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Patient fan waiting until 2021-2022


sweetlou

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Realistically this current core group is to one dimensional.  There is talent, but not all-star talent, (except for Eichel).

After another top ten pick this year we should make strides closer to playoffs next year and if right moves are made then contenders in -21-22.

This 2020 off season is key because there is a lot of cap space and JBotts needs to fill them with the right guys without the hinderance of bad deals.

If I were GM...building for 21-22.

Who is already on team-

Eichel- Captain and leader on the ice...needs to continue to improve defensive zone coverage. Has all the talent in the world on rest of ice. 

Dahlin- needs to get stronger. As a defenseman he needs to figure out how to properly control the front of the net.

Risto- still believe he can be a solid top 4 defenseman who brings physical game. Has improved this year.

Joker- nice compliment to Risto on right side. 

Skinner-  needs a top notch center to be able to set him up. Like his tenacity and willingness to go to front of net.

Olofsson-  top notch shot with accuracy. Something Sabres haven't had in years.

Cozens- should be able to fill in as #3 center by this year.  Shows willingness to play rugged game and go to the net.  

Ullmark- probably better suited as a 1a 25-30 games a year goalie.

UPL- should get a call up by end of 20-21 and see if he splits time with Ullmark or takes over as # 1 once Hutton is gone

Bubble players-

Larsson- fills role as 4th line center, decent PK but needs to play hard every shift.

Girgs- fills role as 4th line LW, decent PK, can play physical but doesn't show it every shift.

Asplund- younger option to replace Girgs on 4th line or slot up to 3rd line LW

Lazar- fills role as 4th line RW, grinder who plays physical and can put the puck in net.

Thompson- would either be my #2 or #3 RW.  He was having a good year in AHL until call-up and injury.

Tradeable pieces-

Reinhart- I still feel he is the key in bringing in a true #2 center.

Mitts-  think he should be moved to LW to help him on defensive zone coverage.  Could be used a piece in trade as well.

McCabe and Miller- both play a physical style on defense and are willing to jump in on rush.  One will be moved though in the next year and a half.

$Montour- with the emergence and trade for Joker,  Montour may be moved if Sabres decide to keep Miller for right side...also still have Borgen going to be pushing for time in NHL by 21-22.

 

21-22 line up

Olofson- Eichel- ???(Toffoli)

Skinner- ???(JPP), Thompson 

Asplund, Cozens, ???(Gallagher)

Girgs, Larsson, Lazar

 

Dahlin, Joker

McCabe, Risto

Montour, Borgen

 

UPL

Ullmark

 

So who fills in the question marks?  

Trade Mitts and Miller to LA for Toffoli and 2nd rd pick.  Toffoli signed to a 5 year $5-5.5 AAV extension.

Trade Reinhart and ERod to Ottawa for JPP and 2nd rd. Sign JPP to 6 year $6.5 AAV extension.

Sign UFA Gallagher to 3 year $5 AAV contract in 21-22 off season

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by sweetlou
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27 minutes ago, sweetlou said:

So who fills in the question marks?  

Trade Mitts and Miller to LA for Toffoli and 2nd rd pick.  Toffoli signed to a 5 year $5-5.5 AAV extension.

Trade Reinhart and ERod to Ottawa for JPP and 2nd rd. Sign JPP to 6 year $6.5 AAV extension.

Sign UFA Gallagher to 3 year $5 AAV contract in 21-22 off season

 

 

 

 

 

Why would you trade Reinhart and Mitts for players  that you can sign for free on July 1st?

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For me, asking UPL to be the starter in the 21-22 season is way too early. I don’t think he’ll be ready. It’ll be more like:

Ullmark

UPL

IF development continues for both.

 

I also have a hard time seeing Cozens centering the 3rd line in his second year of 21-22 (assuming he makes the team next season). I think they will throw him on the wing and play spot duty at center from time to time on that season.

Other than that .... there are so many factors and changes that can and probably will happen that I’d rather just wait n see what develops

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The draft is not going to solve the problem soon enough. They are going to have to improve via free agency and trades; problem is that top free agents don't like to go to teams with entrenched losing cultures, and trading for good players requires having your own surplus of good players.

The only viable option may be to trade away some very high draft picks for good players on tanking teams. I don't know how else the current Sabres are going to bring in difference-makers. 

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12 minutes ago, Skibum said:

The draft is not going to solve the problem soon enough. They are going to have to improve via free agency and trades; problem is that top free agents don't like to go to teams with entrenched losing cultures, and trading for good players requires having your own surplus of good players.

The only viable option may be to trade away some very high draft picks for good players on tanking teams. I don't know how else the current Sabres are going to bring in difference-makers. 

Not to mention FA is usually a pretty bad idea.

Edited by WildCard
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25 minutes ago, Ruff Around The Edges said:

Here is the other part of the equation I am sure has been discussed but I truly wonder if this can happen sooner then later:

Is there a point in time when Jack Eichel just says screw this I want out of here and demands a trade?

At this point, can anyone blame him?

I've lamented on it. It's a serious thought in this fans mind at least, given the 0 forward traction on progress with the roster.

12 minutes ago, Skibum said:

The draft is not going to solve the problem soon enough. They are going to have to improve via free agency and trades; problem is that top free agents don't like to go to teams with entrenched losing cultures, and trading for good players requires having your own surplus of good players.

The only viable option may be to trade away some very high draft picks for good players on tanking teams. I don't know how else the current Sabres are going to bring in difference-makers. 

This is the core of the issue, I agree.

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I’m done waiting for signs of improvement.  

It’s now two years in a row that Jbot has waited to long to support the team following a good start.  Adding Montour at the deadline last year and Frolik now are not solutions.  They aren’t even band-aids.  

I’ve been saying this since Berglund went AWOL. Find a friggin’ 2C.  I applauded the MoJo acquisition.  It was a reasonable attempt, but what was the backup plan if it didn’t pan out?  Mitts? 

Where was the faceoff winning 3C to anchor the penalty kill?

Why has nothing been done to fix these issues?  How does getting Frolik help a team that can’t score, can’t win a faceoff and can’t kill a penalty? What do we need with another crappy bottom 6 forward. 

Edited by GASabresIUFAN
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17 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I’m done waiting for signs of improvement.  

It’s now two years in a row that Jbot has waited to long to support the team following a good start.  Adding Montour at the deadline last year and Frolik now are not solutions.  They aren’t even band-aids.  

I’ve been saying this since Berglund went AWOL. Find a friggin’ 2C.  I applauded the MoJo acquisition.  It was a reasonable attempt, but what was the backup plan if it didn’t pan out?  Mitts? 

Where was the faceoff winning 3C to anchor the penalty kill?

Why has nothing been done to fix these issues?  How does getting Frolik help a team that can’t score, can’t win a faceoff and can’t kill a penalty? What do we need with another crappy bottom 6 forward. 

Botterill losing GA is like Johnson losing Cronkite. 

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3 hours ago, WildCard said:

We've been saying this since Eichel; waiting for some future season where we magically figure it out. Meanwhile all the other cellar dwellers have found success in a season or 2. It can't seriously be this hard 

They all promoted guys from within.

We had nobody within to even promote, hence all the terrible filler players on cap dump contracts.

Murray gutting all of our talent has led to this.  It's year 3 for Botterill- 'his guys' are only starting to bud.

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1 minute ago, triumph_communes said:

They all promoted guys from within.

We had nobody within to even promote, hence all the terrible filler players on cap dump contracts.

Murray gutting all of our talent has led to this.  It's year 3 for Botterill- 'his guys' are only starting to bud.

The gutting was due to the decision to tank.  It was a pre-Murray decision.

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3 hours ago, WildCard said:

We've been saying this since Eichel; waiting for some future season where we magically figure it out. Meanwhile all the other cellar dwellers have found success in a season or 2. It can't seriously be this hard 

This is not accurate. Carolina, Arizona, Toronto, etc... were bad for years. 

7 minutes ago, Weave said:

The gutting was due to the decision to tank.  It was a pre-Murray decision.

But Murray took alllllll that capital from trading the talent in pissed it into the wind. 

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Just now, LGR4GM said:

This is not accurate. Carolina, Arizona, Toronto, etc... were bad for years. 

Toronto turned it around in 2 years. Arizona and Carolina yeah, they've been bad for awhile. At least they're finally out of it. Doesn't feel like we're anywhere closer, and we've had better draft positions than both of them

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Again, this team lost it's top two scoring wingers... both 30g scorers.    No team can survive that, let alone a team who has little to no secondary scoring to begin with.     Not to say they're comparably players, but how good would Boston be without Marchand and Pastrnak?    

So let's not overreact by suggesting an overhaul of the roster just because they got manhandled by the defending Cup Champs on their own ice.    And without their two most product goal scoring wingers... .and with essentially a rookie goaltender.

So I'll say it again, the sky is not falling, get healthy, make a few tweaks and this team is not bad... maybe not playoff caliber, but close.

Worst thing JBOT could do right now is hit the panic button and throw the baby out with the bathwater.    Building through the draft and developing their prospects is the only solution.... which requires patience. 

That said, Sam Reinhart.   I keep him around if he takes 4-5mil/yr or a bridge deal.  Anything above 5.5m and I'm trading him.    He's a good player, but he's largely a passenger on Eichel's wing.   He's soft on pucks, falls down 5-6 times a game, turns pucks over, etc.  If the right deal comes along I'd trade him for a package that might add some scoring depth and maybe include a proven goaltender.  

Put Skinner back where he belongs next to Eichel.    I never understood JBOTs thought process there, you play him there during his contract year and then give him 9m/yr to play with a less productive centerman?    What?

Number 1 priority this offseason is finding a way to shed Okposo.... if that means trading some package of picks, etc... it would be worth it to get that contract off the books, even eat half the contract would be a step in the right direction.

Ullmark will get better, but he needs a proven veteran STARTING goaltender to mentor him... not a career backup.

I'm sorry but Larsson and Girgensons need to go.    They were poisoned by the tank, they need a fresh start elsewhere, and BUF needs guys with fresh attitudes to fill those roles, and who can chip in offensively and/or play more physical like a Ryan Reaves or Tom Wilson.    I don't think any team looks at the Larsson line (or any line on this team) and feels any amount of fear of getting physically manhandled in tight areas.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Again, this team lost it's top two scoring wingers... both 30g scorers.    No team can survive that, let alone a team who has little to no secondary scoring to begin with.     Not to say they're comparably players, but how good would Boston be without Marchand and Pastrnak?    

We sucked when they were both playing lol come on pi

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6 minutes ago, WildCard said:

We sucked when they were both playing lol come on pi

They didn't suck this bad tho.   Losing those two guys doesn't just hurt on the scoresheet, it's a huge mental obstacle for the rest of the team to overcome, it's so deflating to team morale... I've played the game at a high level, I know that feeling... you can try and trick yourself into ignoring it, but you get down a couple goals you look up and down the bench and can't help but think "where is the offense we need going to come from? We're so f'd."

That said, even with those guys they're not quite a playoff team yet, but they're close, they're in just about every game when they play the way they're capable... without them, they're not close.

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3 hours ago, Ruff Around The Edges said:

Here is the other part of the equation I am sure has been discussed but I truly wonder if this can happen sooner then later:

Is there a point in time when Jack Eichel just says screw this I want out of here and demands a trade?

At this point, can anyone blame him?

This has been discussed for quite a while now.  It remains to be seen how Jack might handle this situation rolling forward.

Is he the kind of guy to demand a trade, or stick with the team that drafted him and made him rich? 

We will find out I guess.  I would not personally fault him for holding out and demanding to be moved.  

 

 

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