GASabresIUFAN

There are two relevant lists. 1. FAs who can help us and want to come here. This is not going to be a list people here really want. These are all going to be 3rd and 4th line forwards and depth D. I also don’t think KA will give out a big FA contract. So far, since the Hall fiasco, Clifton is his biggest ($) and longest outside FA deal. I’m not expecting anything larger this summer. 2. Players available in trade without NTC/NMC. Again a difficult list. I think we’ll have to shopping at cap strapped teams, but it’s not going to be a long list. Another requirement is the guy having some term (1-4 years?). The other part of the list could be an RFA a team can’t afford or isn’t a good fit on his current team. The only player I’ve found so far that fits our needs and who could be available is Anthony Cirelli. The issue with Cirelli is the 7 years remaining on his deal, which is probably too much term given the depth of our forward prospect pool. I’m sure there are others, but how many? Looks like another off-season of scrapping the bottom of the barrel.

The Sabres are at a point that anything should be on the table to improve the team. Our shopping list is long and we have the assets to acquire the pieces At a minimum we need 1. Top 9 center 2. An entire upgraded 4th line 3. a top 4 RHD. If we need to trade our 1st rd draft pick to get it done, so be it.

Komarov (5th rd 2022) and Novikov (6th rd 2021) have made the biggest strides since being drafted. Komarov will be a nice addition to the Amerks next season and we'll see how things go from there. It's funny about draft classes. How quickly hope for some of these kids can fade while others blossom. 2021 started with such promise. Power was 1st overall. Rosen was a solid pick if a bit early. Nadeau and Kozak looked like real bargain picks. Poltapov and Kisakov looked really talented and Kisakov even made the jump to the AHL earlier than expected. Now a few years later, Rosen still hasn't made the jump to the NHL and looks like he'll need a 3rd season in the A (but did lead the Amerks in scoring (50). Kisakoc and Kozak are struggling for PT in the A and Poltapov remains in Russia. Power is in the NHL and eating minutes, but hasn't yet made the impact we hoped. However Novikov was the real find in this draft and could be the shot in the arm our D needs in another year. He was arguably Roch's best D this past season and added 23 pts of unexpected O to go with his size and good in zone play. I'm excited to see what he can do next fall and how quickly he gets a callup to the NHL. 2022 is still all systems go. The Big 3 are all making progress. Savoie obliterated the WHL and he and hopefully Östlund join the Amerks next season. We really need Östlund's playmaking skillset. Kulich lead the Amerks in goals, and like Rosen, needs another year in the A. Neuchev, after a tough transition to NA, came on strong. Komarov had a dominate year in the Q and Lindgren had another good year in the WHL and hopefully will be signed to an ELC. Richards also had a nice freshman season with UConn.

I don't disagree, but that is what others have said when I also posted that Adams hasn't brought in any 2nd line (or 2nd pairing) talent. The bottom line is the only time he has acquired decent talent is by sending out as good if in better talent. The Mitts trade was a "hockey" trade, but I'm not convinced it has or will make the team better. As I've also said before Byram is redundant to Power. We may want to move on from one to save long-term cap because I don't think a top 4 containing Byram, Power and Dahlin is workable or affordable long-term. No surprise. but hopefully it doesn't rule our getting a good center for the 3rd line. Krebs is not the answer.

Wasn't he often relegated to 3rd line duties and primarily given O Zone starts to minimize his lack of back checking? Wasn't he also done in the NHL by 31?

I've said this before and the usual response is well he acquired Tuch and Byram.

The Leafs will never ever trade Taveras to the Sabres. Also Taveras has a full NMC. If he wants to stay to Tor, he's staying. If he wants to move, he'll pick a team that is a Cup contender next year, not the Adams lead Sabres. What about Sean Monahan as an alternative? He is 29 (30 in Oct), had a nice rebound season (59 pts - 26g 33a) and can play all 3 forward positions. He won 54.9% of his faceoffs (nearly 1300 draws) and is from Brampton Ontario. a two 2 years 10 mill total contract might do the trick. I think he'd slot very nicely into the 3rd C role, and maybe even drop Cozens to the 3rd C role.

UPL/Levi is happening next season ready or not. Adams is committed to his prospect or bust strategy in goal and has not learned a thing from his mistakes and failures so far. The good news is UPL finally stepped up and it looks like Levi has his confidence back. This bodes well for next year. This prospect or bust strategy in goal has cost us two playoff appearances the last two seasons. It wasn’t the sole reason for the failures, but a primary one. So even if the UPL/Levi works next season, bringing back the D group as currently constructed and all the current and rfa forwards is a mistake. We must change the culture in Buffalo. We must improve the PP. We must find some playmakers. We must become more physical. Ruff is a good first step. Ruff will want to roll 4 quality lines. The Sabres have 7 (8 if you include Skinner) quality forwards and a desperate need for talented centers.

No. His job is to make the Sabres a winning team and he has failed in that task miserably.

Levi's saved 101 shots of 106 against the last two games for the Amerks. UPL was more consistent last season and mostly played well. Levi was up and down, but he seems to have found his groove again in the playoffs for the Amerks. Levi may use the confidence earned this playoffs to take his game to another level in the NHL next season and become the No. 1 goalie. The great news is maybe just maybe the team will have competent goaltending for 82 games next season and wouldn't that be a nice change.

Good thing we traded him without a plan to replace him. We have no 3C NHL ready prospects, Krebs isn't good enough and most of the guys who'd be perfect for the role have NMCs so they aren't coming or have expensive contracts (or want an expensive contract) or both. Take, for example, Anthony Cirelli. Good hard working two way center. Comes from a championship team and only 26 (27 in July). He also doesn't have a NMC (yet) and is on a team that may have to cut payroll. Sounds like an ideal fit. However this player's max offense has been 43-45 pts. He hit his career high in goals (20) and pts (45) this past season. Unfortunately he is under contract for the next 7 years at 6.25 per season, or about what it would have cost to keep Mitts (back to back seasons of 59 & 57 points).

Sadly we are in full agreement on this. GMHD has no idea how to improve this team. His whole plan is to hope that the kids mature on their own into winners and he can supplement on the fringes.

Just like the old days back at Northeastern.

Sadly it looks like Cody’s disease has resurfaced and he has retired from hockey again. Our sad franchise could use a person with Cody’s drive and heart. Best of luck Cody. Hey Kevyn hire Cody as a development coach. He could teach our kids a thing or two about hard work. https://theathletic.com/5464327/2024/05/02/cody-hodgson-hockey-retirement-comeback/

They should run a buy one get one free sale.

Honestly, I'm not impressed with either Hoglander or Kaliyev as NHLers so far. Pinto, other than the gambling thing, would be a good addition.

.... and you hated the draft pick 🙂 I totally agree with you on Ryan Johnson. He had a couple of bad games, but was good most of the time. He earned a role last season and should have stayed in the NHL playing a regular shift. He reminds me of Hank Tallinder. I also like your pairings for next season and agree with your thoughts on the Mitts trade. Getting Byram is nice, but it added LHD depth where it wasn't needed and left a gapping hole at center and tossed away our only legit playmaker. The decisions on Benson, Johnson, Mitts, Comrie, Levi and others have soldified for me that KA is the worst GM in the NHL and has no idea how to build a decent roster much less a playoff team.

I completely agree. We traded away Mitts because GMHD/TP didn't want to pay him. No way TP writes $14.67 worth of checks to Skinner to not play for the Sabres. I think our best hope to move on from Skinner is to trade him at the deadline and eat 1/3 of his remaining contract. Hell, who knows, maybe Lindy works some magic on Jeff and he plays again like he did in 2022/23.

Late in the day on Friday

Watching the USA vs Norway in the U-18’s. 4-0 in the first. I’m feeling sorry for Norway. This American team looks lethal.

And what will it cost to acquire the Mitts replacement in trade and how much will his cap hit be? PS: Mitts added 3 assists for the Avs last night.

Quick question. How does KA fill the hole at 2/3C?

His 26 EVP was 201st among NHL forwards last season who played 41 or more games. Still 4th line production.

The fact that Benson was in our top 6 forwards this season is an indictment on the GM and the other players on the roster. As much promise this kid has, at it's a ton, he should not have been in the NHL this season. It was terrible asset management and it didn't make the team better. He should have been in the CHL completing his 4th year in the CHL and then he could play in the AHL or NHL this coming season on the 1st year of his ELC. Just dumb. Did the kid show he could play in the NHL? Yes his did, but he was often knocked off the puck and took dumb penalty after dumb penalty. He was not physically ready of the NHL game and it showed all season. I'm not sure he'll be physically ready next season either because he is only 19 and not yet physically mature. Sadly, he won't be eligible to be sent down to the A if he again isn't physically because of his age. Oh well! I'm sorry, but while I like some of what I saw from Benson this season, Benson's production was 224th among NHL forwards last season. His p/gp of players with 41 or more games last season was 225th (tied with Greenway) at .42 pts p/gp. That was 4th line production. I also think the analytics place him in the top 9 for the Sabres, but considering how bad the offense was this season, that isn't much to write home about. Do I think Benson has top 6 potential? Yes I do, but in 2025/26 just in time for his next contract.

I never said clear out players to make room for Novikov. I said I’d love to see him make a run at a roster spot. Those aren’t the same things. I’m perfectly fine sending Novikov back down. Ruff’s complaint in the presser was having to work in 3 rookies on D because of the injuries. I doubt he’d have a problem with a single rookie making the team if he earns the job. it’s also not realistic to expect KA to add two veteran D to this group. That’s just not realistic with 6 guys (including Johnson) under contract, 3 RFAs and Adams already pinching pennies on player contracts. We’ll be lucky if Adams trades Joki and gets Ruff an RHD upgrade. Just don’t count on it. Adams traded Mitts to avoid paying him and the adding a Cup Vet thing failed last year when Eric Johnson had nothing left in the tank. You even expect Adams to run it back. The “biggest” roster changes coming are the depth forwards. My biggest hope is he trades a couple of our glut of forward prospects to add a 2nd line center. I’m hopeful, just realistic enough to believe that also is unlikely.