Curt

Pilut- because it’s a new GM and they tell him they will actually play him in the NHL. Probably 3rd pair. Miller at $4M probably isn’t even worth a 3rd. Probably no one is taking Hutton. Bury him in the AHL.

Mostly due to health. Hall has been a lot more productive when healthy.

FTFY

I don’t think that matters. They are 30 and 31, signed for 2 and 1 more years.

This is a nice letter to the fans. Hall is classy. He didn’t need to write this, he wanted to.

I think they can run out a checking line of Girgensons-Lazar-Okposo. The top two lines should be able to handle neutral usage and often go head to head with the oppositions top lines. Then maybe they can have an Thompson-Eakin-Cozens (or something like that) that gets sheltered.

I would think he is happy to have Hall. He didn’t play with Jack last season, and Hall wasn’t even here then. And whose to say that Skinner won’t play with Jack? He is already locked in at $9M for years to come. He probably wants to win. Skinner may have envisioned himself playing with Jack, but he isn’t stupid. I’m sure he knows that things don’t stay the same forever. I’m sure he realized that he may not always be with Jack.

For Skinner? I’m expecting a major rebound and 30 goals, but I doubt 70 points is happening. He doesn’t get assists like that.

So, I think this picture demonstrates why it can be wrong to compare 19 yr old Dahlin directly to guys like Makar, Heiskanen, or Hughes, even though those guys are only 1-2 years older. Guys regularly make huge physical gains between ages 19-22. Especially a kind of lanky 19 yr old 6’3” guy compared to more compact 5’11”-6’0” guys. Dahlin just had/has a lot more physical development ahead of him. And in their primes, even with similar skating and puck skills, a 6’3” 210lb Dahlin has a lot more potential than a 5’11” 190lb guy.

True, he has the potential to be. I’m excited to have so many game breaking type players on the team. Eichel, Hall, Dahlin, Skinner (sometimes), Olofsson (on the PP only). These guys can all change a game in an instant. Sabres are going to be dangerous.

Certainly. Sounds like they are looking to upgrade, as has been rumored. Krueger is very aware of exactly what he is saying, and what he chooses not to say.

Nah. I don’t think he is. Top 10 winger probably.

Pretty sure that didn’t happen. You’ll have to show me. There was a point last summer where he was asked if he would be back with Buffalo or if he had requested a trade, and declined to confirm or deny anything. If that’s what you are taking about, that’s not the same as requesting a trade.

Did he actually say that? You have a quote?

Couple years away. He probably needs real time in Rochester. I expect that he will split time with Johansson in Rochester over the next couple years, probably getting a few NHL starts in along the way.

BS. There was enough cap space each of the past two off seasons to add a C. To imply that Botterill had his hands tied is just not true. Not to mention that money in/ money out trades can be made. You know, like trading Johansson for Staal, where the Sabres actually gained cap space in the deal.

You know, this offseason has shown so clearly what an NHL team can do in one offseason. Botterill was sold as a calm calculated guy, but it really looks like he was just too cautious and too often sat watching the league make moves around him. GM Kevy at least doesn’t seem afraid to make a move or stick his neck out on a player he believes in.

Yeah, Hall w/Eichel would certainly be lethal, but their skill sets overlap quite a bit. Skinner-Staal-Olofsson looks like a line with too much shooting and not enough puck carrying/creating, but if they try it like that and it works, I won’t complain.

This is what I came up with: Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart Hall-Staal-Olofsson Girgensons-Lazar-Okposo Eakin-Cozens-Thompson Rieder This is just tremendous. Two sexy looking lines, each with a legit MVP candidate level player, the pieces for a checking line that can be used defensively, and a line that is young and can be sheltered, but has nice offensive upside.

No F’in Way.

This free agency is going super slow. Assuming that Buffalo keeps the RFAs who are moving towards arbitration, I see their remaining offseason To Do List as follows: -Bring in a top-6 (at least middle-6) RW -Improve the goalie situation at least a little -Move one of Risto, Miller, Montour -Bring in a reliable bottom 4 LD If they can’t get 3/4 of that done, I have serious doubts about their ability to be a playoff team. If they don’t get 2/4 of those done, I think there is no chance.

I agree for the most part. I’m just saying that the “4th line” from last season wasn’t actually the 4th like. The 3rd line was non existent. The Sabres definitely have improvements still to make before I am near satisfied with the progress. They haven’t done anything, apart from the Staal trade, that improves the team over last season.

You demonstrated my point exactly. Yes, I agree, it seems extremely likely that Buffalo will not be spending to the cap. However, actually reporting of this and the often referred to “low 70s” number, from a claimed source, all comes from one place. Frank Seravalli wrote this one time: “Sources say the Sabres are considering an internal salary cap in the low $70 million range...” And since then every outlet has rewritten this same quote over and over. It’s not coming from independent sources. It’s just something that someone said one time. Both of your linked stories directly reference this same statement that Seravalli wrote. If one person writes a story that states something, then 50 other people write stories that say the same thing, but all source the first guy who said it, how does that make it widely reported???

Lasts years 4th line was last years 3rd/2nd line. What the heck was last years 3rd lone? A big pile of trash, not something to complain about losing.

I’m not saying that it doesn’t exist, but you show me where it is openly acknowledge by anyone who would know, or where it is widely reported by multiple different sources. As far as I know it was just a vague statement written by one guy.