Dr. Who

I think Kincaid is special. I was advocating for his selection over a mediocre WR class over on the football side of this board for over a month before the draft. I just don't know if you can count on him in his rookie year to be that dangerous second receiving weapon we need. I think he will make some immediate impact in opening up the entire field as something the D has to pay attention to. I think Josh will have confidence he'll catch the ball. Hopkins would help on that front. He's a much more reliable receiver to compliment Diggs. Davis should be WR3 or 4. They've done enough to bolster the IOL that I am fairly optimistic it won't be the massive open border it was for much of last year. Just getting rid of Saffold is addition by subtraction. Wish I felt better about the tackles. Dawkins was below average last year and Brown was a disaster. There were mitigating factors. I think Dawkins was affected by poor guard play next to him and Brown never got past the lost development incurred because of back problems. Beane did bring in modest competition and Edwards can play some tackle. It's possible Doyle may surprise. I hope Josh is fully recovered from the UCL injury and I also hope his inability to be accurate on short passes exacerbated by injury is the reason Dorsey did not make use of Cooks' pass catching abilities out of the backfield. You don't select Cook and add Hines if you don't plan on making that element of the game part of your habitual arsenal.

Nope. KA has to bring in a top 4 D and there are enough out there available through trade and free agency to get one. There are teams with cap issues that won't be able to retain players or will be more willing to part with one. It doesn't matter if some GMs are going to try and pry more value from the Sabres because we are stacked with good developmental players, they're not all going to be that way. I'm fairly confident KA will be stubborn about value and I'm glad of it. Nonetheless, various combinations of draft picks, tradeable NHL players (VO has some value) and overall level of depth at the forward position in the organization means there is a deal to be made somewhere.

Pleased to meet you.

That claim about 13 seconds is pretty widely discredited. It is an important year for the regime to go considerably further in the playoffs. I think anything short of the Conference Championship puts McDermott on the hot seat. Stress always exacerbates tensions and tensions always exist, even in the most amicable relationships. It's the human condition. I wouldn't bet a lot of money on Tua staying healthy for the year. I'd still favor the Bills. We are the better team. Last year there was an unprecedented combination of injury, tragedy, and weather related issues that cumulatively took its toll. I don't expect that level of adversity this year. As long as key players avoid serious injury, the Bills are just as much a Super Bowl contender as last year without the hype.

Not really sure where to put this. Fella named Gabriel Foley writes a Substack called Rinkside Reprisal. This was in his mailbag on the draft. After talking about Teams Trading up or down, he wrote the following: Trade… Anything: The Buffalo Sabres are going to be very interesting to watch. They’ve made it seem like they’re in on just about every open market player and Victor Olofsson being recently dangled as trade bait throws a curveball at anyone trying to predict which way they’re leaning. I could see Buffalo sacrificing Pick #13 in a larger deal, if it means reeling in a player that their staff feels really confident in - they’ve been looking for a truly solid addition. But I also know that Buffalo is very eager for this draft class and excited to see which players end up falling, something that could inspire them to trade up. After a season of relative success, it’ll be interesting to see how excited Buffalo gets.

Interesting. UPL is fine as a backup to a veteran goalie. Don't really like pairing him with Levi. KA better either sign an UFA or trade for a top 4D. If slow play means waiting on that, well, I don't believe he will, but there's no strategy that foregoes improving the blue line that makes sense in any scenario.

Seems like we're all agreed. Whose going to call KA and Terry and tell them what we decided?

I'd be shocked if that's all it took.

I think the fan base would walk around in a state akin to the mildly concussed if you traded Levi at this point. I don't like any of the options I have heard as the ask for Hellebuyck. I am willing to trade 13OA and UPL for a year of Hellebuyck. I'm not adding an A prospect or Krebs, but if the option were add one of those options to the preceding list or just trade Levi straight up, I'm keeping Levi.

I would not pay that for one year of Hellebuyck. I'm sure there are folks here who would, including you apparently. (And I like Hellebuyck. Krebs is what makes that package too much for me.) I wouldn't pay much more than a 2nd, UPL and a B prospect for Hart. Eleven made a point that Briere may overplay his hand there. If Hellebuyck and Saros are both on the market, not really sure about Saros, Hart is the third best available.

I think I liked you better when you were Hellebuyck's agent.

I just copied it from the other site I look at. I don't have a source. I don't think anyone would have a problem paying that price. I doubt Philly goes for it.

No idea where the post is coming from. I thought it was a joke or a drunken Flyers' fan behind it. Said Power for Hart, Grans, and 2024 CBJ 2nd.

I was confused by the latter part of your last post that was talking about a compensation of a UPL-like goalie, a second, etc. I guess I'd really rather go after Saros or Hellebuyck if I am going to end up spending a first round prospect that I am at least somewhat high on. (Though I read on another site that the ask for Hellebuyck is 13OA, Krebs, and UPL or Levi straight up. Don't know where that is coming from, but it sounds like Winnipeg is not being reasonable.) I like Hart better as part of a package that includes Helge Grans. Straight up, he's probably worth more than I want to pay for him.

I'm starting to think Rosen may live up to his draft pick. I'm only interested in a true upgrade in goal, so no packages that are sending back what I already have are of interest.

I think Rosen is closer to the answer, but I may overvalue goalie at this point. (And I don't want to trade Rosen, nor do I want to actually give the Flyers equal value. I want to fleece them, but if I can't do that, pay as little as possible.)

Agree on most of this. Kincaid as big slot is a hybrid. He's not just a big WR, but he's different than a conventional TE. I hear you on the DE vs. DT thing. My speculation there is largely based on my sense that Settle was pretty underwhelming in terms of what I think they hoped to get out of him. Also, you can move Shaq inside on certain situations. All the same, probably a DE gets moved.

I understand about Kincaid. On the football side of this forum I was pushing for his selection six weeks before the draft. I liked him better than the conventional WRs available. So I was very happy with the pick, but Beane has generally used premium picks elsewhere. No one is "morphing into some imaginary funk" over Hopkins. He would be a nice add. I think Kincaid will emerge as a threat the opposing D needs to account for. I would not count on that his rookie year, though he has the talent to make that happen. In that respect, it would be optimal to sign Hopkins to a short-term deal so that Diggs is harder to double, especially in the playoffs where he has disappeared recently. As is, this should be a much more versatile offense provided Dorsey is up to the challenge of incorporating the run game into a coherent attack and using all the weapons.

Settle might get traded, though it probably ought to be Basham. Epenesa is a lunch pail guy, but I think he had 6.5 sacks last year so he's last one in at the moment, imo. Some folks suggest Lawson, but he sets the edge well and is generally a solid rotation fella. Phillips is another one I would consider. He is a flashy dim and doesn't take care of himself so gets hurt, often on bonehead plays. Neglecting receiver and getting oline wrong are this regime's recurring issues, criminal with a franchise qb like Josh. Davis is low end WR2. Hopkins may have lost a step, but he is the opposite of Davis. Catches everything, but probably best at this point on short and intermediate routes. I think Beane would find the money if Hopkins were willing to come in around a threshold he is comfortable with. Don't know who else is out there that is worth more than what we have. Some speculate Mike Evans could be on the trading block, but I surmise that is just folk's conjecture because the Bucs are rebuilding and figure to be bad for a few years.

Perhaps I have been habituated to lowered expectations, but I will be relieved if KA grabs one. Two would certainly make the D more credible, assuming they are intent on actually incorporating a coherent defensive system.

You'd have to figure how much you can spend allowing for extensions to core players and how the Sabres plan on managing the cap going forward, but I think you could get a veteran goalie and acquire a top 4 D without requiring particularly unusual effort or luck. Teams up against the cap may create trade partners. Maybe you pry a Hanifin or DeMelo away for an acceptable price. There are quality FAs available to bolster the blueline. No reason KA cannot do both. Still think you could add Hellebuyck, Graves, and DeMelo, just as an example, for a combination of picks and prospects that leaves the top prospects out of the equation.

I think that kind of fearless is unwise. At minimum, he should bring in a veteran goalie to split starts with Levi. If Levi was more proven, UPL could reasonably develop into a competent backup. We'll see how it plays out. Every successful GM has to have some poker player in him. I just doubt Adams has stated everything he's thinking for public consumption.

13, UPL and a B prospect would be my preferred package, but I am on the side of those who think Hellebuyck is worth the expenditure. Your alternative is interesting. Simashev at 18 is a nice play.

Once upon a time there was a girl from Nantucket. That's all I got.

I guess I'll have to stop disliking him, but I still suspect he has a Little Lord Fauntleroy attitude.