PerreaultForever

Sure, cause adding a veteran that could actually help the team, that'd be crazy.

Dubas screwed up that team when he signed Tavares. He thought that was the move that would do it, but what it did was make the young guys who did more or as much want more too. Tavares signs for 11, there's no way those guys are happy with less. We got lucky with Tage. I think there was still some uncertainty as to whether or not he could sustain that level and maybe he doubted it himself so Adams was smart to offer a good contract up front. Risky, but it worked. Tage might not be happy in the future, hard to say. Cozens is Adams playing the same card and although I don't think it's a risk, it is based on one year's production so we have to hope that one works too. The tricky spot is obviously Dahlin and then Power. What will Dahlin's final number be, and if Power becomes as good or better then what will his number be? We are in a luxury spot right now with all the entry deals but it's going to get tricky if we actually get good.

No, but nobody on the Sabres is going to deliver that. Kyle might try. Cozens or Tuch might try but the team really doesn't have that kind of leadership - yet. What I could see Kane doing though is sitting beside a young guy and going "hey man, you know when we were behind in Chicago and they were double shifting me I conserved energy by............" or other little tidbits of experience from a guy who has been there. But again, he's not coming here. He will go to a cup contender (who will likely fudge their cap numbers to work him in). Maybe Pittsburgh if they are actually in the hunt. Maybe Vegas. Somebody like that. A team with veterans.

Well everything's about you. I mean I'm PerreaultForever and you're 11 so there's a mirror and an echo in here somewhere.

Fair enough, and I don't think anyone would argue with Pesce added to what we have makes us a better defensive unit. Good enough to win a cup? Well that might depend on how good Power becomes and how good Dahlin continues to be.

Now how did you manage to think my original comment was about YOU? Come on man, I made a comment on a board to the board, not to your personal DMs. Go have a beer and chill.

No one's ever the "last piece" as top contenders juggle rosters every year. Even cup winners. Nothing is ever absolute, but Pesce added solidifies a D balanced with youth and experience, defensive and offensive ability and is certainly going to be good enough to contend. But he doesn't want to be here so forget it.

Because Kyle is 35 and scored 11 goals last year and 28 points (and has an injury history) while Kane is 34 and scored 21 goals and 67 points so for people to be happy Kyle is signed and also say Kane is over the hill is just silly.

Ya, I find it odd that people were happy they re-signed Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensens but Patrick Kane is an over the hill has been they don't want to add. Strange way of thinking imo. I really don't think Kane has any interest in coming here but adding a guy like that would be huge. No, he won't get 92 points but what's Quinn's projection? Peterka? Mitts? etc? How many points does he actually have to add to be valuable? and the experience and leadership would also be huge. But again, I don't see him coming. Coming to Buffalo is all pressure for him and it's a cup team he wants where he can slide into a lesser profile role. There's a slim chance he wants a hometown finish, but I'd doubt it.

Yes, but Quinn is also still a pretty young and raw talent and I think bringing him back in slowly would be the right approach rather than just tossing him into the second line after a long and fairly serious injury. Kane, on the other hand is Kane.

I would suggest that if we start the season well, and look like a legit playoff contender, signing Kane around Christmas time would be a shrewd move that makes us really look like a serious contender. Building would go back to sell outs. Signing Kane before the season would be strange given the injury but the veteran leadership of a proven winner would be good for many of these kids. Kane mentoring Quinn can't be a bad thing imo. Kane made a lot of shall we say "mistakes" when he was young and now as a mature leader he could be good for the team. But only if HE wants it, and wants to end his career on the home team so to speak. So far I've heard nothing real about him wanting that. I've only heard he wants to be on a cup contender, so I'd expect him to sign with Vegas or Colorado or whoever looks like a real contender in December and whoever fudges their cap with some LTIR to be able to add him of course. and now back to our regular scheduled summer idleness.

Well look at that, we actually agree on something. This might be a first.

I'm not going to argue against it being slightly better than last year, just that it's now not all that much better and really not that deep either. imo our D just isn't good enough and to take away a decent shot blocker when you are planning to run with a rookie goalie doesn't seem very smart to me. It implies to me that we still think we can win by being all run and gun on offense and hope and pray on D. I was hoping for more of a (necessary imo) shift towards defensive responsibility this year to go along with our O. Now I have my doubts.

Right, cause we've been using all that cap space to make us better. Definitely need a few more million for this year. Metrics, metrics, metrics. I don't care about metrics. I care about winning and playoffs. Stillman better than Boosh is just dumbass. Almost guaranteed Anaheim will flip him at the deadline for more than the price they paid for him.

I'm not "outraged" about it, I'm just saying that it's bad asset management. We didn't get better with these deckchair rearrangements, we got worse. It's just dumb.

Except we traded a 3rd rounder (Bloom) for Stillman and then dumped Boosh for a 4th rounder. Boosh is better than Stillman so net result we downgraded our D and got a lower draft pick.

It's a question of style of play and what we need to compliment our 2 shiny first overall D men. Joker moves the puck better, but he's not a better D man. Boosh's stats are partly the result of the situations he was put in. He's a bottom pairing guy. See, I look at what we've done now and the D isn't all that different from what it was. I'm not convinced Johnson has anything left. If he does, great, then we have upgraded, but I need to see that before I believe it. Clifton is a slightly better version of Boosh but not all that different. So I think he can play with Power but by taking Boosh away your pairings are only slightly upgraded now. Joker/Johnson as my bottom pairing does not impress me.

This is dumbass. Second highest shot blocker on the team. He was far from perfect, but he should have stayed in the bottom pairing. Joker should have been moved ahead of him if you wanted to dump a body. Just dumbass.

This thread should be pinned to the top with a daily countdown. I really want hockey back this year for some reason more than other years.

See the trick with prospects as assets is evaluating them early and moving them (if you think they are duds) BEFORE other GMs also realize they are duds. If you hold them too long and they don't make it they become virtually worthless. Sometimes you have to gamble and follow your instincts. Keeping ALL your prospects and expecting most of them to become something is just wishful thinking and almost never works.

I'd do both of the first two but I voted Saros, although I don't think they'd make that deal that you offered. Not enough for them or what they'd want. I know people don't agree with this, but I'm still giving up 2 firsts (or Rosen or Östlund instead of a future first) for Hart. Hart AND Konecny for 2 firsts plus Rosen I'm doing that for sure. If they want to throw in DesLauriers or Hathaway for a second as well I'm adding that too. Basically I still think this team is a goalie, a gritty forward and possibly a defensive defenseman away from being a real contender. A PK/face off guy who can play shutdown wouldn't hurt either.

Well that is pretty sad and feels unexpected. "Multiple organ failures". I guess they kept that pretty quiet. Very sad.

Ya, chemistry can change things and we will see how that unfolds. I see Peterka as a better fit on what will eventually be a grittier 2 way 3rd line. Maybe that's just in my wish list though as it's the kind of line I'd like to see. Sabres may have different ideas. In any event I see Peterka being able to be dominant in 3rd line match ups but maybe not quite able to match up on a 1 or 2 line against good teams. I definitely see him as a consistent mid level contributor though.

I see Kulich as a second line winger but time will tell. Ultimately I see the second line as Quinn-Cozens-Kulich with Peterka anchoring the 3rd line eventually with Benson or Savoie or whoever excels.

While I agree with your general idea and I do think prospects need to be considered assets that can be traded to make you instantly better and not JUST future players for your team, you are being a fan here and offering up the less shiny ones, the ones you don't feel are part of the future. I don't see them as being all that desirable to other GMs. eg Hart. Philly might be willing to listen to offers, but there's no way they move him for Östlund AND Rosen, let alone just one. maybe you can find a mediocre b level goalie somewhere but if that's the case why bother? You have to give to get imo. Personally I think we have so many forward prospects we should look at moving one or two for instant success, but definitely not all of them.