GASabresIUFAN

That may be Adams plan this year.

Yes, I think his game is more complete and I think he is a better all-around O player. I see Kulich as JJP lite. Good goal scorer who long-term should be a good 2-way NHL forward. Someone like Jason Zucker. By the way Zucker didn't establish himself in the NHL until 22.

One issue I think other teams have with our prospect pool isn't the breath of it, but the projection of the ceiling for the players in it. We have a ton of players you can projected playing in the NHL. Forwards - Savoie, Rosen, Kulich, Östlund, Wahlberg, Neuchev, Poltapov, Zeimer, Helenius and possibly others. Defense - Johnson, Novikov, Komarov, Strbak and maybe others like Kleber and McCarthy Goalies - Levi plus possibly Ratzlaff and Leenders Outside of Levi, who is viewed as a potential high-end NHL starter and even that would be tempered by his size, who in our pipeline is considered to have top line potential? I don't think anyone save maybe Helenius. Nothing wrong with having a pile of middle six forward prospects, but if you are trying to entice someone to acquire a few prospects, having a standout or two would help. Truthfully, I see Kulich, Wahlberg, Rosen and Poltapov as max 3rd line players. Savoie, Neuchev and Östlund, I can see getting 2nd line duty. What about the D. Where do we see the potential of Johnson, Novikov, Komarov and Strbak?

I agree. The CHL rules really hurt Savoie. If he had been 1 day older, he'd have played all season in the A and likely be viewed as a excellent prospect after averaging a pt a game as 19 year old. His height is also an issue right now in the NHL. All through the draft coverage the analysts talked about the draftees being 6'2 or taller. They also talked about how big the Panthers were (only 2 regulars were under 6', Erod and Cousins - both listed 5-11). This is not a bar to Savoie succeeding in the NHL, but if teams are now valuing bigger players it will drive down the value of smaller guys even ones as skilled as Savoie if the skill set isn't viewed as "elite." Personally, I think he is going to prove them all wrong. I see Adams' failure to secure real forward help as a huge opportunity for Savoie, Kulich and Rosen and I believe Savoie is the best of the bunch. The kid centered Benson in Wpg and I can see him beating out Krebs to play between Zucker and Greenway.

I finally watched the coverage of rounds 2-7 and the coverage team agreed that we got excellent value with Leenders in the 7th rd. Height was the issue, but they loved his athleticism in net. They did think he over plays the positions and needs to work on his “hockey IQ.” I took that to mean he needs to be more positionally and situationally aware. They said he has 2A potential which they explained as high end backup. Here is the graphic the they put up.

Finally watched the draft coverage rounds 2-7 and the coverage loved this pick. They think he’s a future 2nd line forward who will bring constant effort while adding depth scoring. here is the graphic they put up.

No help is coming outside Savoie beating someone out for a job. The mostly likely time Adams gets someone to come here is at the deadline, but he may not be the GM by that time if this team stumbles out of the gate.

So we are finally going to have an elite forward again?

Roslovic to Carolina.

While I agree on Adams, most of the players on this team would help contenders if slotted correctly. If we learned anything for this past season with the Flordia Ex-Sabres winning the Cup, Mitts becoming the 2nd line C for Colorado and all of our castoffs signing with contenders, it’s the management of the team that's the problem.

I did a rundown of the podcast in the Boycott thread.

It seemed strange to us as well. That’s why we bought tickets.

No I guess not.

Sadly, I think that it's unlikely at this point. I can see them possibly signing Jack Roslovic. I would also like to see if they have an interest in former Devil Michael McLeod if Lindy thinks there is something there. I hate to defend Adams, but none of the guys we thought might be available changed teams. Roy and Karlsson are still in LV. Erickson-Ek remains in Minn. Cirelli is still with TB. The guys who did change teams were the UFAs. Stephenson and Monahan received big contracts, especially Stephenson. The sad part is guys who could have helped, like Wennberg (SJ) and Monahan (CBJ), signed with teams that aren't good either. Makes you wonder what Adams' plan was.

Isn't that ultimately all that matters. Maybe it's time for TP to find a experienced NHL GM with credibility with players and other GMs to run his team. If not, maybe it's time for TP to sell the team to someone who will bring in legit professionals.

Now that we know that Adams was unable or unwilling to acquire a viable 3rd center for the Sabres, does that change how you feel about this trade?

Beggars can’t do choosers.

How about Daniel Sprong and Jack Roslovic on 1 year deals?

I would love to see the media members ask Adams directly about 1) What is his plan at center if Krebs again proves unequal to the task or you have injuries to Cozens or TNT? 2) Why buy out Skinner if you weren't going to use the cap space? 3) Why didn't Lindy bring in any of his own assistants?

Well said. It's also not true that no one wants to come here. He has signed a plethora of lower level UFAs. What he hasn't done is convince a good player to waive his NTC/NMC to come here or a high level UFA to come here and that is what @Weave is really getting at.

you forgot the terrible PP, being unprepared for the beginnings of game and regression of our top players.

How would you divide the prospects by quality and likelihood to play in the NHL?

I think the next GM of the Sabres is already here and his name is Lindy Ruff. Think about it. If the team plays hard but is again falls short because of an incomplete roster, TP "elevates" his yes man Adams to some made up post, he then elevates Ruff to GM and Appert to HC.

Is the signing of Reimer an indication that Adams is going to let him and Levi compete for the backup job and/or is he insurance in case he can't get a deal done with UPL? I can see the Sabres starting the year with UPL and Reimer in Buffalo and Levi starting in Rochester so that he continues to play often. Levi then gets recalled for spot starts early in the year.

Granato got them to play hard for 2 1/2 years and then the wheels came off. I'm not saying Lindy won't have a short-term positive effect, but his shelf life will be limited as well without a proper roster to coach. KA has yet to give any of the coaches a proper roster to coach. One of the big issues last season was that the defenses didn't have to respect our scoring depth and KA's moves hasn't changed that but for the worse. They could focus their D on stopping TNT and Cozens and it helped shutdown the Sabres. The new bottom six had a total of 53 goals last season. Mitts and Skinner had 42 last season. Without an upgrade on Krebs, I'm afraid we won't be able to execute Lindy's vision of rolling 4 effective lines.