GASabresIUFAN

Nearly every defender on waivers is probably better than Bryson, including the guys we waived.

So 20 moves regarding goaltending and signing a 40 year old goalie who could only play a limited amount of games was then only one to give us NHL average goaltending. Talk about wasting 3 years and failing to adequately support the young roster. This list is shameful. Also you forget calling up UPL when injuries hit and he also failed to give is NHL average goaltending.

Great, the Sabres will have an easy 5 goals if he starts against us.

Welcome to bizarro land.

According to people here his value is that he is 24, might be claimed on waivers because he may possibly develop into a serviceable goalie sometime in the future eventually. It certainly not that he is an NHL goalie now that can help the Sabres make the playoffs this season.

This is an excellent question.

That argument sounds great on paper but not in reality. Compare him to the guys already here like Comrie, Tokarski and Cooley. Compare him to Jonas Johansson. What did Jonas develop into? Sometimes you just have to move on and we are there with UPL. Frankly I’d claim Driedger even with his 1 year $3.5 cap hit and move on from UPL and Comrie. It’s time to get better goaltending and at least Driedger has had success in the NHL. He turned 24 in March. He is unlikely ever to be a serviceable NHL goalie.

Again so what? Is he helping the team get better? If not, why do we care if he is waived and claimed. What has he done in the NHL that shows he is better than Tokarski ?

Odds are, given his stats and pre-season performance, that he wouldn’t be claimed. If he is, so what! He likely has no trade value and therefore no asset value, so what are we losing except a bad goalie who isn’t helping the team. In truth Cooley and Tokarski are as good if not better players. Dumping him would open a roster spot for someone who might actually help the team like Savoie or Biro or open a spot for a waiver claim from another team. I’ve seen a few D on the waivers who I would much rather have than Clague, Bryson or Stillman such as Caleb Jones or a goalie like Dreidger.

So glad we traded for Stillman last season. He can’t even beat out Bryson. Or are Comrie and Bryson still in the NHL because of the size of their contracts?

So we are keeping 3 goalies because they all have struggled in the pre-season. KA seat needs to get warmer and warmer if they don’t have adequate goaltending this season. This has been an issue since Ullmark left.

I think the coaching is something that bares watching. It’s up to DG and his staff to get buy in across the roster to playing with better defensive structure. The quicker they get the puck out, the quicker they can transition to offense.

Lets be honest, the defense and goaltending, especially the last 2 preseason games, has been lousy. So how concerned are you heading into the season? I don’t like the D pairings. I don’t care about R/L balance. I do care about players that work well together and the early returns on Dahlin/Clifton aren’t good. I also don’t like the return of Power/Joki. I’m glad Joki is healthy and he has had some positive moments on the offensive side, but his defense is clearly still lacking. There is no excuse, even in pre-season, for giving up 7 goals. During the CBJ broadcast, they showed the High Danger chances allowed in the 1st 2 periods and we had allowed 15 and it wasn’t any better in the 3rd. Against Pitt, the chances were worse. This is not acceptable any longer and can’t continue into the season. If it does, this won’t be a playoff team. I also don’t like that DG hasn’t played the new players more in pre-season. As to the goaltending, I’m not sure what condition it’s in because they haven’t been given much of a chance. Levi let in some softies against Pitt and UPL has as well in each of his starts. Given they have started the last 2 games, I suspect they are 1 & 2 in the G rotation. DG has a pile of work to do before the season starts on the 12th. Most of all, he needs to get the team playing with some urgency coming out of the gate. Pitts and CBJ had urgency already, the question is why didn’t we? D pairings I’d like DG to try 1. Bring back Mule and Dahlin. 2. Power Clifton 3. Joki and Johnson - This would allow Joki to be the O catalyst for this pair.

Hey Donnie, maybe try different D pairings.

The first 28 minutes were ok, but sh…t that was awful. Levi and defense were pretty bad. I liked Benson with Mitts and Greenway.

Levi played 42 games last season; 34 in college, 1 in the Worlds and 7 NHL. I expect him to play about 45 games during the season.

https://theathletic.com/4936865/2023/10/06/buffalo-sabres-henri-jokiharju-injury/ “The Sabres’ 24-year old defenseman was skating back toward the blue line in the offensive zone when Kyle Okposo tried to dump the puck into the corner. The puck hit a stick and then struck Jokiharju in the face. Jokiharju dropped to his knees immediately as blood trickled onto the ice. Trainers helped him to the locker room. The Sabres went on to win a thrilling 6-3 game, but Jokiharju suffered a facial fracture and a concussion. He didn’t play again for another month, and when he did return he had a tinted visor to deal with the light sensitivity.” Maybe this explains Joki’s lousy season last year. “Now almost 12 months removed from the concussion, Jokiharju said he feels better than he’s ever felt entering a season. Teammates have noticed, too. He has two goals in the preseason so far and has continued to skate alongside Power.” The tinted visor is gone and DG is coaching him to me more assertive. Maybe he’ll bounce back to the player we saw two years ago when he played relaxed and simple and added a little O here and there.

But did he play for the Golden Seals?

Didn’t play enough games.

1. Sabres win and point totals - 47 wins and 102 pts 2. Do the Sabres make the playoffs and if so how far do they go? - Yes, and they win their 1st rd series. 3. Team MVP - Dahlin over Levi and Thompson 4. Team ROY - Levi over Benson and Kulich 5. Most Improved player - JJP - he puts up 50-55 pts 6. Team leader in goals, assists and points - Thompson 51 goals, Dahlin 68 assists, Thompson 105 pts 7. NHL Award candidates (Norris, Vezina, Selke, Calder, Richard, MVP etc)? Any winners? Dahlin (18 g 68 a for 86 pts) finishes top 3 in the Norris. Levi finishes 2nd in the Calder to Bedard. Benson in the top 5. Thompson and Dahlin get votes for the MVP. 8. How many players score 10 or more goals? Who? 12 - Thompson, Cozens, Tuch, Mitts, Greenway, Skinner, Benson, JJP, VO, Krebs, Dahlin and Power. 9. How many players score 20 or more goals? Who? 5 - Thompson, Cozens, Tuch, Mitts, and Skinner 10. Does anyone from Rochester get callup and stay with the Sabres (such as Pominville back in the day)? Kulich, he comes up and gives the team a spark and his work ethic sends Greenway to the 4th line filling in for oft injured Z and KO. 11. Which Eastern playoffs team (s) miss the playoffs and who replaces them? Boston, and TB. Replaced by Buffalo and Ottawa 12. Stanley Cup champions 2023-24? Lindy Ruff gets his Cup with the NJ Devils 13. Other predictions you'd like to share? VO traded by mid-season creating a roster spot for Kulich. When Quinn returns Jost is traded. KO or Z become the 13 forward. Also Mitts scores 20 for the first time and adds 50 assists. Sabres finish top 3 in goals again and the D improves as the season goes along and the Sabres finish with a +30 differential.

Fascinating idea! If this were two years ago I might have a different opinion, but I’m not sure the Sabres want to carry 14 forwards, especially when the playoffs are the stated goal this season. This is no longer a developmental team. Also what happens when Quinn returns? Had we been in this situation 2 years ago, I’d say F’it and give both guys a chance.

It's that time again. It's one week until opening night. What are your predictions for the season? 1. Sabres win and point totals 2. Do the Sabres make the playoffs and if so how far do they go? 3. Team MVP 4. Team ROY 5. Most Improved player 6. Team leader in goals, assists and points 7. NHL Award candidates (Norris, Vezina, Selke, Calder, Richard, MVP etc)? Any winners? 8. How many players score 10 or more goals? Who? 9. How many players score 20 or more goals? Who? 10. Does anyone from Rochester get callup and stay with the Sabres (such as Pominville back in the day)? 11. Which Eastern playoffs team (s) miss the playoffs and who replaces them? 12. Stanley Cup champions 2023-24? 13. Other predictions you'd like to share?

Derek Roy - 549gms 161g 266a 427 pts Jack Eichel - 375 gms 140g 214a 354 pts (also wore 15) Giles Hamel - 365 gms 92g 114a 206 pts Scott Arniel - 295 gms 64g 74a 138 pts Erik Rasmussen - 281 gms 33g 46a 79pts Rick Dudley - 279gms 70g 94a 164 pts (also wore 17) Evander Kane - 196 gms 68g 50a 118pts

How do you know Benson will keep No. 9?

I do agree that most of these guys will go unclaimed. It's not like we are cutting guys with proven success in the NHL. If someone takes Bryson off our hands we should send a thank you note. I feel the same about UPL. UPL's NHL save % is .898 in 46 games. Could someone take him? Sure, but he is a Jonas Johansson level goalie, except Jonas actually has good AHL numbers, unlike UPL. We won't miss him when he's gone. Same goes for Bryson, Stillman, Biro, Clague, Comrie, and UPL. Of all our depth goalies, Tokarski has the most experience (80 games) and the best save% (.902) for his career in the NHL.