It’s just that bc one team was willing to pay a ridiculous price but it’s hard sledding for teams to justify moving a 1st with a flat cap up to 4 years. Teams are really going to need elcs to fill out their rosters, so I don’t think a bidding war giving out 1st,

Those will be very much protected by teams, defaulting to cheaper pick ups. This is not about commitment to winning etc it’s just being smart financially, those 1st might have to come in handy later

The avs under Sakic have never traded a 1st round pick, dosa that mean they aren’t committed to winning or they just use their pro scouting and analytics department to its full potential to find smarter buys

I'm sorry but all I see is unstable/unprofessionnal management, very bad development and /or prospect evaluation and poor free agency insight. No offence.

I know it hurts to be told your team sucks. But recognizing the problem is the first step to solving it/them.

And also I apologize for doing many jokes about their bad karma, It's not a attack on Buffalo citizens. They deserve way better than that. Cheers.

Agree to disagree on that ground I guess. I get the point. The first time the Hawks traded a 1st in a deadline deal was the last season they won the cup. Granted, probably a coincidence more having to do with player decline than trading the 1st itself, but we were historically getting solid production out of guys on their ELCs like Saad, Shaw, and Bickell. Either way, we couldnt have won that cup without Vermette and I would still rather have that cup than years of coming close but not getting it, but also these last few seasons have sucked

That’s not the point, you brought up an irrelevant trade In today’s context

In a flat cap, most teams on LTIR and hall with a nmc Clause, the Sabres are going to have to work hard to find a home for him, it’s not a slam dunk he will be moved bc of how much he is I. Control with his nmc and his cap hit limits hits options

Buffalo won’t have much leverage in terms of demands