Speculation: The 2026-27 Roster Speculation Thread: Summer Edition - Throw in All The Oars, We're Trading for Battleships

[LiseL]

I’ve had this crazy theory since the GM flatly stated they were running back the same three guys that they might run back the same three guys.

For some reason…this hasn’t been a consensus opinion though. Which is weird.

I agree but if Levi isn't traded before training camp, possibility Jarmo changes his mind on who to keep if Levi plays lights out.

 

[LiseL]

Absolutely, which is why moving him doesnt make much sense to me. I'd assume Power + another valuable asset could get the Blues interested in moving Thomas. If that's the case- I'd rather keep Power and explore cheaper options that won't cost us core assets + to aquire.

On a separate note, any chance the Pens are interested in moving Rust? They have to start the rebuild one of these years, right? I wonder what the asking price would be? He could be a nice addition to the top-6 if Tuch leaves. 2 more years left on his contract @ around 5.5M iirc. He'd be 36 when that deal ends.

Wouldn't Debrusk be a player similar to Rust? I imagine he wants out of Vancouver.

 

[LiseL]

Could flip him and Norris for better balance when it comes to handedness.

With the top 4 set I like the idea of securing the middle of the lineup.

I wouldn't mind a big winger down the line but letting Tuch walk and trading for Knies seems like weird priorities. Kept Zucker and Greenway to ensure enough meatshields on the team.
I hate B Tkachuk but if Ottawa unintentionally tanks towards a multi year rebuild he could be an (unlikely) option.

I think the only carrot that could attract Brady is playing again with his bestie, Norris.

 

[Zman5778]

I've seen a couple of people argue we should actually consider trading Tage and his $7,142,857 AAV contract because...???

He's dumb and "not clutch", apparently.

He's a good player. Can he be the best forward on a Cup winner? No, I don't think so.
Can he be the 2nd best forward on a Cup winner? Yes, I think so.

 

[Jetskiis]

I think the only carrot that could attract Brady is playing again with his bestie, Norris.

Brady was extremely complimentary of Buffalo and the fans in the playoffs on his podcast, I imagine he would like playing in that playoff atmosphere as well.

 

[Club]

Brady was extremely complimentary of Buffalo and the fans in the playoffs on his podcast, I imagine he would like playing in that playoff atmosphere as well.

He's my dream off season acquisition.

Just imagine 3 skilled guys Benson Dahlin AND Tkachuk with a bit of a rat/pest/mean streak. I believe it would work wonders & honestly, I don't see him wanting to play in a Canadian market if moved potentially

I'm excited to watch the growth of Helenius. I haven't been this excited about a prospect since drafting Savoie

 

[Zman5778]

Brady was extremely complimentary of Buffalo and the fans in the playoffs on his podcast, I imagine he would like playing in that playoff atmosphere as well.

If I squint hard enough, I can maybe possibly see Brady waiving his NMC to come here for 2 years. Maybe. It's real fuzzy though.

I do not see any way that he re-signs here long-term.

 

[LiseL]

This goes back to an argument being made lately that I think started with Friedman about why Kesselring fell out of favor. It’s something that literally made zero sense but people keep using it as a talking point. Basically…that Kesselring couldn’t adapt to playing a third pair defensive role. …. That’s not how he was used. A majority of the season he was listed on the third pair with Metsa…but they didn’t really play together as a third pair. They rotated in with the top 4 to spread minutes and give different looks. Thats what he was doing. He was bad at it. But he wasn’t being tasked with these third pair shutdown minutes I have no idea where that idea came from. They didn’t try doing that until Stanley came…and after that Kesselring couldn’t get into the lineup aside from like four bad minutes against Boston. If those four minutes are what Friedman or whoever was talking about…I guess…but it seems to come from a fundamental misunderstanding of how this defense was deployed when Kesselring actually played. His minutes were with the top guys. And he sucked anyway. Not because he was asked to do be a shutdown D. Because he wasn’t good.

Some D need a consistent partner to play well (learn their tendencies, feed off each other). Maybe Kesselring is that type of player.

 

[Jetskiis]

If I squint hard enough, I can maybe possibly see Brady waiving his NMC to come here for 2 years. Maybe. It's real fuzzy though.

I do not see any way that he re-signs here long-term.

If he extended for 2 years, that would be to the end of Norris's term, and at that point, Norris would be 31, and Brady would be 30. That timing couldn't work out better for us tbh. I would not be interested in having either of them re-sign long term at that age anyway.

I forgot, Doan and Brady are close friends as well, they grew up together since their dad's were tight.

Brady signing a long term might not be crazy

 

[Der Jaeger]

This makes sense if it was mid season but he's been practicing and will have all off season to get in shape just like everyone else.

There’s a difference between working out and practicing, and NHL game speed. Conditioning assignments aren’t designed to get cardio up. It’s designed to get players who have been injured awhile back to game speed.

If they do a full season of rotating the two RD with the 4 LD throughout the game again.

Possibly.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Some D need a consistent partner to play well (learn their tendencies, feed off each other). Maybe Kesselring is that type of player.

Possibly. He was also hurt and coming back from injuries. Samuelsson sucked under the same conditions.

I’d rather give Kesselring a year to see what’s really true. He may suck but I’d rather be suck rather than selling low.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

There’s a difference between working out and practicing, and NHL game speed. Conditioning assignments aren’t designed to get cardio up. It’s designed to get players who have been injured awhile back to game speed.

Possibly.

If Kulich is ready for camp, preseason could essentially serve as his conditioning assignment instead of a formal assignment to Rochester.

 

[Der Jaeger]

If Kulich is ready for camp, preseason could essentially serve as his conditioning assignment instead of a formal assignment to Rochester.

It could. But it shouldn’t be somehow a crazy thought that Kulich starts in Rochester to get back to game speed.

 

[Djp]

In that same vein -- I see a lot of people writing off Danforth in one way or another. I think he's EXACTLY what Lindy wants on that 4th line. A 4th line of Beck-Carrick-Danforth would be MISERABLE to play against. And if Beck doesn't re-sign, I think it's very likely that Danforth occupies that roster spot. There are success stories (Kasper, Carlson, Terry, Lindholm) and failures (Kevan Miller) from coming back from a broken kneecap.....so I think that LT-IRing him isn't likely, and I think putting him in Rochester is even less likely.

The problem is they have 13F under contract next year and 2 are RFAs, and 2 more are UFAs. That means in a 13/7/3 line up 4 can’t be on the Sabres to start the season.

It seems
locks at F are - 7 - benson, tage, doan, Quinn, Norris, Carrick , McLeod
Waiver exempt are - 3 - Kulich, Ostlund, Helenius
Desire to resign - 2 - Malenstyn, Tuch
Uncertainty - 5 - Greenway, Zucker, Danforth, Krebs, kozak

You can send Kulich down, don’t sign Tuch, trade 2 to get rid of 4.

Digging around more in Debrusk stuff... not an ES producer in Vancouver, fans think he's been pretty sleepy and he's produced on a productive/functional PP. With five more years and trade protection, not sure he's a fix or not. Seems like he produced in the opportunity on the PP yet is that a matter of something he's going to do somewhere else?

Debrusk is a PP specialist. At that age/ contract, I’m not touching him.

If Kulich is ready for camp, preseason could essentially serve as his conditioning assignment instead of a formal assignment to Rochester.

Except preseason is not real game play

 

[Jim Bob]

I like that graphic to show exactly where the 3 picks they don't have gone.

 

[Jim Bob]

I am not betting against a guy who put up historic u-20 numbers in the AHL and was one of our better players when called up for the playoffs.

Demidov had 62 points this year and Sennecke had 60 points as the two Calder finalists that were forwards.

Helenius would probably have to put up 50+ points to be in the mix, and he might have to go over 60 points.

I think that is a lot to expect for Helenius in his rookie season. Plus, Ostlund and Helenius have both missed time since coming over to NA. I wonder if he misses 10-15 games and that means he doesn't have the counting stats to get there, as well.

 

[Jim Bob]

3 Reasons the Blue Jackets Need to Prioritize Trading Merzlikins - The Hockey Writers Columbus Blue Jackets Latest News, Analysis & More

The Columbus Blue Jackets have some decisions to make - and one of them should involve trading Elvis Merzlikins.

thehockeywriters.com

No, no, no, no, nope, no, please no.

 

[BuiltTagonTough]

3 Reasons the Blue Jackets Need to Prioritize Trading Merzlikins - The Hockey Writers Columbus Blue Jackets Latest News, Analysis & More

The Columbus Blue Jackets have some decisions to make - and one of them should involve trading Elvis Merzlikins.

thehockeywriters.com

No, no, no, no, nope, no, please no.

5 years ago maybe but he hasn't been over .900 since then, and some years was quite a bit below. Not exactly the "sweetener" the article seems to think he is for more than 5 million in cap hit.

 

[Jim Bob]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7352764/2026/06/16/nhl-free-agency-rankings-big-board-offseason/

Three Sabres made CJ's top 75 UFAs:

Tuch 1
Stanley 29
Malenstyn 46

 

[Jim Bob]

Three change-of-scenery NHL trade candidates

This NHL off-season could feature some fireworks — and three formerly highly touted players may be on the move. Adam Vingan breaks down a trio of change-of-scenery candidates.

www.sportsnet.ca

McTavish, Nemec, and Wright will get a lot of talk this offseason.

One crazy idea would be a Tuch 8 year sign and trade to Seattle with Wright coming back.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Three change-of-scenery NHL trade candidates

This NHL off-season could feature some fireworks — and three formerly highly touted players may be on the move. Adam Vingan breaks down a trio of change-of-scenery candidates.

www.sportsnet.ca

McTavish, Nemec, and Wright will get a lot of talk this offseason.

One crazy idea would be a Tuch 8 year sign and trade to Seattle with Wright coming back.

I like Wright and I think this would be a good trade if the Sabres know Tuch isn't going to sign for less than market value.

Wright isn't flashy and does a lot of the little things in a game well. He isn't slow but he'll slow the pace down and make it seem slow. His game is nuanced and his game is subtle. He's also has an underrated 200 foot game.

He got over-drafted based on hype and COVID played a huge part as he lost a whole year of hockey, but I think he's a buy low player who could develop into more.

Edit: Wright is getting 13-14 minutes TOI the last two seasons, though he does see PP time.

 

[Jetskiis]

Three change-of-scenery NHL trade candidates

This NHL off-season could feature some fireworks — and three formerly highly touted players may be on the move. Adam Vingan breaks down a trio of change-of-scenery candidates.

www.sportsnet.ca

McTavish, Nemec, and Wright will get a lot of talk this offseason.

One crazy idea would be a Tuch 8 year sign and trade to Seattle with Wright coming back.

I think there will be something around Tuch sign and trade + Kesselring for Wright. Just makes too much sense for both sides

 

[truthbluth]

I think there will be something around Tuch sign and trade + Kesselring for Wright. Just makes too much sense for both sides

I don’t agree that it makes sense for us. Not sure who Wright replaces in the lineup. He isn’t getting top six minutes on a way worse team in Seattle. I would rather have KH or NO taking those top 6 minutes, and that’s too much to give up for a bottom six guy with no wheels.

 

[Der Jaeger]

I don’t agree that it makes sense for us. Not sure who Wright replaces in the lineup. He isn’t getting top six minutes on a way worse team in Seattle. I would rather have KH or NO taking those top 6 minutes, and that’s too much to give up for a bottom six guy with no wheels.

I'd recommend take a look at some of the Seattle board posts. According to them, he's not getting top 6 minutes in Seattle because of the head coach. And he's not alone. The general consensus there is that Lambert is not a youth-friendly coach, and his style is the same as the Trotz style: boring and responsible.

Wright isn't a burner but he isn't slow. He also has potential as a 200 foot center. And Ruff doesn't really play a strict top 6 in terms of time on ice.

ATOI:
Thompson 19:15
Tuch 19:15
McLeod 17:37
Benson 15:53
Doan 15:52
Norris 15:50
Quinn 15:39
Zucker 15:37
Ostlund 13:58
Krebs 13:46

Thompson is on the power play and sometimes PK. Tuch was on both PP units and PKs. McLeod PKs. After that, it's a group around the same ice time. So I wouldn't worry about where a player like Wright would slot in.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

Three change-of-scenery NHL trade candidates

This NHL off-season could feature some fireworks — and three formerly highly touted players may be on the move. Adam Vingan breaks down a trio of change-of-scenery candidates.

www.sportsnet.ca

McTavish, Nemec, and Wright will get a lot of talk this offseason.

One crazy idea would be a Tuch 8 year sign and trade to Seattle with Wright coming back.

If Tuch is leaving, I definitely don't hate it. There are worse things than replacing an elite 200 foot forward with a budding 200 foot forward.