2018 - 2019 Lineup

[nfreeman]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I could see Thompson and Okposo switch. I didn't put Skinner with Eichel because I understand Skinner like having the puck and that style isn't great with Jack. Since Casey creates regardless of who has the puck, I thought it would give him a great vet trigger man and Reinhart helps stabilize the line defensively. 

 

Whoa there.

 

2 hours ago, Hoss said:

This is nearly the lineup I would come up with bit I’d switch Berglund/Sobotka and replace Zemgus with Wilson. I think there’s a decent chance 2/3 of Zemgus, Bailey, Baptiste and Pominville are waived or traded. I don’t imagine there will be much interest in Pominville, though. And I’m okay with him being in the bottom of the lineup.

I can see Zemgus, Pommer and Larsson all being waived and would expect each to clear waivers.  I think Bailey and Baptiste would both likely get picked up by someone if waived -- so probably less likely to happen (but certainly still possible).

 

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Potentially 8 new players in the top 12 compared to last years opening night. 

And, if TT does start with Jack, and Berglund and Sobotka are on the 3rd line, that would make it 6 new forwards out of the top 9 (along with Casey, Sheary and Skinner).

 

26 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

Personally I think he'll make more room,  Baptiste, Bailey, Bogo, McCabe, Okposo, Beaulieu take your pick.    4/6  are gone by the time the season starts.

No way Nelson isn't in our TOP 6 on defense.

Botts is getting ride of the GMTM core, so I think he'll try to trade Bogo/Okposo for sure.   Maybe add in Bailey/Baptiste or McCabe.

No one is going to take either of those 2 unless the Sabres include major sweeteners (much sweeter than Bailey, Baptiste and McCabe) and/or take back bad contracts.

[dudacek]

4 hours ago, Weave said:

From Bill Hoppe's article regarding the Skinner trade:

Sounds like the talk of Sam at Center is likely done unless they are forced to move Casey to wing should he show that he's not ready for center.

In the next sentence during the conference call, Botterill again brought up the option of moving Sam to centre.

Speaking of Botterill:

More speed on the wings: check (Skinner, Sheary)

More depth and even strength scoring: check (Skinner, Sheary, Berglund, Sobotka, Thompson)

Puck-moving defenceman: check (Dahlin, Pilut, Hickey)

A new goalie: check (Hutton)

Culture change: check (Kane, O’Reilly, Lehner, Josefson, Nolan, Pouliot, Johnson, Falk, Gorges, Moulson, Antipin, Fasching, Griffith gone. And given the logjam on the depth chart, likely a few more before the season starts.

I also give him credit for developing Mittelstadt, Ullmark, Nelson, Baptiste and perhaps Guhle and Bailey for the big team.

You can say counting on a healthy McCabe and Bogosian to upgrade the defence doesn’t count, but he sure seems to have tried to address our shortcomings. The man certainly didn’t sit on his hands.

Now if he’d only do something about the desperate need for a great two-way centre.

Edited August 3, 2018 by dudacek

[CallawaySabres]

49 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I personally don't think Thompson will ever be a 1st line player but I get the impression they will give him the chance. 

My buddy in St. Louis thinks that Tage is probably a year or two away until we see his full potential. He needs to fill out and then could be a force. He is not someone the Blues wanted to let go but they are in win-now mode. The whole trade makes a lot of sense.

[Weave]

11 minutes ago, dudacek said:

In the next sentence during the conference call, Botterill again brought up the option of moving Sam to centre.

Speaking of Botterill:

More speed on the wings: check (Skinner, Sheary)

More depth and even strength scoring: check (Skinner, Sheary, Berglund, Sobotka, Thompson)

Puck-moving defenceman: check (Dahlin, Pilut, Hickey)

A new goalie: check (Hutton)

Culture change: check (Kane, O’Reilly, Lehner, Josefson, Nolan, Pouliot, Johnson, Falk, Gorges, Moulson, Antipin, Fasching, Griffith gone. And given the logjam on the depth chart, likely a few more before the season starts.

I also give him credit for developing Mittelstadt, Ullmark, Nelson, Baptiste and perhaps Guhle and Bailey for the big team.

You can say counting on a healthy McCabe and Bogosian to upgrade the defence doesn’t count, but he sure seems to have tried to address our shortcomings. The man certainly didn’t sit on his hands.

Now if he’d only do something about the desperate need for a great two-way centre.

My only concern regarding your culture change point is, other than Sheary and Hunwick (who may never see the ice), we haven't exactly picked the pockets of winning organizations to create that depth.  I criticized GMTM for it, so it is only fair to bring up the same with JBotts acquistions.

[dudacek]

The Blues aren’t champions, but they are used to winning.

[Randall Flagg]

19 minutes ago, dudacek said:

In the next sentence during the conference call, Botterill again brought up the option of moving Sam to centre.

Speaking of Botterill:

More speed on the wings: check (Skinner, Sheary)

More depth and even strength scoring: check (Skinner, Sheary, Berglund, Sobotka, Thompson)

Puck-moving defenceman: check (Dahlin, Pilut, Hickey)

A new goalie: check (Hutton)

Culture change: check (Kane, O’Reilly, Lehner, Josefson, Nolan, Pouliot, Johnson, Falk, Gorges, Moulson, Antipin, Fasching, Griffith gone. And given the logjam on the depth chart, likely a few more before the season starts.

I also give him credit for developing Mittelstadt, Ullmark, Nelson, Baptiste and perhaps Guhle and Bailey for the big team.

You can say counting on a healthy McCabe and Bogosian to upgrade the defence doesn’t count, but he sure seems to have tried to address our shortcomings. The man certainly didn’t sit on his hands.

Now if he’d only do something about the desperate need for a great two-way centre.

Now that the offseason dust is settling, even though I don't agree with some of Botterill's decisions, I can't fault him for the things I was getting ready to without another move a few weeks ago. 

He made huge changes to a last place team. He has a team that is firmly his own, and we can really start to judge him on his own team-building ability, which is the most fun and important part of a GM's tenure. 

The volume of moves has hit a point where, I still want him to upgrade Bogosian, but expecting like 5 trades for meaningful NHL pieces in one offseason becomes unreasonable for any GM. 

The team used a big part of a strength to address a big weakness, and used filler and its own forward prospect (trade for Jeff, Casey) to attempt to fill that hole. The moves all make sense grouped together even though this is very much a collection of pieces whose chemistry is unknown. 

A New Jersey season feels a lot more possible today than it did yesterday. 

Also, one positive of the removal of ROR is that there's not one player I would trust those same minutes with, and so we might get the defend-by-committee/volume and "funnel as many offensive-upside minutes to Casey Jack and Jeff that you can" usage that I've wanted forever.

[dudacek]

Interesting way of looking at how the depth chart has changed since last year

Eichel Eichel

O’Reilly Mittelstadt

Reinhart Reinhart

Kane Skinner

Okposo Okposo

Pominville Sheary 

Pouliot Berglund

Rodrigues Rodrigues

Girgensons Girgensons

Josefsson Sobotka

Larsson Larsson

Nolan Baptiste/Thompson

Griffith Wilson

Moulson Pominville

Ristolainen Ristolainen

Scandella Scandella

Beaulieu Dahlin

McCabe McCabe

Falk Bogosian

Antipin Nelson

Gorges Hunwick/Beaulieu

Lehner Hutton

Johnson Ullmark

Edited August 3, 2018 by dudacek

[Randall Flagg]

Damn, Nick Shore is still a UFA? No reason not to grab him for cheap if he'd like to come. Put more padding between the Griffiths of the world and our lineup. 

[Eleven]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

The Blues aren’t champions, but they are used to winning.

And yet the Sabres have a higher winning percentage.  Even including the last seven years of suffering.

[GASabresIUFAN]

55 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Interesting way of looking at how the depth chart has changed since last year

Eichel Eichel

O’Reilly Mittelstadt

Reinhart Reinhart

Kane Skinner

Okposo Okposo

Pominville Sheary 

Pouliot Berglund

Rodrigues Rodrigues

Girgensons Girgensons

Josefsson Sobotka

Larsson Larsson

Nolan Baptiste/Thompson

Griffith Wilson

Moulson Pominville

Ristolainen Ristolainen

Scandella Scandella

Beaulieu Dahlin

McCabe McCabe

Falk Bogosian

Antipin Nelson

Gorges Hunwick/Beaulieu

Lehner Hutton

Johnson Ullmark

I was just about to do this. 

[Weave]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

The Blues aren’t champions, but they are used to winning.

Hitchcock definitely had them playing to win, but other than 1 season, they haven't gotten as far as they were expected to.  The team has a SJ Sharks sort of noose around its neck regarding the playoffs.  Are they underacheivers, or was the roster flawed?  You could successfully argue both ways.

[Weave]

There is quite a logjam in Rochester as well.  17 forwards if you include guys like Smith and Bailey.  I think some bodies are gonna be released/bought out.

[Tondas]

I like what Botterill has accomplished thus far and am looking forward to October.  I do fear that the team lacks physicality.  I know the league is more about speed, but who will have the players backs when push comes to shove (Risto?, Bogo?).  At least last year there was Kane, Nolan, Gorges.  Will the newly constructed Sabres be able to stand up to the bigger western conference teams?

[Thorny]

28 minutes ago, Tondas said:

I like what Botterill has accomplished thus far and am looking forward to October.  I do fear that the team lacks physicality.  I know the league is more about speed, but who will have the players backs when push comes to shove (Risto?, Bogo?).  At least last year there was Kane, Nolan, Gorges.  Will the newly constructed Sabres be able to stand up to the bigger western conference teams?

Dahlin is going to be manhandling the top forwards of the West soon enough.

[Doohickie]

45 minutes ago, Tondas said:

I like what Botterill has accomplished thus far and am looking forward to October.  I do fear that the team lacks physicality.  I know the league is more about speed, but who will have the players backs when push comes to shove (Risto?, Bogo?).  At least last year there was Kane, Nolan, Gorges.  Will the newly constructed Sabres be able to stand up to the bigger western conference teams?

I hear John Scott is available.

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

And yet the Sabres have a higher winning percentage.  Even including the last seven years of suffering.

I was talking Berglund, Sobotka and Hutton being used to winning more hockey games than they lose.

[shrader]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

There is quite a logjam in Rochester as well.  17 forwards if you include guys like Smith and Bailey.  I think some bodies are gonna be released/bought out.

I wonder if they could still work out another deal similar to the Skinner one.  The ammo is there, especially after seeing this price.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

8 minutes ago, shrader said:

I wonder if they could still work out another deal similar to the Skinner one.  The ammo is there, especially after seeing this price.

I was hoping maybe OTT wouldn't sign Stone.

[Hoss]

5 hours ago, Tondas said:

I like what Botterill has accomplished thus far and am looking forward to October.  I do fear that the team lacks physicality.  I know the league is more about speed, but who will have the players backs when push comes to shove (Risto?, Bogo?).  At least last year there was Kane, Nolan, Gorges.  Will the newly constructed Sabres be able to stand up to the bigger western conference teams?

Berglund, Bogo, Beaulieu if he's around, Zemgus if he's around, McCabe/Scandella aren't slouches. We're covered. Don't need a plug who can punch your face in but can't punch the puck in.

3 hours ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

I was hoping maybe OTT wouldn't sign Stone.

They had to. It was going to arbitration.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

5 minutes ago, Hoss said:

 

They had to. It was going to arbitration.

If it went that far they could have declined the award....I didn't think it would but, you can hope.

[pi2000]

I don't think Botterill is done.

He needs to launch Larsson and Girgensons yesterday.   

They also need a veteran defenseman.

And I'd also look at what other goaltenders are available.

[Hoss]

46 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

I don't think Botterill is done.

He needs to launch Larsson and Girgensons yesterday.   

They also need a veteran defenseman.

And I'd also look at what other goaltenders are available.

They don’t NEED a veteran dman or a goalie. It’d have to be a significant upgrade in either regard to make any sense.

[Hoss]

This dude needs to learn to shut up and play. He’s a good bottom sixer and nothing more. And he’s hardly that these days.

[sweetlou]

Sheary- Eichel- Reinhart

Skinner- Mitts- Okposo

Sobotka- Berglund- Thompson

Wilson- Rodrigues- Baptiste/Pommer

 

Need to move Larsson and Girgensons.

[Eleven]

49 minutes ago, Hoss said:

This dude needs to learn to shut up and play. He’s a good bottom sixer and nothing more. And he’s hardly that these days.

I need context (can't watch the vid right now) and there might be a language barrier too.  I can't tell whether he's saying he will refuse to play on the fourth line or whether he doesn't think of himself as a fourth-liner and therefore believes he won't be on that line.

I'm just fine with the latter.