GASabresIUFAN

As you know, I am a big believer that prospects closer to NHL ready have more value. In my prospect list, I tend to favor guys closer to NHL ready, which is why Rousek is ahead of more talented guys like Polatpov and Kisakov. IMHO it still could be 2-4 years before either of those guys see NHL ice while Rousek is ready now to contribute. I still have Johnson ahead of Rousek. I think he's very close to NHL ready. Also given our lack of D prospects, I would like to see him signed. That said, Johnson was a Jbot pick and KA and his staff may not like how he projects here long-term. It's past time for KA to make this decision. Sign him or don't, but let's forward one way or the other. This shouldn't be taking this long.

I think he means that the Sabres might believe that the 63rd pick will be a player with greater upside potential than Johnson.

Do you also think that KA won’t bring in help on D when he has 8 D already signed or under team control?

Maybe not, but that doesn't change the premise that KA may be able to utilize the compensatory pick to get a decent NHL player for next season. PS LV is going to have to move someone to control their cap problem. Martinez, Pietrangelo, and McNabb all have trade protection. Whitecloud was recently extended to a long-term contract. Their most tradeable assets on D are Theodore and Hague.

In KA's world, you want to be part of things here or you don't. If Johnson is not on board, then move on. It may even be argued that this draft is deep enough that the compensatory 2nd rd pick might become just as good a player long-term. Obviously, that player won't be as NHL ready, but with 8 D under contract or control anbd cap space and assets to acquire UFAs or current NHL players, maybe signing Johnson isn't a huge priority for the team. Think of it this way. We paid a late 2nd for Greenway, a player in his prime, with two years left on his deal. Maybe KA trades the compensatory 2nd for a D from a cap-strapped team. Maybe LV will trade us 6'6" late bloomer Nic Hague for that 2nd?

Not one person is disrespecting Levi. I think everyone here is astonished by how well he played. Not one person here thinks he isn't the future in net for the Sabres. I also think everyone here believes Levi will be part of the tandem in the net in Buffalo next season. The question is how do you properly support this top prospect? Option A. Do you anoint him the starter and just get a competent backup? Option B. Do you bring in a good starter to take the pressure off and hopefully build a tandem like Boston has? Option C. Or do you bring in someone as a veteran mentor who can start if necessary but would willing to take a back seat if Levi proves ready to be the man? I would guess KA goes with Option C.

Gives him something to shoot for next year.

The difference is that Hill has a proven track record unlike Comrie who had one good season and that season totaled 19 games in a D first system. Hill has improved each year in the NHL with 3 different organizations and in 3 different systems. I agree this is a risk in that he has never been the guy, but it’s a much smaller risk than Comrie was. Remember we are looking for guys “who want to be here” and pursuant to KA’s stated philosophy are still in their prime. That doesn’t leave many candidates.

I'm trying to be an optimist. The attempted Chychrun trade gave me hope that KA is finally serious about fixing the defense.

I believe UPL has more trade value than Comrie. However, trade one or trade both, either result is ok by me. As to trading for a starter, I sincerely doubt given KA's limited history that he is going to trade a 1st rd pick or even a high 2nd rd pick for a starter. Levi is his guy, but I do think he'll sign or acquire a goalie with NHL experience. Varlamov, Talbot, etc... are easy to picture in that role, but KA has stated he wants acquired players in their prime who could be here awhile. My prime candidate is Adin Hill. Hill will start next season at 27, he has 101 NHL games under his belt (including 88 starts), has a career .910 Save %, and a career GAA of 2.67. He has never been a starter, but has increased his NHL PT every year for the last 5 years without a falloff in performance. In fact his 27 games for LV YTD have yielded his best results (2.50 and a .915). Vegas acquired him last year for a 4th in 2022. I'd offer a 3 or 4 year deal @ 3.5 per season.

Bush is not my favorite and either is Joki. That said, I do believe that Joki and Bush could form a decent 3rd pairing. My concern is that Bush and Joki were 2nd and 3rd in SH TOI and our PK was under 93% this season. Goaltending was a huge factor, but so was lousy D play.

Will the Buffalo Sabres make the playoffs asks the title thread. The answer is Yes in 2023/24. We will finish 3rd in the Atlantic behind only Toronto and Boston.

You and I don't agree on much, but I agree that DG needs help in the coaching department. The defense and penalty kill should be better than they are even without different personnel. That comes down to coaching.

I don't know where you got your numbers, but mine are from Hockey-reference. 2021/22 GA 3.50 2022/23 GA 3.65 2021/22 Save % .894 2022/23 Save % .890 2021/22 Save % 5 on 5 .914 2022/23 save % 5 on5 .910 PK 2021/22 76.42 PK 2022/23 72.97 5 on 5 HDA 2021/22 558 2022/23 667 The team is simply worse defensively and in goal than last year.

No we aren’t. 28th in the league is worse than 25th. Save% is worse, GA is worse, PK is worse, all other D metrics are worse. They are worse defensively and in goal this year vs last year. The person to blame is KA. He constructed the roster. He gets great marks for building out the forward group, but gets a failing grade for the defense and goaltending. Overall the team is better but until he fixes the goaltending and the defense the team is not going to achieve the stated goal of building a champion. Ultimately the fix comes down to getting a top 4 D and 2 goalies in addition to Levi. One goalie to partner with Levi in the NHL and another to anchor Rochester who can come up to Buffalo in case Levi proves he isn’t fully ready. We may even need to carry 3 goalies to start next year.

KA should have known entering this season that this team was primed to become a playoff contender. The team blitzed through the second half last season and it was his job to build on that momentum. This was a massive missed opportunity because all the team needed to get over the hump was help in goal and help on defense. Considering that last year’s team finished last season 25th in GA (290), the needs were obvious. Instead KA signed Comrie and re-signed 41 year old Anderson to play goal and signed Lyubushkin for the defense. Not surprisingly we are worse this year than last. With 2 games left we have allowed 295 GA and sit 28th. From a general sense this season was another step forward, but had Adams been just a little more willing to invest in goaltending and defense this season could have been so much more.

The Sabres are 4th in goals for and will be the only team on the top 12 in scoring to miss the playoffs. Why? Because they have allowed the 6th most goals against and have a negative differential. The areas of need are pretty obvious; goaltending, and better defense through both better defensemen, better coaching and forward commitment to two way play. Fixing the PK will help as well. What I’d do would be different than KA and I’m going to stick with what I think KA’s approach will be. Step 1: Cleaning out the dead weight. We know what the organization thinks of Clague, VO, Vinnie, Comrie, UPL, Anderson, and Bryson. They barely played down the stretch and I think all will not be returning next fall. Comrie might be the exception as the vet for Rochester. Step 2: We know he wants to upgrade the top 4 D. He made a serious run at Chychrun and there will be a move like that this summer. We are looking for a 27 to 30 year old vet with 2-3 years left on his deal. This will likely be the only addition to the D in Buffalo. Best non trade candidate is Orlov from Washington. Trade candidates- Murphy (Chi), Poink (Wpg), Petersson (Pitt). Step 3: A partner for Levi. I expect as UFA sighing here, but a value trade is possible as well. Varlamov, Andersen, Hill, Talbot, and Raanta are all available. Hill is my top choice. Step 4: Create a shutdown 4th line. I think KA re-signs Girgensons, Krebs centers the line and they bring in someone to replace KO. Not my ideal, but the most likely scenario. What about Hathaway from Boston? Skinner TNT Tuch JJP Cozens Quinn Savoie Mitts Greenway Girgensons Krebs Hathaway (Jost) Dahlin Samuelsson Power Petersson/Orlov Jokiharju Lyubushkin (Stillman) Hill Levi (Comrie) Doesn’t the GM always get fired after the public vote of confidence.

We need an experienced NHL goalie next year. Boston has shown that investing in 82 games of goaltending is a good thing. Levi is part of the equation, but we have no idea if he is ready to be an NHL 50 game player. That means KA has to find a player capable of splitting time with Levi, but also is capable of shouldering the starting load if Devon isn’t as ready as it currently appears. That probably means trading for someone with term. Older UFA might also be interested like a Varlamov if the money to good. I do like the Freddie Andersen idea. I also like Aidan Hill. He might be an Ullmark type value signing. It would also be wise to get someone better than Subban for Roch, who could play in BUF should Levi need to be sent down. We also need to sign a prospect goalie to help fill out the pipeline who could hopefully develop into Levi’s backup in a few years. KA needs to move on from UPL and Comrie.

You are incorrect. Real goaltending and an upgrade over Jokiharju for Power would have been enough to put us in the playoffs. They would not have been enough to make us a Cup contender, but we certainly would have been better than Fla, the NYI and Pitt.

According to who. I expected them to be a playoff team this season. I expected the GM to fix the goaltending and the defense and he didn't. This team is in the top 6 in offense for the entire NHL and missed the playoffs because the defense and goaltending is worse than last year. That's on Adams. He knew he had to fix those areas and failed to do so. If this team had even NHL average goaltending we'd be in the playoffs.

The 0-8 streak and the 2-8-2 streak didn't help either. The sad part is he knew what he needed to do to make the team better and he gave us Comrie and Lyubushkin.

I knew there was another, but I couldn't think of it. Thanks

Sabres legs seem lacking.. How many brothers have played for the Sabres? The Sauve brothers played at the same time. The O'Reilly's also played together. The Patricks both played for us, but not at the same time. Any others?

Actually, it's every other month. Honestly, the interview with the Quinnipiac coach got me thinking about additional signings and I was curious what rumors were out there. I apologize if folks think this bad Ju-Ju. I did pick the Sabres to win tonight and sweep the Metro playoff teams in successive days. PS, my 2023/24 thread started in January. Apparently after 14 pages of posts, this is a topic people here want to discuss. I have also changed the title to a more in-season discussion.