GASabresIUFAN

As to the thread title question, I think DR in 2011 when he signed Leino and Erhoff to big $ contracts. Then KA when he signed Hall, Eakin, traded for Staal, and then didn't re-sign Ullmark to a long-term extension. I think both of those off-seasons were worse than this past one.

We actually care about winning.

Trade deadline season has officially kicked off.

It's possible, just not probable. KA moves slower than a glacier. He waits until the player has no value before moving on (see Asplund, Olofsson), and in some cases not even then. By the way, anyone wanting Z back needs to look at his stats. Z has 4 points (all goals) in 31 games this season. This is Jost-level production. He needs to go. We can find cheaper and better players at this point. By comparison, Mr. Robinson has had only 16 games in our neighborhood and already has 6 pts (a 31 point pace over 82 games). He also has had better production in the prior 2 years (51 pts vs 36 for Z). Robinson is also younger, faster, and the same physical size, but we are paying Z 2.5 and Robinson only 1.8.

Except that suggest trading Quinn for a top 4D. If it were my team, I think I'd be more aggressive, but it's not, and KA doesn't have the guts of Yzerman to fix his roster issues.

The biggest disappointment about this season is the fall off of the offense. We are scoring 2.98 g/gp vs 3.61 g/gp last season. Much of the issue can be traced to the PP. On the PP, our GF/gp dipped from .77 ppg/gp last season to .41 ppg/gp this year. However this isn’t the only issue for the forward group. We still need improved two way play from most of the forwards. I also think many of our guys get moved off rhe puck to easily. Youth is part of that, but effort is more important. So how can KA fix the forward group? Given the raw talent on most of our top 9 forwards, KA has nearly an impossible decision to move on from any of these guys. I honestly don’t see how KA can trade any of the top 3 centers, unless he has a firm plan to replace them. Mitts needs to be re-signed, and has earned a new deal. TNT between injuries and family issues has been distracted this season, but given his cheap contract, improvement on the PK and ability to score, I can see a reason to move him. As to Cozens, he seems to be finding his game of late paired with the blossoming JJP scoring 9 pts in his last 7 games. At only 22, I find it hard to believe that last season will be his most productive of his career. If we aren’t or can’t move a center, who can we replace on the wing? Skinner’s contract isn’t tradable, even if he did’t have a NMC. (At least he score 30+ still). Tuch is a local heart and soul guy on a cheap deal who is finding a place with Mitts and Greenway. JJP is blossoming before our eyes and is on his ELC. Greenway is one of few Sabres that plays a physical game, kills penalties but can also contribute in the top 9. Benson is a kid who made the Sabres at 18. He isn’t going anywhere. Quinn is also blossoming (12 pts in 17 games - 58 pt pace) but has been limited by injuries this season. Hard to argue that any of these guys should moved. However, someone needs to go. More kids are pushing from below, we need a top 4 D, and we need to shake up the forward group sending a message that the lack of two-way play isn’t acceptable. In the short term, I don’t see KA moving on from any of the top 9 I listed above. What I do see is him taking a fresh look at his 4th line. I’d move on from Krebs. He has no chance in Buffalo to play a top 9 center role once Mitts is re-signed and he isn’t a energy center. It’s time to move on from KO and Z also. What I’d like to see here, is KA acquire a former top 6 center who still has some game, can play up if necessary, but has the tools to be an effective Pker and energy center. Someone like Sean Monahan for example. I’d then like to see another Greenway-type player acquired. I have suggested in another thread to trade Quinn for a top 4 D and if that came to pass, I wouldn’t be too angry.

One of the things Mitts excels at besides winning puck battles along the wall.

Would you trade Quinn for a top 4 D? In his 17 games, he has 12 points (a 58 pts pace over 82 games). JJP is playing at a similar level (57 pt pace). So with Kulich, Rosen and Savoie in the pipeline, would Quinn be the logical place to look for a quality asset to acquire a top 4 D? Tuch Mitts Greenway has worked. JJP Cozens has also worked. Skinner TNT we know can be effective as well. If you look at next year’s Sabres I see the following if Quinn is traded Skinner, TNT, Benson Tuch Mitts Greenway JJP Cozens Kulich/Rosen Robinson New Center New Player The question is what can we get for Quinn? I don’t think any top 4 D is going to sign here this off-season. To get one we are going to have to make a trade using young players, prospects and picks.

Adam's sin this past off-season was not doing enough. Our list this off-season was 1. Upgrading the defense, including but not limited to adding a top 4 D partner for Power. Adams added EJ and Clifton. Clifton struggled early, but his play has dramatically improved and now looks like a solid acquisition. EJ has been better than Lyubuskin and Stillman. Where he failed was not getting a partner for Power, although Ryan J is looking to capture that role. Overall, between EJ, Clifton, and Ryan J our defense has been upgraded year over year, just not enough. 2. Better goaltending. We demanded better goaltending. Nearly everyone outside the Sabres brain trust (and @JohnC), wanted a proven goalie. Adams was pretty clear he was counting on UPL, Levi, and Comrie and wasn't looking for upgrades outside the organization. This was a huge failure on his part as all 3, especially Levi and Comrie. struggled to start the season and that helped sink the team for the season. UPL has improved throughout the season and Levi's game has been better as the season has worn on but inconsistent to say the least. 3. In Adams' mind Greenway was the big "off-season" forward acquisition. He then brought back everyone else, while Benson made the team at 18. I guess he assumed that everyone who had career years last year would simply build on last season instead of regressing. Injuries have been a huge factor in the regression, but KA again failed to build the necessary depth to weather the injuries. It was clear late last season that Jost wasn't very good and VO got benched. Neither guy should have returned. Also, it was time to move on from at least one of Z and or KO, but that didn't happen either. The Sabres are paying the price for the lack of real depth as all these guys failed to step up as the injuries occurred. It would have been nice to get additional center help and at least one more physical forward to help make the team tougher. Hopefully, Adams will learn from his mistakes and make more of an effort at better forward depth at the deadline and in the off-season. Deadline and off-season plan 1) Continue to fix the defense. Move on from EJ and Jokiharju and find a top 4 D to play with either Dahlin or Power. Ryan J will take the other role. 2) Clean out the dead wood at forward and get a physical forward and a 3/4 center. KO, Z, Jost, and Krebs need to be replaced. 3) Don't expect any changes in goal, except Comrie will be gone. UPL/Levi are almost certainly the goalies for next season, unless Levi struggles for the Amerks down the stretch.

With the playoffs out of reach and UPL playing pretty well, time to make Levi the starter in Rochester. With 33 games left UPL will probably play 23 of them. I have zero problem will letting Comrie play a few starts and Levi getting a spot start here and there. However, I want to maximize how many games Levi plays the rest of the season and to accomplish that he needs to be w the Amerks.

Casey Mittelstadt 2.0

Don’t let the last 11 games fool you. This is still a bad hockey team. They just came through their easiest stretch of the season and only one of the 7 wins was against a team (the Kings) currently in a playoff spot. The Kings only have 22 wins on the season; one more than the Sabres 21. Also they still can’t start a game to save their lives. On the road trip, they gave up the first goal in all three games and trailed by 2 goals or more in all three games. This is not how good teams play. Do what they did against good teams and you lose. In fact, in the last 6 losses by the Sabres, they gave up the first goal in 5 of the games and gave up the first 2 goals in 4 of the 6 games. They also have yet to win 3 in a row.

As expected. The Amerks play 3 games from 1/31 to 2/3. Levi will be starting at least 2 of those games. No benefit to having Levi sit during the NHL all-star break.

What in Adams' history as the Sabres' GM makes you think he'll be aggressive to improve the team? What RFA did he not re-sign? Since the TM core teardown, what important player has he traded away? Asplund? What top 6 forward or top 4 did he acquire? What prospect did he trade away to substantially upgrade his current roster? Since the teardown, the best assets he acquired were Greenway (for a 2nd) and Clifton (a 3-year UFA contract). Both are solid depth players, but neither has elevated the team. The rest have been junk in Eakin, Stillman, Lyubushkin, Comrie, Clague, Subban, Anderson, Dell, Pysyk, Bjork, Hagg, Hinostroza, Butcher, etc.....

and now you know why KA isn't able to build a winner.

Let's see, our GM's motto is to do the absolute minimum and take the least amount of risk with FAs. Thus I expect 1) UPL/Levi to be the goalies next season 2) Defense - with 5 guys under contract and a 6th (Joki) an RFA, I expect more of the same with one depth signing. 3) Forwards - 8 are under contract - Skinner, Thompson, Tuch, Cozens, Quinn, JJP, Greenway and Benson. Mitts and Krebs are RFA. He'll re-sign Robinson and promote at least 1 of Savoie, Rosen, or Kulich. Those 12 will be the forwards for 2024/25 with again one FA depth signing. Don't you feel better already about next season? Didn't think so!

Do I have to answer? I don’t know if this is a “better,” but I have really liked JJP since I watched him at the U18s.

The reason for the slower play is the move to try to improve the defense. I don't think they realized that the move to be more defensive would sap the offense as much as it did. Ralph Kreuger would be proud.

The only runs the Sabres are going on is in the bathroom.

He should have been fired already. How many slow starts do you have to watch until you realize that the coach can’t motivate the team? How do you keep a coach who can’t make adjustments to try to get his PP working? How do you keep a coach whose team has regressed so substantially?

It’s not about what assets we receive it about clearing the dead wood from the roster and opening up roster spots for better players assuming KA can figure out what an actual good player looks like.

They still suck.

Sabres wake up in the 2nd and win as LA falls apart. Good thing they didn’t play yesterday or they wouldn’t have had their legs in the 3rd.

I wanted Benson sent back to Jrs. I argued then that keeping him was a 2 year commitment because he is still to young to play in the AHL next season. However, had he gone back to Jrs, it would have been his 4th CHL season and then would have been exempt from the age rules and could have been AHL bound next year. Oh well.

Much easier to fire the coaches and see if the team responds.