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Then fork it, let him take Malenstyn's spot as the 13th F. Or put him in Danforth's spot in the top 12 (not necessarily on the 4th line, but in the top 12 bumping somebody else to there) and bring Danforth back in as soon as somebody inevitably breaks. How often are ALL 12 guys Ruff wants to have in the lineup going to actually be IN the lineup. Really want them to have 12 NHLers available when even 2 or 3 guys break. They haven't had that in, oh, about 14 years at least. Again, am only willing to give up a 4th for him, so if he doesn't force his way into the top 12, no great loss. AND, he's not the 1st choice. But would rather have him in the lineup than Rosen and he's close to the next man up right now.

I don’t care if specifically Mitts is added to this roster. As I have stated on a number of posts is that I wished that the GM would have added another second-line forward to the mix. @Taro T mentioned a couple of players that would be appealing. So far, that hasn’t happened. I find that disappointing.

Im not convinced Mitts is going to be much of an upgrade over Quinn anymore. Danforth, he’s your grit and forecheck upgrade, right? So much for that. He’s a roster spot, and one with a 3rd contract cap hit. He needs to displace someone.

How about players competing for positions and roles? If he is outplayed then his role is diminished. If he outplays players then he earns his spot. Who he displaces or doesn’t displace should be predicated on his play. I’m not bothered by internal competition because I see it as a good thing.

Not to speak for John and not asked, but will answer anyhow. Quinn or Danforth initially. The guy that's inevitably injured 2 - 5 games in, after that (unless of course, he's the inevitiably injured guy, but he's been pretty resilient since that injury sustained vs Moe-ray-all in the opener a few years back). And would rather have Rust for the experience or Roslovic for the someone different factor to take the place of Quinn or Danforth iniitally. But really want them to have 1 or 2 more bodies that can move into the top 6 in a pinch and not look completely out of place and also to create additional competition for the young guys. Again, he isn't the 1st choice, but he'd be better than no additional F adds.

What “the board” wants is someone who goes to the net that has proven they can be effective in a top 6 role on a good team doing it, not a couple of kids that are still finding their way towards it.

Who are you displacing with him that improves the roster?

1) Luukkonnen: This team is 10 points better if he returns to the form he showed two years ago 2) Power: Analytically, the most obvious flaw in the Sabres lineup is how they lost any matchup when Dahlin wasn't on the ice. Swapping Timmins poise for Clifton's juggling hand grenades should help, and Kesselring's competence and physicality should help more. But Power has the skillset to be carrying one of those guys, rather than counting on them to be the boosters. He needs to start earning his paycheque. 3) Norris: Jiri Kulich and Ryan McLeod could be a viable 2/3 centre spine, but no team is going to make the playoffs with them eating all the hard minutes at centre ice. Norris isn't a 1C, but he can certainly hold the fort in ways the other two can't, particularly stapled to an top winger like Tage or Tuch. Getting 75 games of his full potential dramatically improves our depth and playoff chances.

Adding a player like Mitts also has residual benefits due to his versatility as a center and wing. And as I stated in the prior post he has the ability to move up the lines when needed due to injuries or just to shake up the lines. Another benefit is that he would be useful on the second PP unit as a setup player. I don’t want to get fixated on Mitts as the player to provide more flexibility to the roster. If another player could provide the same utility to our current roster I would be receptive to it. And if the cost would be a second round pick, I would find that to be a good deal.

Aye yi yi, man. This is something akin to Stockholm Syndrome. Mittelstadt was a limited and flawed player on non-playoff (Sabre) teams. When he got moved to a perennial playoff team, he crashed out and eventually got traded. Since that trade, he appears to have been exposed for what he is: A tweener/marginal NHL player. But you do it so effortlessly!

I realize 'the board' isn't a entity unto itself and I'm not saying this is you. But it's bizarre to me that "the board" complains consistently that the Sabres don't backcheck and don't get to the net while at the same time wants no part of Doan or Benson in the top 6 and wants to bury Greenway on the 4th line. It's a fallacy to say this is the same forward group. Doan, Danforth, Greenway and Norris —1/3 of the starting lineup — combined for 37 games last year for the Sabres. Maybe there is a problem with how they are being coached to play, but the player personnel up front is much better suited for they type of game they need to play than it was.

Florida forechecks hard and reloads in the natural zone. It's very effective.

Personally, wouldn't send out a 2nd for him either. If the B's would take a 4, would definitely make the trade in lieu of anything else happening. Would need to be closer to the season to be willing to go to giving up a 3 for him.

I’m not attempting to overrate his talent. But for me there is a simple metric: are the Sabres better with him, even in the short term, than without him? If he can be added for a draft pick that isn’t a first round pick, then I’m open to adding him. In this discussion I’m not looking at this topic from a big picture perspective. The issue is reduced to whether one thinks the team will be immediately better or not. I believe so.

Casey Mittlestadt looked good because it was relative to what we had available at the time. “Credibly” has alot to do with expectations. He was better than our alternatives then, but if your expectations are playoffs, he is not a credible roster addition. A few off-seasons ago I said Mitts will be a useful depth forward in the NHL. Something just north of replacement value. For a brief moment I thought he might prove me wrong. Nope. The only way Mitts is someone worth putting back on the roster is if Norris ends up on LTIR. Even then, he’s probably not a center on the Sabres anymore. I just don’t see him as a worthwhile add to the roster unless this team is in a roster bind.

When Tage was hurt Mitts moved up to centering the first line. The line continued to play at a high level. Is he a genuine first line center talent? Clearly not. But he has played as a second line center and at wing for us and played credibly. Even if he played at the 3C spot I would have no reluctance to bring him in if it was for a 2nd round pick. However, as others have said, a first round pick would be too pricey.

Not sure how much good that would have done you, anyway, I mean, unless they were playing Utah.

I saw that video and thought he did a good job with the breakdowns and agree the Sabres were and will continue to be dangerous on the rush. I still think the changes I highlighted did more to address the lack sustained pressure in the offense zone, willingness to drive the net, and much needed support in their own end than what they were able to do last year. A big part of the issue last season was there were still guys in key roles that didn't buy into that strategy and impacted the entire team. Even without Peterka I think this lineup is more aligned with the game this team needs to play to be more successful in this conference. I also see a lot more real competition for spots and roles than we've had in a while. Bryson is the 8th dman on my list but I don't expect him to go away quitely, and we might see 10-20 games from Ryan Johnson if he comes to camp ready to prove something. I'd love to watch some fights breakout in training camp this year when guys aren't giving it a full effort and get called out by the real ones on the team.

They didn’t show it last season. That youtube video showcased it. In theory we got 2 new guys for the bottom 6. JJP is gone, but Quinn is gonna eat most of those minutes on the 2nd line.

Yes, he should have, but he didn't, so maybe take what's available? I mean a 2nd is nothing. Anyone want to argue Malentstyn is better than Mitts?

This may be true for sure. Players drafted in the last 3 years not in the NHL yet. The trend might not be showing up yet in the stats. Maybe many of these "tall" guys won't make it either. Have to wait and see. In any event the Sabres are certainly not too small or short on D (lor forward for that matter). Strength is the greater issue I'd say. Let's face it, what happens with Power over the next few years determines a lot of how this D goes.

This is nearly 20 years ago, but I found it very interesting in terms of how Lindy used his players https://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20052006&seasonTo=20052006&gameType=2&position=F&playerPlayedFor=franchise.19&sort=timeOnIcePerGame&page=0&pageSize=50

Lafferty and Aubé-Kubel were failures, but I think it’s fair to say they were attempts. It will be interesting to see how Lindy allots ice time: is the 9 or 10 minutes the 4th liners got down the stretch the way Lindy likes it, or is a reflection of the available players being those guys as well as Östlund Kozak and Rosen. Danforth got 14:23 and Doan 13:31 last year with their previous clubs

I don't disagree with this in theory. As you say though, it is reasonable to have a "show me" approach. Olofsson, Skinner, and Mittlelstadt, weren't Sabres last year. Malenstyn, Lafferty, and Aube-Kubel were. I'm not convinced that Doan and Danforth get 12-14 minutes per game. Our 4th line upgrades last year, came to us having received 12-14 minutes of ice time per game on their prior teams, only to have that cut to 9.5-10.5 minutes per game here.