Take a bow, Buffalo!
The city of Buffalo and surrounding suburbs get an A+ grade for your hospitality and friendliness. Buffalo made a lasting impression on 114 of the most sought after NHL prospects in the world, not to mention there families and business advisors. Your service was excellent, Buffalo!
The weatherman gets an A++ grade for the near 90 degree, sunny weather all week long.
The Buffalo Sabres organization get an A+++ grade for hosting yet another off the charts, wildly successful, meticulously executed NHL Scouting Combine.
The NHL and Sabres are in negotiations to extend Buffalo's agreement to host the annual scouting event. The original two year deal has now expired.
No other organization in the NHL can offer Buffalo's turn-key, under-one-roof model for hosting this event.
I look forward to covering this event for many more years to come in my own backyard.
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Next stop:
The NHL Draft. Buffalo will host the event on June 24.
I cannot say for certain, however, I'm confident that Edmonton Oilers GM Pete Chiarelli is going to trade his fourth overall draft choice on the draft floor in Buffalo.
Chiarelli said several times this week that NHL teams have called him to inquire about his fourth-overall pick. There is no doubt in my mind that those chats intensified this week while Chiarelli was able to speak face to face with his would be suitors.
Chiarelli told the Oilers' website that he has had discussions with other teams.
“All I can tell you is I’ve had a lot of discussions here,… said Chiarelli. “(The Combine) is another useful tool for a general manager because most general managers are here. We’re all in the rink, we’re all within walking distance of each other. It’s a very casual environment so it’s a good, casual breeding ground for those decisions.…
Being at the scouting combine, I got the distinct impression that the Oilers are not bluffing when they say that they are willing to trade the 4th overall pick.
There largest area of need in blue line depth.
Chiarelli and Todd McLellan have identified their D corps as the area that they need to address immediately via the NHL Draft and through unrestricted free agency.
Mikhail Sergachev appears to be the number one D-man on Edmonton's draft board with Jakob Chychrun being a close second.
In Windsor, Sergachev played for former Oilers assistant coach Rocky Thompson.
Sergachev said Saturday he knows Thompson has had discussions with Edmonton. Sergachev said that he has also spoken to the Oilers several times this season. Those conversation took place long before the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo.
“I met them like twice during the year,… said Sergachev said on Saturday. “It was kind of interesting. They told me my strengths and weaknesses, they told me what I have to work on. Maybe they will draft me, who knows? I don’t know.…
Sergachev said in his conversations with the Oilers, he was told that they would prefer to see him be more aggressive in his defensive zone. Sergachev fancies himself a Drew Doughty type. He loves the one-man breakout game and he loves supporting the forwards and joining the rush. There is no doubt that the Oilers love that part of his game as well, however, they want to be certain that Sergachev can sell out and protect the house against such Western enemies as Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Anze Kopitar, Pat Kane, Jonathon Toews, Corey Perry, et cetera.
Sergachev left Buffalo the eighth ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.
By virtue of the NHL Draft Lottery, the Buffalo Sabres are owners of the eighth overall pick in the June 24 NHL Draft.
Sergachev looks to be the man that Chiarelli and the Oilers want to wrap up and take home to Edmonton.There is no doubt that he is also one of the top of the top three D-men up for grabs along with Chychrun and Juolevi.
Sergachev impressed the Oilers and all other teams with his strength, dexterity and agility. He weighed in at 221 lbs. and was measured at 6'2" tall.
Chiarelli and Tim Murray know one another well. Their paths have crossed before. I can see a scenario where Chiarelli tardes his 4th overall pick to Murray in exchange for right shot, top four D Mark Pysyk, forward Zemgus Girgensons, a 2nd or 3rd rounder this season, and the 8th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Chiarelli would upgrade his blue line by adding the Edmonton Oil King star in Pysyk. He would add immediate grit and two-way tenacity with Girgensons, and he would then be set up to select his man Sergachev at #8. If for some reason another team in the top seven picks selected Sergachev, Chiarelli would then hve his pick of Chychrun or Juolevi.
Pysyk and Girgensons are former first rounders. Girgensons sees himself more as a center than a winger. His opportunity to play center in Buffalo's top six group changed dramatically when Tim Murray traded for Ryan O'Reilly and drafted Jack Eichel second overall last summer. The emergence of Johan Larsson complicates the third line pivot for Girgensons, who is tough on the walls and plays a robust fore check game. Should Murray close the deal to deliver UFA forward Steven Stamkos to Buffalo on July 1, Girgensons would fall further down the Buffalo depth chart. Girgensons is not a fourth line player, however, he would become on of Buffalo were to add Tkachuk and Stamkos in the next three weeks. Girgensons, an RFA himself, would have no other choice but to accept a reduced role while he and fellow RFAs Marcus Foligno and Nic Deslauriers will all be re-signed. What gums up Buffalo's top six is the reality that 32 year old Matt Moulson has three years remaining on a deal that pays him $5M AAV. He isn't going to be traded after a dismal 2015-16 season, according to Murray. However, if he starts slowly, he may be a candidate to leave Buffalo prematurely. Captain Brian Gionta, 37, is entering the final year of his contract and will likely not be re-signed next summer.
When healthy, Girgensons is a 20+ goal scorer. Perhaps a change would do him good. I see Girgensons as being a carbon copy of Oil forward Leon Draisaitl. Both men are big, strong, fast, intelligent, tenacious and very skilled. Put Girgensons on the dot in Edmonton's top six and watch him thrive. He was an effective PP producer under former head coach and mentor Ted Nolan when Buffalo was a tanking team. His role has changed under Dan Bylsma now that Buffalo is a contending team.
What's in the deal for Murray and the Sabres?
London Knights power forward Matthew Tkachuk at number four.
Imagine a power trio of Tkachuk-Eichel-Reinhart for the next 10-12 years.
What kind of player is Tkachuk? Do you like Jamie Benn?
Tkachuk is big, fast, strong, very skilled, and he plays with a ton of bite and nastiness. He flushes the walls and isn't shy about removing opponents from his puck. Yes. HIS puck. Tkachuk believes that the puck belongs to him. He plays the possession/cycle game exceptionally well. He distributes deftly to his line mates and D. He also has a full repertoire of shots including a bomb of a clapper and a wicked wrister. He scores from areas all over the ice, not just one, so its hard for opponents to defend him. His quick catch and quicker release make it near impossible to defend him by stick alone.
Fan bases in Buffalo and Edmonton are hoping that Tim Murray and Pete Chiarelli had substantive, face to face conversations at the scouting combine regarding an exchange of #4 and #8.
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“There’s no question in my mind, I think Tyson Barrie is going to be traded.…
So said TSN's Bob McKenzie on Edmonton's 1260 AM on Friday.
“Yeah. Here’s what I think. This is not going to make any sense, but I’m going to say it anyways. Colorado is looking for a defenseman. But I don’t think they like the economic leverage that Tyson Barrie has right now. Tyson Barrie has got a very strong arbitration case. I think he’s going to be looking for a sum of money that Colorado doesn’t feel comfortable in giving him. Therefore I think they’re looking for somebody who – looking for a different type of defenseman maybe, or one that’s not going to cost them as much money"
Why Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic would want to trade a soon to be 25 year old stud defender who has already accumulated 153 points in 264 NHL games played is beyond me.
Money is always a factor in Colorado.
I agree with McKenzie.
The arbitrator will seemingly have to rule heavily in favor of Barrie who earned just $2.6 million in 2015-16. Talk about a team-friendly cap hit. Barrie more than paid for himself in Colorado. The team clearly reaped the rewards of return on their investment. Now that Barrie is heading to is now RFA status he will be looking to hammer the Avs for a fat pay raise. Good on the kid. He under promised, over delivered, and now is his time to get paid. He has earned that right.
Question being, is Colorado prepared to back up a Brinks truck and pay Barrie $48 million to $50 million over an 8 year term?
This Barrie situation has the same ear markings as Ryan O'Reilly's RFA contract drama a couple of years ago. We all know how that soap opera ended. Oh, and THANK YOU Avs. Buffalo Sabres fans absolutely LOVE their future captain, ROR. Back to the task at hand. Barrie is due to have his pay raised from $2.6M AAV to $6M+ AAV. The Avs won't go for that.
Best to trade Barrie now rather than deal with the ugly acrimony of a player-friendly arbitrator ruling later this summer.
Barrie checks all boxes on Pete Chiarelli's wish list for an elite defenseman:
* QBs the PP. Check. * Can eat big minutes. Check * Smart. Check * Fast. Check * Distributes the puck at an elite level. Check. * Tough. Check. * Young. Check.
Chiarelli can trade forward Jordan Eberle, who is $6M AAV the next three seasons.
The Avs would be looking for a defenseman to replace Barrie in their lineup and would likely ask for Oilers rear guard Brandon Davidson and perhaps D prospect Caleb Jones, the younger brother of Seth Jones.
To add more intrigue to the Colorado situation, Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday night that the Avs are also eyeing Winnipeg Jets right shot D Jacob Trouba, who is set to become a restricted free agent.
Trouba, 22, has top pair ability. At 6'3" and 215 lbs., Trouba is a mobile, effective defender in all three zones.
He struggled in his own end of the rink at times early in the 2015-16 season, however, he rebounded nicely. In 81 games played, he scored 6 goals, added 15 helpers and was +10. In his three year NHL career, he has accumulated 72 points (23G, 49A) in 211 games played.
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Remember the name Olli Juolevi.
He is the Finnish defenseman who is getting rave reviews from NHL GMs and scouts. As the NHL Draft approaches (June 24, Buffalo), Juolevi's stock is seemingly increasing.
NHL Central Scouting has the Finn slotted at #2 among North American defensemen.
Jakob Chychrun is ranked #1 by Central Scouting.
The best of the rest of the field includes Mikhail Sergachev, Charlie McAvoy (Boston University) , Jake Bean (Calgary Hitmen), Logan Stanley (Windsor), and Dante Fabbro of (Penticton). All of these fine defenders are currently ranked in the Central Scouting's top twenty among North American skaters.
On Friday, Dan Marr of Central Scouting was asked to handicap the field. He couldn't. Nor wouldn't. Marr reiterated his position that Chychrun was and still is the number one D prospect of the litter, however, he would not rank the other five contenders largely because they are similar, but very different from one another. What Marr would say is that all of the aforementioned D-men would be drafted high in the first round in three weeks and all will be playing in the NHL before too long.
"The corps of top four or five kids, there's no predicting the order," Marr said. "They're all good, they're all different in their own way. They're all quality players. They're all going to be in the National Hockey League sooner rather than later."
Juolevi played on the freak show that is the Memorial Cup champion London Knights. With glitzy stars like Mitch Marner, Matt Tkachuk, Christioan Dvorak, and Max Jones, it was very easy for outside and casual hockey fans to overlook the rock solid contributions of Juolevi. But if Juolevi was ranking them, he knows who he would take first.
On Saturday, Juolevi said that in his combine face to face interviews with a dozen or so NHL teams, he stressed that the thing the sets him apart from his peers is his hockey IQ.
"I'm the smartest of the (top six D-men). It's something that is hard to teach," Juolevi said. "It's like one of those natural things that you either have or you don't have. You can always go practice your shooting or skating or whatever. But that's a hard thing to improve anymore."
Juolevi has the brains and the brawn to play at a high level in the NHL today.
NHL scouts that I have spoken with rave on about Juolevi and his ability to stay calm and composed even in the most chaotic of moments. He's got a lot of Rasmus Ristolainen and Sami Vatanen in him in that he can recover a puck in his own of the rink then take it with speed through three zones for a chance at the other end. He has the get up and go to not get beat back to his end of the rink and is a fierce back checker. Juolevi has the size, speed, skill and smarts to be a dominant NHL blue liner.
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