Trade Explanation:
Ducks Trade:
Why the Ducks would do this Trade:
They would be adding a top 10 center in the league when healthy. While trading Drysdale would be a tough pill to swallow, having the third pick in a draft in a draft where there are several high end defensemen would allow you to replace him. Jacob Perreault had a nice season for the San Diego Gulls, however, he is most likely 2 years away from being a meaningful player in the NHL. The 2023 first round pick would give the Ducks more time to improve to insure its not a high draft pick going back to Buffalo. Groulx for Samuelsson would be a B-Level prospect swap. Adding Henrique to the trade would allow Buffalo to make the pick in 2023 unprotected.
Canucks Trade:
Why the Canucks do this Trade:
Sam Reinhart enjoyed a breakout season once Don Granato moved him to center, however, his time in Buffalo is most likely over. He would most likely sign an extension with Vancouver being from there and the 9th overall pick for a second line center is good value. Buffalo would also get a 2022 2nd round pick in this deal because they are taking on the contract of Loui Eriksson.
Jets Trade:
Why the Jets do this trade:
Ristolainen has been rumored to be a player Winnipeg has had interest in the past. And while his value has fallen in recent years, he could still be an impact player on the Jets. Vesalainen is a player that has struggled to find himself in Winnipeg's lineup for the last 2 seasons and a change of scenery could be beneficial.
Capitals Trade
Why the Capitals do this Trade:
Victor Olofsson is a power play specialist that would come in and provide another shooting option on the side opposite Ovechkin. Trading a 2022 2nd and a mid level prospect in Brett Leason is a fair price for the talented goal scorer.
Draft:
1. Owen Power: Owen Power is most likely going to be the 1st overall pick this year. The big defenseman moves extremely well and moves the puck at a high level. While it may take a while for Power to find his his stride in the NHL, having him and Dahlin on 2 separate pairs could be really beneficial for the team.
2. Matthew Beniers, Seattle
3. Brandt Clarke, Anaheim
4. Luke Hughes, New Jersey
5. Dylan Guenther, Columbus
6. William Eklund, Detroit
7. Simon Edvinsson, San Jose
8. Mason McTavish, LA
9. (via Vancouver) Fabian Lysell: Lysell is one of the best skaters in this draft. After a strong performance at the U18s, Lysell's stock has risen.
32. Logan Stankoven: Stankoven is a pure goal scorer. The reason he is available at this point in the draft is due to his size. If he was 4 inches taller, he would be picked in the top half of round 1.
51. (via Boston) Dylan Duke: Duke had a solid season for the NTDP as an all around player. He will hope to play a big role on a Michigan Team with NCAA title aspirations next season.
82. (via Montreal) Olen Zellweger: Zellweger is a strong skating offensive minded defenseman who had an excellent season in the brief time that was the WHL season.
87. (via Florida) Janis Jerome Moser: Moser is a double overager who experienced a breakout season in the Swiss league this year. He is worth a shot at this point of the draft.
96. Ville Koivunen: Koivunen is a skilled winger with upside to become a scoring winger in the NHL.
146. (via Montreal) Jake Martin: Martin is a very good defensive defenseman who has the upside to become an NHL defenseman one day.
160. Lucas Forsell: The Swedish winger is a solid playmaker, but he has a long ways to go in his development.
191. (via Colorado) Simon Knak: Knak enjoyed a great season for the Portland Winterhawks this year in the WHL after starting the year in the Swiss League.
192. Gage Alexander: Gage Alexander is a massive goalie that had a really good season in the WHL this year and showed progress this season compared to last year.
RFA:
Rasmus Dahlin: A two year bridge is what both sides want here as the Sabres are unsure of how good Dahlin will be and he wants to maximize his future contract.
Henri Jokiharju: Jokiharju is in a similar situation as Dahlin, with both sides wanting to push the bigger contract down the road.
Casey Mittelstadt: Mittelstadt looked like an NHL player for the first time in a long time last season, however, for him to earn a longer contract, he needs to show this over a bigger sample size.
Rasmus Asplund: Similar to Mittelstadt, Asplund still needs to show more to get a multi year deal.
Rest of RFAs are AHL guys to fill out Rochester.
UFA:
Jake McCabe: McCabe was enjoying his best NHL season when he tore up his knee. This contract is a bit steep for the Sabres, however, McCabe is very good defensive defenseman and he could help Jamie Drysdale in this scenario.
Drake Caggiula: Caggiula was solid after being claimed on waivers and is worth seeing in another season.
David Rittich: This would give him the chance to be a number one goalie in the NHL after the Sabres lose Ullmark,
Aaron Dell: a chance to be a backup in the NHL but will have competition.
Coach: Rikard Gronberg or Don Granato
Outlook: This is a bad hockey team. They will most likely be getting a top 5 pick and in line to pick one Shane Wright, Brad Lambert, Matthew Savoie, Rutger McGroarty, or Juraj Slafkovsky.
I think every GM who has the prospects and the cap space to acquire Eichel is going to wait and see how he plays after recovering from his injury. I can see nothing happening until the trade deadline, and there is every possibility that Eichel will be out for the entire regular season like Kucherov or even the entire year like Klefbom.
Personally, I don't think Anaheim has the surplus assets sufficient to acquire Eichel, and with Byfield, Turcotte and Vilardi developing, I don't think that Los Angeles has the need to acquire Eichel.
Vesalainen looked petty good in the limited time he saw action in Winnipeg, so the Jets shouldn't give him up for Ristolainen. Maybe a 3rd for Risto at the most.
Power is not ready for the NHL he needs at least 1 more year in the NCAA and maybe even a year in the AHL after that. You will **** him up if you send him right into the NHL