GASabresIUFAN

@MODO Hockey I don’t disagree that the tools are there for a good power play. In fact the tools before adding hall are good enough for a top 5 PP, except we don’t have one. Part of the problem is our Left Wall Obie is a pass first guy and the PP QB. That’s OK, but he needs to shoot more. Also the puck movement is slow and often telegraphed. This gives the PK time to adjust and time to collapse of VO and others. IMHO moving the puck quicker East/West, Hi to low, with the goal of getting the PK out of position will create more and better shooting lanes and hopefully more goals.

Yes, when camp starts and we can see where he stands

I'd love to move on from Hutton, but with MAF off the market, their isn't much out there. Cap wise we'd have move someone to take on Kuemper, Raanta or MAF and still have most of the hit on Hutton even if we demote him. An upgrade just seems unlikely at this point. So the choice is keep what we got, try to get the best 3rd string we can and pray Hutton rebounds or somehow get lucky and someone wants Hutton as part of a bigger deal. Option A seems like the most likely option right now.

Not even as a 3rd string goalie. You can probably get him for 700K sent him Rochester and if an injury occurs at least you have a real NHL goalie to come in.

The real question on goaltending is who is legitimately available for us to upgrade Hutton, or is this a forlorn hope. Lehner is having shoulder surgery and should (but may not be) ready for camp. This seems to take MAF off the market for now. Kuemper or Ranta are probably available as the Yotes need to cut payroll, but there are teams, like Carolina and Chicago, that maybe more desperate for goaltending then we are. If Carolina went hard after Kuemper, would you be interested in Reimer or Mrazek as Ullmark's No. 2 or is that just more Hutton. Any interest in Jimmy Howard who has suffered behind a horrible D in Det for the last 2 years. I might take a flier on him to share the AHL net to mentor UPL with a promise of a chance to beat out Hutton in camp.

The goalie rules are different then the D or Forward rules. No 40 game requirement, nor does the player have to be on the NHL roster. Johansson is an RFA at the end of this deal and therefore we can expose him and protect Ullmark if we choose. https://www.nhl.com/news/seattle-kraken-2021-nhl-expansion-draft-rules-same-as-vegas-golden-knights-followed/c-302586918 A++ for effort, except we want this Adams administration to be more successful then John Adams' administration.

I very well could be wrong, but I don't remember Risto continuing in the Chara style of play after a short stint. The season was so forgettable that I could have just lost interest late and didn't remember him continuing in the Chara role.

... and then they stopped. One rule of life is keeping doing what's working. I remember the experiment as well and still wonder why they stopped. Jack is at the Ovie position, but now with Hall here, I think he'll have less playmaking obligations and more freedom to shoot.

Here is the good news going forward. The PP has Eichel, Hall, Reinhart, VO, Skinner, Risto, Montour, Miller, Dahlin, and maybe Cozens to choose from. That's to much talent for the PP to stink. I think most of the PP issues stems from coaching and a lack of creativity. We know this collection of players can be excellent on the PP. We saw it work during the PH period. One issue seems to puck movement. When the PH Sabres were great on the PP they moved the puck East/West very quickly and kept the Pk off balance. We seem to have lost that waiting for VO to unleash "The Shot" or Jack to make a play. Things are just to stagnant. As I mentioned above I'd like the coaches to try guys in different roles to see if things click. I'd like to see Jack in the Ovie role or Risto in the Chara role. We need to create more chaos and keep the PK off balance. However, because we have Risto, Miller, Dahlin and Montour, all with good to excellent PP skills, I'd like to see two D on both power plays to hopefully cut down on the breakaways going the other way.

I proposed KO on the second line a few days ago and everyone said he is to old and slow to play that role. I agree with you. I think he'd be fine. He has some experience with high end players and I can see him in a kind of enforcer role keeping others from taking liberties on Staal and Skinner.

We still have 3 key RFAs to re-sign (who all filled for arbitration) plus others like Mitts to re-sign. Do we upgrade the goaltending? Do we find a better 3rd LHD then Davidsson? What will it cost to upgrade these two slots and how can we get it done? I also don't like the idea of another season of Montour playing as an LHD. With the Bonus overage from last year, I also think KA needs to move some payroll. I'm thrilled that we are playing with a budget as low as 72 mill, but now we are up against the cap again and I suspect KA will want 3-5 mill of maneuvering room during the season. I wonder how much Miller or Montour are worth right now in the trade market.

I'd love for them to try Risto in the role Boston used Chara for many years. If my memory serves, the B actually had Chara play from the net to the area between the faceoff circles to use his big body and strength to cause chaos in front of the net. In most seasons with the B's Chara would score 8-11 PP goals a year. Many around the net. I'd also like to see Jack used more like Ovie. Now that we have Hall to distribute the puck, Jack can freelance some to look for open lanes for his blistering shot.

Sign Tobias Rieder and get better goalies.

The Sabres have definitely taken a step forward. You don’t add a former MVP in his prime and not be better for it. Also adding a 2c in Staal fixes the biggest hole left by the last administration. I also like Eakin over Larsson as well. However Issues remain like goaltending and LHD. That said, who is the most improved team in the Altantic. Montreal has added Anderson, Toffoli, Edmundson and Allen but lost Domi. Ottawa added talent in the draft plus Matt Murray in net and Gudbranson and Brown on D. Yzerman has been active in Det. He has signed Garner, Ryan, Greiss, Namestnikov, Merrill plus acquired Marc Staal and drafted Raymond. Toronto added Brodie but lost Kapenan and Johnsson in the process. Replaced them with Vesey, Bogo and Simmonds. Not a great sign when you’re adding 3 ex-Sabres. Boston added Craig Smith Florida has added depth in Gudas, Wennberg, Hornqvist, Verheaghe, but lost Brown and dumped some Pu. Imho Montreal, Ottawa and Buffalo are the most improved. Toronto D is marginally better but losing 2 talented depth forwards hurts. Not sure what Florida is doing, Boston just has to tinker and TB is in cap hell Montreal and Buffalo are neck and neck, but I’d give Montreal the edge because they addressed all 3 areas in need with the 2 star forwards, Edmundson on D plus Allen for Price’s backup.

Just think how good things will be if we have two or even 3 lines that can drive offense. Then teams can’t just put their best D line out against Jack because the Hall Staal line will kill them.

That may well be the initial plan, but a similar plan failed in Edm with McDavid. Hall is a driver of offense. Jack is a driver of offense. Seems like duplicate effort. That said if Hall wants to become a feeder for Jack's shot, I'm ok with the that, but I don't think that the best use of these two players.

Why don't people think that Skinner will be playing with Eichel next year? The Hall McDavid combo didn't work because both players wanted the puck in the offensive zone. I don't think that is all that different then Hall Eichel. I believe Skinner will be Jack's LW to start the season and Hall will be on Staal's wing. I'm thinking our 1-2 punch will be Skinner Eichel Reinhart Hall Staal VO Where you will see Hall and Jack together is the No. 1 PP. The addition of Hall gives Jack more of an opportunity to launch the shot from high slot or top of the face off circle.

Ullmark is also getting more then 2.5. Think closer to 3.0. Korpisalo is a great proxy for Ullmark and he got 2.8 for 2 years.

I want the kids and still do, but I can also read the tea leaves, look at KA has done and it’s clear putting kids on this team isn’t his priority. Mitts and Cozens are going to have to beat out guys like Rieder, Thompson and/or Lazar to make this team. All this BS that Mitts hasn’t improved is bull. Taylor, his AHL coach and someone whose opinion we should respect says otherwise. He had Casey killing penalties and in the last 30 seconds to protect a one goal lead. He has also stated that Casey got better without the puck and after a rough start his offense came around. No prospect’s development is a straight line and Casey was burdened by stupid expectations created by people like Pronman and our throwing him into a role he wasn’t ready for. This kid has mad skills and if he gets in the right situation he’ll blossom into a top 6 forward. That situation could be this coming season, especially if VO is moved to 2RW. The biggest issue with Casey was physical and mental maturity. Taylor said he has taken huge steps in those areas as well.

Cozens is not a better prospect then Mitts. They were drafted in the same slot and honestly Cozens is a complete unknown right now. We don't know if he is NHL ready or not. Mitts has over 100 NHL games under is belt and improved significantly over the course of last season. You can't discount the NHL experience and the lessons learned from it. Cozens may certainly become a better player someday, and if he makes the Sabres, he will certainly have a better cast around him then Mitts did, but right now Mitts is probably ahead of him on the development curve. Also neither guy is guaranteed a slot on the NHL team this coming season. We have 4 centers Eichel, Staal, Eakin and Lazar, 4 LW Hall, Skinner, VO and Girgensons and 4 RW Reinhart, KO, Thompson and Rieder. Mitts and Cozens are going to have to beat out someone to make the team. Honestly Thompson and Lazar are probably the weakest links. Rieder was brought in for a PK/defensive roll and should make the team because of it. However KA just gave Thompson a 3 year deal, so he must have confidence that he is ready to contribute at the NHL level. Should be an interesting camp, but if I had to guess, Cozens goes back to Jrs and Mitts to the AHL (or alternative training site if no AHL), with Mitts being the first callup.

How does this rank under most surprising moves ever made by the franchise?

I think KA wanted to go in another direction and thought Lazar could do the job for significantly less. That's the way things work for most 4th line players. My guess is that KA didn't feel Asplund was ready to step in and be more effective then Girgensons.

Sabres depth chart (professionals only) Center Eichel, Staal, Eakin, Lazar - Cozens, Mittelstadt, Asplund (LW), Routsalainen (LW), Oglevie, Pekar (RW) Left Wing Hall, Skinner, VO, Girgensons, Lazar, - Asplund, Smith, Murray Right Wing Reinhart, Thompson, Okposo, Rieder, - Pekar RHD Ristolainen, Montour, Jokiharju, Miller, - Irwin, Borgen, Laaksonen, Fitzgerald LHD Dahlin, McCabe, Davidson (Pilut?) - Bryson, Samuelsson Goaltending Ullmark, Hutton, - Johnasson, UPL

Anyone wonder what Larsson is thinking right now?

RFA after this season and if he doesn't get 40 games next season he won't satisfy the expansion requirement.