going big on d

I’d do it tbh.

I don't hate it, I just feel if we're gonna give up our number 1 defenseman, we need a younger D with potential to grow coming back. Clifton is what he is at this point in his career, which is a good player, but the Caps have to start looking at young guys with potential in trades, especially trades of high end guys like Carlson. That being said, I wouldn't be mad if this deal went through.

Absolutely not

We don't need a pp qb and we don't need a 3rd defensmen making over 8 million. Particularly not an old one who is a pp merchant

Fair points. That said, he's on the books until 2025-26 at which point the Sabres will have 10 on the roster with a $64M cap hit (including Carlson). Add in Mitts and a projected $6M and, assuming that the cap is projected to be in the $92M range, it will allow for some $20M to fill out a roster that has its top three centers, top two wingers and top-4 defensemen in place. The idea has always been, lock up your top players at their market value cap-hit and fill in the rest with entry-level deals and complimentary players. Perhaps a retention of some $2M would alleviate the potential Cap problems?

In addition, Carlson's actual salary is $6M so it's Pegula-approved.

Nah
I’m with @littlejerryseinfeld here

It’s not just about bringing in good players at this point,
It’s about bringing in the RIGHT ones

We have all kinds of talent
Any additions we make- ESPECIALLY ones where we are giving up quality assets- should be players who provide skill sets we are currently short on
Not trying to build an “AllStar” team here, but a well rounded one that can win in the playoffs

We ABSOLUTELY can NOT bring in a player with a redundant skill set- not at that Cap hit- NO WAY