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Dr. Who

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  3. Seravalli: Is there a better positioned non-playoff team than Buffalo?

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by Dr. Who

    1 hour ago, SabresBaltimore said:

    I really mean/want a middle pair player who can play top pair when needed. Is that a 2-4? Either way not a 4-6. When Mule went down they often moved up Joker. Sometimes Bryson or I want to say Clague. That shouldn't happen.

    I suppose you mean a second pair player who can play top pair. They definitely need to add a top4 D because of Mule's tendency to get hurt. 

    And regardless, they should add as many solid veteran D as they can manage.

  5. Seravalli: Is there a better positioned non-playoff team than Buffalo?

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

    The word "nothing" is a little too extreme. By not doing "anything"  I suppose I should have worded that more as not doing nearly enough. Although I definitely feel he needs to make some big moves I think there is a real possibility he will stay the course of in house development. 

    Your goalies will be Levi as the starter and UPL as the back up with Comrie sent down to Rochester. 

    Your starting D could be Dahlin-Samuelsson, Power- Jokiharju, Stillman-Lybushkin, although he might add a lower tier FA for "depth". Maybe a Kyle Burroughs or Connor Carrick type. Maybe even Mayfield. A bottom end guy. 

    and no forward activity at all aside from a re-sign or two and maybe a VO trade away. 

    Not what I want, but wouldn't surprise me at all. 

    That's not much. I think he'll do a lot more. I'd prefer a veteran goalie to pair with Levi. Varlamov  or Freddie Andersen would be nice, but I don't find it outlandish to think KA stays the course there. A lower tier D and that's it is a joke. I suspect he makes a significant move to bring in a top 4D and more depth on D generally. Something along the lines of Hanifin and Graves is more appropriate. VO is almost certainly traded. 2023 1st, 2024 1st, maybe Rosen are chips. If KO retires as he should, I think they will want to bring in a gritty vet to replace him, which makes sense. I like Rousek, so I hope he gets a look.

  7. Seravalli: Is there a better positioned non-playoff team than Buffalo?

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

    It's definitely possible, but there are some holes that need to be filled. We all know what they are, we will see what KA does to fill them (if anything). 

    You think him not doing anything is a real possibility? Be embittered all you like about the past dozen years of this franchise; it's not credible that KA does nothing. I expect he will actually be reasonably aggressive in bringing in veteran D. Not sure what he does in goal.

  8. Layout Your Offseason Plan

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    Posted

    5 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

    I feel this thread can be closed since the perfect scenario has been laid out above  

    its well thought out and reasonable 

    Maybe it’s Jost vs Compher? otherwise it’s a perfect offseason if this can the fruition 

     

    Prefer Graves to Mayfield. I'd like to see Rousek get a shot.

    • Like (+1) 1

  10. GDT: Sabres @ Devils - April 11, 2023, 7pm, MSG 📺 WGR 📻

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

    My impression as well. 

    Also for those of you who wonder about DG ability to switch from development to winning, he spoke very seriously about how they are trying to win and no one is getting development time right now. This was in regards partially to Levi getting time and DG basically said he is in there because he wins. He also talked about how in March the team mentally slipped and it was the coaches responsibility to help them fix that. Talked about how the team focused on what they were bad at instead of what they did well. It resulted in them focusing on the stuff they didn't do well instead of playing in ways that helped them succeed. One Don's more interesting and illuminating interviews. 

    I've said this before, but I am struck by how transferable Granato's coaching insight is to life situations in general. He's that sort of fella and I think it's really good moving forward.

    • Like (+1) 1
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  12. Around The NHL 2022-23 Regular Season

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    Posted

    1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

    I find it strange do you have nothing better to do but to point out other peoples mistakes in their posts, especially considered that some of us are responding on our phone and Auto correct sometimes makes changes for us.

    I personally have other things going on in my life where I'm not going to prove read every single letter of every single word that I post.

    This is, of course, correct. Regrettably, I feel compelled to point out that the correct phrase in the final sentence is "proof read." The irony of the coincidence is rather amusing. If this was a planned error, that is quite subtle.

  13. The Johnson watch has started

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

    Guy is walking 

    I'm inclined to agree. Seems to me he probably would have signed by now if that was his intention. This isn't a Portillo being gutless about competing with Levi situation. Maybe there's some personal angle that explains it, but can't help feeling he is on the dim side if he doesn't grasp the opportunity in front of him.

  14. The Johnson watch has started

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    Posted

    1 minute ago, dudacek said:

    Adams told the season ticket holders (hope I'm remembering our insiders correctly) that Johnson will be an NHL player and that the ball is in his court and he has a decision to make,

    I assume he will make it eventually.

    Granted personal decisions have many idiosyncratic factors that come into play that cannot be discerned by a stranger, it would be close to inexplicable to me that a young defenseman would look at the Sabres and pass. They are primed to ascend and need D. Perfect opportunity looking from the outside.

    • Like (+1) 1

  15. Will the Buffalo Sabres make the playoffs?

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    Posted · Edited by Dr. Who

    4 hours ago, Contempt said:

    I'm tired of being right. I'd like them to prove me wrong for a change. Frankly I didn't feel like it was aggressive prediction at the time given their flaws (no depth, bad goaltending, poor team defense) and their penchant for inconvenient stretches of poor play. 

    Then the middle of March happened which really wasn't different from any of the other stretches of the year where they dropped a bunch of games in a row.

    I appreciate that you and other might not like it and that some of you race to be the first one to be right predicting positive things and that's not my lane. I didn't believe in what they had at the deadline and the season has been functionally over since Nashville and really over since the Islanders game. The Sabres have been "in the hunt" the same way the Bills were "in the hunt" for a decade. Meaning not. I don't enjoy that. In fact it annoys me quite a bit that they squandered the position they were in. However, after what they've done for the length of time they've done it I'm done with moral victories and promises of the future. Show me. What this team showed is is every time they had pressure to perform they wilted. Does that translate to growth in the future? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe they learn from it and get better, but maybe they don't have the mental and emotional fortitude for it and this is what they will do. I don't know and neither do you. You choose to believe, I choose to be skeptical until proven wrong. It has nothing to do with wanting to be right. It's emotional self defense.

    I expect Dahlin to continue to be the force he has grown into. I think it highly likely Power is going to be an equally dominant D with a different skill set. He is already surprisingly good for his age and he has yet to fully mature physically or in his grasp of the game. I worry about Samuelsson's penchant for injury, but he is a solid top 4D and the Sabres win a lot when he is available. The Sabres are flush with young forward talent. Their new goalie has shown consistent collegiate success at a superlative level, aptitude in a very small professional sample, and rare intensity. I think it's harder to fail than prosper when those are your building blocks. The players that are dropping off or likely to be let go are not difficult to replace. They do need a more responsible defensive system, or even a semblance of one, yes, I agree there. They do wilt in exasperating fashion, but I think it much more probable than not that the young core is going to mature into a very good team. They need to prioritize adding a solid veteran top 4D and a good veteran goalie to pair with Levi. There are other necessary roster additions, but none of them are daunting or even particularly difficult. I'll be disappointed if KA is not active this offseason to address all that. If next year at this time we are not looking at a playoff team with potential, I will join you in singing a dirge, but not today. 

  16. The Johnson watch has started

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    1 minute ago, ... said:

    So, given the last responses, it's safe to categorize this guy as a more typical D prospect and the real point of this thread is simply to pivot off the title "Johnson watch".

    Aside from the cheap opportunity for mirth, there is some interest or mild anxiety because he could walk and become a free agent. Folks don't like the look of yet another college draft pick spurning the team. You'd get a second round comp pick if he did, but that is still a depreciation of a first round choice. I think he has a pretty high floor and would contribute to the d depth. I am not certain he would need a full year at Rochester. Playing out his NCAA career is a reasonable amount of development. He's not a 17 year old kid. Still need to draft the position early and add some veteran D. I think they need to bring in a top 4D in the offseason. Losing out on Johnson hurts the aggregation of talent at a position of need.

  18. 2023 NHL draft rankings

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    Posted

    8 minutes ago, dudacek said:

    Looking increasingly likely the Sabres will be picking 13th pre-lottery.

    Theoretically, they could still drop to 9th, but 1 win in our last 4 guarantees no lower than 12th and we’d have to lose the other 3 and Ottawa would have to win both of theirs for us to finish 12th.

    In the other direction, if we win out and everyone we’re chasing loses, we could pick as low as 19th. But we are 3 points back of Nashville for the 14th slot and 5 or 6 back of the others, so movement in that direction is not likely either.

     

    I was picking 14th in one of those mock draft simulators last night. Grabbed Reinbacher who was ranked 20th in their system. Seems overly optimistic a result, but perhaps not outside the possible. 

  21. Has Casey Mittelstadt changed any minds?

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Contempt said:

    He needs to be traded for a defenseman because he can be more easily replaced by the prospects we have coming up. I'm leaving out any and all vitriol I have for him personally. He is replaceable and needs to be traded for what we do t have in the system.

    I don't think he is untradeable, but I would be reluctant to do it. Just because a player falls outside of the untouchable category doesn't mean one must use them as a part to get other parts you don't have. It would be different if the cupboard was otherwise bare and necessity compelled one. That isn't the case here. There are abundant resources for KA to acquire what is deficient in the roster. 

  22. Has Casey Mittelstadt changed any minds?

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    47 minutes ago, Contempt said:

    He needs to go.

    I'm not going to spend time looking over your past posting history. You've been here long enough to accrue nearly five thousand, so I assume you are sometimes more congenial. The few times I've noticed you I've actually wondered if you have troll DNA. Mittlestadt has become an ideal glue guy. He's a great story, too. 

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  23. Around The NHL 2022-23 Regular Season

    in The Aud Club

    Posted

    Just now, Contempt said:

    He wasn't the first choice in OT. You explain it.

    I don't know what the coach was thinking. I don't infer from his absence in the first ten seconds of OT that the coach has a negative view of Johnson. And I sure as hell don't think it means Johnson is an AHL tweener, but if that's your take, good for you. We'll see how accurate it turns out.

  24. Around The NHL 2022-23 Regular Season

    in The Aud Club

    Posted · Edited by Dr. Who

    10 minutes ago, Contempt said:

    That his coach didn't see fit to do that should say something. But we will pretend it was an accident.

    You seem to take perverse pleasure in telling folks the Sabres have no chance to make the playoffs which is virtually, if not mathematically, true. Here, you appear to enjoy implying that folks ought to conclude from the fact that Johnson wasn't on the ice for the start of OT what? That his coach doesn't have confidence in him? Maybe no one thought it was likely the game would end ten seconds into the extra period. "But we will pretend it was an accident." Snide and nasty. You properly inhabit your screen name.

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