00:00Day two of Hellebuck Watch, we're on here.
00:02I don't know.
00:02I don't have a crawl on the YouTube channel yet.
00:05But I think a big part of the reason, and you and I went over the history,
00:11like going back to June, late June and early July with the Sabres
00:16and what may have happened or what we think happened.
00:20I think a key element to the excitement level, I think, that there is,
00:26the appetite I think there is from Sabres fans to entertain this idea
00:30is, well, A, we knew Hellebuck wanted out, but now he's gone public with it,
00:34and B, how many other teams at this juncture, at this point,
00:39a couple of weeks away from training camp opening,
00:43are in a position to make a move on a big goalie trade, right?
00:47I mean, Carolina was rumored to be in on it when the Sabres were,
00:51and I think we talked about that back in June, and it never really made sense.
00:54Right, right.
00:55They had Busse, who basically was great, just like Ellis,
00:59was taking off waivers to start the year.
01:01He was the best goalie by far and earned a contract.
01:04He was lights out during the season, and then when they needed him
01:08in the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he wins them the Stanley Cup.
01:12And Kochkov is no, you know, he's the other one, and he's fine too.
01:20So I don't know what Carolina would be doing sniffing around that.
01:24You mentioned New Jersey when you talked to me.
01:26Allen, Dawes, and Riddich, yeah, they could use them.
01:30Right.
01:31Edmonton, Jari, Anderson, Levi, yeah, they could use them.
01:36Colorado, Blackwood, Wedgwood, they surprised me last year.
01:39I thought they had really good years.
01:41I don't understand what John Tortorella was doing.
01:44I know Hart got them to the Stanley Cup finals, but he really slid in the finals.
01:50He's got Hill sitting on the bench, who's played 213 NHL games.
01:54And won the cup.
01:55Won the cup.
01:56And there's a 2.68904 career numbers.
02:01How Aiden Hill did not wind up in the net when Hart was floundering in the finals,
02:05I think that was a huge mistake by Tortorella.
02:08So at least they got one guy.
02:10I'm not a Hart believer.
02:11I wasn't a believer before all this stuff went on with the junior team
02:15and why he's in Philadelphia.
02:17He did pick it up and did well in Vegas for a while,
02:20but when they really needed him, he wasn't there.
02:24But they do have Hill.
02:25And I don't know if they can fit him in.
02:28You know, they'd have to do some fancy equations.
02:31Sure.
02:32I mentioned Vegas mostly because, Paul, like they've gotten to the level of like
02:37they're like the Eagles when there's an NFL player, a star player.
02:40Oh, they'll find a way.
02:42The Rams and the Eagles.
02:43They're going to find a way to do it.
02:44I feel like Vegas has earned that reputation, you know,
02:48so they'd have to move stuff around.
02:49Colorado, one of those two, it's Blackwood, has like $5.25 million is his contract.
02:56And, like, if they could move him in the trade and do some other things,
03:02you know, I could see them finding a way to fit it in.
03:05It depends on how.
03:06You know what other things they're doing right now?
03:07Well, they've got to sign McCarr.
03:08McCarr, the highest-paid player in the NHL.
03:10Right, but he's under contract for $9 million for this year.
03:13So that cap hit won't change.
03:15If you're going to get Hellebuck, you're going to get him for more than one year.
03:18Well, sure, that's right.
03:20But, I mean, they can do it for a year and then figure it out is what I'm saying mostly.
03:25So, and it depends on how much they feel like the goaltending let them down.
03:29They did, when they finally got eliminated, they did go back and forth a couple times
03:34where Wedgwood came in and finished the game, then started a game, and then Blackwood went back in.
03:41You know what I'm talking about with Hart here.
03:43Right, they're a little bit like the Sabres where, you know, their sort of unheralded tandem,
03:49the Sabres had three, got them through the year, and it was, you know, maybe even a strength of the
03:54team.
03:54The team was so good that they didn't need much better, but maybe they feel like in the end, you
03:59know,
03:59if we could fit that in.
04:01I'm just trying to find, you know, if Hellebuck's going to get traded, how much competition is there?
04:06Because how much competition there is should, you know, affect what the cost is.
04:11You know, I mean, if Winnipeg's got four good offers, you know, then.
04:14Yeah, that's been picked up to Anderson, so I would say not them, although I think they could use them.
04:18I'm not a believer in any of them.
04:20No, me either, but I think they made their moves.
04:22New Jersey, of all of them, need to, by far, the most, I think.
04:27Yeah, and now, they didn't have the kind of year the Sabres had, obviously, but Jack Hughes is there.
04:32Like, that's a team that I think you could, I don't think you'd have to twist Hellebuck's arm too hard
04:38to say,
04:38like, they're going to be a contender, especially if they were to add him.
04:41So, that might be the main competition in the whole thing.
04:45But they neither have the young goalie piece.
04:47I don't think Nico Dawes really qualifies.
04:50He's a very modest contract there.
04:52Rich has had okay years.
04:55Allen, you know.
04:56But they're both in their mid-30s, yeah.
04:58Yeah, Allen's the best of the three.
05:00And when, and Allen's, Allen, I say, is a little bit above average goaltender, in my opinion.
05:08Yeah, I agree with that, yeah.
05:10But, yeah, he's 36, I think, and Rittich is 34.
05:14Dawes is the kid in the mix, but I don't think there's a lot there to me.
05:18So, yeah, it might really be New Jersey and Buffalo are the two.
05:23Paul, can I ask you, too, only because I know that this has been kind of the commentary
05:27for the last 48 hours since this came out.
05:29How much negotiating power do you think Winnipeg has lost waiting as long as they have
05:36to trade Hellebuck and noting that it could just be a thing of musical chairs,
05:41that there's just not enough teams that can drive up the value at this point?
05:45Like, do you think that based on, let's just talk about what was talked about at the draft, right?
05:49I know they wanted four and they didn't want to, you know, take the move up from eight to four
05:54and then also keep eight.
05:55Like, they wanted both, and it didn't end up happening.
05:58Do you think that they've lost a significant amount of value by waiting this out as long as they have?
06:04Yeah, and that's why Hellebuck did it, I think.
06:06It's just like, all right, I'm going to press their hand.
06:08I've given them all this time.
06:09They're asking too much.
06:11Other teams will not bite on it because of it.
06:13I've waived my no trade, and, you know, people think the Sabres would have made the deal
06:20had Winnipeg not been willing to swap four and eight, you know,
06:26and the rest of the thing seemed okay.
06:30Jack Quinn, from what I understand, was involved.
06:33I think either Ausland or one of the young defensemen could have been involved.
06:42Heleneus could have been involved.
06:48If Hellebuck becomes available, I might be willing to give up one of those guys, not two,
06:54as far as the youngsters.
06:56I don't know how, for me personally, I don't know how interested I'd be in getting rid of any of
07:02them.
07:03To me, he's an $8.5 million chance that could definitely work out.
07:08He could become Hellebuck again.
07:09It's only been one bad year.
07:11He could all of a sudden become a playoff goaltender, just like Bobrovsky did.
07:15That could happen.
07:16It's happened before.
07:19But I just think it's an $8.5 million gamble.
07:22I don't think goaltending is their problem.
07:25I think, I mean, there are three goaltenders.
07:27We're third in the league in save percentage.
07:30Lukanen just reiterated in an interview that he did in Munich, Germany, that he loves Buffalo, would like to stay,
07:38understands that he and the team still need to get better.
07:41He didn't feel they reached their potential last year, and he thinks there's more to give from his standpoint.
07:48And so he seems pretty motivated at age 27.
07:53And, you know, that's about the time Allmark really took off, too, was 26, 27 years old.
07:59So, and don't forget, Lukanen last year had the best save percentage from January 8th on to almost the end
08:07of the season.
08:08Not quite.
08:09He did for most of it.
08:11So, he did, you know, show very, very well.
08:14Can he match it?
08:16Well, I'll say the same thing with that as I say with Hellebuck.
08:20Can Hellebuck get his game back?
08:22We don't know.
08:23I mean, we, but that's Jarmo Kekalainen's job to know and to be able to figure that out and do
08:32what he feels best.
08:33But I would be trying to replace Tuck more than I would be trying to slip in a goaltender at
08:38$8.5 million that I'm not sure,
08:40is going to regain what he used to be.
08:44All right, Paul.
08:44Thanks a lot for this.
08:45And I'm sure we'll catch up at some point next week.
08:48Enjoy the weekend.
08:49Take care, guys.
08:50All right.
08:50There's Paul Hamilton on the Western Hotline.
08:52His appearance is on WGR brought to you by Ralex Honda.
08:55Ralex, we got this.
08:57By the way, I totally agree with Paul's last statement there.
09:01I'd be, I am of the mind.
09:02I would rather be looking for Tuck's replacement than a 34-year-old goaltender.
09:07Let's pick up right there after the break.
09:09That's it.
09:09That's what we call a tease, everybody.
09:13Nate Geary in for Mike on the Bulldog.
09:15This is, where are we?
09:18WGR.
09:18Yeah.
09:19WGR.
09:19WGR.
