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So in the past week Yzerman has acquired two guys (Nedeljkovic and Suter) that received Calder votes this past season for a 3rd round pick. Granted, both are older rookies (25 years old), but still quality adds giving up next to nothing...

So, anecdotally... ~60% of the Chicago fan takes I've seen = "WTF. No. Dude can play. Good center. We should've kept him." His shooting percentage (12.5) may (not) be sustainable. He wasn't great on faceoffs this past season (42.6%). His possession stats aren't particularly good. But, all things considered, this is a low-risk, high-reward signing. I like it.

Which means Detroit drafts 4th.

A Pettersson offer sheet is the kind of move you make when you've solidified the rest of your roster and that is the last piece. That's when you can afford to lose those 1st round draft picks. Not before, while in the middle of a rebuild.

It's a dying discussion form, and now we're only allowed to talk about things that are likely to happen? Tough crowd. It's something to chat about. During the offseason. On a dying forum. If you don't like the conversation, change the thread.

"Sabres have zero goalies" Taking the tank to another level.

I imagine Veleno coming up as third line center at first, with a veteran who knows the center position on one of his wings to help his development. Could be part of why we re-signed Gagner. Or Namestnikov could be that guy. Plenty of mentor options for him. Loving our mixture of young guys and not too old vets right now. Rosters in a very solid spot for the upswing of a rebuild imo.

Wouldn't mind another top ten pick, obviously. But I think the defense upgrades alone move us up into the 10-15 pick range. I hope we finish 10 and win the draft lottery finally cash in on all that bad lotto luck

Where did I say Yzerman was done? I'm simply stating if we added a high end center such as Pettersson, this team would see a drastic improvement, when combined with already made changes. Bert is the only guy I can picture being traded this season. MAYBE Fabbri, but I'd imagine that would be more of a deadline deal. It's simply too soon to shop Vrana unless Yzerman gets an offer he can't refuse. Maybe see how he does with this team in a full season before trading him, yeah? Losing Bert wouldn't move the needle nearly as much as adding Pettersson would. Trading Bert would also likely bring a young, NHL ready player back. Similar to the Mantha trade. And once again, I already stated I do not think nor expect an offer sheet to happen. It's a discussion of a 'what if' scenario. I know what Yzerman said and I know he will follow through with that. Buffalo and Arizona are in the running for a top 3 pick by design. Yzerman knows he has to build via the draft. But he also knows he doesn't need top 3 picks to do it.

Offersheets don't happen. Again, we are more likely to win the draft lottery than sign a player like Pettersson to an offersheet. Draft lottery odds (10-20%) are low, but offersheet odds (0%) are much lower... I completely disagree. This team is not out of the basement yet. I'm actually shocked that you, of all people, think we are. Prepare for another bottom 5-10 finish again this season. I'll give until game 30 before we all start talking about next year's draft and draft lottery...

You did me a confuse

And that is exactly what it is. A dream.

A trade or two, acquiring futures (which I fully expect) could have a major impact on our overall standing this season though... But yeah, finishing 22nd and moving up the max number of spots to get Shane Wright is the dream scenario.

I agree that this has been a great offseason so far. Some quality upgrades while continuing to get younger. Our goaltending has improved (or at least on par and younger). Our defense has improved drastically. Leddy and Seider alone should provide some much needed offense and stability on the back end. Oesterle is just added depth, another Merrill / Nemeth. Our offense still needs a lot of work, and I think there's a good chance we lose a couple players up front in trades at some point this season. I still think it's in the team's best interest to wait another season before we really start to turn things around. Yzerman knows this, and I think at least one, potentially all three of Vrana, Bertuzzi, Fabbri will be traded at some point this season. We have a lot of really nice pieces coming, but we're still an elite player or two away from ending this rebuild. I fully expect another bottom 5-10 finish this season, which to me isn't the worst thing.

I completely agree. I want Veleno up with the Wings, and I think there's a strong chance he will be. However, if there's no room in the top 9, he absolutely should be playing top line minutes in Grand Rapids. Which might not be the worst thing, especially if he plays on a line with Raymond and / or Berggren. He played center in his short 5 game stint at the end of last season. I don't see any reason to believe he wouldn't do the same going forward.

He doesnt belong on the 4th line. Very little playing time there. Poor development strategy for a guy who is supposed to be a middle 6 forward. If he isnt going to play in the top 9, then its better to keep him in GR in the top 6 until there's a spot on the roster for him where he belongs. He will likely play left wing when he is brought up anyway.

We need more than just Pettersson.

Whatever happened to all these people?

I hope they put Nielsen on the red eye to Grand Rapids.

Oh ok. I must have missed that. Pretty dumb on their part

@blueadams We need some line combos!

There's your 2nd line!

Twenty years ago in the summer of 2001, we were signing Hasek, Robitaille, and Hull. In 2021, Nick Leddy is our BIG move. I think I'm going to cry.

Wow. Big moves lmao

While I am not so sure Zadina is a bust, I think Yzerman should trade him while he is still projected to be good. He may get better...but...he may get worse. I have nothing against him, though I will always wish we has drafted a D instead.