Proposal: Utah and Buffalo
- Thread starter Beerz
- Start date
Djp
Registered User
I love both Crouse and Samuelsson and both are undervalued by a lot of folks because they do things that don’t always show up on the scoresheet. For once, somebody is offering a core piece back for Crouse, who is absolutely a core piece for Utah.
The question would be would Utah be willing to give up not only the size and rugged two-way play that Crouse provides on a team that desperately needs with so many smaller, finesse guys in their top nine…but also his leadership and voice for a franchise in flux? The same reason Crouse would fit so well in Buffalo is the same reason he is valued so highly in Utah.
Sammy is awesome and a difference maker when healthy and signed to a great deal. There’s absolutely value there. And I’d question even more if this is robbing Peter to pay Paul for a Sabres team not exactly loaded with defensive blueline presences like Samuelsson. But also…Utah can maybe get a guy like Lindgren, who while not nearly as “core” moving forward, could provide a lot of what Samuelsson does without having to sacrifice what Crouse brings to the franchise.
The question would be would Utah be willing to give up not only the size and rugged two-way play that Crouse provides on a team that desperately needs with so many smaller, finesse guys in their top nine…but also his leadership and voice for a franchise in flux? The same reason Crouse would fit so well in Buffalo is the same reason he is valued so highly in Utah.
Sammy is awesome and a difference maker when healthy and signed to a great deal. There’s absolutely value there. And I’d question even more if this is robbing Peter to pay Paul for a Sabres team not exactly loaded with defensive blueline presences like Samuelsson. But also…Utah can maybe get a guy like Lindgren, who while not nearly as “core” moving forward, could provide a lot of what Samuelsson does without having to sacrifice what Crouse brings to the franchise.
There has got to be other options than trading Crouse (you can say the same thing about Samuelsson).
A little light but you might have the bones of a deal coming together there.
Matt Ress
Don't sleep on me
Ledge And Dairy
Registered User
Sure but they can probably throw a few 2nds at Ottawa for Chabot or write a close to blank check to land Skjei. They aren't moving Crouse
Kulich is worth significantly less than Samuelsson. If you wanted Kulich and picks for Crouse and the Sabres got to keep Samuelsson they’d probably drive Kulich to the airport for you. That works beautifully for the Sabres. I’m not sure why Utah would prioritize a fairly boom or bust finesse winger prospect with a considerable amount of rounding out of his game left to do, but ok.
I love Crouse and I explained I don’t think the Utah franchise does this but this thread is showing once again that Samuelsson is incredibly underrated. “Grab bag of pieces”? SMH.
Fjordy
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- Jun 20, 2018
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Given Kulich's production, I'm not sure he's worth less than Samuelsson. Unfortunately, Samuelsson needs to learn how to stay healthy, and Kulich and Savoie are our two best prospects and to me they're equal.
I’m not a Sabres fan so I’m not going to push against that too hard, you guys know your situation better than anybody. But after that unsustainably hot start, Kulich’s production absolutely tanked the second half of the year and playoffs. Valid reasons perhaps with injury and being tested at center but I don’t think he’s a sure fire bet to be a top drawer NHL player despite nice production/age combo at the AHL level. To me…guys like Ostlund with his insane hockey sense or Wahlberg who brings a powerful build and style could end up being just as good in projection as Savoie and Kulich look now. All good prospects…the Sabres are loaded.
Then again it goes back to roster construction both now and in the future as well. I get the Samuelsson injury concerns but he still does far and away something better when healthy that doesn’t really exist on the roster right now. The prospect/young NHL pool is swimming in wingers or guys who may be listed as centers but may very well be wingers at the highest level.
I get that Kulich is a shiny toy and at the very least represents another excellent pick and prospect in the pool. But if I’m the Sabres, it’s time to adding meaningful pieces that add extra dimensions to this roster so I’m not pearl clutching Kulich or any of these prospects when it comes to adding size, defense/two-way play and leadership.
Beerz
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- Jun 28, 2011
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Sure. They could do both of those deals and still need NHL defensemen. They have like 2 NHL dmen on their roster.
Fjordy
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- Jun 20, 2018
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Well, Kulich is not a center, and this experiment failed. We did something similar with Quinn in the AHL before. I agree that Ostlund and Wahlberg can also be great players in the future and are also valuable to us, I especially like Wahlberg, we need players like that.
I wouldn't mind trading Samuelsson or Kulich or any of our prospects in the right deal.
Ledge And Dairy
Registered User
...
Durzi, Kesselring, Moser, and Valimaki are all NHL defensemen. Don't be that ignorant
Valimaki along with Durzi and Moser have most experience and Kesselring just finished his 1st season. So yes they have 4 NHL ready defensemen they need to resign.
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Valimaki? I mean he's an NHL defenseman for the post deadline Flames or Coyotes. He's not for most teams.
Beerz
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You seem triggered for some reason. It's a proposal don't take it so hard. I've already acknowledged it's unlikely Utah moves him .. just like dozens of other proposals on this site we still discuss them.
rt
Clean Hits on Substack
That’s better than 95% of Crouse proposals I’ve bet seen. Well done!
I do t think Utah is moving Crouse. They’ll likely look
To fill holes on the blueline without moving core pieces. But your offer is tempting. Nice job’
PatLaFontaineASMR
Registered User
Matt Ress
Don't sleep on me
Dead Coyote
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- Oct 10, 2017
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I think Utah would take that deal and run. Hayton is somewhere between a 3rd and 4th line player, often injured, mediocre offensively, and easily replaceable around the league. Only because of his potential and draft pedigree is he even still in the organization. And uh, that isn't looking so great.
I think this deal is probably better than most we've seen but I don't think Samuelsson has potential to be a #1 or #2D. I think he projects as a #4D who is potentially shunted to the bottom pairing if there's a better D available. I also don't think Komarov is an amazing piece, he clearly has potential but he probably has to fix some stuff too and his skating may not make him any more than a bottom pairing defenseman. There's a decent chance he's better than that of course, but I wouldn't say it's likely.
All that to say while I think it would be great for Utah to get both Sammy and Jokiharju, and I think they would be the ideal bottom pair on almost any team in the league, I don't see Sammy edging out Moser or Durzi (who are both pretty much ideal 2nd pairing d-men) on Utah's left side, and what Utah really need is a top pairing (or at least closer to it than Moser and Durzi are right now) d-man or two and ideally at the very least a RHD to push Durzi down. Simashev also projects as very similar to Samuelsson and is also a LHD so if Utah isn't going to stop the rebuild short, I doubt they have any interest in this.
Especially because Crouse is just kind of untouchable in general. We've always heard lots of rumours of teams coveting him but there hasn't been a single hint from staff at any point that they're exploring trading him.
Would Buffalo be interested in one of our centers (Hayton, possibly Kerfoot, Schmaltz, Bjugstad) and a combination of picks for Sammy + Jokiharju? I think that would be more the deal GMBA would be interested in making.
Beerz
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- Jun 28, 2011
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Yeah Sammy isn't going to be a #1 or #2 .. not enough offense/skill for that ..
I really have no interest in trading Samuelsson for any of those pieces..and I doubt management does either. But Crouse is a unicorn in a sense.
Joker could probably be had for sure.
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