GASabresIUFAN

KA read the market right for Kahun, but wrong on Thompson., Girgensons and Eakin. Given that Eric Haula is still un-signed and what guys like Kahun, Larsson and Galchenyuk signed for, KA could have upgraded the bottom six for less money then he paid, and added higher quality depth. He should have given Thompson a one year prove it deal for his QO. He should have given Z two years at the market rate which would have been at about 1.6 or less, but overall he should have been more patient. Same for Eakin. Had he not overpaid for these three, we’d might have signed a Galchenyuk or kept Kahun as well. Then Thompson would have to earn his way on the ice instead of being guaranteed a starting job.

Thanks. He was a wonderful man a great dad. I miss him terribly.

If anyone read Connery’s obit in the News, the other obit on the page was my Dad’s. I think he’d be pleased to share the page with James Bond.

Good thing we gave Thompson 1.4 per season, after all he has so outperformed Kahun in his career.

It’s fair to grade on the off-season so far as we have a full roster including depth players plus we are close to the cap. If he makes more moves to balance the D, get some more cap space and or improve the goaltending we can re-access the grade. I forgot about the over payments to Thompson and Girgensons. I’m less annoyed by the Thompson one because he’ll at least be 20-25 pts guy if on the 3rd line.

I think this is fair grade. Hall and Staal are on 1 year deals and there is a real question whether we can afford Hall long-term and how much Staal has left. Also Eakin and Rieder are coming off down seasons. So good moves on paper and they should make us better this coming season. One question I have is would we be better off with Toffoli on his deal or Hall or his? He also hasn’t adequately address the in-balance on D and no improvement in goaltending. I think he did a good job getting our guys under contract, but Hall, Staal, Rieder, Montour, McCabe, Ullmark and Hutton are all on 1 year deals and will be UFAs. If this season is really good, we probably wont be able to keep thd band together.

Good. He needs the work

The real question is who is the better player, Samson or Leon D? If you really want to know why people seem down on Samson and the answer is right there. VO has no such luggage as a late rd pick. Skinner’s bad season this season and others in the past puts him behind Samson who hasn’t had a bad full season.

What happens if there is no CHL this coming season. Will the Sabres send Quinn to the AHL? What other options would there be? I wonder if he’d adjust better then Nylander did?

I might agree on Det, but Ottawa has added quality players across their lineup this off-season including where we need help in goal. Cirelli could make them a bubble playoff team. If that is the case, it’s doubtful the 1st pick will be a top 5 selection. Cirelli could turn down the offer sheet, but TB could trade his rights for something similar to the offer sheet compensation and at that point Ottawa or whomever can protect against a top 5 lottery pick.

That works for me

I’d suggest us, but the Hall signing ended that possibility. However if I’m Det or Ottawa I’d offer him 7 for 7 years and put TB in a corner they can’t match. It may not be the worst thing for Tampa. Their core is still great without Cirelli and those picks could replenish their pipeline, especially if Det or Ottawa continue to struggle this coming season. Honestly Cirelli on Ott, with all their positive moves scares the crap out of me.

I’m hearing 10 years at 45 million

Florida is done or nearly so once they re-sign their two remaining RFAs neither of which is essential. Detroit has 21 players under contract with Mantha and one other RFA F to re-sign. They are also likely done. Boston looks set at forward once DeBrusk signs and in goal. They also only need a depth D. Toronto is certainly done, and actually may have to reduce payroll to get under the cap. Montreal is also bumping up against the cap. Ottawa is in great space to add, but looks done upfront and needs only depth on D. Goalies are solid. Sorry, but I think we are done, until we see where we are in camp. I really don't think we are adding a goalie any time soon. With Ullmark signed, we are only really looking an a backup goalie anyway. That leaves TB. They have to make moves and the moves will hurt their forward depth. However even losing two forwards, they still will be the deepest forward group in the conference. Their real question is what their D will look like, but starting with Hedman, Sergachev, McDonough and Cernak is a great start. The bad news for them is they need to find about 10 mill in cap space to re-sign their 3 key RFAs.

Galchenyuk just signed in Ottawa for 1.05 for 1 season. We could have had a guy who plays all three forward slots and has 50 pt potential for 1.05. Is it time now to access which Atlantic team is most improved? Ottawa: Adds Galchenyuk, Dadonov, Matt Murray, Josh Brown & Eric Gudbranson plus top 5 draft picks (3rd overall) Stutzle, who could make the team, and (5th) D Jake Sanderson. Loses Duclair, Ennis, Namestnikov and Bokowiecki. Montreal: Adds Josh Anderson, Toffoli, Jake Allen and Edmundson, but lost Domi, Kovie and Thompson Buffalo: Adds Staal, Hall, Rieder and Eakin. Losses Larsson, Mojo, Kahun, and Vesey (Simmonds and Frolik if you must) Unsigned: Olofsson TB: Adds: Losses: Shattenkirk. Verhaeghe Unsigned yet: Sergachev, Cirello and Cernak Boston: Adds: Craig Smith, Kase & Nick Ritchie(at trade deadline) Losses: Krug, Unsigned: DeBrusk Florida: Adds: Hornqvist, Wennberg, Nutivaara, Gudas, Verhaeghe & Hinostroza Losses: Dadonov, Hoffman, Boyle, Pysyk, Haula, Matheson, Sceviour & Josh Brown (Certainly the winner in most turnover and acquisitions with the longest and hardest names to pronounce). Detroit: Adds Namestnikov, Ryan, Gagner (at deadline), Marc Staal, Merrill, Stecher & Greiss plus top 4 pick Lucas Raymond. Losses: Abdelkader (Buyout), Athanasiou, Daley (retire), Cholowski, & Bowey Unsigned: Mantha Toronto: Adds: Vesey, Simmonds, Bogo, Thornton, Lehtonen (Finnish import), Brodie Losses: Kapanen, Johnsson, Barrie & Ceci Unsigned: Dermott I think Ottawa is substantially improved in all areas. We are certainly loads better up front, but goaltending an issue. Montreal is also significantly improved. Florida revamped their roster, but that is still deck chairs on the Titanic. I'm no sure how adding 80 year old Thornton and a bunch of ex-Sabres helps your team, but the core is still good. Detroit added names, not really an impact. Boston is a wash and TB is a complete unknown. They have yet to accomplish really anything this off-season. The distance between Tor, Bos and TB and the rest of the division shrunk so far this off-season with Buffalo, Ott and Montreal with Florida slipping backward. Cernak, Sergachev, Mantha, Olofsson, Cirelli, and DeBrusk is a very strong list of RFAs still unsigned.

There is going to have to be some sort of minor league. The teams are paying these players and need players to recall for injury or illness. They are also going to need kids to develop somewhere especially if the CHL doesn't play . They also can’t just simply loan all their AHL players around the world. Whether it’s an official league or an alternative training site (like baseball), they have to have something.

@dudacek, I think you're asking to much from Eakin. He just not that good. He is best as a 14-15 minute a night guy. Staal can still play 17-18 a night. Asking Eakin to carry that much of the load is putting him in a position to fail.

Correct. This team needs to do everything in it's power to make the playoffs this coming season and KA needs to support the team along the way to do as much as possible to insure a playoff appearance. When I started the JBot do something already threads it was because of his failure to support the team each time it got into playoff contention for the last 2 years. He seemed to only make moves at the deadline or the off-season, and rarely during the season when we needed the help. When Berglund walked out, Jbot should have found some immediate help to show confidence in the team. Berglund walked in mid Dec 2018. I believe that team was at or near the top of the NHL at the time. Jbot did nothing to replace Berglund. Instead his first move was acquiring Montour at the deadline. Good pick up, but much to late to support the team. Last season he made just one move when the team was decimated by injuries up front when he acquired Frolik. Not exactly a game changer and a complete failure of a move. Again the team slide into near oblivion until the deadline moves again (Simmonds and Kahun). KA cannot repeat this pattern. If the goaltending stinks, he needs to get one mid season. I understand that the market may not be very active mid season, but moves are made every year including some blockbusters from Oct to Jan (of a normal season). For example; we moved Vanek on 10/27, Hall was traded on 12/16/2019, Matt Duchene on 11/5/2017, and the Jones for Johansen deal came on Jan 6, 2016.

Seattle Expansion List so far F - Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart, Thompson, VO, Mittelstadt - One slot open for re-signing Hall if possible or Eakin if he rebounds or Asplund D - Dahlin Jokiharju & Risto G - ? Exposed list - Okposo, Miller, Johansson (G), Eakin, Girgensons, Lazar, Borgen, Asplund UFAs - Hall, Staal, Reider, Montour, McCabe, Irwin Not really much to on this carcass to choose from. Back on topic, I'd like to see Ka re-sign VO for two years. This would actually give him the maximum flexibility toward determining his long-term value.

I'm not hating on VO. I'm actually a fan. However, can we afford to keep him and re-sign Dahlin, Hall and Reinhart after this season? If we can't, will we be better off trading him to get assets back?

It looks like we'll probably have him re-signed for at least a season at around 3 mill. However, is he really worth a long-term commitment? If he isn't, what is his trade value? Should KA considering moving him now to maximize value? 1) He finally made the NHL full time at 24 and is now 25. This is old for a top player to make the NHL. So the question is was last season what we can expect going forward or is there still upside? 2) He is currently our No.3 LW after the addition of Hall. Are we really going to make a long-term commitment to the 3rd LW (assuming we re-sign Hall). If he is moved to RW, how long until he is surpassed by either Cozens or Quinn? 1 yr, 2? 3) 59% of his goals (13/22) were on the PP. He got off to a huge start and if I remember correctly his first 8 NHL goals were all on the PP. In fact he had 6 goals in his first 7 games and only 14 in the remaining 47 last season. He went long periods without any production as teams adjusted their PK to take him away. How much value does a PP specialist have long-term?

I think your right. If Capfriendly's numbers are right we are at only 78 mill with VO signed at 3. Forwards 48.8, D 18.525, G 5.35, BO&Over 2.279 = 74.954 Now add 3 for VO and .900 for one of Cozens/Mitts/Routsalainen/Whomever and the Sabres have a full roster at 78.8542. That leaves plenty of room for Hutton (2.75) to AZ for Raanta (4.25). Awesome!

Don't forget the 1.5 in bonuses

He likes Risto also. Questionable judgement?

Three more moves to make. 1) Somehow upgrade Hutton. I'm thinking that this is unlikely at this point, but maybe easier as we get more clarity as to when the season is actually going to begin. I can see KA waiting to see how Hutton looks in the extended camp. 2) One more talented forward. My favorites for the job are Kahun and more importantly Galchenyuk. The guy is only 26 and is over a .5pt per game player for his career. He needs a fresh start and we need more talent especially if none of the 3rd line candidates, like Mitts, Thompson, Cozens or Routsalainen are ready. We could also use some Taylor Hall not re-signing insurance. Hall Eichel VO Skinner Staal Reinhart Galchenyuk Eakin Thompson Girgensons Lazar KO 3) Move a RHD to get cap room for later season moves if the team needs them, especially a trade in goal.