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Tuch is such a perfect, Cinderella slipper microcosm of this failed build excellent player, great contract: no desire to win during this time Age 30 and older player, ~ double the cost: it’s go time, boys

The last team the Hurricanes beat in an ECF Game was the Sabres

You either extend Tuch this summer or you trade him with a year remaining so you can get a real return on him with a lineup player and picks. You just need to be ready to make him the highest paid forward on the roster (even if only by a little so he's breaking 8). If you aren't willing to do that, trade him to Vegas for a D-man, watch him replace Stone and rule the dark golden side of the galaxy as father and son.... Jackikin Eichwalker and Tuch Icewalker on the same line. I put the emphasis on Tuch being lost as part of the hypothesized Bennett/Marchand/Cuylle additions. If you lose Tuch, then the Marchand addition is basically moot because Marchand is a rental who will provide diminishing games/offense and retire within 3 years. The window and reason to add Marchand is because you then have Cuylle-TNT-Marchand and Benson-Bennett-Tuch for two seasons to go wreck some teams.

No Dobson is going to fill the role of making Power not a liability... or you trade Power and Dobson anchors the 2nd line with an unamed lw

I'm not fully on the Dobson train. Don't get me wrong: I like the player and think he would help the Sabres, it's just that he's basically going to demand $2M more than Byram to fill the role Byram just filled. And, like Byram, that role is not the perfect fit for his skillset.

Hang on while I put on my Sheevyn Hood. This hood bestows me with unlimited Power and a couple key assumptions: I suck at my job. I will be employed at my job forever until the owner changes. The seeming contradictions of the above statements means I'm basically a failson and can behave as one. My entire career is tied to the timelines of Power and Levi, neither of whom I've given the slightest assistance at the start of a season. On defense, I trade Byram because I need the money for my parents, and I sign Ekblad in UFA to 7x$9M or 6x$10M. Basically, an open checkbook for whatever it takes. This is a terrible contract (see 1) and will not age well, but it is my desperation move that maybe Ekblad can show Power and Muel the ropes before his body crumbles, which is something I don't need to worry about (2). The PED is a warning flag, the lack of games played in recent years is another, but hey... I tried. Trades are hard.

(Reposting from the other thread because it fits here) I'm fine with Ras and JBD in 1D/6D I think Samuelsson and Clifton need to be upgraded in the 4/5 slots. Replacing Samuelsson with someone who actually manages to play well in the role we gave to Samuelsson should be the team's 2nd-highest priority. Clifton should be replaced with someone safer and tougher. I'd keep Byram with Dahlin on the 1st-pair if it was up to me, but I think that ship has sailed. If traded, Byram must be replaced by a legitimate top 4 guy, preferably one who can eat hard minutes. I'm OK with Johnson and Novikov getting a shot to beat out Bryson for 7D and being the first call-ups next year. I wish someone other than Bryson was 7D, but Kevyn obviously disagrees The highest priority on the blueline is figuring out what went wrong with Owen Power last year and fixing it. Moves I'd be interested in: Byram for Andersson Picks/prospects for Schnieder and a cap dump (or Hague, or Whitecloud or...) Sign Gavrikov Samuelsson and picks/prospects for Pulock Clifton and picks/prospects for a cap casualty (meaning a better player on a bigger contract) Other options worth looking into: Sign someone like Fabbro, Ceci, Lindgren, Perbix, Forbert, or Ruuta from the UFA pile Trade Jack Quinn for physical RD of similar age and stature

I'm fine with Ras and JBD in 1D/6D I think Samuelsson and Clifton need to be upgraded in the 4/5 slots. Replacing Samuelsson with someone who actually manages to play well in the role we gave to Samuelsson should be the team's 2nd-highest priority. Clifton should be replaced with someone safer and tougher. I'd keep Byram with Dahlin on the 1st-pair if it was up to me, but I think that ship has sailed. If traded, Byram must be replaced by a legitimate top 4 guy, preferably one who can eat hard minutes. I'm OK with Johnson and Novikov getting a shot to beat out Bryson for 7D and being the first call-ups next year. I wish someone other than Bryson was 7D, but Kevyn obviously disagrees The highest priority on the blueline is figuring out what went wrong with Owen Power last year and fixing it. Moves I'd be interested in: Byram for Andersson Picks/prospects for Schnieder and a cap dump Sign Gavrikov Samuelsson and picks/prospects for Pulock Clifton and picks/prospects for a cap casualty (meaning a better player on a bigger contract) Other options worth looking into: Sign someone like Fabbro, Ceci, Lindgren, Perbix, Forbert, or Ruuta from the UFA pile Trade Jack Quinn for physical RD of similar age and stature

Levi's play has me slightly concerned because my idea would of been to move UPL to Philly with Muel for something and then get Demko for Quinn. Then sign another solid backup that Levi could hop if Demko got hurt yet again or fell flat on his face. Now doubt has crept in a bit and I don't want to leave us after next season with a potential goalie room of Demko doing really bad or good then leaving, Levi being a major question mark and no one else. As for defenders, its too much of a crapshoot as to what truly we can do to sure up the back end. We all have a similar idea of getting a defensive specialist but those aren't easy to come by nor pay for.

Leave the talk of forwards elsewhere. Who would you target on defense? I've mentioned Dobson often but there are others. Trade, ufa, rfa, doesn't matter. This is where we focus in on fixing a bad defensive unit. I like Dobson and Whitecloud to help fix the right side. I've hypothesized that a new islanders gm might be willing to mix things up and Buffalo has Byram or Power to send the other way. Our 9th overall pick also has value. Whitecloud, I'm unsure of availability but Vegas will make changes after an early exit and I wonder if you could snag someone like him for cheap if they want a little more cap room. Perbix is another thought out there. Either way as I've maintained for awhile now, Samuelsson, Clifton, and 1 of Power or Byram has to go.

That author is right. Signing him to a 7 year, 7.6 million dollar contract at 30 years old is not a good idea.

I've argued we need 3 new defenders. I think it's far harder for most to gauge defenders since you can't just use points. For goaltending, I'd move on from UPL but don't have a solution in mind.

Sometimes I wonder what Pegula’s fellow owners think. On one hand, they must be okay with one less team to worry about in terms of Stanley Cup competition. On the other hand, there is a revenue partner that apparently is okay with such an embarrassing status quo. Maybe they assume that relocation is coming soon? It just makes no sense.

Without more testosterone the team will continue to flounder.

Here we are 21 pages into this thread and the board continues to primarily focus on "fixing" the forwards. Other than a few passing references to Demko, I've almost no ideas on how to elevate our goaltending which has sucked since Ullmark left town. It is ironic that Ottawa found a way to get Ullmark; Ottawa a franchise nearly as moribund as the Sabres, and immediately made the playoffs. There has also been precious little on fixing the inept defense besides the reality that Byram is being traded as some point this summer. I have seen discussions on getting Schneider (a 23 year old solid all around D with size) and he'd be a coup for the Sabres. Also some chatter on trying to acquire Dobson. However, not to much else. I admit I'm over simplifying. Considering that the poor defense and goaltending are the primary reasons we missed the playoffs, I'm a little surprised a how overweighed on the forwards. I also admit that there are significantly more options in the forward universe, but it seems we are looking in the wrong place to fix this mess. One goalie I can see Adams signing is Anton Forsberg. He has spent the last 4 plus years in Ottawa, in a UFA, and in 142 games for the Sens he has a .905 save % and a 2.99 gaa. Considering how poor Ottawa's D was most of the those seasons those are very good numbers. He'd certainly compete for the starting job with UPL and Levi and at worst would be a huge upgrade as a backup over Reimer. I would love to see a run at Demko.

Also every line needs a leader who tells the other two what to do on faceoffs or on the bench. Who would be the leader of that line? JJ is not the type, Kulich is too young and no one should be listening to Quinn.

Vladislav Gavrikov, isn't this dude the type of players we need? Defensive defenseman

I agree that the NHL is not a parity league and NMC clauses have something to do with it. I would also add that because players are drafted at age 18 there is a much greater risk that the pick you make in the front of the draft will not turn out to be a very good player. You also have to wait 3 to 5 years to find out what they are. Another issue is that high end players can last a long time in the NHL. Most very good players can remain effective in their 30's. It takes awhile for father time to catch up to these teams for the next group to cycle though and take over. I wanted to discuss Washington. Things went well in the regular season for them but once again they flamed out in the playoffs. They seem to exist in this place of high mediocrity. It was mentioned on the radio the other day that only once since Ovi has been on the team that they have made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs. Of course they Won the cup 2018 but that was the only time they made it to the conference finals. Had they not gotten over that hump in 2018 what would have happened to Ovi? I would guess a free agency walk to another contender. It's interesting to look back at that when Toronto parts ways with Marner. Washington had a lot of things go well this year. The had one of the best second lines in hockey with the McMichael and Protas who came through for them in the draft. Dylan Strom finally is living up to his high draft pick status after the Blackhawks let him go for nothing and Chychrun is healthy enough to show what he can do. I just wonder if Washington goes back to being a Pumpkin. Ovi can still shoot but he is getting very slow. Will the goaltending hold up like it did last year. A lot of players had a career years but I think they would have to regress. On the plus side they have been good at managing the cap space so they won't lose anyone. I think they are too good regress out of the playoffs but I would not be surprised to see them fall back in the standings.

Fixed it.

Rain will stop this weekend so that is nice.

The Buffalo Sabres are indeed bringing the exact same coaching staff back. This isn't my opinion.

Billionaires don't live in reality. They exist in a world of everyone rushing to please them, and their voice always being heard. It makes it very hard to identify weaknesses or have the self efficacy to address them. It's easier to be like "nah, I'm right" and since doing that has 0 consequences to them personally, it self fulfills.

It won't work. None of the 3 are good defensively and none of the 3 have a good checking element. That line is a 1 dimensional rush offense line that will get figured out. They'll score on quick breakouts or d zone screw ups but they'll never be able to run a cycle, dump and chase, or sustain zone time between their play styles and their youth.

Read the parts about Wheeler breaking down the skills of a player, especially skating. You might understand why Zach Benson is not a "bad" skater or why he is in fact good. That part is near the bottom of a really long piece that touches on how scouting works. "but I prefer a player who can move, change directions and turn feet attacking on tight angles than one who can explode down the boards with a longer stride. In today’s game, I believe changing tempo is now more important than top speed" - Wheeler

It's when people stop talking about you that you have to be concerned. Sadly, people are still talking about this trash heap, so they don't have to care yet. I'm at the point now where I'm only checking in here every few days. Nothing changes with the team so there's little for people to talk about except the same things over and over again. I won't be bothered to even give a damn about this team any more.