GASabresIUFAN

The issue, as you well know, wasn’t his UFA year, but the year prior when he was only given a one year deal.

….and that is why Skinner is making $9 mill per season. Of course the one guy we needed to lock up and didn’t is the Vezina winning goalie for Boston. I am glad this is done, but if Power doesn’t quickly develop into a 50 pt guy who is at least decent in his own end, this contract is an over payment.

I'm going to have to watch the replay. Going to the Morrissey concert tonight.

I think he means games played.

The problem, as we are learning with Power, is finding the right partner who can skate the same 25 minutes a night. What if the solution is Dahlin/Power? A D group something like this: Dahlin/Power -25 minutes Mule/Clifton - 18 minutes Johnson/Joki (and R Johnson/Joki in 2024/25) - 17 minutes D pairings like this would enable Power to develop fully and the Sabres to get the most out of the contract. It would also allow Dahlin to continue to play on his preferred off side. These pairings would also allow the Sabres to easily integrate guys like R Johnson, Novikov, Strbak and others as they mature.

I'm going to have to agree here. Power on another team might actually have more upside. However with Dahlin here and already a force on both ends of the ice, Power's upside might be somewhat capped because he'll be Robin to Dahlin's Batman. I do wonder if we will see them as a pair over the next couple of years.

That didn’t age well. I don’t expect any other extensions any time soon. KA is going to wait and see on Joki, Krebs, Mitts.

But what about the goaltending?

I guess the off-season is now officially over. Time to get on with the season.

At least the culture in Sabreland remains working toward the the long-term goals.

Shazam!

Miller will eventually get the nod. He is 14th all-time in wins (391), two more than Hasek (although Osgood is 13th).

They take it as a how to course.

Welcome to Bizarro management.

Pre-season hockey is like pre-season baseball. The early games are meaningless other than seeing if any of the kids will make a run at a roster spot. The final couple of games, when the rosters look more like an NHL rosters, can give at least a little indications if the team is ready for the season. The site’s response to the last two games with their bad D and goaltending certainly left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. That said, Pitt dominated the Sabres, and now a week later they get beat by an allegedly bad Chicago team to open the season. If the Sabres play like they are capable of, these game shouldn’t mean anything.

Just the I would be a nice change.

Maybe. Sadly, I think such a move may be necessary to keep this train on the tracks.

Nashville sinks to the bottom of the standings quickly and Trotz trades Saros to the Sabres by December. Sabres trade Savoie, UPL, and a 1st for Saros.

This discussion raises a question. It's a question I used to ask about Jbot and about KA last season. Just how proactive with KA be if the team, especially the defense and goaltending, gets off to a rocky start?

@thewookie1 Lots of moving parts. You raise an interesting point. What happens to the plan if the team takes a step back and misses the playoffs? What if Levi proves not to be the solution? What if EJ, Clifton, and Joki fail to make the defense better? Do you really think KA saved cap for Kane? (Sounds like a slogan).

This is where the hard decisions come in. In my analysis, the 23.5 mill is easily enough to bring back Mitts and Krebs up front with plenty of room to spare. The issue is the UFAs. I think we can all agree it's highly unlikely VO returns, but what of EJ, KO, Z, and Jost? For a team like the Sabres, because of the depth of the O pipeline, you are going to have youngsters on the roster for years and years to come. Don't forget that even if we move on from Z and KO, it doesn't mean the forwards would be devoid of veteran leadership. In 2024-25 Thompson will be 27 with 7 pro seasons under his belt, Skinner will be 32 with 14 NHL seasons, Tuch, 28, with 8 pro seasons, Mitts, 26, with 6 seasons, and Greenway, 27, with 7 seasons. These are veterans in their primes. To stay cap-compliant, all teams have to turn to cheap kids or older veterans on cheap deals. Once Power signs (I guess for 8 x 8), the Sabres will have 7 players (Dahlin, Skinner, Power, Cozens, Tnt, Tuch, & Mule) making approx 51.28 million or 59% of next season's projected cap. In 2024 KA has to make decisions on Krebs, Joki, and Mitts. In 2025 he has to make decisions on Levi, JJP and Quinn. There is almost no way to retain everyone. 2024-25 might look like this Skinner TNT Tuch Benson Mitts Quinn JJP Cozens Savoie Kulich Krebs Greenway (Girgensons) Dahlin Mule Power NEW Player Ryan Johnson Clifton (Eric Johnson) Levi - New Player In my model I've re-signed Mitts for 6.5 x 6 years, Krebs 3 x 3, Z 1 x 2.5, and EJ 1 x 2.5. KA acquires a real backup (for $2 per season) and that leaves an opening for another D acquisition who can potentially partner with Power. I'm including Joki in the package to get the new D. I've budgeted $6 for this player. This model has the Sabres at 86.5 for 2024-25.

It doesn’t make much sense does it.

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/as-the-nhl-season-begins-the-long-anticipated-salary-cap-boom-is-coming-in-the-summer-of-2024-1.2018834 This story pegs the cap next year at 87.5.

Like this video, apparently, KA did a similar evaluation on Benson before deciding to keep him in Buffalo. https://theathletic.com/4948753/2023/10/10/buffalo-sabres-rasmus-dahlin-contract-zach-benson-roster/

I guess Jost will be in the lineup on Thursday.