nfreeman

It seems like that last starting forward spot is going to come down to Rousek vs VO, and it just seems more likely that VO will get it. He's in a contract year and he can score. It's possible that VO will be traded before the season starts, but at this point cap space is pretty tight league-wide so I'm skeptical.

@dudacek I freaking love your preseason work but holy jinx potential Batman. Shouldn't we be keeping our heads down and not tempting the hockey gods, a few of whom are probably still PO'd at us for Black Sunday and the tank? 2005-06 was an incredible gift. Now we're going to have a bunch of message board yobs proclaiming that they're expecting it to happen again? We're asking for trouble.

What? Bryson has plenty of issues but is a very good skater.

I think they have him penciled in as the #4C, but everyone knows the kids are coming for lineup spots, so he'll need to show more than he showed last year to keep his spot, especially after this season.

I agree with all of this. Interesting quotes from JP — thanks. I also agree that the team wants him to be the #3C and a 200-foot mainstay, and that he’s got it in him to excel in that role. And I love the fire he plays with.

OK. You've made this joke about 50 times this summer. We get it.

Also worth noting that the Chiefs were missing their 2nd best player last night in Kelce and their best defensive player in Jones.

I think he'll have some good days and some bad days and gracefully retire after the season.

Regrettably I voted write-off due to the seriousness of this injury. Best case IMHO is that by the end of the season he gets back to where he was at the end of last season. But I'm not expecting that.

My car, which has been a loyal, trusted friend since 2011, is on the operating table and it might be all over.

I'm by no means an analytics savant, and I think most of those charts are poorly presented, but I like moneypuck's customizable tables: https://moneypuck.com/stats.htm Anyway, out of the Sabres' top 7 D last year in terms of total ice time, Mule ranked, in 5-on-5 situations: - DFL in CF% - 2nd-last in FF% - 2nd in on-ice goals% - 2nd in XGF% - 2nd in score-adjusted XGF% - 3rd in on-ice XGA per 60 min - DFL in on-ice shot attempts against per 60 min - 2nd in on-ice high danger shot attempts against per 60 min So in most of these categories, he did well relative to the rest of the D group.

BTW, it's of course a matter of personal taste, but I think the black-and-white photo of the younger RJ with the rock star hair was a better avatar.

Evidently, the After the Whistle podcast (Petey and Rivet) is reporting that the deal is done at $10.5MM x 8 years.

All 3 outcomes are eminently possible but I chose the best case. Great intro for this one and series of threads generally, @dudacek. I really like the info about him doubling his production in his prior 2nd seasons. Power stepping up a level could, low-key, be a major factor for the team this year.

These cost overruns aren't due to hedge-able causes.

I think he’s gonna be great and the team will believe in him and play better in front of him, as they did for Miller and Dominik. Even so, I wish they had brought in a credible 1A.

Most likely outcome IMHO is waived to Rochester with no one claiming him. However, I chose best case scenario, as I’ve done for almost all of these. In this case, I think there is a pretty decent likelihood he outplays UPL in the preseason and earns the job. If it’s a tie though, I think UPL will get it and Comrie will be waived.

Again: why do you keep doing this? Why don't you do this with your own posts?

I agree that there is a pretty wide range of potential outcomes for Mitts, although if he stays with the Sabres I don't think Holzinger is one of them. I think 50 pts is pretty close to a floor for him -- and although Holzinger got there once in a 10-year career, and was faster than Mitts, Holzinger's hands and overall offensive game were nowhere near Mitts' IMHO. If he stays with the Sabres, I think Mitts will stay in the top 6 in ice time among forwards (probably in the 5-6 range), steadily improve his game and pretty regularly exceed 50 pts. In Quinn's absence this coming season, I expect Mitts to hold down a spot on Cozen's line, which means he will continue to get a lot of ice time, with talented linemates. I don't think he'll ever be one of the key pillars of the team, but he's made himself into a valuable, contributing supporting piece. He's also clearly well liked by the coaches and his teammates. Looking at his stats, it's kinda interesting IMHO that he played 77 games in his first full NHL season, which was Housley's 2nd year (76 pts, something like a 15-game losing streak in the 2nd half and Howie got fired! Great job all around!). Then, 31, 41 and 40 games, covering the glorious Krueger era and DM's first year and including a few serious injuries, then all 82 games last year. So while he didn't cover himself in glory before last season, he also found himself in a highly dysfunctional environment in which his personal obstacles included injury.

I hope everyone here is having a nice summer weekend with friends and/or family. It's gonna be a hot couple of days in the NE! I kinda wish the hockey world cup were now instead of in May -- I am really enjoying the basketball world cup and it's whetting my appetite for the regular season to start. I'm sure I'd feel the same way if a bunch of the Sabres were playing in a highly competitive tournament right now with a dozen or so teams stocked with a lot of good-to-great NHLers. Still, it's been a nice weekend so far. Enjoy.

I think Skinner very much still has his legs and his fire, and he has 2 great linemates, and the 3 of them complement each other very well. As long as he keeps his hands and the 3 of them stay healthy I think he will be very productive. I think he’ll also be very good in the playoffs.

There is some truth to this but Weber was better than Stillman and good enough to play in a decent top 6.

Messrs. Briere and Afinogenov are proffered. Completely agree with the rest.

New prospect rankings from Expected Buffalo: https://www.expectedbuffalo.com/expected-buffalo-2023-top-25-sabres-prospects-rankings-levi-benson/

Well, it's between Bryson and Stillman for the #7 spot, and neither of them covered himself in glory last year. It's quite possible that Bryson beats out Stillman for the #7 spot and dresses for plenty of games due to injuries in the top 6.