In my last GM for a Day, I proposed a trade
to send ROR to the Blue Jackets. I was rightly criticized for the return I
thought ROR was worth, as I only got one NHL player back in Sonny Milano, and he
hadn't even played a whole season. So I'm offering an alternative version:To
CBJ: C Ryan O' Reilly, C/LW Zemgus GirgensonsTo BUF: LW Boone Jenner, LW Sonny
Milano, RHD Andrew Peeke
Brett Murray
Flag, RW Maxime Fortier, 2020 2ndThis trade is split into two parts: ROR for
Jenner
https://www.buffalofanstoreonline.com/Tobias_Rieder_T_shirt-45,
Milano
Rasmus
Asplund T-Shirt, Peeke and the 2nd, and Girgensons for Fortier.Jenner gives
the Sabres a power forward on the left wing, and while he's certainly not the
fastest skater, he's good at most everything else. His numbers in the last
couple seasons have been mediocre as he's been forced to play with Brandon
Dubinsky, who's fallen off a cliff. But he improved drastically at the end of
the regular season when paired with a healthy Alex Wennberg
https://www.buffalofanstoreonline.com/Zemgus_Girgensons_Flag-238.
He was also a tank during the playoffs, even when Wennberg was hurt. While
there's obviously no guarantee he'll reach 30 goals again, he should hit 20-25
playing with Eich or (ideally for me) Mitts. Milano scored at a 21-goal pace
last season (14 in 55) and has a ton of speed and skill
https://www.buffalofanstoreonline.com/Brett_Murray_T_shirt-254.
He just needs to develop his defensive game. Andrew Peeke plays a very similar
style to Will Borgen, though I'd say he's a slightly better skater and has a bit
more offensive upside
https://www.buffalofanstoreonline.com/William_Borgen_Face_Mask-234.
I see him playing with Dahlin or Guhle in 2020. Fortier is an explosive winger,
both in terms of his skating and scoring ability, scoring 30+ goals in each of
the last 3 QMJHL seasons. While he is a bit undersized at 5'10", that's becoming
less relevant in the modern NHL. With Bailey and Fasching gone and Olofsson
possibly moving to LW, the RW cabinet needs to be restocked. Fortier does that
while offering more offensive upside than any wing in the prospect pool except
maybe Cliff Pu.With these changes and the other trades in my post, here's what
my prospective lines would look like (I didn't include the defense/goaltending
since my changes don't affect
them)RochesterNylander-Malone-DOROlofsson-Asplund-BlackwellFortier-Criscuolo-PuOglevie-Porter-CornelBuffaloBoedker-Eich-ReinoBoone-Mitts-ERodMilano-Nash-OkposoSmith-Gibbons-BapperPollWould
you take this deal?39%Yes (27 votes)61%No (43 votes)70 votes total