nfreeman

I will be pretty surprised if Joker isn't Power's partner or isn't in the top 4 if the top 4 pairings are jumbled. I think the organization likes Joker quite a bit and that they brought in Boosh to solidify what would've been a shaky Bryson-Fitzie 3rd pair -- not because they thought Boosh would compete with Joker for a 2nd pairing slot. I also think Bryson probably has more leash than just this year, although I agree that he could play himself off the roster if he's lousy.

Does anyone know what the "prospects" threshold is? Is it the same as the NHL "rookie" definition? I'm wondering who we're going to see from Ottawa and NJ, each of whom have a bunch of good young players who might be too experienced at this point to be considered prospects.

Yes -- I was also thinking there is likely a psychological coaching component at work here. But I also think that Peca wouldn't say that about someone who he didn't think had the potential to be a really effective scorer.

I will be pretty surprised if a cap move delivers to the Sabres a F who is good enough for KA to want to take ice time away from the guys in their projected top 12 -- i.e. I think KA would only bring in a F -- in a cap move or any other kind of transaction -- who was an undeniable, extremely compelling player. I think if it happens, it's much more likely to deliver a Dman to the Sabres than a F.

Because JJP is much faster and more powerful than Kucherov, of course.

Well, my lineups came from dailyfaceoff.com, so your beef is with them, not me. As for Sanderson, he could be a difference-maker next season, or he could have the impact more typical of a rookie offensive defenseman who has never played in the NHL and who is coming off of 2 semi-serious injuries (hand surgery and shoulder). I don't think it's prudent to pencil him in as a Cale Makar clone right out of the gate. I agree that the 2nd bolded is a major question, and I too have been skeptical of how meaningful their garbage-time performance was. However, I think they absolutely were a much better team in the last 1/3 of the season than in the 1st 2/3, perhaps mostly because of health but also because of maturity, moving on from Eichel, etc. The playoff-level record they put up in that last 1/3 was likely overstated due to not getting their opponents' A games most nights, but they were still greatly improved IMHO. If the team we saw in the last 1/3 of the season was the real Sabres (a huge if, to be sure), then I don't think the 1st bolded in your post above is a correct assumption, because I think that Sabres team was materially better than the Senators and the Red Wings. The other 2 teams narrowed that gap with their offseason additions, but the Sabres also made some potentially important additions (starting G, starting, physical D, 2 scoring Fs). If the Sabres' additions deliver -- also a huge if -- then I think they will be able to maintain their separation from Ottawa and Detroit. One semi-related point on this: I think Ottawa's franchise is likely to benefit from its new ownership and Detroit's is likely to benefit from its new leadership in Stevie Y. So although I think the Sabres are likely to be better than those 2 teams this year, over the long term, I doubt those 2 will remain doormats.

From the Athletic’s wrap-up article on the camp: 4. Coaches couldn’t stop gushing about J.J. Peterka, who had a breakout season in the AHL last year. A second-round pick in 2020, Peterka has exciting skill and a scorer’s mentality on the ice. Rochester assistant Michael Peca worked closely with him last season and was blown away by his progress. “I still view him as a unicorn,” Peca said. “I can’t find anybody I played with or against, even in today’s game, that resembles the type of player he can become. “He has no idea how good he can be, which is scary. It’s the blend of the power and speed and the skill set with his hands and his shot and his ability to play in a physical game. He can play in any environment, and he can dominate in any environment.”

Ottawa projected top 9 forwards/top 4 😧 Brady Tkachuk - Josh Norris - Drake Batherson Alex DeBrincat - Tim Stützle - Claude Giroux Alex Formenton - Shane Pinto -Mathieu Joseph Thomas Chabot - Travis Hamonic Erik Brannstrom - Artem Zub Detroit projected top 9 forwards/top 4: Lucas Raymond - Dylan Larkin - Tyler Bertuzzi Jakub Vrana - Andrew Copp - David Perron Dominik Kubalik - Pius Suter - Filip Zadina Ben Chiarot - Moritz Seider Olli Maatta - Filip Hronek Sabres projected top 9 forwards/top 4: Skinner - TT - Tuch Krebs-Cozens-KO VO-Mitts-Quinn Mule-Dahlin Power-Joker Ottawa's top 6 looks good, but has 3 young guys that need to replicate and build on their early-career success and a fourth, in Giroux, who may be out of gas. IMHO It's pretty likely that the Sabres' top 9 will be about as productive as Ottawa's, and more productive than Detroit's. And the Sabres' top 4 D look better than Ottawa's, and Detroit's for that matter.

I just meant that the thread is about which of the 3 teams is the best team right now -- and if that is the question, then we need to consider the teams' entire rosters, not just the offseason additions. You are of course correct that the offseason additions will be on the opening night rosters, but your posts in this thread seem to focus solely on the offseason additions, and not on the entire rosters.

@PerreaultForever— But if the question is which team is better right now, doesn’t it make sense to focus on the expected opening night rosters, and not just on the summer additions? if the last 2 months of the Sabres’ season weren’t a garbage-time mirage, and if either Comrie or UPL is up to the job, I think the Sabres are the best of the 3. But those are 2 large ifs.

Indeed, but Crosby is still one of the best players in the league, and Pitt is still a playoff team, and once you get in the playoffs, anything can happen. Dominik was 36 when he forced the Sabres to trade him to Detroit. The Sabres had no choice at that point, but if Dom had been willing to stay, wouldn't the Sabres have been better off keeping him and extending that era, in which they made it to the conf. finals, the finals and the 2nd round (and were 30 seconds away from another conf. finals that year)? I also think there's a legit argument to be made that trading an all-timer like Crosby in a bloodless, machiavellian manner is bad for business.

You have got to be kidding me.

Quinn, JJP and Kulich are going to be good NHL players.

Levi and UPL are going to guard the wall like Jon Snow and Tormund Giantsbane.

I’m just referring to his quote at the draft when asked about his plans for the season — he said he was planning only on the NHL (which was kinda awesome).

Koolie's plans for this season do not include the AHL.

Yes -- I almost bailed after the first episode, but starting with episode 2 I was all in.

A few shows I've watched recently: - Stranger Things -- pretty enjoyable -- I think if you like the show generally, you'll like Season 4. It's not great, or as good as Season 1 was, but still pretty good IMHO. - Terminal List -- similarly, not great but pretty enjoyable and it gets much better after the 1st episode, which was just OK IMHO. I recently took a long trip and was glad to have it downloaded and ready in my ipad. - Hustle -- very good if you like the NBA. If you don't like the NBA, I would skip it. - The Old Man -- pretty good spy thriller, although the last couple of episodes have been a bit slow. - Slow Horses -- also a pretty good spy thriller.

I feel like I've been hearing about the clever cap-driven moves the Sabres are going to make since the Larry Quinn days. I'll believe another team's cap woes will deliver a good player unto the Sabres when I see it.

So I just watched these 2 videos. My takeaway is that Johnson likes and is comfortable with the Sabres organization (as he is with his college team) and is less inclined than Portillo is to step into the great unknown of free agency and a new team, and thus that Johnson is more likely than not to return to college and then sign with the Sabres. OTOH, Portillo, who is a year older and more well traveled than Johnson, and perhaps more serious and considered about maximizing his future than Johnson is, is definitely returning to college and will then be 50/50 to sign with the Sabres. So, I continue to think the most likely outcome is that the Sabres get one of them and lose one of them, and the one they get is more likely to be Johnson.

I don't think that would've been a better question. Copp wasn't available on a 2-year deal. If you wanted him, you were giving up term and AAV. You have to take the whole package -- so if you're unhappy about the Sabres not getting Copp, you have to decide whether you would've given him the same contract Detroit gave him (or, realistically, a richer deal, since he was inclined towards Detroit anyway). Preferring Talbot and/or Husso to Comrie is fair, but again, far from a sure thing. As for Debrincat -- I'm not sure I'd rather have him, with that contract, than Savoie and the other picks it would've taken to get him.

Serious question: what moves did those teams make that you would've wanted the Sabres to make? I think you were lobbying for Copp -- he's a solid player, but is he a difference-maker? In 7 NHL seasons he's put up more than 28 points just twice. The Rangers didn't try to keep him. Would you have wanted the Sabres to give him that contract (I think $5.75MM x 5 years)? Would you have wanted them to spend $10MM per year on Gaudreau? Or give a 3-year contract to Giroux? I like the Cam Talbot move for Ottawa, but how confident are you that he'll be a better #1 than Comrie? I think the Sabres are a very young team that KA has been running for one full season with his management team in place. When they got healthy last year, and when the season was already lost, they finally came to life in the last 28 games or so. It's still a pretty small sample size to conclude that they have the internal pieces they need in place and now is the time to bring in high-priced talent from outside to complete the picture.

I think VO could develop into a core player, and could earn that status as early as this coming season. As others noted upthread, I think this contract gives KA a couple of seasons to make that determination, and gives VO a couple of seasons and a pretty good opportunity to earn a big contract, either from the Sabres or from someone else. IMHO, VO has shown plenty of signs that he's capable of being a core piece here. In the next couple of years, the pressure will increase, as the team should be more competitive and thus should be playing opponents who bring their A games more often, and there will also be greater internal competition, with a bunch of good young forwards vying for playing time. It will be interesting to see. I won't be surprised if VO is gone after 2 years, but I also won't be surprised if he beats out someone like Mitts or JJP for a spot.

I'm interested in how the internal competition shakes out in a number of areas: - Goalie -- obviously! The hope is that either Comrie or UPL seizes the top job and Anderson fills in well as the #2 -- but really any of the 3 of them could end up getting a plurality of the starts. - Forward -- I think we can assume that Skinner, TT, Tuch, VO, Cozens and KO will get plenty of ice time. But after that, it will be a free-for-all among Mitts, Krebs, Quinn, Asplund, Zemgus, Vinnie and JJP for minutes, with a lot of different possible outcomes and line combos. - 12th/13th forward -- this seems like it will come down to Vinnie, JJP and Krebs battling to avoid healthy-scratch status -- but maybe Quinn or Mitts starts slowly, or maybe Bjork or R2 has a stronger-than-expected camp. - 6th/7th Dman -- I can see Fitzie and Bryson battling each other all season to stay in the lineup. Also, we'll need to find spots for Patrick Kane, PK Subban and of course Jiri Kulich, who has no plans other than to play in the NHL this year. Go Sabres. I can't help it! I'm psyched! If Comrie or UPL delivers the goods, they are going to make the playoffs this year.

I’m thinking “Loobie.”