dudacek

How would you compare your confidence in Levi to your confidence in Anderson? We missed by one point with Anderson and I have high confidence Levi can replace his 26 games and supply another 26 at that level. I think the experience gained and the pieces added over the 82 games last year will make a difference over the 82 games this year. I think Clifton and Johnson improve the weakest part of last year’s depth chart (PK, defensive depth) while also adding to those characteristics (experience, defence, edge) the team was lacking. I also think it is highly unlikely the forwards will be able to repeat the scoring totals and the good health they had last year and I think the confidence in Levi needs to be buttressed with a better insurance policy. I think they should be a playoff team as currently constructed. I also think more can and should be done.

Great post. I read elsewhere on here today that the Sabres are putting out the vibe that “now’s not the time, we’re still a year or two away” and I don’t see that all. Those who are buying into Adams by and large see the pieces of a playoff team assembled right now. If they cough up an 86-point year, no one is going to be OK with that, and Adams knows it.

Seems to me after hashing the issue to death that the Venn diagram of goalies better than UPL, available, and at a price acceptable to Adams is very small. Or maybe he’s just trying to wait somebody out, or he’s got something he wants to do, but it’s held up by another shoe that has to fall around the league first. Who knows? It’s dead out there and we’re just basically trying to fill the vaccuum.

He pretty much outright said he wasn't going to acquire a goalie if he didn't believe that goalie was better than what we had. Now you have to assume a big part of that is posturing toward other GMs, but another one is that he may feel better about his trio than we do. And I'd say the same goes for Victor as the Quinn replacement. the league has moved into waiting mode and he seems content to wait it out. He's got a lot of depth in most spots and the flexibility to make a move or 2 if the dominoes start to fall. But hes done a good job of making it seem like he doesn't have to make a move.

I think ideally most fans wanted: a goalie to share the load with Levi 1 top 4 defenceman defensive depth plus maybe someone to take faceoffs, then Quinn got hurt and it opened another spot there. Seems to me like there's still work to be done.

That's an interesting and sweeping take. I think we're an extremely soulful and bruised fanbase divided between those eager to embrace reasons for joy and those reluctant to do so because they've been fooled before.

Yes there are. Did you think that was one?

You keep living in that world of your own making. Doesnt seem like a fun place, but to each his own.

Those blackouts are starting to affect your memory.

I got that. Mostly just pushing back against the idea that Comrie might be better. I mean he might be, but the numbers suggest he’s been equally bad, just for longer.

I liked Borgen and Guhle certainly fits even though I always thought he was kinda overrated. So basically since then.

Comrie is 28, and has 22 wins and a .897 sv% of in 47 career NHL starts. UPL is 24, and has 20 wins and a sv% of .898 in 46 career NHL starts. Why would you roll the dice on either?

Bader sucks even when I like what his model says.

Pretty hard to debate private numbers or any conclusions being drawn from them. (Not doubting your sources exist). Conventional stats disagree. And I’m not debating whether or not UPL needs to be upgraded. In my opinion, he should be.

He played 9 NHL games in 21/22 and his AHL sv% was .900 (in 33 games). It's not hard to find many goalies who were worse. If you're going to dismiss his .917 in 9 NHL games in 21/22, not sure why you're making a big deal about his barely cracking the top 50 .898 in his 9 AHL games in 22/23 Clearly a guy who went 40/33/12 overall the past 2 years is "one of the very worst goalies in whatever league he's played in for about 5 straight seasons now". I mean if you want to really get specific, 5 years ago, he was literally voted the best goalie in his league. No point discussing this further. Your statement was wrong, but if you want to continue to double down on it be my guest

UPL has been very mediocre and inconsistent, but “very worst” is hyperbole. In 21/22 he put up a .917 sv% in the NHL. Over the past 2 years he’s 21/17/6 in the AHL and 19/16/6 in the NHL. Last year in the AHL his sv% barely cracked the top 50, but it wasn’t far behind well-rated peers like Akira Schmid and Piotr Kotchekov. And there were 25 guys who played at least 15 games and had worse, in some cases significantly worse. Im not arguing your main point, his numbers aren’t promising. I just don’t want the bold to become gospel around here, because it’s not true.

Minus Mule’s stint, it feels like it’s been a long while since the Amerks had any D prospects worth watching. These two right now are possibly no better than 12/13 on the depth chart (9 NHL guys and the tweeners Clague and Davies). There’s a chance they may get lost in the crowd, but Appert has proven to be a coach who plays the kids so I doubt it. Johnson played 4 full years in college and Novikov was full-time in the KHL. They should be a lot more prepared for the AHL than most rookies and may not be that far away from the NHL. It will be very interesting to see where they are come spring.

I watched assistant coach Dan Girardi on Spitting Chiclets in a video that sounded like it was done just before Free Agency. He sure talked like the Sabres had a good young core 4 on the blueline. I mean, he praised the other 3 more, but it sure sounded like Henri was a valued piece.

This really is the key to any hope the Sabres have of this build turning into a serious contender. I expect we are finally emerging from the muck and can be competitive for a while given what’s on the current team and what appears to be coming behind. But to be an actual contender we need elite talent leading the way. Dahlin is there. Will he stay there and can Power join him?

Good discussion on Vic on SabresLive. 2 of the interesting points raised: His analytics were good last year His 28 goals led all NHLers who averaged less than 15 minutes of ice time last year by a wide margin. No one else had more than 22.

Regardless of the “I want it now” nature of some segments of fandom, I think Mitts and Krebs are firmly “wants to be here” and “he’s a Sabre” guys in the GM’s books. They’re both guys you’d have to work hard to pry out of Kevyn’s hands.

With all the success of most of the team in Donnie’s system, I really wonder how much we are overlooking Vic not being a good fit in that system? Or at least with his role in it? Did we know he’s a positive Corsi player over his career? How do his analytics compare with Dahlin or Power compared to 3rd pairing guys I perceive him to have played with most?

I was watching a Krebs highlihgth video the other day and it was interesting how many of them involved Olofsson. Maybe they can build some chemistry on a 3rd line with Greenway? I'd have no problem with a Cozens Peterka Mitts 2nd line.

Not sure is we'll see Levi or Rousek, and the college and Euro guys won't be around, but will get a mix of Amerks and juniors Here's a potential roster: Benson Savoie Nadeau Cedarqvist Kulich Rosen Kisakov Kozak Neuchev Fiddler-Schultz Miedema Johnson Novikov Metsa Jandric Komarov Lindgren Ratzlaff

Benson Savoie Kulich Rosen Johnson Novikov, maybe even Levi? Can't wait.