Mike Harrington: Day one of the draft just part of a big day ahead for the NHL
I bet we're going to remember this draft as a huge selection of forwards reminiscent of 2015. There are no Connor McDavids or Jack Eichels in this group, but there are several guys who are going to play in the NHL for a long time.
Get ready for a Frantic Friday in the hockey world.
Too bad we’re not all together in Los Angeles for the draft and its related events, but my sense is the NHL will right that silly wrong next year and make sure their general managers will think about the good of the league and not their cellphone reception on the draft floor.
The Sabres already have traded JJ Peterka (more on that one shortly), and it is a fascinating watch to see what they do about Bowen Byram. Just like it will be to see who else may move around the league.
Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram controls the puck against the Ducks on Feb. 25 at KeyBank Center. Joed Viera, Buffalo News
My big questions for Friday and the next week or two: What does Dallas do with Jason Robertson? Does Pittsburgh find a new home for Bryan Rust or Erik Karlsson? Are center Elias Pettersson and goalie Thatcher Demko staying or going in Vancouver? Has right-handed defenseman Noah Dobson priced himself out of Long Island? Are there new bluelines to patrol for K’Andre Miller of the Rangers or Rasmus Andersson of Calgary? Will Anaheim finally trade goalie John Gibson?
There are always trades on the first day of the draft and this will be no different. I think back to 2015 in Florida, when all the focus was on the Sabres picking Jack Eichel and we got a call to meet then-GM Tim Murray at the club’s beachfront hotel in Fort Lauderdale because he had just traded a first-round pick for Robin Lehner.
So that interview completed and that story done, we could return the focus to Eichel, right? Nope. A few hours later and a scant 10 minutes before Murray made his iconic selection that was supposed to transform the Sabres’ franchise, he pulled off the big trade with Colorado on the draft floor to get Ryan O’Reilly for Nikita Zadorov and forwards Mikhail Grigorenko and J.T. Compher.
Once upon a time, the Sabres actually did get the best player in a trade.
Thursday was the 10-year anniversary of the night when the Edmonton Oilers picked Connor McDavid No. 1 overall, the Sabres took Eichel at No. 2, the Toronto Maple Leafs took Mitch Marner at No. 4 and the Colorado Avalanche took Mikko Rantanen at No. 10.
And those were just the highlights of a draft that has produced eight 200-goal scorers and 10 players over 400 career points.
Eichel and Rantanen have won Stanley Cups, McDavid has come ultra-close the last two years and Marner seems on the verge of signing the biggest contract in free agency in league history. Even though the No. 1 choice in this draft is going to be defenseman Matthew Schaefer of Erie to the New York Islanders, I bet we’re going to remember it as a huge selection of forwards reminiscent of 2015.
There are no McDavids or Eichels in this group, but there are several guys who are going to play in the NHL for a long time.
After Schaefer, the likely scenario has Saginaw center Michael Misa and Swedish center Anton Frondell going 2-3 to San Jose and Chicago, respectively. Then it’s going to be anybody’s guess.
Centers Caleb Desnoyers (Moncton), Roger McQueen (Brandon), James Hagens (Boston College), Jake O’Brien (Brantford) and Brady Martin (Sault Ste. Marie) have their backers and detractors, who actually come off more as nitpickers. They should all be longtime NHL regulars.
For the Sabres at No. 9, I’d love to see Brampton right winger Porter Martone drop to their spot. But I doubt it’s going to happen after he did a nice job playing with Sidney Crosby for Team Canada at the World Championships.
Rugged defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson of Barrie or 6-foot-5 Seattle blueliner Radim Mrtka would be fine choices for Buffalo at No. 9 if there’s no NHL trade to be had. And remember that history shows GMs are loathe to trade top-10 picks.
Draft day may dawn CBA extension
The big news of the day could actually come before anyone ever gets into the Peacock Theater for the draft. Multiple reports Thursday have the league and the NHL Players Association set to announce a four-year extension to their collective bargaining agreement.Among reported changes planned are an 84-game regular season that would mercifully slash the dreadful preseason down to just four games; new rules about the cap and the use of Long Term Injured Reserve as it applies to playoff rosters; cutting player contract limits for eight years to seven for re-signings and seven years to six for free agents; and retention of draft rights for all players until age 22.
Labor peace through the 2029-30 season is huge for the league. Of course, Sabres fans have no peace these days and their team gave them more ulcers with their post-midnight trade of Peterka on Thursday morning.
Defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan are two players that definitely will help Buffalo, and the 6-5 Kesselring immediately becomes the leader in the clubhouse to become Owen Power’s partner next season.
Kesselring − who scored his first NHL goal for Arizona in KeyBank Center on Dec. 11, 2023 − was a teammate of Tage Thompson’s on Team USA’s gold medal team at last month’s World Championships in Sweden. And you can find a funny video of him toasting Peterka to feed Nick Schmaltz for a goal in Utah’s win here in December.
The Sabres have to do more to replace Peterka up front, now that you’re talking a tad over $24 million in cap space. They have got some restricted free agents to sign, notably Ryan McLeod, and Adams will have to keep working this roster.
According to longtime Minnesota beat writer Michael Russo of the Athletic, the Wild offered center Marco Rossi to the Sabres in a potential Peterka deal and were turned down.
That news is sure to inflame the Sabres’ fan base, large segments of whom have had an odd infatuation with Rossi since he was drafted in 2020 at No. 9 overall, one spot after the Sabres took Ottawa 67s teammate Jack Quinn.
News flash: The Sabres don’t need a 5-9 center wanting a $7 million deal − who just got banished to the fourth line during the playoffs. They needed a right-shot defenseman and the Wild weren’t offering Brock Faber.
Let’s see what’s next. If you’re a Sabres fan, that’s all you can do.
