Expectations for Guhle for next season and beyond?

[Doohickie]

Yeah right, Eichel's got that locked up.

 

With his +/-?  Ha!

[Huckleberry]

^ this.

 

Also, I saw Antipin metnioned above, I won't pencil him in on this roster until the ink is dry. Who knows what the new GM is thinking with this team.

 

I know what he'll be thinking, Risto and McCabe are my only two NHL ready D, holy crap I need Guhle and Antipin.

[Sabre fan]

I know what he'll be thinking, Risto and McCabe are my only two NHL ready D, holy crap I need Guhle and Antipin.

I have a feeling that new GMJB will think higher of Bogo then we are assuming...not too sure about anybody else though (Gorges looks tired and Franson is gone-gone-gone)

[Drunkard]

I expect Guhle to ride into the Key Bank Arena Center Place on a dragon. Not a fake CGI game of thrones dragon but a real mother ###### dragon that breathes lightning and craps death. He'll land at center ice and unsling Mjölnir in hockey stick form from his back satchel. Rip Simonick will offer him a crappy number and Guhle's dragon (name: cuddles) will eat him and Ted Black who handed Rip a turd burger jersey #84. Guhle will then unveil a royal blue jersey with the B and Sabre shoulder patch, original center logo, and no grey pit stains. His number will be the infinity symbol because ###### you that's why. As he dismisses his dragon (name: cuddles) he will then faceoff against the Stanley Cup champions alone. Using his superior skating and hockey skills he will lay waste to them within the first 10 seconds, using Mjölnir to score 5 goals and accidentally taking down the skyway at the same time. With a roar of triumph, lightning with issue from his stick as he raises it to the rafters and the other team will then hand him the Stanley cup. Guhle will then drink the blood of his fallen enemies from the Cup while the rest of the league's season is canceled and Gary Bettman cedes control of the NHL to Guhle whose number is retired league wide. Guhle will then attend a press conference with the Buffalo media and his dragon (name: cuddles) will eat the first member of the media who asks a dumbass douchie question. That is what I expect to happen in the first hour Guhle is in Buffalo. 

 

Sweet. So now he's destined to be as awesome as Zemgus the Destroyer or whatever you tagged him as before his game fell off a cliff.

[LGR4GM]

Sweet. So now he's destined to be as awesome as Zemgus the Destroyer or whatever you tagged him as before his game fell off a cliff.

Before Bylsma the Boring

[Drunkard]

Before Bylsma the Boring

That would be nice. I'd love to see him and some of the other guys who struggled under DB rebound.

[pi2000]

That would be nice. I'd love to see him and some of the other guys who struggled under DB rebound.

 

hahaha, if you think guys like Girgensons and Bogo are due for breakout seasons just because DB is gone, you're in for a rude awakening.

[dudacek]

Breakout? I just want Bogo to look like the OK NHL defenceman he was from 2012-2016 instead of the Meszaros-level disaster he was last year. Is that really too much to ask?

[qwksndmonster]

Consider there are infinite universes (because OBVI there are).  In several of them, Pi is actually Dan Bylsma.

 

Might this be our reality?

[Drunkard]

hahaha, if you think guys like Girgensons and Bogo are due for breakout seasons just because DB is gone, you're in for a rude awakening.

 

Do you have reading comprehension issues? I said I'd love to see them bounce back, not that I expect it to happen. That being said, I'd still protect Girgensons and Bogosian from the expansion draft at this point. I'd protect Girgensons because he's cheap and I'd rather expose guys like Ennis and your hero Moulson and I'd protect Bogosian because we don't have anyone better except Ristolainen and McCabe who I'd also protect.

For the record I expect guys like Ennis, Moulson, and Gorges to continue to be the salary cap anchors that they have been. Girgensons may not rebound, but he's still young and cost controlled so he's not really a concern. If he gets pushed out of the lineup by guys like Nylander, Baptiste, and Bailey you can always expose him to waivers and send him to Rochester if nobody claims him.

Sending him down would have minimal salary cap implications because he shouldn't earn much more than a player on an ELC.

[pi2000]

Do you have reading comprehension issues? I said I'd love to see them bounce back, not that I expect it to happen. That being said, I'd still protect Girgensons and Bogosian from the expansion draft at this point. I'd protect Girgensons because he's cheap and I'd rather expose guys like Ennis and your hero Moulson and I'd protect Bogosian because we don't have anyone better except Ristolainen and McCabe who I'd also protect.

For the record I expect guys like Ennis, Moulson, and Gorges to continue to be the salary cap anchors that they have been. Girgensons may not rebound, but he's still young and cost controlled so he's not really a concern. If he gets pushed out of the lineup by guys like Nylander, Baptiste, and Bailey you can always expose him to waivers and send him to Rochester if nobody claims him.

Sending him down would have minimal salary cap implications because he shouldn't earn much more than a player on an ELC.

 

I would protect Girgensons just because BUF has to protect 7 forwards.  

 

If you protect Bogo, that means you expose Falk and Austin.     They provide valuable depth at < $1mil.   

 

I'd protect Ennis, he showed flashes of his old self the last few weeks of the season, was one of their better forwards down the stretch.    If you expose him I believe he's a goner, which means you're stuck with Moulson and Bogo's contracts.    

 

The idea is to force LV to take one of Moulson/Bogo,  which should be do-able if you don't expose anybody else enticing enough and throw in a pick or two as incentive.  

 

Then you find a team which is planning to tank this coming season (CAR, COL, VAN) and try to offload that contract on them... like DET did with Datsyuk's contract.    I think Bogo, because of his age, would be an easier contract to trade than Moulson, but I still wouldn't protect him.    There are UFA's you could sign for half the price who would be an upgrade.   

[Randall Flagg]

I would protect Girgensons just because BUF has to protect 7 forwards.  

 

If you protect Bogo, that means you expose Falk and Austin.     They provide valuable depth at < $1mil.   

 

I'd protect Ennis, he showed flashes of his old self the last few weeks of the season, was one of their better forwards down the stretch.    If you expose him I believe he's a goner, which means you're stuck with Moulson and Bogo's contracts.    

 

The idea is to force LV to take one of Moulson/Bogo,  which should be do-able if you don't expose anybody else enticing enough and throw in a pick or two as incentive.  

 

Then you find a team which is planning to tank this coming season (CAR, COL, VAN) and try to offload that contract on them... like DET did with Datsyuk's contract.    I think Bogo, because of his age, would be an easier contract to trade than Moulson, but I still wouldn't protect him.    There are UFA's you could sign for half the price who would be an upgrade.   

LV is not taking Falk or Austin from us.

[Drunkard]

I would protect Girgensons just because BUF has to protect 7 forwards.  

 

If you protect Bogo, that means you expose Falk and Austin.     They provide valuable depth at < $1mil.   

 

I'd protect Ennis, he showed flashes of his old self the last few weeks of the season, was one of their better forwards down the stretch.    If you expose him I believe he's a goner, which means you're stuck with Moulson and Bogo's contracts.    

 

The idea is to force LV to take one of Moulson/Bogo,  which should be do-able if you don't expose anybody else enticing enough and throw in a pick or two as incentive.  

 

Then you find a team which is planning to tank this coming season (CAR, COL, VAN) and try to offload that contract on them... like DET did with Datsyuk's contract.    I think Bogo, because of his age, would be an easier contract to trade than Moulson, but I still wouldn't protect him.    There are UFA's you could sign for half the price who would be an upgrade.   

 

Bogosian's contract is no where near the anchor that the contracts of Moulson, Ennis, or Gorges are. It's only 3 more seasons and he's won't even turn 30 until it's over which is still considered prime years for defenseman. Bogosian was serviceable while in Atlanta and Winnipeg under however many coaches they had over that time period and he looked fine under Nolan when he first came to Buffalo. It was only under DB's jacked up hail mary/fast break style system that he fell apart. I'd much rather see Vegas take Ennis, since I don't think there's a chance they'd take Moulson.

Edited May 9, 2017 by Drunkard

[MattPie]

LV is not taking Falk or Austin from us.

 

If they're looking for D for some reason, then they'd be the logical choice unless LV wants Bogo. I get Pi's point though; protect Bogo and the next two most attractive vets are Moulson and Ennis. Leave them unprotected and protect some of the depth guys (Larsson, Girgs, etc.) and force LV to take them.

 

Lehner

Risto McCabe ???   I don't think Guhle needs protection, so if not Bogo I guess Austin/Falk/Fedun? Antipin (TBD)?

Okposo Kane ROR Carrier Foligno Larrson Girgensons

 

I think that's my list, although I'm a rube at this stuff. I don't think LV would deep enough to pluck Bailey or one of the other AHL Forwards rather than Moulson or Ennis, or Gorges. I'm probably forgetting someone.

[LGR4GM]

I expect him to start in Rochester.

[dudacek]

If he is not starting in Rochester it means Botterill has failed this summer.

Edited May 24, 2017 by dudacek

[Derrico]

If he is not starting in Rochester it means Botterill has failed this summer.

I think I agree with this. 

 

I know JBots has preached the farm system and letting guys develop.  However, Pittsburgh has made exceptions in the past  Kris Letang was a 3rd round pick and played a total of 11 games for Wilkes-Barre Scranton.

 

Kris was drafted in 2005 and then promptly played 2 full seasons in junior (same as Guhle) 

 

When his team was eliminated from the playoffs in the second year he also played 7 games for the Pens and 1 in the AHL (Guhle also played a couple games for the Sabres and in AHL in his second year)

 

Then Kris started and played 10 games in the AHL and was called up and played the rest of the season for the Pens.  He was never send down again thereafter.  I could see Guhle starting the season in Roch but also wouldn't be surprised if it's for a month or two and then he's up for good.  Kid looks like he's as smooth as they come.  I think he's going to be a good one.

[Huckleberry]

I don't think we should look any more where Guhle was drafted, he is becoming one of the steals of  his draft year.

 

I saw a redraft a year after and most had him in the top 20 already, and we are now a year later.   I don't think he would look out of place in our top 6.

But in the NHL he wouldn't get big minutes and we would have to use him on the bottom pair to start, in the AHL he immediately gets the big minutes.

Anyway, if he is in the AHL I don't see him lasting more than 20 games there, kid is just good.

[thewookie1]

I think he has a great camp, but Bots wants him to start in the AHL to many fans disappointment and by January he's a bit bigger and stronger and a Sabre. Similar to Guentzal's track

[GASabresIUFAN]

If he is not starting in Rochester it means Botterill has failed this summer.

I might not go this far, especially given Jbot's radio interview where he talked also about development practices in the NHL for kids who make the jump. Guhle may simply play so well in d camp and NHL camp and force his way onto the roster. I don't think that is what Jbot thinks is going to happen, but you have to be somewhat flexible.

 

That said, with Antipin, Bogo and a couple of veteran D depth, Guhle to the AHL to start makes the most sense to me.

 

I think rushing guys to the NHL, like Girgensons, Zadorov and Grigorenko all damaged their careers. We would have been better off letting them develop more slowly and signing some cheap vets for their roles.

[Huckleberry]

Most redrafts I read have guhle still between 20 - 28 spot which is excellent in a very deep draft.

 

Biggest jump is made by garland (coyotes pick at 123rd), then Guhle who was picked at 58th.

[pi2000]

If he is not starting in Rochester it means Botterill has failed this summer.

 

 

This is the modern NHL, look at guys like Montour, Chychrun, Hanifin, Ekblad, Provorov, Carlo, etc... this isn't 10 years ago where defensemen take years to develop.    Today's game places a premium on defensemen who can skate and Guhle is right there.     

[North Buffalo]

This is the modern NHL, look at guys like Montour, Chychrun, Hanifin, Ekblad, Provorov, Carlo, etc... this isn't 10 years ago where defensemen take years to develop.    Today's game places a premium on defensemen who can skate and Guhle is right there.

 

From a developmental standpoint it is interesting that you see a lot of guys on the back end being the best or near the best skaters on their teams. I watch a fair amount of high school and college hockey and I'm always amazed a how good relative to the rest of the team the top D pair usually can skate, even better than most of the centers.

[Thorny]

If he is not starting in Rochester it means Botterill has failed this summer.

+2

[dudacek]

It all depends on his play of course.

But the Sabres need better than a 20-year-old rookie in their top four and I would rather Guhle got 23 minutes a night in the AHL than 13 in Buffalo. Especially when it looks like they will already have a rookie pencilled in in Antipin, along with question marks in Bogo and Gorges.

 

I should also state that I hope Guhle has become a regular by seasons end