This will be an interesting off season for the Sabres as this will be Terry Pegula's second off season as team owner. His goal is to win the Stanley Cup and the Sabres struggled most of this past season as they finished a disappointing 9th in the Eastern Conference and out of the playoffs. The Sabres struggled with scoring as they were 16th in scoring despite being something like 25th most of the season. They did improve once Tyler Ennis was healthy and they traded for Cody Hodgson. But it wasn't enough to overcome a terrible mid November to January. The Sabres need an elite scorer/center on this team. Now what do the Sabres do? Do they acquire Rick Nash from Columbus for a very hefty price tag? Do they attempt to acquire the rights to Zach Parise and sign him? I say neither (not that I would hate either move). My move would be to trade up into the NHL Draft with either Edmonton or Columbus and draft either Nail Yakupov or Alex Galchenyuk.
Darcy Regier needs to call Edmonton and/or Columbus and see what it would take to move into the 1st or 2nd spot in the draft and take an elite player. I know what many of you are thinking; "why would they risk a Russian player at the top of the draft? It would be such a risk!" Negative. In fact, the NHL produces great players at the top of the draft for the last 20 years and these players contribute right away. The success at the top of the draft is more than any other sport, even more than the NFL. Plus you don't have to pay these players a lot as the maximum contract for the 1st overall pick is a 3-year deal worth only $900,000 a season. That's about 1/10th of what you would have to pay one of the top players in the league. I ask, wouldn't you want an elite 30-40 goal scorer for $900,000? I would hope so or else you need your head examined. The Risk-Reward factor is there's almost no risk and a very high reward. I almost believe there's a much greater risk signing a veteran for $7-8 million a year than moving up into the draft to take one of these elite young players. This is why I want this to happen.
Edmonton and Columbus are both terrible and both said they want to trade out. The Sabres are the perfect team to make this deal as their first pick is 12 and they also have the #21, 42, and 44 picks as well. They could and should trade every pick to move up and I would be willing to part ways with a defensive prospect (Mark Pysyk) because we have enough defensemen on this roster and we need forward depth. The goal is to win the Cup now or in the next couple of years. I am not interested in making this team great 4-5 years down the road, I want to win now and drafting in the top-3 would make our team instantly.
For those who are worried about drafting a Russian player, believe me, there is nothing to worry about with Yakupov or Galchenyuk. Both these players want to play here and live here. Yakupov came to Canada at a young age while Galchenyuk was born in the U.S. in Milwaukee and played in Chicago before moving to Canada and teamed with Yakupov. These guys want to play the US/Canada physical style of hockey more than European/Russian style of play. Mikhail Grigorenko was another player considered at the top of the draft and has been compared to Evgeni Malkin. But he has also been a disappointment as he has been inconsistent and has been dropping to perhaps out of the top-10.
I will write another blog in the next day or so that features the success of drafting in the top-3 of the NHL Draft. Darcy, get off your butt and do this please. Thanks.
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