GASabresIUFAN

This one hurts.

Bryson should be the guy who is moved, but he has little or no trade value. I predicted when the season ended that Joki would end up getting traded. He’s young enough to have decent trade value and seems the most likely guy to get moved given who they signed. What is interesting, Bush, Stillman and E. Johnson are on one year deals. This creates a real opportunity for R Johnson in 2024/25 to make the Sabres

Not great.

Top 3 - Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson New signings Johnson and Clifton Other returning players - Lyubushkin, Jokiharju, Stillman, Bryson That’s 9 guys with NHL contracts. Someone is on the way out. Love the Clifton signing. He’s physical, good Pker and good defensively. Like Johnson as well. Leader, playoff experience, physical and will be good in a depth role.

This is clealy a moneypuck signing. This is a very smart risk. He was a FA some commentators thought could play up and be effective.

That would be ideal.

Except Teppo was still a top 4 D.

Who? Comrie’s backup for the Amerks, hopefully.

It’s funny, but I was looking for D who have personal experience with DG last night and stumbled upon him. Good leader and smart added depth. When does Bryson get traded? I hope KA doesn’t think he’s a top 4 D at this point?

Depends on how camp goes. I can easily see Jost as the 13th with Rousek as the 3rd line winger

Nope going to Nash to go cruising with ROR.

NHL Network just said he had the lowest expected goals against because of Carolina’s D system. Maybe he’s not a fit for our system.

Are there Tim Horton’s in Nash?

I thought you couldn’t sign until noon.

Rumor: OEL to the Panthers. I’m interested to see what kind of deal he gets.

Quick concert reviews The Cure: maybe the most chill concert I’ve ever been to. Robert Smith still sounds great BNL plus Five for Fighting with del Amitri. Only knew one del Amitri song, but the band had a good sound and sounds great live. Five for Fighting was excellent as well. Love Chances and Superman. BNL puts on a great live show. Ed’s voice was stratchy at times, but the band is so much fun and has fun which makes for a great show. One Week is impossible to do live. Still have Depeche Mode and Morrissey later in the year.

I was re-thinking a little on AZ’s draft strategy. I still think they crapped the bed, but I wonder if oart of their strategy was to take players 2-3 years out in order to make an impact when they settle in a new building is AZ or elsewhere. Still not a reason to over draft Simashev and But, but I have to wonder if they played into their thinking. It reminds me a little of the Atlanta Braves “tanking” their last few years at Turner Field before moving to the new stadium near my office. They loaded up on young talent in the farm system and then once they moved that talent blossomed and the Braves have been to great the last 6 years with 5 Division titles, one WS win and the current best record in the NL.

And G-d said let there be even more forward depth.

Hall and Eakin are certainly on the list with Hall at or near the top. Teppo is the best FA signing. He really solidified the D for the Briere/Drury teams and provided the leadership that team needed. What an excellent D group that team had. What I wouldn't do to add a Tallinder or Lydman in their primes to the current group. Teppo is one of the reasons I so badly want KA to get Orlov or someone like him. Someone who had been through the wars, but has some serious game left.

Big day tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Sign Orlov or trade for Pesce Sign Andersen Make it happen KA.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/2023-nhl-draft-final-grades-for-all-32-teams-210834844.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAC7phr_kPM6q8zjh1zUTgOvUZs5k80idfJ3u7y3hNJojKXFx9AdZngj_KwOAic5yjb5C2mTIlDfrTXOiGMcbwIIMChElxlQ3_NbC4VWlDQumJbhNwD57eWrERLCCNW98M4Ej-Z03dyi51CtyVUcFSLTCnaWCAxVknKZyeW48TpT4 Buffalo Sabres: B Getting Zach Benson at 13th, a player who was a consensus top 10 pick for most of the year, was a coup for the Sabres, who already have an overflowing offensive prospect pool. Their next three picks, Anton Wahlberg, Michael Strbak and Gavin McCarthy were all solid, with each player having legitimate NHL upside. Strbak and McCarthy added another wave of defensive help a few years out to join Buffalo’s young stars at the position. Beyond this group, Ethan Miedema and goalie Scott Ratzlaff are sneaky-good selections. https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2023-nhl-draft-grades-how-all-32-teams-did 7. Buffalo Sabres (A-) Key picks: Zach Benson (LW), Anton Wahlberg (C), Maxim Strbak (D) The Sabres hit home runs year after year, and after taking Zach Benson at No. 13, they hit another one. Maxim Strbak and Gavin McCarthy are difficult players to play against, while Anton Wahlberg could have easily slid into the first round. They added some solid depth up front and on the blueline, and that’s all you can ask for.

https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/11097364-nhl-draft-2023-grades-heres-how-all-32-teams-did Buffalo Sabres Letter Grade: B+ First rounders: Zach Benson, LW Day 2 picks: Anton Walberg, C; Maxim Strbak, D; Gavin McCarthy, D; Ethan Miedema, LW; Scott Ratzlaff, G; Sean Keohane, D; Norwin Panocha, D. Analysis: For the last few years, I’ve really liked what Buffalo has done at the draft and this year was no different. They picked up four players off of FloHockey’s Top 100 with Zach Benson being a top-10 projected pick for me. They didn’t care about size, but valued his high compete and skill. The Sabres are well positioned to better support a player like Benson. Meanwhile, I think Anton Wahlberg is going to look like a real value pick in the second round. I’ve seen his progression and the skill he brings with a big frame is super enticing. Maxim Strbak is a two-way guy who played some of his best hockey on the biggest stages last year and they nabbed a local product in Gavin McCarthy who would have gone higher had he not suffered an injury mid year. Lastly, I think the Scott Ratzlaff pick could look good down the line. He’s not a big guy, but he can absolutely play and I think is one of the most athletic goalies in this class. In the end, the Sabres built more depth to one of the best prospect systems in the NHL.

Portillo didn't sign here because KA blocked him with the acquisition of Levi. Who knows what Johnson would have or wouldn't have done. He is here, signed, and will play for the Sabres. Yes, he would be. Did you know that in his draft class Bryson is 28th in games played and 8th among D? Only one D taken after him has played more games and that's only by 2 games and that player spent much of this season back in the AHL. If they did a re-draft of the 2017 draft, Bryson would be a late 1st or early 2nd rd pick. Getting him in the 4th rd was an excellent pick. As to when he drafted players, the math says he did very well. According to a study by TSN's Scott Cullen, Jbot's expected NHL players from his 18 picks was 4.81. With a little luck, Jbot will have drafted 9 NHL players with his 18 picks.

https://thehockeywriters.com/current-nhl-players-by-country/ Canadians are 41.4% according to this article from January of this year. Quant Hockey has it at 42% https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality-totals/active-nhl-players-2022-23-stats.html

No, but Mitts will if moved to that line. In fact, Mitts' passing ability could elevate JJP and Cozens further. It's a set of dominoes. Quinn is out, but Mitts (our ultimate utility player) steps in for him. Krebs now centers a 3rd line of Rousek (who is solid 2 way players) and Greenway. Now Jost or a UFA step in to center the 4th line. In the alternative, Krebs centers Vo and Greenway. Either way, I think the offense will be fine. PS: I do think that GMs and their staff look at players' role and development and project their potential offensive output and utilize that projection to aid roster decision making. In this case, prior to Quinn's injury, I'm sure management felt VO was expendable because they believed that the development of Quinn, JJP, and Greenway would replace the lost offense.