GASabresIUFAN

I’m growing concerned.

Rust is a pt a game player 2 of the last 3 years. I guess this maxes VO’s contract at 5 for 5?

New higher cap, new limited market and "no more pandemic" (Please note I put no more pandemic in quotes because I just got COVID a second time and yes I've had all 3 shots. On the good news the Paxlovid works wonders and I'm getting better in 3 days). Now back to the thread. I think GM's are more likely back to spending stupidly this off-season. Goaltending, as we have learned, is a difficult resource to predict and consistently good goaltending is nearly impossible to find. It only takes one GM to think Husso is the next star and he'll get his $. My figures might be to pessimistic, but the UFA market for good goaltending is going to be very limited this off-season and Husso will definitely be in demand as he is the only UFA goalie under 30 who played in 40 or more games. He is going to get more then Dreidger last season almost certainly. He'll get at least as much as Ullmark did, if not more.

Likely more than KA wants to pay. It would probably be 5 for 5.5 or 6.

No interest in Husso?

Yes. KA should have signed him year 1, he should have signed him before the expansion draft and he should have signed him for 5 years if that is what it would taken to get it done. Now it would be only a 4 year deal and we likely would have had another 4-6 wins last season. Lets face it. KA is going to have to give some bridge goalie likely older than Ullmark a 3 -4 year deal at similar money just to get Ullmark level goaltending. Might as well have signed Ullmark.

Found them. Thx to the Comets.

That’s my point.

So basically Ullmark level goaltending. Maybe KA should have found away to keep Ullmark. Campbell, Fleury, DeSmith etc.. It's all the same basic ok goaltending. Husso seems like the only possible upgrade on Ullmark. Granted all would be better then Anderson and UPL.

Actually he’s been passed by Fox’s Greg Gutfeld show 2.3 mill viewers to 2.1. Which is hilarious considering Gutfeld is a cable show.

I didn’t know anyone actually watched Colbert.

I wonder why the Amerks’ haven’t posted yesterday’s highlights yet.

He hasn’t been in the conversation much because most assume the Leafs will re-sign him. He also wasn’t great in the second half or in the playoffs.

Wow!. I came down with Covid again. I appreciate the pick me up guys. Thx

I read Pronman’s mock draft and some of the comments here and I think as a group we forget that this draft is about development not immediate help. We took Rosen at 14 last year and it could be another 2-3 years before he joins the NHL. We drafted Johnson at 31 in 2019 and he also might still be 2 years from the NHL. Because of development I try not to look at the Sabres needs, but the holes in the pipeline. So who are our top prospects by position. C - 7th rd pick Nozak, 5th rd pick Costantini G - Levi, UPL and Portillo RHD - Laaksonen LHD - Johnson RW - 4th rd picks Nadeau and Huglen, Rousek? LW- Rosen, Poltapov, Kisakov, Bloom, and 5th rd pick Cedarqvist. Looking at this draft I’m looking for centers, RHD, LHD and RW and with 4 picks in the top 41, I wouldn’t mind seeing one each from those areas of need if the draft falls right. At 9 I like Lekkerimaki RW at 16 I’m hoping for Kasper, C at 31 I’m thinking the best D available, R or L. Although I would be surprised if we grab another C. at 41 what about RHD Noah Warren. At 6’5 he’d make a giant addition to the D. If he develops like Samuelsson, he’s a steal at 41.

One other note. Your status is locked in for the season. So if someone finishes with 259 pro games at the end of this year’s regular season, they are still a developmental player all of next season.

Maybe Kisakov will pull a JJP. One thing of note, the Amerks must skate 13 developmental players each night, which is defined as 260 games or less or pro experience including top Euro leagues. There is one exception for a player with 260 to 320 games. I haven’t crunched all the numbers, but some of our vets, including R2, may no longer qualify for developmental status. That roster above looks to have only about 10 “prospects” in Murray, Biro, Schuldt, Malone, Rousek, Weissbach, Laaksonen, Pekar, Tischke and Kisakov.

What did Russo do?

https://sports.yahoo.com/column-maple-leafs-now-55-190133525.html Oh Leafs Nation. LMAO! May you dwell in hell for 5 more decades.

This isn’t on Jack. Like Trotz and NY this change is on the GM who failed.

In a cap world you always have to make choices, but that may be 3-5 years from now. However it’s why we have to draft centers and why it’s a problem that we lack centers in the system. When we had Drury, Briere, Connolly, Roy and Gaustad, DR failed to draft and develop centers behind them and that is one of the factors why we are where we are now.

How many has Girgensons played for?

So! We lack playmakers. How is having two good playmakers a problem especially if they anchor different lines? Also Mitts is much more of a shooter than Krebs however he has the ability to adjust his game to his linemates. If DG placed Mitts and Krebs on the same line, you’d see much more goal production from Mitts. However if he is playing with say Quinn and VO you’ll see more of pass first player trying to set up his snipers. DG used both Mitts and Krebs on the wall in the PP to take advantage of their passing skills. Again I don’t see how this is a problem on a team with Quinn, Tuch, VO, Skinner and TNT.

I don’t think the Sabres will be a traditional forward lineup next season. You aren’t going to see 2 scoring lines, a shutdown line and an energy line. Instead you’ll see 3 scoring lines and a shutdown line. The 1st 2 scoring lines will be centered by TNT and Mitts. The shutdown line will feature Z and KO. What we don’t know is how that line will be configured. Will Z center that line, or will they try someone like Cozens. The 3rd scoring line will feature guys who aren’t on the other lines. I can see Krebs, Cozens or even R2 centering that line. Camp will be interesting. Asplund, who I once thought would be an after thought this coming season, could actually be the linchpin for the lineup. Does DG leave him with Mitts to add two way help for that line or does he move him to KO’s line to support their 2 way mission? There are really about 500 possible configurations for next season. Here are 2 possible Skinner TNT Tuch Asplund Mitts Quinn VO Krebs JJP Girgensons Cozens KO or Skinner TNT Quinn VO Mitts Tuch Krebs Cozens JJP Asplund Girgensons KO I’m partial to the 2nd one. However don’t be surprised if the 3rd scoring line gets less PT then KO’s line.

Pommers has to one of them