French Collection

I think Pesce is the perfect player for what the Sabres blue line needs. KA may not be able to meet their price so he is looking at alternatives, as he should. He may circle back at some point. Hanifin is a definite upgrade to the Sabres D core. Olofsson, Rosen and a second round pick seems like plenty to me. If all of these guys want out of Calgary they may need a guy like Olofsson to pot a few goals for them.

It is concerning. Things seem to be changing, could go in any direction.

Michkov is already in Nashville for the draft.

I really like Levi and want him to succeed in becoming the next great Sabres goalie. I don’t know if he is ready for 50+ NHL starts next season and one of UPL/Comrie are questionable as a 1B. I would sleep better with a known 1A/1B in the mix.

Erik Haula has re-signed with the Devils.

A guy I’m starting to consider a possibility at 13 is Colby Barlow. He isn’t my first choice but I would be OK with this pick. Someone (Baker?) said he reminds him of Cam Neely. If he gets close to that level he would be a steal at 13. Many worry that he has peaked because of his size, but there is a lot of improvement needed strength wise to get faster and stronger. He’s got leadership ability, wearing the C as a draft eligible player. He may have scored 50 goals if he wouldn’t have missed a few games. He did not impress me at the U18s, where Matthew Wood did. That tournament is a small sample size of their season so it’s tough to base a lot on it.

Danny Nelson as caught my attention. He has been mentioned more and more lately as a potential first rounder. Big kid, 6’3” 203 who was a Dman but now plays forward. I think he was moved this past season. He played at the USNTDP and did well at the U18s. If he is around at 39 I might take him.

That behaviour gets under my skin. I have done roadside construction (Powerline industry) for almost 40 years. Sometimes traffic is the biggest hazard on the job site. There must be a plan in place to deal with it and dedicated workers to focus on moving that traffic along. Traffic control people must have no other duties, so they can deal with traffic to protect the crew, pedestrians and other drivers.

This is my favourite list because it’s compiled by taking the information from 10 actual NHL scouts. Some of them are head scouts. Bob has been around long enough to have access to good ones.

I have vivid memories of Mogilny, Bure and Fedorov at the World Juniors. I think that was the best line I’ve ever seen at that level. I didn’t get Sabres games when Mogilny was at his best so I would only see him on HNIC and sports highlights. Reading the Hockey News was a great source too. I did get to see him more when he went to the Canucks. His 55 goal 100+ point season there was a really good one. Crazy skill.

I knew they had issues but that’s bad. They could sign Bergeron and Krejci and then let them have “surgeries” that will keep them out until April. It’s not like that hasn’t been done before.

Detroit as well.

I’m thinking Quinn with Power a close second. This is Levi’s first full year so we don’t really have a large body of work from him. I think he will be a ROY candidate. Krebs will be interesting. If he is 3C his numbers will improve but if he is with KO and Girgs there will only be a small bump. I loved his game at the World Championship and think he will be a lot better, it just may not show up in points.

I don’t like this idea at all. He could be there at 39. I had one live viewing of this guy last November, he didn’t stand out.

TSN reporting that the cap will be $83.5M, good news for teams with room, like Buffalo. KA hasn’t weaponized it in the past but this could be an opportunity to get a good Dman and/or goalie. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/nhl-salary-cap-set-to-rise-1m-for-2023-24-season-1.1975838

This guy is a second rounder on most lists, with occasional forays into the first. Point a game Dman in the Q. Didn’t look impressive in his stint at the U18s.

Here it is. I took the under.

You and I, going back to late April. Gentleman’s bet. I re-posted it in the Lay out your off season plan thread. It was April 12th.

I believe we have one on Ryan Graves next contract. No $ though. The threshold was $5.5M, I think.

Just outside of London. Tiny arena needing upgrades, probably why they won the contest. Won’t be hard to fill that rink, even if they went with mainly AHL rosters. They’ll probably both put out decent lineups because it is a contest with a big sponsor.

I hope so. KA is too smart to have fallen in love with his players, but until we see a big move or two, he is giving off that vibe. GMs don’t want to tip their hands and show much emotion, especially as the silly season is firing up. I can’t believe that he feels that the three headed goalie is the way to go.

It will be interesting to see line combinations in the fall. Mitts needs a sniper in order to maximize his passing ability. I wonder if he and Quinn could work.

I had a feeling there wasn’t going to be much change. I think the team can make the playoffs by rolling it back. However, there are improvements to be made, and there is still time. I liked Jost but I know there are better 4Cs out there. Haula is one that comes to mind in the UFA market. Right now it looks like Vinnie, maybe VO and Jost are the only forwards to be changed. I think we all agree D and G are where the bigger gaps are and I hope there are a few changes to come there.

My favourite part is when the bull is sharpening his horns on the grinding wheel, you know he means business.

The guys I named are all upgrades to half of the Sabres D. There are more out there that are capable 4-5 Dmen. With the assets available, cap space and the knowledge that the D is a weakness, he needs to land someone better than Joki, Boosh, Stillman, Bryson and Clague. He’s pretty much brought back the entire forward group, which I can live with. He needs to get a 4-5 Dman. I will lose faith in his ability to address weaknesses if he rolls back the same group.