Buffalo Sabres
Similar to Kyle Dubas, Jason Botterill, the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres has had quite a busy off-season.
The Sabres won the NHL Entry Draft Lottery early on and chose to draft the Swedish defensive phenom, Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick in the draft. The left handed defenseman had an outstanding season with Frolunda HC of the SHL and should be in the opening day lineup for Buffalo.
On July 1st, Botterill didn’t hit the snooze button. He was active. The Sabres signed a pair of net-minders. Carter Hutton and Scott Wedgewood inked deals with the Sabres and became the next goaltender duo in Buffalo.
In addition, the Sabres acquired Conor Sheary and Matt Hunwick in a trade with Pittsburgh. Sheary is a solid left winger and could potentially be paired with Jack Eichel come opening day. On the other hand, Hunwick provides the Sabres with a solid depth defenseman.
Botterill wasn’t done making trades. He then decided to trade Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues for Tage Thompson, Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick.
One of the biggest issues for the Sabres was offensive depth and Botterill acquired two NHL proven forwards and one intriguing offensive prospect. With Sheary, Berglund, Thompson and Sobotka joining Casey Mittelstadt, Eichel and Alex Nylander, the Sabres have significantly improved.
My grade for the Sabres is a B+.
Montreal Canadiens
Let’s jump to the Montreal Canadiens.
Unfortunately for Habs fans, it hasn’t been a great off-season. The Canadiens selected Finnish national, Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the third overall pick in the draft. My prediction is that Kotkaniemi will need some more time playing junior hockey, before he’s ready to make the jump to the NHL. In addition, the Habs shouldn’t be desperate to bring him over too quickly. The Habs aren’t going to make the playoffs next year and they aren’t going to wow you. Instead, the Habs can afford to have their top prospect develop in his native Finland.
Montreal’s Trades
Aside from Kotkaniemi, the Habs made a trade with the Arizona Coyotes. Marc Bergevin, the general manager of the Habs dealt Alex Galchenyuk to the Coyotes for Max Domi. It’s not as ridiculous as the highly debated Jonathan Drouin/Mikhali Sergachev trade, but I’m not sure why Bergevin made the trade. Galchenyuk is leagues better than Domi, but perhaps there were some issues in the locker room that we aren’t aware of. At the end of the day, Galchenyuk is a bit more consistent than Domi. In 82 games last year, Galchenyuk had 19 goals and 32 assists. The only negative for him is that his shooting percentage was awful last year. Perhaps, a change in scenery will be a good one for him.
The Habs also brought Joel Armia to town via a trade with with the Winnipeg Jets. Armia could be a solid mentor for his fellow countryman, Kotkaniemi when he joins the club.
At the end of the day, the Habs still have yet to move Max Pacioretty, but if I had to give them a grade for their efforts so far it’d be a C. Unfortunately for Habs fans, they still don’t have a number one centre and have failed to address their defensive concerns from last year.