Jorcus
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Posts posted by Jorcus
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On 5/21/2025 at 3:49 PM, PerreaultForever said:
Mostly I think that's cause they give almost every top player a NMC. Once you pay your top guys you have to ride with them unless they agree to move. Leafs supposedly had a deal to move Marner to Carolina but he said no as an example.
It does show you how hard it is to move up though. Once buried in the basement you need to make a lot of correct moves and you most definitely need good goaltending. Ottawa for example does not get in without that hot run Ullmark had.
There's exceptions though so nothing is certain. Washington has defied the rebuild scenario with a quick turnaround and Dallas seems to be able to draft well despite finishing high. Tampa stayed relevant although that might still be ending. The biggest surprise is probably that Edmonton stayed top 4. Crap goaltending and reduced depth but here we are again and Corey Perry gets one more crack at it.
I agree that the NHL is not a parity league and NMC clauses have something to do with it. I would also add that because players are drafted at age 18 there is a much greater risk that the pick you make in the front of the draft will not turn out to be a very good player. You also have to wait 3 to 5 years to find out what they are. Another issue is that high end players can last a long time in the NHL. Most very good players can remain effective in their 30's. It takes awhile for father time to catch up to these teams for the next group to cycle though and take over.
I wanted to discuss Washington. Things went well in the regular season for them but once again they flamed out in the playoffs. They seem to exist in this place of high mediocrity. It was mentioned on the radio the other day that only once since Ovi has been on the team that they have made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs. Of course they Won the cup 2018 but that was the only time they made it to the conference finals. Had they not gotten over that hump in 2018 what would have happened to Ovi? I would guess a free agency walk to another contender. It's interesting to look back at that when Toronto parts ways with Marner.
Washington had a lot of things go well this year. The had one of the best second lines in hockey with the McMichael and Protas who came through for them in the draft. Dylan Strom finally is living up to his high draft pick status after the Blackhawks let him go for nothing and Chychrun is healthy enough to show what he can do. I just wonder if Washington goes back to being a Pumpkin. Ovi can still shoot but he is getting very slow. Will the goaltending hold up like it did last year. A lot of players had a career years but I think they would have to regress. On the plus side they have been good at managing the cap space so they won't lose anyone. I think they are too good regress out of the playoffs but I would not be surprised to see them fall back in the standings.
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1 hour ago, Taro T said:
As long as it's after July 1, the Sabres (or any team) could have a contract worked out for a guy with 1 year remaining on his deal prior to, or post, making a trade for the player. (The only exception is for players that have inked a 1 year deal. (You have to wait until January 1 to work out a new follow-on deal for them.) But why a guy who's contract has/will run out on July 1 would be signing a 1 year deal right around the new league year doesn't make a whole lot of sense on 1st glance.)
Typically a 1 year deal at that point would be the result of an arbitration hearing or a contract to avoid arbitration.
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Funeral lunch will be held at the Hungry Heifer.
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Any thoughts on Matt Dumba? He finished the year hurt certainly obtainable. Other cheaper older guy might be Jan Rutta 34 year old UFA.
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1 hour ago, rickshaw said:
I really like Knies. Thoughts on offer sheet for him?
Toronto is going to match any offer so it would be a waste of time for an offer sheet even if we could do it. Tavares is going to go unless he wants to come back for 2 million or something. Marner may walk. They won't let go of Knies.
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Well at least we found out that Justin Bieber is in fact still alive, and Drake gambled away another million bucks.
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12 minutes ago, ... said:
Did something happen to a ref? I missed the first 30 seconds of the 2nd.
He got hit with a high stick and was bleeding badly.
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1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:
There have been four signed offer sheets in the last 12 years. The Sabres have never successfully offer-sheeted a player (have they ever tried?). Last year's two signed sheets were quite narrow in their set of circumstances. For the Sabres to successfully offer-sheet a coveted player this off-season, would require them to move out equivalent value contract(s) for picks/prospects/nothing. Adams has shown no aptitude for the kind of roster maneuvering that would be required to do this. I don't think you need to worry about our 2026 1st being used in an offer-sheet this summer.
You really need three things when you are planning to do an offer sheet. Draft Picks, money and the ability to make an offer the other team can not match. When you make an offer sheet you are most likely burning a bridge to any trades with that team in the near future. If you do it you better make it a good one. In general trades are a better way to go.
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It's interesting how the Leafs have changed this year. They have gone from trying to be the Oilers to trying to be the Panthers. They are D first and trying to play close games then waiting for you to give them a power play or a breakaway. The trouble is they are not as experienced in that style as Florida is. They also probably need some different players to do it a little better. They still have a chance to get by Florida. It might be one of those 1 bounce games.
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3 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:
I thought Johnson has been very good, especially last night. The thing Laval was doing, two things actually, they were all over the Amerks giving them little room to operate, and two once they established control in the Amerks end, it was hard for Rochester to get it back. So players would get trapped in the ice, wear out and eventually give up a goal to Laval.
But by the late send I period Rochester started to figure things out, or Laval got tired playing such a high intensity pace. Amerks had more scoring chances and finally started calling those in late.
I know before the playoffs Leone stated that he was going to roll 4 lines. I would assume in an effort to wear Laval down. It would also seem that Kulich would be affected by playing less 5 on 5 time. I can't find time on ice numbers so just a guess about Kulich. Nice to see Rosen have a really good game when it matters.
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2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:
The Amerks finished with 4th best record despite having one of the youngest rosters in the AHL. Teams like Hershey and Laval are more veteran heavy.
I am not certain about Hershey this year but I just ran the numbers from AHL Tracker about the skaters that were on the ice last game. Average age of the Amerks was 24.4. The average age for Laval was 24.7. Laval had 11 skaters under the age of 24. We only had 9. The Amerks have no excuses. This is one of the best lineups they have put on the ice and they went into the series healthy.
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13 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
Thing about the Avs (and maybe this keeps them from getting over the top again) is they are clearly a forward projecting team with the idea of staying competitive long term. Hence they move people out that they think will give them cap issues down the road. I'd guess they already knew Byram would exceed their payroll and since they already have Makar they chose a different direction. Mitts was a gamble (like Ottawa with Cozens) on the idea that players will be better when they escape Buffalo. He didn't fit and they swapped him out for what they saw as a better playoff 3rd line fit in Coyle. Coyle disappointed too so I guess that's failure. Adams? He just doesn't seem to have a clue one way or the other.
I don't agree with this. In my view everything the Avs have done for the last 2 years is to try to win now at the expense of the future except in the case of Miko where their hands were tied. Last year they were desperate need for a 2 C so they traded a good asset for Mitt's. At that time and place neither team knew for certain what the next contract talks for either player would be. Mitts played pretty well and got the 3x 5.75. It could have been more if he had a great playoff run. We still don't know what Byram is going to get paid or by who. Assuming he gets no giant offer sheet a bridge contract is possible at something only a bit higher than what Mitts got. No matter what, I don't see how the Avs knew what that would be a year ago.
In the meantime the Avs have dealt about every asset they have to try and win now. They only have a 4th and 7th pick this year. They do not have a 1,2 or3 next year. With Landeskog coming back they are over the cap with 6 UFA contracts. I don't blame them for what they tried to do. When you have 2 great players in their prime you have to go all out to support them. 2 years in a row they lost to the Stars in game 7's that could have gone either way. If they got past them either year maybe they could have another cup. It's a different team in a different place than the Sabres. It's hard to turn over that many players during the season and play as a unit. They are going to have a tough off season, but what ever they do it will be for the now in expense of the future because of the high end players they have in their prime.
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37 minutes ago, dudacek said:
He sure plays a safer game than Clifton. And he’s just as mean and far bigger.
Issue is his feet: are they fast enough to keep up with the Mitch Marner’s of the world and is he smart enough to compensate.
At the AHL level he is exactly the type the Sabres seem to lack at the NHL level.
I mean how fast does he have to be? He should not play more than 2 feet over the blue line. I know this is not fair because when you have experience it can make up for lesser skating ability but some how the 40 year old Brent Burns gets up and down the ice. I know this much he can clear the crease and pin a guy behind the net.
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If you took a poll of Eastern Conference coaches and asked which team had the best defense this year, If it wasn't Washington or Florida it would be Carolina. Where are they according to the WAR charts? Not in the top half in D or goaltending. Without considering how the forwards play defense I think it's just a exercise in frustration. All the parts fit together and if one part is weak then the whole thing is probably weak. It can be an individual player or pairing. It can be a forward who thinks getting back in the zone is for other people. It can be a goal tender who goes from shutout to giving up 5 the next time out. I know all the analytics try to parse this out but it seems incredibly difficult when it comes to hockey. I know this much I never want to see Bryson with Clifton ever again.
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One of the forgotten players in all this is Tyson Kozak. When he came up to the Sabres I thought it was pretty much a move of convenience. He was waivers exempt and had a few years of AHL time under his belt. Nothing stunning on the score sheet but responsible and not a big drop off from the other 4th liners we have right now. I took a look at his NHL edge stats and was surprised to see how good they were. He is fast and has a hard shot. Not the usual numbers you see from a 7th round pick. He has had his share of injury problems but it's not impossible that he rounds into a good NHL forward.
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15 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
Zach Benson is already better than Kulich. I think this board is way too low on Helenius. Kulich and Helenius though could be put next to each other.
Kulich may be able to do things that Benson can do. Benson will never be able to do things that Kulich can do.
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4 hours ago, JohnC said:
I'm sure it is a minority view but I would rather keep Samuelsson and trade Byram. The hope with dealing Byram is that we can get a good player in return who has some grit to him. I thought that for the last dozen games or so Samuelsson game was solid. No doubt it was because he was paired with Dahlin. It didn't hurt Dahlin's game and it stabilized his play.
Another factor, if Byram gets the contract he is likely to seek, it would be significantly more costly. As the link below indicates Samuelsson's contract runs to 29-30 at $4,285,714 per year. Bryram's expected market price would be more and longer.
I don't know if I would rather keep Samuelsson but but an argument for him is that he has only played 212 NHL games and should be coming into the best part of his development curve. The injuries have set him back and his start to this year was truly awful. He seemed to improve in fits and starts as the season went on. We were thinking he was guy to be supporting Power when in fact he has played less NHL games than Power. Not a good formula there. There is a decent chance that Sammy rounds into a much better player. I think he was one of the guys they were sending a message to about reporting to camp in shape. Playing his off wing did not help things. He would not be the first large defense man to overcome early injury trouble if it happens. Then again he may just be what he is now.
Both Byram 246 NHL games and Power 242 NHL games are right in the sweet spot of the development curve. You have to be a bit careful about letting guys go at this juncture but reality probably dictates one of them is going if not two. Another thing to think about, did any one in this group ever write we need to find a right handed D man to play with Byram?
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Just now, French Collection said:
We’re ski and McAvoy would be ahead of him for PP1 on two of those teams. Montour and Dunn could be bumped in Seattle.
The funny thing about the power play situation is I never saw a reason why he could not have played with Dahlin on power play 1 here. He is a better passer than most of the forwards we have.
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8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
There's your list.
I would add Kracken, Jackets and Bruins to that list. Push come to shove we don't want the picks we want a player so a trade better be in the works.
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4 minutes ago, SJSabres Fan said:
So was Rochester the higher seed? If so, I think I would have picked 2 on the road and then 3 at home. I have to believe I could get a split at Laval and then only need 2 out of 3 at home, no?
Not the higher seed. Laval had the choice of 2,2,1 or 2,3. If 2,2,1 they would start at home. Sometimes it's about conflicts with the arena.
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4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
Pretty sure he did, and it's not like he's a great player now. He's still a one dimensional offensive guy with limitations but we constantly see good teams able to find roles for these Sabre cast offs and it speaks to the inability of this organization to properly construct rosters. I mean Quinn, this year, was most definitely not an upgrade on VO. He might be later, but not so far.
VO is pretty much in the same roll he was here in the pre Granato days. He was one of the few who floundered under Don. I do think he started to play better defense under Don. No matter what though he was not going to sign back here for 1 million after making 4.7. He got a real nice contract here because we had to get to the cap floor. For whatever reason he never seemed like he was very reliable. even in Vegas he seems to go in and out of the lineup for unknown reasons.
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5 hours ago, Indabuff said:
And Olofsson with two. Did he ever score two in one game while on Buffalo?
If I remember correctly he scored 2 empty net goals in the same game.
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My thoughts on Byram.
As far as the moving goes he was a player with 1 year left on a contract who now is waiting to find out where he will play next season. I doubt he owned wherever he was staying so if the lease is up you pack up and wait to find out where to go next. It still could be here but cost wise someone else has to go to keep him so he is probably the easiest player to deal.
As far as his play. I think he is developing into a great mobile defenseman. He is fast, he is a very good passer and he has a high level of compete in his game. He may not have as accurate a shot as Power but he does disguise his shot at times. Having played 246 NHL games he is coming into the peak of his development curve as a player. I am sure he wants the chance as the primary D man on a power play unit which he will not get here and will not even be the primary player on the second unit with Power around. No skater on this team had more ice time overall than Byram. I think overall the organization really likes him as does many other teams in the NHL.
As far as the trade to bring him here, I do think they wanted to move on from Mitts and much like a draft pick they took the best player available. At the end of the day if we have to move on from Byram I think we are going to do pretty well with the demand that is out there for him. I don't see how we keep Power and Byram because of the cost so it will come down to the deal we can get for one or the other. I would rather keep Byram but my guess is he will be traded.
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What is JJ Peterka worth and what are you signing for?
in The Aud Club
Posted
Also every line needs a leader who tells the other two what to do on faceoffs or on the bench. Who would be the leader of that line? JJ is not the type, Kulich is too young and no one should be listening to Quinn.