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Dunne is not waiver exempt. But he's much more likely to clear waivers than Kozak -- you're 50/50 at best if you waive Kozak at this point. Look to move Luukkonen or waive him (no one will pick him up, no worries there. He could decide to not report, I suppose [but incredibly doubtful because $$$$], and then you save your money that way.) Among the forwards: in order: waive Geertsen (auto-clears), Rosén (exempt), Östlund (exempt), then Dunne as the final piece.

Yeah, even with the apparent return of a few guys on the horizon, they have the ability to waive Geertsen 1st. Personally, believe they could (they won't, but they could) risk waiving Bryson when all D are healthy as they have some guys in Ra-cha-cha that could get called up and fill his role. Pretty sure they also could waive Dunne for a little bit longer without him having to go through waivers again, though they're getting close to that limit if they haven't already passed it. Personally don't want to see either Swede nor Kozak sent down when they get healthy but expect either Östlund or Kozak to be towards the front of the list of moves that do get made. There are moves they can make before simply waiving UPL. But if it weren't Adams making the move, would be more insistant on them making a move sooner than later. But don't really have much faith in Kevyn getting that right; but he does have Kekalainen helping him now (and Staal too 😉 ) so maybe he won't F it up.

There are definitely more potential line combos with all these C/W players. IMO, a healthy Norris moves TNT to wing at the end of a game they trail and in OT. When you need to win a draw Tage is not your guy. Faceoffs are not the be all end all but you need the ability to win important ones. They got a huge empty netter last night but they were losing all of the key draws.

Rosen would have to be, fairly certain he loses waiver protection next year.

Konsta Helenius is on pace for 9 more goals and 20 more points than his rookie AHL campaign.

The interesting thing there, IMHO, is how much more rubber Ellis has seen relative to UPL with significantly better results (small sample size). Also, pretty sure UPL hasn't had one shot in by his defenseman. Ellis can't say the same. 😉

I don't. I am very very very glad that Lyon is signed for 2 years because it means we don't have to keep UPL because Lyon will be gone soon or count on Levi to be the 1b next year. Also we have a very small sample for Ellis, what if he regresses?

It certainly wouldn't hurt to bring another playmaking center, probable winger if he ever makes it to the NHL, into the Rochester lineup. Östlund still feels like the only pass-first playmaker with the Amerks.

I don’t know if it’s here, but I do think both Swedes are full time NHLers next year.

we have to let the Ellis evaluation play out for the rest of the season, but, what I would do right now is: 1. Trade UPL 2. Lyon and Ellis split starts, going with the hot hand. 3. Lyon is signed through next year (wish his contract was a 1 year deal, not a 2) 4. Long term, ideally you have Ellis and Levi as your 1a/1b goalies. Funny thing is Ellis is playing exactly how we hoped Levi would at this point.

If one must go, You trade whoever gives the best return.

This lineup is fine in a no check league. Otherwise, not enough physical players to sustain a playoff run. Not to mention you killed one of the best PKs in the league by benching both Malenstyn and Greenway. Quinn, Rosen and Östlund are not full time 4th line players. I don’t see them matching up every night in that role. Sure, Östlund scores a goal with the fourth line but that is not his game in the long term. In Östlund first 2-3 games he was just hanging in there playing steady but with no impact, and I could see he was unwilling to possess the puck and get hit. I thought he was headed back down and then the next rash of injuries hit. Once Rosen came up Östlund seemed to get a spark and play with more confidence. Right now I must say Östlund is impressive and is getting comfortable. He has the ability to create offense and make passes like a traditional play-making center, something we need. Still, he needs to get stronger, so more time in Rochester is an easy option. Center candidates are - (1) Thompson, (2) Norris, (3) McLoed , (4) Kozak, (5- spare) Krebs, (6- move to wing) Kulich, and (7- back to Rochester) Östlund. Kulich can certainly move to wing and shows top 6 capabilities. Norris is not dependable, forces you to carry a few C/W type forwards on the 23. Krebs drops to 13/14. Östlund can go back for now but his future is bright. Rosen is a much better now than in his two looks last season. You can see the difference in physical maturity and mental confidence. He is going to play somewhere in the NHL. Note - we also have Danforth on the roster The Sabres have some good problems with roster decisions. This team just might be getting good.

Not sure why you can't keep both but, Byram is the obvious choice and always has been. Cap is going up significantly each year for the forseable future

I love Bo but he is gone after this contract is up. He could of signed long term here but probably wants to go someplace where he is the main guy on PP. Power will just get better and his deal will look great in a few years

Isak Rosen: 2023: 7games, 0g, 0a, -3 2024: 8games, 0g, 1a, -3 2025: 8games, 3g, 3a, -1 Noah Östlund: 2024: 8games, 0g, 0a, -6 2025: 11games, 3g, 2a, +2 (quick note, all of these points have come in the last 7 games)

It also could simply be an acknowledgement that teams will key on Thompson more than they will on Norris, so other teams will treat Tage as the 1C and Josh as the 2C. By ice time, expect Tage will get a little more time than Josh will, especially as they work Norris back into the lineup (hopefully for significantly more than 3 games this time), but when both are in game shape doubting that difference will be more than 1 minute. By what the other team puts out against them, expecting Tage to clearly be the 1C until Norris can create more problems than Tage can. And IF Tage stays motivated to play this way, which is a big if, as a physicality has never been in his tool box, these last 2 games have been a revelation, but if he stays motivated to play this way, he'll be real hard to supplant as the 1C.

If Ruff trusts TNT at center (and Thompson plays well in his own zone at center), it frees up the line construction tremendously. TNT as 1C (the offensive guy) and Norris as 2C (d-zone, much better at face offs --- don't get hurt!) would be a good combination. McLeod is a very solid 3C and Kozak gives you responsible 4C play. Krebs and Östlund shift to the wing until more folks are healthy. As the veteran forwards pieces return to health, you definitely send the kids back to Rochester for more minutes. Benson does everything Rosén does and better and Norris is an upgrade over Östlund.

No no...we can't get rid of Meersten Geertsten that will cause a violation of the deal the Sabres signed with Molson Golson. 🤣

They are only a year apart age wise. Both were top prospects. Adams gave Power the big (and undeserved) contract, but only bridged Byram. Within a year or two one of the them is getting replaced by the younger and cheaper Mrtka. Byram has 3g 6a for 9 pts in 19 games with a -4. He has 7 pts at EV including all 3 goals with 2 PP assists. 25 BLKs and 14 Hits. Power has 2g 5a for 7 pts in 18 games with a -8. He has 5 pts at EV including both goals, zero PP points, but 2 SH assists. The SH assists are a positive surprise. 16 BLKs and 9 Hits. As I wrote above I don’t think the Sabres will keep both long-term. Both are good assets that can be moved to help other areas of need like top 6 forwards or goaltending. Contract wise Byram is the one likely to be moved, but IMHO his play is outstripping Power. Both are pretty even offensively, but Byram seems to be more defensively and is obviously the more engaged player physically. Power still seems to easy for opponents to skate around. An interesting development for both players is a substantial increase in PK time. Power is being utilized more on the PK, but both are being used each game especially recently. So who are you keeping? Who do you think is the better?

This is where Adams is going to ***** the team. Rosen, Östlund and Dunne have been better than Quinn, Krebs and Kozak. I find a way to keep the first trio in the lineup over the other 3. But because Adams has the imagination of a cardboard box, he’ll send Östlund and Rosen back down and play the other guys because it’s chalk. It’s the only thing his tiny brain can handle. So we’ll be stuck with lesser quality players on the team because Kevyn. I guess that’s been the story the whole time.

I'm not sure that's accurate Promo. He's the 19th highest paid by average I believe. It would be on the higher end of backup pay, if that's what he'd be. I just don't see a team trading for that, coupled with the term and poor play.

He also plays the puck really well, like having another defenceman back there. Ruff mentioned that fact as a positive attribute of his

Slightly off topic and who knows the veracity of this site. 🤷‍♂️

Excellent post! I agree 100%!