Sabres first piece of business this summer...get Risto signed to long term deal!

[DetDannyWilliams]

David Legwand emerged from one of the hallways in the Sabres’ dressing room and shouted to Rasmus Ristolainen.
“Risto!” Legwand said Sunday. “I can’t believe you signed, eh? Congrats.”
Ristolainen, caught off-guard by the sudden attention, stopped in midsentence to reply.
“Fifteen years,” he said with a smile.

Considering 15-year contracts are outlawed in the NHL, it was clear Ristolainen was playfully lying to his teammate. But the truth is Ristolainen does have a long-term deal in his future, maybe even for the maximum of eight years.
“We’ll see,” the defenseman said with yet another grin.
As Buffalo began its offseason Sunday, the organization’s top priority differed from previous years. The Sabres aren’t in line to draft a potential superstar. Though a talent upgrade is necessary, they aren’t in the market for wholesale changes.
What the Sabres have to do is keep their No. 1 defenseman.

The question for the Sabres is how much is Ristolainen’s improvement worth. Fellow 21-year-old Finn Olli Maatta signed a six-year extension in February worth just more than $4 million per season. Other comparables are much higher:
• Calgary’s Dougie Hamilton signed a six-year deal worth $5.75 million per season at age 22.
• Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson signed for six years at $5.5 million at 22.
• Buffalo gave 22-year-old Tyler Myers a seven-year extension worth $5.5 million per season.

http://sabres.buffalonews.com/2016/0...s-bottom-line/

[Skooby]

Fingers crossed he signs soon, love this man and think he'll be a cornerstone of our future championships !!

[GreedoII]

as well as dump Molsen and trade Ennis

[casdhf]

If he signs an offer sheet with another team, we would most likely get four first round picks, right? I like Risto, but that is a steep price. I don't think anyone will sign him to an offer sheet.

[gebobs]

Do you think they'll be able to ink Chad Treinta y Uno? He's UFA.

[mightysimi]

If he signs an offer sheet with another team, we would most likely get four first round picks, right? I like Risto, but that is a steep price. I don't think anyone will sign him to an offer sheet.

$5,478,986-to-$7,305,316

First, second and third-round picks

This is probably the bracket that he would fit into. First column is AAV. I don't imagine he goes over 7. He should be looking hard at the Reilly deal. That is still a lot of compensation. However, a team with a bit of cap room but very few roster spots might take a gamble. Unlikely though I think.

[JATMtheJATM]

$5,478,986-to-$7,305,316

First, second and third-round picks

This is probably the bracket that he would fit into. First column is AAV. I don't imagine he goes over 7. He should be looking hard at the Reilly deal. That is still a lot of compensation. However, a team with a bit of cap room but very few roster spots might take a gamble. Unlikely though I think.

And do we really want picks at this point? Risto is young, and a stud. Why lose that and fall behind the curve again

[mightysimi]

And do we really want picks at this point? Risto is young, and a stud. Why lose that and fall behind the curve again

You guys will match anything. There is no way anyone pays him 8-10M per.

[JATMtheJATM]

You guys will match anything. There is no way anyone pays him 8-10M per.

I would guess risto gets 4 years at 18.

[mightysimi]

I would guess risto gets 4 years at 18.

That's pretty fair. I wonder if the team will want to add a few years at the cheaper salary. If he continues to develop, 4.5 will be a bargain in year 3 and 4.

[JATMtheJATM]

That's pretty fair. I wonder if the team will want to add a few years at the cheaper salary. If he continues to develop, 4.5 will be a bargain in year 3 and 4.

I think they'll do a bridge deal to keep him in buffalo if they can.

[DetDannyWilliams]

could Ristolainen miss some of the regular season? Tim Murray says no timetable on getting deal done as long as the talks are ongoing...

The Buffalo Sabres are in the middle of their preseason run as they get ready for the 2016-17 regular season which starts on October 13 against the Montreal Canadiens at the KeyBank Center. However, Buffalo still remains without defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen on the blue line, as he has yet to sign a new contract with the Sabres.

On Thursday, the 21-year old defenseman reported to training camp and skated with his teammates at the KeyBank Center at practice, but until a new deal is signed he cannot play in any game action. While the Sabres are less than two weeks away from opening the season, Sabres general manager Tim Murray has no deadline set to get a deal for Ristolainen done.

"As long as the talks are ongoing, something good could happen," Murray said on WGR on Friday with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog. "If the talks ever break down and one side gets pissed off or doesn't think their being treated fairly or negotiations aren't going in the right direction that you have to worry, we're certainly not at that place yet nor do I expect to be. We've been talking for a long time, and they have an argument and we have an argument.I don't have a timeline, but really in fairness, there hasn't been a deadline yet. There are looming deadlines now, so we'll see where that takes us."
"He's a hard-working, diligent young person on and off the ice, and he wants to skate," Murray said. "This is the easiest place on his behalf to skate, he lives two minutes away. I don't feel it disrupts what we're trying to do here, and our coaches certainly don't feel that way. If indeed we were lucky enough to get a deal done in the short-term, he's here and he hasn't missed anything."
"I don't believe from their end that by him showing up we'd get pressure from the press or anything like that. I don't think that was their intention, and certainly it's not our intention to get him in here and start to lament that he doesn't have a contract. I'm sure there are slight downsides from both sides, but I don't see them. I think it was the right decision."

http://www.wgr550.com/Murray-No-dead...tions/22893944

[coastal]

Relative Corsi negotiation...

[Yasgur's Farm]

could Ristolainen miss some of the regular season? Tim Murray says no timetable on getting deal done as long as the talks are ongoing...

The Buffalo Sabres are in the middle of their preseason run as they get ready for the 2016-17 regular season which starts on October 13 against the Montreal Canadiens at the KeyBank Center. However, Buffalo still remains without defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen on the blue line, as he has yet to sign a new contract with the Sabres.

On Thursday, the 21-year old defenseman reported to training camp and skated with his teammates at the KeyBank Center at practice, but until a new deal is signed he cannot play in any game action. While the Sabres are less than two weeks away from opening the season, Sabres general manager Tim Murray has no deadline set to get a deal for Ristolainen done.

"As long as the talks are ongoing, something good could happen," Murray said on WGR on Friday with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog. "If the talks ever break down and one side gets pissed off or doesn't think their being treated fairly or negotiations aren't going in the right direction that you have to worry, we're certainly not at that place yet nor do I expect to be. We've been talking for a long time, and they have an argument and we have an argument.I don't have a timeline, but really in fairness, there hasn't been a deadline yet. There are looming deadlines now, so we'll see where that takes us."
"He's a hard-working, diligent young person on and off the ice, and he wants to skate," Murray said. "This is the easiest place on his behalf to skate, he lives two minutes away. I don't feel it disrupts what we're trying to do here, and our coaches certainly don't feel that way. If indeed we were lucky enough to get a deal done in the short-term, he's here and he hasn't missed anything."
"I don't believe from their end that by him showing up we'd get pressure from the press or anything like that. I don't think that was their intention, and certainly it's not our intention to get him in here and start to lament that he doesn't have a contract. I'm sure there are slight downsides from both sides, but I don't see them. I think it was the right decision."

http://www.wgr550.com/Murray-No-dead...tions/22893944

I like the way GMTM speaks... Say what you want, he strings words together that can easily be understood.