There is no denying that Alex Pietrangelo is an excellent NHL defenseman and an inspirational leader for the St. Louis Blues.
"Petro" is attracting a lot of attention because his time in St. Louis is drawing to a conclusion. The former Niagara Ice Dogs star has a lot of quality hockey left to give.
He's not going to tale a hometown haircut to remain with the Blues. The Blues are ready to shift the number one right D mantle to Colton Parayko. Justin Faulk is poised to move to the 2 RD slot.
Is Pietrangelo on the radar of the Buffalo Sabres right now?
No.
Don't hold your breath. It's not happening.
Sabres rookie general manager Kevyn Adams isn't going to be given the green light to spend to the ceiling of the salary cap the way his predecessors Jason Botterill and Tim Murray were allowed to by Terry and Kim Pegula.
Adams is not about to get into a bidding war for the hand in marriage of the 30-year old Stanley Cup champion. Pietrangelo is an unrestricted free agent and is earning $6.5 million annual average value.
The Buffalo blue line is young, however, will be better positioned for success in 2020-21 with Rasmus Ristolainen (25), Rasmus Dahlin (20), Henri Jokiharju (21), Colin Miller (27), Brandon Montour (26), and Jake McCabe (26). Earlier this summer, the Sabres lost defenseman Lawrence Pilut to the KHL.
Montour is a pending RFA and is expected to sign his qualifying offer.
The Sabres have two D prospects in Will Borgen and Jacob Bryson who will be given the opportunity to make the big boy squad in 2020-21.
Pietrangelo, a client of Newport Sports Management, will be looking for a long term deal in the $8.0 to $8.25M AAV neighborhood.
The Sabres are not looking to add another large contract to its defense corps.
I'm told that Pietrangelo is a high priority, free agency target of Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pietrangelo, a native of King City, Ontario, would add legitimacy, bite and skill to Toronto's soft, passive blue line.
The Leafs were were blitzed from the qualifying round of the Stanley Cup playoffs largely due to the poor play of their defensemen. When veteran Jake Muzzin was knocked out of the series against Columbus, the Leafs were easy pickins in their end of the rink.
I see a scenario where Kyle Dubas bids adieu to Tyson Barrie, the veteran pending UFA and right shot puck mover.
I also predict that Dubas will trade forward Willy Nylander to open up sizable salary cap space ( $6,962,366 ) with which he will acquire a top defenseman bei it via unrestricted free agency or trade.
The Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, LA Kings, Ottawa Senators, and Minnesota Wild will also be gunning for Pietrangelo's services during the unrestricted free agency feeding frenzy later this year.
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Captain Jack Eichel wasn't even born when the Sabres switched from their royal blue and gold color scheme to the black goat head sweater in 1996.
Twenty four years later, Eichel and his Sabres are bringing sexy back.
Say hello to the long lost royal blue blood.
This sweater easily places the Sabres back where they belong in the top four of NHL sweaters along with the Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks.
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