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Byram Dahlin Power Joker Muel Clifton Johnson Bryson Still developing: Novikov Lines are through the most movable players. I would keep Power over Byram. Byram will fetch much less in a trade but after listening to Lindy talk about how todays game is played you have to stick with Power. They at least have to see what Lindy can do for him as a player. They will probably keep both Power and Byram and let Lindy evaluate things. The Byram contract will be interesting. Joker is a decent 3rd pair guy that plays 2nd pair on our team, this is a problem. He can be moved. It is a matter of time before Bryson fades away but he can be 7/8 until then. I want a bigger and more physical, defense first guy in the top 4 to pair with Power. Not gonna wait for Novikov, go get a guy now and give Novikov time to mature. Adams will need a complete mindset shift away from "no blockers" and "players that want to be here". We can be a real team now. Win a lot of games and fill the house and players will want to be here again.

No. Adams needs to add veteran players that already know how the NHL works for next season. Enough of this making room for the kids crap.

Clifton had a very rough start that I’m going to chalk up to bad luck and system adjustment. I don’t see Novikov having any role on the team next year simply because the coach - who just hinted that he lost his job largely to having too many rookie defencemen - isn’t going to want to lose points having Nikita learn the lessons Clifton and Jokiharju have already learned. That Devils team has a lot in common with this Sabres team. The Sabres don’t have Hughes, but the Devils didn’t have goaltending.

I have become a fan of Novikov as well. He has a skill set that would be a nice addition to the Sabres D group long-term. As I mentioned in another thread making the D group next fall is going to be hard unless KA uses some of our excess LHD to add depth elsewhere. Still, I’d love to see him make a run at a roster spot. As to Krebs, under Ruff even a 4th line job could be a good position. Ruff wants to roll 4 capable lines. Guys like Gaustad and Hecht thrived in his system in the past. My worry with Krebs is that he doesn’t have the drive of guys like Hecht and Gaustad. Maybe his attendance at the presser is a good sign of a new player.

Novikov is currently the 7th LHD. Dahlin, Power, Byram, Samuelsson, Johnson, Bryson, and then Novikov. We could argue that Novikov is ahead of Bryson but no higher. With Clifton and Jokiharju still here that puts him at best 8th on the depth chart and letting Novikov rot in the press box makes little sense. My point is they need 2 defense additions and they need to make sure Novikov is nothing but an emergency callup next year. He won't even be 21 until the end of July. In 2025, sure we can see where he is but this plan of Adams of giving kids a cup of coffee in Rochester and then sending them up and making sure he leaves a spot for them needs to die. If ANYONE currently in Rochester or Jrs makes the Sabres in 2024, Adams failed miserably in the offseason.

The question is, what will Adams do about it? 🤞🏻

That Edmonton team was tough. They had Peca, Pronger,.. they were no sure thing for that Sabres team.

Just happen to have this on hand,

Your post put me in the mind of pondering the butterfly effect

Great article on the Coyotes owner and how crappy he is.

Ruff said discipline will be applied to ice time minutes… He can also choose to not dress a player and have him watch from the press box (worked wonders with Thompson last season)… It’s really the only practical leverage a Coach has. Suppose fines in certain situations could apply as well… Then there is the relationship side of applying consequences… Tough love… The tough part is easy… The love part requires genuine caring and finesse with modern players… Know as an old guy myself I’m much more attuned to the caring side of the transaction today… Could be wrong, but got the impression Ruff is attuned to communicating and working effectively with young players.

The players today make so much more money than on the past, they can live were they play and anywhere else that they like. Once they get married and have kids in school it changes and they tend to have their family in one place. Buffalo is a good place for that. Always was an still is. Just get a winning tradition back and they will love it.

FYI - average age of the roster Lindy had with the 112 point Devils was 25.2. Three players over 30 - only one with any type of contribution Tatar with 20 goals. Defensmen

I don’t know what that means.

I agree it’s going to be the defense. As for specific players, it’s going to kick open the door for Novikov to fight for a roster spot because he is the type of D-man that Lindy loves. If Novikov plays well during the playoffs and comes to camp prepared, I will not be surprised to see him earn a roster spot. Even if it’s as the 7th D. One of the changes I see is Lindy is going to put an end to “it’s better to have a weaker player on the NHL roster so the stronger player can get more ice time in the AHL.” That’s not how it was handled in NJ. I don’t expect it to be different in Buffalo. You build the roster to in win first and foremost. The other player I think will be the boom or bust will be Clifton. He did well in Boston’s system and started to get his feet under him after a pretty bad start to the season. I look forward to seeing him under Ruff and back to playing on a team with a system where he has an explicit role. I also have a strangely optimistic feeling about Peyton Krebs next season. If he is on the Sabres, I can see him finding a real role with expectations under Ruff. Not just a “we’re not sure where to put you so welcome to the fourth line” spot.

Calm down Ashton Kutcher

I like that we posted these on different threads so closely together, both points go hand in hand both times. Defence can and will be the strength that separates us, if the forwards/centre spine are merely par. We don’t need immaculate additions at forward just something reasonable from KA and Ruff And, if next year is frustrating for the prospect pool, that covers my entire second point

It all reminds me of John Ross

Meh. Not unless we got Pronger kicked out of the scf series as well.

I can picture Friedmans heavy lower lip as I read that statement about Adams not contacting anyone. He does tend to throw things out there when he has nothing. Maybe he can do the work and ask his contacts in the coaching world who are currently without jobs if they were contacted.

Was Myers ever a #1 defender?

Would have been nice if the source I got the info from included that. I suppose that’s the interwebs for ya.

This is more important to the team than a lot of people realize. I brought up in season how the players felt the disdain and it affected them. Got a lot of pushback that amounted to “if true they need to suck it up.” They did need to, but that doesn’t make it not true. This is very perceptive and probably the first time I’ve seen someone make this point. Lindy has had great success with exactly the type of personnel he’s being given on the blueline. It’s almost tailor-made for his system. Dahlin, Clifton and Jokiharju now veterans, Power, Byram and Samuelsson are getting closer to that 200-game threshold. This should become the strength of the team and this is a coach who can exploit that. This I think this would have been a thing regardless after last year, but I think the 25 or so players most likely to be playing NHL games next year won’t be seeing a lot of the other 25 in training camp. It’s probably going to be a frustrating fall for most of the prospect pool.

There’s honestly several areas of need, but imo by far the 2 we need to see go right are: - a legit 3C. Not a 3C/4C tweeter but a legitimate C more in the mould of “middle 6”, if anything. Our top 2 guys are well slotted imo but not so secure in their relative status league wide in those positions to make upgrading the third guy anything other than mandatory. We need to upgrade at C merely so as to keep the output at that position safely “acceptable”, at a break even point of sorts where our strengths in other areas (D?) can hopefully be an x-factor. Without a 3C add, any roster areas where we have advantages relative to other teams probably just go towards digging out of a hole. We’d be an incomplete team without it: the Mittelstadt trade was clearly half of a re-shape -2nd thing isn’t an add, it’s a lack of one: keep rookies scarce or non-existent. Equally important. - - - I’m not saying addressing these two things means we are all set, there’s more we need to do, just that I think missing on either of these likely represents an auto L. In truth there’s also another layer of additions to mould further from playoff contender to cup contender but WAY too much cart before horse to even go there yet. There’s are few more things we need for this year besides the two I mentioned, but i’m certainly not saying they need to think about that “next layer” yet.

He’s a great bargain-bin 20g guy (on the right roster). Once you pay him like a 2nd liner, you’re going to be disappointed because he needs to be protected. And this roster couldn’t shelter anyone unless the TNT line was on fire.