GASabresIUFAN

Eichel 2 minutes for roughing

@Weave Well said.

My biggest concern with Manson is that he is -11 on Colorado since being traded there.

Holtby is just one option, which is why I said “on the face of things”. We are going to have to rely on the scouts and management staff to choose the right guy. Maybe it’s Varlamov in trade, maybe it’s DeSmith, maybe it’s one of the Russian RFAs? I honestly have no idea how this is going to play out, other then KA must do something more then he has done the last two years. After looking at this 20 ways to Sunday, I have a much longer list of who I don’t want or think will come here. If I had to guess on someone, I think Husso has to be near the top of KA’s wish list. I’d also guess Holtby and DeSmith are high on the list as well. These 3 make the most sense to me given KA’s past actions and statements. I doubt Kuemper, MAF or Campbell are coming here. I’d also guess Korpisalo, despite his poor season, is on the list because of his age but only as a bargain option. The wild card is whether KA is willing to trade for an RFA like Samsonov, Georgiev, or Vanacek. To me these are the most intriguing options. They are still young with upside. If they succeed we might end up with a franchise goalie at a long term reasonable contract. I honestly have zero faith in UPL at this point.

No question. Every draft pick is a lottery pick. You could get a Tarasenko (16th in 2010), Tom Wilson (16th in 2012), Barzal or even Chychurn, but you also could get guys like Sonny Milano, Martin Kaut, Jusso Valmaki, Ty Wishart or Colton Gillies. Our track record at 16 is fair with Armia (2011) and Zadarov (2013). Even the really good 16th picks usually took a few years to make the jump to the NHL.

I remember when he first was drafted we, Sabrespace, talked extensively about his playing his off-side. Once he settled in as a LHD we seemed to forget that playing on the right was his preferred place to play, much like Vanek playing his off-wing. Having him back on the right has significantly altered how are young D are placed. It, along with the additon of Power, shifted Samuelsson to the top line and bumped Bryson to the bottom pair and changed how we perceive Joki.

Joki is a better skater. My comparison was more about role on the team and how they continued to improve. However, I agree the McCabe was much more physical, but that part of McCabe’s game evolved into a bigger piece of McCabe’s game over time. I don’t think Joki will become much more then his 3.5 hits per 60 has has been for his career, but at least he isn’t afraid to take be physical.

Throwing $5 mill at Holtby is similar to TM giving Meszaros $4 mill for a season to get to the cap floor, but with hopefully better results. The biggest difference between now and then is the position of the two squads. TM’s squad was designed to fail and Meszaros was part of that. This time, this team is at the cusp of being playoff competitive for the first time in a decade+ and KA needs to throw his money into the right places. Goaltending will certainly be one of them, so he needs to get the who right. I think Holtby has had a nice rebound season, is a Cup and Vezina winner and is only 32. On the face of things he could be a perfect bridge for the next few years.

The truth is he is expendable now. Since Power entered the lineup his PT has been reduced to 11-12 minutes a game. This is someone easily replaced if necessary. I like Bryson and like that he can play both sides, but if I need to trade him to get the RHD we need for Power, I’d do it in a heart beat.

While I generally agree with you here, but I can see scenarios where Bryson or Asplund end up in trades to upgrade other areas. Once Johnson signs (if?) Bryson becomes moveable. Asplund can also become expendable if KA signs a center for the KO line. Personally I’d rather trade Girgensons over Asplund, but I don’t see KA moving on from one of his veteran leaders at this point.

I been reading in other threads about the highest and best use of our friend Henri Jokiharju. He reminds me of McCabe in many ways and I expect him to continue to improve like McCabe did. However, it’s becoming clear from his advanced stats that he really should be our 3rd pairing RHD now that Dahlin has moved to the right side. While he is ok with everyone he plays with, he isn’t great with anyone and Power needs someone that will allow Power to roam some and not get caught out of position. I don’t think Joki is that guy, yet. I do think in a couple of years he’ll get there just like McCabe did. So who is Power’s partner next year? Besides goaltending this has to be KA’s top priority this off-season for both on ice player and for the cap compliance. One other thought. By moving Dahlin to the right side, my guess is that it improved Johnson’s long-term prospects of making the Sabres. I doubt Ryan is to worried about beating out Bryson.

I’m going to play Jack apologist for a second. Jack is coming back from a career threatening injury and a difficult surgery. He had no camp, had to play his way back into shape and play with guys he was unfamiliar with. The fact he has done as well as he has is pretty amazing. LV won’t get what they paid for until next season. That said there are reasons for LV to be worried about acquiring Jack, but his play this season isn’t the cause of their hopefully missing the playoffs. Injuries (they still have 7 players out with injuries) and mediocre goaltending are responsible.

I want LV to lose as well, but the 16th pick isn’t exactly going to change the fortunes of our franchise. Whomever we draft will be a Rosen quality player who may not arrive for 2-3 more years. Happy to have the player and we need the pipeline depth, but when I look at the projections, I don’t see a true difference maker at that point in this draft.

Leafs sign Hobey winner Dryden McKay.

Agree much to soon to move on from any of Mitts, Krebs, Cozens, or Jokiharju. They have made so much progress this season.

I would trade UPL in a minute.

This is contrary to what I’ve seen elsewhere. The consensus seems to be management looks at Mitts as their No. 2 center. They think he’d have had a huge year if he hadn’t gotten hurt and look for him to be the next breakout player. I understand the logic of trading a good asset to get another good asset back, but KA isn’t moving on from a developing player for a veteran with a big contract. He has stated that over and over again. Also we don’t need to move anyone to fit Quinn into the lineup. He’ll have a top 6 role next season. He’ll either be Mitts or TNT’s RW. Center depth: TNT, Mitts, Girgensons, Cozens (all under contract) RW depth: Tuch, Quinn, KO, Open ((Vinnie (UFA) or JJP)) LW depth: Skinner, VO (RFA), Asplund, Krebs I’ve made the argument earlier this season to trade VO, but I’ve come around to the idea of re-signing him. We are simply a better team when he is on the ice and healthy. My guess is KA’s offseason game-plan is pretty simple and straight forward. 1) Re-sign VO. 2) Acquire a proven goalie. 3) Get a veteran D to match with Power. After those the rest is gravy. Does he try to upgrade Girgensons as KO’s center? Does he sign Vinnie? How much does he pay to re-sign UPL and Bryson? Does he extend TNT and or Okposo before the season.

I would love to try to steal Vanecek.

We have, but it's unclear if the NYI want to trade him and he has a M-NTC and there is speculation that we are on the NT list. I actually mentioned Varlomov very early in the goaltending thread and said I thought he'd like a chance to be a starter again. I thought then that he'd be traded at the deadline but it didn't happen leading to the speculation that the NYI aren't interesting in trade him. I don't mind LanceI don't mind Lance's suggestion in the TBN to give Holtby a 2 year 10 mil deal to be the bridge goalie here.

What? Samuelsson/Dahlin is the No.1 pair. KA said he is looking for a partner for Power and DG is already playing the kid 20+ a night. That leaves Bryson and Joki as the third pairing. This isn’t a shot a Joki, but an observation based on how PT is currently allocated and the stated intentions of management. It’s certainly possible KA doesn’t get the D he is looking for in the off-season. If that happens Joki jumps back into the Power pairing.

None of that changes his rebound control issues, the getting beat on long-range shot attempts or the other issues Biron has pointed out time and again. That doesn’t mean he won’t eventually become a capable NHL goalie. It just means there is a ton to work on and I doubt he’ll be ready for NHL duty next year. KA better be ready if he fails because I think his forward group is already playoff caliber. He cannot let next season fail because of inadequate goaltending. The Sabres lost 19 games this season is OT/SO (11 games) or by just 1 goal (8 games). With better goaltending we might have won 1/2 of those games giving us another 14 points and upping our season totals to 87 with 2 games left.

I don’t know if Appert is a good coach or not. I do know the Taylor was a good coach and RK had it in for him, probably because Taylor wasn’t a yes man and RK knew if he failed Taylor was an easy replacement. What he didn’t realize is that a better replacement in DG was already on his staff. What I do know is that once Samuelsson and Fitz graduated the NHL and all the goaltending issues ensued, Appert and the Amerks were behind the 8 ball. Quinn’s injury also didn’t help. What Appert needed was defensive reinforcements to help the goaltenders and really didn’t receive any. Oh well.

The Sabres offense is only 10 goals behind Van and now stands 21st in the NHL at 229. Up from 28th last year. DG has made it clear in recent press conferences that he expects the vast majority of his squad back next year. As to the UFA skaters, I’m thinking only Vinnie will be back if DG’s player utilization down the stretch is any indication of who he wants in his lineup. Here is the breakdown: (The Sabres have played 16 games since the trade deadline). Vinnie - 16/16 Eakin -10/16, but none since 4/14 Hayden - 1 Miller - 3 Butcher - 5 Pysyk - 5, although I think there is still a slim chance he returns. Bjork has only played in 5 since the deadline, but 4 recently replacing Eakin in the lineup. This smells like a tryout to see if he is worth bringing back as the 14th forward. My answer is no thanks. It also tells me the Eakin is thankfully gone as well. Also Bryson played in all 16 games and Fitz 14. This indicated to me when combined with with DG and KA’s comments that 6/7 of next year’s D is set with Power, Dahlin, Samuelsson, Jokiharju and Bryson in the top 6 and Fitz as the 7th D leaving room for a partner for Power. Samuelsson Dahlin Power UFA/Trade Bryson Jokiharju

Toronto lost 3 of 4 to us, maybe there is more to it then that. They missed the playoffs because they started the season 6–14-2 with losing streaks of 3, 4 & 5 games. Maybe if they start 9-11-2 they’re in the playoffs. They also just went 0-2-1 in games that would have kept them in the race. The truth is they weren’t good enough. Maybe they should look inward for the solution. Getting a better coach was a positive first step. Improving the offense should be their next step. 18th in GF usually won’t get it done.

3 pts down with 3 games to go.