GASabresIUFAN

All this is moot unless the goaltending plays well and guys like Norris, Samuelsson, Quinn and Greenway stay healthy and contribute. It couldn't hurt if Kesselring can move up from a 3rd pairing D to a full time 2nd pairing D who has chemistry with Power, plus Benson and Kulich step up to replace the lost goals from JJP. I'm sure all this happen. I might also win the lottery.

This post is not funny or insightful. It’s frankly rude and insulting. Blocked.

Difference between a hard cap league (NHL) and a soft (very) cap league (NFL) without fully guaranteed contracts.

..... and somehow people are blaming JJP for wanting out of the cesspool the three horseman for franchise destruction created.

Do you honestly feel that the additions of Kesselring and Timmins as replacements for Joki and Clifton will make our defense nearly 4/10th of a goal a game better next season?

He is a better all around player than Power with nearly identical offense.

Sadly, you are probably correct.

No, please enlighten me. Which move this off-season has changed the trajectory of this franchise and made the Sabres a legit contender for the playoffs?

Tell me I'm wrong. Is the goaltending improved? No. By trading JJP, did Adams damage the offense? Yes. Kesselring and Timmins were 17 minutes D last season on non-playoffs teams. That makes them 3rd line D. Are the Sabres improved? Maybe marginally, but they aren't close to a playoff team. Sorry, but those are the facts.

Livid. This was the off-season to fix goaltending and defense. Instead he damaged the offense, the only good part of the team, left the crappy goaltending intact and add two 3rd line RHD.

I congratulate Adams. He has secured another losing season and Byram will take his services to a team that wants to win next off-season when Adams trades him for another RFA or soon to be RFA. "And the seasons they go round and round, And the painted ponies go up and down, We're captive on the carousel of time"

19 pages and this debate on whether the Sabres are actually improved tells anyone that objectively that if the Sabres are improved it's marginal.

They did add Norris and Doan while dumping JPP, Lafferty and Cozens. They also continue of the merry-go-round of depth goaltending waiting for a prospect to emerge in Lyons, Reimer, Anderson and Comrie. There is no plan. It's just throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. The got lucky (so far) with McLeod and Zucker last season, but the team still got worse. This year's strands of spaghetti are Kesselring, Timmins, Doan, Lyons and Norris. I'm sure one or two will work out and I'm equally sure the team is likely headed to a bottom of the Atlantic finish again.

I wonder who has been saying that for 4 years? As I have said 1000 times, the offense isn't the issue. UPL has had 1 good year in 5 as a pro, and we are returning a group of inept defensive players in Power, Byram, Bryson and Samuelsson, who we will be paying 20 mill or more for their services. Add the nearly $7 mill for terrible tandem of Lyons and UPL and is it any wonder this team can't win? Adams is betting that two new 3rd pairing D (Kesselring and Timmins) with 300 games of NHL experience between them are going to solve the defensive problems with the roster.

I looked at the Sabres top 20 skaters averaged their number of games played over 3 years (where available) and goals/GP. For players with less than three years, I used their last 2 seasons if full time (like Benson and Kesselring). For the rookies, like Kulich and Doan, I took last season and just used their goals/GP * 75 games. I also only used the last two seasons for Norris. I arrived at only 254 goals.

I was thinking about the ins and outs since trading deadline. I'm not evaluating specific transactions but where the new player fits into the lineup vs the former player (or soon to be former player) 1) Cozens for Norris - Out a middle six center for a top 6 center. Cozens on a good team is probably a 3rd line center/wing while Norris, when healthy (a big if), is a 2 line center. In the event Norris stays healthy, this would be an upgrade. Of course, it's more likely to crash and burn when Norris gets hurt. 2) JJP for Doan - Out is a top line scoring winger in is a bottom six (likely 4th line) grinding winger. This erases and then some any benefit from the possible addition of Norris 3) Joki for Kesselring - This is replacing a of mediocre 2nd/3rd pairing D with a better defensive 2nd/3rd pairing. 4) Clifton for Timmins - We swaped a physical but poor defensive 3rd pairing D, for a not nearly as physical, but better defensively, 3rd pair RHD 5) Reimer for Lyons - possible a small upgrade, but Reimer actually was our best goalie down the stretch last season. 6. Malenstyn for Danforth - What? If Danforth wins a roster spot it will because he beat out Malenstyn for the job. My guess is he'll be better than Malenstyn, but then again who wouldn't be?

Can you imagine how good Power could be if he used his size to move someone out of the crease or check someone along the boards or get in the way of passing lanes. These are fundamental skills for a defenseman that Power doesn’t have or won’t do. The system is part of the problem, but most of the blame lies with Power.

How long do we have to wait? Another 160 games? Longer? Again, if he doesn't engage physically he will never be worth the $ he is being paid. We need to win NOW! Waiting forever for Power to get a clue is no longer worth it. If he was on a bridge contract I'd be more willing to wait, but on an internal cap team ever $ wasted on a player who doesn't earn his contract (or at least close to it) is a player the needs to be replaced.

But that’s my point. If Lyons is the best available goalie the Sabres are toast. He is probably the best of Comrie, Reimer or Anderson but that isn’t saying much.

Your sarcasm is duly noted and appreciated.

Hoping and praying that UPL doesn't suck again is not a plan for success. By signing Lyons, Adams is basically saying that no further upgrades in goal are coming that that he is employing the same failed strategy since Ullmark left town and that is hoping and praying one or both of UPL and Levi emerge as real NHL goalies. This team is done before the season even starts.

Yes. Lots of solid players, especially forwards in the top 10 but no real stars and certainly no franchise players. Eklund, Johnson and Guenther might end up of the top forwards from the class unless Bernier figures it out. Hughes and Power are 40 pt D but neither is good defensively.

While I agree that is certainly possible with Power, the same can be said for Byram who is only 23. The biggest issue with Power is that he will never be an elite D in the NHL because of his refusal to engage physically, and I don’t see that ever changing. He is also positionally terrible. He isn’t on the O level of a Karlsson, Makar or Quinn Hughes to make up for the lack of solid D. IMHO he will never be more that a 2nd pair D and I’d rather have Byram for that job. Don’t forget he’s already played 242 NHL games. He are getting close to the point that he is what he is.

This team has allowed 282+ goals against 2 of the last 3 seasons. 18 teams over the last 3 years have allowed 282 or more. Over that period the Sabres gave up an average of 3.36 goals against per game. Even if the Sabres manage to score 270 +, they won’t stop enough goals to net a positive differential and make the playoffs. PS Even when they scored 293 they allowed 297, a -4 differential, and missed the playoffs. The additions of Kesselring, Timmins and Lyon aren’t enough to change the defensive/goaltending shortcomings of this team.

Now run a projection of goals against. By the way, in the last 3 years only 13 teams finished the season with 282 goals or more. This Sabres group won't approach that number.