JustOneParade

I think Helenius will be ready for 3C duty after 1 year possibly but most likely after 2 years (much depending on if he will be in ROC next season). McLeod has also played wing so 4th line may be his final destination. The Sabres will have plenty of time to evaluate him. Always good to have a winger who can be a capable C. Wouldn’t it be great if we have too much NHL talent in a couple of years. (If there is such a thing as too much talent).

I fully realize looking forward with prospects is always dicey. And we don't want to wish our lives away. But somewhere in the not too distant future a hybrid 3rd line of Helenius, Benson and Wahlberg could be a lot of fun to watch.

Interesting. I suppose the ‘contribution to the team’s results’ necessarily gets thrown out because he was traded? They surely couldn’t base it on his contribution to the Caps’ results. Could they??

Thanks for the insight Punch. Though it does raise my ire even more. I wrote this in another thread early this past season. If the Sabres were underperforming KA should have made the change at the break. Especially, now in hindsight, Lindy was available and the apple of Kevin’s eye. It would have given Ruff ~ half a season to evaluate the roster from behind the bench and in the room. Maybe more importantly, he could have started to implement his system on the fly last season and not early this season when a good start will be imperative. But KA was probably more concerned with not ‘doing DG wrong’.

A pic! So it did happen! 👍

I’m with @LGR4GM re: Wahlberg. Certainly it may be 2-3 years and we don’t know what he might become. But I do know he’s different in size and style than most of our top prospects. Both of which most of us claim the team needs more of. Regardless, I’m encouraged by the chatter around another top-6 add.

Yes, that was excellent. Clarence wasn’t too shabby on Jungleland.

I see what you did there. 👍

The way I see it, in a worst-case scenario* this gives the Sabres a nice two-year bridge to Helenius (1 in Finland, 1 in ROC) as a 2/3C. * McLeod gets no better and Helenius requires two years of development.

Congrats. But isn’t getting married on Independence Day the ultimate in irony ?

Do you think he really believes that or is he trying to publicly signal to other GM's that he's not desperate in trade talks? (Which other GM's know is absolute garbage).

Except Dahlin is shaving now. (But, yes, they still could be brothers regardless).

Probably so. But I also have to assume their cell phones work in the Harbor Center if something comes up. (For those flipping out that they’re there).

Agree Archie. I think this is where our expectations should be in terms of the caliber of FA that would sign with the Sabres. I fear throwing stupid dollars at a big name (ex, Stamkos) will turn out to be Taylor Hall 2.0. Only coming for the money.

If there were 8 GM’s sitting around a table playing poker with no available seats and KA showed up they would all make room and pull up a chair for him. I think Peters is full of sh!t.

Admittedly, even while the drain was circling on this past season, I was thinking that if the old 1st line could even get halfway back to the ‘22-‘23 season production Skinner would be worth keeping. Then in that very late in the season game he turned the puck over at the blue line and made no effort to get back in the play and help out defensively. Just stood and watched. I was then done with him,

Imagine that. What could go wrong with impaired folks working on nuclear reactors! And the 10 years will go by much faster than you think.

I suppose I would rather overpay in dollars during free agency rather than with picks and prospects in trades as long as (1) holes are filled, and (2) the salary overpayments don’t cause cap issues when the dollars are needed in a few years.

No more worries about potential pre-employment drug screens, amirite? 😉

Back at that time, at that age, Labatt’s and Molson’s were out of my price range. Sounds silly now, doesn’t it?

What are the NHL rules regarding contact with UFA’s? Can GM’s speak to their agents and gauge interest/terms? If not allowed prior to the official start of free agency, is it a common (but unspoken) practice? Do the Sabres buy out Skinner without a suitable NHL replacement in hand?

I have to wonder if this validates @pi2000’s opinion above.

I don’t know why but I am now fully preparing myself for this happening. Maybe I’ve just been a Buffalo sports fan for far too many years.

Just another reason to end this playoff drought, pronto.

So did Adams’ pretty good staff suddenly have an epiphany and tell him to add more experience and grit? Or was KA told this previously by his staff but chose to ignore the advice? (Or wanted to but was incapable of making the necessary changes?).