GASabresIUFAN

So say-ith the man who wanted to toss Mitts under the bus and now wants Vo burned at the stake. The point is we have seen good hockey from Vo in the recent past and he is perfectly capable of playing good hockey again.

VO is just this month's forward scapegoat. Mitts was the scapegoat last year and VO is his replacement. Some of the criticism leveled at Mitts was warranted, but the majority was off the deep end. This time it's VO. Again some of the criticism is warranted and he has acknowledged that himself and said he is going to work on it. in the second half of the season before last, VO was probably our best forward. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. How many 28-goal scorers are lying around anyway? (He was tied for 56th in goals last year and his 21 Even goals were tied for 48th.) That production is top-line goal-scoring and he is likely on the Sabres 3rd line.

What kind of wookie are you if you don't think Vladar moves the needle?

Lack of a classical education.

That is what I meant when is wrote "true D stars"

VO isn’t garbage, but it’s a little hard to gauge Markstrom’s value given his age, NMC, salary, and disappointing play last year. How much is someone worth who is viewed as a cap dump and can choose his destination?

We don’t need Hanifin, but Vladar is certainly of interest. Markstrom is the player Calgary is more willing to part with.

@DarthEbriate would have kittens if we got Vlader.

I'll amend my previous post with this question. If Calgary, who has Vlader and Wolf waiting in the wings, is willing to move on from Markstrom, would you be interested? Would KA be interested? Would Markstrom waive his NMC to come to Buffalo? Markstrom has 3 years left at $6 mill per season in cap ($20 mill in real $). He has been solid up until last season when his Gaa jumped to 2.92 with a .892 save % in 59 games. He was excellent the year prior with a 2.22 and a .922 in 63 games. If interested, what would it cost? The Flames have a full roster and 2.4 mill in cap space. Markstrom is 33.

I have posted this previously, but there are only 5 goalies to start 40+ games as a 21-year-old since 2000. Only Steven Mason (58 games in 09/20), Price (52 games in 08/09), MAF (50 games in 05/06), Luongo (47 games in 00/01), and Hart (43 games in 19/20). Hart was the best by a wide margin with a 2.42 Gaa and a .914 Save%. https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/player-age/21-year-old-nhl-goalies.html I agree that not upgrading UPL and Comrie is a huge mistake on KA's part, but I'm not sure what can be done about it at this point without an offer sheet to an RFA goalie or trading for Hellebuyck.

Was Kevyn even really looking for a "top" D? He was looking to make his roster harder to play against and get Power a legit partner. He is taking a risk that Clifton can play up, but I don't think it's a huge risk because Clifton is at worst an upgrade on both ends of the ice over Joki. KA is playing moneypuck. From his perspective why pay a Dumba $6 mill a year when you can pay Clifton 3, probably get similar results, and leave cap space to sign the true D stars. Excepting Comrie, here are KA's last 5 significant moves. He signed Lyubushkin, traded for Stillman and Greenway, signed Johnson and signed Clifton. All these moves have been about upgrading the defense beyond the top 3 and or making us bigger, more physical, and harder to play against. PS: I still hold out a faint hope for a goaltending upgrade. As is I think we are a playoff team. With additional goaltending help, I'd say we have top 3 Atlantic potential.

I know the NAHL is a step below the USHL, but still a great recruiting base for NCAA teams. How does it compare to OJHL that the Jr. Sabres play in? I'm also curious if the Jr. Sabres and Jr. Amerks will add each other to their schedule despite being in different leagues. I know in the past the Jr. Sabres have had non-league games on their schedule.

It's not relevant to us anymore. I expect we'll be drafting in the late 20's

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nhls-best-remaining-free-agents-212404356.html Best remaining FAs. I do think Pius Suter is an interesting depth option.

But if you are Power's representatives do you take a Cozens-type deal or do you take a 3-year bridge and then go for the 8 x 11+ deal when the cap has had a chance to rise? Given his age, I might do a 3-year bridge, then a 5-6 year deal, and then cash in a 3rd time at 28/29.

That could indeed come to pass, but we also scored often by hemming teams in their D zone. Maybe the increased puck possession Johnson speaks of leads to more “half court” type goals and therefore less reliance on the fast break? From my perspective, I’m ok with a decrease in offense as long as it leads to a substantial decrease in GA and a significant + differential says of 35 to 40+.

Johnson commented on that when he was signed. That was true when Trotz went to Washington, but in Colorado Johnson said that the greater focus on defense lead to greater puck possession which he says lead to more offense. I checked the stats and his statement has merit. Their GA/pg fell from 2.97 to 2.36 over the 3 years before their Cup run, while the offense went from 3.11 GF/gp to 3.52 over the same period. In the Cup year the offense improved to 3.75, but the GA slipped a little to 2.83, but their differential was still +76. If the Sabres were able to duplicate those results, the NHL better watch out as the Sabres scored 3.62 gf/gp last season.

I don’t want Kane either, but saw these notes about Kane and thought I’d rile up the pro-Kane crowd. 😉

I hate to raise this issue, but we have talked about getting people who have ties to DG and KA. Well Patrick Kane roomed with KA as a rookie and DG was his coach. Sorry in advance.

Yes, in the right deal without an extension.

His skating and defensive skill set make him easy to project into the NHL. I project him as a good 3rd pairing guy on the Sabres, but a possible 2nd pair guy on another team. Hard to beat out Power and Dahlin for an LHD slot.

This one. I like Ian Kennedy. I utilize his prospect rankings during the draft as one of the boards I look at to make the consensus list. I can understand Kennedy's rating. We have 4 very high-end forward prospects. An all-world goaltending prospect. Other forwards and D who are easy to project into the NHL and a good group of "others" who have shown NHL depth or better potential like Kovak and Nadeau. The only thing holding back our pipeline to any extent is the lack of clear high-end D prospects. Admittedly with Power and Dahlin, it's not really a necessity. I also really like Novikov. He showed a much better toolkit than we had given him credit for. If he continues to develop he could someday force his way into the top 4.

As I've said before, Joki received 20 minutes with Power because he was paired with Power, but not because he earned the job. Johnson is adept at getting the puck out of the D zone. What more do you want out of your third pairing guy? What happens if Dahlin or Power gets hurt? The answer is Clifton. One of the reasons he was targeted was the development of the O side of his game last year and DG's probable belief that more is possible. Clifton had 5g 18a last season. Those totals came without any PP time. His 5 goals would have been 2nd on the Sabres and 23 points 3rd. Joki's career high is 3g and 19 pts (including 4 pp assists).

That's not carrying 10D, that's carrying 8D and waiving 2. That also runs into PT issue in Rochester. The Amerks have a deep roster of D without Bryson and Clague. Johnson and Novikov are the rookies, KA signed Cecconi, Metsa, Jandric and Savoie as rookie UFAs and still has AHL vets Davies and Prow. That's 8 D before anyone gets sent down.

Because you only have 23 roster slots. If you have 10 D and 12 F, that leaves you with one goalie or 10D, 11F, and 2 goalies. It's also much more likely KA keeps his 3 headed goalie monsters. 3G, 10D, and 10 forwards won't work. Also, how do you then manage a tryout for Benson or Savoie or any forward injury?