The Instigator Podcast

The offseason is officially in full swing as two big stories dropped this week in the NHL. We break down the trade that sent Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers and the decision by the Minnesota Wild to buy out the contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Our main topic for the week is discussing Buffalo's expansion outlook and the players they're likely to leave exposed as Seattle prepares for the expansion draft next week.

We're back on the heels of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, breaking down what helped power the Tampa Bay Lightning to their second-straight title and what went wrong for the Montreal Canadiens. We discuss what's next for the Habs as whether or not they can capitalize on their unexpected run. We also touch on the Lightning's cap overage and whether or not the outrage over it is deserved.

The Cup Final is rolling and we offer up our views on the series between Tampa Bay and Montreal. We discuss the matchup issues Montreal may encounter, how Carey Price can be the x-factor and offer up our prediction for how the series will go. We also discuss the NHL's officiating issues and touch briefly on the Sabres coaching search.

Sabres great Rene Robert passed away on Tuesday and we discuss how his loss will leave such a huge hole in the organization and with the Sabres alumni group. We also touch briefly on JJ Peterka and some of the signs for cautious optimism with regard to Buffalo's pipeline and upcoming draft capital.

Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News joined this week's show to discuss the laundry list of topics happening in the Sabres orbit. We talk about the mounting rumors regarding Jack Eichel's future and what sort of return Sabres fans should expect (or hope) to see the team fetch for their captain. We also discuss the top of the draft and the expectation that the Sabres just might be picking twice in the top 10 come July and the prospects they'll have to choose from should that come to fruition.

The Sabres retained the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft after winning the draft lottery last week. We discuss last week's lottery and some of the top prospects in this year's draft including Owen Power, Matthew Beniers, William Eklund and others. We also hit on the second round of the NHL playoffs and some of the top storylines of what's been a solid year of postseason series for the NHL.

This is a little outside the norm for the podcast but knowing what this summer is bound to hold, it seemed wise to discuss potential landing spots and packages in a potential Jack Eichel trade. We also discuss Wayne Gretzky joining the TNT NHL broadcast and some of the current playoff results.

 

Tyler's Deals

DET: Joe Veleno, Evgeny Svechnikov, Danny DeKeyser, 2021 1st, 2 2021 2nds, 2022 2nd


ANA: Sam Steel, Alex Volkov, Rickard Rakell, 2021 1st, Benoit-Oliver Groulx, Max Comtois

NYR: Kappo Kaako, K'Andre Miller, Alexandar Georgiev, Ryan Strome, 2021 1st

Chris:

LA: Alex Turcotte, Akil Thomas, 2021 1st, Jonathan Quick

STL: Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, 2021 1st

CGY: Matthew Tkachuk, Connor Zary, 2021 2nd

With the Sabres fully in offseason mode, we felt it was time to go deep on Don Granato and the Sabres coaching search. We determine whether Granato is the right choice to be the Sabres next head coach or if another hire is the better option. Along the way we laugh about reports of the Sabres other interviews and even offer up a playoff preview.

The Sabres kicked off locker clean out interviews with bang as Rasmus Ristolainen, Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel each made huge statements with regard to the 2020-21 season and their respective future in Buffalo. We discuss Eichel's availability and his transparency regarding his desire to get surgery on his neck so that he'd be ready for next season. We talk about his comments and just how damning they are along with the comments made by Ristolainen and Reinhart.

Ryan Miller announced that he will be retiring at the end of the season and we discussed his impact on and off the ice during his time in Buffalo. It was a great conversation remembering just what he meant as a goalie and as a person during his career with the Sabres.

We also touch on the Tom Wilson incident and the reaction surrounding it.