Let’s put aside the actual players that Buffalo drafted for a moment and give praise to Terry Pegula and the city of Buffalo for pulling off an amazing weekend by the waterfront. As one executive from another NHL team (who chose to remain anonymous for fear of upsetting previous hosts) said “From top to bottom, everything about this year has been top notch. Compared to Florida last year, the layout and ease of access has been night and day.”
Buffalo better get used to being the center of the hockey universe more often because players and team executives alike have been praising what is being built here. Don’t be surprised if the NHL combine* is moved here permanently and an NHL All Star game is announced in the very near future (2018 possibly).
Don’t be surprised if the NHL combine* is moved here permanently and an NHL All Star game is announced in the very near future (2018 possibly).
As far as the Sabres pick at #8, Alex Nylander is all about the skill. With the Sabres being at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to offense over the last two years, it’s hard to argue this pick. Once one of the top Dmen was off the board, it allowed one of the top offensive talents to slip to Buffalo. As with most of these types of players, Nylander will have to improve his defensive game a bit. Much of the talk over the previous 24 hours to this draft was about Tim Murray trading for a top 4 Dman (Cam Fowler specifically). I believe that Anaheim was either looking to get buffalo’s 8 pick this year or next year’s first rounder. Murray was not going to pay that price and I’m glad he didn’t. Enter Dmitri Kulikov into the picture who will be an instant upgrade to the powerplay. Although Buffalo had to give up Mark Pysk (another young, talented Dman) in order to acquire Kulikov, even Tim Murray admitted that Pysk was somewhat of an “analytics darling”. If the Sabres can sign Kulikov to a long term deal, I think they come out on top of this trade.
Obviously the biggest name to hit the market in many years is Steven Stamkos. It is no secret the Buffalo is going to make a legitimate run to try and land this guy and if they do, watch out!
Now, as far as some rumblings going on about free agency, here is where the real fireworks begin. Obviously the biggest name to hit the market in many years is Steven Stamkos. It is no secret the Buffalo is going to make a legitimate run to try and land this guy and if they do, watch out! With teams like Toronto, Detroit, the Isle as well as the Rangers in the mix, it is not going to be easy to land a star such as Stamkos. Most reports out there are saying that someone might end up paying up to 12 Million a year to catch him. Tampa is offering about nine and I think he should be getting more in the 10 million range. I’m not so sure it would be the wisest decision to unload 12 mill when the Sabres will have to worry about extensions for Reinhart, Eichel and Risto in a couple years. Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to get #91 here but didn’t Tampa Bay just get within one game of making the Stanley Cup without him? Keep an eye on Jimmy Vesey (a possible top 6 addition) updates because if Buffalo can convince him to sign here (after acquiring his rights), that could be another deciding factor for Stamkos. If Murray falls short on the #91 sweepstakes, don’t be surprised if he turns his attention to Mr Shattenkirk or Okposo.
Well, bring on July 1 folks because it’s about to go down!
*NHL Combine – When players from all around the world come to do their testing for all of the NHL general managers, physical and mental. Indianapolis is the host City every year for the NFL and now the NHL is thinking about making Buffalo the permanent choice for the NHL.