DarthEbriate

Just make sure the kids get a playoff run in Rochester and the Sabres develop some chemistry with folks getting health. What I really want to see in the second half is Mitts solidify himself as a threat to score at the NHL level. The end of last season he showed it and I’m hoping he is able to get healthy and show it again. My second goal is goaltender stability. Third goal is sign Power and one of the NCAA goalies.

The key there is St. Louis was a perennial playoff contender. Once you’re at that level you can attract the higher-level UFA/mercenary who wants to be on a contender. We’re still at the point where our UFAs are the “prolong a career/happy to be in the league” variety. We’ll get there but it’s going to take a few years.

Rosen needs time. He wasn’t a reach based on the general consensus. Maybe a few picks early or you take a preferred player above him, but he was a mid-first. If he reaches his potential he could be a dynamic machine. But he’s an Olofsson. Undersized at draft time but with skills. What will he become? Hopefully a beloved Sabre.

The 800gp is where I go back to my parenthetical preferably all with Buffalo. It rarely happens, but it's the goal to get that great cornerstone player (or two together). The obvious problem is: the players need to be good, they need to stay healthy, and they need to overlap during their prime years. The Sabres had no chance to get a player to 800 games played this century because the decision to tank jettisoned the '06-'07 core. Pominville easily broke 800 gp, but only 733 with the Sabres and only that many because he came back after his stint in Minnesota. (And a good chunk of players are in the 600-800 career gp range who probably all easily pass the threshold if the NHL doesn't cancel an entire season and also have a half-season lockout in the middle of their careers.) Coincidentally...Roy only got to 738 gp career and would've had more if not for the lockouts. Only 549 with the Sabres. However, the Sabres have had plenty of skaters come through since '06-'07 who fit the "bona fide top-six during their prime" & "800 gp" criteria. The issue is the Sabres have yet to successfully build around those players and consistently rebuild with a new GM looking for his guys.

From a strictly Sabre-centric viewpoint, any work stoppage of the KHL will impact the VHL and MHL as well because they're affiliate leagues and won't provide enough revenue on their own. That hurts any development Poltapov, Kisakov, and Novikov for this season and possibly longer. From a wider viewpoint... The KHL already paused play for COVID this season, so if that's the concern they could easily announce it's another COVID pause. If it's in anticipation of the invasion of Ukraine, then the KHL is simply getting clear of upcoming resource restrictions, air travel restrictions, etc. And any Ukraine-based players (small percentage) can manage their affairs back home. It's worth noting that starting the playoffs immediately would eliminate Sochi (air travel impacted to reroute around Ukrainian airspace for any north-south travel) and Dinamo Riga (Latvia, a NATO nation) as they're both in last place in their divisions.

This is bad news all around.

^This. It's always best available player (based on your GM/scouting) and this season the Sabres will in all likelihood draft 1st, 2nd, or 5th-8th. (Unless a goalie goes supernova for them in the second half.) And there's a really, really good chance the highest-rated player available when they pick will be one of the top-rated defencemen who happens to shoot right. And it just so happens that's a position of need in the pipeline. It's the perfect storm. Two of them. But you don't need to draft them exclusively in the top 10 to find a 1st line center. You just need them to play like a 1st line center by the time they're done developing and when the playoffs roll around. From the Sabres' perspective, they need one of Cozens, Mitts, Krebs, Thompson to develop into a 10-year/800GP inarguable top-six center (preferably all with Buffalo). And then in this draft or 2023 or 2024 they need another center of that quality. And there are 8 picks (currently) in the first two rounds the next two drafts. They'll pick some centers. Then, the fun is in finding out what happens.

I don't believe it. That is why you fail. I'll try spinning. That's a good trick. With the blast shield blindfold down I can't even see. How am I supposed to shoot?

Oops. I meant Jiricek at 8. Nemec shouldn't make it past 4. The top lottery teams are a void of RHD talent and it's likely at least one of them gets bumped down a spot or two. The Kraken barely have a system (and only Ottavainen as an RHD prospect). Arizona has Soderstrom and nothing else. Montreal needs to find their next Weber.

His injury makes Nemec the automatic top D off the board. I like him at 8 (where we certainly will draft. Finish 7th but get jumped in the lottery.)

Yes, Whitecloud would be very tough to pry away unless VGK got something good in return -- even if "stitched" onto the Eichel trade. They have him and McNabb on good discount deals for their roles. Those aren't the contracts you move when you're trying to eliminate the overpriced guys with NTCs (Dadonov) without some incentive. (Contrast that McCabe got $4M/year from Chicago for the same "role" as [edit]: McNabb.) I didn't include Martinez because he was too old to begin the training for the initial search parameters. He's also a LHD and has a modified no-trade clause. But his age/salary and especially experience would be great for this team. I just can't see him allowing a trade to Buffalo no matter how much Tuch tells him its awesome. We are not a contender yet. Manson would be a fair offseason overpay. I think Justin Braun could also be good in that mentor role (the Flyers season notwithstanding). Manson and Braun still have enough game left to warrant a multiyear deal (2-4 years). Pysyk fits the bill still, too. Manson would be the most expensive -- probably another $2M/year for him vs. the others.

I'll bite. https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/active/2022/caphit/all/defense/all/desc/right?limits=age-22-26,height-71-81,weight-191-300 The impossible dreams: McAvoy The Rasmii quota: Anderson The potential with some enticement: Carlo, Roy, Bear, Zub The cap casualties? Cernak or Foote. The stop-and-think-about-it: Whitecloud as part of a package for Reilly Smith or Chandler Stephenson for when Martinez & Eichel return.

But we did get the NJ 2022 5th and $1M retained to take him for this season. He's already earned his trade value.

Catching this game on the radio as Workout- and DinnerMaking-Ebriate. It sounds like Dell has been excellent while Daccord was not so sharp. And the Amerks have been re-energized by the Taxi Squad Reinforcements. And Samuelsson and Krebs will join for a few games during the ASG break.

Definitely. The Amerks were Mat Robson and Tyler Parks. Robson has been fine. I have never heard of Parks. Or any of the other backups that have dressed recently. Dell/Houser will be an upgrade in net.

They're both need a stable veteran who can cover mistakes. And they've both needed it for the last couple seasons. Dahlin has looked solid with Pysyk. And way back when, Joker looked good with Scandella. Now, Joker and Scandella's early stats went downhill, as did the rest of the team, once the hot start faded and the goaltending dried up. Then, Scandella was moved for a 4th for Frolik after Bogo returned. Joker then was splitting time Montour and McCabe when instead maybe he should have been sent down to Rochester. (I think he was still waivers-exempt that first season.) There, he could've gotten top 4 minutes with Borgen, Bryson, and Redmond and honed his game for an entire AHL season. The thing I'm seeing is Dahlin-Joker on the PK. And I get it... they're learning all the roles and everyone's playing every situation. It's just ugly when the two of them are out on the PK this season.

Finally, a good bounce.

3 on 0 and... no rebound. Tricky 3 on 0 though because Tuch was far ahead of the others and he would have possibly gotten backcheckers involved if he slows up for a pass option.

Every puck battle is lost. VGK is so much stronger on their skates, along the boards, and getting to the front of the net. And they get their sticks in position to block shots effortlessly, or deflect it away from danger, or steal it cleanly. It's a clinic.

Fitz should've taken out Pacioretty for that. The wheels are off. And have rolled several miles downhill. And have burst into flames with the friction caused by rolling down said hill.

In my experience there's no such thing as luck. But that's some seriously poor Tuch luck right there.

He's another LHD

That was easy.

Huh. They assigned JJP, Murray, Ruotsalainen, and Biro (and Laaksonen and Prow) to the taxi squad... but elect to play Pysyk at center vs on D? May the Force be with us. (And I do like the idea of keeping the FitzMuel together.)

The GMs absolutely learned from the VGK expansion and both positioned their contracts better and avoided the side deals for picks. And the Seattle brass has also admitted they never dropped their asking prices for picks-for-cap space trades to bolster their futures. That's on them. The other thing is Seattle was originally slated to enter in 2020, but pushed their launch back a year (in ... 2018 or early 2019?). That gave the GMs an additional season to get their cores and exposed lists set. Now -- that wasn't without some disadvantages -- the Sabres had to protect Dahlin and Joker in 2021... where they wouldn't have had to in the summer of '20. Cast a positive spin on it --- the break would have been even longer without Sabres games had the NHL gone to the Olympics. Instead, we're getting "free" COVID makeup games, a shorter break, and still get to see Olympic hockey with Power and Levi. It's win-win-win!