GASabresIUFAN

I have just received my autographed Hockey Fights Cancer hat. I literally have zero idea who signed the hat. Last year, I received a mini helmet with Tage Thompson's autograph on it and I'm pretty sure it's someone other then him. Any ideas? Could it be Casey Mittelstadt? The number looks a little like 37.

Of the teams in our playoff contention, 4, NYR, Nash, Det and Ana have 10 mill in cap space and should be buyers at the deadline. Only Ott and Buffalo have huge cap to take on contracts from teams having to move someone out to bring in help at the deadline. I hope KA will use that to our advantage. Currently 18 team have little or no cap space.

That will come in the off-season. I’m thinking Orlov from Wash.

Admittedly it’s a high risk high reward move. I was looking for a $5 mill goalie to help us get to the cap next season and while Murray has struggled in recent years with a concussion and injuries he has played very well in the past, is only 27 and played well for Bales. He is young enough to rebound if healthy. I see him with the upside of Lehner once he got healthy. If Bales can get him healthy and restore his confidence, he’ll be a bargain.

Good for Casey. Will he play?

It’s Butcher time.

It’s certainly possible. To many factors though. Are they still playing well? What will be their role be at that point and going forward? Does KA think their leadership is still needed? Which prospects are coming up? Do they even want to stay? How much do they want to stay in both years and $

He’ll have depth. R2 and JJP will be in Rochester. He’ll probably retain Jankowski for AHL leadership and injury NHL callups. Weissbach will start pushing for a callup. The RHD that would be a very interesting fit would be Orlov. He has one year left on his deal after this season at 5.1 and Washington needs to lessen their cap burden.

UFAs : Eakin, Hinostroza, Caggiula, Jankowski, Hayden, Miller, Butcher, Hagg, Pysyk, Anderson, Subban, Dell and Tokarski. Vets with one year remaining: Girgensons, Okposo and Bjork RFA’s: Olofsson, Bryson, Murray and UPL. The guys with the most value would seem like Hinostroza, Miller, and Pysyk of the UFAs. Girgensons and KO would have good value as well, but I don’t see either getting traded. Bjork may have value for a team looking for PK help. VO would have the most value, but given our cap situation and need of proven scoring, I don’t see him going anywhere either. Obviously none of the UFA goalies have any value, except maybe Tokarski. Predictions: Vinnie, Miller and Bjork get traded for a 3rd, a 3rd, and a 5th. KA also acquires Matt Murray for future considerations with Ottawa taking 50% retention.

Don’t forget Bjork has another year left. VO and Murray are RFAs. Pkers in the signed group are Bjork, Asplund, KO and Z, but I can see both Thompson and Cozens adding PK time in the near future.

There are already 9 current forwards signed for next year, including Tuch. Once VO is re-signed that’s 10. Even if Bjork is only retained as a utility 13th forward, that leaves only 3 real open roster spots. Quinn, Krebs and Murray are the leading candidates for those jobs, unless R2 shows DG/KA something once Vinnie gets traded at the deadline. I don’t see KA moving on from any of the leadership vets like Girgensons or KO. It’s funny but we actually need Skinner’s contract to stay cap compliant. Just an FYI, I calculated a cap cost next season of $51,239,167 for 20 players (and CoHo’s buyout) with the forward group (13 forwards), as described above, plus Samuelsson and Power joining returning D of Bryson, Joker, Dahlin and Pysyk and UPL in one of the goalie slots. The open D and G slots can easily be filed, but the question is will KA commit $9 mill for those two jobs. This calculation include $5 mill for VO, 1.25 each for Bryson and Pysyk.

There is a huge difference between talent vs developed NHL players. We are also down Mitts and Tuch, two very talented players and are adding next season at worst guy draft 1st (Power), 8th (Quinn) and Krebs (17th - because of injury) as rookies. We also have had zero goaltending until the last 4 games. Hard to win that way regardless of the forward talent. This is the breakdown of draft position for next years team with draft position used only as an indicator of raw talent. 1st Round (13) 1st Overall - Dahlin (on his way to a 15g 50pts season), and Power 7th overall - Cozens (42 pt pace in year 2), KO (56 pt pace this season) and Skinner (former ROY & 40 goal scorer rebounding to 26+ this season) 8th overall - Mitts and Quinn (1.41 pts/gp in AHL ROY in the AHL?) 14th Overall - Girgensons (career year pace) 17th Overall - Krebs 18th Overall - Tuch (former 25+ goal scorer) 23rd Overall - Pysyk 26th Overall - Thompson (53 pts, 29 goal pace) in first NHL season w a regular role 29th Overall - Jokiharju 2nd Round (3) 32nd - Samuelsson 33rd - Asplund (42 pt pace) in first full season as a NHL regular 54th - UPL Others (3) 99th - Murray and Bryson 181st - Victor Olofsson - (on pace for career high for Pts and Asts, former 20+ goal scorer) Next years team will have a ton of talent on paper with much of it young or very young. However youngsters Thompson, Asplund and Cozens are rapidly moving toward being proven NHL talent.

Was the second half against TB a positive turning point or the last gasp of a failing team?

Ralph Krueger is secretly coaching the offense?

UPL was sharp. One mistake was the goal that snuck in on the short side. Hagg had a terrible first period. Bryson wasn't so hot either. Dahlin is skating better of late and playing with more confidence. Not surprised that that coincided with Joki as his partner again. Stop the presses there has been Bjork sighting. I figure he got so open because even the WPG coaches and players forgot he was still in the NHL. Thompson, VO and Skinner played an excellent game except the one shift where Wpg scored. Still a great job by TT getting back just before the goal. I guess Robson belongs in the ECHL. 10 goal on 25 shots must be a world worst performance. Great news Amerks, Dell is coming.

We need better in zone play, more physical play especially in front of the net, and some playoff type veteran experience. That vet having some real leadership skills also wouldn’t hurt. Adding Samuelsson to the mix will help. Replacing Butcher, Hagg and Miller with guys who can actually play defense will also help. My hope for next year is as follows Dahlin w a Stay at home vet Power w a stay at home vet Samuelsson Jokiharju Bryson Pysyk The million dollar question is who are these veterans and how do we acquire them. I doubt any medium to upper tier free agents are coming here. Could KA trade VO for such a defenseman?

See that is just one question with 4 different scenarios. I think he'll be re-signed and I do disagree that he is still only a one dimensional player. His playmaking this year has improved immensely. Ultimately having to much talent or to many capable forward is a good problem.

I'm not using "Issue" as a negative. I'm using it to convey that there are so many options and roster scenarios that need clarification. For example. Victor will be 27 at the start of next season. Does KA really want to commit to him for 5 years at 5+ mill at this point for the pending RFA? VO has arbitration rights and could decide to go to arbitration and then only take a one year deal. KA at that point may opt to trade him at the deadline to avoid overpaying or only having him next season. Remember he only wants players who want to be here.

There is a shock. Ok not really.

I proposed earlier in this thread kicking KA upstairs and then letting Karmanos be the GM. That is the only way TP “fires” KA after this season.

I like Murray as well. He adds another physical presence and he drives the net. He certainly could make the team next year. Here is the issue. Signed current players (9): Skinner, KO, Tuch, Girgensons, Mitts, Thompson, Bjork, Cozens and Asplund. Other then Bjork, all these guys are contributors. Even assuming Bjork goes away (please!), that leaves only 4 starting jobs. Contenders 1) RFAs (3) Murray, Routsalainen and Olofsson. Can KA really let VO walk? Will he trade him at the deadline? 2) Rookies (3) JJP, Quinn, and Krebs With Bjork, that's 15 guys for 12 starting jobs and one or two "extras." If Hinostroza is re-signed, that's 16 internal candidates for 13-14 jobs. I actually think we'll get some clarity on this at the deadline. I can see Hinostroza getting traded at the deadline for more assets. I can also see R2 on the block, but also stepping into Vinnie's role to help KA and Co evaluate his future with the club. Maybe he can send Bjork packing as well at the deadline. By the way it's just as confusing on the Defense. I think we all assume Jokiharju, Dahlin and Power will be in the lineup. After that Bryson (RFA), Samuelsson (AHL) are LHD looking for an NHL job. Laaksonen and Fitzgerald are RHD's in Roch who are also looking for an NHL opportunity. In theory KA doesn't have to bring in any external candidates here either to complete a balanced D group. I doubt KA goes this direction. Pysyk could easily be re-signed. My hope is that KA finds another Vet stay at home D to help solidify the group.

There is not really much room for outside help to our forwards next year if VO is re-signed. Assuming Krebs and Quinn are part of the mix, we already have 11 forwards for next year Vets(5): Girgensons, VO, KO, Skinner and Tuch Young Vets (3): Mitts, Thompson, Asplund Kids + (3): Krebs, Quinn and Cozens. If JJP makes the team, you now have 12 forwards. What if we win the lottery and draft Wright? Murray and R2 might also claim spots. What if KA wants to keep his one good FA in Hinostroza for more veteran presence? What does he do with Bjork's contract? Assuming we don't get Wright, but JJP earns an NHL job Skinner Mitts VO JJP Thompson Quinn Krebs Cozens Tuch Girgensons Asplund KO This is really a case of rolling 4 lines.

Despite my wanting KA gone, I agree he isn't getting fired after this season. However, TP gets an itchy trigger finger after year 3 and KA needs to show considerable progress next season or his seat will starting getting very warm.

No for the same reasons KA should have passed on Dell and Subban. He's hot garbage at this point.

Because KA is tanking. Three games of solid play is encouraging but I can't think of any NHL goalie that didn't first prove it in the minors before becoming that man in the NHL. Maybe UPL will be the exception. Maybe current circumstances will make UPL the exception. However three games is a very small sample size and I'm sure KA wants him backstopping the Amerks to the playoffs instead of playing in Buffalo. That said, the news right now is that he is staying up for now and Buffalo will carry 3 goalies (if you can call Dell and Subban goalies) on the road trip. Tokarski still isn't ready to return. My guess is when Tokarski is ready, Dell and UPL get sent down. If KA truly wanted to upgrade the Sabres, Samuelsson would also be recalled.