GASabresIUFAN

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.

Actually we do. Who is our 2nd puck mover if Dahlin or Power get hurt?

Rousek's issue is that he is already 24. KO slides in to where I envisioned a possible place for Rousek. I don't see him as a Z type player. Is he good enough to win a job on Mitt's 3rd line?

@thewookie1 How do you disagree with a question?

https://www.nhl.com/news/oliver-ekman-larsson-bought-out-by-canucks/c-344911236 If he plays like he did when healthy for Van in 2021-22, he could be a real asset.

Hellebuyck wants out. So do Wheeler and Schiefele. The Ice beat them to it. Apparently, everyone wants out of Winnipeg.

As with Hellebuyck, KA needs to kick the tires on all available top 4 until he finds the right guy for this team. He is going to have to pay to get what the team needs, but the window is open and he needs to get the right pieces. All the talk going forward needs to be about winning the Cup.

One thing about young players is that don’t fully physically mature until 23-25. Their ability and often willingness to play a physical game comes with maturity. How much more physical were Dahlin and Mitts last season? As Cozens, Quinn, Krebs, Power and JJP continue to physically mature so will that aspect of their games. Cozens is already tough to play against, wait until he adds another 10-15 lbs of muscle. I’m not actually worried about the Sabres being physical enough to win in the playoffs. The Sabres issues come down to roster construction - goaltending and defense. KA must get a top 4 D who can help the PK and a good goalie. If he has to send out quality assets to get the job done do be it. VO, Krebs, Rosen, Östlund, the 13 th pick, both 2nd rounders, our 1st in 2024, other prospects including Savoie should be on the table to get these deals done. I’m not saying empty the pipeline, but I am saying smart use of some of these assets and free agency should get the deals done.

He is definitely a 20 minute a night guy. Is that enough to be top 4 fur us? He can definitely help on the PK.

No, not in general. I'd prefer some Czechs to slow the Russian advance.

Mike Weber the Matt Ellis of NHL D and now the Matt Ellis of NHL Asst Coaches?

I live and work in NW Atlanta. The Braves stadium is literally across the street from my office building. The Braves built a huge live work entertainment complex around the stadium which has been a huge success. The Braves sellout most games and the plan was so good traffic isn’t much of an issue, which is a major accomplishment in Atlanta. The Braves are the new model for large metro areas. Teams must consider where their fan base lives when building new facilities. Having an entertainment district around the stadium is a huge added bonus and makes the event even more fun. When Atlanta gets their expansion team, their new stadium will be on the North side as well, because that’s where the hockey fans are. My parents retired to Scottsdale and I’ve spent a great deal of time in the Phoenix area. As to the Yotes, Tempe makes the most sense for a new hockey/entertainment complex, but unlike Atlanta, downtown Phx is still accessible. I’m actually a little surprised that the Pima tribe hasn’t worked with the NHL to build an area and entertainment complex with their Casinos near Scottsdale off the 101.

@LGR4GM Pronman’s final rankings have Pekarcik up to 43rd.

Assuming KA goes for a D, I think Simashev is the pick if Reinhbacher is not available. His Russian contract actually works for the Sabres. Assuming Novikov and Johnson make the Sabres over the next couple of years and we sign (or acquire) a D to partner with Power (or Dahlin) for next season, Simashev would join the organization just as the top 4 D KA acquires contract likely ends or is about to end. In fact, our D for 25/26 could look like this Dahlin Samuelsson Power Simashev Johnson Novikov All that said, Leonard, Moore, and Dvorsky are really special forwards. If one of them is still available at 13, KA would be hard pressed to not take them and then fill his D pipeline with the 2 2nd rd picks. I have 10 D with 2nd rd grades plus 1 guy (Dragicevic) with a late 1st rd grade who could still be available at 39. I like Oliver Bonk, Max Strbak among others. As I mentioned earlier, I also really like forward Nick Lardis in the 2nd rd.

He'll be available in the 3rd, although I agree he was excellent at the World U18s. Of the 12 rankings I've looked at with 100+ players, Juraj has only been listed in the top 100 in 4 of the rankings. The only people who gave him at or near second round consideration were Button at 39 and Wheeler at 67. He currently sits 103rd on my consensus board. Nick Lardis, who is also very young in this class, has a much better pedigree and with a little luck, he'll be available to us at 39 and possibly 45. He had a great run with Hamilton in the second half of the season and put up 10 points in 6 playoffs games. He is a pure scorer.

Nope not ever. Can’t root for Eichel and won’t root for a 6 year old team about to win a championship that our 50+ year old team has yet to win.

My consensus Board is really shaping up. 1. Bedard 2. Fantilli 3-7. Michkov, Carlsson, Smith, Benson and Leonard Gap to 8 8-11. Pellikka, Moore, Dvorsky, Reinbacher Gap to 12 12-18. Barlow, Danielson, Perreault, Simashev, Cristall, Wood, Sale Gap to 19 19-26. Musty, Honzek, Yager, Brindley, Stenberg, Williander, Gulyaev, Heidt gap to 27 27-28. Ritchie, But Cliff to 29 29-34. Perron, Molgaard, Nadeau, Sawchyn, Dragicevic, Gauthier Gap to 35 35-37. Lardis, Molendyk, Whitelaw 38-48. Edstrom, Ciernik, Hrbael, Stramel, Cagnoni, Wahlberg, Haltunnen, Ziemmer, Bonk, Augustine, Lindstein Gap to 49 49-56. Price, Pinelli, Barkley, Hameenaho, Brzustewicz, Dower-Nilsson, Minnetian, Akey Gap to 57 57-66. Morin, Strbak, Nelson, Kantserov, Bjarnason, Rehkopf, Suniev, Rykov, Cataford, Under Sorum My mock draft - 13. Simashev (unless one of Reinbacher, Moore, or Dvorsky fall to us. 39. Lardis - Only 17 but very fast skater and good hands 45. Bonk - Solid 2-way D

He wasn't a downgrade, he was basically the same. That's the problem.

If you are filling your holes with worse players than the ones that just left your team is generally heading in the wrong direction. Admittedly a team like TB brings in Bogo for cheap depth, but for a team like Buffalo to bring in status quo or worse players is a mistake. Bush was supposed to be an upgrade over Hagg and just wasn't.

He isn't an upgrade physically. The stats don't support your assertion. Hagg is 6'2 210 with Bush 6'2 200. Bush had 99 hits last season (68 games), Hagg had 97 (48 games). Hagg also added 111 this season for Det (38 games).

But the point of an FA signing is usually to upgrade the roster. I don't think Bush moved that needle. KA could have accomplished the same thing by just retaining Hagg.

This is the only reason the perception is changing. FAs want to win and this team is a hair's breath away from being one of the strongest teams in the East.

I think all his numbers are basically what Hagg gave us last year, except Hagg played 17 minutes to Bush's 15, and in only 48 games to Bush's 68, Hagg gave us similar totals in hits and blocks and a similar % of pt/gp. Their advanced stats on Hockey-reference are nearly identical as well. Sorry, I don't think Bush was much of an upgrade. I do agree KA needed to get at add more D depth last season. Last off-season I asked for a top 4 defender and a depth player like Bush and all we got was Bush. The needs heading into last season were the same as this off-season, getting a top 4 D man and a decent goalie. Instead, KA signed two band-aids. KA has shown he can get excellent value when trading away talent. He has shown he can draft well and develop players. I think he is doing a very good job locking in his core with a goal of smart cap management. The only area where he has been a disappointment so far is outside player acquisition to upgrade holes in his NHL roster. His first crop of Hall, Eakin, and Staal were busts. His second group of Pysyk, Butcher, Dell, Hayden, Anderson, and Vinnie ranged from good (Vinnie) to decent (Anderson & Pysyk) to awful (Buther, Hayden, Dell). This last group, Comrie, and Lyubuskin, plus Stillman & Greenway at the deadline, have not dramatically upgraded the team with Comrie being awful, Bush decent, and the jury still out on the 2 deadline players. But what about Tuch and Krebs you say? The difference is KA was selling the best player in the deal and as I said earlier he got excellent value. Now he is the buyer and this is a much different position than signing or trading for depth players or dumping the old core. His only major buy was Hall and that was an abject failure from day 2 to the day he was traded for a 2nd and Bjork. How he does a buyer this off-season is critical to getting the team the depth it needs to succeed next season.

KA’s will be judged this off-season based primarily on 3 things and a bonus. 1. Getting a good partner for Levi in net. 2. Getting a D partner for Power. 3. Extend Dahlin (possibly done). Bonus: Extend Power, although it’s very possible Power’s camp wants to wait. Bringing in this year’s equivalents of Comrie and Lyubushkin will be failure. Everything else is gravy.