that johnson trade doesnt make sense

COL accepts.
I’d probably offer to retain like 1mil of EJs last contract year to sweeten the deal.

Why are we trading Casey for 1 year of Gudas?

Why are we trading our 42nd pick for 1 year of Erik johnson?

Gudas> Mittelstadt
Resign Gudas

Johnson production experience and leadership > early mid round second

How is Gudas better than Mitts? He's a soon to be 32 year old bottom pair guy. There's a lot of guys like that in FA. You could go after Justin Braun or Josh Manson. Mitts has 32 points in 56 games under Donny G. He's only making 2.5M and still will be an RFA. I think there's some potential for him to be a 50-60 point guy. Seems silly to give him away just for a bottom pair vet.

I think you also can get a similar player to Erik johnson in FA without giving up a high pick. If you want to use one of our higher picks on a big RD I'd probably try and get a younger guy with term like Connor Murphy or something.

Where is Peterka?

Maturing more in the AHL as a first callup

Gudas over the last 5 years is top 5 in hits and amongst those hit leaders he has the best or 2nd best +/-. Bottom pair guys still play 13-16 minutes, and hes good enough to move up in case of injury. Hes one of the best stay at home d in the league right now, perfect to pair with Power. Mitts is wholly inconsistent. I wish him the best but i dont think hes that great, especially for a 3C.

Johnson was a captain during Colorado's rebuild, he brings more than just stats and they arent attached to him long term as they would be a UFA

I like the gudas idea, I don't think he's a great guy in the room, that doesn't have to matter of course, but if it doesn't work out...

Gudas has played on playoff teams the last 5 years. Of course he's had a high plus minus. Pretty much everyone on those teams had a high plus minus. There are 12 guys on Florida right now with a +/- over 20. That doesn't really mean anything. Just tells me he's on a good team.

Having high hits isn't necessarily some good thing. Risto racked up a bunch too. He was getting those hits by going out of position and making unnecessary hits and giving up 2 and 1s instead. Opposing teams feasted when he was on the ice. Braun & Manson pretty much do the exact same thing and you can get them as free agents without giving up assets.

Mitts has looked good under Don Granato. Some injury issues but he's constantly getting better. Did you want to get rid of Tage last year too because he was inconsistent?

I don't want to give up the 42nd pick for a guy that's only gonna be here for only a year. You can get leadership in FA. Guys like Craig Anderson & Pysyk are excellent locker room guys and we got them for cheap.

He's top 10 in the AHL for points lmao. How much more does he need to mature? He's dominating as a rookie against adults right now.

Shib, this isn't good my guy.
Mitts > Gudas and im not even a fan of Casey.
Erik Johnson....what? and why?
5.5m for DOMI???? He hasnt put together a good season in 3 years and you wanna give him 5.5 million? Doesnt seem smart

If EJ would waive COL does that. I really doubt he waives for BUF, AZ, OTT the 3 teams I’m 100% sure are on his NTC list.

points are not the only stat that matters

Domi's contract is not long term, its there to hit the cap floor, and you have someone that will actually stand up for the kids but is also skilled enough to keep up with them and play a 3C role. Mitts is actually scoring only slightly above the pace Gudas was scoring at his age. Gudas is a stay at home RD, Mitts was supposed to be a top 6 forward. not super relevant to anything but i find that pretty funny that people get so upset when they see a bust get moved for a small return. Why would you not want Erik Johnson? for a 2nd round pick at that

SO while banking on Thompson to not be a one hit wonder, we also have to hope that a completely different human being has the exact same transformation within an offseason at the same age, despite currently spending the same amount of time with the same coach? I hope it works out for Mitts, because I know the Sabres arent trading him IRL, but they can do better. Mitts doesnt offer anything but skill, so if hes not scoring theres no reason to have him on the team

I never said points are the only thing that matters. A 20 year old dominating a league with adults shows he's ready. Leaving him in the AHL would just be a waste. What about his game does he need to mature?