GASabresIUFAN

Food for thought One of these players is a current Sabres and one is a draft eligible player who should be available to Buffalo at 13. These are their draft year stats and both played im the WHL. 1) 6’3 190 1.24 pts/gp, .5 g/gp 2) 6’4 186 1.3 pts/gp, .54 g/gp Player 1 - Dylan Cozens Player 2 - Samuel Honzek - who is 17th on McKenzie’s list.

One of things that has stood out while making the consensus list this year is all the good goalies. There are 7 with 2nd or 3rd round grades on McKenzie’s list. I had 6 on my consensus list. Makes you wonder why we reached last year for a goalie in a weak goalie draft given the depth in this one. McCarthy is 86th on this list and guess where the Sabres draft? Unless Reinbacher falls Moore, Wood, Willander seem like good possibilities at 13.

@JohnC has said for months, that will return with the status quo goaltending. However, I think that would be a mistake. Teams have a limited window in a cap world and we are entering ours. We no longer have time to risk more lousy goaltending. You brought up Freddie Andersen, but lets play out his acquisition for a second. You wouldn’t be comfortable with him as the primary starter, but what about a tandem of him and Levi vs Levi/UPL or Levi/Comrie? By the way UPL fell off a cliff in Feb and March when we needed him to play well. He went 3/6/2 in 12 games with a .870 save% and a 4.33 gaa.

I think KA is off to a very good start especially if the Dahlin rumor is true. I expected KO back and like the Rousek signing. He upgraded the forward group at the deadline with Greenway. I’m more positive about the Z signing after hearing KA discuss his return. However, the biggest dominoes have yet to fall. Despite what others may think, I’m very bullish on the Sabrex next year and I believe two smart moves could make us one of the elite teams in the NHL.

I’d like to add another name. What about Greenway? Donnie wanted him badly. He will likely start the year on our 3rd line. His career numbers are pedestrian, but Donnie seem to think he has 20 goal potential (he scored 4 goals in 17 games for us; a 19 goal pace). If he bounces back from last year and puts up 15-20 and 40 points+ wouldn’t he have to be a candidate for making the biggest stride year over year?

Yes it is possible with the most likely scenario being he starts the year in Rochester and gets recalled when an injury strikes in Buffalo. That said is anyone really comfortable with any of these scenarios heading into next season? 1. Levi/UPL tandem (53 games of NHL experience), 2. Levi/Comrie tandem (54 games of NHL experience) 3. UPL/Comrie (93 games), 4. levi/Comrie/UPL (100 games). PS: In UPL’s and Comrie’s combined 93 games they carry a Save % of .898.

Because i want to see others opinions. It’s called a discussion. Some might be satisfied if KA does nothing more this off-season. Others might want more substantial restructuring of the defense. Others are dissatisfied with the status quo forward group and want a 4th line center and some more physical forwards. Others here want a coaching philosophy change and assurance that our young forwards backcheck. Truthfully these are all valid opinions. However simply stating we can’t judge any moves at this time is a little disingenuous. As KA said in his presser his goals are to improve the team both for next year while preserving the franchises’ ability to sustain long-term success. This is a hard needle to thread, but he is clearly committed to attempting to improve the roster over it’s current form and he is open to moving our top pick to get it done. He doesn’t know whether the move will work, but it’s a calculated risk and he should be positively judged for recognizing the issue and trying to correct it. As to Comrie, I have no issue with his signing of Comrie. With the information he had made it a reasonable calculated risk. The move to acquire Greenway was a similar calculated risk, but it was the right move and whether it works or not doesn’t change that fact. My hope for this off-season is that KA graduates from small moves and at least somewhat goes for a homerun, like Fla did for Tkachuk and LV for Jack. Getting Saros and or Pesce would be those kind of moves. Those players would elevate us to contender status overnight and help make for a great off-season. The Athletic today suggested Pesce (with an extension) for Östlund and the 39th pick. I’d make this move in a second. It solidifies our defense for years to come without hindering our pipeline much given our depth at forward while keeping our 13th and 45th picks.

@Weave The analog I’d draw is you’re in HR for your company tasked with hiring a Sales Manager. You list the job, interview internal and external candidates and hire the best candidate for the job. When hired you don’t know for sure whether or not the person will succeed in the job, but you hire based on credentials. There are no guarantees? But you still have to hire someone. KA has two key jobs available without adequate internal applicants.

Simple. We have two major roster holes that need filling, top 4 D and a veteran goaltender. If he doesn’t acquire players with the credentials for those jobs, I believe he has failed the team this off-season.

Not the same at all. What we are judging is whether the right kind of decisions were made to improve the team for next season. Won’t you be annoyed if KA doesn’t add D help in the off-season? Do you really believe that UPL and Comrie are good enough to give us good goaltending when Levi doesn’t play or if Levi proves not to be as NHL ready as we hope?

The Athletic today suggests Östlund and the 39th pick for Pesce as long as an extension framework is in place. I’d make this deal. While Pesce will be 29 in Nov, I think a 6 year deal could work out decently for both parties and it would solidify out top 4 for at least the next 3-4 years.

I agree I would be disappointed if Dahlin isn’t locked up, but it wouldn’t ruin the off-season if KA manages to acquire a top 4 D and a good goalie. Both the Sabres and Dahlin seem committed to working a deal out and even if it doesn’t get finalized in the off-season, I suspect it would be done early in the season. If I had to rank my off-season priorities I rank them as follows 1) Top 4 D 2) Good goalie 3) Dahlin extension 4) Better D depth 5) Power extension 6) 4th line center if Krebs promoted to the 3rd line. Bonuses would be a Mitts extension, shipping off dead wood like Bryson, Comrie, UPL, and VO, and 2 D in our top 3 draft picks. While this is ultimately true, I believe your hope for success entering next season will be greatly influenced by the move KA makes (or doesn’t make) this summer.

With KO, Z and Rousek re-signed and Jost also likely to return, KA is obviously going with a status quo forward group. The team also now has a complete roster of players under contract with 13 forwards, 7 D and 3 G. In the presser KA admitted that the 3 headed goalie monster is a possibility next season. KA also said he is looking at possible deals that could involve our 1st rd pick. He also stated that he is trying to lock up Dahlin and Power and rumor has it that the Dahlin deal is done. Given this back dropped what more does KA have to do to have had a successful off-season and what additional moves would take the off-season from good to great?

I choose JJP. I think this board underestimates his upside potential. His showing at Worlds was impressive and that could be his launch point for greater NHL success. I also think Krebs is one to watch. If he plays on the 3rd line, I can see him taking a huge stride forward.

We should be celebrating two former Sabres are entering the Hall.

I’ve always liked the spaghetti parm.

I'm still waiting on McKenzie's final rankings, but with 16 published final rankings here is the consensus. 1. Bedard, 2-Fantilli, 3&4 Michkov and Carlsson 5-7, Smith, Benson, Leonard 8-11, Dvorsky, Moore, Pelikka and Reinbacher 12-18, Wood, Barlow, Perreault, Sale, Simashev, Danielson, Yager 19-23, Musty, Willander, Honzek, Cristall, Brindley, 24-28, Stenberg, Ritchie, But, Gulyaev, Heidt There is a huge cliff after Heidt. No one has consistent 1st rd grades after 28 29-32, Nadeau Dragicevic, Gauthier, Edstrom 2nd Round 33-39, Molgaard, Hrabel, Perron, Bonk, Haltunnen, Molendyk, Stramel 40-42, Sawchyn, Augustine, Ziemmer 43-50, Hameenaho, Cagnoni, Brzustewicz, Lindstein, Akey, Morin, Minnetian, Price 51-55, Whitelaw, Wahlberg, Strbak, Lardis, Nelson 56-59, Ceirnik, Rehkopf, Kantserov, Brarnason 60-63, Cataford, Dvorak, Dower-Nilsson, Barkey Other names of note: Lind, Pinelli, Suniev, Strathmann, Pitre, Cam Allen, Cowan. Sabres Mock draft 1. Moore or Wood and maybe Willander 39. Bonk 45. Lindstein 86. McCarthy 109. Ratzlaff

Why can’t they find a way to get better audio capture of the reporters questions?

The Z and KO signings should end all debate on where Greenway slots next season. Jordan will be on the 3rd line with Mitts. The only real question is who will be the 3rd member of that line; Krebs, VO, Savoie, Kulich, Rousek or someone from outside the organization.

Well with the re-signing of Z and KO, the off-season mantra is “status quo” at least up front. The Sabres have 12 forwards under contract, but VO is on the trading block. In theory KA could actually apply the status quo to the remainder of the roster as well. He has 7 D and 3 G under contract. With 22 players under contract (cap cost of approx 69 million), there is just one potential roster spot open unless some players get traded or waived. The roster still has some dead weight. Bryson, VO, Stillman, Comrie and UPL all need to be upgraded. I acknowledge that Stillman is probably staying, but one can hope. I’d also make Joki available in the right deal. A top 4 D and a good goalie to pair with Levi are the reported priorities. I still think there is some drama to be had upfront once VO is traded. That is where Krebs and Mitts play. If Mitts centers the 3rd line, Krebs centers the 4th line and Mitts’ needs a winger. If Krebs centers the 3rd line, Mitts shifts to wing and KA needs to find a 4th line center.

Primarily, but I still hoped for more improvement in the depth forward roles.

Fixed

Status quo signing. We now have 12 forwards under contract. Is this a message that they don’t think Rousek or any of the other prospects are ready to contribute? What does this mean for Jost? Honestly I was hoping for a move or two to strengthen the 4th line and to help the PK. Is adding defense and goaltending now the only priority?

I never thought of OEL as a top 4 contender. I was thinking about him as a depth addition that can play up in an emergency. I agree on Pesce and agree that OEL is likely to sign for the minimum (or close to it) to play for a "proven" contender. Still, when I compare his talent level to those players on our roster outside the top 3, it's not even close. OEL is significantly more talented. I look at guys like Bogo, but also like TNT and Mitts, who this board has been so definite were done or never going to be anything, and these firm opinions turned out to be completely wrong. I get that people who watch Van think OEL is done. He certainly isn't worth what he was getting paid and had no market value with the contract. Van did the right thing in buying him out. That doesn't mean however he is done as a player and done as a player in the NHL. If he were 35+ I'd agree to not even consider it, but at 32 he can and probably will bounce back.

Never said that. If you look at our team, we need a partner for Power and better depth. I never said OEL should be signed for the 4th slot or even signed at all. However, I do think he suffered through an injury plagued season last year and is likely to rebound as a solid 3rd pairing D. I think if healthy he’d be a better all around D on this team than Stillman, Bush and maybe even Joki; none of which should ever play in the top 4. At least when healthy OEL has the skill set to play in the top if needed. If you can get OEL on a vet minimum contract and his Medicals are good, then it’s worth at least kicking the tires. We all thought that Bogo was done as an NHL player when he left town. Instead he has proven to be decent cheap depth on a Stanley Cup winning club. OEL was a much better player than Bogo ever was, if Bogo can bounce back from his injuries and contribute, why can’t OEL.