GASabresIUFAN

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?

I think that statement has some merit as to the top of the forward pipeline but not on the NHL roster. Centers - TnT 6'6 220, Cozens 6'3 195, Mitts 6'1 195, Krebs 6'0 187, Jost 5'11 187 RW - Tuch 6'4 219, Quinn 6'1 185, JJP 6'0 181, KO 6'0 218, Rousek 5'11 171 LW - Skinner 5'11 197, Greenway 6'6 231, VO 5'11 181, Girgensons 6'2 200 Defense Dahlin 6'3 202, Samuelsson 6'4 231 Power 6'6 218, Clifton 5'11 190 Johnson 6'4 225, Lyubushkin 6'2 200 Stillman 6'1 196, Jokiharju 6'0 200 Who really plays small in this lineup? VO, Joki, Jost? Yes, Krebs, JJP, and Quinn could benefit from extra muscle, but that's more of an age issue. This is not a small lineup and the defense is huge. Greenway, Tuch, Tnt and Cozens all have significant size upfront. Mitts and Krebs added physicality to their games last year and Skinner, despite his size, does consistently go to the net to score.

The Sabres as a team need to accomplish this goal.

Does Thompson become TnT if Jack is still on the roster?

With 5 D slots written in stone, it's a battle between Bush and Joki for the 6th slot. Joki's advantage is age and contract control while Bush's is size and physical game. It could easily be Joki in 6, Bush 7, and Stillman 8. Then Clague 9 and Bryson 10. However, do we really see the Sabres carrying 9 or even 10 D into the season? I sided with Bush because of his physical game and I believe management could get something of quality in trade for him. I'd then run with Stillman 7 and Clague 8. Bryson gets waived to Rochester. I doubt his 1.85 cap hit gets claimed on waivers. Granted we all saw VO getting traded this off-season, but Quinn's injury changed the calculus immediately. A defensive injury in camp could just as easily re-shuffle the deck. I see us bringing all 10 to camp and seeing where the cards fall.

Skinner TNT Mitts JJP Cozens Tuch VO Krebs Greenway Girgensons Jost Okposo (Rousek first callup) Dahlin Samuelsson Power Clifton Johnson Lyubushkin (Stillman) Levi (Comrie)

and you think he's better than TNT right now and has a better body of work than Barkov? Jack had a great playoffs, but that doesn't make him a top 10 center. I don't think TNT is one right now either, but I'd take TNT over Jack right now.

Eichel has never had that huge breakout season. Talent wise certainly.

Not yet, but it's close. He needs another top-flight season to be considered among the true elite, but it can be argued that he is in the top 10 or very close depending on how you might view Hughes and Point Over the last two years, TNT is 12 in points by an NHL center (according to NHL.com), and 4th in goals. Thompson is 14th in pts per game. MCJesus, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Matthews and Stamkos are the top 5 in points. Only McDavid, Draisaitl and Matthews have more goals. My top 15 right now McDavid MacKinnon Draisaitl Matthews Crosby Stamkos Barkov Petterson Hughes Zibanejad Point Thompson Miller RNH Robert Thomas (Bergeron not included because status unknown)

You never answered the second American. Miracle on ice related? Also, besides the Sabres, how many franchises have multiple players with 5 goal games?

I had forgotten what a good player Vinny was. I read on the net that Vinny still lives in Florida. Maybe he wants to break into the NHL and this was the best opportunity. With Rousek and Kulich in Rochester plus the Russians, it probably feels like a good fit.

I have two other guesses, but I’ll give someone else a shot.