We are going to finish in the bottom 3 and eichel is obviously gone.

What is going on with this site?

Of course not. Big name UFAs are not going to Buffalo. Eichel is clearly done there.

They could offer their 2nd round pick to get a team to take Okposo, for space to overpay the UFAs. Could give Letang 8x3, Hertl 11x7, Klingberg 10x7. Could drop to 21 players and go higher than that.

Eichel is probably not happy about working for Buffalo's current management/medical staff anymore. True. But by the fact that you're arguing about whether UFAs would sign, I take it you agree the above team makes the playoffs?

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, you'd think by paying to get rid of Okposo they would remember the lesson they learned about over paying aging UFA's on long term contracts

First off, no… a second rounder doesn’t get rid of okposo.

A big part of why players aren’t going to buffalo isn’t the management…it’s the city.

I’m sorry Klingberg isn’t taking a discount to go to the worst team in the league, and I really don’t see him signing with a team that’s 99% sure of not winning the cup while he’s playing.

Dahlin and Klingberg together could be pretty good, for a long time. Two of the best Swedish defensemen in the NHL/world. One shoots left. One shoots right. Buffalo has the cap space to keep them together, long term.

Actually, with those two options on the power play, they don't need Letang. Just a 2nd pair defenseman, or two, and there should be a lot of those available, next summer.



You're saying the main problem with the Okposo and Skinner contracts is the term? I kinda thought it was their cap hits.

i don’t think the city itself is that big a problem. if the team is successful, free agents will want to come there. the team is really bad and has been for a long time. why would a free agent want to come to buffalo when presumably they’re entering the back half of their career and want to win?

If the city were a problem then the Buffalo Bills would not have anyone wanting to come to Buffalo to play for them either. Not only are they not having any trouble getting free agents, it’s a destination where everybody wants to play right now. It’s not like Buffalo is the only city in the country that gets snow, and players who are afraid of weather are getting over it because the Buffalo Bills are winning games.

That is just a low-ball towards Klingberg

That is a holy overpayment for Letang

Hertl is a win now player

I don’t think they want to go there under any circumstances. Guys making potentially 8 figures a year don’t want to live in buffalo. Can we name a big name ufa that went there without getting overpaid like crazy?

Do you really think Dahlin will stay long term? It’s pretty obvious that he signed a 3 year deal to get to FA faster, after his contract is up he’ll sign his QO and then leave through FA.

Multiple credible sources said that the negotiations between Klingberg and Dallas have been going great. Sources like Saad Yousef one of our best insiders and Pierre Lebrun. I really can’t see Klingberg leaving for a MUCH worse team and getting paid less than he would for Dallas, while everything is going well in Dallas.

The nfl is a drastically different league

Yes. And the Bills and Sabres have drastically different owners...

no one’s gone there any time recently because the team’s been terrible for a long time. i’m not saying buffalo would be a destination or anything, but some people would certainly choose to go there if the sabres were actually competitive. the city not being a destination plus the team being awful is a horrible recipe for UFAs.

I generally agree. Although Hall was an interesting exception. Signed in Buffalo to play with Eichel and test whether one recent MVP was enough to turn a whole team around.



I think the odds that Dahlin stays long term go way up if the team signs Klingberg and Hertl, and makes the playoffs. Can they do that without Eichel? Probably. Can they do that with Eichel? I might have the wrong values, and need to sub in Miller for Letang, but yes. I think they can make the playoffs with a healthy Eichel in their lineup, next year.

When they finish in the bottom part of the league this year it really won’t attract big name FA’s like Hertl and Klingberg. Going from a playoff team to a lottery contender while in your prime doesn’t sound inspiring, for Klingberg that is not Hertl.

Sure the NFL is a different league. But I’m pretty sure that guy was being sarcastic about different owners, maybe you missed that. Commonly known fact the Bills and the Sabres are owned by the same family, surprise! And even if the leagues are run very differently, it’s the same city, which was my point.

cap hits wouldnt matter so much if they were gone in a year. Now the cap hit doesnt matter at all

The city sucks but a winning team is a winning team

That's the main way that Adams is doing better than Botterill. Avoiding some risks. Making Hall a one year rental meant there was no real risk, and in the end they got a pick and a young player with some potential. But I don't think they'll build a contender without learning how to take some calculated risks, too. A team where nobody feels secure and nobody sticks around is always going to be stuck rebuilding.

How is that hurting the team?



So Adams is avoiding risk to the extent that he's willing to walk two top-five picks who panned out among the top five players in their draft classes, while they're each in their early 20s? I've never run a hockey team, but does that sound like how you're supposed to do it?

I think there is smart risks, like Letang for 3 years, its not a 1 year deal but they arent stuck with him for 6 years like Okposo. Ill over pay on that, but Buffalo has a lot of kids to pay, i dont see them wasting money on too many aging players and more likely to see them make a trade to bolster their roster when theyre a contender

Yeah. They might not want to get in on Hertl, then. He's really the only 1st line center in UFA next year and bidding could go high. Klingberg, if he hits UFA, might be a great partner for Dahlin, but the number that makes sense for the Sabres likely also works for the Stars, so it would have to be about him wanting to go play with Dahlin and a crowd of young Swedes in Buffalo, rather than Buffalo dumping Okposo and overpaying.

And whether the above lineup has any chance really depends on whether playing with Eichel again is enough to get Skinner back on track.

Garbage ideas are a problem on the site. No, the Sabres are not aiming for worst in the National Hockey League. No, Eichel is not gone.