Équipe: 2021-22 Sabres de Buffalo

Date de création initiale: 29 juin 2021

Publié: 30 juin 2021

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

By no means do I expect New Jersey and Calgary to go for these trades, but these are trades I would want to explore with compensation I would hope is somewhat along the lines of what could be expected.

This team would immediately compete and be set up well for long-term success without mortgaging the future. My idea was to ship out nearly all of the players who had been here during the losing, but keeping someone like Sam because he has shown he can be an extremely good player no matter who or where he plays, plus he has never been an issue. There is still plenty of youth and development that needs to happen here, but there are guys who can grow into roles as well as flexibility.

I would draft Owen Power first overall and let him go back to school, sign Reinhart long-term, and blow everything else up. Let the young guys play, especially with Granato now as head coach.

Free agents
You'll have to overpay to get anyone here, but clearing out a lot of the cap will allow for the team to do so. Saad is extremely experienced but still young enough to make an impact, while Foligno is another veteran who is a little bit past his prime but can contribute in a lower role and can play both wings and center. Dubnyk is older and coming off a poor season, so you can probably get him for cheap and to just be a backup. If he looks bad and UPL is ready, bring him up and cut/trade/demote Dubnyk.

Resignings
McCabe should be a relatively cheap option considering he's coming off an injury, plus I like him as a reliable player and he is a good leader. Dahlin is a no-brainer and so are most of the other young RFAs. Give them bridge deals.

Trades
This is obviously where the entire franchise changes. Eichel needs to be the first domino to fall as what you can get back for him can help facilitate other moves. Ristolainen and Mittelstadt, plus some of the young defensemen, can help push other moves over the top. I would probably even pay more to get Hughes and Wood, but getting an elite young center in here plus a physical player like Wood is huge for the future. Moving Bryson in that deal doesn't hurt much because of drafting Power and Ryan Johnson is a similar player. Tkachuk is another player who can really play a physical game but he can also score. Giving up Olofsson is tough, but Tkachuk is a major difference maker. Kuemper is a starting goalie in this league and can either be a one-year fix or be part of the solution long-term if UPL doesn't grab ahold of the starting job. De Haan is a good depth forward and can create a reliable defensive-defenseman partner for any of the young, more offensive minded guys. Moving Eakin and Girgensons out doesn't make me lose sleep.

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