GASabresIUFAN

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.

The mentoring is an issue that KA has brought up time and again. He talked about it with Anderson, with Johnson as well as Z and KO. As to goaltending, Levi, regardless of his prep, has never played a season at the top level of the sport, never been the No. 1 goalie of an NHL team and no forward or D vet understands the goalie position and the highs and lows of a long NHL season for a goaltender. Our goalie coach Mike Bales’ NHL experience was 23 games.

In the Extensions thread, I suggested that Mitts might get an extension sooner than later if he continues to excel partially because of his friendship with DC and Raz. Those 3 are also close to Bryson. Was locker-room harmony a factor in keeping Bryson over Stillman?

Now that you edited my post to add Bryson. Do you think his close relationship with Mitts, DC and Raz played into his getting the 7th D job? Locker-room harmony is a big deal to DG/KA.

It’s not an unreasonable take considering they were only 6 points out of a playoff spot and acquired more “proven” goaltending. They have also invested in “proven” but still productive older players like Giroux and Tarasenko up front to bolster their offense. I have proven in quotes because older players get hurt and their production decreases and goaltenders are notoriously inconsistent. Add our questions on defense and in goal and our forwards inability to back check consistently and you have a recipe for Ottawa being better than the Sabres. Do I agree? No, but in my predictions I have both Ottawa and Buffalo making the playoffs.

And so out of character. Does he not value goaltending or is he so infatuated with Levi’s potential that he is unable to see what is obvious to the rest of the world? Does he believe from his time in Carolina that any goalie if they get hot can carry a team to the Cup and therefore it’s not worth spending resources there? The funny thing is that KA loved Anderson for his mentoring skills but when he needs a mentor goalie in the locker-room for his prized prospect he doesn’t make the move. It’s so weird.

While 13th overall picks don’t often make the NHL their draft years, players outside the top 3 do make the jump occasionally. Cole Sillinger (12th in 2021). Our old friend ROR made the jump after being taken 33rd in 2009. HOFer to be Bergeron jumped from the Q to the Bruins after being taken 45th in 2003. These last two makes you wonder about the scouting not to long ago. These are just a couple that stand out in my memory, but there are others.

@That Aud Smell Levi is new-ish as well. He only played 7 games last year.

I know it’s not the grind of an NHL season, but Benson played 80 games last year. He played 60 regular season games, 15 playoffs games, plus 5 for team Canada in the Gretzky Hlinka Tourney. He is going to go through some tough stretches, but I suspect he’ll be up to the task.

There are Kremlin and oligarch supported teams and everyone else.

Better?

Power is next. I doubt Krebs, Joki or Mitts get extended before next off-season. The caveat would be Mitts if he starts burning down the house. Given his close relationship with Dahlin and Cozens, if Mitts continues to excel, KA may want get him to lock him up.

According to capfriendly the contract has full NMC years 2-8.

Now that Dahlin is signed, what does our cap look like for next year. Right now we have 12 players signed for next year (8F, 3D and 1G) for a cap hit of 53,206,070. RFAs Power, Mitts, Krebs, Joki, Bryson, UPL, and Stillman. UFAs Z, KO, VO, EJ, Comrie If Power signs for 8 and Ryan Johnson, Kulich and Savoie make the team, that brings us to 16 players (10-5-1) for $63,967,736. If the cap jumps to 87.5 million, that leaves about $23,500,000 to complete the rest of the roster. How this plays out will be interesting to watch. All eyes on Mitts, Krebs and Joki. Assuming all have good seasons, will KA want to commit to all or just some of them? Will KA bring back any of the UFAs. My guess right now is maybe only EJ and that in the role of 7th D. (Cap projected at 87.5 next year according to TSN.CA -edited my post to reflect)