GASabresIUFAN

https://www.slate.com/articles/arts/low_concept/2014/03/john_travolta_called_idina_menzel_adele_dazeem_what_s_your_travolta_name.html Click on the link to Travoltify your name (or anyone else for that matter). Taylor Swift becomes "Tyler Swillis".

Wasn’t it John Y Brown who swapped the Braves for the Celtics? Wasn’t it the former Celtics owner who moved the Braves to SD?

The first thing they teach in law school is that the answer to all questions is it depends. Questions such as; Is there a women's adult league? Is she skilled enough to play in the league? What are the checking rules in the league? etc.... The biggest issue for me is the lack of decorum by the male players. There is never a place for boarish behavior. The "it's hockey" excuse is BS. Chirping is one thing, but this sounds like they crossed the line to abusive.

Different situation. TM made his trades before the young core was in place and he traded away guys like Compter who would have been a core piece to do it.

I’m not seeing an issue in that video.

Took KA long enough to make the correct decision. Geez! Why is so obvious to everyone who follows the Sabres, but not obvious to KA and his staff?

This doesn't mean he is going to stay in Buffalo. He is a defenseman with size who skates well. Why not give him a few games to see how ready he is or isn't? It's not like we are competing for the Cup this season.

Get well soon. Ryan Johnson, the next man up. Novikov get your suitcase ready. I feel a visit to Buffalo is coming.

Clifton ?

Correct. At some point, someone has to go. You can't pay everyone 7 million per season or more. Vancouver sent Horvat packing and were the better for it. Horvat is an excellent player and I have never seen a word against him, but Van needed to change the dynamic on the roster and Horvat was traded. I'm actually for re-signing Mitts as I think he is the only Sabre with his tool kit; strong on the boards, has strong two-way play, is the most versatile positionally and maybe our best pure playmaker. Where I suggest the substractions in the top 9 are the wingers. This doesn't have to come next season, but given our pipeline of forwards, Savoie, Kulich, and Rosen specifically, moving a winger is the most replaceable piece internally. The logical target for trade is Skinner. Unfortunately, he isn't tradeable. The next most logical tradeable piece is Cozens if management believes Kulich or Östlund could step in as an NHL center in fall 2025 or fall 2026. I have also raised the idea of moving Quinn. He and JJP are in line for huge raises after next season. It may be smarter to move on from one of them instead of adding another big contract and replacing them with a prospect. None of this changes the need for a top 4 D. Ryan Johnson maybe one such player, but we still need another as Samuelsson and Clifton look like a good 3rd pairing. One other thought, once we get a top 4 D, do we trade Samuelsson and give his job to Novikov when the Russian Bear is ready?

No pressure on either side to get a deal done yet. Casey’s incentive is to continue to play well, rack up points and know that every point is probably worth another $100,000 per season here or elsewhere. Buffalo’s incentive is to let this play out see where Casey ends up, how the team end up, and how a probable extension fits into their cap and budget long-term. His trade value maybe it’s highest right now in terms of picks and prospects, but Buffalo doesn’t need those. If the Sabres chooses to move him, the odds of a hockey trade such as Casey for a top 4 D are probably easier in the off-season.

We need to look at how Van has handled their business since the last trade deadline Over the last year, Van’s GM - dumped Horvat, Tanner Pearson and 3 depth players and ended up with Lindholm, Hronek, Zadorov, Lafferty and DeSmith through 10 different important trades. He also signed UFAs Ian Cole, Blueger and Carson Soucey. Talk about an aggressively remaking his roster, We don’t need this drastic of an overhaul, but KA could learn some lessons from a GM willing to do what is necessary to build a winner.

KA should buy and sell. He should move on from RFAs Krebs and Jokiharju at the deadline or in the off-season depending on what the offers are. He should listen too trade offers for KO, EJ, Girgensons, Jost, Bryson, Comrie, and Stillman. It really doesn't matter what the return is as long as it's an "asset" He should then be a buyer. He needs to find a real 3/4 center, a top 4 D, and at least one upgrade over KO and Girgensons on the 4th line. The guy has to have some term left on his contract.

Patience

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.