Latest / The Armchair GM's Sports Network / Offseason moves a must for Buffalo to repeat as one of East's Best - Sabres Semantics: Season Finale
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network.
- 0:51Speaker 2: And welcome into another live episode of Saber Semantics right
- 0:53Speaker 2: here on the arm Chair GM Sports Network. Thank you
- 0:56Speaker 2: everybody tuned in live tonight on a arms show GM
- 0:58Speaker 2: Sports Network YouTube channel. Make sure to hit like, hit, subscribe,
- 1:00Speaker 2: smash that bell sale date with all of our video
- 1:02Speaker 2: coverage here on the network, and thank you those listening
- 1:04Speaker 2: the next day in your favorite on demand audio podcast platform.
- 1:07Speaker 2: Make sure to give us a five star rating whatever
- 1:09Speaker 2: one he chose to listen to us on Bernick Putoa
- 1:11Speaker 2: and Austin Broad of Leap Prospects here with you for
- 1:14Speaker 2: our season finale episode. Gonna just quickly overview the upcoming
- 1:18Speaker 2: off season for the Sabers. Some extensions that they have
- 1:21Speaker 2: to do obviously with the restricted free agents pending UFAs
- 1:24Speaker 2: as well Alex tuckbowem Byram. Do they sign those two
- 1:28Speaker 2: players to long term contract extensions, Possible early trade targets,
- 1:33Speaker 2: early free agent targets, the drafts obviously coming up as well,
- 1:37Speaker 2: so we'll get into all the ins and outs of
- 1:40Speaker 2: what to expect here for the Sabers off season as well.
- 1:43Speaker 2: We'll get to our fan polls as well as always
- 1:46Speaker 2: Sabersmantics is proudly brought to by Global Pet Foods, where
- 1:48Speaker 2: pets are uniniabily part of the family and their three
- 1:50Speaker 2: Great Niagara Region locations in Niagara Falls, Fon Hill and
- 1:53Speaker 2: Scott Street.
- 1:53Speaker 3: Instant.
- 1:54Speaker 2: Catherine's big thank you to Neil and John for their
- 1:56Speaker 2: support all season long with their stores and this show,
- 2:00Speaker 2: so look forward to having them back again next season.
- 2:02Speaker 2: So Austin, with that said, I know it's been a
- 2:05Speaker 2: what a week and a half now since the Sabers
- 2:07Speaker 2: obviously had the loss in Game seven against Montreal and overtime.
- 2:12Speaker 2: We did a really small postgame show after that. It
- 2:15Speaker 2: was really I don't even remember what I said. It
- 2:17Speaker 2: was all a blur at that point, but you know,
- 2:19Speaker 2: seeing Carolina Montreal duke it out right now, Caroline has
- 2:23Speaker 2: got a pretty hefty lead on the Canadians right now,
- 2:26Speaker 2: and jack Icle's going to the Stanley Cup Finals on
- 2:28Speaker 2: the West side. So it felt like it was almost
- 2:30Speaker 2: you know, destiny for the Sabers to maybe be in
- 2:33Speaker 2: the in that scenario and and you know exile some
- 2:35Speaker 2: demons with the Hurricanes and also the Saber or also
- 2:38Speaker 2: jack Eiicel. But it didn't play out that way, and
- 2:41Speaker 2: here we are talking about the off season here, but
- 2:43Speaker 2: with a lot of optimism obviously.
- 2:47Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean first not first offseason podcast or first
- 2:51Speaker 4: off season. That's an interesting one to look forward to.
- 2:53Speaker 4: I think every off season has been interesting because we
- 2:55Speaker 4: kind of were expecting stuff, but this one truly actually
- 2:58Speaker 4: feels like it should be interesting one because there's basically
- 3:02Speaker 4: no free agents, Like the free agency class not good
- 3:06Speaker 4: this year, which is good news if you're Alex Tux
- 3:08Speaker 4: agent potentially, so it seems like there's just league wide
- 3:13Speaker 4: gonna be a ton of potential trades and things like that,
- 3:16Speaker 4: because otherwise I don't know how teams are gonna brought
- 3:18Speaker 4: a lot out there, and that's bodes well for a
- 3:22Speaker 4: team like the Savers, who have a GM with history
- 3:26Speaker 4: for making big swings. Whether every big swing has worked
- 3:29Speaker 4: out for Yarmo in the past is another story, but
- 3:31Speaker 4: we know he likes to be aggressive, so it's kind
- 3:33Speaker 4: of a good spot to be, and we know he
- 3:35Speaker 4: was trying to be aggressive at the trade deadline. Not
- 3:38Speaker 4: every move he wanted to do worked out, whether it
- 3:40Speaker 4: be the Pareco thing or who knows how true the
- 3:43Speaker 4: Robert Thomas like close that actually ended up be coming.
- 3:46Speaker 4: But we know Yarma has been aggressive in the past
- 3:49Speaker 4: and his short term as the Savers, and I expect
- 3:51Speaker 4: that to be the case going into this offseason.
- 3:54Speaker 2: So before we get into the meat and potatoes of that,
- 3:57Speaker 2: we've got a few housekeeping things to go over here
- 4:00Speaker 2: our last episode. First off, Consta Helenus playing well for
- 4:04Speaker 2: Finland at the Men's World scored his first goal of
- 4:06Speaker 2: the tournament today and a nice one timer on a
- 4:09Speaker 2: pass from Sasha Barkov, and obviously a great opportunity for
- 4:13Speaker 2: Consta Helenus getting an opportunity to play with an all
- 4:16Speaker 2: world centerman in Sasha Barkov, and just experiencing a men's
- 4:20Speaker 2: tournament like that, going over after the Saber season ended.
- 4:23Speaker 2: You know, still a twenty year old player, and seems
- 4:25Speaker 2: like he's got a lot of confidence, and even in
- 4:27Speaker 2: his postgame interview as well, just talked about how excited
- 4:30Speaker 2: he was to be over there and playing with his
- 4:33Speaker 2: fellow countryman in a somewhat of a big tournament. I
- 4:35Speaker 2: know the world is sort of you know, watered down
- 4:37Speaker 2: with the talent, but still some very good players that
- 4:40Speaker 2: he's playing against there, and obviously a great, great opportunity
- 4:43Speaker 2: for him.
- 4:44Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think people need to remember that for
- 4:47Speaker 4: not necessarily for Canada and US. So the World's a
- 4:49Speaker 4: big deal, but the World Championships are still a big
- 4:51Speaker 4: deal to these guys. For the European countries, whether it's Finland, Sweden,
- 4:54Speaker 4: check you, you know, all those guys like Norway, Switzerland,
- 4:58Speaker 4: things like that, It is a big deal to these guys.
- 5:00Speaker 4: So not necessarily surprised that Helenus went over there, even
- 5:03Speaker 4: less surprised that he kind of picked up right where
- 5:05Speaker 4: he left off, just because he is a young kid
- 5:08Speaker 4: with tons of legs underneath him. He does not tire
- 5:10Speaker 4: out easily, especially at that age, and he's just this
- 5:13Speaker 4: all around great hockey player like we saw. We saw
- 5:15Speaker 4: that from a you know, in small glimpses in Buffalo
- 5:18Speaker 4: and droves in Rochester this year. So not surprising that
- 5:22Speaker 4: he's playing well. And yeah, I mean playing on the
- 5:25Speaker 4: wing with a guy like Barkov is definitely going to
- 5:28Speaker 4: be very, very, very fun for a guy like Helenos,
- 5:31Speaker 4: But he kind of just seamlessly fitted on that line
- 5:33Speaker 4: that he scored, and you know, we saw its exact
- 5:36Speaker 4: goal that he scored twice in the playoffs, for the Sabers,
- 5:38Speaker 4: you know, two on one one timer, but the assist
- 5:40Speaker 4: he had the other day to Parkov where he just
- 5:42Speaker 4: delivered a pass from the top of the zone to
- 5:45Speaker 4: the to the slot. Like he's he's just such a
- 5:46Speaker 4: good hockey player, so not surprising at all that he
- 5:49Speaker 4: is picking off And yeah, playing with a guy like
- 5:52Speaker 4: Barkov is gonna make it even easier for a kid
- 5:54Speaker 4: as good as Helen News.
- 5:55Speaker 2: Yeah, you can tell you just being a Sponge and
- 5:57Speaker 2: playing with a lot of confidence and sort of building
- 5:59Speaker 2: off of you know, those three games that he played
- 6:01Speaker 2: for the Sabers in the playoffs as well, so the
- 6:03Speaker 2: Sabers Prize, the first rounder twenty year old finn. I
- 6:07Speaker 2: think he's in good hands and obviously gives Sabers fans
- 6:10Speaker 2: a lot to look forward to going forward with a
- 6:12Speaker 2: guy like that, hopefully as a full time Saber next season.
- 6:15Speaker 2: The other piece of housekeeping news is Jake Richards signed
- 6:18Speaker 2: his entry level contract for the Buffalo Sabers Austin. What
- 6:22Speaker 2: can you tell us about him and what do you
- 6:24Speaker 2: think his impact could possibly be on the Sabers roster
- 6:27Speaker 2: down the road.
- 6:28Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean a bit of a surprise. I believe
- 6:32Speaker 4: it was a couple. Not long after the tournament had ended,
- 6:36Speaker 4: he kind of announced who was going back to Yukon,
- 6:38Speaker 4: or maybe didn't formally announce, but everything that we everything
- 6:41Speaker 4: that was reported, everything that was out there, was that
- 6:43Speaker 4: he was going back to Yukon for another year, which
- 6:45Speaker 4: honestly would have made some sense. Last year he was unreal.
- 6:52Speaker 4: This year, his numbers dropped a little bit, but he's
- 6:54Speaker 4: still a very talented player. So you're gonna get somebody
- 6:58Speaker 4: here that is just going to add to the four
- 7:00Speaker 4: depth that the Savers have. He's not an elite player
- 7:02Speaker 4: by any means, but he's definitely someone who can be
- 7:04Speaker 4: a bottom six guy at the NHL level and should
- 7:07Speaker 4: be a nice piece for Rochester if that's likely where
- 7:09Speaker 4: he's going to end up, because we're now at a
- 7:11Speaker 4: point where the Sabers these guys don't make the roster immediately,
- 7:14Speaker 4: so nice forward depth of the Sabers area that they're
- 7:17Speaker 4: not lacking. But getting Richard is a nice pleasant surprise
- 7:20Speaker 4: because I did not think that was going to happen
- 7:22Speaker 4: this year.
- 7:22Speaker 2: So you think he's more so you know, Rochester and
- 7:25Speaker 2: then potential Sabers depth call up if needed.
- 7:29Speaker 4: And then I mean future. Yeah, I mean there's just
- 7:31Speaker 4: nothing against this kid. There's just no no way he
- 7:33Speaker 4: makes the Sabers. We're already talking because we'll get into
- 7:35Speaker 4: later on the podcast. Like they have if they don't
- 7:38Speaker 4: resign anybody except for their pending RFAs on forward, they
- 7:42Speaker 4: have thirteen forwards on the roster. So for for.
- 7:46Speaker 2: A guy that follows the collegiate hockey like yourself, like,
- 7:49Speaker 2: what what is the play style that he kind kind
- 7:51Speaker 2: of brings and what you know, what do you think
- 7:53Speaker 2: his strengths are for Sabers fans, I haven't seen him play.
- 7:56Speaker 4: Yeah, he's a really smart hockey player. He lives around
- 7:58Speaker 4: the net. Like I said, his ten goals and seventeen
- 8:01Speaker 4: assists this year or were a really big step down
- 8:05Speaker 4: compared to the year that he had last year. But
- 8:07Speaker 4: even I think, yeah, it was it was the game
- 8:10Speaker 4: that they lost to Michigan State. They had a chance
- 8:13Speaker 4: with like under I don't remember the exact time, but
- 8:15Speaker 4: under twenty seconds left to tie the game up. He
- 8:18Speaker 4: was at the front of the night and his teammate
- 8:20Speaker 4: delivered a beautiful pass to the thing and he had
- 8:21Speaker 4: like three cracks at the can. But augustly, he just
- 8:24Speaker 4: stopped him all three times. So he's a player that
- 8:26Speaker 4: lives around the high danger area, smart player, not overly flashy.
- 8:30Speaker 4: That's why I said he probably projects as a bottom
- 8:33Speaker 4: six guy if he makes the NHL because he plays
- 8:35Speaker 4: that hard checking, smart, kind of dog on a bone
- 8:38Speaker 4: style that we're starting to become accustomed to with some
- 8:41Speaker 4: of these guys at the Sabers have added to their
- 8:43Speaker 4: organization and called up whether it's Hellnius the way Benson's
- 8:45Speaker 4: kind of evolved, the way Oaceland plays. But he's bigger
- 8:49Speaker 4: than all three of those guys well, and again not
- 8:53Speaker 4: as good as those guys. I don't need anyone trying
- 8:54Speaker 4: to take that out of context. Just play style alone.
- 8:57Speaker 4: He's a very smart, talented player who lives around that
- 9:00Speaker 4: in place with his brain and misibility to for check.
- 9:02Speaker 2: And also not going to say that he's going to
- 9:04Speaker 2: live up to the same expectations as another former Yukon
- 9:07Speaker 2: grad in Tage Thompson. But I guess they can talk
- 9:09Speaker 2: about their alma mater a little bit if he does
- 9:12Speaker 2: get up to play some NHL games with the Sabers.
- 9:14Speaker 2: So with that housekeeping out of the way, Austin, let's
- 9:16Speaker 2: get to sort of the main part of today's episode,
- 9:19Speaker 2: and we might as well started off with with the
- 9:21Speaker 2: fan poll and make sure to give us a follow
- 9:23Speaker 2: on exit. Saber semantics get in on our fan polls
- 9:25Speaker 2: as well if you want to get in on that.
- 9:28Speaker 2: And today's fan poll is brought to you by the
- 9:30Speaker 2: Nagridentri Clinic, creating doctor Smiles in the Niagara region for
- 9:33Speaker 2: over twenty five years. As I'm looking for the poll here,
- 9:38Speaker 2: as I'm drawing a blank here on there, it is,
- 9:40Speaker 2: thank you, good job, Brandon, good start to the show.
- 9:42Speaker 2: All right, So what is the Saber's biggest area of
- 9:44Speaker 2: need going into the offseason? True number one goalie, number
- 9:46Speaker 2: one center, tage to the wing in quotations or top
- 9:49Speaker 2: line winger. Top line winger won this pool at sixty
- 9:52Speaker 2: six point seven percent, Number one center thirty three point
- 9:55Speaker 2: three percent true number one goalie. That would have been
- 9:57Speaker 2: my vote, but I don't vote for the polls, so
- 10:00Speaker 2: I try to keep it as or as unbiased as possible.
- 10:03Speaker 2: So Austin, I know you know you were pretty critical
- 10:06Speaker 2: of Lucan and not being able to make that final
- 10:08Speaker 2: save in overtime after you know Dobich basically one month
- 10:11Speaker 2: thhar all that game, So I'm going to assume you're
- 10:13Speaker 2: in the goalie hunt on this one.
- 10:15Speaker 4: Uh No, actually not not even remotely. I think I've
- 10:21Speaker 4: calmed down a little bit since that night. I still
- 10:24Speaker 4: maintain everything that I said. Lucanan needed to make that
- 10:28Speaker 4: save in overtime and has shown that especially you know
- 10:33Speaker 4: at times he is too inconsistent. But then you also
- 10:36Speaker 4: just look at the way that goal tending has been
- 10:40Speaker 4: in the league over the last we'll say ten years.
- 10:44Speaker 4: There's like four goalies that truly make a difference, and
- 10:50Speaker 4: one of them is now old and like, nothing against Bobrowski,
- 10:55Speaker 4: but he was one of the guys over the last
- 10:56Speaker 4: ten year Street like, yeah, that guy makes a difference.
- 10:58Speaker 4: He's aging out, he'll get another tract, but he's near
- 11:00Speaker 4: the end of his career. You're not getting Vasilewski from
- 11:03Speaker 4: Tampa Bay. Hell, book, that's been a popular thing. I
- 11:08Speaker 4: just have no appetite to probably pay what it costs
- 11:10Speaker 4: to get him. And there's really not There's Sturkins, the
- 11:15Speaker 4: Sorocans of the world. Like, there's there's five goalies that
- 11:17Speaker 4: truly truly make a difference. On a nightly basis. So
- 11:20Speaker 4: unless you get one of them who is a legitimate
- 11:24Speaker 4: difference maker in net, I just can't. I can't get
- 11:27Speaker 4: into the I think that's the number one need, just
- 11:29Speaker 4: because I just don't think it's possible to get that.
- 11:33Speaker 4: The one thing I will say in defensive Lucanan, I
- 11:35Speaker 4: have been very critical of him and I will continue
- 11:37Speaker 4: to be very critical of him. He's literally mid to
- 11:40Speaker 4: late twenties, usually when a goalie starts hitting his prime,
- 11:43Speaker 4: so like he still has a chance to become a
- 11:44Speaker 4: true number one goalie. Did the track records not there?
- 11:49Speaker 4: But goalies are weird and they don't hit their prime
- 11:51Speaker 4: till very very late in their in their twenties, and
- 11:53Speaker 4: that's kind of where we're at now with Lucanan. So
- 11:55Speaker 4: I don't think you need to rush to try and
- 11:57Speaker 4: get a true number one because one, I just don't
- 11:59Speaker 4: see it happening with what it would cost to get
- 12:01Speaker 4: that guy and how many are available. And two, as
- 12:05Speaker 4: much as I wanted to rag on Lucan, in him
- 12:07Speaker 4: and Lion had the third best say percentage in the
- 12:09Speaker 4: NHL from December on, like they were a big reason
- 12:12Speaker 4: why the Sabers got to where they got regular season wise.
- 12:14Speaker 4: Did it let them down a little bit in the playoffs, Sure,
- 12:16Speaker 4: but I'm willing to give him a little bit of
- 12:20Speaker 4: grace more than I thought I would be. When we
- 12:23Speaker 4: had the podcast.
- 12:24Speaker 3: At the end of Game seven, you put some in
- 12:26Speaker 3: that as well.
- 12:27Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, whether it's Ellis or Levi again, as
- 12:30Speaker 4: we later on the podcast will discuss it. It sounds like
- 12:32Speaker 4: they're going to do three goalies again, and you know,
- 12:36Speaker 4: whether it's Elis or Levi along with Lyon and Luca
- 12:39Speaker 4: and in it it feels like you have a solid
- 12:40Speaker 4: tandem that worked last year and goalies are voodoo, so
- 12:43Speaker 4: it could blow up in your face next year, but
- 12:45Speaker 4: you have to kind of have some confidence there. I
- 12:48Speaker 4: honestly thought the number one need, whether not necessarily number
- 12:50Speaker 4: one winger or number one center, But just like even
- 12:54Speaker 4: if Tuck somehow stays, I still think you should try
- 12:56Speaker 4: to upgrade it and add another true like proven top
- 12:59Speaker 4: six four. I think, like whether it's the center or
- 13:01Speaker 4: the winger, I don't really care what position. To me,
- 13:04Speaker 4: that's the number one need because one that's more realistic.
- 13:09Speaker 4: There's a lot more than available, and it's just you're
- 13:13Speaker 4: you're gonna be able to. I just don't see the
- 13:15Speaker 4: value in spending on what I think again, not that
- 13:19Speaker 4: this is what it would take, but like, once the
- 13:20Speaker 4: Jeff Merrick quote got out there of oh could they
- 13:23Speaker 4: do an Owen power for Connor Helbuck Swapa, I was like,
- 13:24Speaker 4: I think I'm out on trying to get a true
- 13:26Speaker 4: number one goalie because if teams are good, not that
- 13:28Speaker 4: Winnipeg's asking for Owen power, but if things are gonna
- 13:31Speaker 4: get silly, like, there's just no reason to even try
- 13:34Speaker 4: that when there's eighteen goalies starting goalies in the NHL
- 13:37Speaker 4: that are all luke and in level and you have
- 13:39Speaker 4: one so you can run it back.
- 13:43Speaker 2: I also saw some horrible mock trades from Leaf fans,
- 13:46Speaker 2: which is not surprising whatsoever. They had put one out
- 13:50Speaker 2: there of Bowel and Byrom for Brandon Carlo a second
- 13:53Speaker 2: and a third. I just I just shook my head
- 13:56Speaker 2: and just like just muted that account because it was
- 13:58Speaker 2: one of the worst mock trades I've ever seen in
- 14:00Speaker 2: my life.
- 14:00Speaker 4: But oh yeah, I mean.
- 14:03Speaker 3: That's to be expected from Lee fans. And again, if
- 14:05Speaker 3: there's anyone listening that's hockey, that's.
- 14:07Speaker 4: Hockey fans in general man, even like the trade thing
- 14:11Speaker 4: is impossible because when you have everyone overvalues their stuff
- 14:15Speaker 4: and to everyone thinks that you can throw together five
- 14:18Speaker 4: bad pieces too. It's just it's the nature being a
- 14:20Speaker 4: sports fan. But yeah, mock trades are hilarious. That But
- 14:24Speaker 4: but that byronmun was Yeah, that was that was that
- 14:26Speaker 4: was bad.
- 14:27Speaker 2: That was top for I have five like worst I've
- 14:29Speaker 2: ever seen in my life, and that's saying a lot.
- 14:31Speaker 2: I've seen a lot of bad trades on on Twitter.
- 14:33Speaker 2: But I'm sort of in the boat where if you
- 14:36Speaker 2: can move Tage to the wing, that number one center
- 14:39Speaker 2: entices me. Like we know, the Robert Thomas option is
- 14:42Speaker 2: potentially still out there again, whether the return is going
- 14:45Speaker 2: to be massive for Saint Louis, I would honestly want
- 14:49Speaker 2: to see, if you know, if they would want Helenius
- 14:51Speaker 2: and UH and Merca in that trade, and in which
- 14:54Speaker 2: case I'd probably try to stay away from it. But
- 14:57Speaker 2: especially if it's gonna be like four or five big
- 14:58Speaker 2: pieces for Robert Thomas. So I think he could add
- 15:00Speaker 2: a lot to the center rice position, But if that's
- 15:03Speaker 2: sort of going to be the ask, I'd kind of
- 15:04Speaker 2: be out on that. I also think you know, the
- 15:07Speaker 2: future of Josh Norris, which will sort of get into
- 15:09Speaker 2: as well, is potentially somebody that could, you know, be moved.
- 15:13Speaker 3: His name was sort of floated around there.
- 15:14Speaker 2: You are most that he wanted to keep the players
- 15:17Speaker 2: together and things like that, and the team with how
- 15:19Speaker 2: good they played. So I don't know. I'm sort of
- 15:22Speaker 2: like on the fence about any of these options. I
- 15:24Speaker 2: think if they go and improve any of them, I
- 15:27Speaker 2: think it's obviously a step in the right direction.
- 15:30Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean top line winger. I understand why that
- 15:33Speaker 4: won the poll, and I think I'm probably leaning a
- 15:35Speaker 4: little bit more towards that than I am center, mostly
- 15:38Speaker 4: just because I think you need one right now as
- 15:41Speaker 4: it is, and if Tuck does walk, you potentially would
- 15:45Speaker 4: need to and like whether he looks more comfortable on
- 15:50Speaker 4: the wing or center or whatever, you do have the
- 15:53Speaker 4: cheat code of when needed, TAJB my number one center.
- 15:56Speaker 4: Is he a perfect centerman, No, but he can be
- 15:59Speaker 4: a number one center the traditional sense, not in the
- 16:01Speaker 4: traditional sense, but in the offensive sense. He can be
- 16:03Speaker 4: a once offensive one see and then depending on what
- 16:07Speaker 4: happens with the rest of the depth, depending on how
- 16:11Speaker 4: Yarmo and Lindy view Oceland, Hellenius Koolach, which we kind
- 16:18Speaker 4: of got a hint that they view they view Hellnius
- 16:20Speaker 4: and Oceland as centers because that's where they were playing
- 16:22Speaker 4: they were. Oceland was third line center, second line center,
- 16:26Speaker 4: you know, and then Hellennius slotted right into that same spot,
- 16:28Speaker 4: so they appear to be viewed as center. So center
- 16:31Speaker 4: depth is a bit of a I honestly strength, but
- 16:36Speaker 4: it's a bit of a luxury right now for the Sabers,
- 16:37Speaker 4: just because if you look at if you viewed Tage
- 16:39Speaker 4: as a center, you of Cage, Noris, McLeod, Hellnius, Oceland, Carrick,
- 16:43Speaker 4: and you could throw Kozak in on there. Crabs played
- 16:46Speaker 4: center at times, so like they have some some depth
- 16:48Speaker 4: in terms of centers. So I do think number one center.
- 16:53Speaker 4: While again if they acquire Robert Thomas, I will be thrilled.
- 16:56Speaker 4: He is a true blue number one center. But I
- 16:58Speaker 4: do think pigeonhole yourself into a number one center being
- 17:02Speaker 4: your number one need would not be smart, just because
- 17:04Speaker 4: you can add wingers on the cheaper and because you
- 17:08Speaker 4: have center depth. So like no offense if you trade
- 17:11Speaker 4: a Noris or McLeod, you have a guy ready to
- 17:13Speaker 4: step up immediately internally, like you don't need to go
- 17:16Speaker 4: outside to add to the center position. So that's kind
- 17:18Speaker 4: of why I would lean winger. But I stand up
- 17:20Speaker 4: with a top six center or a top six winger, like,
- 17:23Speaker 4: it's not gonna matter. They have the flexibility. Like we
- 17:24Speaker 4: just talked about Heillennius at the World Eily he's played
- 17:26Speaker 4: on the wing.
- 17:28Speaker 2: Yeah, and Aucelin too, and you know those guys are
- 17:32Speaker 2: potentially coming up from Rochester as well, Like what would
- 17:35Speaker 2: be your I guess in that Robert Thomas discussion, since
- 17:38Speaker 2: we're on that, we're on that topic if he was
- 17:40Speaker 2: to become a Buffalo saber and Saint Louis was asking
- 17:42Speaker 2: the world like where where would be your cutoff?
- 17:44Speaker 3: Of being like, no, this is too much.
- 17:49Speaker 4: If for whatever reason they were asking for both Oaceland
- 17:53Speaker 4: and Helenius, I do maintain I said it earlier. I
- 17:57Speaker 4: wouldn't want it. I don't want to trade either one.
- 17:59Speaker 4: But if being completely honest and realistic with ourselves, if
- 18:02Speaker 4: you want a true blue difference maker added to this team,
- 18:04Speaker 4: it's probably going to cost one of them. Coole. Each
- 18:09Speaker 4: has some value, but with the health concerns, he's probably
- 18:12Speaker 4: not nearly as valuable as he could be. Love Norris,
- 18:17Speaker 4: we talked to potentially moving him. Well, that's a guy
- 18:19Speaker 4: who carries term and an eight million dollar CAPID, who
- 18:21Speaker 4: can play forty to fifty games a year. I don't
- 18:24Speaker 4: know what that value is going to be. So like
- 18:26Speaker 4: they're going to want the higher end pieces from Buffalo.
- 18:29Speaker 4: Now again, like I don't want to trade either one.
- 18:34Speaker 4: But if trading one of them nets me a Robert
- 18:39Speaker 4: Thomas or insert name here, and it's a true upgrade,
- 18:45Speaker 4: you have to consider it. But I think it'd be
- 18:47Speaker 4: too much if it ends up being like, yeah, both
- 18:50Speaker 4: of those guys are included. Because if you look at
- 18:52Speaker 4: Saint Louis, if we're just again, let's use Robert Thomas
- 18:55Speaker 4: because there was rumors and we know we have some
- 18:58Speaker 4: insight as to what Saint Louis wants because SAT was
- 19:00Speaker 4: to try to acquire the first round pick, and well
- 19:01Speaker 4: they did acquire the first round pick and MRCA for
- 19:03Speaker 4: Preako Perco next day. It's like, we know they have
- 19:05Speaker 4: interests in the first round pick. We know they him
- 19:07Speaker 4: interest in a guy like we're DEEMRCA. I would imagine
- 19:11Speaker 4: those two pieces are involved, and then I would imagine
- 19:13Speaker 4: it's probably an NHL piece and maybe I don't know
- 19:19Speaker 4: like that it's going to cost a lot. But if
- 19:22Speaker 4: we're talking Llanius Merca first round pick and.
- 19:28Speaker 3: Norris ap dump, yeah.
- 19:30Speaker 4: Probably too much for my liking. But at the same time,
- 19:34Speaker 4: you would be acquiring a guy who can put up
- 19:37Speaker 4: sixty assists, which would pair very nicely with a guy
- 19:40Speaker 4: like tahe Comson. But I don't know, it'll it'll be interesting.
- 19:45Speaker 4: I am of the the ILK where I don't need
- 19:46Speaker 4: a difference maker. I just want a top six piece
- 19:48Speaker 4: of you. I can go a tier below a Robert Thomas.
- 19:52Speaker 4: I trying. I don't really like getting into names, but
- 19:55Speaker 4: like a guy with a pending free agent and out
- 19:58Speaker 4: connection to Lindy Rouff, Like, I don't think future costs
- 20:00Speaker 4: as much as Thomas one because depending ufa status and offensively,
- 20:06Speaker 4: he's just not He doesn't have the potential that Thomas
- 20:08Speaker 4: has and he's a bit older. So like, is there
- 20:10Speaker 4: a guy a tier below Thomas that will not cost
- 20:12Speaker 4: you that much, that is a proven top six That's
- 20:15Speaker 4: kind of what I'm looking for from from Yarmo if
- 20:18Speaker 4: he goes big game hunting that it's also fun too,
- 20:20Speaker 4: because that's just it's fun.
- 20:22Speaker 3: And you mentioned the free agent market. I've got it
- 20:24Speaker 3: up on the video ars.
- 20:26Speaker 2: It's not not necessarily easiest on the eyes, like Darren
- 20:30Speaker 2: Radish to Alex Tuck's number two free agent. We know
- 20:32Speaker 2: Alex Ovechi is going to resign in Washington, so I
- 20:34Speaker 2: mean that's is what it is there. Like if you're
- 20:36Speaker 2: looking at you know, Claude Dreux at thirty eight years old,
- 20:39Speaker 2: Like I really don't want any part of that either.
- 20:41Speaker 3: Like I'm going down the list.
- 20:42Speaker 2: Cole Paitar is retiring, like you know, Boone Jenner, you know,
- 20:46Speaker 2: depending on the ask, maybe, but you know, Jack Roslovick.
- 20:50Speaker 2: I'm just the list is not good, as you mentioned
- 20:52Speaker 2: off the top, like some of these guys are going
- 20:54Speaker 2: to get massively overpaid for what their production is going
- 20:57Speaker 2: to be. And I don't see anybody in this list
- 20:59Speaker 2: I think is going to be a potential difference maker
- 21:02Speaker 2: for Buffalo on the forward group to be like, hey,
- 21:05Speaker 2: if they bring this guy in, he's going to be
- 21:06Speaker 2: a top line or even a top six forward unless
- 21:09Speaker 2: they bring Alex Tuck back here.
- 21:11Speaker 4: Yeah, that's why I said earlier like I'm even from
- 21:13Speaker 4: just a league wide standpoint, I'm very excited about the
- 21:17Speaker 4: offseason because trades are going to be very much a
- 21:21Speaker 4: part of this. The one free agent and again I
- 21:25Speaker 4: don't even want to talk about it, just because the
- 21:27Speaker 4: contracts are going to be silly. But like I could,
- 21:28Speaker 4: you could talk me into Bobby McMahon or Anthony Mantha.
- 21:33Speaker 4: But I also know what happens the second free agency opens,
- 21:36Speaker 4: those contracts get out of hand. So while I'm intrigued
- 21:39Speaker 4: by those players, I don't want to know what that
- 21:41Speaker 4: contract is going to look like on July first, because
- 21:43Speaker 4: it's probably gonna be bad.
- 21:44Speaker 2: And then at that point you might as well just
- 21:46Speaker 2: resign Tuk for whatever he was going to ask at
- 21:48Speaker 2: that point, I mean, I don't want to give any.
- 21:50Speaker 4: Still I still don't. I still don't know. We'll get
- 21:52Speaker 4: into it when we talk about the tough Byron or
- 21:55Speaker 4: the Benson thing. I just I want no part of
- 21:58Speaker 4: paying Tuck on an eight year contract. I just don't
- 22:01Speaker 4: nothing against the player. If, like if Tuck has resigned,
- 22:03Speaker 4: I'm not going to be mad at all. I'm gonna
- 22:04Speaker 4: be very happy. I just I think signing him to
- 22:07Speaker 4: an eight year deal with a massive cap hit severely
- 22:09Speaker 4: limits you to what you can do this offseason. And
- 22:12Speaker 4: I know the cap opens up for the Sabers next offseason,
- 22:16Speaker 4: but next offseason, again, you're gonna have some decisions that
- 22:19Speaker 4: you're gonna have to make. So we'll see. It's it's
- 22:23Speaker 4: gotta be enticing for Tuck to just kind of look
- 22:27Speaker 4: at the free agent market and know you're the guy.
- 22:30Speaker 4: But how much is that worth to you? Like on
- 22:33Speaker 4: a seven year, seventy million, seventy seven million, like eleven
- 22:37Speaker 4: million dollar av that's seventy seven million dollars. I mean
- 22:41Speaker 4: the Sabers offered him eight by nine and a half,
- 22:43Speaker 4: I think that seventy four mil. Like this, he is
- 22:45Speaker 4: the three million dollars over over the term of the
- 22:48Speaker 4: contract worth it to him to leave? I don't know.
- 22:50Speaker 4: So it's gonna be interesting.
- 22:53Speaker 2: So before we get to the break, let's talk touch
- 22:55Speaker 2: on just quickly the within the Sabers inner roster.
- 22:58Speaker 3: Here the pending r face penning.
- 23:00Speaker 2: UFAs estimated twelve point nine million of cap space for
- 23:04Speaker 2: the Sabers, which is twenty fifth in the National Hockey League.
- 23:07Speaker 2: We talked with joe Yurden about this on the last
- 23:09Speaker 2: episode Austin, when we just quickly touched on the exit
- 23:13Speaker 2: interviews and things like that, Zach Benson, Peyton Krais, Michael
- 23:16Speaker 2: kessel Ring, depending RFAs, depending UFAs, Alex Tuck as everybody knows,
- 23:20Speaker 2: Beck Mallenstein, Tanner, Pearson, Josh Dunn, Luke Schen, Logan Stanley.
- 23:24Speaker 2: Joe was in the camp that Logan Stanley's probably going
- 23:26Speaker 2: to be getting some offers on the open market, So
- 23:29Speaker 2: most likely, you know, he might not be back in Buffalo,
- 23:32Speaker 2: depending on that term and that price, but obviously expect
- 23:36Speaker 2: Benson and Crebs they'd be back. And even I brought
- 23:38Speaker 2: up the idea of signing kessel Ring to you know,
- 23:41Speaker 2: a two year bridge or something at a movable contract
- 23:43Speaker 2: in case, you know, just to kind of cover your
- 23:45Speaker 2: bases there, avoid any offer sheets and then sort of
- 23:48Speaker 2: trade him to somebody. But obviously, you know, Benson and
- 23:52Speaker 2: most likely Krebs are going to get resigned here, and
- 23:54Speaker 2: unless the team goes with a massive offering for kessel Ring,
- 23:57Speaker 2: who knows. But what are you thinking from this list?
- 24:00Speaker 2: Excluding Alex talks We're going to talk about him later.
- 24:02Speaker 4: Yeah, bensonting Crabs, I imagine will be back kessel Ring,
- 24:08Speaker 4: he's gone. He just there's just no way he signs
- 24:11Speaker 4: anything with Buffalo. I can't see it based off one
- 24:14Speaker 4: everything I kind of heard from Yarmo at the interviews,
- 24:18Speaker 4: especially if he truly does lock up Biram to a
- 24:22Speaker 4: long term extension, which is not a priority because he's
- 24:25Speaker 4: whatever worst case he can play into the year and
- 24:27Speaker 4: we just have an Alex Tuk two point zero situation.
- 24:29Speaker 4: But if Byron truly is one of his top priorities,
- 24:32Speaker 4: that top four is going to be set for multiple years.
- 24:35Speaker 4: Kessell Ring could obviously be a third pair defenseman, but
- 24:38Speaker 4: at what point a smart GM would capitalize on his value.
- 24:43Speaker 4: Elliott Friedman said on thirty two Thoughts that they would
- 24:45Speaker 4: have no issue moving kessell Ring off's what they decide
- 24:46Speaker 4: to do. He's a big, good skating, right shot defense
- 24:49Speaker 4: when we know how valuable those are. So I think
- 24:52Speaker 4: just you could talk yourself and you could you could
- 24:54Speaker 4: get something valuable for him depending UFAs I I don't
- 24:59Speaker 4: know what Tuck is do. I kind of flip flop
- 25:01Speaker 4: back and forth on if he's gonna stay or if
- 25:03Speaker 4: he's gonna go. Mallenstein is a guy I'd love to
- 25:06Speaker 4: bring back, But also again the type of player that
- 25:09Speaker 4: I think just gets a silly contract. The guy who
- 25:12Speaker 4: skates as fast as he is, who hits it as
- 25:14Speaker 4: physical as he is, and plays and is just a
- 25:17Speaker 4: teammate guy that he is. Just screams some team with
- 25:20Speaker 4: a lot of cap space will sign him just because
- 25:22Speaker 4: he's fast and throws a lot of hits. Maybe he
- 25:24Speaker 4: wants to stay on Buffalo and takes a bit of
- 25:26Speaker 4: a cheaper contract. That would be awesome because I'd love
- 25:28Speaker 4: to have him back. But I also just think you
- 25:30Speaker 4: can't get into the business of paying a fourth line
- 25:32Speaker 4: or a ton of money, which also kind of goes
- 25:36Speaker 4: towards Krebs too. I don't know what that next contract
- 25:39Speaker 4: looks like. I just Lindy seems to love the guy
- 25:41Speaker 4: and him having RFA rights. I just I assume he's
- 25:44Speaker 4: here for at least two or three more years.
- 25:47Speaker 2: It's such a good utility guy too, right in plays
- 25:49Speaker 2: fourth first line, fourth line can really do anything. Kestle
- 25:52Speaker 2: Ring is interesting right because he was essentially the ninth
- 25:54Speaker 2: d in the playoffs when you think about it, because
- 25:56Speaker 2: all the other eight d played in at least one
- 25:58Speaker 2: playoff game except for Michael kessel Ring, which included Metsa.
- 26:01Speaker 4: Guessing got in four minutes in Games six against Boston.
- 26:05Speaker 2: I don't even honestly, I've totally forgot even about that,
- 26:08Speaker 2: that's how short it was. But yes, you're right, he played, Yeah,
- 26:11Speaker 2: four minutes against Boston. But just crazy to think about,
- 26:16Speaker 2: considering he was the main piece of the JJ Pitturka
- 26:19Speaker 2: trading Josh Jones was essentially you know, the little the
- 26:21Speaker 2: little icing on top, but it ends up being the
- 26:24Speaker 2: opposite there and then obviously Doones worked out phenomenally and
- 26:27Speaker 2: now he's on a long term deal for Buffalo. But yeah,
- 26:29Speaker 2: I mean, I don't know if if you can resign
- 26:32Speaker 2: kessel Ring and then you move him, it is what
- 26:34Speaker 2: it is. But even as you mentioned, if somebody comes
- 26:36Speaker 2: with an offer sheet or they don't even tender him,
- 26:38Speaker 2: I I don't know. Again, you get into all the
- 26:40Speaker 2: the ins and outs of the RFA status and things
- 26:43Speaker 2: like that, but.
- 26:45Speaker 4: I would have to guess he's traded before that even
- 26:47Speaker 4: has to I don't know, though, I just can't. Like
- 26:49Speaker 4: I said, it's just every indication is that he won't
- 26:54Speaker 4: be back. But I guess we'll see. I mean, you
- 26:56Speaker 4: do have his Harfa.
- 26:57Speaker 2: Rights, Tanner, Pierre, Josh Done, Luke Shennon, Logan Stanley.
- 27:02Speaker 3: Any quick thoughts on those guys.
- 27:05Speaker 4: Maybe Josh Dunn on like a vet minimum deal if
- 27:08Speaker 4: he can be a tweener. I did like his play
- 27:09Speaker 4: style on when he brought But again, like I said,
- 27:11Speaker 4: it's just you have so many NHL forwards already signed.
- 27:17Speaker 4: Just it has to make sense financially. But you don't
- 27:21Speaker 4: need to be nothing against Josh Dunn. He's an NHL
- 27:24Speaker 4: hockey player, But like you can find another Josh another
- 27:27Speaker 4: Josh Done, and.
- 27:29Speaker 3: You've also got Geartzen and Dan Forth who didn't play.
- 27:32Speaker 4: Yeah you can you know Kozak can be a full
- 27:34Speaker 4: time NHL or you know, like you signed Jake Richard
- 27:38Speaker 4: or like we just talked about earlier, he like you
- 27:40Speaker 4: know what I mean, Like you have guys that can
- 27:41Speaker 4: fill the tweener spot already in the organization.
- 27:46Speaker 2: So then I guess before we hit the brake, like
- 27:47Speaker 2: what are your thoughts on that Winnipeg trade now afterward?
- 27:50Speaker 2: Like Shannon Stanley most likely gonna walk. You know, we
- 27:53Speaker 2: know Rose and there really wasn't a spot for him here,
- 27:56Speaker 2: But would you have tried to wanted them to maybe
- 27:58Speaker 2: trade him for a bigger piece or something they could
- 28:01Speaker 2: have used down the road.
- 28:02Speaker 4: It's so hard to tell. Like I again not to
- 28:05Speaker 4: that wasn't a great trade obviously. I don't think anyone
- 28:08Speaker 4: really thought it was a great trade, but we knew
- 28:10Speaker 4: what they were trying to do. Unfortunately, Montreal beat Tampa.
- 28:14Speaker 4: You brought you acquired Logan Stanley to help with the
- 28:17Speaker 4: Tampa Bay series, and you never got to play Tampa.
- 28:20Speaker 4: On the flip side, I do have a bit of
- 28:22Speaker 4: a soft spot for Yarmo there because obviously that trade
- 28:25Speaker 4: is not happening if Colton Breako dis waisted as no
- 28:27Speaker 4: trade clause do I think? I'm not saying he panicked
- 28:32Speaker 4: because obviously he had talks with Winnipeg and had this
- 28:34Speaker 4: kind of in place as a possibility before the Paraco trade.
- 28:38Speaker 4: It wasn't just like oh my god. But I do
- 28:41Speaker 4: think if the Paraco trade goes through, obviously that trade
- 28:44Speaker 4: doesn't happen. So like I feel bad, not feel bad
- 28:48Speaker 4: for the guy, but like I understand why he went
- 28:51Speaker 4: for a guy like Logan Stanley, Lucian guys who had
- 28:54Speaker 4: some toughness, guys who have playoff experience, things like that
- 28:57Speaker 4: so obviously not a great trade, but I ain't gonna
- 29:00Speaker 4: fault the guy for pushing his chips in and trying
- 29:03Speaker 4: to help the team do what they did. Like, but yeah,
- 29:07Speaker 4: I wouldn't bring any of them back.
- 29:09Speaker 2: Yeah, And I mean, let's not act like Roseanne was
- 29:12Speaker 2: absolutely was, you know, essentially a world beater for Winnipeg.
- 29:15Speaker 2: He had three goals in twenty one games as a
- 29:17Speaker 2: first rounder in twenty twenty one. He's twenty three years
- 29:19Speaker 2: old right now, So if he works out for Winnipeg, great,
- 29:21Speaker 2: If not, you know, it is what it is. It's
- 29:23Speaker 2: just another Sabers first round pick that they've had, you know,
- 29:26Speaker 2: a plethora of over this fourteen year drough. But again,
- 29:29Speaker 2: there was just no room for the guy. And you
- 29:30Speaker 2: don't even know what his value was to around the league,
- 29:32Speaker 2: right because he was basically just stuck in Rochester.
- 29:35Speaker 4: Yeah. No, And again I don't think a lot of
- 29:37Speaker 4: people are losing sleepover Rosen obviously, but I just think
- 29:42Speaker 4: and he was passed right like Helenious Oceland. These guys
- 29:45Speaker 4: passed him on on the def league Coolie. I think,
- 29:48Speaker 4: well Coolie should already passed him right. Kolich was before
- 29:51Speaker 4: his health issue was slotted to be the Sabers number
- 29:53Speaker 4: one center. So I mean, yeah, it's just he got
- 29:56Speaker 4: passed and you got to move on from the guy.
- 29:57Speaker 4: And is that a great trade? No, but that's it.
- 30:01Speaker 4: I will say, based off everything we've gone through over
- 30:03Speaker 4: the last fifteen years, I'll take the GM who takes
- 30:05Speaker 4: a swing, whether it's good or bad. Fair, Wow, what
- 30:08Speaker 4: was a miss?
- 30:09Speaker 3: Yep?
- 30:09Speaker 2: Then you're not going to hit one hundred percent of
- 30:11Speaker 2: the trade you makes. So we'll see what Yarmo has
- 30:14Speaker 2: planned for his first full off season as the general manager.
- 30:17Speaker 3: We're going to take a quick break, We're going to
- 30:18Speaker 3: come back.
- 30:18Speaker 2: We're to discussed Alex Tuck, Bowen Byrom Zach, Bench Benson
- 30:21Speaker 2: extension and much more for the Sabers offseason. Stared here
- 30:24Speaker 2: right back on Sabersmantics right here in the armchair GM
- 30:27Speaker 2: Sports Network. Probably Bath to Bay. Global Pet Foods, where
- 30:29Speaker 2: pets are unanappily part of the family. Their three Great
- 30:31Speaker 2: Naga Region locations right back after this commercial break in.
- 30:34Speaker 4: The Nigro Region.
- 30:35Speaker 5: Global Pet Foods is your destination for premium pet nutrition
- 30:38Speaker 5: and carrying expertise. Whether you've welcomed the new furry family
- 30:42Speaker 5: member or need advice on top quality nutrition. Their dedicated
- 30:46Speaker 5: staff is ready to help discover why Global pet Foods
- 30:49Speaker 5: lesser known premium brands outshine the big corporate names. Their
- 30:53Speaker 5: team's passion insures your pets health and vitality. Check out
- 30:56Speaker 5: one of their locations today thirty six forty three Portage
- 30:59Speaker 5: Road and nine Falls one sixty Highway twenty in fot
- 31:02Speaker 5: Hill four four hundred Scot Streets in Saint Catharines. Global
- 31:06Speaker 5: Pet Foods where premium brands and kar and staff make
- 31:09Speaker 5: the difference.
- 31:10Speaker 6: Are you currently looking for work in the Niagara region.
- 31:13Speaker 6: If so, you owe it to yourself to check out
- 31:15Speaker 6: the services provided by the Niagara Employment Help Center, located
- 31:18Speaker 6: at sixty one hundred Thoroldstone Road in Niagara Falls. There
- 31:21Speaker 6: are many free services include a fully staffed resource area
- 31:24Speaker 6: open to the public, resume and cover letter writing, local
- 31:28Speaker 6: labor market information, job search strategies, assistance with clarifying employment,
- 31:32Speaker 6: training and career goals, employment counseling and job search support,
- 31:36Speaker 6: and better Jobs Ontario information and registration assistance. Check out
- 31:40Speaker 6: their website at EHC dot on dot CAA or call
- 31:44Speaker 6: nine oh five three five eight is zero zero two
- 31:46Speaker 6: to one for more information. The Niagara Employment Help Center
- 31:49Speaker 6: helping people find work since nineteen eighty three.
- 31:52Speaker 5: This Employment Ontario program is funded by the Government of Ontario.
- 31:55Speaker 5: Gnol Fluorin is Niagara's specialty florine and design company. They
- 31:59Speaker 5: take great pride and provide a lead customer service and
- 32:02Speaker 5: support with a beautiful showroom, great pricing and a wide
- 32:05Speaker 5: variety of truly unique products. JNL Flooring is your specialty
- 32:08Speaker 5: flooring and the core boratique shop. All of their products
- 32:11Speaker 5: are environmentally friendly and responsibly produced.
- 32:14Speaker 3: So you can feel good about your flooring choices.
- 32:17Speaker 5: Their goal is to build authentic relationships based on honesty
- 32:20Speaker 5: and integrity that they foster with respect and authenticity, Offering
- 32:25Speaker 5: a unique and wide range of quality products presented by
- 32:28Speaker 5: a knowledgeable, impatient team. They simplify the process to make
- 32:31Speaker 5: your life easier and to make your home more beautiful.
- 32:34Speaker 5: Visit them at forty four twenty four Montrose Road in
- 32:37Speaker 5: Niagara Falls, or find out more at jail flooring dot com.
- 32:41Speaker 3: If you think you.
- 32:41Speaker 5: Can get a better deal anywhere else, you don't know
- 32:44Speaker 5: Jack at Jail Flooring.
- 32:49Speaker 6: Wild Bill's Auto Repair is your local center for auto
- 32:52Speaker 6: maintenance and repair in the Niagara region. Since twenty twelve,
- 32:55Speaker 6: Wild Bill's Auto Repair and Body Shop has been helping
- 32:58Speaker 6: customers stay safe and confident on the road, knowing their
- 33:01Speaker 6: vehicle is in top running condition through the garage's services.
- 33:05Speaker 6: Located at seventy eight sixty eight oak Wood Drive in
- 33:07Speaker 6: Niagara Falls, the garage started as a tribute to the
- 33:09Speaker 6: owner's father, William Robert Hunter, who passed away continuing the
- 33:13Speaker 6: same community spirit and high level of service which customers
- 33:16Speaker 6: can expect from him back at Hunter's Auto Repair. Their
- 33:19Speaker 6: multi award winning auto shops earned the trust of the
- 33:21Speaker 6: niavor community with its fair treatment of all customers, who
- 33:24Speaker 6: can feel confident they'll get trustworthy advice and repairs during
- 33:28Speaker 6: their visit. Their experienced crew loves meeting new people and
- 33:31Speaker 6: looks forward to forming a lasting partnership for the care
- 33:34Speaker 6: of your vehicles. To find out more or to book
- 33:36Speaker 6: a service, contact them today at nine oh five, three five, eight, seven,
- 33:40Speaker 6: eight six eight or wild Billsauto dot CA. Wild Bill's
- 33:43Speaker 6: Auto Repair helping customers stay safe and confident on the road.
- 33:47Speaker 2: Since twenty twelve, Fourth Wall is the official merchandise supplier
- 33:50Speaker 2: of the Armchair GM Sports Network. Our user friendly site
- 33:53Speaker 2: is print to order with no minimum items or inventory needed.
- 33:57Speaker 2: Shift right to your doorsteps safely and efficiently from the
- 34:00Speaker 2: North American Warehouse. All of our logos are available to supporters,
- 34:03Speaker 2: listeners and viewers can have the best variety available to
- 34:06Speaker 2: them for their swag preferences. All items are priced as
- 34:10Speaker 2: low as possible, allowing everybody who wants to support our
- 34:12Speaker 2: business with the opportunity to do so, receiving quality and
- 34:16Speaker 2: comfortable products in return. Shop today at fourth wall dot
- 34:19Speaker 2: com with a direct link to our Armchair merch Store
- 34:22Speaker 2: in the description of all episodes and in the bio
- 34:25Speaker 2: of all of our social media accounts. Become an Armchair
- 34:28Speaker 2: GM today with fourth Wall.
- 34:29Speaker 5: You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network.
- 34:39Speaker 6: Here we call a talking to item blocking.
- 34:43Speaker 4: Here we call the boys and Blue. Here we comes.
- 35:02Speaker 2: And welcome back to part two of today's Sabersmantics season
- 35:05Speaker 2: finale episode right here on the Armchair GM Sports Network.
- 35:08Speaker 2: Thank you everybody tuned in live tonight on the video
- 35:10Speaker 2: version on YouTube. Make sure to hit like a subscribe,
- 35:12Speaker 2: smash smash that bell and comment your thoughts on the
- 35:15Speaker 2: upcoming Sabers offseason.
- 35:16Speaker 3: Thank it.
- 35:16Speaker 2: Everybody tuned in your favorite on demand audio podcast platform
- 35:19Speaker 2: the next day when this does come out, please give
- 35:21Speaker 2: us a five star rating if you enjoyed the content
- 35:23Speaker 2: this season. Brandon Kuddo and Austin Broadavali Prospects continuing to
- 35:27Speaker 2: preview the upcoming off season for the Buffalo Sabers after
- 35:30Speaker 2: losing in Game seven of Round two in overtime and
- 35:33Speaker 2: obviously going to want to take a bigger step next season. Again,
- 35:36Speaker 2: thank you to Global pet Foods and their three great
- 35:38Speaker 2: Niagaragion locations and Niagara Falls, Fon Hill and Scott Street
- 35:41Speaker 2: and St. Catherine for their support this season. Make sure
- 35:44Speaker 2: you can follow on Exit Sabersmantics. So it was on Facebook,
- 35:46Speaker 2: Instagram and TikTok by searching the Armchair GM Sports Networks.
- 35:49Speaker 2: So Austin our final segment of this season. It's been
- 35:52Speaker 2: a fun one again, our first first time getting to
- 35:55Speaker 2: cover playoff hockey on this show in the seven years
- 35:57Speaker 2: of us doing this, which was a lot of fun
- 35:59Speaker 2: and very stressful at times as well. But obviously you know,
- 36:03Speaker 2: the Sabers still have work to do, as you can
- 36:04Speaker 2: see in the thumbnail here, and you know, one of
- 36:07Speaker 2: the biggest i guess things that they have to get
- 36:10Speaker 2: get done immediately is the Zach Benson extension. We know
- 36:12Speaker 2: how Grady played for the Sabers this season, and again
- 36:16Speaker 2: a guy that could still be in his final year
- 36:17Speaker 2: a junior hockey when he came into the league as
- 36:20Speaker 2: an eighteen year old. So with how well Zach Benson
- 36:23Speaker 2: played for the Sabers, not only in the regular season
- 36:26Speaker 2: but also here in the playoffs, like, what is your
- 36:29Speaker 2: expectation for locking him up long term, most likely on
- 36:32Speaker 2: an eight year deal?
- 36:35Speaker 4: Well? Is it most likely an eight year deal? That's
- 36:37Speaker 4: the one thing that I think needs to be answered
- 36:39Speaker 4: if Benson and his agent decide they want to bridge.
- 36:44Speaker 4: I mean, I'm sure an eight year deal could obviously
- 36:46Speaker 4: become agreed. I know I put like this if I'm
- 36:49Speaker 4: Yrmokka Lion. Nothing against Salax Stuck, but Zach Benson on
- 36:53Speaker 4: an eight year deal is my number one priority. That
- 36:56Speaker 4: number probably starts with a seven, which is fine given
- 37:00Speaker 4: his production and things like that and kind of what
- 37:01Speaker 4: you paid, don't it's probably going to come in a
- 37:03Speaker 4: step above that. But on a seven or eight year
- 37:06Speaker 4: deal for Zak Benson, that's my top priority this offseason.
- 37:09Speaker 4: People might find that a little bit crazy and everything
- 37:11Speaker 4: like that. But if you can continue to find guys
- 37:14Speaker 4: like Benson and get them on value contracts like look
- 37:17Speaker 4: at Carolina with what they're paying Stank Covid and the
- 37:19Speaker 4: way he's produced in the playoffs, or a guy like
- 37:22Speaker 4: they're paying Jackson Blake, Like these are the types of
- 37:24Speaker 4: contracts that you want to sign where yeah, you're paying
- 37:29Speaker 4: a decent looking number right now, even though you know
- 37:32Speaker 4: the production hasn't there, but you're paying them enough to
- 37:35Speaker 4: entice them to say, yeah, I can I could buy
- 37:39Speaker 4: I can buy some UFA years because if this is
- 37:41Speaker 4: my ceiling, at least I'm going to get paid. I
- 37:42Speaker 4: don't think Zach Benson has hit his ceiling yet, but
- 37:45Speaker 4: if you can get him an eight year deal starts
- 37:48Speaker 4: with a seven, I think anything from seven to eight million,
- 37:51Speaker 4: i'd be happy with. That's a core piece. And the
- 37:55Speaker 4: way you Almo talked about him, it seems like that's
- 37:56Speaker 4: what's going to happen. I just wonder how much pushback
- 37:59Speaker 4: from Benson's eight are, like, hey, try and get a bridge.
- 38:02Speaker 4: You can maximize your value because how many people are
- 38:05Speaker 4: going to how many people are going to go like
- 38:08Speaker 4: the Matthews route right five year contracts so they can
- 38:11Speaker 4: cash in as many as possible. It'll be very interesting
- 38:13Speaker 4: to see. But I am priority one is that eight year,
- 38:17Speaker 4: seven eight year extension for for Zach Benson.
- 38:19Speaker 2: If I'm RMO, I was gonna say I was, I
- 38:21Speaker 2: was going to compe it to Josh Dones's contract right
- 38:24Speaker 2: like that. Yeah, now seems like a like a bargain.
- 38:28Speaker 2: I know, U doanes two years older, two or three
- 38:31Speaker 2: years older than Zach Benson at the time, So again
- 38:33Speaker 2: you have to take that into account as well. But
- 38:35Speaker 2: if you're walking him straight to unrestricted free agency, which
- 38:38Speaker 2: is twenty seven years old in the National Hockey League.
- 38:42Speaker 4: Yeah, and even even if you're a guy like Zach
- 38:44Speaker 4: Benson at age twenty signing a seven eight year deal,
- 38:47Speaker 4: you're still you're gonna get you still get one more
- 38:49Speaker 4: chance at cash again. So like that's where I think
- 38:51Speaker 4: there's some wiggled room, and I'm pretty confident it'll come
- 38:53Speaker 4: to an eight year deal if Benson's smart and truly
- 38:59Speaker 4: believes in so I could see him trying to push
- 39:01Speaker 4: for maybe a two or three year bridge where he
- 39:03Speaker 4: can maximize his value there. But I think you're maximizing
- 39:07Speaker 4: your value either way, and lock it in an eight
- 39:09Speaker 4: year deal now will help not only yourself make some
- 39:12Speaker 4: money and get to cash them again, but it'll help
- 39:14Speaker 4: the Sabers out a lot, because that's where the Tuck
- 39:17Speaker 4: conversation becomes interesting, because if they keep Tuck, Benson will
- 39:20Speaker 4: not be signing an eight year deal. They just don't
- 39:22Speaker 4: have the room. They can obviously make moves to clear
- 39:26Speaker 4: out that space, but it becomes exponentially harder if you
- 39:30Speaker 4: sign Tuck to give Benson an eight year deal.
- 39:33Speaker 2: And I feel like what Benson did in the playoffs
- 39:35Speaker 2: was almost proven that he can he can kind of
- 39:37Speaker 2: hang in that top six forward.
- 39:39Speaker 4: Oh yeah, I don't think there's any doubt about that.
- 39:41Speaker 4: What he did at twenty years old this season and
- 39:44Speaker 4: kind of came his coming out party was the playoffs.
- 39:47Speaker 4: But you've seen everyone has seen the glimpses in Zach Benson.
- 39:50Speaker 4: So locking in on that and banking on him buying
- 39:53Speaker 4: into his potential and that worst case if this is
- 39:56Speaker 4: his ceiling him at seven million dollars on pace for
- 39:58Speaker 4: forty five to fifty five points in a really good
- 40:01Speaker 4: playoff performer, like that's you, you can live with that
- 40:03Speaker 4: all day, every day.
- 40:05Speaker 2: And everybody wants to talk about the player comp of
- 40:06Speaker 2: Brad Marshan, right, And I mean, if you have that
- 40:09Speaker 2: for the next eight ten years, I don't think you're
- 40:11Speaker 2: going to be complaining about that. And Benson's skill as well,
- 40:14Speaker 2: Like he's underrated with his skill in tight and and
- 40:16Speaker 2: the way that he's shifty, the way that he can
- 40:18Speaker 2: stick handle, like he had five goals and nine points
- 40:21Speaker 2: and thirteen playoff games as a then twenty year old
- 40:23Speaker 2: that just turned twenty one. So and again like for
- 40:26Speaker 2: a guy like I know, a lot of people say,
- 40:28Speaker 2: he's only twenty one, you know, what are you expecting.
- 40:30Speaker 2: It's like, well, this guy, for only being twenty one
- 40:32Speaker 2: years old, he's got a lot of mileage already in
- 40:34Speaker 2: the national hockey He's played seventy one, seventy five and
- 40:36Speaker 2: sixty five games because he started as an eighteen year old,
- 40:38Speaker 2: So a lot of people forget that that. You know,
- 40:41Speaker 2: this guy's got three basically full seasons of NHL, you know,
- 40:45Speaker 2: play time and experience under his belt at such a
- 40:47Speaker 2: young age, which is very rare.
- 40:49Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly, And I think that's why he's also in
- 40:51Speaker 4: a unique position where I don't. I can't think he
- 40:54Speaker 4: might not push for a bitch deal because he's going
- 40:56Speaker 4: to get another big contract. If he is the player
- 40:58Speaker 4: that we think he is, he'll will breeze through this.
- 41:01Speaker 4: Not breeze through this, but he'll get through this eight
- 41:02Speaker 4: year deal. And if he's the player that we think
- 41:04Speaker 4: he is, an age is the way that a guy
- 41:06Speaker 4: like marshan age where he will only get better as
- 41:08Speaker 4: you get older, He's gonna be able to cash in again.
- 41:10Speaker 4: So I'm I'm pretty confident that a long term deal
- 41:13Speaker 4: will get done there. Like I said, even if they
- 41:16Speaker 4: somehow keep talking, I still imagine Yardle will make the
- 41:19Speaker 4: moose to sign Benson long term because this is a
- 41:21Speaker 4: guy you cash in on and try to get value
- 41:22Speaker 4: with because his value is only going to keep getting
- 41:25Speaker 4: higher and higher, especially as the cap goes up.
- 41:27Speaker 2: Yeah, And I mean we look at the the forward
- 41:31Speaker 2: breakdown for the cap situation there, like you know, you
- 41:33Speaker 2: can see it on the video version there, and I'm
- 41:35Speaker 2: gonna pull it up because I can't read it. That's
- 41:37Speaker 2: small when I'm on the interface here. But like I
- 41:40Speaker 2: just think, like you mentioned, if you sign Alex Tuck,
- 41:42Speaker 2: you're almost essentially saying that you've got to you've got
- 41:45Speaker 2: to move one of your young core pieces that either
- 41:48Speaker 2: you know, no, it doesn't.
- 41:49Speaker 4: It doesn't have to be a core piece if you
- 41:51Speaker 4: sign Tuck, but you're gonna have to get someone to
- 41:53Speaker 4: take on a Greenway, a Zucker, a McLoud, things like that,
- 41:57Speaker 4: which one of those guys you do want to move
- 41:59Speaker 4: in a greenway, but you necessarily do You don't necessarily
- 42:01Speaker 4: want to move in a cloud and a Zucker, like
- 42:06Speaker 4: you don't want Tuck to cost you that if you're
- 42:09Speaker 4: trying to pigeonhole Benson into a long harmed deal, which
- 42:12Speaker 4: isn't a pigeonhole, but you like you have you make
- 42:15Speaker 4: it harder on yourself by signing Tuck if you want
- 42:17Speaker 4: Benson on that long term deal, which Yarmos stated that
- 42:19Speaker 4: he wants him on that, which obviously he's going to,
- 42:21Speaker 4: but I tend to believe him, especially with the way
- 42:25Speaker 4: he talked about.
- 42:25Speaker 2: Zach Benson, and the position I'm taking too is like,
- 42:29Speaker 2: you know, you're gonna have to sign some of those
- 42:30Speaker 2: other guys down the road, the Hellaos, the Yuriko, Leach,
- 42:34Speaker 2: the no Auscelin, Like if you sign Alex Tuck right
- 42:36Speaker 2: now and you re signed Benson to a long eight
- 42:39Speaker 2: year extension. At one point to one of those guys say,
- 42:42Speaker 2: you know, there's not really much opportunity for me in
- 42:44Speaker 2: the top six, and they're going to have to move
- 42:45Speaker 2: one of those other guys out, Like I would, I
- 42:47Speaker 2: would rather bank on one or two of those three
- 42:49Speaker 2: guys that I just mentioned elevating to take a Taged
- 42:53Speaker 2: or an Alex Tuck spot eventually, or Zach Benson just
- 42:56Speaker 2: filling into that spot, or if you move Tage to
- 42:58Speaker 2: the wing, if you're gonna get a Robber Thomas like,
- 43:00Speaker 2: I just I feel like if you resign Alex Tuck,
- 43:02Speaker 2: you're blocking the way for one of those other guys
- 43:04Speaker 2: that has the potential to get there soon.
- 43:08Speaker 4: Yeah. I think for me, it's more if you sign
- 43:10Speaker 4: Alex Tuck, you're running back the forward group, which isn't
- 43:13Speaker 4: necessarily a bad thing. But if you sign Alex Tuck,
- 43:17Speaker 4: there is no Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyru, Jason Robertson, Nico Heischer,
- 43:23Speaker 4: Jared McCann like that moves is not happening. If you
- 43:26Speaker 4: signed Tuck, you just don't have the room. You don't
- 43:28Speaker 4: have the room. This year, your cap space opens up
- 43:30Speaker 4: a lot more next year. I think they have like
- 43:33Speaker 4: fifty four million in space for next year. Yeah, I
- 43:36Speaker 4: think Puckidia takes that all into account. I think we
- 43:38Speaker 4: know like the next two to three years a cap
- 43:41Speaker 4: so it is possible, But like locking up Benson and
- 43:47Speaker 4: Tuck to eight year contracts, it just doesn't seem possible
- 43:50Speaker 4: this summer. And to me, I don't know. I think
- 43:56Speaker 4: Benson should be a priority Overtuck because one is approaching
- 43:59Speaker 4: his prime, one is on He's not out of his
- 44:02Speaker 4: prime yet, but he's going to be very soon.
- 44:03Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 44:04Speaker 2: I mean for me, Zach Benson's a must to get
- 44:06Speaker 2: signed to a long term deal. Whether it's five, whether
- 44:08Speaker 2: it's eight, I don't care. That kid needs to be
- 44:10Speaker 2: a Buffalo saver for a long period of time because
- 44:12Speaker 2: he brings a unique skill set.
- 44:14Speaker 4: That five five would be bad because I'm pretty sure
- 44:17Speaker 4: with time served, five would take him.
- 44:19Speaker 3: To UFA, right, But I mean at one.
- 44:23Speaker 4: Two, three, Yeah, a five year deal would walk him
- 44:25Speaker 4: to UFA. So it's either a two or a seven. Two,
- 44:29Speaker 4: seven or eight is the only contracts I think are
- 44:31Speaker 4: acceptable for Benson.
- 44:32Speaker 3: Okay, Well, we'll see if if he does go that route.
- 44:35Speaker 2: One of the other discussions we wanted to talk about there,
- 44:38Speaker 2: we talked about Alex Talk or Boween Byram. You know,
- 44:40Speaker 2: one of those two guys getting a long term extension.
- 44:43Speaker 2: You can see it up on the screen you mentioned
- 44:45Speaker 2: earlier as well. Biram's got one more year under contract
- 44:48Speaker 2: before he walks to unrestricted free agency, and we know
- 44:51Speaker 2: he would be coveted at that point. Whether the Savers
- 44:54Speaker 2: keep him around for just this final year, use him
- 44:56Speaker 2: as a as their own rental, just like they did
- 44:58Speaker 2: with Alex Talk, whether they try to get him signed
- 44:59Speaker 2: to long term contract, whether he gets moved. You know,
- 45:02Speaker 2: there's a lot of possibilities there. But if you're on
- 45:05Speaker 2: the Alex tuck or bowl and Biram one of them
- 45:07Speaker 2: gets a long term extension, what are you who going
- 45:09Speaker 2: with here?
- 45:11Speaker 4: Yeah? So the reason I like this discussion is because
- 45:15Speaker 4: you actually this one. You can do both because Byram
- 45:18Speaker 4: signing an eight year extension has nothing to do with
- 45:21Speaker 4: your cap this year because he's already signed. So technically,
- 45:24Speaker 4: if you want to, you can do both. But the
- 45:26Speaker 4: debate becomes interesting to me because long term, who would
- 45:30Speaker 4: you rather have? And as much as I love Alex Tuck.
- 45:32Speaker 4: I think Biram is the clear answer here, just because
- 45:34Speaker 4: he's in his mid twenties and him on an eight
- 45:37Speaker 4: year deal finishes that contract at thirty three compared to
- 45:39Speaker 4: thirty eight. The Sabers' superpower has been their top four.
- 45:43Speaker 4: That top four has messed really well. You know, as
- 45:45Speaker 4: much as we talked about how bad Tuck was in
- 45:47Speaker 4: the Montreal series, Byron wasn't that great either, So I
- 45:50Speaker 4: understand people wanted to bring that up, But my concerns
- 45:54Speaker 4: with Tuck have nothing to do with the Montreal series.
- 45:56Speaker 4: It just has to do with giving a thirty year
- 45:57Speaker 4: old an eight year contract. I wouldn't have that concern
- 46:01Speaker 4: with Byron because he's going to be in his late
- 46:04Speaker 4: twenties to early thirties throughout the life of that contract
- 46:06Speaker 4: and we know he fits in well. So to me,
- 46:09Speaker 4: the answer is Byron and mostly just age related and
- 46:13Speaker 4: because not having to worry about your top four defense
- 46:17Speaker 4: for seven years pretty pretty good thing for a GM
- 46:21Speaker 4: to have under his belt. Ah, I don't have to
- 46:23Speaker 4: worry about that, Like, that's that's pretty solid.
- 46:26Speaker 2: Left shot twenty four years old, as you mentioned, would
- 46:29Speaker 2: be about thirty three if you got that long term
- 46:31Speaker 2: extension there, He's already signed for one more season and
- 46:34Speaker 2: what was it four point two million, six point twenty
- 46:37Speaker 2: five for the next this next upcoming twenty six to
- 46:40Speaker 2: twenty seven seasons. So as you mentioned, you already have
- 46:44Speaker 2: him locked in there with the top four. But again,
- 46:47Speaker 2: like if a team comes calling, or Saint Louis wants
- 46:49Speaker 2: Boween Byron as a part of that trade, like you know,
- 46:52Speaker 2: what are your decisions there, regardless if Alex Tuck walks
- 46:56Speaker 2: or not at free agency.
- 46:58Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, if Saint Louis comes to you and says, hey,
- 47:01Speaker 4: we want Byrom to be the centerpiece of a of
- 47:03Speaker 4: a Thomas trade, Like, yeah, nothing against Byron, but like, yes,
- 47:09Speaker 4: you obviously entertain that and go down that route. I
- 47:13Speaker 4: will say my tune changed on Byron a lot. He
- 47:15Speaker 4: played extremely well this year. At times it was Buffalo's
- 47:17Speaker 4: bens defenseman while Dolling was obviously dealing with what he
- 47:20Speaker 4: was dealing with. H the emergence of the way Dollian
- 47:23Speaker 4: play at the end of the playoffs, way that power
- 47:24Speaker 4: kind of started playing at the end of the playoffs
- 47:27Speaker 4: three in the way Samison played, like three of your
- 47:29Speaker 4: top four are locked up no matter what. And now
- 47:32Speaker 4: just comes down to how much do you value that
- 47:35Speaker 4: fourth spot in a Bowen Byron, Kack, Alignancy and Rough
- 47:39Speaker 4: seemed to value him heavily. We know, you know, justifiably
- 47:42Speaker 4: whatever you think. Byron was the running the second power
- 47:45Speaker 4: play unit, not Owen power. Byron was the one playing
- 47:50Speaker 4: with Dollien at times. Byron was the one giving the
- 47:53Speaker 4: most minutes at times. So like, this team trusts him,
- 47:56Speaker 4: they like him, and he's a very good offensive defenseman.
- 48:01Speaker 4: I'm not saying he's untouchable because he's not like at all.
- 48:03Speaker 4: If someone offers you wants him and to blows your
- 48:06Speaker 4: socks off. Absolutely, the appeal of signing him to an
- 48:09Speaker 4: eight year deal and having your top four defense just
- 48:12Speaker 4: like I said, you lock the key, don't have to
- 48:14Speaker 4: sweat it out, don't ever have to think about it
- 48:16Speaker 4: while these four eyes are here, gives you a lot
- 48:19Speaker 4: of freedom as a GM. And I think that's a
- 48:20Speaker 4: freedom that Yarma is going to to want. And if
- 48:23Speaker 4: we're being honest, like the contract would have to make sense.
- 48:28Speaker 4: But I just I don't think Byron's costing you nine
- 48:30Speaker 4: million or sorry, ten million, like if he's in the nines,
- 48:33Speaker 4: sounds crazy, but with the way the CAP's going up, like,
- 48:35Speaker 4: I'd be fine. I'd be fine with paying him in
- 48:38Speaker 4: the nines anything more than not. No, like we'll walk away.
- 48:41Speaker 4: You know you don't have to, the best part about
- 48:44Speaker 4: this is I like this debate because one is a
- 48:47Speaker 4: guy you have to make a decision on in Tuck.
- 48:49Speaker 4: The other one is a guy you don't. You don't
- 48:50Speaker 4: have to if you don't want to. I just thought
- 48:52Speaker 4: it was interesting because Armo specifically said he'd love to
- 48:54Speaker 4: lock him up long term. And two, the dollar amount
- 48:59Speaker 4: that Byron would sign for would be similar to what
- 49:01Speaker 4: a Tuck would sign for in Buffalo. I think. So
- 49:03Speaker 4: that's why to me, it's an interesting debate, and I
- 49:05Speaker 4: think just the age clearly favors Byrom here, like, why
- 49:10Speaker 4: wouldn't why wouldn't you want Byron locked up long term?
- 49:13Speaker 2: Overtuck Samuelson is signed till twenty nine to thirty at
- 49:18Speaker 2: age twenty six, You've got Power, as you mentioned, locked
- 49:21Speaker 2: up till twenty thirty one, at twenty three, you've got
- 49:24Speaker 2: Dallian at age twenty six.
- 49:25Speaker 3: Right now, locked up till twenty thirty two.
- 49:27Speaker 4: We're talking at four years. If you signed Byram four years.
- 49:30Speaker 4: You do not have to worry about it.
- 49:32Speaker 2: Yeah, it is a big dollar amount though. I mean
- 49:35Speaker 2: when you look at those four guys, but again with
- 49:37Speaker 2: the cap going up, it almost looks like a bargain
- 49:39Speaker 2: at that point.
- 49:40Speaker 4: It is, but that's when Samuelson also becomes a bargain
- 49:42Speaker 4: making four million as a top four defenseman.
- 49:46Speaker 2: And if Power continues his you know, upward trajectory a.
- 49:49Speaker 4: Point, even if he doesn't, even if Power plays at
- 49:51Speaker 4: the level that Power played this year. I think you're
- 49:53Speaker 4: fine at eight point three five. I know, I am,
- 49:55Speaker 4: I don't. I know some people might not be, but like,
- 49:57Speaker 4: I'm totally fine with that.
- 49:59Speaker 2: And DOLLI in, you're Norris finalists at eleven mil. Yeah,
- 50:04Speaker 2: And I mean the rest of the decor is basically
- 50:06Speaker 2: interchangeable at that point. With the bottom pair the bottom
- 50:09Speaker 2: pair guys, we know kessel Rings supposed to be a
- 50:11Speaker 2: top four. That seems like it's out the window at
- 50:13Speaker 2: this point. If they keep Byrom around.
- 50:16Speaker 4: Honestly, that's a more interesting in just terms of interest,
- 50:20Speaker 4: not actually value or impact on the team. But it
- 50:22Speaker 4: will be interesting to see how Yarmo shapes up the
- 50:25Speaker 4: bottom of that decore because Timmons is here for one
- 50:28Speaker 4: more year. We know how much they valued him. That's
- 50:32Speaker 4: a sign for another year. But then they have guys
- 50:35Speaker 4: like you know, not that these guys will step in
- 50:37Speaker 4: right away, but depending on how they want to build
- 50:39Speaker 4: out this bottom pair. Does a guy like Gavin McCarthy,
- 50:43Speaker 4: a rookie of maximum stir back like, do these guys
- 50:45Speaker 4: have a shot? Does yarm will go out and find
- 50:47Speaker 4: a true left shot defenseman to play on the third
- 50:49Speaker 4: pair where you have three traditional pairs or handling that
- 50:53Speaker 4: third pair is an interesting storyline. It does not have
- 50:57Speaker 4: a ton of impact on the team with the if
- 50:59Speaker 4: the top four is what the top four is, but
- 51:01Speaker 4: it is an interesting storyline of follow and I'm kind
- 51:02Speaker 4: of curious how Yarma was gonna play that out.
- 51:05Speaker 2: You do have Ryan Johnson signed for another year as well.
- 51:08Speaker 2: I mean, you know, he was a guy we thought
- 51:10Speaker 2: at one point a couple of years ago that he
- 51:11Speaker 2: was going to be a mainstay in this decorp and
- 51:13Speaker 2: he just obviously hasn't been.
- 51:15Speaker 4: You mentioned was on the Black Ace squad.
- 51:18Speaker 3: I don't think he was.
- 51:19Speaker 4: Kolorov was, which I thought was interesting.
- 51:21Speaker 2: Yeah, Stirback McCarthy Merca too. Like to me, Murka is
- 51:25Speaker 2: an X factor too, because.
- 51:26Speaker 4: I think he's gone, already traded him. I mean, I
- 51:28Speaker 4: don't know. Obviously, that's not that that's not a very
- 51:30Speaker 4: hard conversation to have. Look, dude, you're here. But I
- 51:35Speaker 4: find it I don't find it crazy to think he's
- 51:38Speaker 4: gone because you already traded once.
- 51:40Speaker 2: Basically, I know, And that's a that's a tough conversation
- 51:43Speaker 2: to have with a guy, right, like, we traded you,
- 51:45Speaker 2: but you know the trade got nicked. But I don't know.
- 51:48Speaker 2: I'm a big fan of redeem Merca. I would love
- 51:50Speaker 2: to see him on this decorp. But if you're signing
- 51:52Speaker 2: Boom and Byram long term, where where's the possibility for
- 51:55Speaker 2: him to play? And that if that is the route
- 51:57Speaker 2: they go, then you can basically kiss Redeemerka goo.
- 52:01Speaker 4: Yeah, And honestly that I am very okay with that.
- 52:05Speaker 4: As much as I like the player, I do like
- 52:06Speaker 4: pretty Murka a lot. I think he's he fits the
- 52:09Speaker 4: style that Buffalo wants their defense to play. He's a
- 52:11Speaker 4: right shot, that's all great, But if you keep the
- 52:15Speaker 4: top four locked up for four plus years, yeah, there's
- 52:17Speaker 4: no spot for Merca.
- 52:19Speaker 3: He's not gonna play bottom pair. He's not a bottom
- 52:21Speaker 3: pair guy.
- 52:21Speaker 4: I mean he could as he starts, but we're talking
- 52:23Speaker 4: a guy who's two years away minimum. Yeah, and then
- 52:26Speaker 4: we had some HL time and things like that, but like,
- 52:28Speaker 4: let's be realistic about a nineteen year twenty year old player.
- 52:32Speaker 4: He's two or three years away. Well, in two or
- 52:34Speaker 4: three years, if Byron's locked up long term, that top
- 52:36Speaker 4: four is still solidified. So either he is here in
- 52:40Speaker 4: playing on the bottom pair, or he's gone this summer.
- 52:44Speaker 4: And I think if out of the two options, I
- 52:45Speaker 4: think it's way more realistic he's gone this summer. We
- 52:49Speaker 4: know one Saint Louis values him. We know a big,
- 52:52Speaker 4: puck moving right shot defenseman. Again, especially a guy who
- 52:56Speaker 4: doesn't have the tarnish like a kessel Ring. But these
- 52:58Speaker 4: are two guys that are going to be value around
- 53:00Speaker 4: the league. So like wouldn't be surprised at all if
- 53:02Speaker 4: he's gone. I kind of expect him to be traded.
- 53:04Speaker 2: Teams will salivate over that, you know what I mean,
- 53:07Speaker 2: Like just his size, you mentioned right shot, you know,
- 53:11Speaker 2: like again he's he's still a project only in his
- 53:13Speaker 2: second year of North American hockey as well, but I
- 53:16Speaker 2: really like the player. But again, if you're locking up byrom,
- 53:20Speaker 2: there's really nowhere for him to grow in this decor
- 53:23Speaker 2: over the next five or six years. So if Murca
- 53:26Speaker 2: has to be a trade piece, as much as I
- 53:27Speaker 2: would hate it because I really do like the player
- 53:29Speaker 2: a lot, you know, you kind of have to make
- 53:32Speaker 2: that deal. And we already saw that he got traded
- 53:33Speaker 2: once for Perreco and and Pareco said no to coming
- 53:36Speaker 2: to Buffalo, So that is what it is there. Any
- 53:40Speaker 2: on those non rostered forwards you want to mention, like
- 53:42Speaker 2: Wahlberg or any of those other guys.
- 53:46Speaker 4: No, I mean Wahlberg never got to play, but he
- 53:48Speaker 4: got called up for one game earlier this year. He
- 53:50Speaker 4: was on the black A squad. He's still a guy.
- 53:51Speaker 4: He took a little bit of a step back this year,
- 53:53Speaker 4: but I think he's still a guy that could have
- 53:54Speaker 4: some value. But he's a guy that's going to have
- 53:57Speaker 4: to work his way up. The forward group is not
- 54:00Speaker 4: as open for competition as we're used to seeing, and
- 54:04Speaker 4: not only is that because they have really good players,
- 54:06Speaker 4: but because it appears on the surface that the young
- 54:09Speaker 4: guys that we have been waiting for, which I mean,
- 54:13Speaker 4: we haven't been waiting that long, but like three years
- 54:16Speaker 4: ago when Adams is like, we need to let the
- 54:17Speaker 4: young guys have a chance. Turns out if he just
- 54:19Speaker 4: waited three years and said that, he wouldn't have been
- 54:21Speaker 4: dumb because Iceland and Helenius look legit. I'm very excited
- 54:25Speaker 4: to see what Koole each can do. That's an interesting
- 54:29Speaker 4: name too. I would still imagine he's here. I don't,
- 54:32Speaker 4: like I said out of I don't know what his
- 54:33Speaker 4: trade value is, but he's a guy. Yeah, I don't know,
- 54:38Speaker 4: so if he's here, it'll be interesting to see with
- 54:40Speaker 4: everything like he's if he's healthy this year, I think
- 54:44Speaker 4: we probably it's easy to say this because we haven't whatever.
- 54:49Speaker 4: I think we're talking about him at the same level
- 54:50Speaker 4: we're talking about Oceland or Helenius just because like I
- 54:53Speaker 4: do think Erik Koulik is very good at hockey. So
- 54:56Speaker 4: I mean it's it's a guy that we don't know
- 54:58Speaker 4: exactly what he's going to look like. But if he
- 55:00Speaker 4: lives up to what now that he's healthy, he's still
- 55:04Speaker 4: a very good player that has to be packered in.
- 55:08Speaker 4: But again, the problem is if you want the difference maker.
- 55:11Speaker 4: If you want the through proven top six forward, it's
- 55:13Speaker 4: going to cost you, and what exactly is it going
- 55:15Speaker 4: to cost you? Kulik right now, just with the nature
- 55:18Speaker 4: of the Beast is not at the level of a
- 55:20Speaker 4: hole Anys or Oaceland in terms of do I need
- 55:22Speaker 4: to keep this guy. He's a tier below them for me.
- 55:28Speaker 3: Quickly.
- 55:28Speaker 2: Want to bring up this tweet or this quote from
- 55:30Speaker 2: Frank Serravali. The talk camp is pretty firm in their
- 55:33Speaker 2: belief that they can reach a seven year figure AAV
- 55:36Speaker 2: and so that what will really come down to is
- 55:39Speaker 2: what the gravitational pull for Tuck to stay in Buffalo
- 55:42Speaker 2: is from Kevin Carrius show on May twenty six. So
- 55:46Speaker 2: that's just a little adding a little bit more to
- 55:48Speaker 2: the Alex Tuk situation.
- 55:50Speaker 4: And also get go get your seven figures, buddy, go
- 55:52Speaker 4: get it.
- 55:54Speaker 2: And the last discussion before we wrap up is Devin
- 55:57Speaker 2: Levi's name popped up. I think it was Jeff and
- 55:59Speaker 2: Merrick that so they're looking at potential possibilities for Devin
- 56:02Speaker 2: lee By.
- 56:03Speaker 4: I've seen the Jeff Merrick one. I think Weeks Kevin
- 56:06Speaker 4: Weeks mentioned Ottawa and a couple other teams. Is circling
- 56:08Speaker 4: in on Levi, which again makes makes a lot of sense.
- 56:11Speaker 3: He's on the athletics trade board here.
- 56:14Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, listen, how do I put this? It's
- 56:19Speaker 4: hard to say that he was passed by Colton Ellis,
- 56:22Speaker 4: but it is pretty notable they claimed a guy like
- 56:24Speaker 4: Colton Ellis and kept him on the roster all year,
- 56:27Speaker 4: basically blocking Levi four this year. Now, that could have
- 56:30Speaker 4: been by design, like, hey, Levi, we don't want you
- 56:32Speaker 4: playing fourteen games this year. We'd rather you be playing
- 56:35Speaker 4: the fifty you played in the AHL or whatever this
- 56:38Speaker 4: whatever it is. But the notable part of that is
- 56:42Speaker 4: Ellis is here next year, like and so is lucing In,
- 56:48Speaker 4: and so is Lyon pending a move waivers. Levi needs waivers,
- 56:53Speaker 4: Ellis will need waivers. It is very, very very interesting.
- 56:57Speaker 4: So it is not surprising that a goalie who had
- 57:00Speaker 4: the pedigree that Levi had coming out of college and
- 57:02Speaker 4: even to briefly start his career, Yeah, he's gonna garner
- 57:06Speaker 4: some interest. I mean, obviously, you look at the numbers.
- 57:09Speaker 4: He didn't have the best year in the AHL this year,
- 57:11Speaker 4: but I can't think he still played really.
- 57:13Speaker 3: Well and he's a key piece of the Reinhart trade, right.
- 57:17Speaker 4: Yeah, him at Gleach. The trade the draft pick ended
- 57:20Speaker 4: up being quick. But at this point you have to
- 57:23Speaker 4: ask yourself, is he a depreciating ascid? I don't know
- 57:29Speaker 4: the answer to this. I still really like Devin Levi.
- 57:31Speaker 4: I'd love to see Devin leve I get a shot.
- 57:33Speaker 3: He's already twenty four, which is crazy to think.
- 57:35Speaker 4: But that goes back to my point, where goalies don't
- 57:37Speaker 4: enter their prime till the mid to late twenties. So like,
- 57:39Speaker 4: I'm not worried about his age either. I just it
- 57:43Speaker 4: seems like he's blocked out. And if he's blocked out
- 57:45Speaker 4: it needs waivers. Then he's got to be moved. I
- 57:48Speaker 4: think the fourth period brought up his name around the
- 57:50Speaker 4: trade deadline, like around that day, saying like the Sabers
- 57:52Speaker 4: are gauging. I don't know if that was true, blah
- 57:54Speaker 4: blah blah Merrek said was Americ. I don't if somebody
- 57:56Speaker 4: said the relationship is just done. I also don't really
- 57:59Speaker 4: believe that, because what no offense, Levi? What leverage do
- 58:02Speaker 4: you have? Like whatever? But yeah, like I mean, at
- 58:07Speaker 4: this point, you got to explore the value for a
- 58:09Speaker 4: guy like Devin Levi because sorry, that's my cat.
- 58:15Speaker 3: He's got an opinion on it too.
- 58:17Speaker 4: Yeah, but like so, I'm not surprised. Again, I'm not
- 58:19Speaker 4: in a rush to move the guy. But you are
- 58:21Speaker 4: at a point now where you have four NHL if
- 58:23Speaker 4: you count leave, but you have four goalies on your
- 58:25Speaker 4: roster that need to be in the NHL, just contractually
- 58:28Speaker 4: so naturally bare minimum, one of them has to go.
- 58:34Speaker 3: And I mean no offense.
- 58:35Speaker 2: But we've seen you know, they brought him into the
- 58:37Speaker 2: NHL early on in his career, and you know the
- 58:40Speaker 2: stats weren't world beating, right, And.
- 58:43Speaker 4: No, I mean the stats weren't world beating. I mean
- 58:46Speaker 4: it's hard like Ellis had such a limited sample size.
- 58:49Speaker 4: But Ellis looked solid at times, he was chaotic at times,
- 58:52Speaker 4: but his number is good. Could Levi have put that
- 58:56Speaker 4: up in his fourteen games. I'm not gonna sit here
- 58:58Speaker 4: and say no, he had similar HL numbers to a
- 59:01Speaker 4: guy like Ellis. But I think it was notable that
- 59:04Speaker 4: they went out and got Ellis. Yeah, whether that was
- 59:08Speaker 4: to because we don't, like I said, whether that was
- 59:10Speaker 4: because Levi, we don't want you being the third goalie.
- 59:12Speaker 4: That's not good for your development. But on the same level.
- 59:14Speaker 4: They thought it was good for Ellis's development because he's
- 59:17Speaker 4: the same age with with no NHL experience.
- 59:21Speaker 2: Yeah, and Levi's been the starter in Rochester now the
- 59:23Speaker 2: last two seasons. You almost think, like now that you
- 59:25Speaker 2: know three years, at some point is to be in
- 59:27Speaker 2: the NHL for another team most likely.
- 59:30Speaker 4: Yeah, Like I said, like, I think the quicker you
- 59:33Speaker 4: resolved goalie, the better, whether that's moving a Lion, Ellis
- 59:36Speaker 4: or Levi. And I don't think you're moving Lion because
- 59:38Speaker 4: he's so he's so cheap and has one year left
- 59:41Speaker 4: and he's really good. Or maybe lucan In but he
- 59:48Speaker 4: was the I don't know. The goalie situation is interesting.
- 59:50Speaker 4: One of them has to go, but I would find
- 59:53Speaker 4: it very, very very hard to believe that they would
- 59:55Speaker 4: run into a season with Lion, Ellis and Levi as
- 59:58Speaker 4: their three. So like that's why I'm saying Luken's on
- 1:00:01Speaker 4: the team, and I'm pretty sure it's safe to bet
- 1:00:03Speaker 4: the Lions on the team. So it comes down to
- 1:00:05Speaker 4: Levi or Ellis. And like I said, Ellis is under
- 1:00:11Speaker 4: contract next year, Like you don't have to do anything
- 1:00:13Speaker 4: with him. It's not you have to give him an
- 1:00:15Speaker 4: RFA tender or anything. No, like he's signed. So it
- 1:00:19Speaker 4: comes down to I I think ideally you would capitalize
- 1:00:24Speaker 4: and move Ellis or Levi early, Like, don't come into
- 1:00:27Speaker 4: training camp with all four of them because in your
- 1:00:29Speaker 4: pigeonhole yourself. So I think we'll get a resolution on
- 1:00:31Speaker 4: the Levi whatever that situation is, we'll get a resolution
- 1:00:34Speaker 4: on that, I think pretty quickly.
- 1:00:38Speaker 2: I don't think it was out of the blue that
- 1:00:40Speaker 2: his name was thrown around, you know, just like, oh, it.
- 1:00:45Speaker 4: Can't be like I said it just it literally cannot
- 1:00:47Speaker 4: be when like other people know your goaltenders contract situations
- 1:00:51Speaker 4: and things like that. Everyone knows he's gonna need waivers
- 1:00:53Speaker 4: next year. Everyone knows he is in the NHL or
- 1:00:56Speaker 4: not in terms of on your roster, because if you
- 1:00:59Speaker 4: wave them, he's going to get claimed, like like we
- 1:01:01Speaker 4: claimed Colt Elice obviously, Devin Levi.
- 1:01:03Speaker 2: Is going to get claimed if he ever waived, or
- 1:01:05Speaker 2: Colton Ellis would get reclaimed by Saint Louis waivers.
- 1:01:08Speaker 4: Again, Y's what I mean. So, like the goalie situation,
- 1:01:10Speaker 4: one of them is gone. You also have rats laugh
- 1:01:15Speaker 4: and leaning in down in Rochester. Leanders don't know we
- 1:01:20Speaker 4: have to offer him a contract or he'll re enter
- 1:01:22Speaker 4: the draft. I believe there's something going on with his
- 1:01:24Speaker 4: contract situation where if we don't give him in the LC,
- 1:01:27Speaker 4: he's not our property anymore. I don't know if he
- 1:01:28Speaker 4: re enters the draft or becomes a free agent, he could,
- 1:01:34Speaker 4: but I think if he goes to college, Buffalo doesn't
- 1:01:37Speaker 4: lose his rights. I don't know, I don't I don't
- 1:01:38Speaker 4: know how this works, especially now with the hl to
- 1:01:40Speaker 4: NCAA pipeline. But there is someone that they also have
- 1:01:43Speaker 4: to make a decision on there. They have they drafted
- 1:01:46Speaker 4: the Belarusian goalie like they have goalies in the pipeline.
- 1:01:49Speaker 4: So like, no nothing against Levi or Ellis at this point,
- 1:01:55Speaker 4: but like the one of you is gonna go, and
- 1:01:58Speaker 4: my betting money is on Levi. One, his name is
- 1:02:00Speaker 4: being thrown out there. And two, like I said, they
- 1:02:03Speaker 4: relied on Colton Nellie at times this year, they didn't
- 1:02:05Speaker 4: call up Devin Levi.
- 1:02:06Speaker 2: You've got such a roadblock at that goalie position, especially
- 1:02:09Speaker 2: with Lucanan signed for the next three years of four
- 1:02:11Speaker 2: point seventy five. Lions got one more year at one
- 1:02:13Speaker 2: point five, and then you mentioned Ellish, but then he'd
- 1:02:17Speaker 2: be he becomes a R he's in the UFA grouping
- 1:02:20Speaker 2: with like he's.
- 1:02:21Speaker 4: Not it right, yeah, because I don't think he's going
- 1:02:23Speaker 4: to play an off NHL games.
- 1:02:25Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 1:02:26Speaker 2: And then as you mentioned Levi down there again. I
- 1:02:29Speaker 2: like Devin Levi, but again he seems like he's been
- 1:02:32Speaker 2: passed on the depth chart. And if they are going
- 1:02:34Speaker 2: to run it back with lucan In, you know, if
- 1:02:35Speaker 2: they don't go and get a Connor Hellibuck or one
- 1:02:38Speaker 2: of those crazy names that we're out there, you know, realistically,
- 1:02:41Speaker 2: one of those three goalies at least is going to
- 1:02:43Speaker 2: be gone if they're going to run with the three
- 1:02:44Speaker 2: goalie rotation again, and that's probably gonna be Devin Levi
- 1:02:48Speaker 2: where they're smoke, there's fire in his name has been.
- 1:02:50Speaker 3: Out there on more than one occasion now.
- 1:02:52Speaker 2: So before we wrap up Boston, just that quick quick
- 1:02:55Speaker 2: trade board. I know we'll probably come back in between
- 1:02:57Speaker 2: the draft and free agency unless the Sabers make some
- 1:03:00Speaker 2: earth shattering move. No draft preview we could see them
- 1:03:03Speaker 2: moving that pick. So we're not gonna do that as
- 1:03:05Speaker 2: we've usually done in most seasons with them picking late
- 1:03:08Speaker 2: for once, not with a top ten pick. So anybody
- 1:03:11Speaker 2: on that trade board that you could potentially talk yourself
- 1:03:14Speaker 2: into here that I.
- 1:03:16Speaker 4: Could talk myself into. Yeah, I mean Jordan Kyru is
- 1:03:20Speaker 4: very interesting, gonna be less expensive than not contract wise,
- 1:03:25Speaker 4: Like he's not gonna just you don't have to give
- 1:03:26Speaker 4: up as much to get a guy like Jordan Kyrou.
- 1:03:29Speaker 4: And he's a winger. He's a guy that I could
- 1:03:30Speaker 4: see being of interest to Buffalo. Obviously McTavish. I'm trying
- 1:03:38Speaker 4: not to let my personal opinion of him sway me
- 1:03:41Speaker 4: because I really like Mason McTavish. He's not newly as
- 1:03:43Speaker 4: good as I thought he was going to be. He's
- 1:03:45Speaker 4: still very good. I could talk myself into that. And
- 1:03:48Speaker 4: then the other ones are obviously Thomas Pareco just simply
- 1:03:51Speaker 4: because we had tried to trade for him, So like,
- 1:03:54Speaker 4: is that dead? I don't know. We'll see what happens,
- 1:03:56Speaker 4: especially with Bowen Byrom. If we're signing Byrom, we're not
- 1:03:59Speaker 4: trading for Paraco Obvios. And then I mean Jason Robertson.
- 1:04:05Speaker 4: I think Buffalo fans have been on that one for
- 1:04:07Speaker 4: a while. Needs a contract, but like, how could you
- 1:04:12Speaker 4: not want to trade for a guy like that too.
- 1:04:14Speaker 4: Dallas might be in a cap crunch situation where they
- 1:04:16Speaker 4: have to make some decisions. Like so there's obviously like
- 1:04:20Speaker 4: that's this is this type of trade board here, and
- 1:04:22Speaker 4: I think was Yeah, Lebron put an article out saying
- 1:04:26Speaker 4: like there are trade discussions going on for players that
- 1:04:29Speaker 4: no one's even mentioned, that no one's even thinking of,
- 1:04:31Speaker 4: Like I truly do. We hear it every trade deadline,
- 1:04:34Speaker 4: every off season, every draft, all this stuff, how much
- 1:04:36Speaker 4: we're going to see trade explosions and we never get it.
- 1:04:39Speaker 4: If we were ever going to actually get it, this
- 1:04:41Speaker 4: is the off season to do it, just because of
- 1:04:42Speaker 4: how bad the free agency is. Like, look at all
- 1:04:44Speaker 4: those A lot of those names are enticing. Like for
- 1:04:48Speaker 4: the Sabers, I want no part of Vincent Trocheck, but
- 1:04:50Speaker 4: like Vincent Trocheck at thirty three, who puts up fifty
- 1:04:52Speaker 4: five to sixty five points every year, people are gonna
- 1:04:55Speaker 4: be all over that.
- 1:04:56Speaker 3: Minnesota. Probably they need a lot of centers.
- 1:04:58Speaker 4: So that's what I mean. Like these names on this
- 1:05:00Speaker 4: list are all I mean, maybe not darne On Nurse
- 1:05:03Speaker 4: and Morgan Riley, but people will believe that.
- 1:05:05Speaker 3: They're good, way more enticing than the free agent list
- 1:05:08Speaker 3: we put up.
- 1:05:09Speaker 4: Oh, that's that's what I'm saying, like it it is,
- 1:05:11Speaker 4: it's going to be interesting and whether they actually get
- 1:05:13Speaker 4: traded or not. But like, see, it is funny seeing
- 1:05:15Speaker 4: the second and fourth overall picks on there because again
- 1:05:17Speaker 4: same thing we hear every year, how this is going
- 1:05:19Speaker 4: to be people moving into the top five, and it
- 1:05:21Speaker 4: almost never does. This year though, could see San Jose
- 1:05:24Speaker 4: doing it because do they really need another top two pick? No,
- 1:05:30Speaker 4: they don't need it, Like it would be like they're
- 1:05:31Speaker 4: not going to turn it away if the offer is
- 1:05:33Speaker 4: not there, but like them having that pick, using it
- 1:05:35Speaker 4: for a piece that could help them. Now I could
- 1:05:38Speaker 4: see my career absolutely doing that.
- 1:05:40Speaker 3: You need a defenseman flowing Byron. I don't know.
- 1:05:43Speaker 4: Oh, okay, relaxed, you sound like that. That that's one
- 1:05:46Speaker 4: of those dumb mock trades that we talked about earlier.
- 1:05:49Speaker 2: Michael Kessel Rings an option for San Jose though for
- 1:05:51Speaker 2: not the second pick, but yeah, like yeah, Ring easily
- 1:05:57Speaker 2: a top three d on San Jose.
- 1:05:58Speaker 4: Right now, Ring going to go I don't know what
- 1:06:01Speaker 4: people think he's going to go for, so I shouldn't
- 1:06:02Speaker 4: say this, but I again with the size the skating
- 1:06:05Speaker 4: and the shot handedness. Someone's going to talk themselves into
- 1:06:10Speaker 4: giving up something of value for kessel Ring, whether it's
- 1:06:13Speaker 4: straight up or whether kessel Rings put into a package.
- 1:06:16Speaker 4: He is a valuable piece. But it is interesting that
- 1:06:20Speaker 4: kessel Ring and Levi are there. I know, last thing
- 1:06:23Speaker 4: I'll say, I don't. I'm not saying I want to
- 1:06:25Speaker 4: trade him. I do wonder about McLeod's future in Buffalo with
- 1:06:28Speaker 4: Yarmo as the GM, because I don't want to trade him.
- 1:06:34Speaker 4: I would much rather trade Norris. But out of the two,
- 1:06:37Speaker 4: I could see McCloud being a lot more valuable to
- 1:06:39Speaker 4: another team, just because the dude stays healthy. Norris does not. Yeah,
- 1:06:43Speaker 4: So like I do wonder about McLeod, I don't want
- 1:06:45Speaker 4: to trade him, but like it isn't crazy to suggest,
- 1:06:49Speaker 4: like not for a Robert Thomas, but like for a
- 1:06:52Speaker 4: Jordan Kyrie. Like can you do a McLeod Murca package
- 1:06:56Speaker 4: with other stuff and maybe other stuff involved, but like
- 1:06:58Speaker 4: could you talk Saint Louis into like, hey, here's McLeod
- 1:07:02Speaker 4: at middle sixth center, will take your top line winger.
- 1:07:04Speaker 4: I don't know it's possible. I'm not.
- 1:07:08Speaker 3: Pieces too.
- 1:07:09Speaker 4: Yeah, but like could you could talk a team like
- 1:07:12Speaker 4: we traded Matt Savoy, who was considered one of our
- 1:07:14Speaker 4: top prospects at the time. Straight up for McCloud. McLoud
- 1:07:18Speaker 4: has gotten better. He's put up fifty plus points two
- 1:07:22Speaker 4: years like in a row with Buffalo, so his value
- 1:07:26Speaker 4: has gotten better. Could I could see someone like wanting
- 1:07:30Speaker 4: him over a Norris If you and we talked about
- 1:07:33Speaker 4: the center logjam for Buffalo, there's a guy potentially who
- 1:07:36Speaker 4: could get you something of value. I'm not saying you
- 1:07:39Speaker 4: should do it, but it was notable that Rough said
- 1:07:43Speaker 4: Josh Jones probably gonna be a penalty killer now. Could
- 1:07:46Speaker 4: was he talking about replacing Tuck Maybe? But the other
- 1:07:49Speaker 4: penalty killer that don't be replacing is McLeod.
- 1:07:53Speaker 2: Or Jordan Greenway your favorite forward on the penalty kill
- 1:07:59Speaker 2: in the second round.
- 1:08:00Speaker 4: Yeah, if Jordan Greenways a saber next shot, that's.
- 1:08:02Speaker 2: Another I'm with you. I like McTavish, but I think
- 1:08:06Speaker 2: one of those Saint Louis played like that. Saint Louis,
- 1:08:10Speaker 2: I guess tie there with the Merca for Perreco trade,
- 1:08:13Speaker 2: Like I think you is gonna circle back around to
- 1:08:16Speaker 2: to Doug Armstrong and the Saint Louis Blues. I think
- 1:08:19Speaker 2: that you know, Jordan Binnington, I don't even want any
- 1:08:22Speaker 2: part of that either. But one of those Saint Louis
- 1:08:24Speaker 2: players on that board, either Cayrou or Robert Thomas, I
- 1:08:27Speaker 2: think is most likely going to be Buffalo's trade target
- 1:08:30Speaker 2: if they are going to go in the trade route,
- 1:08:31Speaker 2: which given the free agents that are available, I think
- 1:08:35Speaker 2: that's honestly, yeah.
- 1:08:37Speaker 4: The trade Yeah, the trade road is one hundred percent.
- 1:08:39Speaker 2: And with Saint Louis, I just think it's a perfect
- 1:08:41Speaker 2: match that the Sabers have a lot of good young
- 1:08:43Speaker 2: players for the Blues to be able to want to
- 1:08:45Speaker 2: acquire where they're at and they're rebuild, like I just
- 1:08:47Speaker 2: think I think it's a perfect match for what the
- 1:08:49Speaker 2: two teams are sort of looking for, and if the
- 1:08:51Speaker 2: Blues are looking to unload some contracts like Kyrou Robert Thomas,
- 1:08:55Speaker 2: I think Buffalo, where they're at, you know, could could
- 1:08:57Speaker 2: make that happen, and they have obviously the young assets
- 1:08:59Speaker 2: to it.
- 1:09:01Speaker 4: I agree with you. I think it's probably gonna be,
- 1:09:04Speaker 4: like we already know, there's been dialogue and things like that.
- 1:09:06Speaker 4: My sneaky not not, I don't know, my sneaky gut feeling,
- 1:09:13Speaker 4: and I brought this up to a buddy at work,
- 1:09:14Speaker 4: probably around the same time the Robert Thomas stuff, and
- 1:09:19Speaker 4: it's just after the trade deadline. I don't know if
- 1:09:23Speaker 4: he'll cost as much because he's appending the UFA. There
- 1:09:25Speaker 4: also is the worry that he is appending UFA. But
- 1:09:28Speaker 4: I do wonder if they kick tires on Nicohesher if
- 1:09:32Speaker 4: he truly is available for New Jersey. There's the Lindi
- 1:09:35Speaker 4: Rough connection. Not as offensively gifted is Robert Thomas, but
- 1:09:41Speaker 4: he's a really good two ways sooner twenty eight years old.
- 1:09:44Speaker 4: Twenty eight years old needs a contract?
- 1:09:47Speaker 3: What's the Jersey doing? That's the other thing is like
- 1:09:49Speaker 3: what rut are they go?
- 1:09:50Speaker 4: Well, they want to sign him, but Sonny Meta is
- 1:09:53Speaker 4: a very smart guy that they hired as the GM,
- 1:09:55Speaker 4: and I don't think he's going to one overpay for
- 1:09:58Speaker 4: a guy like he Shure, and two he's not going
- 1:09:59Speaker 4: to to pigeonhole himself to where if he sure doesn't
- 1:10:02Speaker 4: want to sign, I just don't think he's going to
- 1:10:07Speaker 4: do anything that will walk into UFA status. It's like,
- 1:10:10Speaker 4: I just he Shure's a name that I am wondering.
- 1:10:12Speaker 4: I would would you think, and there is the Lindy
- 1:10:14Speaker 4: Rough connection.
- 1:10:15Speaker 2: Do you think that he would be willing to take
- 1:10:17Speaker 2: back a contract like McLeod or Norris in a deal
- 1:10:20Speaker 2: like that?
- 1:10:21Speaker 4: He will not take Norris if he's smarter, and he
- 1:10:26Speaker 4: is smart.
- 1:10:26Speaker 2: He is all right, Austin final thoughts, we're going in
- 1:10:30Speaker 2: the off season now. It's been a heck of a season,
- 1:10:32Speaker 2: been a lot of fun, and it's obviously we're sinking
- 1:10:35Speaker 2: our teeth into possibilities with the Sabers here, you know,
- 1:10:37Speaker 2: going into an important offseason looking to build off of
- 1:10:40Speaker 2: an Atlantic Division title, second round appearance, and you know
- 1:10:43Speaker 2: they they now that they've got that taste now in
- 1:10:45Speaker 2: the way that it ended, you know they're going to
- 1:10:47Speaker 2: want more. So I guess, uh. What are your parting
- 1:10:50Speaker 2: thoughts as we head into this offseason.
- 1:10:52Speaker 4: Yeah, Yarmos said the best has yet to come, the
- 1:10:55Speaker 4: futures right in front of us. However he worded it, One,
- 1:10:58Speaker 4: I think he's right, But two, I think that's him
- 1:11:01Speaker 4: basically saying he's gonna try to add to this team
- 1:11:07Speaker 4: to get them over the top. I don't necessarily know
- 1:11:09Speaker 4: if that means a huge, huge splash move, but there
- 1:11:12Speaker 4: will be a by definition in the NHL. There will
- 1:11:16Speaker 4: be a significant piece added to this team. I'm not
- 1:11:19Speaker 4: saying superstar, but there will be. Again, we know the
- 1:11:22Speaker 4: NHL considers the bar for star in the NHL is
- 1:11:26Speaker 4: not the same as other leagues. But there will be
- 1:11:29Speaker 4: a significant piece added to this team. And I I
- 1:11:33Speaker 4: don't think I'm gonna I'm gonna call my shot now.
- 1:11:38Speaker 4: He's not gonna sign Alice Tuck.
- 1:11:40Speaker 3: I don't think he is either because I.
- 1:11:41Speaker 4: Don't as just not gonna go to ten plus million.
- 1:11:44Speaker 4: I just can't see it.
- 1:11:46Speaker 2: Yeah, after what we saw with that Saravali quote there
- 1:11:49Speaker 2: about he's not budging, you know, if he wants to
- 1:11:52Speaker 2: take a hometown discount, like if Tuck wants anything more
- 1:11:54Speaker 2: than a eight and a half or nine, I don't
- 1:11:55Speaker 2: want any part of it.
- 1:11:56Speaker 4: But I think I could get there at nine and
- 1:11:58Speaker 4: a half. I don't love it, but I can understand.
- 1:12:00Speaker 4: But I just I if he wants ten plus, it's
- 1:12:02Speaker 4: not going to be here, and it shouldn't be here.
- 1:12:05Speaker 4: Now I'm gonna go with a significant trade is going
- 1:12:07Speaker 4: to be made and Alex Tuck will be a seattle cracking.
- 1:12:13Speaker 3: Yeah, I was gonna say Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary. One of
- 1:12:15Speaker 3: those teams.
- 1:12:16Speaker 4: Is gonna Jesus.
- 1:12:18Speaker 2: Would would offer him the big contract, or maybe I
- 1:12:21Speaker 2: don't know, one of them, maybe even San Jose could
- 1:12:23Speaker 2: if they make a move for that. Again, we're all
- 1:12:26Speaker 2: we're talking, you know, just pipeline stuff here, but if
- 1:12:29Speaker 2: Alex Duck wants to capitalize on his final contract, it's
- 1:12:32Speaker 2: probably not going to be in Buffalo, and all the
- 1:12:34Speaker 2: power to him there. So uh, austin another season of
- 1:12:36Speaker 2: Sabers Semantics seven, seventh year doing the show, and we
- 1:12:39Speaker 2: finally had stuff to talk about post the first week
- 1:12:43Speaker 2: of April.
- 1:12:43Speaker 3: So it was a lot of fun.
- 1:12:44Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely, it was a lot of fun and hopefully
- 1:12:48Speaker 4: not hopefully we'll do we'll do one more piece before
- 1:12:50Speaker 4: the actual offseason kicks off, but hopefully by then, either
- 1:12:54Speaker 4: a trade has been made or we kind of have
- 1:12:56Speaker 4: some news to talk about, because as much as I
- 1:12:59Speaker 4: love the NHL, I do not care who they picking
- 1:13:01Speaker 4: the first round.
- 1:13:01Speaker 3: This year, or it could be see you later getting
- 1:13:05Speaker 3: moved at the door.
- 1:13:06Speaker 2: Anyway, So we'll be back for an offseason update obviously,
- 1:13:10Speaker 2: between the draft and free agency, who knows, we'll see
- 1:13:12Speaker 2: if the Sabers have anything playing. You know, the draft
- 1:13:14Speaker 2: is in Buffalo as well, so look forward to that.
- 1:13:16Speaker 2: The combines coming up next weekend in Buffalo as well.
- 1:13:18Speaker 2: For you junkies out there.
- 1:13:20Speaker 4: Draft in Buffalo, make a splash, get the crowd going.
- 1:13:24Speaker 2: That's another thing that they always want to do when
- 1:13:27Speaker 2: you're hosting the draft as well. Right, so maybe Yarmo
- 1:13:30Speaker 2: pulls a big one in the out of the hat
- 1:13:32Speaker 2: in that one as well. So again that's it for
- 1:13:34Speaker 2: our season finale here in Sabers Semantics. Appreciate everybody along
- 1:13:38Speaker 2: with the ride. For us, it didn't look pretty again
- 1:13:40Speaker 2: at the first half of the year. The second half
- 1:13:42Speaker 2: of the year was a lot of fun and now
- 1:13:44Speaker 2: the team set the bar higher and a lot of
- 1:13:46Speaker 2: expectations here and for us going forward in the show.
- 1:13:48Speaker 2: Sabers content is going to be full time next season
- 1:13:51Speaker 2: for sure on this network. So appreciate everybody. Appreciate Global
- 1:13:55Speaker 2: Pet Foods and they're three great Nagaregian locations being a
- 1:13:58Speaker 2: part of it all season long, as well as our
- 1:13:59Speaker 2: great others sponsors. Now your deployment helps Center Jannel Flooring,
- 1:14:02Speaker 2: while those out of repair Niagra dentri Clinic appreciate their
- 1:14:04Speaker 2: support all season as well. Again, thank you to the
- 1:14:07Speaker 2: fans that tuned in on the video version on YouTube
- 1:14:09Speaker 2: and those who chose to listen to us all year
- 1:14:10Speaker 2: long and your favorite on demand audio podcast platform. Again
- 1:14:14Speaker 2: a fun one here. The Sabers obviously have work to do,
- 1:14:17Speaker 2: but we've got a long offseason to go here and
- 1:14:20Speaker 2: a lot of big possibilities here for the Sabers, so
- 1:14:21Speaker 2: appreciate everybody tuning in this year. Have a great summer.
- 1:14:24Speaker 2: We'll be back with an off season update for Ustin
- 1:14:26Speaker 2: broad Mine is Brenick Buddo. That's going to be it
- 1:14:27Speaker 2: for another episode, another season of Sabers Semantics right here
- 1:14:30Speaker 2: on the Armchair GM Sports Network. Talk to you again
- 1:14:32Speaker 2: very soon.
- 1:14:33Speaker 1: You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network.