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I want to know what the hell Bob told Getz to convince him to return this year. It can't have been "I'm going to make the team better" because the evidence speaks for itself.

Which was especially disappointing considering I thought he was one of our best players through the first 10-12 games. Then he completely fell off a cliff.

I'm with you. I'm going to get a Zegras or Drysdale jersey this season, and I might never add another one to my collection in my lifetime. I like collecting jerseys and this sucks.

Right, they're not going to hold him at gunpoint in the surgical suite. But essentially, the team is forcing the player to get the surgery if he does not want to be in breach of contract. Then he risks having the contract terminated (and I am guessing liable for damages too, because losing an elite player for nothing is probably a bigger deal for Buffalo than it would be for Eichel as he still has the potential to sign with another team and get to the same earnings level). The best option for both sides is a trade. Buffalo don't lose their most valuable asset for nothing, and Eichel gets to keep his $50M over the next 5 years. I don't know that the CBA would allow a secondary contract like the one you are describing. But I agree with you, I don't think arbitration would go well for him.

While the CBA doesn't say a player would be required to undergo surgery, it is pretty unambiguous that it is the team who gets final call on medical decisions. As all player contracts are tied to the CBA, if the player chooses not go through with the medical procedure determined necessary by the team, then I'm certain they could terminate his contract. However this is not a good outcome for Buffalo as Eichel could then sign with any other team. Buffalo might look for compensation in that situation for breach of contract. Really, there needs to be a mechanism in the CBA for this sort of situation. If the team doctor does not agree with the player's doctor, the third doctor's decision should be binding on both parties, like an arbitrator ruling. But from my understanding they can get a third doctor's opinion, but it is not binding on the team doctor.

There are different rules for players who are 35 years old when they sign the contract. I don't think they get the rest of their contract if they retire, that's why they just go on LTIR. I mean, he could. He would be leaving a lot of potential future career earnings on the table but he could take $50M and run and that is nothing to sneeze at. The Sabres would likely have no recourse since a player can choose to retire whenever they want, right? I just don't see how the Sabres come out of this ahead, they needed to move him while there were more suiters before free agency opens. Now their options are limited and the league knows they are backed up against the wall here.

I actually forgot about Seattle. They have a good looking blueline, but I think they are going to struggle to score goals with their current lineup of forwards. They could finish in a similar spot to Anaheim.

In the last full NHL season 75-78 points was good for 5th or 6th worst overall record. Which is probably about right based on our roster quality versus other rosters. Like I said above, the Ducks aren't as bad as Buffalo or Arizona, but are probably about as bad as New Jersey and Columbus. So I'm thinking they would probably finish with the 3rd-5th worst record based on the current roster. A lot of things would have to go right for this team to finish any higher.

This is my understanding, yes. The team has the final call on what treatment should be done. The players have agreed to this by agreeing to the terms of the CBA, so it's a bit of an ethical grey area as the players have basically signed away that right to choose. Though usually this wouldn't happen as most players and teams would work together to decide on the best treatment. Basically what the CBA does allow is for the player to get a second and third opinion from other doctors. The CBA requires that the team doctor "gives serious consideration" to these other opinions, but there is nothing in the CBA that says the team doctor gets overruled.

I would have to think this is a possibility. The CBA allows teams to make the final call on medical treatment. The Sabres have made a different call than the player, that doesn't mean he can just sit out and get paid. I would think he would be suspended. However, I'm not sure if their relationship is irreparable now, but it certainly would be if they did that, which could lower the trade value even more.

We need a lot of things to go right to get any better. IMO that is going to be good luck, not good management. Bob has done nothing to improve the team except replace the assistant coaches. Though being even a few percentage points better on the PP should give us a few more wins. A full year of Zegras and Drysdale should make the team better, assuming they both stay with the team, but no guarantees. Lindholm back is big for the team. Manson is meh - I'm not sure he's much better than Hakanpaa who took a lot of his minutes last season. Silf - who knows how he recovers from his injury but hopefully he's back to normal. How many rosters around the league look worse than Anaheim? Buffalo and Arizona are clearly worse. Then New Jersey and Columbus are there or thereabouts. I don't think the Ducks roster is better than any other roster. Maybe San Jose? That puts us bottom 6 at best. But I could see this team finishing 3rd worst ahead of Buffalo and Arizona.

Apparently there is a handshake deal for $4M per season, I have read elsewhere a 3 year term. Can only be a gentleman's agreement at this point though, as players on 1 year deals can only sign extensions from January 1 from what I understand. I really like this move from Carolina. Basically they have to pay $6M this season to get this player's rights, then after that they only pay him $4M per year? Great stuff.

I absolutely love it. This has really juiced up the offseason. Plus you get to read great, totally not salty, articles like this: https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/jack-todd-carolinas-offer-sheet-to-kotkaniemi-was-a-bush-league-move

That's what I meant, too bad it didn't happen right before his NMC kicks in. Could save $10M for this season which is going to be a load of crap anyway. I think we can safely say that is the plan this season. Murray has still added nobody to the second worst team in the league. I wonder how he convinced Getzlaf to return to this dumpster fire.

IMO if we trade for Eichel its to make this team better 1-2 years from now, not next season. He could miss half the season and it wouldn't really matter. This team sucks this season either way. It's too bad all this drama didn't happen 12 months from now.

The trend is the concern. He's had dramatic drops the last 2 seasons according to this graph. If the trend continues then he's in the bottom half of the league this coming year. You could say last year was due to injury but still.

Rakell would probably not net as big of a haul as he would have 3 years ago when he scored 30 goals but I think he would still have good value. At least, I think he still has good value for this team even if he wouldn't get us a ton in a trade. Last season was his lowest scoring season points wise since his rookie year, but other than that he's been reasonably consistent outside of that one year when he popped off with 69 points. He also has consistently decent possession stats. Personally I would be trying to keep him - the trade return probably wouldn't move the needle that much for this team, Rakell is still relatively young/in his prime years, and seemed to have good chemistry with Zegras. Plus if that helps convince Lindholm to re-sign then that's just gravy. Manson should have been traded 2 years ago. If Bob can get anything decent for him now it will be miracle. Maybe if a contending team has some kind of blueline injury crisis this upcoming season.

Doesn't this show him trending in the wrong direction?

What the heck is Rakell's deal anyway? He looks great at times, he seemingly had good chemistry with Zegras, and set up some really nice goals last season. But when it comes to shooting it's like Matt Beleskey and Jason Blake left all of their old sticks in Anaheim and Rakell only uses those now.

I still don't get why Mahura would sign an extra year at $750K when his QO next season would be $787.5K. Just to guarantee a one-way deal next season I guess? I am not sure if his next QO would have been one-way or two-way. If that is the reason he signed the extra year then it's some savvy negotiating from Solomon. Super low risk for Anaheim for a guy that could potentially emerge as an NHL regular. If he doesn't then its no big deal, he's cheap.

Right, OK. Maybe there is a signing bonus that increases the base salary? Otherwise I don't know why Mahura would have signed a 2 year deal at basically the same money as his QOs instead of backing himself this season to increase his salary next year. This is a good point. I would assume it would have to round up to the league minimum. Edit: Checked this on Capfriendly on other RFAs on $700K last season - confirmed it automatically bumps them up to league minimum of $750K. So that would be what Mahura got if he signed his one year QO. Capfriendly right now is only reporting this as a 1 year contract, so perhaps Eric Stephens got the length wrong and Mahura just signed his QO. So all of the analysis above means nothing. Lol. Edit: The team is reporting Mahura was re-signed for 2 years, at $750k per year. So unless there is a signing bonus in there not yet reported, I don't get it for Mahura. I'll take the contract as a fan but I don't get why he would want to add the extra year at the same money.

I believe he also would have been arbitration eligible next year. So if he backed himself to have a good season in the NHL this upcoming year, he would surely want to bet on himself for a contract increase next offseason, and he also had arbitration to fall back on if he felt the team wasn't paying him enough. So maybe they have already told him he won't be a regular on the team, therefore he might as well sign for 2 years at similar money? Unless there are big performance bonuses on this tied to his performance at the NHL level and he has been told he will get his chance, but has to earn his payday.

Nice contracts. Comtois and Jones both had QOs that would have paid around $870K from memory. Jones gets a little increase on his QO but gets 3 years. Good deal for him. Even if he doesn't improve much more that's an affordable number for a 4th line winger. Comtois gets more than double his QO but only 2 years, betting on himself. Fair deal I think for a guy that has one good season under his belt. Mahura - From my limited understanding of QOs, he was entitled to a 5% increase on his base salary of $700K last year, which would have been $735K this year, plus bonuses. But he has signed for $750K for 2 years? There have to be bonuses attached to this, otherwise I don't really get why he would lock himself in at $750K, as if he just signed the QO he would have been eligible for another increase next season, or a bigger contract if he backed himself to earn it.

They're two way deals because these are standard qualifying offers, and both players were only eligible for a 2-way qualifying offer. This is determined by the CBA. It just means if they go to the AHL they get paid less. But both players are no longer waivers exempt as they have played too many NHL games.

I'm sure the agents wouldn't be doing this if Eichel cared where he was going. He just wants out of Buffalo.