Some Buffalo Sabres offseason questions
Rachel Leni of the Buffalo Sabres: Questions entering the offseason.
1. Do the Buffalo Sabres keep their No. 27 pick in the draft? The Sabres lack experience at center, but not numbers at center. If Alex Tuch heads to free agency, they’ll need more depth on the wing. They should look to move the pick.
2. Should they re-sign Alex Tuch or let him walk? He’s looking for a deal in the $10.625 million range. There doesn’t seem to be much movement as of now, so as the top UFA, he should bet on himself in free agency.
3. Will the Sabres make a trade this offseason? The Sabres need a top-line center. Josh Norris and Jiri Kulich missed time due to injury. Tage Thompson was on the wing before Kulich was lost for the season (blood clot). Need someone who can win faceoffs. They were last in the league.
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4. Which of their free agents should be priorities? They’ve got just under $12 million in projected cap space. Zach Benson and Beck Malenstyn should be priorities. Bowen Byram is contract extension eligible and will be a UFA after next season.
The St. Louis Blues won’t make moves to block youngsters. Some offseason decisions
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic: (mailbag) Alex Steen will take over as GM of the St. Louis Blues on July 1st. He’ll likely want to build his team around 1) Skilled but very tough. 2) Unselfish, play for each other. 3) Coachable, invested in the process. It will take some time.
The Blues will likely move on from pending UFA Oskar Sundqvist.
Don’t think the Blues will be looking to move draft picks for veteran players. It doesn’t make sense for them to block any of their younger players.
Predicting one Blues trade this offseason – Jordan Kyrou to the San Jose Sharks.
Don’t think the return for Kyrou needs to be a scoring winger. They should be looking at centers or defensemen that have a proven record, has potential, or was a high pick. Kyrou does have a no-trade clause, so he has some control over where he goes. Believe the New York Islanders would be interested, but would he want to go there?
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Don’t know if they should be looking to move Colton Parayko. Having him around to mentor the young kids is valuable. They need to get an offer they can’t refuse to move him.
An interesting trade proposal of Jordan Binnington at 50% retained and the No. 29 pick for the No. 9 pick. Florida may not want to give up that much for one year of Binnington.
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