sabresparaavida

They still have injury concerns with a bunch of their stars to start the year. They could be playing catch-up most of the season, and losing Cassidy will have some effects good or bad.

She’s great, and if you want some more difficult stuff, breathe and Flow do a good job (also on YouTube)

Looks like Bergeron is re-signing with the Bs on a 2.5mil bargain deal. He gets an extra 2.5mil if he plays 10+games this year.

I’m going to go with 45 games ~9.10 save percentage, equivalent to a 1B type goalie.

I think I’m a vacuum, it could be considered a good deal for Florida. However, they’ve spent a good deal of assets in the past couple years that have really narrowed their window, by trading their firsts in upcoming drafts. They are extending their window with the Tkachuk trade, but the rest of their moves have been shortening that window, so it may not work out for them long term.

His game certainly has rounded out a great deal. I wonder how much our perception of VO was changed this season when he went 30 games without a goal due to injury. He didn’t really have his shot, so was definitely dishing more than shooting for that time period.

If the Sabres can stay healthy, they have a shot at the playoffs. Over the last 28 games they were 16-9-3 with 8 wins against playoff teams, and the only loss to a non-playoff team was to Winnipeg in a shootout. If they can play at a similar level they will be in good shape next year.

Neuchev would definitely qualify for this, I believe he led the MHL in shots this past year. Oloffson is also still a sniper, though his game has rounded a bit over the past couple years.

Sounds like someone who’d do great alongside Cozens in a strong 2 way line. I think KA is trying to build a team that can run four lines all night, without too much difference in minutes. In a few years, I think we could end up with an average first line, a second line that is more like a below average first line/High end second line, and a third line that is like an average second line. Skinner, Tuch, Quinn, JJP, Oloffson?, Rosen, Kisakov, Poltapov, bloom, Neuchev, and Nadeau are all possibilities to fill the wing spots and make that happen. Between Thompson, Cozens, Krebs, mitts, Savoie, Kulich, and Östlund we should have the centers to make it work as well.

The comparison to Oloffson is an exciting one to think about. Oloffson in the AHL the year before his rookie season (age 23 in the AHL) put up near identical numbers to JJP last season (age 19). Quinn put up even better numbers. If they can come in and produce like Oloffson’s rookie season (20g and 42 points in 54 games), the Sabres will be in good shape to compete for a playoff spot. Oloffson in his rookie season got better linemates and likely more ice time than JJP and Quinn likely will, so getting that level of production would be hard, but they also are younger and have a shot at growing more.

That was an impressive look by Neuchev, didn’t realize that he had that kind of play making ability. Poltapov also looking very good.

I think it’s September 15th for the AHL, not 100% sure though. A player has to be 18 by then to play in the league.

Simp is insulting now because of the acronym it entails, not really anything to do with living with simple means.

My guess would be they tried sending 16+ for 8, in an effort to get Kasper and Savoie.

I don’t know, the defense now looks pretty rough for the Preds. Marc Stone is in their top 4 as it stands.

Thanks, couldn’t remember for sure where he ended up.

No he isn’t, signed with San Jose? I believe. I know he signed somewhere.

A question for those who know goalies better than I: What does Levi need to work on? Right now the only negative I have seen is that he lacks ideal NHL size, but that can be made up for if you are good enough. Is his rebound control, positioning, lateral movement, etc. all NHL level yet? Where does he need to improve most?

He’s a career -8 which isn’t that bad.

So… Stanley cup? Price behind the best young d core ever would be tremendously hard to score against.

1. Mitts wins the 2C job and puts up in the neighborhood of 55-65 points. 2. The defense performs as a top 5 unit in the league, but due to the goaltending and less than defensively responsible forwards, the Sabres end up around average for goals against. 3. The Sabres finish with 88 points, 6 points off the last playoff spot (94)

It wouldn’t surprise me if the plan is to have a non-traditional forward group with 4 scoring lines. Something to the effect of: skinner-Tage-Oloffson Asplund-mitts-Quinn okposo-Cozens-Tuch JJP-Krebs-Vinny/girgs If Quinn or JJP really break out next year, it would give the Sabres a lot of flexibility in the lineup, with scoring throughout the lineup. skinner-Tage-Quinn/JJP Asplund-mitts-Oloffson JJP/quinn-Cozens-Tuch Okposo-Krebs-Vinny/Girgs I had Asplund so high in both lineups because he really balances out a line and helps to tilt the ice in our favor.

Also with that, Krebs had 14:16 TOI/g in March, and 13:36 TOI/g in April. He totaled 4 goals and 12 points in these months.

One thing I think needs some more discussion (maybe even it’s own thread?) is Mitts vs Cozens (and to a lesser extent Krebs as well) I’ve seen a handful of people slotting mitts in at 2C, and a lot of people reacting negatively to that, with a lot of people quite sure that Cozens will be 2C. I think that the coaching staff has a lot more confidence in Mitts than the majority of Sabres fans. Mitts Toi/g last year: 16:07 cozens TOI/g last year: 15:53 That is pretty close, and points to a pretty significant competition between the two in camp next year. (Krebs had 14:44) Mitts also missed time due to injury and was eased back in which brought his TOI/g down some. In March, mitts got a good amount more ice time with 16:55 TOI/G compared to 15:20 for Cozens. In April however, Cozens got slightly more time with 16:16 TOI/G compared to Mitts 16:00. In March/April, mitts had 5 goals and 16 points, while Cozens had 1 goal and 11 points. I think right now, the edge goes to Mitts being the 2C next year over Cozens, but honestly I think it’s more likely that lines 2/3 will be treated similarly, with very similar ice time.

If Johnson signed before the season, would he be an option for 3rd pairing, or do we think he would need some time in the AHL still?