dudacek

Flames fans want Krebs and/or 13. I think Calgary seems like a good destination for Olofsson. No idea Conroy would want. Value to me would be somewhere between Lindholm (pick 22, 2 2nds) and Provorov (pick 22, 1 2nd that likely paid for salary retention) Personally, I think Hanifin is a great fit

But it sure does cement the fact they are bringing back the band. Skinner Tage, Tuch, Peterka Greenway Cozens Mitts Quinn Okposo Krebs Girgensons That’s 11 everyday players with 2 or 3 roster spots left up front. Vic’s gone and Rousek is knocking on the door. Wonder if they bring in an upgrade on Jost for that last spot?

From a fan perspective, love the guy, desperately want to see him in the playoffs wearing blue and gold. From a hockey perspective, not many better 4th line wingers in this league. People scream for more of what he brings from the team yet overlook the fact he’s bringing it.

I’d offer a slight caveat: used as #6 on a deep, defensively strong system team like Boston I could see him getting the job done. Cast any higher, on a leakier team, he’s going to break down and fail.

You do a good job stating your case, but the disconnect is clearly happening with the bold: 2years ago, OEL and Bryson performed at roughly the same level of adequate 3rd pairing guy. Last year they each fell off the same cliff and didn’t belong on NHL ice. 3 years ago, in Arizona, OEL’s play mirrored that of his most recent year. The gap between him and Jokiharju is huge. It has been 4 years since he has showed the talent upgrade you think might be there. As I said last week in the other thread, on paper he looks like he might be a Jeep or a Teppo in the making, but on the ice he’s shown no signs. If you sign him, it should be with expectations similar to Clague: any useful NHL contribution he might make should be considered a pleasant surprise.

Love Peca. Wish he was still here. Continue to scoff at the idea anyone here has sufficient knowledge to determine whether or not he represents a significant upgrade on anyone still with the organization as a coach You like the player and the man.

Feels like Arizona at 6 might also be a viable target

This a legitimate concern. For me, if the Sabres become Cup contenders it's because Power and Dahlin are their best players and legit top 10 NHL blueliners. $18 million is cheap for your top 2 players over the next 9 years.

The other option that might work chemistry-wise is keeping Krebs with Okposo and sliding Savoie in between Mitts and Greenway. But I don' tthink Savoie is ready for that.

I know people are hardwired to want Cozens with Quinn and Peterka, and that might be the best option. But a Mitts Cozens Greenway line could play against anyone and might result in 40 goals for Dylan.

Maybe that's where he's headed, that the team should be using him more?

I haven’t looked into the numbers, but I’m pretty sure most of Casey’s PK work happened early in the year. My memory tells me that he lost his job there and down the stretch he wasn’t being used in that role at all. Edit: nhl.Com says he was 11th in Sabre forwards last season, averaging 20 seconds per game SH. After March 1 he played 13 seconds - not 13 per game, but 13 seconds total. https://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?report=timeonice&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20222023&seasonTo=20222023&gameType=2&position=F&playerPlayedFor=franchise.19&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=shTimeOnIcePerGame&page=0&pageSize=50

Pretty much everyone agrees that the best move for the Sabres is to acquire a reliable proven veteran who can act as a bridge for Levi - ideally work in a tandem, but also carry the freight if he falters, and not act as a block if he gets hot. Pretty much everyone wants a guy who has put up consistently strong numbers in recent years, who is available without costing us #13 or a top prospect, and who doesn’t carry a contract commitment beyond 2 years. Why does pretty much no one recognize there is no better fit for the Sabres than Linus Ullmark?

I said more than anything else, the pipeline needs an Ekholm. He sure seems to fit the bill.

Last time a Sabre put up that many highlights in one season? Had to be Dom, right? That was a special year he gave us.

Interesting talk on the latest Athletic draft podcast about whether or not Michkov is a ***** and whether that should matter. They danced around for awhile about double standards, and how plenty of other high picks have deserved those concerns and didn’t get the same amount of attention, and whether even if they are true, does it matter? And they had me thinking “it kinda sounds like they’re talking about Eichel?” And then one just bluntly said “there are many people around the league who for many years have said bad things about Jack Eichel and I’m sure he doesn’t give a ***** about that right now”

I think it’s probably where you need to be. I understand why some people’s jaws drop, but I’d do it. This is all true. Thing is, Power doesn’t need to be a Norris Trophy candidate for the contract to make sense. $8 million right now, meaning as of today, would make him the 17th highest paid defenceman in the league. 3 or 4 years from now, it may not be in the top 30. Nine years from now, when he’s 29, I’d be surprised if it’s top 50. Yeah, he might be overpaid the next year or two, but he might be underpaid for 5 or 6 after that, even if he “only” turns into a Thomas Chabot level player. I have no problem betting on Power being a top 50 NHL defenceman for the majority of the deal and $8-million reflects that. I really think it’s just the appropriate manifestation of what powered the Mule and Tage signings: if you’ve seen enough to believe, lock him up.

I gotta say that I've never really seen the value in Bader's stuff. Not really commenting on the info above, it's just that I've come to the point where I just don't pay any attention to him, fair or not. I just don't see the value in saying these selected numbers are close to this other guy's therefore we should expect a similar career.

Switching Rousek for Z probably helps the offence and opens cap space while making us slower, smaller, weaker on the forecheck and worse defensively. Not exactly robbing from strength to address weakness

I'm looking to Quinn to elevate his role on the PP and hope the coaches are adjusting their tactics to emphasize his skillset.

I’d really like to watch you and Don break down a game together.

He’s smart and he competes. His size/speed/skill combination is OK, but looks to be lacking any one standout quality, so my questions would be two: Is the package enough to hold down a Jack-of-all trades middle-six role in the NHL, I guess like a Jochen Hecht or a Dixon Ward? If not, can he carve himself out a specialty (PK, forecheck, faceoffs, etc) that can keep him in an NHL lineup? I think he’ll get a chance this year and likely makes the team as a bottom of the lineup utility guy, the way the forward corps stacks up right now. Not sure if he has a role here beyond that.

With all due respect, Sabrespace knows ***** about coaching. As in, even Ralph Krueger knows more about coaching hockey than any of us. (Except @Taro T that guy is coach smart) I’ve been reading this place for years. Many of us seem to operate under the misunderstanding that hockey is like football and coaches have an entire playbook that they are constantly able to pull from to attack or counter opponents throughout the game. Or that coaches are somehow able to dictate what a player does in that split second after puck hits a skate at the left circle and bounces at a 60 degree angle on a cross-ice pass attempt during the cycle. Or we pick a specific moment or game decision or coaching tendency we disagree with and hold on to it forever like it is the clear reason the team lost or won. We say things like “Sullivan totally outcoached Granato tonight” because “way too many turnovers” or “the Sabres are soft”. Because I guess Granato told them to make bad passes or not battle for pucks? Let’s be honest, most of us don’t understand tactics and strategies and wouldn’t recognize an in-game shift if it slashed us in the shins. We have no clue about what the Sabres are being told on the bench or in the room. We have no insight into who is hurt, or sick, or hungover. We say and believe stupid things like “coach is an idiot for not letting Skinner shoot in the shootouts” without ever checking to see if he is good at shootouts. Or “Granato has no experience” when he has been coaching pro hockey players for 30 years. Eleven is smart guy, I respect most of his opinions. But he has no more ***** clue whether or not Don Granato can coach a non-development team than I do. Because neither of us has ever seen him in that situation. Let’s face it, we basically judge a coach on whether we like his pressers and his demeanour behind the bench, as well as his won/lost record filtered through our expectations. That’s it. That’s fine. I do it too. But it has very little to do with actual coaching. Nearly every player on Don Granato’s roster had career seasons while the Sabres had their highest point total in 12 years. If you think that carries less weight than the fact he didn’t pull Eric Comrie with 10 minutes left against Dallas when a 5-3 game turned into an 8-3 game, you’re welcome to that.

This year’s goalie market is clearly better, IMO. On the trade market Gibson and Hart have much better resumes than last year’s group. Hellebuyck is elite (as is Saros, if he’s actually available). And the UFAs (Raantta, Andersen Korpisalo Jarry Hill Varlamov off the top of my head) look to better fit Buffalo’s sweet spot.