Dahlin carrying that left side

Raanta= 2nd
Oesterle= 5th
Stepan=3rd

Why are they including 2 2nds? I know we take on alot of cap but Arizona can find other teams that will actually pay something more for those players. Hutton has no value, Davidsson doesn't have much value, neither does Pilut

We're taking 8m+ in cap space for them to presumably resign Hall. Toronto had to give a 1st to free 4m in cap space. The only guy in that trade that's a positive asset is Raanta. Stepan is not worth a 3rd and they'd have to give a pick to move him with little salary coming back.

That Arizona trade is brutal. Buffalo will not be taking up other teams’ bad contracts. They’re saving money this year, they will not spend to the cap. Even the Montour deal isn’t very good, the money is right but McCann is not a good center. He’s more comfortable on the wing and we just don’t need more left wingers.

Brandon Montour, who is bad, is not fair value for McCann who was great for 70% of the season, and is younger with more controllable years.

They're both RFAs that don't seem to fit in with their coaches. Brandon Montour isn't bad. His stats tanked this year because he was out of position and playing bottom 6 wing occasionally.

According to who? That's just a rumor.

McCann is a fine 3C.

His stats weren't just bad this year. And again, a 26-year-old RFA with one more year before UFA is not the same as a 24-year-old one that can be given a one-year deal to prove that he is good before getting another contract. And again, one was much better than the other.

His stats were fine in Anaheim and he looked good under his brief 20 game stint with Housley. One is not "much" better than the other. Their values are closer than you think.

They weren't.

He was below average on both ends of the ice in Anaheim. He's a player with talent and ability that has never put it together. He's now 26 and a year from UFA.

Pittsburgh fans here have said he doesn’t look comfortable as a center. I’m assuming he doesn’t play well at center or they wouldn’t say that. The money “rumor” I’ve discussed with Sabres News writer Paul Hamilton on Twitter. It’s true across the league, many teams will not be spending to the cap. He insisted the team cannot take on any contracts and that all trades would have to be money in money out. I wasn’t thrilled with that news.

Look more at the team he was playing on. He was regularly the top 2nd / 3rd d man in CF% and among the top 7 to top 10 on the team. He's consistently at the top of the league in 5v5 zone entries.

Also look at when he played under Housley a system that suits his play. He can be very effective on a team that relies on d men more for zone entries.

This is isolated impact to separate him from the players he's playing with. This was how he looked in Anaheim.

He was also not great under Housley. He's clearly a below average player.

Also CF% tells us nothing about the quality of shots from his team and the other team.

I don't think you understand what I'm saying. That's how all d men looked in Anaheim. Hell, that's what the entire team's heat map looked like. He was one of the better d men on the team during his stretch there behind Lindholm & Manson. That model is comparing him relative to the league.

He was actually good under Housley. Even though it was a small sample of 20 games he had .5 PPG, 54.7% CF%, 52.61% xGF% really great zone entries. He's a top 4 D man that can excel in certain systems.

If he's clearly a below average player then so is McCann