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Unproven but NHL ready. For once, they didn’t add another 18-20 year old.

I'm just saying with the age of Rust and Rackell it might a one year playoff run and done. I didn't realize this plan including and Neighbors. It's more desirable then.

I’m sorry but trading Krebs and Östlund isn’t exactly blowing up the young core of this team. This team hasn’t made the Playoffs in 14 years. I want them in this year. Neigbors-Norris-Thompson Rust-Kulich-Tuch Benson-McLeod-Quinn Zucker-Rakell-Greenway Dahlin-Acquired D Man Power-Kesserling Timmins-Samuelsson That lineup feels like a Playoff lineup to me. Krebs isn’t a major piece to a Cup contender 3-5 years from now and with Helenius looking good I can part with Östlund.

This is what will help the deal go from magic beans to a hockey trade that tilts in Buffalo’s favour. All three players have upside, with Doan being the most unproven at the NHL level. If Doan becomes a power forward who scores near 20 goals and is a physical forechecking beast, then his value will not be far below JJP’s current worth. JJP at 30 goals but a defensive black hole is not worth much more than Doan at 20 plus intangibles. If JJP goes off and becomes a perennial 35-40 goal man then Kesselring will have to hit his ceiling to make this deal a good one.

At least with Doan there’s the age factor. He’s just coming out of his ELC and is 4-9 years younger than anyone else on that list. The rest are what they are, but he’s still developing.

Just been keeping an eye on things. With the dust perhaps settling, the following from Mike Rose of the Batavia Daily News seems like the best summary I've seen. The Sabres seem to be stuck in Meh Mode. But let's see what the fall brings. "The Sabres did make several additions that appear to be positives. Michael Kesselring and Connor Timmins should help shore up the right side of the defense pairings, and Josh Doan and Justin Danforth should be quality depth contributors for the forward group. In addition, Alex Lyon provides a solid goaltender to add to the mix. The problem is that most of those moves are along the margins of the roster. With the departure of JJ Peterka in the deal that brought in Doan and Kesselring, Buffalo needed more than that to elevate to a team that can be feared in the Atlantic Division." https://www.thedailynewsonline.com/sports/rose-with-sabres-seemingly-done-making-moves-the-same-philosophical-issues-remain/article_1b8de285-3b92-464c-a5d9-5e585d75faca.html

I think this is exactly what Byram wants but he won’t get the opportunity here with Dahlin and Power. He wants / needs to be “the guy” on PP1 to put up some numbers that get him in the $9M discussion. His career has been second fiddle to Makar and Dahlin so you can’t blame him for looking for opportunity. I think it has nothing to do with the city and culture.

This will take some time to digest. But I did receive a wonderfully long and positively reinforced message from the SSA this morning telling me how great the bill will be for those collecting social security. So it must be a great bill. I mean, it's in the name and the SSA is telling me it is. 🙂 It likely sucks, like most legislation. Like the "Affordable" care act..

Same vacation schedule here. My plan includes lots of time paddling, a little time with some small chores, and at least 1 bottle of Tequila Ocho.

Happy Fourth of July!

Yes, I understand. I was just saying in the context of whether or not the Sabres are "paralyzed," i.e., unable to pursue a big ticket free agent, all those fellas are signed with someone, so there is no urgency of that sort.

Advice you should take.

I guess it all depends on how you want to view “promising”. Helenius seems to be developing as hoped. I think Östlund is maybe Savoie level, which isnt a given for an NHL future. Rosen is what he is at this point, which is probably a minor star in a European league. Wahlberg, harder to say. I suspect he may have more runway as a potential role player.

Have a happy Independence Day!!! PS- How are the fireworks in the Buffalo / Niagara area? Anything worth crossing the border for? I'm not a huge firework guy, but we were in Lake George on the 4th many years ago and were taken back by the quality of the show. Being in a mountain valley though really intensified the sound.

I'm on vacation.. now and all of next week. I will not be reading Sabres news. I will not be working. I will be letting F all happen in the world and it will be glorious. I won't be at the beach. I won't be where it's too hot, too humid, etc. It will be glorious. Best of times to all!

Kulich is making the team this year. But, the question was which of last year's Amerks are most likely to make this year's Sabres team. And Kulich started the year as an Amerk and ended the year as an Amerk. He belongs in the discussion.

fify 62 games as a Sabre.

Hhhhg

And they are hamstrung making an offer sheet for Byram because they lack a 2026 R2 pick.

There is some analytics based data that shows Doan and Danforth are better at recovering dump ins and have better fancy stats. Doan does the potential to be a Middle Six Forward. I hear stuff from time to time

Especially since there is no rush to get this done. They have months.

I think many take anything Adams says as stupid without actually hearing what he's saying. The Sabres were actually smart for once defending against an offer sheet. And since they can't land any blue chip scoring in free agency, at least they are improving the back end and team grit.