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When you review the various combinations of lines and pairings being suggested what stands out is that they all make sense. Sameulsson is a good example of flexibility. The consensus seems to be that he will be a third pairing defenseman. But it is not out of the realm that he becomes the secondary partner in one of the top two pairs. Benson is another player you can envision on the top line or third line. Lindy is going to have a lot more flexibility when he assembles the lines and when he jumbles the lines.

Condensing everyone’s fears into 1 lineup: Quinn Norris Doan Benson McLeod Tage Zucker Krebs Tuch Malynspelling Danforth Greenway Dahlin Muel Power Byram Timmah! Kessel run Levi UPL Lyons lost to waivers

Grier had a secondary assist on that goal. The primary went to Ottawa’s zamboni driver who left that fu**ing puddle in the middle of one team’s zone.

No one is putting him in the top 6 yet either. Not sure I've seen 1 lineup that has RW Josh Doan in the top 6.

That's not true, no matter how much Adams has tried to use it as an excuse.

Welcome to the Sabres. That's all I got.

I’m confident that whatever role he has this season he will have earned.

Utah also has a lot of the same type of players like josh doan. JJP might thrive there just because he can focus on offense while his line mates can cover up his sloppy defense.

any legit vet top 6 forward will have a no trade clause with the Sabres on his list; Sabres could have 80 mil of cap space and it probably would not matter

No, that's not true. What I'm saying is Utah wasn't very good and he didn't play much so there's nothing to indicate he can be a top 6 forward yet. That's all. There's no evidence he is anything. He MIGHT be, but he might not. Penciling him in for a top 6 role at this point seems silly.

Well yes, you can look at it that way but my point would still be we do not develop them properly. Not "properly insulated" and not "supported" with the roster as they build it is the problem. It's the full system of how we do it. That's really my point so at some stage I feel we need to reset it and start doing it the right way. Being on a team that wins. Being on a team that has a playoff run (even if it's AHL, it's still part of the process of becoming a pro). All of that matters too and that's part of why I think it would help him rather than hinder him. Proper NHL roster with insulation and support would be ideal as well but we don't have it. Consider how we develop players however. Look at the differences in how the veterans we do bring in play from the way our home grown players play. That in and of itself is very telling.

Hoping if there's a cheap shot this year (and why wouldn't there be) he's one of many that will actually do ANYTHING.

I haven't been able to watch full games (don't know where to find them) but there's some decent highlight videos and he seems to be a solid front of the net presence and a hustler, always seems to be hustling his way to the net.

Aren’t you the same guy who is always complaining about the Sabres rushing their prospects? So when a team brings up a player in his first year and puts him in the top 6 it’s because they’re rushing him, and when they bring him up in his 2nd year and put him in the bottom 6 it’s because they don’t think he’s any good? Lets just call a spade a spade, if he’s a Sabre, you think they’re doing it wrong.

Quinn and Peterka dominated at the AHL level before they made the team and performed at an NHL level when they arrived. Kulich played 2 full seasons and went back again for the playoffs this year. Johnson and Rosen are still cooking. Novikov and Wahlberg are still cooking. Östlund and Helenius are still cooking. Power and Benson have been NHL players from day one no matter what way you try to spin them. Have Sabres properly insulated and supported them? No. Have they done a good job of building an NHL roster?Absolutely not. It’s not the fact these players were in the NHL too early that’s the issue, it’s the fact that there were too many of them at the same time with not enough veteran support.

Zuck Tage Tuch Benson McLeod Greenway Kulich Norris Doan Quinn Krebs Danforth Byram/Rasmus Power/Kesselring Mr.Glass/Timmins UPL/Lyon

Zach Benson doesn't need the AHL.

This team has developed players poorly for so long people here have forgotten how it's actually done. and then they wonder why the ship sails in circles with no leadership. If Benson got to lead a team to a Calder Cup while working on his strength and muscle he'd return a far better player than he will be as is but whatever. I'm not going to keep arguing the failure of Sabres development. The results speak for themselves.

His analytics would say otherwise; plus you can add 10 to 15 pts to his total if guys would just bang in pucks he gets to the front after he digs them out of the boards.

If they keep him on the 1st line he'll be somewhere around 40-50 points. One the third line, where he belongs, maybe 30-40 points. He's not a scorer, he's an undersized forechecking puck hound. He's good at it, that's his role. There is absolutely nothing tangible to suggest he'll ever be anything more than that.

Yep. (Particularly to the stuff about Benny.) Would really like to see Ruff come up with a lineup that doesn't have both Benson and Kulich on the top line. Barring another move (and one HAS to be coming, right? it just makes so darn much sense (yeah, yeah, wishful thinking)) expect they won't both be there on day 1, but expect they will be before October is out. They could be great there a couple of seasons from now, but right now, would rather have more experienced players with Thompson letting the kids not face the same quality of opponents that Thompson will always get on the road and usually get at home. (AKA, either the other team's top offensive line or their top defensive line depending upon the makeup and philosophy of the opponent that night.)

At this point, Benson is going to get better by being challenged by NHL-caliber defenders. He doesn’t need to work on defense at the AHL level. He doesn’t need to create chances for AHL-level finishers. Should he be LW1? Nope. But that’s the franchise’s fault, not his. Let Benson cook. Every team in the playoffs last season would’ve taken Benson on their playoff roster in a heartbeat. Minnesota would’ve put him on their 4th line because he’s short and they don’t like short kids getting schooled by Eichel and Hertl. But they should’ve offered the farm for Cozens and watched a taller kid get schooled by Eichel and Hertl.

Pegula will insist on a publicly-funded multisport/concert venue with state of the art luxury boxes to “stay competitive” as though he didn’t shave $50M in Sabres player expenses since COVID hit. Woe is us, we need a new vEEEnue!

I did read (here on ‘Space) that it has been reported that Dahlin and Muel also vouched for Wilford. He may be a good communicator and they’re comfortable with him. That’s fine. I want my players to enjoy coming to work. But I want my players to be challenged, reach their potential, and show progress. And have good Xs and Os in game. And that’s where I don’t care what contract Wilford has, I need a better person in charge of a 1OA, 1OA, and 4OA. That coach needs to be getting the most out of my most important investments. Especially if I’m trading away 2OA forwards and never putting any money in a proven goalie.