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00:00the line you're drawing very well yes well we'll get to Krebs and whatever else but it's been a
00:04couple of weeks since you and I have spoken and I'm building on the premise again still
00:09that the Sabres kind of want Connor Hellebuck here we are July 13th and there is whether this
00:18is from AI or not I don't think it entirely is more speculation about it and I just feel Paul
00:24that the Sabres might be trying to wait the Jets out that the goalie wants to be moved and the
00:29Jets are trying to do the best they can and it's a poker game between the two teams if not
00:34other
00:34teams as well how do you see it well there's no question in my mind that Jarmo Kekalainen is not
00:42going to pay the price that needs to be paid right now to do it if he wanted to do
00:46it today
00:47if that stays the price I don't feel it'll be done and then you have other things that fall into
00:54it
00:54is Winnipeg on Lukanen's new no trade which kicked in on July 1st we don't know you would think he
01:01would be part of the trade if uh you know they they got Hellebuck um Norris also was in that
01:08situation he had one kick in on July 1st also so um yeah I I I'm very confident in saying
01:16the price
01:17of Hellebuck today will not be paid by the Buffalo Sabres and he has gone on his out of his
01:24way twice
01:24now for whatever his reasons might be saying that pretty good chance they're going with three goalies
01:32they went with last year he was happy with them um you know really if you look at uh you
01:39know save
01:40percentage the Buffalo Sabres I believe they were third in the league if I'm not mistaken second or third
01:44I believe it was third in the league and save percentage as as a group with the three of them
01:49that's not too bad you know uh and they went on a heater from December 9th on basically till the
01:58end
01:58of the season where Lukanen's save percentage on top of the league for a lot of that time
02:03so it's not and and you look at the two goalies Lukanen was better than Hellebuck last year
02:09but then you got to say to yourself was this just a one-year thing for Hellebuck
02:13did he just have a bad year you know and and it's a one-off and he'll be back to
02:18being Hellebuck
02:19again next year who knows none of us know that none of us can predict that but you I think
02:24you're
02:24taking an awfully big chance getting a goaltender that had a bad year last year who in the last
02:30three years of the playoffs is let me see if I can remember this 8 and 15 I believe somewhere
02:36in there
02:36I think if I might be a game or two off but right there and goals against almost four and
02:43a save percentage
02:44I believe under 870 in the playoffs so and and one of those years you you won the president's trophy
02:52yeah again now there are examples of guys who did not perform in the playoffs and then all of a
02:59sudden
02:59did and won Stanley Cups one just left the Florida Panthers and is now the Toronto Maple Leafs
03:03goaltender he never had any success in the playoffs and then he did these are all questions none of us
03:10know Jarmo Kekalainen doesn't know you know if he can all of a sudden become a playoff goaltender
03:16if last year was just an outlier and he'll be back to being his old self again next year or
03:22is he
03:22slipping but an eight and a half million dollar bet on your salary cap to me is an awfully large
03:27price
03:28to pay to find out well put if you were Kekalainen would you just bail and be like hey sorry
03:35guys
03:35this isn't gonna work would you go that far I'm being honest with you I wouldn't have been in on
03:40it
03:40to start so yes I I really don't think goaltending was the Sabres major problem at at times I suppose
03:46it was but even in the playoffs I know both Lucan and the lion got pulled and they both played
03:51very
03:52very well through a lot of the playoffs too um I will disagree with I just disagree with it that
03:59that last goal was Lucan's fault it dipped on him and and the shooter said so the puck went up
04:04on end
04:05that made it a flutter puck and the puck dipped you can see it dip under his glove I do
04:09not blame him
04:10at all for that glove Paul you were a hockey player doesn't it make you want to ask yourself
04:14shouldn't all shooters wait until the puck turns on end before shooting it would be that better
04:20I know it no it is better it does work because the puck will do goofy things for you no
04:25question
04:26about that um it definitely will do goofy things for you uh when that happens now you can't really
04:33get it to happen it kind of has to happen naturally for you uh for the puck to stand up
04:37on end like
04:38that um but uh yeah it's called a flutter puck and uh it's a very difficult play for a goaltender
04:46and you can see his glove was right where the puck was going to go and then it wasn't as
04:52the puck
04:52dipped so yeah do I blame him for the goal that's scored from the red line yes and I've seen
04:57Dominic
04:58Hoschuk get scored on from the red line not trying to tell you Lucan and it's Dominic Hoschuk in any
05:02way shape or form but I've seen the best there are get scored on from the red line it happens
05:07it's the
05:07only time I've ever seen him get scored on from the red line it just happened and you move on
05:12I think Lucanen as I said earlier is a really pivotal piece of this if there is a negotiation
05:19between the teams because the Sabres can't really trade for Connor Hellebuck without moving Lucanen
05:24like they just won't need him anymore and they need cap room if they were to do this would he
05:30be a
05:30player as wild and wacky as goaltending performance is in the league we've learned that lesson is he
05:38somebody that if you're Winnipeg you could sell like this is the Sabres and Hasek a little bit
05:43there are other examples where you're you're trading your franchise piece because you just don't think
05:48you can really make it work anymore team results player needs is Lucanen somebody that if you're
05:54Winnipeg you could sell well it is Skinner they're your goaltenders they already have one they would
06:00get then get the other and Skinner's tough yeah he's a tough time and there's times he's really good
06:06and there are times he's really not you know and right now with two extra guys on the roster I
06:12have the Sabres that are a little over 4.2 million dollars in salary cap which means they would have
06:17to double that if they were going to make this trade yep Lucanen would open up 4.7 so that
06:23would
06:23have 8.9 just Lucanen taking off would open up enough room to do it if you did nothing else
06:32um so and again is Winnipeg on Lucanen's no trade he he doesn't have that many clubs and it's on
06:37his
06:37no trade but uh and it just kicked in on July 1st and if Kekalainen really really wanted to do
06:45this
06:45deal and Lucanen was going to be part of it he knows if Winnipeg is on that list or not
06:51and he knows
06:53that as of July 1st it will make it you're going to have to get his permission if you want
06:57to make the
06:57trade so you know it it seems like from a Sabres standpoint it's kind of dead um but I think
07:04maybe
07:05part of that reason is because the price has not come down and in order for it to be rekindled
07:11the
07:11price is going to have to come down Paul Hamilton on the Western Hotline well one other possible
07:18leverage piece in this negotiation again if there is one is adding to the Sabres really I mean to say
07:27put it mildly depth at forward is the settlement with Peyton Krebs today four years at four and a
07:34half million dollars that's a pretty healthy number do the Sabres have can you ever have one too many
07:40anythings like are they at a point at forward where if they want to deal with Winnipeg that would have
07:46to be where they turn and might they think that whether it's goaltending or even defense probably not
07:52defense they're pretty well loaded is it maybe optimal if they can pull off something they like
07:58to move a forward they have five full lines right now with 23 players you you're going to have the
08:04extra goalie the extra defenseman and probably one extra forward so you're looking at getting rid of two
08:10you can take the easy way out now you're going to have a fan revolt if you do
08:14but Auslan and Hellenews do not charge you waivers they can both go down and you until there's an
08:20injury or something like that then Kozak's your extra forward or Danforth and you're ready to go
08:26um that's not what I would do but they could do that without a problem and then they would be
08:32down to
08:32their 23 players um and what kind of injuries you're going to get a training camp I mean it would
08:38be
08:38shocking if the first game these same guys are all healthy that we're talking about right now
08:44um so you know what kind of injuries are going to happen in training camp uh are you going to
08:50get two
08:51injuries where you know you got two guys on the IR you know to start the year that's what you
08:55need
08:56is two guys on the IR now you know are they still looking at a Kane acquisition to help the
09:03power play
09:03that would be why you would do that a guy with two goals and 17 assists and 19 points on
09:09the power play
09:11um and then you just ask yourself in your would you rather have Quinn or would you rather have Kane
09:16in in your top nine so to speak easy call yeah it is for me it is for me Quinn
09:23um but uh Quinn did
09:26become a 20 goal scorer this past year and it seemed like as the season went on he was starting
09:32to find
09:32in the areas to get in to let that great shot that he has to get it off and get
09:38it into the net
09:40so um you know he has not helped the power play nothing has really helped the power play it was
09:45middle of the road for a lot of the year I think it wound up like 18th or 19th but
09:49when you look at it Lindy Ruff in his eight years he was away from the Sabres his power play
09:54was only
09:54good once you know so it's uh you know when we're talking with the Dallas Stars and with New Jersey
10:02I I can actually tell you um he was fourth in the league with Dallas once with New Jersey he
10:08was 13th
10:09twice and 28th twice the other three years in Dallas he was 12th 20th and 23rd this two years in
10:17Buffalo he's 24th and 20th so Lindy Ruff really has never put together since he left the first time
10:24and those numbers I I haven't looked up yet and plan on it but uh it's basically run a power
10:30play
10:30as a coach in the last 10 years it runs around 19 percent that's tough when you have the players
10:36they have I mean even Paterka two seasons ago right I mean just you have you have shooters you have
10:42playmakers um I want to think there's like anything with hockey or anything in life there's some
10:47randomness in it but be nice to be able to flip that um next year
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