This is a FanPost written by Matt in Cleveland
So something really came to my mind the other day, and that is, we have three teams with some dilemmas and we can help each other out, specifically the Winnipeg Jets and the Philadelphia Flyers. Now Philly is rebuilding, nothing more to see here. But Winnipeg on the other hand, well they probably should rebuild, but really don’t want to. In fact, I see them more or less doing the Calgary Flames thing, and shaking up the core of their roster, but needless to say, they still have a Helly problem. Connor Hellebuyck has one year left on his deal before he hits unrestricted free agency, and over in Philadelphia, Carter Hart has two years of team control left, and they are indeed rebuilding. So, why not help one another out? How can the Buffalo Sabres and GM Kevyn Adams do this?
Trade 1: Taking a Swing: Calling Danny Briere
Philadelphia Gets: G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, F Lukas Rousek, F Brett Murray, and picks 13 and 45 overall (from Buffalo) in the 2023 NHL Draft Buffalo gets: G Carter Hart, F Nic Deslauriers, 2023 third round pick (from Florida) Why does it make sense? For Daniel Briere and the Flyers, they get a ton of capital for their rebuild with pick 13 in a strong draft, and the 45th overall pick. They also pick up a young goalie, and a young forward in Rousek who is being moved to give him a shot at regular NHL action. Brett Murray is thrown into the deal for similar reasons, to get him an opportunity, and his size might intrigue the Flyers. The Sabres also acquire Nic Deslauriers in the trade as a Zemgus Girgensons replacement, and get the Sabres some lineup protection by acquiring one of the top enforcers in the league who is a very capable grinder.
Trade 2: Helping out Winnipeg and calling Kevin Cheveldayoff
Winnipeg gets: G Carter Hart, RHD Henri Jokiharju Buffalo Gets: G Connor Hellebuyck, RHD Dylan DeMelo (w/ 4 year extension), and LHD Nate Schmidt, (1.9m retained/ 4.0m cap hit) Why does it make sense? Winnipeg does not want to tear it down and rebuild, and they do want to remain competitive. By doing this deal, they acquire Carter Hart, who is an Alberta native, and might be open to signing a long term extension there. Winnipeg still gets two-years of team control with Hart. Winnipeg also gets to shed a ton of cap space, primarily by moving most of Nate Schmidt’s 5.9 million salary for the next two years. Schmidt is still a very effective second/third pair defenseman and eats minutes, but at this stage of his career, might be overpaid for what he does, since he was paid like a top pair guy when he signed. . He’s also a left handed shot, but when he’s at his best, historically he’s been at his best from his offhand on the right side. He is also an excellent locker room guy and former teammate of Alex Tuch from the inaugural Vegas Golden Knights season. Schmidt is a fit for Don Granato’s kind of play, and it could end up being a sneaky move by the Sabres if he were included in the deal. In this scenario, he would slot into the third pair next to Ilya Lybushkin, and potentially can work on a power play if needed. The Jets also have a defensive logjam, and this deal frees that up tremendously by moving out DeMelo, Schmidt, and Stanley, and bringing in Henri Jokiharju. The Jets still have Josh Morrisey, Brendan Dillion, Neal Pionk, and can likely give more minutes to a guy like Dylan Samberg in their top four, and can finally slide Ville Heinola into their lineup. They also would like to get Decan Chisholm, whom I’m sure would love to be able to work into the lineup. All of those guys with Jokiharju gives the Jets seven very capable defenseman on their roster. Schmidt (4.9m), Hellebuyck (6.1m), and DeMelo (3m) send 14 million in salaries to the Sabres, and clear 4.9m in space for 2023-24. They save 7.5 million in cap space this season. Acquiring Schmidt and clearing cap space is the sweetener for Winnipeg to move both Hellebuyck and DeMelo to the Sabres. The Sabres finally get their goalie with Hellebuyck, and while you’re probably wondering why not just keep Hart, it’s because I believe Helly is a top-three goalie in the league. I don’t believe Hart is quite on that level, and while Helly logs 60+ games a year easily, last year was the first year Hart played in 50+ games. He doesn’t work as much as Helly, but he is still by definition a true number one goalie who can play 40-50 games a year. Dylan DeMelo is the main sweetener for the Sabres here. He slides into the second pair role with Owen Power, and provides a stabilizing presence to his right side. He is the ideal partner for Power, and while Hellebuyck doesn’t come with the extension, DeMelo does come with a four-year extension in this trade. The Sabres defense is completely revamped after this trade, and you’re new pairs are: Rasmus Dahlin-Mattias Sammuelson Owen Power-Dylan DeMelo Nate Schmidt- Ilya Lybushkin 7th D- Riley Stillman Ryan Johnson also provides some key depth, and one of the things I like about this deal is the fact that when Sammuelson is out, this team had more issues defensively, and Schmidt has the ability to move up and eat more minutes effectively when one of the top four guys is out.
Trade 1: Taking a Swing: Calling Danny Briere
Trade 3: Calling Kyle Davidson
Buffalo gets: pick 35 and pick 67 overall Chicago gets pick 39 and Victor Olafsson Why does it make sense? I think many have been struggling on where to send Victor Olafsson. For me, he has some potential suitors that could make sense. Maybe Calgary with retention, maybe Nashville if they decide they can use him. He is a specialist and while he scored 28 goals, it will be a challenge to find a fit. I think it’s a poorly kept secret that Buffalo would like to move him. The type of team that acquires him also has to be a team that needs goal scoring and power play help, and can live with his defensive liabilities. I think there will be a market, but only a few teams might make an inquiry on the cost, and only a couple might be serious. I think the Blackhawks make a ton of sense as an obvious fit. First, Chicago has a lot of work to get to the cap floor, and Olafsson’s full salary helps them do it. Second, they need help literally everywhere. With Connor Bedard coming next season, the team will need some skilled wingers to play with him, and Olafsson is capable of being one of those guys in the top six, and on the power play, who can help provide some skill. I have Olafsson priced as a third round pick, and here I have the Sabres moving up 4 spots to the top of round two from pick 39 to 35 overall, and picking up a late third round pick. The typical cost to move up 3 to 4 spots in the draft can be anywhere between a third and fourth rounder, so essentially, it’s a third and fourth round pick for Olafsson. This move gets Buffalo into striking distance to where they can move up into the back of round one if they choose to. They now have three third rounders after these deals.
Free Agency Targets
Tyson Jost (RFA) and Noel Acciari (UFA)
Tyson Jost played well enough in the bottom six and has found his niche in that role. Many might have him pegged as the fourth line center next season, but the only issue I have with him in that role is he is poor with faceoffs (39.6% for his career, 38% w/ BUF), and that’s an area the Sabres need to improve on. He would be an excellent 13th forward option. Noel Acciari checks a lot of boxes for the Sabres. He’s a quality bottom six forward who can slot into the bottom six, particularly on the fourth line at center, and brings some grit to the lineup. He’s also an effective faceoff man, and won at a clip of 54% last season. He’s also a hitting machine with 244 hits last year, and will throw his weight around and bring energy to the lineup. Here I envision him on the fourth line, centering Nic Deslauriers and Kyle Okposo, which should be a very heavy, physical fourth line that is difficult to play against. It might be an overpay for Acciari, but man, I really want him.
Conclusion
I won’t go through the draft since I think at this point, the goal should be to restock the defensive prospect cupboard since we have a million forwards. After the big Winnipeg-Philly blockbuster trade, there are not really a lot of pressing needs that the Sabres have to address in free agency. Acciari would very well be my only UFA signing this offseason. Projected Lines: Cozens-Thompson-Quinn Skinner- Mittelstadt- Tuch Greenway-Krebs- Peterka Deslauriers- Acciari- Okposo 13th- Jost Key call-up: Kulich Samuelsson-Dahlin Power- DeMelo Schmidt-Lybushkin 7th D- Stillman Starting goalie: Hellebuyck Backups: Levi and Comrie One thing to note is that in my lineup projections, I had Mittelstadt remaining on the Skinner/Tuch line, mainly because, I love the way he played with them, and this the Sabres another offensive dimension as teams can’t just zero in on Tage Thompson’s line, which was centering Tuch and Skinner. I really like the idea of putting Thompson with Cozens and giving Jack Quinn an opportunity with them. It’s also a very versatile trio. Quinn can play both LW/RW and he does enjoy playing his offside. Cozens can play all three forward spots, and we all know he flourished last year at the IIHF World Championships at left wing, and actually played exceptionally well. But needless to say, the team has added Connor Hellebuyck, Dylan DeMelo, Nate Schmidt, Nic Deslauriers, and Noel Acciari, those additions make this team significantly better heading into next season, and not in a bad position with the salary cap, and your defense and goaltending are completely revamped, and the Sabres, Jets, and Flyers all help each other out.
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