Better to keep Rakell as we know he works anywhere in the top 6 rather than get a bust in Zadina.

Better to move POJ or Ty Smith instead of having one sit. Boston could potentially be a fit.

might as well buy out Granlund and use the 4mil he frees up on a Conor Sheary type foward

I bought out Granlund originally but I had a TON of cap leftover. So I decided to just keep him. Fair enough on buying him out.

The biggest thing for Rackell is that he is 31 and signed for several more years. I would trade him for any offer to be honest. Just to get younger. Pittsburgh are OLD. They need as much youth. He dropped over 60 points this year, so getting a 2nd + a younger, cheaper player is reasonable.

As for having POJ and Ty Smith. Depth is not a bad thing. I would rather keep both guys and hope one or both pans out. Guys like Lyubuskin and Rutta are signed short term and can easily sit for those guys IF they deserve the spot.

Moving Rakell and signing Bunting is a big mistake. Rakell is a better player and takes just a fraction of the penalties.

I think the wings could do better with this pick

Rakell contract isn't an issue to me as the window is short af and he has proven to work great with Sid and Geno which is very valuebale. We can get younger in other ways.

As for POJ and Ty Smith like a mentioned, I would rather move one for futures or a foward if one was to sit and Sully doesn't like playing dmen on their off side. so sitting one of Lyubuskin or Rutta would be a no go for him

no way we trade away Ricky

Getting younger means zilch if it means getting substantially worse. Zadina is barely a third liner and he's not showing signs of improvement after five years in NA. Bust.

I believe the Sabres accept.

BOS accepts

Sabres accept

Honestly I see this team as pretty much the same as last year at best. Trading good players just to get younger is not a winning strategy. Rakell has been great here.

No they don't.....even if they were willing to buy out Petry's contract, they're not dumping Lyubushkin after 1 year when he's one of the few physical blueliners they have and beloved in the lockerroom.

Petry is better, and probably more Physical than Lyubushkin is even at 35. Guy averages 22min a night over 180 hits a year and over a 100 blocked shots. He would be a good Partner for Power until a Draft pick hopefully is ready.

Petry is definitely the better dman (even today). He is just signed to very high cap for this year and next. The deal makes sense for Buffalo because they get the better player, who can help mentor their young guys and they get a 2nd round pick. This makes sense for Pits because they get younger, get a replacement dman and cap space for this year and next.

Sorry but I still disagree.......as far as the stats go, look at their respective GP over a career. Lyubushkin has 2.47 hits/gm, Petry 2.11. Lyubushkin has 1.37 BS/gm, Petry 1.56. If they're similar in those categories, the Sabres aren't going to take on $3.5M more of cap space over the next 2 years for a player 6 years older and disrupt some of the lockerroom culture that Lyubushkin is part of.

Adams also spoke last summer when he signed both Lyubushkin and Comrie that he was cognizant of trying to sell Buffalo being a place that "treats people right" so players will want to come there - which trading a player 1 year into a 2 year contract won't make for great optics. I don't buy the theory that they'll deal Comrie either before the end of his contract.

One other aspect to consider is Lyubushkin's value as a mentor and advisor to the young Russian players the Sabres' are bringing into Rochester (3 for next year with Komarov joining them probably next spring).

Spoken like a Penguins fan eager to dump Petry's salary and put window dressing on why another team should be salivating over helping Pittsburgh out.

So we are gonna go by Games played for a player that's almost 30 and hasn't played 270gms in his career to a guy that's what 120 away from a thousand and been very consistent throughout them.

I am a Leafs fan. TML (Toronto Maple Leafs). I also PAID Buffalo to dump Petry. Lyubuskin is not worth a 2nd round pick on his own. He is a fine 3rd pair dman with a decently high cap hit himself. Probably worth a 4th-5th round pick.

Petry is still a very serviceable player but a cap hit of 4.5m a year would be more reasonable for him.

I stand by why this trade works for both teams.

Too much and too old, I'd rather have Ruuta.

Boston would shop around for something better but would try to keep communication open.

2 2nds is all it takes to get the Vezina winner.