DBTB –
Here’s my GM For A Day – the ’25 Off-season. Enjoy. And flame away in the comments section!
FRONT OFFICE:
Promote Kevyn Adams to President of Hockey Operations.
Hire Dale Tallon away from Vancouver, make him Senior Advisor.
Promote Jason Karmanos to General Manager.
Hire Andrew Brunette as Assistant Coach in charge of offense (Ruff did well with him in NJ).
Hire Jay McKee as Assistant Coach in charge of defense.
Promote Seth Appert to Associate Head Coach.
TRADE: Bowen Byram, Sam Lafferty -> UTAH Lawson Crouse, Michael Kesselring
Why Does BFLO Do This? Byram wants to be a #1 and has all the tools to be just that. But BFLO already has a #1 that ain’t going anywhere, and a potential #2 who’s also under contract for a long time. Can you afford to pay your #3 D-Man in the $7-8M/year for several years? Maybe, but the Sabres have a lot of other players that will hopefully demand a big payday in the coming years. So to maintain Cap flexibility, and to give him what he wants, they elect to move Byram. In exchange they receive a big, fast, physical forward who can defend and chip in 15-20 goals. This is a skill set that this team needs. Crouse is a bottom 6 forward with just enough puck skill to slide up to the 2nd line in pinch. They also get Kesselring, a big rig on the back-end who also happens to be a right-shot. He’s still young and has some runway left to develop into something even better than he is now…which is a bottom pair blueliner. This adds some needed depth and variation to the Sabres’ D-corps. Both plays are also cost-effective, as combined they probably don’t carry the same Cap hit as Byram will receive.
Why Does UTAH Do This? The Mammoth (love that name) need a PP QB. Sergachev is very good, and Sean Durzi is OK, but Byram has the ability to be better than both…and maybe much better. And they have the young forward talent to roll out one of the best PP units in the NHL: Cooley, Guenther, Keller, with McBain in front…or roll with Durzi and Byram on the points. And Byram can be a physical, 2-way defender. With he and Sergachev, you’ve got a good, young 1-2 punch on the back-end. That’s in the same division with Makar and Toews on Colorado, or Heiskanen and Harley in Dallas. And you also add a 4th liner with some speed on a 1-year deal in Lafferty, which fits great, as one of your current 4th liners, Alex Kerfoot, can slide into the 3rd line opening left by Crouse’s departure. Kesselring would be nice to keep, but the Mammoth would have Sergachev, Marino, Byram, Maatta and Durzi on the back-end and under contract for at least a couple more years. So you can add a potential top talent on the blueline and not really miss either of the players you give up for him. That’s a nice bit of work there.
DRAFT:
1 (9): Brady Martin, 6’0 C, OHL: Hyper-aggressive, high intensity 2-way centerman.
2 (39): Vaclav Nestrasil, 6’5 LW, USHL: Power wing with soft hands, big hitter.
TRADE: BFLO 3 (71) & 4 (103) -> MINN 2 (52)
2 (52): Michal Pradel, 6’5 G, WHL: Big, quick goalie project.
4 (116): Evan Passmore, 6’4 RHD, WHL: Sturdy, smart, puck-mover.
5 (135): Patryk Zubek, 6’3 LHD, SVK: Physical defender with some offense in his game.
6 (167): Aiden Lane, 6’1 RW, CCHL: Scoring wing who played against lower competition.
7 (195): Ben Hrabik, 6’3 G, OHL **: Streaky goaltender who can look dominant.
7 (199): Ethan Wyttenbach, 5’11 C/W, USHL: Slick goal scorer with some runway.
7 (219): Matthew Grimes, 6’1 LHD, USHL: High-end skating puck transporter.
FREE AGENCY:
TRADE: BFLO JJ Peterka, 2026 1st (top 3 protected) -> VGK Nicolas Roy, Zach Whitecloud
Why Does BFLO Do This? Peterka is a burgeoning talent who could easily become a regular 30G scorer. Put up nearly 70P as a 22 year old. Should only get better. But the Sabres don’t struggle to score. And Peterka’s inconsistent defense and unwillingness to go to the net rub me the wrong way. Not to mention, he’s looking for a new contract, and for one with term, the Sabres will be easily into $7M range. There is also some noise about offer sheets, and if you try to bridge JJ, that likely makes him more willing to sign an offer sheet (and leaving the Sabres to get nothing for him, which is suboptimal). So to protect themselves from a) a potentially bad contract, and b) losing him for nothing, they make a move. They also are loaded in their prospect pool, so they can spare a 1st round choice next year. In exchange, they add a versatile forward in Nic Roy. Has size, reach, can defend, forecheck and play center or wing up and down the line-up. Experienced, Roy has played in almost 80 playoff games and still has 2 years left on his contract at a meager $3M/year. In addition, they get a big, physical RHD to pair with Owen Power. Whitecloud is a long, defensive-focused blueliner than can be an anchor for Power, allowing him to roam more often with such a reliable partner. And he’s on a very valuable $2.75M for the next 3 years. Like the trade with Utah, the cost of these two players probably doesn’t quite equal what Peterka will get. But this is most definitely an overpay.
Why Does VGK Do This? The Knights struggled to score in the playoffs, especially in big moments. Outscored 36-28, they were shutout in their last 2 games and lost in OT in another one. That’s the main reason they’re already on the golf course, which you know doesn’t sit well with ownership. And over the past couple years they’ve lost some potent weapons up front. And most of the weapons they do have are aging: Stone, Karlsson, Hertl, and Barbashev are all going to be 30+ when next season starts. Not only that, but they had to make do with guys like 33-year-old Brandon Saad and old pal Victor Olofsson in the Top 6 this past year. Adding Peterka to their other young scoring wing, Pavel Dorofeyev, adds some youth, speed and punch to their offense. The 1st round pick is just currency they’ll use to bring in other weapons. And they have an in-house replacement for Whitecloud in young Kaeden Korczak, a young right-shot who’s ready to take a regular shift at the NHL level. Likewise, Brett Howden can slide into Roy’s role on the 3rd line or play 4C and do it very effectively. I would expect the Knights to take a run at Mitch Marner (that’s what they do), but if not, or they can’t make the money work, this is a great fallback option.
TRADE: BFLO Connor Clifton -> PITT Alex Nedeljkovic
Why Does BFLO Do This? UPL has been up-and-down, showing some flashes of being a legit Top 15 goalie in the NHL, and also looking like a replacement AHL tendy at times. Which UPL will they get next season? Your guess is as good as mine! But regardless, the Sabres want a veteran goalie who’s seen their share of games. Ned is 29, has played for 3 different teams, and been the starter for 2 of those teams. His numbers are not great except for the COVID season, when he was a finalist for the Calder. They nab a guy who has seen almost 200 NHL games, been around the block, and has one year left on his deal at a reasonable $2.5M. So he’s not blocking the path for Devon Levi, if he is, in fact, the eventual next guy up on the Sabres. Clifton is a nice depth player and one I would like to keep, but that $3.3M on the last year of his deal is prohibitive for what amounts to a 6/7 defender.
Why Does PITT Do This? Like it or not, the Penguins are moving into rebuild mode. Geno Malkin is likely retiring after this season, and both Crosby and Karlsson have two years left. They are in the process of tearing it down. They have 19 picks in the next two Drafts. A physical, RHD on an expiring deal might be a great way to add another high selection in one of those 2 drafts…especially if they retain some money. And since no one is going to be trading for Tristan Jarry at this point, not to mention they have Joel Blomqvist coming up in the pipes…moving Ned on an expiring deal is not a bad move for Kyle Dubas at this point to get a useful asset.
SIGN: UFA Nathan Bastain, C/W: 1Y @ $1.15M. A big, physical power wing (6’4 205#) who likes to hit and doesn’t mind dropping the gloves when needed. Had his ‘best’ years playing for Ruff in Jersey. Can slide into the middle if needed.
SIGN: RFA Ryan McLeod, C: 4Y @ $5.3M. Key 2nd or 3rd line centerman and top PK’er for the Sabres. Still young (26), coming off his best season, explosive skater and more productive offensively than expected. Knows how to win in the playoffs.
SIGN: RFA Jacob Bernard-Docker, D: 2Y @ $1.6M. Great depth guy, can play any way you like: physical, fast, transition or grind it out. Valuable right-shot. Can play 2nd or 3rd pair if needed. Lot of room to improve his game.
SIGN: RFA Jack Quinn, W: 2Y @ $2.2M. Can he play like he’s capable with another summer to get stronger? Can he stay healthy for a full season? That’s the bet here. Quinn is capable of playing great 2-way hockey and scoring 60+ points while being a PP staple, but thus far, he’s only scratched the surface. After an absolutely miserable first half, Quinn started to pick it up. Can he do that for an entire year? Let’s hope so.
EXTEND: Alex Tuch, W: 6Y @ $8.4M. Can’t let this guy get away unless he wants out. Big, semi-physical, a leader, top PK’er and top PP’er, legit 2-way forward who should have gotten some serious Selke consideration yet still scores 35+ goals. And still only 29! If he’s agreeable, lock him in and don’t worry about that spot for half-a-decade.
SIGN: RFA Ryan Johnson, D: 2Y @ $895K. Great skating puck mover who is a defense-first kind of player. Has had time to season down in ROCH, get ready for the big show. Not flashy, but a perfectly smart, slick defender for the 3rd pair.
OPENING NIGHT: CAP HIT: $92M
Roy – Kulich – Tage
Benson – Norris – Tuch
Quinn – McLeod – Zucker
Malenstyn – Krebs – Crouse
Greenway – Bastain
Sammy – Dahlin
Power – Whitecloud
Ry Johnson – Kesselring
JBD
UPL – Ned
ROCHESTER OPENING NIGHT:
Rosen – Ostlund – Dunne
Murray – Helenius – Wahlberg
Jobst – Kozak – Neuchev
Nadeau – Fiddler-Schultz – Kopff
Sardaryan – Joshua
Novikov – Metsa
Bryson – Komarov
Rathbone – Laaouan
Oesterle
Levi – Houser
TOP PROSPECTS:
C: Ostlund – Helenius – Martin – Kozak
W: Poltapov – Rosen – Wahlberg – Marjala – Neuchev – Nestrasil – Richard – Ziemer
D: Novikov – Komarov – Strbak – Kleber – Osburn – McCarthy – Passmore
G: Levi – Leinonen – Ratliff – Pradel