Buffalo gets a goalscorer who now has a chip on his shoulder (pun intended) and will be playing next to a star centre when they draft McDavid or Eichel. They give up Myers for Bogosian, which may be a downgrade if Myers recovers, but is likely a wash, they give up a prospect who would not sign anyway (Lemeiux) and a good prospect (Armia) and a 1st, likely in the 20-30 range. They shed some of Stafford's salary to end the year and they get a goalie prospect.
Sure, they give a lot, but in their situation of having a lot of assets and needing to add some major upside, this deal could end up being a win. For me, it comes down to:
Armia vs Kane - who is the better forward going ahead
Myers vs Bogosian - who sticks in a top 3/4 role and lives up to draft billing?
Then it is a matter of speculating what other trade value Buffalo could have gotten out of a rental in Stafford, a future holdout in Lemeiux, and the late first.
Kasdorf as a return may be what they get for a rental of Stafford - goalie prospect who has had 1 good year, then lost most of a year and now is a question mark.
That breaks the deal down to
Kane for Armia, Lemeiux and a 1st
Bogosian for Myers
Kasdorf for Stafford (2M retained)
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