nfreeman
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Posts posted by nfreeman
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9 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
It would be extremely out of character for him and against his stated goal of not adding a long-term contract. It's why when I mentioned him earlier I kind of dismissed him as a trade target. That doesn't mean I'm against the acquisition, I just find it highly unlikely given KA's track record. You and I would look a Cirelli and say perfect, we have a long-term solution at 3C and someone who could play up if we have an injury. KA looks and thinks he's not one of my core players and therefore I'm not committing to him for 7 years.
I do disagree that trading Mitts was out of character for KA. In fact it was perfectly in character. Keeping Mitts was not in his budget so he traded him for whatever he could get. It didn't matter that he didn't have an adequate plan B at 3C (also in character) and it didn't matter that the player acquired didn't bring a skill set we needed (also in character). It's just another example of KA not having a clue how to build a successful team. Another example of poor asset management.
KA could sell the deal in the press as he acquired a much needed top 4 D. Unfortunately Power/Bryam or Dahlin/Bryam or Dahlin/Power aren't viable D pairings. Maybe Ruff could get it to work, but I'm not holding me breath. What makes it even worse is that Byram is going to need a new deal after next season. He basically traded Mitts for one season of an alleged top 4 D unless he gives Byram the long-term extension he couldn't afford to give Mitts.
Honestly I have lost all faith that KA can pull this plane out of it's tail spin. I was bullish on the Clifton and Johnson signings. I hoped Clifton could play up and Johnson would bring some much needed leadership and maturity to the D group. I was wrong on both counts and so was Adams. I then looked at the cap situation Adams has put us in, his keeping Benson in the NHL last season, his awful pro level acquisitions, his long-term mismanagement of the goaltending, his lack of any defensive stalwarts on his defense, and his failure to properly support the team in season the last two years, and I have come to the sad conclusion that he is in so far over his head he doesn't even know where to begin to fix his roster. His keeping of terrible coaches like Ellis and Wilford are just further examples. I do hope that my assessment of Adams is wrong.
I really like to know how anyone has any faith or hope left that Adams can fix this team.
JFC. You claim not to be bitter/obsessed about the Mitts trade, but half of your posts are long rants about that trade!
Not wanting to give Mitts a long-term deal doesn't mean KA is opposed to long-term deals. It just means he didn't think Mitts was worth what it would've cost to keep him.
1 hour ago, Taro T said:Don't recall Adams ever stating that a goal was to not trade for a player on a LT contract. Do you recall when Adams said that?
58 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:I don't remember this either. He has expressed that he would be cautious about signing a player in free agency out of concern that it is often the case that a good player who has reached UFA status will command a higher AAV or longer term (or both) than might be reasonable based on the player's age. I don't recall him saying that he would not take a player in trade who is on a long-term deal. Of course, the unsaid is always "the right player for the right price".
Indeed -- it's only a "stated goal" if it was stated. And the fact that KA has given a number of guys long-term deals seems to indicate that he's not opposed to doing so.
44 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:I didn’t mention specific pairings and Ruff did use them as his shutdown pair periodically, but I remember Lydman with Teppo and Tallinder with Soupy primarily. McKee played with Kalinin and Fitz subbed in where needed.
@thewookie1 I don’t think the analytics support your contention.
No. Tallinder/Lydman were the top pair and were generally together.
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54 minutes ago, rickshaw said:
Joshua is one we have to try for. He’s a good, solid player. He will thrive.
I didn't see much of the Canucks this year -- can you give me the sales pitch as to why he'd be a good signing?
He's got good size and seems to play the kind of crash-bang game the Sabres need in their bottom 6 -- but as I posted elsewhere, I'm a bit concerned about getting too excited about a guy who is 28 and only has 2 seasons as a full-time NHL player.
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2 hours ago, Archie Lee said:
I have no interest in carrying water for Granato. Better coaches than him get fired all the time. That said, what is strange to me is to have the view that the Sabres are poorly built and missing many elements of a playoff team (very true) while simultaneously concluding that their head coach should have somehow squeezed a playoff spot out of them. It’s not unreasonable to conclude that Granato was part of the deficient make-up of the team. It is not at all or in any way strange to say that the Sabres did not have a playoff style or calibre lineup last year.
Speaking only for myself, I'd say the Sabres are not currently built to be a cup contender, but had a good enough roster to make the playoffs this season -- i.e. they should've beaten out the Isles or the Caps -- and failed to do so because of coaching.
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I think the most likely outcome is that Lindy will try to get the most out of Skinner -- which probably means putting him back with TT and Tuch.
Certainly it's quite possible that it doesn't work to Lindy's satisfaction and that Skinner moves down the lineup -- maybe to an offensively-oriented 3rd line that benefits from plenty of O-zone starts like Vanek-Roy-Max back in the day.
If that happens, I wouldn't be surprised if Greenway moved up to the top 6.
So maybe:
JJP-TT-Tuch
Greenway-Cozens-Quinn
Skinner-XXX-Benson
XXX-Krebs-XXX
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18 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:
McKee was one of my all-time favorite Sabres. What a terrible mistake by the too-clever-by-half Larry Quinn to decide that McKee wasn't worth what an extension would've cost. That team lost too much heart when McKee and Grier left in the summer of 2006.
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On 5/12/2024 at 2:56 PM, bob_sauve28 said:
What a great story that was. Thanks.
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8 hours ago, Malazan said:
Goalposts are heavy. Put them down. Stop lying as well. It's not a good look.
This is obnoxious. Do not communicate like this here.
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15 minutes ago, Thorny said:
Disagree.
of course it supports my point - it’s not fair to look at a 50 game output and claim it’s fairly reflective - a look at the 3 previous seasons in combination would present a far more accurate sample size PARTICULARLY because of Covid related anomalies.
Jack Eichel was apart of our talent base - trading him or not he was still an asset that wasn’t reflected due to injury in the 21 season to the extend we knew he had value to the team and we could have a) kept him and B) the trade accounts for Tuch who we didn’t have in 2021 and is a much better output than hurt for 21 games Jack
Well, the 4 seasons ending in 20-21 included 2 seasons below .400, which is the mendoza line that was cited in dudacek's original theory, one at .463 and one at .493. That is a pretty pathetic 4-season run -- at the end of which their best player demanded a trade (and I'm not sure why you think we could've kept him at that point -- it's pretty clear that he was done playing here at that point). And the best player coming back in that trade, Tuch, missed 32 games in his first season for the Sabres, 21-22.
So, again, the 50 games was not a non-indicative small sample size but rather was entirely reflective of how atrocious the state of the team was when we arrived at the summer of 2021, as well as the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
5 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:I will straddle the fence here. I think Adams took over a disastrous situation, did a good getting things turned in the right direction, and then messed up by not approaching last off-season with enough urgency.
Now we see if he can do what he should have tried to do last off-season.
Now this is a fair criticism.
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1 hour ago, Thorny said:
A post that ignores not only real world context, but the point I reiterated multiple times: Jack Eichel played 21 games, total, while hurt during that “season”. We played in a ridiculous division that “season”. The Covid relatives anomalies of that season are BLINDING. No, our record over 40 games does not define what they “were” and your comparative stats are rendered unfortunately rather meaningless
We were nearly a .500 hockey club in 19-20. We didn’t morph into a .300 club overnight. I beg anyone to please just look at the *real world* context.
Adams WAS THE GM WHO TOOK OVER the .500 team
Can we be serious for one moment lol. Your telling me Adams can be placed at the helm of a .500 club, manually cause or allow the team to be changed into a .300 club on his watch, thereby granting HIMSELF, according to you, what, 5 years?
This take isn’t based in reality. Like it sounds like what Kevyn Adams would say, I’m sorry
You gotta pick one, here. If poor Adams is blameless for 2021 then our record is unreflective because it’s covered in Krueger related taint. Combined with the other factors I mentioned I’m inclined to consider the reason unreflective, yes, and not count it towards “Adams plan”. We know the bones of what we had was represented by the near .500 the year previous
First bolded: I don't think this supports your point. Yes, Eichel missed most of the season, which certainly contributed to that being a .330 team. He also played 0 games for the Sabres the following season, which increased the magnitude of the required rebuild. This is @dudacek's point -- i.e. the Sabres had an enormous mountain to climb -- a mountain that historically the vast majority of NHL teams have failed to climb in the period you are insisting KA climb it in.
Second/Third bolded -- do you or do you not count 2020-21 against Adams? You seem to be taking both sides here. In any case, I think Krueger had at least as much say as KA that season, so I'm inclined not to really count KA's tenure until the summer of 2001. I appreciate that YMMV.
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OK -- how about these:
- Sabres trade Jiri Kulich and Ryan Johnson (or Matt Savoie and #11, or some other combination of those 4 assets) to FLA for Sam Bennett -- contingent on Bennett signing an extension for 6 years @ $7MM per year. It's too much money and too much term for Bennett, who turns 28 in June, but he's not coming to Buffalo without getting that type of contract.
- Sabres trade Jiri Kulich and a 2024 2nd-rounder to Vegas for Nicolas Roy. Vegas is close to capped out. Roy is a 6'4", 202-lb C who is a 35- to 40-pt guy, turned 27 in February and makes $3MM per year.
- Sabres trade a 2024 2nd-rounder to the Islanders for Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri, a 5'11", 198-lb RW who had 54 pts this season, will be 34 in February and has one more year on his contract at $5MM -- and the Isles are capped out.
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On 5/15/2024 at 12:12 PM, Brawndo said:
Ryan Johnson is most likely to be the first defensive prospect traded imo
Interesting. I'm kinda skeptical that they'll trade any D prospects though, and that they'll trade Johnson in particular.
I doubt they will trade a D prospect because Johnson is the one who would fetch the best return, and even then I don't think the return would be sufficient.
Also, I think KA had to make a pretty compelling sale to Johnson, who was only weeks away from being a UFA. I don't think it would look good to trade him one year later.
IMHO if they trade a prospect, it will be one of the forwards -- probably Kulich or Savoie, as those are the 2 that I'd guess will return the most value in trade.
23 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:Johnson is a potential injury call up for sure. Up and down from Rochester is the way it should be and probably will be. He's in the mix. I just hope he keeps working and improving and has to earn his spot competitively.
I doubt Ruff has 8 D up in Buffalo all year. If he had that in New Jersey I imagine it was because of the Dougie Hamilton injury and he wasn't set on who the replacement was. Also one of their D is a tough guy/fighter I think so he'd not be an every gamer either.
I agree -- I think the most likely outcome is that Johnson is #8 after camp, with Bryson #7, and that Johnson spends most of the year playing in Rochester, which is what he should be doing unless there are a few injuries on D in Buffalo.
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What a lovely turn this thread has taken.
Let's get back to discussing the Bills, please.
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3 hours ago, JujuFish said:
The Chiefs didn't top 30 points at all in the playoffs. They only topped 30 three times all season, and not a single time after beating the Raiders 31-17 in week 12.
OK, but they needed more than 27 to beat KC in the playoffs this year, and probably would’ve needed more than that if the Bills had scored a touchdown with two minutes left like they were trying to do.
Your facts are certainly correct, and relevant, but I think the larger point I was making is also correct – the bills are going to need to outscore KC in the playoffs, and in order to do so it would be nice to have true weapons at wide receiver.
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50 minutes ago, Broken Ankles said:
This would be a nice start to Free Agency.
So here's some info on Dakota Joshua:
- Pretty cool name.
- C, 6'3", 206 lbs.
- Only 2 full NHL seasons, and he he turns 28 tomorrow. Drafted in the 5th round in 2014 by Toronto. Played 4 seasons at Ohio State, then part-time in the AHL for 3 seasons, then 2 seasons with Vancouver.
- Played 11 min per game last year for the Canucks and 14:23 per game for them this year, with 18-14-32 in 63 games.
- 60 PIM per year for the last 2 years. 5 fights last year and 4 this year.
He seems like a 4th-liner, but at the right price I'm interested.
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1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
He was supposed to put his big boy pants on last off-season and he did spend the most he has spent an UFAs. He spent 10 million on Clifton (3 x 3.33) and 3.25 on one year of Eric Johnson; one 3rd pairing player and one player working his way out of the NHL when he needed partner for either Dahlin or Power. How has that worked out? The 2 years prior he desperately needed goaltending to bridge the gap until his prospects developed and instead of investing in real goaltending to support the rebuild he gave us Dell, Anderson and Comrie. You can't tell me there weren't better options available.
In addition he has completely failed to properly support the team in season. Jost and Robinson isn't support. Getting crap players like Stillman at the deadline isn't support. Trading your 3rd line center while in contention without a backup plan for a redundant D isn't support. The only quality deadline move so far is a 2nd for Greenway and he was having a terrible season when acquired.
This team has missed the playoff the last 2 seasons because our terrible GM has no idea how to fix the problems with his roster. All he is going to do this off-season is more Taylor Hall type gestures.
Dude.
No one is under any misapprehension as to your feelings on KA.
You are well justified in your dissatisfaction with him and the team, but still -- all I said was that he's potentially about to undertake a particular action as GM that we've not yet seen.
You don't need to grace us with the full screed, even if you are still outraged about his trade of Casey ("66 goals in 357 career games") MIttelstadt.
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4 hours ago, Night Train said:
One thing that hasn't been discussed. With Cook and Davis, the play calling will see more touches for the RB's. Run and catch.. OC Brady showed that late last year. I hope that means Allen sees less carries and exposing himself to bad hits.
So I believe this so-called concern at WR is a bit overblown. Throw in Kincaid getting far more opportunities late last year as a rookie.
I agree that the RBs are going to play a bigger role (and I too like Davis!), but I think their WR group is a major issue. They're trying to win a Super Bowl, and they are going to need to score at least 34 pts or so to beat KC in the playoffs.
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6 hours ago, Brawndo said:
Florida has 19.7 Million in cap space with 14 skaters on the roster for next year.
Their UFAs include Reinhart, Tarasenko, Montour, Lomberg and Lundell is a RFA.
Some on the list are rumored to be willing to give a home team discount namely the two former Sabres.
They have traded a lot of draft capital and prospects for their cup runs and are scheduled to go 4 years without making a first round pick.
Bennett, whose name has appeared in the rumor mill, with one year left on his deal is the most attractive asset they have to recoup assets and make some cap room
Well, I'm sure Florida would like to keep Montour and Tarasenko, but they will definitely prioritize Bennett over those 2, and Lomberg won't cost much.
Reino and Lundell are interesting though, to be sure. I think Reino will probably cost them $10MM per year, and if they give Lundell a long-term deal, they will have to pay a higher AAV than his scoring production would seem to support -- maybe $6MM per year?
5 hours ago, dudacek said:Bennett is the type of asset in the type of situation I talked about earlier that may become available the same way Reinhart became a available.
He is also the type of asset that generally costs the same type of price Reinhart cost: a 1st and a prospect.
Finally, he is exactly the type of player this team needs: a good, nasty, middle-six veteran forward.
I need @nfreeman or someone to swoop in here with a “they’re not trading Bennett” type post.
You’re like selling the dream here and I can’t afford to get my hopes up.
No one needs to convince me to want Bennett. I just have a hard time believing that Florida would move him for futures to create cap space. I think they will sacrifice elsewhere.
Having said that, it's possible that they misjudge the situation, or that Bennett demands too much cash, or something else happens that makes him available. I would give them #11 and any of Kulich, Rosen, Östlund or Savoie in a heartbeat for him IF the deal included him signing an extension.
Maybe we'll get lucky on this one.
2 hours ago, dudacek said:it's pretty thoroughly acknowledged that Adams went to Florida during the 18-game skid with his "plan to fix this" and Terry signed off
Even putting aside the Jack argument, at that time Ullmark, Reinhart, Montour, Ristolainen, McCabe and Hall — nearly every established vet on the team — were unrestricted free agents who were not planning on re-signing.
And this was a team in the midst of an historically bad season, on the heels of 3 consecutive years of considerably worse hockey than what we just watched, with what virtually everyone seemed to agree was a toxic culture and locker room.
You can debate what form the rebuild needed to take, but I can't imagine circumstances where one was was more warranted than the Sabres in the spring of 2020.
As for the bold, I think my initial post covers my thoughts.
***
Of course Adams was, at the very least, complicit in that first year and takes some of the blame. My point remains, and, if anything, your post kinda adds to it: if Adams had a rebuild plan in the summer of 2020 and was talked out of/not allowed to execute it by Pegula, Krueger, Eichel or others, and instead simply carried out someone else's plan, how much of a real GM was he?
Excellent post, but are you perhaps referring to the spring/summer of 2021 (not 2020)?
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8 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
You think the jury is still out on KA as a pro player evaluator? I think the jury has returned a verdict. He’s guilty of being terrible.
Good - Tuch
Mediocre - Greenway, Anderson, and Clifton
Bad - Comrie, Bjork, Lyubushkin, E Johnson, Robinson, Hall, E Staal, Krebs, Jost, Stillman, Dell, Pysyk, Eakin, Hagg, Butcher, Hayden and Subban.
You can add his terrible decisions to re-sign Okposo, Jost, and Girgensons and the failure to move on from Olofsson.
I’d say that’s a piss poor record of pro talent evaluation. That’s what you get when you shop at the clearance bin at Walmart and have no clue how to construct a roster.
I think Greenway is a pretty good 3rd liner and Anderson and Clifton were decent. Hall was terrible but I think that move was driven by Krueger.
As for the rest -- I agree that these were all bargain bin guys -- that was kinda my point. To date his pro acquisitions have all been low risk, low reward. This has been by design -- i.e. his plan has been to develop the young players into guys that can fill key roles -- not to bring in expensive, veteran NHL guys to fill those roles. It sounds like he's now interested in shopping in the more expensive aisles (although not the premium aisles) for a couple of middle-six forwards.
Before the Byram trade, KA hadn't previously spent any real assets or money to bring in valuable NHL players, other than the Eichel trade, where he had a gun to his head and needed to make chicken salad out of chicken poop. I don't think the bargain bin shopping is an indicator either way of how he'll do if and when he steps up to the big boy table.
You can be unhappy with the state of the team, as we all are, and can hold KA accountable, which is more than fair (although it's worth noting that his team last season far outperformed the teams iced by Botteril, whom you unaccountably continue to defend). I'm just saying that he's entering a new phase, and I'm curious to see how he performs.
52 minutes ago, Brawndo said:Sam Bennett is the type of mother ***** this team needs. Good analytics, would be a good 2-3 C.
Oh and the Bruins hate him
Hell yes -- he is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Sabres. However, his cap hit is only $4.425MM -- that's not enough for the Panthers to feel like they need to cut him loose. He's too valuable for them to do so.
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7 hours ago, dudacek said:
I'd be surprised if they sign a free agent better or more expensive than Clifton.
And I'm actually OK with that because those deals generally aren't the answer.
I think better answers can be found in trade
Interesting. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised.
Like the Byram-Mitts trade, any real trade this summer will be informative as to KA’s pro talent evaluation abilities. So far I think the jury is still out.
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I too was generally unimpressed with KO, although he was far from their biggest problem.
He is 100% right in saying that he could tell in October and November there were major issues. They were freaking terrible in those 2 months.
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7 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
Well, I hope you're right, but I will believe it when I see it.
The history, and the patterns you can see repeating say otherwise. Faith or belief is something I do not have in this group at all.
You’re completely justified in doubting last year’s group.
But next year’s group now includes a HOF coach.
Lindy is going to be a huge improvement over DG.
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I kinda think they are going to bring in a couple of real vet forwards with the goal that they will flex between the 2nd and 3rd lines.
We shouldn't kid ourselves though -- no one good enough to fill that role well will come here on a 1- or 2-year deal. It's going to be at least 3 years, and the AAV will seem too high given the player's production. That's how it goes when NHL Siberia is shopping in the UFA market.
I'm not expecting a good vet defenseman -- I think they are going to go with the guys they have, although a trade of Joki or Muel wouldn't shock me.
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1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:
Well the optimism I had gained with the Ruff hiring just took a dip down (and mostly over the Appert in 2 years idea which ya, might happen). It's not that he's going to be a horrible assistant or anything, it's just that too much of it looks the same. I was hoping for a little change in direction with a McKee hiring or Peca back or something else new that signaled real change.
Now they just have to do next to nothing in free agency, draft a speedy Euro forward with that first pick and then name Dahlin captain and then I can cancel my sportsnet subscription for real.
No sir. They are about to reward your patience.
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1 hour ago, French Collection said:
You’re right that these guys need to generate more. I think Skinner’s new range is 24-30 goals.
Quinn and Peterka may make a move to the top of this lineup, diminishing Skinner’s ice time and points. Finding a 2-3C could mean the most balanced top 9 in a long time.There is room to improve on Okposo, Girgs and Jost as 4th liners.
This is low-key an interesting question about the roster next year IMHO.
JJP, Quinn and Tuch are locks for 3 of the top 4 winger spots. Who will be the 4th? Skinner? Benson? Greenway? A FA or trade FNG? A hastily promoted rookie? A deservedly promoted rookie?
Sabres Defense - Current Pairing Ideas and What Moves Should Adams Make to Enhance the Group
in The Aud Club
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