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He said in the pre-draft press conference that there were also several RHD in the system already. So looks like that is covered. Bringing in these defenceman makes its seem obvious he is trading Bo

Who?

Are the twin towers of softness Tage and Power?

We can go ahead and sign up all the right-handed defenseman we want. Won't matter a lick! We do not have a goaltender on the roster, especially UPL who can steal games like most modern good goaltenders can! Therefore the defense can never play the way they need to, because they know one wrong move is in the back of the net every time! Until we get serious, about the goaltender position... We're going to see groundhog's day over and over again! This organization used to be one of the premier organizations in the league with goaltending! Wake up and get rid of UPL! He is the problem... And you won't go, to where you want to go, with him!

Timmons will be fine as the 6, the Utah guy is the one I think who ends up with power

Ok, it’s 5am, I am on day 9 of a 13 day 12 hr shift run, I can drone on about what we all here are witnessing. 😂 The beefing up of the defense most certainly instantly improves this team on the ice. Many of the goals scored against us, the collapses in the 3rd periods in our own zone was due to very poor d play and very poor netminding in some cases. Yes, I haven’t forgotten about the goaltending nightmare here in Buffalo. But defense was way to soft, way to passive in our own zone, that had been corrected to an extent, and judging by our draft, looks to have been what Kyven witnessed as well. i have 0 feat of losing Peterka’s offense, this team has been top half of the league in scoring for a few years now. Defensively they’ve been literal purse swingers. I like the big bodies brought in, the violent mindset of the future d and the I believe it will be more than noticed from opening night through the entirety of the season. playoffs? Ya, I see them as a real possibility now. Address the goaltending and let’s roll!!!

Calling Norris a 1C doesn’t make him one. We still have the twin towers of softness but hopefully Kesselring and Timmons can offset that. Quinn is 3W material until he’s not. We are missing a legitimate 1C, 1LW, reliable starting goalie, partner for Dahlin. Are the Sabres better? No. They are just as bad with an expected uptick in physicality. If we are hinging our hopes on Norris as 1C, Benson in the top six, Levi in the NHL, and Muel with Dahlin then we shouldn’t be surprised by the late season storm of “this team sucks” threads.

As of today; NO That said, they are moving in a direction I agree with, in terms of restructuring the roster build out with diverse skill sets. BUT - goalie is an issue still. Plus our top 6 needs another playmaker. Not ready to give Benson top 6 minutes....he's still developing. If they don't solve the two issues above...this is still a low 80s point team at best. Also....reshape the f'ing coaching staff. What are we doing here???

If we dress a lineup where Bensin is in the first line the season is over before it begins.

Typical Sabres pick

why??

No you’re forgetting josh doan - unless we trade for someone benson is on the 1st line and Doan on the 3rd either way Doan us in that lineup somewhere likely 3rd line - they didn’t trade for him to sit him

So the draft is over. Is this the best configuration of our lineup right now barring more moves? TBD Norris TNT Zucker Kulich Tuch Quinn McLeod Benson Malenstyn Krebs Greenway Dahlin Byram Power Kesserling JBD Timmons UPL Levi

Right now with 18 players signed, the Sabres have nearly $21M to spend. Signing Byram (7) McLeod (5) Timmins (1.5) JBD (1.5) and Levi (1.5) would leave them about $4M shy of the cap Last year Sportrac reports they finished about $8M the cap. A perceived upgrade may have been a factor in flipping Clifton for Timmins, but the trade was pretty clearly designed with clearing $2M off the cap in mind; the price clearly demonstrates that. If that money is not used to facilitate further improvements, they’re clearly operated to internal number. You can get a Timmins-level player for less than a 2nd-rounder without approaching the real cap.

The question is how do they go about solving the goalie issue. IMHO UPL is not good enough. Levi is poised to spend a season at least as a backup if not a close 50/50 split. I'd rather they trade Byram for a vet goalie and trade UPL + Mule for picks if that's possible. I have mixed thoughts on Byram, though. I get why some posters would rather keep him because of his offensive upside. I just don't recall him clearing the front of the net or being much of a force at all, although that's better than being noted as NOT being a force at all like Power, mainly, or Mule. But, depending on the system, he may not need to be that guy if he's paired with Dahlin.

Maybe, but then they don't get Byram or younger on the blue line.

Utica is a foodie town. I stop there every time I travel to/from Buffalo.

Are the extra games late season meaningless ones? Cause if they are we might win them. If they start earlier probably 2 more losses.

Oh good god he's nowhere near playing in 26/27. Sabres might do it, but they shouldn't. A normal team would hope for him in 4. Sabres probably 3, but any sooner would be another rushing the D mistake.

Non typical would be big guys who maybe aren't high enough because they have skill shortcomings or speed shortcomings. Guys you develop for the AHL team support system or if they are good enough they become the guys who can chuck 'em to quote Lindy. We go for the too small to be high picks with speed and skill we think might turn them into................I guess Victor Olafsson. I'm going to the extreme ends here but that's the general idea. You can make arguments for either but we don't generally do both. We go the one way only and that's what makes it "typical". imo you also weight your draft back end towards D and goal because goalies take the longest and often bloom late and D take longer to develop than forwards.

I hope TP lifts it finally and I'd love to land Boeser. If not, I'm hoping a Byram trade brings back a very good winger.

It is, and this was not a good draft, so the goalies were a good gamble.

Some folks, like Edvinsson, stayed in Europe. And the 2020 COVID season disrupted Seider and Dobson at least a bit. I think Mrtka makes his debut in 2026-27 and is up full-time by the 3rd and final year of his ELC. It will likely be dictated by need, based on extensions (if any) to Kesselring, Timmins, and JBD. He'll be given every opportunity to leapfrog and Strbak and Kleber.

The question is, are we better today. I think the answer is yes. If we trade Byram, projections are it would be for a scoring winger. Unless we do something crazy, either we keep him or his trade will bring something nice back. That's why the trade for him and Mitts was so lopsided in our favor.

And both of the extra games were played at neutral sites. They also did it in '93-'94. The reason given for the neutral sites was to determine fan interest for potential expansion sites. (And they eventually chose Atlanta, Columbus, Nashville, and St. Paul witht the next phase of leaguewide expansion.)