GASabresIUFAN

Actually they can. When Ullmark left there wasn’t another remotely qualified goalie in the organization. That’s no longer the case. Levi is ready for a substantial role. Reimer has hundreds of games of NHL experience and was solid last year for Detroit in a backup role. Even Sandstrom has 30 games of NHL experience. I’m not saying losing UPL wouldn’t be a disappointment, but unlike when Ullmark left, Adams actually executed a plan B when he signed Reimer and Sandstrom.

My current Sabres prospects ranking. 1. Benson (LW) – 19 – 30 pts in 71 NHL games. 2nd Year in the NHL next fall 2. Levi (G) – 22 – .899 save % & 3.10 GAA in 23 NHL games. 2.42 & .927 in 26 AHL games. NHL in the fall. 3. Helenius (C) – 18 – 36 pts in 51 Liiga games. Will he come to NA in the fall? 4. Kulich (C/W) – 20 – 45 pts in 57 AHL games including 27 goals. 3rd season in Rochester upcoming 5. Östlund (C) – 22 – 23 pts in 38 SHL games. 1st full season in Rochester in the fall. 6. Rosen (RW) – 21 - 50 pts in 67 AHL games. 3rd season in Rochester upcoming 7. Novikov (LD) – 20 - 23 pts in 65 AHL games. 2nd season in Rochester upcoming 8. Wahlberg (C) – 19 – 10 pts in 43 SHL games plus 4 pts in 9 AHL games. 1st full AHL season in the fall. 9. Johnson (LD) – 22 - 7 pts in 41 NHL games, plus 9 in 27 AHL games. Can he earn a spot with the Sabres? Should he be higher on this list? 10. Komarov (RD) – 20 - 69 pts in 60 Q games plus 15 in 19 playoffs games. AHL rookie season upcoming. 11. Neuchev (LW) – 20 – 28 pts in 57 AHL games. 2nd season in Rochester upcoming. 12. Strbak (RD) – 19 – 9 pts in 32 NCAA games. Remains at MSU. 13. Ziemer (RW) – 18 –94 pts in 88 games for the USNTDP – 12 pts in 7 WJ U-18 games – Captain. Starts U of Minn in the fall. 14. Kleber (RD) – 18 – 26 pts in 56 USHL games. Starts Minn-Duluth in the fall. 15. Poltapov (LW) – 21 – 13 pts in 56 KHL games. One more KHL season before coming over? 16. Kisakov (LW) – 21 – 13 pts in 32 AHL games. 3rd season in Rochester upcoming 17. Tullio (RW)- 22 – 21 pts in 54 AHL games. 3rd AHL season upcoming, but new to the Amerks 18. McCarthy (RD) - 19 - 5 pts in 38 NCAA games. Remains at BU 19. Richard (F) – 19 – 18 pts in 36 NCAA games. Remains at UConn 20. Osburn (LD) – 17 – 23 pts in 60 USHL games. Starts Wisconsin in the fall. 21. Leenders (G) – 18 - .909 save % & 3.12 GAA in 46 OHL games with a 24-17-4 record. Made Canada U-18 team 22. Ratzlaff (G) – 19 - .905 save % & 3.33 GAA in 52 WHL games with a 21-26-2 record. 23. Sardarian (RW) – 21 – 14 pts in 32 NCAA games. Entered the transfer portal. 24. Leinonen (G) - 21 - .844 save % & 4.14 GAA in 6 Liiga games. Moving to Sweden next season. 25. Costantini (C ) - 22(aug) – 31 pts in 38 NCAA games. Currently at W. Michigan.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5612279/2024/07/16/nhl-prospects-ranking-celebrini-michkov/ Wheeler's Top 100 drafted NHL prospects (SJS, CBJ & Mon have 6 each. 8 teams have 5 prospects listed. The Sabres have 4). 20. Zack Benson "Benson’s a driver in every sense. He’s a multi-dimensional forward who has quick acceleration (I never understood how some called his skating average), can handle the puck at speed and change tempos in control, can shape play by opening up his hips to go heel to heel, thrives in traffic, is a triple shot-deke-pass threat, plays one step ahead of the game in possession, supports the play effectively, problem-solves incredibly well, works hard off the puck to keep his energy up (he plays heavier and scrappier than he looks, too), and sets the pace (whether by picking it up or slowing it down to use his creativity) and effort level for his line." 22. Konsta Helenius "Helenius is a joy to watch navigate, manipulate and pass the puck with his smarts and intuition. He's got an ability to find his teammates in space and then get pucks to them with the perfect weight and timing, even while he’s well covered. He also stirs the drink through his effort level, regularly coming up with pucks when you don’t expect him to while quietly and efficiently impacting play at both ends of the rink and coming up with a ton of steals and lifts. He’s both a driver and a playmaker. He does such a good job identifying lanes and taking what the defense gives him. He’ll look for his own look when it’s there or play in a quick give-and-go when spacing tightens up. He seems to create constantly. He’s a good though not great skater. " 40. Jiri Kulich "Kulich is a sturdy, hard-shooting player who can morph his game to his role. He can function as the off-puck guy who makes quick plays/decisions with the puck and can play off of talented linemates to free his extremely dangerous shooting arsenal up. He can carry the puck and function as the primary handler on a line. I like his positioning and timing off the puck. I like the strength, balance and control of his skating stride. I like how quickly and hard shots come off of his stick (not just with his world-class one-timer but through a deceptive early release point in stride, too). I’ve seen him come up big in big moments." 42. Matt Savoie 78. Noah Östlund "Östlund’s calling card is his airy, agile skating stride, excellent hands, cleverness and committed two-way game. The skating and defensive aptitude (including on faceoffs) make him an able penalty killer and the rest give him clear tools of creation at five-on-five and on the power play. He wins a ton of short races, creates quickly as soon as he’s in possession, and darts around the ice in control to get into scoring areas or facilitate from the perimeter. His lack of size and strength (he’s a lean 5-foot-11 and 160-something pounds) are likely going to be impediments as he tries to progress into the NHL, but I thought they’d make his jump to the SHL last year a little more challenging than it was and he basically looked exactly like himself. "

Who knew that goaltending matters? Certainly not Kevyn Adams.

Quinn is the story of the Sabres the last few years. Key injuries have derailed promising seasons. 2 years ago it was injuries on defense. If I remember correctly we were down to 3 regulars early in the season. Last year it was the forwards. Quinn was the first to go down, but many others missed time. We simply don’t have the depth and experience to overcome. Quinn has the potential to be a pt a game player in the NHL. Perhaps a better version of Alex Tuch if he can stay healthy. His pace last season was 27g 30a. A healthy Quinn goes 32g 40a next season.

GM’s do tend to fire coaches instead of looking inward and admitting bad roster and depth decisions.

Using the 7 recent players I mentioned in the OP, there is good reason to believe that he might not produce more points in year 2. Kotkaniemi and Sillinger regressed in year 2. Kakko and Pastrnak were flat in year 2. Barkov increase slightly from 24/54 (.44 pt/gm) to 36/71 (.5 pt/gm). Only Hughes (50% increase) and Stutzle (100% increase) jumped significantly. Obviously 7 comparables is a relatively small sample size, but it’s still illustrative of the 4 possible outcomes (Regression, flat, modest increase, large increase). I believe Benson falls into category 3 - modest increase. I’m placing Zack here to start because of a suspected 3rd line role to start the season. My current prediction is 15g 25a for 40 pts or a 33% increase.

I had 17 ranking on my board, only Button and Pronman had Benson outside the top 10. His average ranking was 7.65 which was the 6th best average, but only 4 of the 17 had Benson in the top5. 8 of the 17 had him in the top 6

He's not. He has crossed the 160 game threshold to be waiver exempt. Therefore he can't be sent down other than a conditioning assignment. I typically use a broad definition for prospects. I use 24 and under age wise and still waivers exempt. Mitts and TNT being sent down after 100+ NHL games taught me that some guys take a little longer to find their NHL sea legs. I find using an artificial number like 100 NHL games or one full NHL season to be to restrictive and does not take into account the real development curve for some players. I also find using an age like 22 or 23 also to be to restrictive, especially with goalies. UPL finally established himself in the NHL at age 24. To me Levi (22) with 30 NHL games and Benson (19) with 71 NHL games are still prospects.

There are going to be some interesting camp questions, such as how high or low does Zucker play in the lineup. Your Rufferized lineup brings back the question of how does Ruff like to create lines. My impression was always a playmaker coupled with a grinder and a goal scorer/sniper. For that reason, and noted that KA mentioned playing Krebs on the wing, I can see Krebs as the 4th line playmaker based upon the current roster. Not sure the current roster is ideal for that type of line creation with Benson and Tuch probably our best playmakers on the current roster. Go and get Zegras and our playmaking jumps significantly.

https://www.nhl.com/news/topic/team-resets/buffalo-sabres-roster-changes-for-2024-25-season NHL.Com's review of the Sabres off-season so far.

Got to love spell check.

Wow!

It's why the deal needs to be done, assuming ANA really has him on the trading block. I don't think Krebs starts the season in the lineup as is unless he outplays Malenstyn or Aube-Kubel during camp.

I believe we'll get the 2.6 player as he'll have better snipers to pass to here than he's had in Anaheim. My guess is Greenway would be trades to Anaheim in the deal for cap reasons.

What does it look like if KA acquires Zegras. Odd man out would likely be Greenway or Aubrey-Kubel.

Their GM was smart enough to bring in Soupy and then Hossa the following season. We are still waiting for Adams to bring in a top player in his prime to get his team over the top.

Benson and Levi are still prospects. Both players are waivers exempt. Levi played in the A last season and may again this season. Benson just turned 19 and can be sent down at any time. As I just illustrated, in another thread, with other 18 years who recently played in the NHL, they commonly get sent down in year 2. Kotkaniemi and Cole Sillinger are recent examples. We also saw Mitts and TNT sent down after playing 100+ NHL games before they established themselves as NHL players. The strength of the Sabres pipeline is numbers. We have depth at all positions and some players with significant upside. However, the biggest issue with the pipeline, outside of Benson and Levi and now maybe Helenius, there are no elite prospects. Most our best forward project as middle six players and our D look like interesting players, but most again project toward 4-6 type players. I don't think we have a top 4 pipeline, but we certainly, given our depth alone, at in the top 7.

According to Quanthockey.com Benson's 18 year old season was tied for the 58th best season by an 18 year old in NHL history. His 30 points were tied with Doug Smith and decent Andrew McBain. Immortals Gretzky, Hawerchuk and Crosby each had over 100 pts as 18 year old NHLers. Housley is 9th with 66 pts. Skinner has 63 pts at 18 (12th overall) and that is pretty much who he ended up being. Our friend Tim Connolly had 34 pts at 18. Here are some recent comparables. 1) Kotkaniemi - 34 pts at 18 years old. He struggled in year 2 and got send down. The last 3 seasons have been 29, 43 & 27 pts for the former 3rd overall pick (2018) 2) Cole Sillinger - 31 pts at 18 years old. Like Kotkaniemi, he struggled some in year 2 and got sent down. He has 11 pts in year 2 (64 games), but rebounded last year with 32. He was drafted 12 overall in 2021 3) Tim Stutzle - 29 points at 18. Has really only blossomed since being drafted 3 overall in 2020. Pts per season since 58, 90 and 70 last year. 4) Pastrnak - 27 pts at 18. Former 25th overall pick in 2014 is one of the best goal scorers and players in the NHL. Career pts by season since 26, 70, 80, 81, 95, 48 (48 games), 77, 113, 110 last season. 5) Barkov - 24 pts (54 games) at 18. Maybe the NHL best 2 way forward. Pts per season since 36, 59, 52, 78, 96, 62 (66 gms), 58 (50 gms), 88, 78, and 80 6) Kakko - 23 pts (66 games) at 18. The next seasons were 17 pts (48 gms), 18pts (43 gms), 40 pts in 22/23 and 19 pts last season (61 games). 7) Jack Hughes - 21 pts (61 games) at 18. Since then 31 (56 gms), 56 (49 gms), 99 and 74 (62 gms). So what can we expect in year two? I personally believe his counting stats will improve somewhat. I'd like to see him get to 15g and 25a next year. However, I also wouldn't be surprised if he struggles some in year 2. I think he is probably better than Kotkaniemi, Sillinger and Kakko, but does he have the same upside as Hughes, Barkov or Stutzle? Probably not.

As I outlined above we are at about breakeven with what we lost. The question is and has been, how do we get the extra 20-25 goals at a minimum to become a playoff team. I'd like to see us replace a depth forward with a scoring forward. For example, trade Greenway and acquire Zegras. That would solidify the top 6, give Cozens and Quinn a bona fide lethal playmaker to elevate their games and given Benson time to develop on the 3rd line with McLeod and Zucker. Right now we are asking Benson to be the catalyst that creates for Cozens and Quinn. That's asking to much of a 19 year old IMHO.

Between the trade deadline and the off-season moves, the Sabres dumped 72g & 89a from last year's squad If you just ask the newcomers to give the Sabres what they gave their old teams you get Zucker 14-18 McLeod 12-18 Lafferty 13-11 Malenstyn 6-15 Aube-Kubel 6-10 Totals 51-72 We seem a little short in the aggregate. If you add in a full season of Quinn (add 18g-20a) you about break even with what was lost. This team is going to have to score at least 20-25 more goals than last year's squad while maintaining a similar goals against to make a serious run at the playoffs. That's going to have to come from growth in Benson, and better years from our top 5. The top 5 most also stay healthy because there is no real scoring depth on the team behind them.

Correct. As the 6th wing he should skate on the 3rd line JJP Tuch Benson Quinn Zucker Greenway

With Quinn's return Skinner became the 5th wing with Greenway 6. (Tuch, JJP, Quinn, Benson.) With those 5 returning, Zucker is currently the 5th wing. At the end of the season the Sabres fielded a line of Skinner Krebs Greenway (xGF 42%, but GF% of 67%) for almost 55 minutes.

But isn't he really the current replacement for Skinner? Tuch, TNT, JJP, Quinn, Cozens, Benson, and Greenway all return to their roles. Mitts' job went to Krebs who has been demoted to a 4th line (or 13th forward) role in favor of McLeod. Skinner was replaced by Zucker The 4 bottom of the roster forwards at the end of last season were Jost, VO, Robinson and Z. Now the bottom of the roster forwards are Kubel, Malenstyn, Lafferty and Krebs.

Obviously being sent packing after a Cup run has got to be disappointing, especially when you've been replaced by Henrique. However, he truly has an opportunity to become a semi-core player. We have him for at least 2 years and if he continues to improve to say a 40pt player, he could be here for the next 5-6 years and be a vital piece of the hoped turnaround.