Flashsabre

The Sabres drafting has jumped by leaps and bounds the past 3 or 4 years. Finding talent down the draft board has been their biggest improvement. Finding Novikov in the 6th and Kozak in the 7th of the same draft is huge. We will see how the Russians develop but Poltapov looks like a bull, Kisakov and Neuchev looked like high end skill wingers and Novikov has a great package of size, skating and enough skill to be a player. Komarov has been impressive the past wo year’s in Quebec. Richard needs to improve his feet but there is a pro player there. Same as Nadeau. Lindgren putting on 11 pounds and not losing his elite skating is impressive. Lindgren, Komarov, Novikov, Strabek, McCarthy, Metsa gives them a pipeline on the backend. Panoacha looks interesting for a 7th pick as well. Ratzliff was a good pick. Kid was a winner for Team Canada and was a good tandem goalie with Milic in Seattle.

That was the sequence of the tournament and summed up Benson’s game perfectly in one single clip.

People sleeping on Wahlberg today. Big boy with skating and skills My God Benson is special. The player he reminds me most of: Prime Leafs Doug Gilmour. Just an absolute hound all over the ice. High end brain and skill but the dogged and endless work ethic sets him above other highly skilled players. Impacts the play all over the ice and you want him in the ice in every situation. My biggest takeaway is the amount of skill in the organization. There was a lot of talent on the ice there and that is without Levi, Matthew Savoie, Kulich, Rosen, Östlund, Poltapov, Leinonen, Kozak, Komarov, Cederqvist. That’s 10 high end guys not at the camp. Nicest surprises today were Marajala and Bengtsson. The 3 Russians look like once they adapt they can be guys that can really grow in Rochester.

Something has to give. Levi, UPL, Comrie. If no moves are made Levi is up, UPL has to clear waivers and will be claimed so he can’t go down. They would try to sneak Comrie down. Problem is they signed to very strong AHL goalies in Tokarski and Cooley. Neither one would be sent down to the ECHL to make room for Comrie. Combine this with the amount of dman they have at both Buffalo and Rochester with the Clague signing that a move has to be coming. A package including some of UPL, Joker, VO, Bryson for a better goalie is my guess.

Why is Morgan Reilly going on LTIR? And regardless, a team has to be cap compliant to start the season BEFORE anyone can go on LTIR

I wonder if the Leafs walk away from Samsonov. Big year, $8 million over the cap already.

The Leafs are $8 million over the cap and Samsonov just filed for arbitration. He signed a 1 year $1.8 show me deal and he showed them. He had a 2.33 gaa and a .919 sv%. What do they do if he is awarded $4-5 million? Go $12 million over the cap?

You have no idea

Just want to say how much I appreciate this place. Go to the hockeybuzz Sabres discussion thread for 5 minutes and you want to blow your brains out. Just a cancerous troll fest of negativity at all times.

I’ve mentioned before that Neuchev is my most intriguing prospect. The package is there to be a star if he can put it all together.

He doesn’t have a say as he has no trade protection

Don’t waist your time. If Benson starts on the 3rd line when he gets to Buffalo then he will always be a 3rd liner. There is no possible way he can move up to the top 6 because he played on the 3rd line.🤪

Ryan Johnson is a wildcard for me. 22 years old, 4 years on one of the best teams in college. I don’t know how much AHL time he needs. He might be ready to step in by mid season if not the start of the year. Muel Dahlin Power Clifton Johnson&Johnson Stillman Boosh Joker is packaged in a deal for a goalie upgrade. Bryson can go

IF he signed a short extension then 1st, Joker, UPL, VO . They don’t want to rebuild they want pieces for their lineup. If they don’t want VO then Rosen or Östlund but only with a short extension in place.

Kane was an offensive juggernaut. Defence was for other members of his team. Benson doesn’t have the offensive chops Kane had but is very good offensively. He excels defensively as well.

Hellebuyck

Hellebuyck or bust! Just go get him. Insulate Levi and the entire team. This team develops much better with a Hellebuyck/Levi tandem every night. I don’t even know what the market is for him right now, no one has cap. Workout a fair deal.

I’d say Savoie is Briere. Benson is like Marchand without the douchiness.

I agree with others that Benson is a better all around prospect then Savoie but that doesn’t diminish Savoie but rather is a glowing endorsement of Benson. Savoie is an electric offensive player. Elite skating and offensive skills, great competitor, good at the dot. Benson isn’t as electric but he is just as efficient offensively. Where Benson gets the edge for me is the defensive side of the game. He is a tremendous defensive player and impacts the game at both ends of the ice more so than Savoie. Bottom line is I’m thrilled they have both of them.

Clifton is Power’s partner and will do well in the job. Johnson on the 3rd pair is an upgrade. I think Joker goes in a package for a goalie.

No it wasn’t agility it was straight line speed. His skating isn’t electric like Savoie’s but I don’t see a problem with his speed. He is a tremendous skater overall with a motor that never stops.

Seravalli quoted Gibson saying "I will not play another game for Anaheim" Gibson and Hellebuyck out there with not much of a market

From good ol’ Eklund: ”Sabres VERY Much in Hellebuyck Hearing they are the closest treat to getting a deal…bu a mile. ” I cut and pasted that directly. Those are his exact words😂

Neuchev is the prospect I’m most intrigued by. There is homerun potential there if he can unlock it. Really interested to see what Appert can do with him.

Yes