GASabresIUFAN

The discussions about acquiring Hellebuyck or Pesce as one year rentals and whether Bush was dumped to help facilitate such an acquisition made me want to look to see if we could reasonably afford to sign Pesce or Hellebuyck long-term. The answer on Helle was no and I don’t think KA would have an interest. On the other hand, I do think we might be able to swing re-signing Pesce if there was a mutual interest. Here is the math. The Sabres have only 11 players (8F, 2D and 1G) under contract for 2024/25 (including Rousek and Levi) for a cap hit of 42 million. Assuming KA re-signs Dahlin (8 x 10.5), Power (4 x 6) and Krebs (3x3) and the following at least 3 kids make the team (I’m figuring Johnson, Kulich and Savoie), that would bring the roster to 11F, 5D and 1G for 64.3 million. Mitts’ new contract would be the biggest internal question. If Mitts would return for 3 years @ 5.7 to 6 per season, that would leave plenty of money to given Pesce a new contract.

Yep, but what a D group if KA was able to add Pesce to this team. Given the state of the Sabres roster, which rental would you rather have Pesce or Hellebuyck?

If you get a chance, I’d suggest watching the video of Dahlin attached to the story. They talk about his improved 2-way play and that he is now one of the best 2 way D in the NHL. They mentioned that no D since Burns in 2016 had reached the levels of hits, block and scoring Dahlin achieved last season. They also called him a one man break out. I know I’m a biased Sabres fan, but given Dahlin season last year and knowing it was somewhat slowed by nagging injuries and assuming he stays healthy, he shoudl be the favorite for the Norris this coming year. I also think Fox, Makar, and Heiskenan all benefit from playing on better teams and that Hedman is the best all around D in the NHL (with Dahlin hot on his tail).

Two good points he made. 1) Sabres were 32nd in Hits per game. (Team leaders - Samuelsson 107 and Dahlin 105) 2) Sabres were 31st in blocked shots. (Team leader - Dahlin 132) (Note: Lyubushkin was 2nd in blocks with 104 and 3rd in hits with 99) KA's response - sign Clifton (Hits 208 - Boston's team leader; Blocked shots 120 - 2nd on the Bruins) and sign Eric Johnson (Hits 121 - Avs team leader; blocked shots 102 - 3rd on the Avs).

https://www.nhl.com/news/rick-jeanneret-longtime-buffalo-sabres-announcer-dies-at-81/c-345619774 Really nice article. RIP RJ.

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-current-players-ranked-top-20-defensemen/c-345580664

Spot

I friggin tragedy if you ask me. To bad the Rags don't follow suit.

It’s not handwringing, but an honest assessment and a little frustration that this move is a small step in the wrong direction. KA took two large positive steps forward by adding Clifton and Johnson, but we all know how important D depth is to surviving a long season. When you trade away your top depth piece it’s reasonable to question why. Prior to the trade my view of the Sabres D was as follows: 1) High Caliber top 3 - Dahlin, Power, And Mule 2) good players with upside - Clifton 3) Solid Veteran depth - Johnson 4) NHL depth - Jokiharju and Lyubushkin 5) AAAA players -Bryson, Stillman and Clague From my standpoint we have removed a legit NHL player and elevated a AAAA player to his role. Without a corresponding positive move, this trade is a step in the wrong direction. In all honesty, I did expect a move such as this after last season, but I thought it would be Joki and as part of a deal to bring in goaltending help or a partner for Power. Once he added D through free agency, I thought the plan had changed to insure good NHL depth and create competition for the 6th slot. I guess the hope is Stillman steps up and plays to the level he did when with Florida a few years ago. I’m also hopefully that KA was clearing cap to add Hellebuyck. 🙂

https://theathletic.com/4778405/2023/08/21/nhl-pipeline-rankings-2023-prospects/ The Athletics’ Pronman has begun his pipeline rankings. The list has 25-32 so far comprised of perennial playoff teams and the NYI. 25. Colorado Avalanche 26. Vegas Golden Knights 27. Toronto Maple Leafs 28. Edmonton Oilers 29. Pittsburgh Penguins 30. New York Islanders 31. Tampa Bay Lightning 32. Boston Bruins

More good Sabres related news. My best to Gilbert and his family.

Kowal, a former 2nd rd pick of the Sabres, played 22 NHL regular season games in his career all with the Sabres from 1976 to 1978. I remember him well as he was the first gigantic player I remember watching. He was 6'5" but looked taller on the ice. RIP Joe. https://www.bladeofsteel.com/Former-Buffalo-Sabres-forward-passes-away-at-67-years-old-259687

Lol. So you are saying KA put Bush’s needs ahead of those of the franchise he runs? The 7th D spot is an important role on a contending team. Odds are that the 7th D will probably play 3/4 of the season or more. The trade also diminished the camp competition for the 6th slot. My guess is Bush would rather play for a contender and compete for a starters job here than be banished to a cellar dweller.

He lost confidence in all of Bush, Clague, Bryson, and Stillman, but Clague and Bush were the only ones over the course of the season who played decent hockey at points. In truth, they all stink, but IMHO Bush was the least bad of the four and at least he adds some physical attributes.

Not unless they bring in someone. Not sure why they would add a forward when the issues for the team are stopping the other team from scoring. If they dumped Bush to add another top-flight D or a legit partner for Levi, I'm all for it, but trading away Bush while keeping (so far) Stillman and Bryson doesn't make much sense.

I don’t think they are being undervalued. The fans here understand that players get injured and after last season, when we played 10 D a minimum of 17 games, we need the best depth we can get.

Mostly true, but is the depth on the roster better or worse without him? Are Stillman and Bryson better players? I think most would agree they aren't better players. In fact, IMHO they are considerably worse. Their just cheaper and when Clague beats one or both out in camp, KA will be dumping one or both of them also. KA should have dumped Stillman (another bad trade) and Bryson and made our 7/8 Bush and Clague.

I did the French Connection, 7, 11, 14, with Housley (6), Mike Ramsey (23) and Hasek (39). Sabres on Puckduko today.

There were easier and frankly smarter ways to reduce the logjam on D to get us to 23 players without trading away our 6th or 7th best defender, such as getting rid of Bryson and waiving Clague back to Rochester. Instead, he traded away our highest salaried depth D and kept lesser players with lesser salaries. You can argue that Bush had the most trade value of the depth D, but the goal this season, I thought, was to field the best possible team, not to save a few bucks.

They have Filip Cedarqvist listed twice.

So you’re saying it’s the Sabres being cheap? KA saving a few $ vs what’s best for the team as they try to turn the corner. PS: KA hasn't been within 5 miles of the cap since year 1 and the subsequent teardown, but we have seen him make moves to avoid spending money.

I don't particularly like this move. It now makes the depth after the top 6, Stillman (who is lousy), Bryson (who is worse), and Clague who is marginally better than the other 2. There has to be more going on. This looks like a cap dump of a decent 3rd pairing D for a team that already has $ 6 mill plus in cap room. Unless KA is planning on bringing in a bigger $ contract like Pesce or Hellebuyck, this does not look like a positive move for this coming season.

....and then there were 9 NHL D. Hopefully this is a sign that something bigger is brewing, like a goalie.

Saw this on the Athletic and thought it was a fun exercise. Put together a 6-player unit for the Sabres with 1C, 2W, 2D, and 1G whose jersey numbers equal exactly 100. You can use any jersey the player wore as a Sabre. For example Schoenfeld wore 6 and 13 during his time in Buffalo. You can use either number.