. I've seen fans of 10 teams willing to take him for free