pi2000

I expect somebody will break out in Rochester and get some extended looks in Buffalo this season. Impossible for us to predict who that might be, but the "older" guys like Rosen and Kozak are running out of time.

Agreed. Johnson needs the heavy minutes in Rochester at this stage of his development.

prepare the banner

reminds me a lot of Parayko

Chara

ironic to see Mrtka wearing #25 on stage

I've arm wrestled him and lost tho

Love the pick! Kid is a stud has grown man strength already. Probably needs only one more year of junior... or maybe starts the season in Rochester since he's a Euro like Helenius last season.

they've added over 13 feet of defensemen this week

On the Sabres he fits squarely on the 3rd line maybe 2nd line if he takes another step? Seems to play a similar game to Tyson Kozak... but with better hands and shot. Has the ability to score from the outside, accurate shooter with a quick release and velocity. Saw some time on the powerplay last season.

Everyone ripping Peterka for not being defensively sound just blows my mind. He's a 23 year old goal scoring winger. You pay him to score goals and create scoring chances, his ability to defend will improve as he matures but that's not his role. You now have 27..likely future 30-40 less goal production in your lineup moving forward. You have to replace that hole or you've made your team appreciably worse.

This is rock bottom for me. Just an absolute gut punch. They hit on JJ in the draft, spent years developing him, then he's gone. Who the ***** cares if he wants to be here, he's an RFA and was supposed to be a core guy moving forward. This smells like a salary dump. This franchise took a step backwards today, sad times for fans.

Harrington had some good questions, which he didn't really answer.

Power is still young for a defenseman. Ekblad, also a #1 pick, put up just 21 points and was a -23 in his third full season.

Trading Peterka is dumb. You hit on him in the draft, spent years and significant resources developing him into a nice top 6 player... and then you want to ship him off because he's not physical\defensive enough? In the meantime you're drafting the same type of skill players over and over and over again in the early rounds, developing them... for what? To replace the guys like Peterka that you traded? This cycle needs to stop. This is where a POHO could help. Hopefully Jarmo picks up on this and stops the madness. Who cares if Peterka wants to be here.... he's an RFA and YOU the GM want him to be here, that's all that matters.

If I'm GM I tell JJ he's not being moved, end of story. You don't like it? Too bad.

I, for one, believe Appert is a good coach. He'll be successful as a head coach in the NHL if put in the right situation as a rookie HC. He's energetic and has charisma. Players like him. He was successful in Rochester and helped develop guys like Krebs, Peterka, Kulich and Quinn. That said, I don't believe Buffalo is a good fit for him to take over HC duties. Buffalo needs a veteran HC with a recent track record of success in the NHL, someone the young players can trust and lean on... not somebody learning the ropes.

If you keep the pick at 9 you unquestionably take BPA. Sure, "size and grit" are part of the BPA equation, but passing on a much more productive player just because you have similar stature players in your pipeline is a mistake. Past the 1st round perhaps you tune your BPA algo such that size/grit are a bit more valuable, but don't over do it.

next piece of good news? They sign JJ and he "wants to be here".

I like the idea of it. "Senior Advisor" tho? Why not just name him POHO? They make it sound like he'll just be a sounding board for KA. In reality they need somebody who's much more than that. This has all the makings of an internal power struggle between KA and JK, with Terry ultimately deciding who sticks around... this could get ugly very quickly as JK seems like a no-nonsense type of guy.

This is a giant nothing burger.

..if it means KA has a reduced role, then yes, bring him onboard. I don't see this happening tho, a guy like Shanahan won't fit under Terry's thumb.

FA's: de Haan, Fabbro Trade: Weegar, Severson, Kovacevic, Pesce, Demelo