dudacek

I’d say this is very much up for debate. Skinner has produced very well in Buffalo with Tuch and Thompson, and with Eichel and Reinhart. Not so much elsewhere. The other question is deployment: in theory, Skinner can work with a Roy/Max/Vanek style unit 3rd line, with the other 3 lines sheltering it defensively. Buffalo doesn’t seem to have the personnel for that now and they seem to be talking about chasing players and a philosophy that doesn’t match it either. I don’t see him working on a checking line, or an energy line, and I prefer a better defensive option on a top 4 wing group that also includes Peterka and Quinn. To me, Skinner’s fit is largely dependent on what moves they are able to make elsewhere up front.

My read is that there is a web of potential moves contingent on each other. Skinner's future is one of several balls in the air. Adams generally seems like he tries to keep his players informed, so I would be surprised if he hadn't talked to Skinner's camp.

I've seen a few mocks that have him up in our range and I like the player. He really seems like the best "needs" fit likely to be available. I'm just hesitant that picking him will mean we left a better player on the table.

Skinner slipped in this category last year. Historically, he's been among the league's best. 6th on the team in penalties drawn with 17. League-wide he's tied for 173rd. 7th in penalties drawn per 60 among Sabres regulars. Peterka was far and away the leader.

Didn’t realize the defensive analytics were so strong. Got a lot of minutes too on a blah Caps team. Somebody who caught your eye, or have heard he’s caught the Sabres’? Not sure why they’d be moving on from him.

Doesn’t move the needle much, but he seems like a legit 4th line vet on an attractive contract. As the Jost replacement on the depth chart, sure?

And I also demand the right to share Woody's posts whenever and however I choose.

Does this affect the possibility of Danualt being on the table? Or was Dubois not going to be a King regardless?

I want a total no-movement clause. @nfreeman keeps my posts exactly where and how they are unless i give the OK.

What were you expecting? Looks like retention got Calgary a little more than I was expecting, but that’s basically ballpark value, IMO. New Jersey held fast on to 10, as they should have. Legit starters get moved so rarely.

And people are taking my initial post far more seriously than it was intended. I was just having a random chuckle about how even when we seem to agree on some things some times, we never completely agree on anything.

To me, it's about Skinner not being a player they want getting prime ice time any more and him being a net negative player if he's in a lesser role. It's kinda like the Diggs trade. He can still play, but the team feels its better off big picture making the move. The Sabres don't necessarily have to spend up to the cap, but they have to make follow-up moves that show a top 9 that looks more effective than it did before they cut him. I think Skinner's likability to the marketing department far outweighs his likability to his coaches.

Or multiple useful players. There's no point doing it if they aren't going to spend the money.

Trusted source: "It's not done yet and maybe there's a chance it may not happen, but the sabres look like they're going to buy out Skinner. I know (guy who should know) says Skinner's agency has been warned. They're trying to keep this quiet while the agency looks for an alternative, so you definitely cannot report this as done or in any way tie it to me." Friedman: "But, you know, I always try to be careful with what I say unless I 100% know. So I can't say 100% it's going to happen, but it's definitely out there."

Sabrespace: We need to get bigger and better defensively. Also Sabrespace: not Greenway! Sabrespace: We need to add a top 4 defenceman. Also Sabrespace: not Byram! Sabrespace: We need to trade one of the young guys to shake up the core. Also Sabrespace: not Mittelstadt! Sabrespace: We need to be more accountable and start playing the right way. Also Sabrespace: not Skinner! There is no such thing as a hive mind around here. 😄

Forgive the self-quoting, but we were talking about this earlier.

It does not make sense if: A) you believe Skinner is a good fit within the type of roster/system the Sabres want to run this year under Ruff B) you believe the Sabres have no intention of using the cap savings this creates over the next two seasons. It makes sense if they are filling the cap and roster vacuum with a better fit. If the league’s longest playoff drought continues while the league’s longest playoff player drought ends in a Stanley Cup, you know the curse is real.

The gist of the post remains the ongoing willful blindness to a big part of Dahlin's game. I remain thankful.

Effectively trading Kane for Skinner is a big win in my books. As is Skinner playing a regular shift in Toronto.

The tea leaves don’t always point to where you think, but I’ve certainly noticed numerous signs that point to Skinner not being in their plans. Not so much a cancer as a symbol of the change that they think is needed. At the very least you move Quinn/Peterka/Benson up the depth chart and create roster space for “an addition who plays the right way”. Do you want Skinner on the top line or PP and if he’s not do you want him moping the way he has in Buffalo any time he’s been removed from that role? But the cap space could be huge if they actually have plans to spend it. Theoretically, it allows you to replace Skinner with a $7M player without affecting your plans elsewhere on your roster. To me - someone who’s not a Skinner fan - that’s big. Also fits with @tom webster’s report of Pegula needing to sign off on a big spend. @Flashsabre @nfreeman I think the Skinner tweet is worthy of its own thread and this conversation should be moved there.

Mostly fair? He says this: "And when I look at our forward group, I get excited because I think we have a core of guys that are at good ages. Now they’ve got some experience." But also this: "We’re spending a lot of time looking at (center) when you make a trade. As excited as you are about acquiring Bo, you lose a player like (Casey Mittelstadt), so how do you fill those positions?" I agree that Adams is very aware of the message he sends to the fan base and read his statements through that filter. But i have never considered him to be deceptive. When he's laid out his plans in the past, he's generally followed through: "not going to block", "we like our goalies" "we'd like to add some experience and PK to the blue line" "It's no secret we've been looking for a top 4 defenceman" "we want players who want to be here". So when he says he's trying to make the bottom 6 harder to play against, yes, I do take that at face value, and feel pretty comfortable about doing so. What are you skeptical of and why?

Not sure how much of this is new, but if you want an idea of the game plan, I don’t think Kevyn can spell it out any more plainly: Upgrade the bottom 6, add a centre, make sure there’s depth on D, give Lindy the situational tools he needs. https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nhl/sabres/buffalo-sabres-kevyn-adams-q-and-a-zemgus-girgensons-ukko-pekka-luukkonen/article_523767c2-2cac-11ef-9f0b-a31a30eb32c8.html Girgensons, Jokiharju, pick 11, it’s all touched on.

And this was very much the context of what he said. Interviewer asks what the priorities are over the next month, Lindy brings up toughness, interviewer follows up with question about tough guys, Lindy says it’s a tool he likes to have. Starts just after 23 minutes. Interesting interview overall.

Not sure who caught Lindy’s recent lengthy Buffalo TV interview, but he pretty much said he wants to add somebody who can chuck ‘em. Not in so many words, but in response to a question about it, he acknowledged he’s a coach who likes to have “tools” and said a young team can use somebody who makes them feel brave. Said he’s had many, many conversations with Kevyn about what the team needs.

Agree with this too. And the other variable of course is the youth of new group. How it matures (or get flipped as assets) matters. I really need to know how good a lot of the current players actually are.