GASabresIUFAN

You and I are in full agreement on this. I want a Saros or even a Hart to insure we are a playoff team next season and if Levi is better so be it. Then we'll have a Swayman/Ullmark "problem." I can live with that. However, there is a large gap between what we would do and what we think KA might do. Certainly, more tape will give teams a better chance to "solve" Levi, but Levi is so focused and professional at 21, I expect him to work to take away any differences in his game long-term.

There is no question this is true. There is also no question that Levi is as prepared to play in the NHL as a rookie as I've seen in Buffalo since Barasso. However, regardless of how special the kid is, I look at Ryan Miller, Conor Hellebuyck, and Jake Oettinger, all college goalies who had similar college careers, and all benefitted from at least some time in the AHL. Miller played very well in Buffalo his rookie year (15 games 2.63 & a .902), but still played 170+ AHL games. Hellebuyck played 88 AHL games across 2 seasons and Oettinger played 54 across 3 seasons. The only guy I remember being arguably ready at a younger age was Carter Hart and his results have been mixed in the NHL.

You expect KA to anoint Devon as the starter next season? If he does that, he'd better have a darn good backup plan. Comrie and UPL don't constitute a good backup plan IMHO.

Devon Levi has played two excellent games in his 1st two starts against very talented offensive teams in Florida and the NYR. He has faced 69 shots in those two games and allowed only 4 goals. The shots against were typical for the Sabres this season. His .942 save % is incredible. It’s likely that Devon starts at least 3 of the team’s final 6 games. Why not. He is giving us the best chance to win right now and we need wins. For the sake of this discussion, I’m going to assume Devon plays at a similarly high level in his remaining starts. When that happens, how does KA view his goaltending going into next season? Does he anoint Devon as the starter and keep one of Comrie or UPL as the backup. Does he move on from both UPL and Comrie and bring in a seasoned NHL goalie, like Talbot, as 1B to Levi? Does he bring in a high end veteran like Boston did to pair with Devon? Does he send Devon to start the year in Rochester to take some pressure off the kid, keep one of UPL or Comrie and bring in a more seasoned vet as the starter? With 3 goalies under contract, but 2 are unreliable and one is a rookie, KA has some hard choices to make. My gut tells me to follow Dallas’ approach with Oettinger and let Devon start next season in Rochester. Bring in a good vet on two year deal and move on from one of Comrie or UPL.

But a hard log jam to navigate. We really need a proven bottom-six center like Eric Haula. However, maybe they think Jost can grow into that role. Maybe they get more physical as a group because they get more physically mature. Look how much more physical Mitts is now that he's 24 and willing to play that role. Sadly, I just don't see KA deviating from his "plan" I don't see him acquiring someone like Haula.

One thing I noticed about last night's game was how much more physical the Panthers are than the Sabres. Frankly, to move up the standings we are going to have to get more physical. Swapping in two more rookies for vets like Z and KO won't accomplish that. I also don't think Kulich is part of the plan for next season. That said KA is walking a tightrope for next season. He has a top 7 forwards - Tuch, Skinner, TNT, Cozens, Quinn, plus Mitts and JJP. He also has Greenway under contract plus Krebs and Jost. In addition, KA has two UFA veterans he probably doesn't want to lose in KO and Z, an under contract 25 goal-scorer in VO, and 3 quality players pushing from below in Rousek, Kulich, and Savoie. That's 16 players for 13 jobs and none of which truly makes the Sabres tougher to play against than they are right now. Something has to give. If he sticks with the developmental route then I see the following Skinner TNT Tuch JJP Cozens Quinn Mitts Krebs/Jost Savoie Rousek Krebs/Jost Greenway (Or you could see Z instead of Rousek) The next question is how does the Sabres forward group get more physical while keeping up the pace of play DG/KA wants?

If they get promoted back to the SHL, I think he has to stay in Sweden according to his contract.

Before tonight they needed to go 5-1-1 to get to 92 points. Now they have to go 5-0-1 in the last six. However, with the loss to Fla, I think we'll need 93 points to have a realistic chance.

Well, the Sabres have to win out to have a chance. Not impossible, but highly improbable at this point. At least Levi played beautifully again.

He's given us 18 of 32 starts with a .893 or better save %. (15 of 32 he had a .9 or better save %). In 17 of those games, he allowed 3 goals against or less. The Sabres record in those 18 starts is 12-3-3. The average shots on goal in those 18 games were 35+. Normally I wouldn't consider a .893 save % credible goaltending, but considering our poor team defense, the injuries to key defenders this season, our lack of D depth, and the fact that we lead the NHL in High Danger Chances allowed, our goaltenders deserve some leeway. FYI league average goaltending save % is .899. So while I'm not a huge fan of UPL and he has had some majorly terrible performances, he has been decent to good to very good the majority of games he has started this season.

Let's see - Joki is playing top 4 minutes for a playoff contending team. He is a good NHL defenseman who is probably best suited to the 5, but that doesn't diminish the minutes he's given us every season since acquired. I'm not a fan of UPL, but he is only 23 and has given us credible goaltending for the majority of his starts. I believe he will be a good NHL backup long-term and that is a quality asset.

I disagree. Rebuilding an organization starts and ends with talent. All the great platitudes, such as "building with players that want to be here," are meaningless unless those players are actually good at hockey. Jbot left KA a solid foundation to build upon. KA and his staff have done a good job of developing that talent, but again no talent no development. The real rebuild steps are (Platitudes need not apply) 1) Build a competent front office and coaching staff. - Done (although the coaching needs help on defense) 2) Evaluate the players on hand and in the pipeline. Get rid of any players that don't fit what the coaches want to do or make trouble in the locker room. Use these assets to accomplish steps 3 and/or 4. This is still in process and is ongoing (see KO, Z, Bryson and VO for example) 3) Draft and develop to create a long-term pipeline of talent. Done and still in process 4) Acquire veteran players to fill the roster holes. 4th D and at least one goaltender are still needed. Also possibly a 4th line center. This team is now on step 4. Winning usually solves all the "do the guys want to be here" BS.

Your missing one step - building on the quality assets already here (or in the organization) - Dahlin, Samuelsson, Thompson, Cozens, Mittelstadt, Jokiharju, UPL, VO, Rousek and Johnson (once he signs).

That and the 5 pts in 6 games he put up after he signed his ELC. His initial NHL points also came on the wing.

John, I flat-out disagree with your statement here. Here is Casey's career in numbers. Year 1 - 1st half 11 pts in 40 games (.28 pts/gp) Year 1 - 2nd half 14 pts in 37 games (.38) Year 2 - 31 games - 9 pts (.29) but RK was the coach so he can be forgiven for regressing. (.69 pts/gp in 36 AHL games). Year 3 - 22 pts in 41 games played (.54) Year 4 - 19 pts in 40 games played (.48) Year 5 - 1st half - 25 pts in 41 games (.61) Year 5 - 2nd half - 24 pts in 34 games (.71) Outside his 2nd season under offense killer RK, Casey has basically improved every 40 or so NHL games he's played. Not a straight line of course, but pretty close. Remember in year 4 he played through the entire 2nd half of the season with a hand injury and still managed nearly .5 pts/gp. I'm sorry, but the stats don't reflect a descending career, but a slow ascending one. I have never seen a player as misunderstood as Casey by the fans here and across Sabreland. The more the Sabres' management has properly defined his role the more he has improved. If anyone watched him in college, you'd have realized that his potential was that of a middle-six forward and that is what he has become. At Minn Casey only had 30 pts in 34 games. Yes, the Gophers weren't great that year, but they had a decent team starring Casey, Rem Pitlick, Thomas Novak, and Ryan Lindgren who are all solid NHL players. By comparison, Eichel had 71 pts in 40 college games also as a Freshman. While Casey's offense has improved as this season went along, the real change is in +/-. In the first half of the season, Casey was -12. In the second half, Casey has a +/- of zero. The way Casey is trending, both offensively and as a 2-way player, don't be surprised if he gets an extension this off-season. Please remember that good teams have good secondary scoring and players who can fill multiple roles to help the team weather injuries. Casey in becoming that kind of player.

Trend analysis The NYI are 5-4-1 in their last 10 - Keep at the pace they'll reach 91 pts, but they are scuffling lately going 2-3 in their last 5. If that trend continues, they'll finish with 90 points The Pens are 4-6-0 in their last 10 - That puts them at 90 points, but they have been slightly better in their last 5 going 3-2. If that trend continues then they'll reach 92. FLA is 6-4-0 in their last 10 and 3-2 in their last 5. That's a consistent 91 pt pace. BUF is the real wildcard in the Wildcard race. We are 5-3-2 in our last 10, which would put us at 89 to 90 pts. However, we are 4-0-1 in our last 5. Continue that level of play and we'll get to 93 or 94 points. Wouldn't that shock the world?

It's possible that all 4 teams could end up with 92 pts. Of the 4 teams, only Buffalo and Florida play each other and that game is tomorrow. To get to 92 points here's what must happen. (I'm going to assume all wins are in regulation) 1) NYI - They have 4 games remaining (TB, PHI, @ Wash and Mon) - They must go 2-1-1. RW 35, ROW 40 2) FLA - They have 5 games remaining (BUF, OTT, @ Wash, TOR and CAR) - They must go 3-1-1. RW 36, ROW 40 3) PIT - They have 5 games remaining (@ NJ, MIN, @ DET, CHI, @ CBJ) - They must go 3-2-0. RW 32, ROW 40 4) BUF - We have 7 games remaining (@ FLA, @ DET, CAR, @ NYR, @ NJD, OTT & @ CBJ) - We must go 5-1-1. RW 33, ROW 41 If all 4 teams tie, FLA and the NYI make the playoffs because they'll likely have the most RWs. They each have 33 RWs at this point. Obviously, we have the hardest road, but by the time we play the NYR and NJ they'll may have nothing to play for. Tomorrow's game against FLA is critical. A RW for the Sabres tightens things considerably.

Tage is back and there’s going to be trouble.

I think the thing that clicked with Casey this season is his work along the boards. The play in the first last night where Casey won the forecheck battle stole the puck and made the great pass to a breaking Skinner has now become a typical Casey play. Just wait until next year when Casey continues to hit the weight room. He is already a pretty big guy and like many of the young Sabres, he needs to get stronger. One thing we need to realize about Casey is that on every team he has ever played on, until the Sabres, he was the go-to scoring option. He was a top 10 pick who dominated the World Jrs. His game, until now, was geared to be that primary scoring threat. Now he is morphing into a secondary playmaker who creates off the forecheck. That's a very different role and it takes time for a player to make that transition, but we have seen him successfully make the transition this season. The goal scoring will come. He has a very good shot, but DG wants him to be a playmaker. You can see that on every shift. He won't ever put up 30, but will add 20 here and there. I'm thinking a Nik Backstrom kind of player with 70 points being the peak, or maybe a better version of Hecht. That's a great secondary piece to have. He is also becoming our Jack of all trades. He is forechecking and playmaking as a winger along the boards but also can fill in at center when needed. He can also play up and down the lineup. One final note. I doubt he gets traded this off-season.

https://theathletic.com/4368716/2023/04/03/buffalo-sabres-underrated-players/ From an Athletic article about the most underrated player on the team according to its players. (Samuelsson won - no surprise) Here is what a few players said about Mitts. Casey Mittelstadt (2) Owen Power: “I just think he’s so smart. He makes so many good little plays that I think a lot of people kind of miss just watching the game. But when you really sit down and watch and understand his game, you realize all those plays he makes and how smart he really is. Jack Quinn: “I’ll go with Mittelstadt. I think he does so many little things that go unnoticed. He’s not the fastest skater or the flashiest, but all of the little plays he makes with puck protections and he keeps pucks alive, I just think he has a lot of hockey sense. Sometimes maybe people don’t notice that.”

what good is a spell checker if you have to check the checker all the time?

F-ing spellcheck. "Meditating."

???? I was agreeing with you. We'll really know Levi's influence on them when they start mediating.

Levi’s dedication to his craft and attention to detail will make both UPL and Comrie better goalies. They will have to work OT just to keep up. Don’t be surprised if they start mediating.

I believe I did.