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Sabres Mock Draft Companion |
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This will be a bit of a bite-sized blog today as I also contributed a piece to the Hockeybuzz Mock Draft run by Jan Levine. That mock draft exercise was especially enjoyable after putting in some quality hours to study the draft eligible prospects which allowed me to put myself in the Sabres shoes and decide what they might do.
The reader’s digest version of that article goes something like this: The Sabres should trade down between 2-6, but if they do keep the 1st overall pick, they should take Owen Power because to select anyone else there is bad asset management. Head on over to Jan’s blog and give it a read though so that what follows here is put in context.
This is a companion piece of sorts in which I discuss some possible trade-down candidates and decide which player the Sabres should choose at that given position while also elaborating on the additional assets the Sabres could pick up in the process. I’ve decided to limit the trade-down scenarios at the 5th pick, so this list will include possible trade down scenarios with the Kraken at #2, the Ducks at #3, the Devils at #4, the Blue Jackets at #5. The Sabres would have an opportunity to grab a nice prospect anywhere in that range.
Seattle Kraken:
Buffalo Trades #1 overall and Cody Eakin for #2 overall and a 2021 3rd round pick
Explanation:
This trade fulfils expansion draft requirements, gives Buffalo an additional pick in the draft in the third round, gets rid of Cody Eakin’s contract and prevents Seattle from taking Anders Bjork or Tage Thompson. The other major plus here is that I think there is a solid chance that Seattle really likes Matty Beniers first overall so perhaps this trade will appeal to the Power guys and gals as well. It’s possible trading down and getting rid of Eakin while picking up a 3rd rounder still gets you Power. That would be a pretty good deal.
Anaheim Ducks:
Sabres trade Jack Eichel and #1oa for #3, Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Adam Henrique (salary dump) and a top-5 protected 2022 1st.
Explanation:
This is my own wacky deal that I’ve been trying to push for the better part of a month now. The Sabres can either select Luke Hughes and pair him with Jamie Drysdale for the next decade (after some more developmental-league seasoning, of course) or they can take William Eklund to add to a center depth chart that now boasts Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt and Trevor Zegras. I don’t think you can go wrong there. Plus, on the Ducks side, they get two flashy names in Power and Eichel to sell to their fan base. If you’re curious why I’m already pairing Hughes and Drysdale, I’d have Dahlin with Will Borgen. That would be an incredibly solid top-4.
New Jersey Devils:
Buffalo trades #1, Rasmus Ristolainen and the Sabres 4th round pick for #4, Miles Wood and the Islanders 2021 1st round pick.
Explanation:
It’s frankly hard to imagine the Devils trading up when they’ll have an excellent shot at taking Jack Hughes’s younger brother Luke, or Alexander Holtz’s linemate, William Eklund, at 4. But maybe the Devils think the Sabres really love Hughes and want to take him at 1. For the sake of discussion here, lets imagine that Power, Beniers and Hughes have gone off the board here. The still have an excellent shot at Eklund, Kent Johnson or Dylan Guenther here while picking up the versatile Western New Yorker. Additional ammunition in the late first round (via the islanders) could also pay huge dividends in a year with sub-optimal scouting as there could be some quality players who simply slipped through the cracks this year with the OHL shut down.
Columbus Blue Jackets:
Sabres trade #1 to Columbus for #5, the Maple Leafs 1st and Tampa Bay Lightning 1st
Explanation:
I included the 2021 Lightning 1st round pick that Blue Jackets possess along with the two others although I think it would be more palatable for the BJs to give up a 2nd next year while still picking twice in the first round this year. The Lightning 1st this year is basically a 2nd rounder anyway as they’ll be picking at the very end of the first round so it’s really not much of a difference in my mind. There’s always room for negotiation. The Sabres can again pick up a good player at #5 with one of Guenther/Johnson/Eklund almost certainly available while also having a shot at selecting goalie Sebastian Cossa with the Leafs pick. Again, the Sabres can fill multiple holes at the same time.
I think each one of these would offer good value and return a solid player to the Sabres while also picking up additional assets to help down the road. It’s also possible the Sabres get another top-5 pick without moving down so perhaps they can simply take Power and whoever else they’d like by simply standing pat and trading a different roster player. The point is the Sabres need to explore every avenue to maximize the assets they do have.
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