Isles decline

Buffalo isn't trading Joker and a 1st for Murphy. Joker seems to be the whipping boy for a lot of Sabres fans recently, and he's a lot better than people want to give him credit for. He's not Dahlin, Power or Samuelsson, but he's proving himself to be a reliable 4/5. He's not just some throw in like people keep using him as, he's only 23 years old.

I think the Islanders are really liking what Holmstrom has brought to the NHL so far. I'd like to keep him if we can.

Would the Blackhawks do Salo and a 3rd for Domi (50%) and JMFJ?

Leafs are not taking Domi, he has scored most of his points on PP1 and he wont have a spot there.

I never thought Joki was negative value or anything. I'm saying his ceiling is 4/5 d man and Murphy is an upgrade. He actually has value and I think he would grow by getting more icetime on the hawks

I don't think the difference in value between Jokiharju and Murphy is a 1st round pick personally. I like Murphy, I think he's a solid 2nd pairing Dman, but Buffalo's 1st right now would be in that 9 - 10 range. I think Murphy could garner a late 1st and a prospect, but this isn't quite that.

You might get a first for Murphy, but it will be late. The Sabres first absolutely wouldn't be on the table.

-Probably the right value for Domi, not sure if Toronto is the destination, but I could see a team popping off with a 2nd for Domi at $1.5M.

-I'm personally of the mindset that the Isles really shouldn't be moving their '23 1st at this point - they haven't picked in the 1st round since 2019, and their prospect pipeline is pretty barren. I think Kane makes them better, obviously, but looking at the long-term health of the franchise, I don't think it makes sense to trade ANOTHER 1st rounder, especially not in this draft. Of course, I'm not an 80 year old GM with only a couple years left in the game, so maybe my views aren't as much aligned with Islanders management's. With that in mind, this is probably fair value - I will say that the Isles have enough deadline cap space that they can probably absorb Kane's contract without retention (CF has their deadline cap space as $10.8M currently) so adjust your return accordingly if you want to save that retention slot.

-Athanasiou has been a little more disappointing (6-3-9 in 25 GP to date) so I can't see him matching Domi's return. If he keeps playing at a 30-35 point pace he's probably getting a 3rd or 4th back.

-I'm firmly of the mindset that we don't separate hockey brothers unless we absolutely have to. This is not an "absolutely have to" case, so I refuse this on aesthetic grounds.

-Buffalo shouldn't be trading a 1st unless it's a home run of a trade - and I don't know if Joker -> Murphy is an upgrade that meets that criteria. I think the Sabres pass on this.

-Chicago should be all over Florida to get something for taking Hornqvist off their hands - I don't think Florida gives up a 1st but seeing as they literally can't activate Anthony Duclair without clearing cap, this is a chance to truly weaponize their cap space.

I wouldnt trade a top 16 protected 1st and Jokiharju for Murphy.

Sabres laugh & decline

Sabres decline, if they are acquiring a Dman, it’s to put Bryson in the bench. Bryson is a -15 on the season, and their 7/8 Dmen are -4 each. Lybushkin is at 0, and the rest of the Sabres defense are positives. Moving Joki for Murphy wouldn’t change much, we’d still have to play Bryson. Seems like a barely better than lateral move, not worth adding a first.

Wait what? Buffalo easy decline, huge overpayment and Joki lately looks good.

The hawks already had a ton of d prospects that are jammed up in the system.

It has been nearly three years since the Sabres traded a pick for player, there is not enough motivation to make this the first one in over 30 months.
these pairing have played well recently, no reason to suspect it will change.
Samuelsson - Dahlin
Power - Jokiharju
???? - Lyubushkin
Maybe Bryson needs a little more time but this year he is being over powered when he is on the ice.
Let's find a partner for Lyubushkin.