GASabresIUFAN

We need a top 6 playmaker, he's young, talented, played for the USNTDP, played against the Canadian 5, he's locked up for two more years at 5.75 and he's an RFA after that. Yes he's on IR, which makes him a perfect buy low candidate for a fresh start next season.

Don't all Swedes?

Don't be dissing Calle. He is an AHL depth D for the stretch drive in Rochester.

I'd re-hire Ruff in a second to replace Granato. He is the only coach in Sabres history who proved he could adjust his style to maximize the players he had. No coach can succeed without good players, but some coaches, and I include Ruff in that group, can make a good group better. Of the 3 highest peeks in Sabre history, Ruff was the coach for two of them.

The fans don't give two sh....s about which players score goals as long as their team scores more than the opponent. My point is the KA made an inept forward group worse and that has been born out so far by the forward groups' lackluster performance the last two nights. So if Byram scores 20 goals next season and the team misses the playoffs again, do you really think the fans will be happy? I doubt it.

My consensus board had him 39th with only 3 of 14 analysts giving him a 1st rd grade. Poltapov was 40th on the consensus board.

All great players can score and pass, that's what makes them great. McDavid's stat line this season is 23g 77a. I'd say he is a playmaker first, despite being one of the best goal scorers in the league. Gretzky was much the same way. McD has 326g and 624a for his career. Compare to Skinner 353g 311a. Which of these players likely drives offense and which one is primarily a goal scorer? Except Matthews and Sam Reinhart, all the top 15 forwards in the NHL all create significantly more than they score including MacKinnon, Kucherov, Panarin, Nylander, Miller, Rantanen, Draisaitl, Petterson, Marner, M Tkachuk, and Thomas. Most have 1.5 to 2 assists for each goal they score. Outside of Casey, of our forwards with over 20 points, only Cozens has a similar type ratio.

It's not just Mitts. It's the structure of the team. KA and DG have zero idea how to build structure a lineup or build out a roster. None. All the top 9 forwards are basically the same player except Greenway and maybe Benson. Now most of the defenders (so to speak) are varying degrees of the same player except Mule and Clifton. This isn't how you build a team. You need guys who different things. We need more physical forwards, more playmakers and less shoot first guys. All the forwards can pass. Last year Skinner was much more focused on passing and his line excelled. This year he is back to only shoot first and he is a drag on all his lines. You mentioned Quinn, but he to is a shoot first guy. JJP is an excellent passer, but he to has been a shoot first guy this season. I get that DG wants them to shoot more, but you have to be smarter than that. These guys have all played hockey enough to know that sometimes a shot isn't the best play.

None of this can happen with the current coaching staff and without at least one or two legit playmakers added to this forward group. We no longer have any forwards who can drive offense unless Benson takes a major leap forward next season. We also have a series of square pegs that we are trying to drive into round holes on defense. The D structure was made worse by adding Byram. We don't have enough defenders who actually play defense well. We also aren't physical enough at forward or defense. The team's improved defensive numbers come primarily from the improved play of UPL. We have allowed the 8th most HDC in the NHL and our HDSA are worse than last year.

Who? What playmaking wingers? Quinn is not a playmaker. Never has been. Benson is the closest and he hasn't exactly created much offense as a rookie despite max effort. JJP and Tuch have good passing skills, but again are more scorer than playmaker. Of the guys coming up only Östlund is a playmaker in the true sense of he word. Rosen is more in the Tuch/JJP mold and Krebs is just bad.

That's a meaningless stat as it reflects the terrible PP and the failure of most of the other 12 forwards. Casey is 37th in the NHL in EVP with 39 EVP. JJP is second with 34. Casey also lead with 27 EVA. The next closest is Dahlin at 19. The scoring problems don't have anything to with Casey's departure, but Casey's departure turned a bad situation worse. Your other question is also meaningless. Who cares how many goals they each score going forward. The question should be is the team better today after the trade than before? My answer is that they aren't better. The offense is going to be worse and I don't think the defensive play will improve either. Outside his injury history, there is nothing "wrong" with Byram the player, except that his in zone play is below average. Granted that makes him just all the other Sabres D. There is a reason Colorado made him available.

I saw that as well and started fast forwarding the game at that point. I realized that the Sabres are hopeless.

The Sabres anemic offense has scored 3 goals since Casey’s departure. One goal by VO who will soon be gone and 2 by D. Still searching for a Sabres forward to drive play.

Well that was fun. At least Byram made a positive impact.

Great theory, but if you are Quinn or JJP, do you want a bridge deal?

Actually it's only one more year. I raised this issue earlier. JJP, Quinn and Byram are all going to need new contracts after next season. If your Byram's agent and he has a good year, are you really going to re-sign in Buffalo? Also, if we can't afford to keep a unique forward in Casey, how can we afford new deals for all 3 of these breakout candidates?

I understand why a forward was traded. The Sabres have a pile of forwards and already have 3 huge contracts on the books for forwards (Skinner, TNT and Cozens) and have JJP and Quinn coming up for deals after next season. You can't keep everyone. What I don't understand is why Casey was for forward voted off the island. He possessed a unique skill set on this team, and we have no one on the roster or in the pipeline who does what Casey does well. I also understand the want to acquire a top 4 D, but honestly Byram doesn't bring anything to the top 4 that we don't already have. Dahlin is the No. 1 D and needs a partner, just not one with the same skillset. We need more physical play on defense and better in zone play. Byram doesn't bring either characteristic. To make it worse, he is also damaged goods. TM would be proud of this trade. Like most things KA does, the concept is good, but the execution is terrible. They are trying to get themselves relegated to the CHL.

Find a new owner, GM and Coach. Then let the new owner, GM and coach make the roster decisions.

The Sabres are going to miss Casey because he was the only natural playmaker on the team.

This is the opportunity to trade him by Friday. Yes he has an NMC, but he can accept a trade. Talk to him, find out where he is willing to go and trade him there regardless of retention and return. Get as much of his contract off the books as possible and move on. You need a real GM for that.

Hopium is a dangerous drug.

Just throw more wood on my Adams dislike fire, is he now going to have to trade JJP and Quinn when they breakout further next season? Seriously, what happens next season contract wise if Quinn, JJP and Bryam all have breakout seasons? I can almost guarantee we won’t be retaining all three unless someone else gets traded instead.

What a spectacular offensive display by the Sabres tonight. Good thing we traded away our top player-maker. That Krebs is a real difference maker.

5 players from the Canadian 2020 U20 team. Didn’t they lose to the US? Cozens, Krebs, Quinn, Byram and Levi. Maybe they’ll have better luck in the NHL. Ryan Johnson was on the US squad.

Here are the Sabres top 9 for 2024/25 after this trade Skinner TNT Tuch JJP Cozens Quinn Benson Krebs Greenway Is that a play caliber forward group? I guess it could be if Krebs, JPP, Quinn, and Benson are all better next year and TNT Cozens rebound from their terrible 23/24 seasons. Apparently great minds think alike.