Brawndo

Oops

Benson out with Mitts and Tuch for a shift

Ryan Johnson really moves along the blue line well

ZEMGUS

Absolutely

Open the link in your browser and copy and paste that

Oops

Expected at 7pm today

Cozens out Biro in tonight

My hunch is Atlanta and SLC( unless Arizona moves there) or San Diego if they do

Bettman told the BOG that the very preliminary salary cap for 2024-25 is expected to rise to 87-88 million

https://x.com/SabresPR/status/1709629488609292382?s=20 Kulich, Rosen and Murray sent to Rochester

Elder Johnson is not on the ice despite being listed on the game day roster

Clifton and Elder Johnson debut

Jost and Mitts were his most common line mates they were minus nine and eight respectively. The eye test and analytics match for VO. The Sabres as a team expected goals per 60 minutes(xGF/60)drops 15% when VO is on the ice, even the PP is slightly worse with him on the ice. There is data comparing JJP-Cozens with Quinn and VO, it’s a smaller small size with VO, but it’s ugly nonetheless. The line with VO has a decrease of 26% in (xGF/60) compared to with Quinn. The line with VO has an increase of 26% in expected goals against per 60 compared to Quinn. This shows two things, Quinn is a heck of a player who will be missed and utilizing VO on His Present Practice Line with Cozens and JJP runs a very high risk of neutralizing any effectiveness of this line. By the age of 28 forwards in particular are the player they are going to be so improvement would be the exception not the norm

The issue with VO is he drags down every line he was on last season, that’s what the data showed. And even though Skinner and TNT are allergic to defense they outscored their problems, Skinner was a +15 and TNT +4. VO was a whopping -23, only surpassed by Bryson at -24 The biggest selling point to a team like TB is there is no way he makes it to them in waiver priority and with them being so close to the cap, retaining 50 of his 837.5 Cap Hit could be very attractive to them

Do not like VO with Cozens and Peterka

Darren Dreger was on Sabres Live and spoke about this situation. He mentioned he was surprised that Constantine was hired in the first place based on his history. He also mentioned that the WHL has been strict with player suspensions and imagines Constantine’s punishment with be in line with this. I wonder if he keeps the job

Skinner-TNT-Tuch JJP-Cozens-Krebs Greenway-Mitts-Benson Zemgus-Jost-Okposo VO or Biro the 13th Forwsrd. As good as Benson has been, some games lower in the lineup would be a better introduction to the regular season As great as Skinner and Tage are, their defense leaves a lot to be desired. Expecting an 18 year old to fill Tuch’s Spot is a tall ask Krebs has shown defensive responsibility and playmaking ability, moving Him up with Cozens and JJP is worth a try Mitts gets Benson to start the season, an upgrade at 5v5 over VO Jost, who had some of the best defensive metrics on the team last season, rounds out the shutdown line.

That it has

Olofsson is the most likely player that Benson would be replacing in the Forward Group. When they were in the playoff push last year at the end of the season, VO was a healthy scratch for almost all of those games. Has Benson shown enough to earn up to a nine game tryout with the team. On the flip side there is a lot of benefit to sending him back to the WHL to work on developing strength. Plus He will be in leadership position and eligible to play in the WJC. The Coaching Situation with the Wild might complicate things and the Sabres might push for a coaching change or a trade of Savoie/Benson. Biro does remain a wild card to make the team and could also slot in to the lineup. Either way it’s nice to have options