It's my philosophy. Picks are always risky as they're just unknowns in the NHL.

Guys who have been in the league for a few years are more known commodities.

I understand a winning team will need one or two prospects to step in as cap limits and age take their limits. But to complete the last pieces of a rebuild and go from sub-500 to contender, I'd rather go with known commodities (acquired w first round picks as necessary) than use the pick and potentially get a suck buy-low candidate.

But I like the kid if we're keeping the pick.
- Der Kaiser

No argument on the proven commodity part. Issue is they tend to cost more than just the general 1st round pick or 2nd round pick.

My point is that we should never not want draft picks in the system. You can build a winner, and have a stable of youth at the same time. It doesn't have to be one or the other

They could both definitely be moved
I just think we'd get a crappy return
So it's prob not worth it for Murray to do so
Makes more sense to see if they can rebound & fill a role on the team going forward
- jdfitz77

Agreed . THat's all we can hope for

Gionta has been playing pretty consistent for what he is . Wish the contract was a bit cheaper.

2010-11 Montreal Canadiens NHL 82 29 17 46
2011-12 Montreal Canadiens NHL 31 ..8 .7 15
2012-13 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 14 12 26
2013-14 Montreal Canadiens NHL 81 18 22 40
2014-15 Buffalo Sabres....... NHL 69 13 22 35
2015-16 Buffalo Sabres....... NHL 77 10 21 31
- cabin

Eh. Gionta is off the books after next year. I think he hangs it up at that point. Maybe stays in the organization in some way as a player development coach or something.

Moulson is going to be hard to move because he makes a ton of money and has 3 years left and a NTC on top of it.

Eh. Gionta is off the books after next year. I think he hangs it up at that point. Maybe stays in the organization in some way as a player development coach or something.

Moulson is going to be hard to move because he makes a ton of money and has 3 years left and a NTC on top of it.
- HonkFortheGoose

Gionta has stated he loves Buffalo and has made it his home . His family loves it too. I bet he sticks it out here and maybe like you typed, some other capacity.

Moulson on the other hand ...This is a Labatts town.

With Montreal winning tonight, and if the Coyotes and Senators can hang on. It would be a pretty beneficial time for us to go on a two game losing streak

Eh. Gionta is off the books after next year. I think he hangs it up at that point. Maybe stays in the organization in some way as a player development coach or something.

Moulson is going to be hard to move because he makes a ton of money and has 3 years left and a NTC on top of it.
- HonkFortheGoose

I would be great if Moulson actually took Murray's chat with him to heart and got his chit together this offseason. He's not top six moving forward, but at least if he could net us 15 on the third line and played solid defense, than his contract wouldn't hurt so much to swallow.

With Montreal winning tonight, and if the Coyotes and Senators can hang on. It would be a pretty beneficial time for us to go on a two game losing streak
- mattmoulson

What ya drinking Matt ? And yes a couple good games but a 1 goal loss in regulation will help.

With Montreal winning tonight, and if the Coyotes and Senators can hang on. It would be a pretty beneficial time for us to go on a two game losing streak
- mattmoulson

I'd be a great time to lose two games. Picking 7 sounds better than 9, and definitely better than picking 12 which can still happen.

What ya drinking Matt ? And yes a couple good games but a 1 goal loss in regulation will help.
- cabin

Likely going to the Left Hand Hard Wired Nitro Coffee Porter

I'd be a great time to lose two games. Picking 7 sounds better than 9, and definitely better than picking 12 which can still happen.
- sskkoo1

Seven is better than snake-eyes but they're all rolls of the dice.

I would be great if Moulson actually took Murray's chat with him to heart and got his chit together this offseason. He's not top six moving forward, but at least if he could net us 15 on the third line and played solid defense, than his contract wouldn't hurt so much to swallow.
- sskkoo1

They were talking about this on WGR with Paul Hamilton today while I was on my way home from work. He said that if you ask Moulson about the comments Murray said that he hasn't changed anything, but PHam thinks it has more to do with Moulson trying to hide from the fans the fact that he wasn't doing what he probably should have. He also said there's no reason for Murray to have made those comments if they weren't true (especially given how candid Murray always is) and how since Murray discussed it publicly that you can see Moulson's game has stepped up some.

But he also said to temper our expectations because it's more than likely that Moulson's not going to be able to turn it around all that much. It's just a lack of foot speed and a decline in his overall capabilities.

I would be fine seeing that as the third line to start next season.

No Gionta or Moulson. If both of those two are on the team to start the year, then something is wrong.
- rmiethaner

I think Gionta can be moved for a low round pick
Moulson, we will probably have to include something like a 3rd to get a team to take him on... IF we can find someone willing to take him on that is

I'd be a great time to lose two games. Picking 7 sounds better than 9, and definitely better than picking 12 which can still happen.
- sskkoo1

Kasdorf or bust

No, but an 8th year of guaranteed money is better than 7 years.
- sbroads24

The 8th year isn't paying him less unless you're thinking 8 for 80 instead of 7 for 84.

Seven is better than snake-eyes but they're all rolls of the dice.
- Der Kaiser

Picking seven allows for one of Chychrun, Joulevi, or even Tkachuk to slip to us. Usually by seven somebody always falls a couple of notches.

This is what worries me about Murray. Look at his acquisitions outside of O'Reilly

Moulson- Tire fire
Kane- Good but inconsistent
Bogo- I have no freaking clue what he is anymore, is he a #2 or a #4?
Lehner- Good but often injured, small sample size


Fasching could be a great pickup, jury is still out.

I wish I had more faith. I know this team will be good, I don't know if Murray can make the right moves to put us over the top.
- sbroads24

Split the difference and call Bogo a 3?

I get your point about not knowing if Murray can do it, but other than a GM with a cup under his belt already, they're all unknowns and almost all of them make at least one questionable move. Not every move works, in fact many don't for every GM over their careers.

Picking seven allows for one of Chychrun, Joulevi, or even Tkachuk to slip to us. Usually by seven somebody always falls a couple of notches.
- sskkoo1

Why do you think they fall?

They were talking about this on WGR with Paul Hamilton today while I was on my way home from work. He said that if you ask Moulson about the comments Murray said that he hasn't changed anything, but PHam thinks it has more to do with Moulson trying to hide from the fans the fact that he wasn't doing what he probably should have. He also said there's no reason for Murray to have made those comments if they weren't true (especially given how candid Murray always is) and how since Murray discussed it publicly that you can see Moulson's game has stepped up some.

But he also said to temper our expectations because it's more than likely that Moulson's not going to be able to turn it around all that much. It's just a lack of foot speed and a decline in his overall capabilities.
- HonkFortheGoose

Sure, I'm not expecting miracles from him, but I think 15 goals 35 pts is not out of the question. Maybe he can't keep up anymore, but he can still park his butt in the crease and Anreychuk a few home throughout the season. If he has to take a few kidney shots to get the job done... well, that's why your being paid 5 million dollars.

Likely going to the Left Hand Hard Wired Nitro Coffee Porter
- mattmoulson

Sounds like a nice choice (never had it) Got Edmunds fitz and Blue.

I was super leery of bringing Stamkos in before, mostly because of the cap implications. But I'm even more terrified of the idea now that he has blood clot issues. McCormick hasn't played in a year and a half. Timonen missed a ton of time and then hung around long enough to get his shot at a Cup and then called it quits. Dupuis retired because of blood clot issues. It could very well end up being a non-issue, but I think the chance it could be career threatening is much higher to be quite honest.
- HonkFortheGoose

That's all fair
But idk if it really matters for us

If we sign him and he's healthy, then great
If the problem re-occurs, & he can't play again, then we put him on IR & he basically retires unofficially until his contract runs out (like Pronger)
But bc he's not 35,
His Cap hit won't count against us

So all it would really cost is actually dollars

Split the difference and call Bogo a 3?

I get your point about not knowing if Murray can do it, but other than a GM with a cup under his belt already, they're all unknowns and almost all of them make at least one questionable move. Not every move works, in fact many don't for every GM over their careers.
- kingcong39

Bogosian looked pretty good last year, awful at the beginning of this year, and pretty solid. Maybe the lower body issue lingered and he's healthy now. I don't love the money he's making but I don't mind the player

Agreed . THat's all we can hope for
- cabin

And if Ennis & Gorgensons don't rebound to previous form, we'll still be able to sell them off for cents on the dollar
Or just accept them as average 3rd liners for us

Either way,
No real risk involved there

Why do you think they fall?
- Der Kaiser

Not sure if any of these guys specifically will, but draft history shows that somebody usually does start slipping by pick 4. I'm sure one of the teams that pick ahead of us will have somebody else like du Boise higher up on their board. Plus with Chychrun and Joulevi, given the known teams that will be picking in front of us, are there definitely two teams that need to go defense? Edmonton is one, but if their picking #2 overall they're not going defense. So who else goes with a defense pick?

That's all fair
But idk if it really matters for us

If we sign him and he's healthy, then great
If the problem re-occurs, & he can't play again, then we put him on IR & he basically retires unofficially until his contract runs out (like Pronger)
But bc he's not 35,
His Cap hit won't count against us

So all it would really cost is actually dollars
- jdfitz77

Good point. I still don't know that I like the idea overall. I guess I have an issue with him wanting Toews money when he has nowhere near the hardware Toews does.

Bogosian looked pretty good last year, awful at the beginning of this year, and pretty solid. Maybe the lower body issue lingered and he's healthy now. I don't love the money he's making but I don't mind the player
- mattmoulson

He had a very severe groin tear. They finally spilled the beans on it, but it was fairly recent. Missing all of camp and then the first month and a half of the season takes a toll on a player. His timing was way off. He seemed like he was always one step behind. Once he got into a rhythm, he's been much better. But for awhile there, he was pretty much downright brutal. Glad to see he was able to rebound though.