they will buy out Okposo

Vancouver isn't doing that trade with us.

No like actually buying him out not CBO. I dont think theyre going to have a CBO

That's a good trade for us.

Seems bit rich for the estimated Risto evaluation. Sutter is only a 1 year deal remaining so its not a huge burden to any team who buys him out really.

I've seen some ideas thrown out of a Matt Murray for Ristolainen deal. Murray signs a 5.5M x 5 year extension. A tandem of Ulmark and Murray could be pretty solid in nets for Buffalo.

I dont believe in Murray and definitely dont like that price tag. for this trade Id value Risto at Demko and a 2nd, id also value Virtanen at a 2nd so Demko and Virtanen for Risto plus Buffalo does Vancouver a favor to sweeten the deal.

sutter is not a negative value player... he's a 0 value player that some teams might give a late pick if we retained

as such, virtanen as a 1 for 1 alone is equivalent value... Nucks aint doing this

I disagree, i dont know a team that would give up a high enough pick for Vancouver to retain a decent amount on. Sutter is not a 3 million dollar player and I would be very hard pressed to call him a 2 million dollar player, clearly, because i signed him for 1. As I said Virtanens worth a 2nd, Risto is worth a 2nd + or 1st + depending on the plus, especially coming off his best statistical season. Demko is a 35% backup who maybe peaks at 50% backup in a few years (% of games). Risto is worth a 3rd line winger and a backup, Sabres do Vancouver a favor and saves them some money on Sutter, its basically the Sabres retaining 3 mill on Sutter for Vancouver. If hes so useful that should be a plus for Vancouver, especially when its free value

players don't have to play up to their cap to have value. Classic example is Gudbranson... someone who we all thought had negative value on PIT, then got moved albeit for not much. Sutter can provide a lot of value for a team needing a center... pretty much any of the bottom teams can get him for almost free and gain decent production out of him. His value is only bad because he is always injured. When in the lineup, he's a bottom six guy who I'd compare to Larsson. Larsson had a better year this year, but in general they are similar. If he walks, then that spot could be filled for a 7th... pretty low ask for a team with lots of cap.

Virtanen might be worth a 2nd to other teams, but after a very strong year from him and an overall upward trend, it will cost significantly more for vancouver to move him. He's not the top liner he was expected to be, however he is definitely forming into a solid middle six option, and if he improves he could very well claim a 2nd line role. You don't trade 2nd liners for 2nds. I'd compare him to Alex Tuch.... who holds more value than a 2nd despite them being the same type of player.

Demko is another example... we aren't selling low on him. If he continues at this rate, I don't fear him even being claimed in the expansion draft.

Risto gets a lot of flack on here for sure, and is talked down on to an unreasonable extent... however he is NOT elite. I don't think he would fetch more than 2 2nds / equivalent value from any team. This might be another case of it just being better to hold on to him though.

It makes player much more palatable when they arent over payed. If your talking about Johan Larsson, hes about to be a free agent because his cap hit has eclipsed his value as a player and is easily replaced by cheaper players. At least in this scenario, Vancouver isnt losing Sutter for nothing, theyre getting him at an appropriate cap hit. Virtanen has had years to prove himself as a 2nd line winger, and he has not. Tuch had 52 points last year and had health issues this year. You don't fear Demko being taken in the expansion draft, youre saying hes not good enough to be drafted? Because theyd protect Markstrom. 2 2nds for Risto is higher than I evaluated him for. Demko is not worth a 2nd and i tacked him on to the trade to even out the cap. So by your own evaluation this would be a good trade for Vancouver. If you want to swap out Demko for a different million dollar player than go ahead

I would just do Risto for Virtanen, not sure if Vancouver would do that.

i would if they took cap back to make it work...

i think both players are rightfully evaluated at 2 2nds

I would too, i thought i was doing Vancouver a favor

No, well, we could do Risto(5,4) + Hutton(2,7) for Virtanen(3-2,5) + Sutter(4,3). We could retain 50% Hutton salary.

I think everyone is going to avoid Hutton after last season and then admitting to having eye issues.If they would do that it saves a little bit of money over burying Hutton though

The main thing is that Adams does not return him again next season, you need to find a reliable partner for Ullmark.

Value is close but I don't see it solving either of Van's big issues which are lack of quality defense and needing to shed salary for Hughes/Pettersson in 20/21.

I like Risto and think he gets a an overly bad rep but he won't improve this team's defense abilities. With Hughes getting the lionshare of PP minutes I don't see Risto producing enough to cover up the defensive deficit in his game.

His defensive game took a 180 this year, which proves he can be good in his own zone, but will always hold a negative connotation. Vancouver will also have 30 million for Pettersson, Hughes and then some depth players

I'm not sold on that 180, what are you basing that on? +/-, if so that isn't indicative of anything whether him being terrible at -41 or improved at -2. His possession stats got worse year over as well.

30M?
I count 15M and that hinges on the assumption the Ferland is on LTIR, which at this point looks unlikely and no way Markstrom signs that deal.

Like I said the value is there but I don't see it checking off the canucks needs.

Plus minus is never indicative of anything until it works in your favor. But no, the Sabres defense was stealthly good this year. The majority of their defensive stats were top 15 in the league. This is with Hutton being statistically abhorrent when directly compared to Ullmark behind the same defense with them both getting over 45% of the starts. Risto again had by far the most minutes. Offensive stats are the direct result of a poor offense. The Sabres 2 best lines were their Eichel Line and their 4th line. If you go to long term out look, for 2021-22 the projected cap space is at 27 mill, with this configuration

I looked at the McCabe-Ristolainen pairing this year, and they held their own against top competition fairly well. I was pleasantly surprised... I'm not sure why you would trade him then. I would move Miller if anyone - Miller's value is his ability to run a PP and he isn't going to get much opportunity to do that in Buffalo with Dahlin on the roster and Ristolainen good enough to run the 2nd unit.

I usually dont, I orginally had a 2nd instead of Virtanen and did it for cap space. Montour is the one i usually trade. But i also really like Virtanen, so i will probably explore this again

The problem is convincing others of that value though. Although Murray had a bad year this year, he's a winner with a ton of experience and leadership that a team like Buffalo sorely lacks. Its not like Risto has been the darling of many around the league either. I think the value is closer than you think and Im not sure a team like Vancouver would be willing to give you what you want.

Value may be fine, I just dont think Murray is that good. especially for the money he will want

VAN decline, they are not trading Virtanen.