GASabresIUFAN

Lol. I had to laugh when I saw the thread title. So the stats say he is a reasonable 3rd line C. I’m shocked. Ok not really.

A Dahlin Lyubushkin partnership would be awful and kind of proves my point. Bush is makes terrible decisions with the puck. Frankly he is Risto 2.0.

The problem with Dahlin vs Samuelsson is not an individual question. It’s a team question. Who is the no.1 2 way D if Dahlin is out? The answer is simple, 1st overall draftee Power. Who is the no.1 defensive D if Samuelsson is out? The answer is Jokiharju. What’s a better pairing Power Samuelsson or Dahlin Jokiharju? To meet the answer is simple Power/Samuelsson. Dahlin is one of the top 5 or 6 D in the NHL now and a legit Norris contender, but Buffalo is one of the few teams that could possibly survive losing a Norris contender for a period of time. Buffalo’s bigger D issue, is the falloff between the top 3 and everyone else. Losing any of the top 3 for significant period creates a hole our depth can’t reasonably fill. If we had a player like Jensen as the 2nd stay at home D, this wouldn’t even be a debate.

No idea. The answer is the second half of the quote.

no of course not. What I'm saying is that we are in a better position to weather a short term absence of Dahlin vs Samuelsson. Ultimately it comes down to where the depth in our organization. How many teams have a No 1 over all D as the anchor of the 2nd pair? Zero outside of the Sabres, but that fact means we have great depth there then we do in D first players like Samuelsson.

That's where we disagree. Power would pick up the extra duties and he is a budding dynamic player who can run the 1st PP. After Samuelsson who do we have that is on that level defensively? No one. Joki is second, but he isn't exactly stellar defensively and Bush isn't good.

Savoie and not Kulich will be a Sabre next season. KA has 8 forwards under contract for next season and another 3 who are RFAs including Jost and Cozens who are almost certainly to be retained. (Asplund is the other RFA and is cheap depth to retain). KO and Z are the key UFAs. Honestly given KA's history, there is reason to think he'll go with the status quo roster leaving maybe one roster spot for a rookie. Savoie has the inside track because he can't play in the AHL next year and is probably to good to go back to Jrs.

I don't understand your answer. We have seen the team this year and last without Samuelsson but with Dahlin and the team isn't as good. No we haven't seen the team without Dahlin but with Samuelsson. That is why is a postulation not a fact, aka a theory. My theory is that the team is more likely to be able to weather a lose of Dahlin vs a lose of Samuelsson because we have other guys who can do most of what Dahlin does. Maybe not as well, but at least passable. We have no one who can play Samuelsson's style and that style is essential. Let's hope we don't have to find out if my theory is correct. However it is a fact that this team isn't nearly as good without Samuelsson and that isn't debatable.

I postulated in another thread that while Tnt and Dahlin maybe "better" players, that Mule was our most important. With guys like Power, we might be ok for a while without Dahlin. We also have enough forward depth to survive for a short while without TnT. However, the stats without Mule are awful. He simple smart style of defense makes everyone from the goalie out better.

https://theathletic.com/4043475/2022/12/29/sabres-game-postponed-questions/ The Athletic posing many of the same questions from this thread 1) Can the stars keep up the pace? 2) Can the young studs avoid the rookie wall - Matt points out that JJP and Quinn played a full AHL schedule last year. 3) How healthy can they stay? - I'd change this to can they get and keep the D healthy. 4) What will happen with the goalie situation? 5) Will they make a move? - I'd rephrase, Will they make a move and if they will when?

I watched the game this morning and a couple of thing keeps standing out for that line. 1. VO is awful in the D Zone and 2. DG keeps putting them on the ice with the 3rd D pairing. I understand why he does it, but it's destroying that lines ability to generate more offense. Mitts isn't blameless either, but if I were KA, VO would would be the 1st forward I'd trade from this group. I'd also elevate Girgensons to the line (dropping VO to KO's line) to see if adding that physical presence would change the line D zone play. 1 more like him to play with Power would make the team nearly unstoppable. Dahlin Mule Power Mule 2 Jokiharju Bush

This 5 game winning streak has illustrated a few things. 1) We have forward depth, but the team structure is more effective at home when DG can get the matchup he wants for the Cozens' line. 2) We only have 4 legit D and this will remain the case until KA addresses it. Sorry, I'm not a fan of Bryson or Lyubushkin. 3) Hard to properly evaluate the goalies without a full compliment of real NHL D. I thought UPL played solidly in the 1st 2 periods, but the Sabres really dominated those two periods with constant pressure in the O Zone. In the 3rd the D broke down and Det scored 3, although there was only 1 I thought UPL could have stopped. This is why Clague, Bryson, Lyubishkin, Fitz, Pilut all need to go and be upgraded asap even if it means letting VO or someone else go. 4). Jost is doing a good job of channeling Curtis Lazar. Similar high pedigree players who seem to have found a home in the NHL being an energy forward. I don't think he is worth his current 2 mill paycheck, but if KA decides to re-sign him 2-3 years at similar money, I don't think anyone here will complain to much. I also wonder if this will be Krebs' long-term fate as well. Sorry Sabrespace, but I don't see Mitts be voted off the island until his contract expires unless it's in a blockbuster trade. DG seems to trust him and he can play up and down the lineup. He had 19 points in 40 games last year and 19 in 33 this year. Not a break out per se, but improvement. IF he gets to 50 points this season will anyone really care if he gets half of them on the PP? I doubt it. All good teams need secondary scoring and that is what KO, Mitts, and VO are providing.

I think Joki is still on IR. So Clague and Fitz are now D 6 and 7.

Yes, to send him down.

I guess it depends on the roster. Maybe Pilut goes down. I wonder if DG thinks he’s the 7th best D in the organization at this point.

Austria isn’t exactly a good hockey team.

Russia?

I think the Austrians are in over their heads.

Luke Schenn and he is certainly available. Nick Jensen. Jan Ruuta. Jake McCabe, although that bridge is probably burned.

I thought I'd update the title to reflect the tough December WNY is having. Please again stay safe and warm.

From Lance at the BN. https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/sabres-mailbag-when-should-gm-kevyn-adams-trade-for-a-player-to-win-now/article_e60c4286-82c3-11ed-a5e9-9fe2470465f1.html

Can they make up these games during that February break? What about Jan 4?

1. I think the Sabres fall just short, but earn 90 pts. 2. Tage scores 50 and gets to about 92 points and Dahlin also scores 20 or more. He also reaches 65 points and maybe wins the Norris. Tuch and Skinner ride with Tage to over 70 points each. Cozens finishes with 60 points 3. I'll stick with my preseason numbers. Quinn scores 20 and JJP 15. Power ends up with about 30 points 4. The D health will improve and Ka finds someone with term at the deadline to bolster the D. 5. Comrie is the 2nd half rebound. He keeps his GAA around 2.9 with the .908 save %. KO also has a very good 2nd half. 6. Yes, he grabs a D off waivers. 7. KO is traded at the deadline to get a chance at the Cup, but re-signs in the off-season to a two year 3 mill per season deal. 8. The goaltending will be better in the 2nd half. Comrie comes around some while Anderson tires some. UPL gets 5 or so spots starts to help Anderson. 9. I can also see Anderson being traded at the deadline to a team in contention. That is what she said.

What a mess.