GASabresIUFAN

No, not with this coaching staff and GM.

Rock meet Bottom. I've been fighting it for weeks, but DG must go. I wouldn't mind KA going with him, but sadly that's not happening. We have too much talent to look this inept. They have no structure, no jump, and they are giving no effort, just gliding along in circles trying to run out the clock. It's now time that the clock runs out on DG, his coaches, and the guy in charge. Enought!

I agree with you in general. It's a legit issue. How do you keep paying guys when they have accomplished nothing from a team standpoint? I guess it comes down to whether the GM thinks a player is part of the solution or part of the problem. Given how many of our forwards are allergic to 2-way play, I'd argue the problem lies elsewhere. IMHO Skinner, Cozens, and Power are players we could trade to create cap space if necessary. I don't like not bridging Power. Of all the guys we signed an extension to, his contract seems like the biggest miscalculation so far. Regardless of whether we pay Mitts 6 or 7 per season, there are no cap issues next season. They may start in 2025, but I don't think we can worry about that at this point.

https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nhl/sabres/as-rumor-mill-turns-casey-mittelstadt-expresses-desire-to-remain-with-sabres/article_c874c16a-b933-11ee-b3a3-77dc5e1b38e5.html I’m not sure how KA navigates the cap issues he created, but see how this team moves forward without Mitts. As TBN points put, he is our best forward along the boards, our most versatile forward, one of if not the best 2 way forward, our leading playmaker and this season our leading scorer. I think the News is wrong about not being able to afford another long term deal.

Those guys always come later in the draft. McNabb was a 3rd. Cernak a 2nd. Samuelsson was a 2nd. Strbak a 2nd. Novikov fell to the 6th.

Can you believe it, but another smaller Euro forward right there at 8 just where the Sabres will be drafting. Just what the Sabres need.

Have you forgotten the WS win in 2021? My office is across the street from the Braves stadium.

Who cares at this point. Deck chairs on the Titanic.

Bass has a dead cap higher than his salary so I suspect he'll return. We do get cap savings moving on from Martin, but was he really an issue? His injury was the cause of the issues yesterday. I definitely want at least 2 WRs in the draft both pretty early. Safety is a must in the draft. Having additional depth at CB may or may not be a must depending on how management feels about Elam and Dane Jackson.

I said before this game that the Bills WR group needs an overhaul. Harty and Sherfield need to go. Beane needs to draft two WRs early in the draft to replace Davis and eventually Diggs. We need better speed, better hands and better size at the position. Getting another real threat the teams have to respect will help open up Diggs and make Josh much more effective in the passing game.

How many teams could lose Jones for most of the season and all-pros Milano and Tra White and even make the playoffs? Other than the Bills, no one.

Diggs would be alot more effective if we actually had a WR 2. Shaikir is a fine 3, but Davis stinks, Harty and Sherfield add nothing. Top off-season priority IMHO is 2 WRs in the draft

The defense and goaltending better at the expense of offense. Sounds like a Ralph Krueger team.

Probably. If he plays the rest of the season like he has most of this year, KA will probably go 3 years, but the more years he “buys” the bigger the cap hit. Would UPL go 3 years at 2.5? His numbers are still middling in the NHL.

The Sabres went 3-3 on the homestand beating only bad teams and losing to the 3 decent teams they played. This season is basically done and it's time to start thinking about next year. So what to do? If I'm KA, my first move is trading Jokiharju for a team looking for D help. The Sabres have 5 D under contract for next season. The team is locked to Dahlin, Power, and Samuelsson. Clifton has come on of late and has another 2 years on his deal. Rookie Ryan Johnson has outplayed Joki which has led Joki to be a healthy scratch. Last year KA inexplicably held on to or brought back Bryson, VO, and Jost who were all healthy scratches last season. It's time to not make the same mistake again. Time to trade Joki while playoff teams are desperate for D help and get as big a return as possible. This move solidifies Johnson's spot in the lineup and gives the team a better chance of winning. Along the same vein, I'd trade Krebs as well. What has he done to earn an extension? He's still young and is an RFA. Someone will take a shot at him. Given our forward depth in the system, time to clear some dead weight. Jost or a contract received in the trade for Joki or Krebs can fill in as the 4th C. I'm also interested in giving Greenway an extended look as the 4th C for next season. If we have to take a contract back in these deals so be it. We have the cap space and that will up the return. The next move is to trade Girgensons. Might as well play Robinson every night to see if he is worth re-signing. He is also faster than the other depth players and unlike most Sabres he is willing to crash the net. The other move is trading VO. Teams in the playoff race want depth scoring and he needs a fresh start elsewhere. If we have to eat some cap and/or take back a contract again so be it. I'm holding onto EJ and KO unless they ask to be traded. This is a bit of a change in opinion, but I still want to field a decent team. That said, I'm not re-signing either play for next season. I'm also hopeful that KA might find a way to land a top 4 D to partner with Dahlin or Power to get a head start on next season. I'm also hopeful that KA is showcasing Comrie for a trade, but if not, I'm still willing to let Comrie back up UPL for the remainder of the season to allow Levi to be the starter for the Amerks and hopefully get playoff starts. Here is how the post-trade deadline might look Forwards Skinner TNT Tuch Benson Mitts Quinn JJP Cozens (Greenway, Kulich, Rosen, or a new player) Robinson Greenway (Jost?/New player?) KO Defense Dahlin Ryan Johnson (new player?) Power Clifton (or RJ) Mule Eric Johnson Goalies UPL Comrie

Especially when he has 1 pt in his last 10 games.

This season was over 20 games in. Any team that has a season long win streak of 2 games is not a playoff team. The questions are how do you fix this team and are KA/DG the men to do it?

Terrible penalty call, but not surprising. This team still isn't good. It was a terrible giveaway in the 1st by my friend Mitts.

Don’t expect him to stay in the NHL. The Sabres play a back to back in LA and then SJS on the 27th. Then they are off until 2/6. The Amerks play 1/26, 1/27, 1/31, 2/2 and 2/3. If the Sabres have a brain, they are going to send Levi down to play in at least 2 of these games for the Amerks.

Fixed.

That’s when Skinner is traded.

Took KA long enough.

I'm going to review this yet again. Here is the Sabres cap situation heading into next season Forwards under contract (8) - Skinner, TNT, Cozens, Tuch, Greenway, Benson, Quinn, JJP - Cost $33,662,023 Defenders under contract 5) - Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson, Clifton, and R Johnson - Cost $27,894,047 Goalies under contract (1) - Levi - Cost $925,000 Totals (14) - Cost $62,481,020 That leaves approximately $25,000,000 for max of 9 players [probably 8]. RFAs - Mitts, Krebs, Joki, Bryson, and UPL UFAs - Robinson, KO, VO, Girgensons, and EJ. Can we afford Mitts? Yes, we can! The only RFAs that should return are UPL (I can't believe I'm typing that) and Mitts. Under the UFAs, I can see Robinson being brought back, but he won't be getting the 1.6 he is getting right now. The biggest expense, besides Mitts, facing the Sabres in the off-season will be getting a top 4 D. It looks to me like Ryan Johnson is working hard to secure one of the two spots. Odds also favor one of Savoie, Kulich and/or Rosen earning one of the forward slots. All told with re-signing Mitts (6 for 6.5), Robinson (1 yr @ 1.1), UPL, (2 years @1.75), and Kulich (918K), that brings us to $73,731,088 for 18 players. The remaining roster holes are a 3/4 center, a top 4 D, a 12th/13th forward, and a 7th D. Skinner TNT Tuch JJP Mitts Quinn Benson Cozens Kulich Robinson ????? Greenway (?????) Dahlin R Johnson Power ?????? Mule Clifton (?????) Levi and UPL Knowing KA, he'll re-sign Joki and Krebs and bring back an entire status-quo roster that is failing this season. Somebody who gives a darn about winning dumps those two and tries to actually improve the roster. The one thing he doesn't do is trade away his best forward from this season.

Correct and who really is worried about him being claimed?

Ok, so what is his trade value? A 2nd? How does that help us?