Of which we absolutely don’t need to go throwing yet another first round pick away for

I think that finishing bottom 5 again is exactly what Montreal should hope for this year. Next year there are three well-known draft prospects (Bedard, Michkov and Fantilli) plus Craig Button has said that #4 (Calum Ritchie) could challenge those three guys for positioning. Trying to get some of these prospects while also having Duncan Keith bring along the young defensemen is ideal.

Petry getting traded (for prospects or picks) will alleviate some cap crunch.

Kassian or Foegle could get bought out, as neither of them are significant impact players.

1. Zucker's contract is only bad because the guy can't stay healthy. He would be an effective middle-six winger if he played more than half the season. Besides, it only has one year left. Mittelstadt has potential, but has come nowhere close to reaching it. The only way he'd fit the Pens lineup right now is if Carter was moved to wing. Unless he takes a step forward in Pittsburgh, he doesn't move the needle enough to warrant a 2nd. Foegle would play a similar role as Brock McGinn for Pitt, and McGinn's value is nowhere close to a 2nd. But all of this is besides the point. That 1st round pick would mean the Penguins hang up on Buffalo even if Zucker had Jeff Skinner's cap hit. We could ship him off to Seattle or Arizona for much less.

2. That's still a lot of very talented players getting significant raises at once. Take it from a fan of the team potentially losing 2 franchise cornerstones at once: cap space can disappear very quickly if not managed carefully. How much money will Tage Thompson command? What about Dylan Cozens? Ukko-Pekka Luukonen has a lot of potential, too. How do you deal with having 4 young defensemen needing new contracts in the next 2 years in a market where Darnell Nurse and Seth Jones command $9.5 million? Dahlin and Power both have higher ceilings than those two.

That's literally what I said, buyout saves no money. I never mentioned buyout but you did at first and i told you why it would NOT work. Again, reread what I said, Keith has NMC so even this ridiculous scenario doesnt work. Reading comprehension?

This makes no sense. Molson is not willing to spend to the cap but Pegula is willing. What? You sure you're a Sabres fan, you dont seem to know the Pegulas

Sabres werent at the bottom of the league, and wont be again. MTL was literally the worst, is going to be again, and is starting a rebuild...