GASabresIUFAN

I hope your friend isn’t a Sabres scout. Petersen and Portillo are very similar players and prospects. Petersen plays at a backup level, so I’ll agree with your friend. However he and his colleagues looked at Levi’s height and that is why he went in the 7th round, but he is wrong about Levi’s height preventing him from being a legit NHL prospect. Levi is 6’ tall. One of the best goalies in the NHL is 5-11 Jusse Saros. Casey DeSmith and Nedjelkovic are two other fine goalies that are 6’ or under. There are a bunch, like Quick, a 6’1”. With the speed of the game increasing we may actually be going back the other way again with smaller more athletic goalies. The GOAT named Hasek was only 6’1” This doesn’t mean Levi will make it or become a star, but to dismiss him out of hand because of his height is an error in judgement. Ask Nashville if Saros’ height is an issue.

Yeah pretty much with a couple of notable exceptions like the goaltending pivot and the failure to get assets at the deadline. Some of that is on him and some on others

Karlsson is actually diminishing year by year - Shooting percentages annually - 23.4, 14.2, 10.9, 12.6, 8.8 (This season). Not exactly a great trend. Taylor Hall-esque. No it's actually not. It's a number put up by elite of the elite scorers. Crosby's career number is 14.6, Ovechkin 12.9, Matthews 16.4, Stamkos 16.9, McDavid 15. Skinner's best season was also 14.9, but his average for his career is 10.9. He has had some stellar years of 14.9, 14.4 13.2, 13.0 (this year). However he has stunk in others with cold seasons of 9.5, 8.2, 7.7, 8.7, 7.7, and 6.3. Skinner alone illustrates the danger of overpaying a sniper. His shot reminds me of Jack and so far in Jack's career he has only hit that high note once. Jack's career shooting by season is 10.1, 9.6, 10.2, 9.2, 15.9, 3.3, 10.3. One of the these seasons is not like the others. Olofsson is another comparable. In his 3 seasons he has varied at 15.7, 10.1 and 12.5 this season. Taylor Hall is similar to Jack. In the last decade his percentages are 10.4, 10.8, 8.9, 9.1, 8.4, 14.0, 9.7, 6.9, 7.4 (Buf/Bos), 9.0. Again his MVP year was another outlier. Thompson's career so far: 5.5, 6.5, 8.3, 14.9. It's certainly possible he repeats this performance, but caution is warranted.

Maybe Skinners doesn't cross the line, but his antics do get under the other team's skin and disrupt their concentration on the game. We have waited for years for a pest who drives the other team crazy both with his play and attitude. Maybe Skinner is the player finally cast in that role. So he isn't the cheap punk that Marchand is, but maybe he is the Indiana Jones to Marchand's Dr. Rene Belloq.

Mitts said in his post game press conference that Skinner “ is one of his best friends but he’d hate his guts if he was on the other side.” I’ve always noticed Skinner liked to chirp at refs and opponents, but with his game returning he is throwing opponents off theirs with his play and mouth. Thoughts?

I think they didn’t care anymore after being eliminated from the playoffs. They are 1-3-1 in their last 5 games.

“32nd in 5-on-5 save percentage (.873).” and that is with Anderson starting most nights. Please KA hear our plea and move on.

Trying to secure our draft slot

Varlamov gets shelled by the new look Sabres and decides to remove the Sabres from his NTC list. Sabres win 5-4. Sabres Goal scorers are Samuelsson, Tuch, Mitts, Cozens and TNT. Dahlin has 2 assists.

I generally agree. However, KA surprised everyone with the Hall signing, so I won't be to surprised if he gets a big name, but this time at a bargain cost.

Holtby is only 32.

There maybe something in this. However, I think all goalies are competitors and they want to be starters in the NHL. There are only 32 such jobs and while we aren’t a playoff team, we are a much improved team with an opening for a starting goalie. Guys like Holtby, who has won a Cup, or DeSmith who has never been a starter, should be interested in the job.

But Philips and No 2 overall Wade Redden played together for years.

I’m good with that.

Does KA extend KO’s contract after next season?

Why because I think Asplund is the better player and assuming KA acquires a legit center for KO's line, I'd rather have Asplund at LW then Girgensons. His D metrics are as good if not better then Girgensons and he is 3 times as good at creating for others while still scoring nearly as many goals. While I've discussed Asplund being the odd man out once JJP and Quinn make the team, the more I think about it, the player who should be relegated to the bench is Girgensons. Like I wrote earlier my plan for the 2 way line would be to find a center for KO and Asplund, I'd trade Girgensons for whatever I can get, re-sign Hinostroza to be the 13th/utility forward and waive Bjork. I think this plays into KA's plan by opening a slot for a younger but effective player, and we get something for a player we are unlikely to re-sign after next season anyway. The lineup would look something like this Skinner TNT Tuch VO Mitts Quinn Asplund NEW CENTER KO Krebs Cozens JJP Hinostroza For organizational depth you'd still have R2, Murray, Brio and Bjork in Rochester.

These are fun to estimate and I do something like this every year to try to gauge potential. I'd probably be more conservative for the first line with 80 goals (30, 30, 20). Tnt is shooting 15% and that typically isn't really sustainable. I agree on the second line (25, 15, 20) with 60 goals As to KO's line, I'm hoping for an upgrade at center, but 10, 10, 15 for 35 with 40 potential. The "4th" is the real unknown. I think Krebs has 15 goals in him next season and possibly 20. I can also see Cozens getting 20 if he continues to improve (which he should). JJP is a complete unknown at this level. However if Derek Roy at 20 could put up 19 pts in 49 games as a rookie in 2003-4, JJP should be able to do that at the worst. Best case for this line is 50+ goals, worst case? probably 40 goals. For the defense, I might even say 30 as a group. This year's group is at 26 (Dahlin 12), with zero from Samuelsson or Fitz and only 1 from Power so far. Add another top 4 D in the off-season and 30 might even be low. I'd also add 10 goals for miscellaneous, usually from callups like Biro and Murray or the 13th forward. I see 255-260 as a very realistic potential for this team next season. That would put us square in the playoff hunt, especially is we can lower the goals against as well.

Sarcasm, dude! It's why I wrote "Sorry, I had to say it." Geez! As to Skinner and the blind passes, I'm sorry his passing is only marginally better if at all. There were 4-5 passes last night alone that were cringe worthy. What has changed is his willingness to pass and not solely being a shoot first player. Playing with all around players like Tuch and Tnt has elevated that aspect of his game. He is more willing to share the wealth if that is the better play. That is a huge step forward. What also is better is his forechecking and willingness to back check. I would also agree that this season as an all around forward is his best for his career. ... and now back to the topic at hand. I think the improvement in his all around game is certainly has him in this discussion. He certainly has had his share of adversity the last two years and he's come out the other side a better player and I think a better teammate. He is no longer the player or person Carolina gave away for some Pu. While still overpaid, the Sabres are much closer today to getting real value out of that contract than anyone here would have ever imagined. However, I'd still favor KO and Anderson for the Comeback Player of the Year. KO has been racked by injuries for the last 4 years. So many in fact that I thought he should retire for his health. To comeback this season healthy, productive, playing any role DG asked him to play and play it well, and to be a driving force in changing the team's culture is nearly an unprecedented accomplishment. Then there's Anderson. Signed at the last minute to be an NHL starting goalie at 40 after playing 4 games last season. Mentoring a group of kids, some young enough to be his kid, suffering an injury that kept him out for weeks, but still starting 31 games to date and achieving a 17-12 -2 record on a team where the other 5 guys who started in net have a collective record of 13-26-7. Simply amazing. Truthfully are there any better comeback stories in the NHL over these 3?

So maybe RK helped him after all. (Sorry, I had to say it). I agree with much of the above, except his passing. He still makes to many blind passes and that hasn't changed in the entirety of his career.

Hopium is a wonderful thing. Thanks to the guys for at least making fun to turn on the TV again. People here have talked about the turnaround in 2003-04. That year from game 55 forward the Sabres went 14-8-3-2 (T & OTL) for 33 points in their last 27 games. This season with 3 games to go, the Sabres are 14-7-3 for 31 pts in their last 24 games against one of the most brutal schedules I can remember. One other good point is that they comeback to play in the fall unlike in 2004 when the lockout occurred keeping Miller, Roy, Vanek, Gaustad, and Pominville on the farm an extra year. Next season Quinn and JJP get to join the Sabres and hopefully give the offense a shot in the arm worthy of Vanek and Pommers. If we are really lucky, UPL channels Miller.

DG said Mitts is still playing with his injury right now and won't be full healthy until next fall. Certain injuries obviously take time to heal, but can be played through. I have zero problem with VO playing if the doctors agreed he couldn't make it worse and it's clearly healed. There was an upside to him playing through the injury. He was forced to use his passing skills, which are better then I thought, to make a positive impact. We saw some of that improvement last night in his 3 assist game.

😭 God I loathed the Canadians, but loved watching the Flower play. RIP. 70 is much to young.

I know I listed this in the Awards thread, but I was surprised at how little love Anderson received in this category and I was curious for everyone's rationale on Okposo or Skinner over Anderson. Not that I disagree that they deserve consideration. Skinner has been bad the last two years and KO beset by injuries. 2021-22 Skinner 53gp 7g 7a 14 pts -11 Okposo 35gp 2g 11a 13pts -1 Anderson 4gp 2w 1L 2.134 gaa .915 save % 2022-23 Skinner 77gp 32g 28a 60 pts -14 Okposo 73gp 21g 23a 44 pts -17 Anderson 31gp 17-12-2 3.12 gaa .897 save % Honestly all 3 are incredible rebound stories when you look at their stats from last season. Skinner and Okposo were listed in a Hockey News Story of the worst NHL contracts barely a year ago. https://thehockeynews.com/news/here-are-the-ugliest-contracts-in-the-nhl-today. Anderson, 40, was set to retire. DG deserves significant credit for getting KO and Skins back on their games, but so do the players for doing the work to get back to games. Skins' season is on par with his first here. With three games to go he is just 3 points shy of the 63 he put up in 2018-19. KO has recorded his first 20 goal season since 2015-16 with the NYI and his 44 points is one point off his first season here as well.

Back to topic please. There is a goaltending thread.

So Vic has another 3 points tonight to get to 47 for the season. Sam scores his 29th and now has 77 points in 74 games. I love what Vic is doing, but is this really a debate. That said, KA get VO signed please. We’ve sent to much talent packing already. Time to keep someone.