yeah that'd be real nice when hayes comes off LTIR

You are right to point the cap reasons for the JVR part. I imagine not taking any long term salary back in the form of older players is part of the reason this trade for JE seems light. I imagine in the flames offer Buffalo had to take SM back. I agree with them not taking any of that long term salary back. But clearly their mistake was how they have handled this whole thing. And he just don't win trades like this.

Yorks not a center so the Sabres still pass. I dont know why, months on, this still has to be said, even after the trade is nearly official: the Sabres dont need d prospects, especially LD

Obviously another trade would have to be made

Hm true that

Unloading Jones and Laughton isn't the worst

Then trade for backup Ingram

Considering the season he had last year, the salary isn't unworkable, and he only has 2 years left (this year and next year) Buffalo could easily flip him for prospects/picks

Their is 0 guarantee with prospects development, so it never hurts to acquire good prospects in any position. Worst case scenario they try to move one of them to RD or they trade one of their LD. Additionally it's way to early to tell, but Zayde Wisdom had a very nice season last year for an 18 year old in the AHL and is a center. Will he ever be at the same level as Peyton Krebs, no, but is he still a valuable prospect with decent potential, yes.

The Sabres have 9 dmen under 24 that are probable NHLers, 4 of them are already permanent NHLers, with Power, Samuelsson, Johnson, Laaksonen, and Novikov still developing. Theyre set. Thats probably why they literally just traded Eichel for 2 forwards as well. They never had interest in D prospects

And that's why the Sabres have been the laughingstock of the league for this past decade. Prioritizing positional value over a prospects total value is destined to fail every time.

No theyve actually been a laughing stock because the first guy passed on Draisaitl for Reinhart then traded all of their prospects away to fill immediate needs instead of letting them develop, then the next guy traded most of those players away for next to nothing. The Sabres havent had decent prospects outside of their 1st rounders, aside from McCabe and Olofsson, and theyve whiffed on a lot of those as well. Not only that Krebs > York anyway so the arguement doesnt make much sense from any direction