GASabresIUFAN

Do yourself a favor and compare Ullmark’s and UPL’s AHL and first couple of NHL seasons. UPL’s numbers stink. He is no where near the quality of player Ullmark is. If by some miracle he eventually becomes a good NHL player and that happens elsewhere so be it. It’s past time to dump him and move on. This is not a developmental team anymore. This is a playoff contender going forward and they need the goaltending to back it up. Levi is the present and future, but he needs a mentor and the Sabres need insurance just in case Levi isn’t as ready as he currently appears. Comrie and UPL aren’t that guy. I’m ok with Comrie being the starter in Rochester and the emergency callup.

If KA goes to camp with the trio of Levi, UPL, and Comrie he has failed this team. Trade UPL while he still has some value, bring in a solid vet and insure 82 games of solid goaltending as much as possible.

Agree, but you have to admit Mitts did a pretty good job filling in.

Contract not looking so bad anymore. How much do I loath RK. Let me count the ways. According to the Athletic’s player cards, Skinner market value is now $10 mill. https://theathletic.com/3989459/2023/01/30/nhl-player-cards-buffalo-sabres-2/

How many LW’s have scored more goals than VO the last 4 seasons? The answer is 26. That’s it. VO’s 81 goals are 27th among LW over that span. I think you’ll be surprised by his value just like we were surprised by Risto’s.

Are you forgetting what Philly paid us for Ristalainen? Just because someone is no longer a fit here doesn’t mean he isn’t a fit in a different system.

In addition to mental and physical maturity, I do believe that many players also continue to develop their hockey skills in the A and in the NHL. How else do you explain guys like Brandon Hagel?

Assuming KA adds the correct help on defense and in goal. PS even with that awful 2-8-2 streak in Feb/Mar the Sabres still posted 47 points in the 2nd half. Toronto only had 54.

Multiple Someones will offer to acquire a 3-time 20+ goal scorer and 3-time 40+ point player in his prime. There are plenty of teams desperate for goal scorers and VO is that. Unfortunately for VO, Buffalo no longer needs his talent. In fact, if KO and Z aren't re-signed and KA trades VO, there will be no Sabres left from the TM or DR eras. Amerks Murray (TM) and Malone (DR) will then be the only players left in the organization from those eras. This year alone KA jettisoned TM-era players Fitzgerald and Asplund.

9 forward jobs for next year are carved in stone - Skinner, TNT, Tuch, JJP, Cozens, Quinn, Greenway, Krebs, and Mitts. Another 2 jobs are written in very dark pencil for Savoie and Jost. That leaves just two slots for Rousek, Girgensons, KO, or any outside talent KA might bring in to shore up the PK and make us a more physical team. KA said he won't be blocking any prospects and Rousek looks ready. KO and Z are frequent PKers on the 5th worst PK in the NHL (73%). Z has hands of stone and KO simply doesn't add offense like he use to. Also, guys like Tuch, Cozens, Thompson, and Mitts are ready to assume leadership roles on this team. It's time to take the training wheels off and move on from these vets. I know this is a very difficult decision for KA, as Z and KO have mentored this young core back to respectability and it can be argued that they deserve better from the organization than being cast aside right when the team looks primed to make the playoffs. Adding to the difficulty, KO is 17 games from 1000 in his career and Z is the longest-tenured Sabres and both players have yet to appear in a playoff game as a Sabre. However, this is why GM's get paid big $ to make the hard decisions. Hopefully, KO takes this decision out of KA's hands and says he wants to go home to Minn to finish his career.

He isn't going to retain anything. How about this we trade VO to Montreal for Edmondson

They should try to sign him long-term, but if I were Power’s agent, I’d do the Dahlin style bridge to maximize the 3rd contract once the cap goes up.

Aka Wreck-IT Ralph

Yep. Odds favor us getting another forward at 13.

What should KA's greatest priority be this off-season? Upgrading the defense? Finding a partner for Levi or a starter to play ahead of him? What about upgrading the number of 2-way forwards in the bottom 6?

I agree.

Excellent answer.

What is your overall grade for the season? Overall Grade is a B. Offense was spectacular, but the defense and goaltending lacking. The team improved by 14-16 points despite these issues. What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)? Adams - Grade is a C+. He needed to upgrade the D and G in the off-season and added Lyubushkin and Comrie in the summer with mostly poor results. He added Stillman (F) and Greenway (B) at the deadline with mixed results but tried to get Chychrun which I hope is a sign of him being a little less conservative going forward. The Jost waiver pickup was excellent, but not sure where he fits long-term. The C+ grade stems primarily from his failure to upgrade the 2 glaring deficiencies in the off-season or during the season. Still, the roster is vastly more talented than when he arrived. Granato - Grade is a C+. PK is worse. Defense and goaltending were also marginally worse. This is on the coaching staff as well as KA. The offense was spectacular and that is to DG's credit. Also, the PP is improved overall, but I didn't see enough adjustments from his staff as teams learned to take TNT away. What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense, and the Goaltenders? Forwards - B+. The offensive explosion was great, but the young studs need to learn to back-check better to help the D and help limit some of the high-danger chances. Defense - C+. Power, Dahlin, and Mule (when healthy) are awesome, but everyone else not so much. Goaltending - D+. Anderson was excellent considering his age, but his age meant that we had to carry 3 goalies, and the unit as a whole was well below average and cost us a playoff birth. Levi's 5 games were a breath of fresh air and give great hope for the future. Levi's great start is the reason the grade isn't an F. What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill? Power Play - B+. The only issue I have is the lack of adjustments once teams worked to take away TNT. Penalty Kill - F. 73% is not acceptable and is 4% worse than the terrible PK last year. Who is your MVP? Dahlin. The fuel that makes the engine go. He simply makes everyone he plays with better. TNT is a close second after his historic season. His dynamic play and chemistry with Tuch and Skinner helped those two have career years. Who is your ROY? Power obviously, but Quinn and JJP had excellent rookie years as well Who is your MIP (most improved player)? Season over Season award goes to Cozens. 57% increase in production and playing an excellent 2nd line center at 22 is impressive. The in-season award goes to Mittelstadt. Went from a career high of 25 points to 57 ytd and has become the team's go-to utility forward. Who is your unsung hero? I have 3 candidates: Samuelsson, Tuch and Skinner. The forwards had by far the best seasons of their careers. Skinner's revival from RK doghouse has been incredible and Tuch outperformed Eichel. However, I think the award should go to Samuelsson. The team's W/L record differential when he plays and when he is out with injury is night and day. If only he could stay healthy.

In most respects this has been a very successful season. Regardless of the outcome tonight against Columbus, it looks like the team will finish 20th in the league with 89-91 pts, up from 75 last season. The young team matured, moved up in the standings in the very difficult Eastern Conference, and gave the franchise the most hope it’s had in 12 years of wandering in the desert. Still there are areas on concern. The roster is still far from complete and not every area of the team improved year over year. So what are Sabrespacer’s thoughts on the team? What is overall grade for the season? What grade would you give Adams and Granato (including his staff)? What grade would you give the Forwards, the Defense and the Goaltenders? What grade would you give the Power Play and the Penalty Kill? Who is your MVP? Who is your ROY? Who is your MIP (most improved player)? Who is your unsung hero?

Off-season gameplan forwards - The Plan - 1. Trade VO for whatever KA can get. A 2nd rd pick may be enough. 2. Re-sign Girgensons and Jost. 3. Sign UFA Eric Haula for the 3rd or 4th line center job (2 years 3.5 per season). Haula is an excellent 2-way player who can score and wins faceoffs. Rousek and Kulich will be the 1st 2 recalls. Cap-wise trading VO and leaving Rousek in Rochester is a wash for adding Haula and bringing back Z. (cap cost approx 44.850) lIne 1 Skinner TnT Tuch line 2 JJP Cozens Quinn line 3 Mitts Haula Savoie line 4 Girgensons Krebs Greenway (Jost) Off-season gameplan defense - The Plan - 1. Trade/Waive Bryson. 2. Trade Jokiharju for a good D prospect. 3. Acquire Joel Edmondson from Montreal. Joel is 29 and has 2 years left on his contract. Adding Orlov and Edmondson while subtracting Joki and Bryson would add about 5.65 to the cap bringing the cost of the D group to 25.3 A. Dahlin Samuelson B. Power Orlov C. Edmondson Lyubushkin D. Stillman Off-season gameplan Goaltender - The Plan - 1. Move on from one of UPL or Comrie and send the other down to Rochester. 2. Signed Adin Hill to a 3-year deal at 3.5 per season. Adding Hill while trading UPL and waiving Comrie to Rochester would bring the cost of the goalies to $5.125. (3.5 for Hill, .925 for Levi and .7 retained for Comrie.) Total team cost approx 75.28.

Sadly, Plastic from China, but it's the thought that counts.

By the way, the Atlanta Braves are doing a Star Wars Night with a Mando Bobble Head. Because "This is the A"

Just finished watching the game. Nice win. Congrats to Anderson for winning your final game. Another excellent game by Mitts. Still can’t figure out how Giroux’s goal was counted.

Can someone explain how Claude’s goal wasn’t scored with a distinct kicking motion?

With the Sabres eliminated from the playoffs and two games left this season, here is a quick look at the status quo roster with cap cost. Forwards: (Cap Cost $44,812,856 - This assumes QO's of 787,500 for Rousek and $2.25 mill for Jost) lIne 1 Skinner TnT Tuch line 2 JJP Cozens Quinn line 3 VO Mitts Savoie line 4 Rousek Krebs Greenway (Jost) Defense: (Cap Cost - $19,652,381) A. Dahlin Samuelson B. Power Jokiharju C. Stillman Lyubushkin D. Bryson Goalies: (Cap Cost - $3,562,500) Levi, UPL, and Comrie Total Cap - $68,027,737 for a complete 23-man roster from internal players. Note: Clague's QO is 787,500. KA literally doesn't have to do anything for Buffalo this summer to field a complete team other than re-sign RFAs Jost and Rousek. There was some criticism in another thread of posters suggesting KA will add a veteran goalie this off-season. The critic said that KA wasn't going to bring in an outside goalie because he had 3 under contract. That same remark can be leveled at every position group on the Sabres. We have 7 D under contract, plus an RFA (Clague) and we have 11 forwards under contract and 2 RFAs.] There are also 4 UFAs of note in Okposo, Girgensons, Hinostroza and Anderson. Does anyone actually believe that the status quo roster outline above will be the opening-day roster? Considering their minimal PT down the stretch, does anyone actually envision VO, Bryson, or Clague on the roster in the fall? Given KA's attempt to acquire Chychrun at the deadline, does anyone really expect Stillman to be a starter next season or Jokiharju as Power's partner?