Offseason Gameplan 2022 - Solving the goaltending system wide.

[Broken Ankles]

1 minute ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

That's only if he doesn't remain a bonafide college student.  In theory Portillo could finish next season and then drop out of school and that will change the time line.

This is the entire point.  No one cares if he plays for UM after next year.  If he completes the season, and he looks bonafide, then he simply waits a few months and hand selects his team.

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

A NCAA athlete has 5 years to complete four seasons.  COVID added a 6th year.  Portillo is only a Sophomore and has 2 years left of eligibility unless he graduates early.  If he does, we have until August 15 of the year he graduates to sign him. 

I don’t have the explanation handy, but there has been plenty of media reporting on this specifically addressing his situation and clarifying some misconceptions: Portillo can become a free agent next year if he decides to leave school early.

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 minutes ago, Broken Ankles said:

This is the entire point.  No one cares if he plays for UM after next year.  If he completes the season, and he looks bonafide, then he simply waits a few months and hand selects his team.

That's been possible for years and years.  In Sabres history it's happened once.  People here are making a mountain out of a ant hill.  

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

I don’t have the explanation handy, but there has been plenty of media reporting on this specifically addressing his situation and clarifying some misconceptions: Portillo can become a free agent next year if he decides to leave school early.

Again that's been true for years and years and it's happened exactly once.  

Levi seems perfectly happy to come here after next season.  If Portillo bolts he bolts, although I doubt he bolts as well.  To much opportunity  here for an up and coming team.  

I also think people need to stop fretting over this and worry more about who is actually going to man the net as the starter for the next few seasons.  I don't think that person is currently in the organization.  This is much more critical to the immediate future of this team.  

Edited April 13, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[French Collection]

Just now, GASabresIUFAN said:

That's been possible for years and years.  In Sabres history it's happened once.  People here are making a mountain out of a ant hill.  

I feel these guys will be here until I hear different.

KA needs to get their honest feelings on it and plan accordingly.

They are not in the picture in Rochester let alone Buffalo next season so KA needs to make some moves to fill some nets.

I am a fan of drafting a goalie this year. There are no highly ranked ones, so they can wait until the later rounds. The Sabres have to keep a steady stream in the pipeline until they find a long term solution.

[Broken Ankles]

Just now, GASabresIUFAN said:

That's been possible for years and years.  In Sabres history it's happened once.  People here are making a mountain out of a ant hill.  

But they are not.  The Sabres are looking at the prospect of losing two significant draft selections (Johnson and Portillo) for nothing.  Conjecture about a late 2nd round pick next year if we lose a first round prospect) next year.  Clearly not enough return on losing a #30 OA who has been properly developed for the last three years.  Once they commit to play in the fall the likelihood either of these two sign are low.  It’s not sky is falling like Arizona, but it’s not nothing either.  

[Weave]

2 minutes ago, Broken Ankles said:

But they are not.  The Sabres are looking at the prospect of losing two significant draft selections (Johnson and Portillo) for nothing.  Conjecture about a late 2nd round pick next year if we lose a first round prospect) next year.  Clearly not enough return on losing a #30 OA who has been properly developed for the last three years.  Once they commit to play in the fall the likelihood either of these two sign are low.  It’s not sky is falling like Arizona, but it’s not nothing either.  

And from the same crew that roasted the team over wasted opportunity when getting a 4th rd pick for Scandella, who was subsequently traded for a 2nd. And moving a late 1st for Lehner.

This is a serious potential loss of two high quality prospects.  We should be concerned.  That level of prospect is a precious commodity that cannot be replaced.

[dudacek]

Johnson and Levi don’t sound like players who don’t want to come to Buffalo, whether it’s now, or later.

Portillo hasn’t said anything that we are aware of, and that, plus his circumstances, makes his situation more troubling.

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 minutes ago, French Collection said:

I feel these guys will be here until I hear different.

KA needs to get their honest feelings on it and plan accordingly.

They are not in the picture in Rochester let alone Buffalo next season so KA needs to make some moves to fill some nets.

I am a fan of drafting a goalie this year. There are no highly ranked ones, so they can wait until the later rounds. The Sabres have to keep a steady stream in the pipeline until they find a long term solution.

Exactly

1 minute ago, Broken Ankles said:

But they are not.  The Sabres are looking at the prospect of losing two significant draft selections (Johnson and Portillo) for nothing.  Conjecture about a late 2nd round pick next year if we lose a first round prospect) next year.  Clearly not enough return on losing a #30 OA who has been properly developed for the last three years.  Once they commit to play in the fall the likelihood either of these two sign are low.  It’s not sky is falling like Arizona, but it’s not nothing either.  

No not nothing, which is why it's unlikely to happen.  KA is very committed to building this team and if he and his staff think the prospect is important to the future, I trust they'll get him signed.  Johnson hasn't said he is returning and he may just be going home for the summer to weigh his options.  

However, from an on ice perspective, neither Johnson or Portillo are critical to the franchise's success.  4/6 of the long-term D is already in stone in Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson and Jokiharju.  The Sabres have 3 1sts this year and it's likely one or more will be spent on a D.  Add Jiricek to this group and I doubt anyone worries much about losing Johnson.  Sign Levi who is younger and frankly a better prospect, and Portillo becomes a luxury.  

[JohnC]

36 minutes ago, jsb said:

I don't want to sound antagonistic but lets review the end of last season, the exit interview and the beginning of this year. 

1. Do you really think the Captain of the team was not throwing total negativity with and to the team by not showing up to if not all the vast majority of the games the last couple of months?? That as Captain he should have been there to show respect and kinship to his teammates and that didn't have at the very least a negative impact on the team atmosphere??
2. When he addressed the media in the exit interview, he didn't show any positivity to Granato the new coach but made a point to say how great a man and coach Kreuger was and that didn't resonate in the locker room and team??
3. When KA and the team made reference to guys who want to be here, that wasn't directed at JE and other vets??
4. That the team culture and camaraderie hasn't been exponentially improved since he left?? 
5. That the team is suddenly hanging out together and showing everybody support as opposed to last year isn't indirectly pointing at JE and his attitude and nobody in the locker room noticed before??
6. How Granato speaks highly of the leadership of Girgs and Okposo at every chance he gets and that isn't directed at JE??
7. As for Ullmark, do you really think KA had not been speaking indirectly to his agent during the season and was convinced he was wanting to come back and what the parameters of a deal they were looking at?? That he wasn't surprised not by the agent passing around the contract but the NO MOVE CLAUSE had nothing to do with not accepting it??
8. Maybe my recollection shouldn't be in question here.

There was no secret about Jack wanting out. That was out in the open. He clearly stated so in public. He wanted out just like Reinhart and Risto wanted out. Just like Montour wasn't going to sign an extension when his contract ran out. Both Reinhart and Risto said that they were not going to sign an extension. And it was no secret that the GM was putting him out in the market. In fact, the GM told him don't come back onto the premises. That's not a criticism of the GM because it was a recognition that the breech could not be closed. 

The best thing that happened to Jack is that he got dealt. The best thing that happened to this organization is that he got dealt and that we got a reasonable return for him. This attempt to smear him for not wanting to be part of a rebuild and continue on in a dysfunctional organization is want I find unfair. 

This type of breaking in relationships between players and organizations happens in all sports. There's nothing unusual about that. It was a bad situation for him and for the organization. On top of that I understand his resentment toward the organization because it wouldn't allow him to get a surgery that he preferred. He lost a year of playing because of that refusal. After he got dealt Vegas allowed him to have the surgery he wanted. He was back on the ice in three months. It shouldn't be difficult to understand why he had some animosity toward the Sabre organization.   

With respect to Granato speaking highly of Girgs and Okposo that is a testament to those players. Jack is Jack. He is who he is. He doesn't come close to measuring up to them from a leadership standpoint. So what? Different people and different personalities. If there was a mistake made it was giving Jack the captaincy when he was not only not ready for the responsibility but also not suited for it. That was an organization decision/blunder. 

The Ullmark fiasco is on the GM. If an UFA player hasn't signed a contract at a certain point then the GM should have a fallback position if he couldn't sign the player. The agent doesn't work for the team. He works for what's best for his client. So the player bolted when he couldn't get an extra year on the contract with more money than was offered by Boston. 

[Weave]

No.  Portillo is not a luxury.  We don’t have any goalies until we actually have a goalie. Portillo is key until he isn’t key anymore, which could be never.

[GASabresIUFAN]

8 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Johnson and Levi don’t sound like players who don’t want to come to Buffalo, whether it’s now, or later.

Portillo hasn’t said anything that we are aware of, and that, plus his circumstances, makes his situation more troubling.

Levi has made it very clear that he has no issue with joining the Sabres after next season.  I'm actually not worried about Portillo either.  Like Levi, he's really only played one season in college and probably wants another shot at a title.  Luke Hughes is also returning to Michigan.  Power being a Sabres also probably helps.

Edited April 13, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[bob_sauve28]

39 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

It's 4 years or 30 days after leaving college anytime after year 4. 

You get 4 years though is the point

They would both command a lot of attention in free agency 

[GASabresIUFAN]

The bigger worry is who is available that is an upgrade of Anderson? 28 gp 3.09 .900

Kuemper UFA - 50 gp 2.37 .926 

Husso UFA - 36gp 2.37 . 925

Reimer (1yr @ 2.25) - 43gp 2.77 .915 

Kahkonen RFA - 31gp 2.91 .911

Ullmark (3yrs 5 mill) - 37 gp 2.59 .912

Campbell UFA  - 44gp 2.72 .912

Vanecek RFA - 37gp 2.58 .911

MAF UFA - 50gp 2.90 .910

Varlamov  (1 yr 5 mill) - 28 gp 2.86 . 914

Oettinger RFA  - 42gp  2.53 . 914

Samsonov RFA - 39gp 2.93 .899

Georgiev RFA - 29gp 3.03 .894

Binnington (5 yr 6mil) 32gp 3.18 .901

DeSmith UFA - 21gp 2.94 .906

Holtby UFA - 24 gp 2.78 . 913

I honestly think Campbell, Kuemper and Oettinger will be re-signed by their current clubs. I would be something to make an offer sheet to Oettinger.  I suspect KA has a similar list.

 

 

[Doohickie]

42 minutes ago, JohnC said:

With respect to Granato speaking highly of Girgs and Okposo that is a testament to those players. Jack is Jack. He is who he is. He doesn't come close to measuring up to them from a leadership standpoint. So what?

Actually, before things got too far down the trade road (and it must have been prior to being stripped of the C), Granato said he looked forward to having Jack play on the team.  I think it's likely he was just being politically correct in the event that Jack did, in fact, remain with the team, but he did have some praise for Jack and his ability as a player.

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Actually, before things got too far down the trade road (and it must have been prior to being stripped of the C), Granato said he looked forward to having Jack play on the team.  I think it's likely he was just being politically correct in the event that Jack did, in fact, remain with the team, but he did have some praise for Jack and his ability as a player.

I don't think there are many coaches who would NOT want Eichel on their team. He is very very talented. The question is how much of your cap space does a guy like Eichel command?

The issue is do you want him eating up 12.5% of your cap? Hes really good, but hes not 'carry the team on his back to the playoffs good'.  For 12.5% of the cap I want more than very good, more than a 30-35 goal, 50 assist guy who doesn't seem to want to do the tough things needed as a leader.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Actually, before things got too far down the trade road (and it must have been prior to being stripped of the C), Granato said he looked forward to having Jack play on the team.  I think it's likely he was just being politically correct in the event that Jack did, in fact, remain with the team, but he did have some praise for Jack and his ability as a player.

Don Granato was being polite. (As you astutely suggested.) He knew what was going on behind the scenes and the GM's intention to trade him. There was no secret about that. Both sides of this dispute knew what the eventual outcome was going to be. It was just a question of the GM getting back a reasonable return. There was a segment on WGR in which Granato was asked about the Jack situation and what was going to be the outcome. As a testament to Granto the man he spoke about how he felt for Jack and his situation. He said something to the effect that people should empathize with Jack the person because the sport in which his young life revolved around was not only presently taken away but there was also the possibility that his injury could result in him never playing again. So however Jack was responding in front and behind the scenes it needed to be recognized that his career was in jeopardy. 

It should be noted that no player has publicly or even privately insinuated that Jack was a bad guy and a negative influence. Okposo (who is one of my favorite players/people) was asked about the Jack situation. He said in a respectful and empathetic manner that sometimes in this hockey business the best outcome in some situations is that a change in teams needed to be made for the best interest for the player and for the organization. He didn't say this in a critical manner. He made this statement with the wisdom that comes from being the high character and veteran player that he is. He pointed out that Jack is a passionate person and player who can't hide his emotions. Some people don't like that. But that's who he is. He's an intense competitor and it is unlikely that it will ever change. 

I'm one of the few people in this forum who is not critical of Jack. In this case the circumstance dictated what needed to happen. As I said in a previous post the best thing that happened to Jack is that he got traded. And for where this franchise was heading in its rebuild he being dealt was the right thing to have happen for this franchise. I strenuously object to the demonizing of this player. A player and organization moving on is not an unusual circumstance in this sports business. 

[Carmel Corn]

34 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I don't think there are many coaches who would NOT want Eichel on their team. He is very very talented. The question is how much of your cap space does a guy like Eichel command?

The issue is do you want him eating up 12.5% of your cap? Hes really good, but hes not 'carry the team on his back to the playoffs good'.  For 12.5% of the cap I want more than very good, more than a 30-35 goal, 50 assist guy who doesn't seem to want to do the tough things needed as a leader.

Hmmm, for some reason I picture Leaf's fans thinking the same thing about Matthews and Marner in last year's playoffs.  In their case maybe $20 million combined and pretty quiet in their first round exit vs. Montreal.  It made me so sad to see that.........not! 😉

[Curt]

5 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Yes, but now we probably have lost out on all of them. Levi and Portillo are in all likelihood gone, right? 

NO.

Portillo maybe.  No reason to worry about Levi yet.

[Digger]

I know it's a long shot but are there any European goaltenders that might be worth offering a contract coming over to North America?  

[Curt]

3 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

They would both command a lot of attention in free agency 

Surely they would almost get to hand pick their team, but the contract they can get is limited, so no team will have an advantage in that regard, and not many (any?) team has a more wide open goalie situation than Buffalo.  If Buffalo has built a positive relationship with these guys, they should remain a very attractive option.

[nfreeman]

On 4/12/2022 at 7:01 PM, Brawndo said:

 

@nfreeman Vegas 1st and Portillo can seem like an overpay for Two Seasons of Hellebuyck, but if Portillo has made it clear He wants to explore all options, Hellebuyck is one of the better ones in the game, that’s worth the price 

 

9 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Given the Portillo status, the Vegas 1st and Portillo is like the Vegas first and nothing.   I doubt Winnipeg is going to be attractive to Portillo and they know it.  

I prefer to offer the Florida 1st and another expendable asset.  The Vegas first is going to be valuable.  

Two good posts here, and I think you’re both right — it’s quite possible that Portillo does not have much value to the Sabres at this point, as they may have decided that he’s probably going to bail, so including him as a throw-in in a trade makes sense. On the other hand, he would only have value to an acquiring team that thinks it has a reasonable chance of signing him, which does probably eliminate teams like Winnipeg.

Playing it out a bit further, I think unfortunately this means that it’s pretty unlikely that the Sabres will get any value out of Portillo at all, unless he decides to sign with the Sabres next summer, which as I’ve said previously also seems pretty unlikely.  A team that thinks it has a good shot at signing him would probably just wait until he’s a free agent instead of giving up assets to the Sabres for him.

[Norcal]

Here's a few names to kick around 

Trades:
Eric Comrie Winnipeg RFA
MacKenzie Blackwood 1/$2.8 down year but starting caliber

Potential Signings:
AHL/NHL
Braden Holtby Dallas UFA
Scott Wedgewood Dallas UFA
Felix Sandström Flyers UFA ahl/nhl
Alex Lyon Carolina UFA
Louis Domingue Penguins UFA
Casey DeSmith Penguins UFA
Ville Husso Blues UFA
Charlie Lindgren Blues UFA ahl/nhl
Garret Sparks Kings UFA ahl/nhl
Darcy Keumper Avs UFA
Joonas Korpisalo CBJs UFA

Way outside the box:

Trade for/Acquire rights:

Ivan Fedotov 25 yr old Russian Olympic goaltender Flyers signed thru 2022 in KHL
Konstantin Volkov 24 yr old Predators signed thru 2022 in KHL
Joren Van Pottelberghe Red Wings 24 yr old playing in Switzerland

[GASabresIUFAN]

https://theathletic.com/3248134/2022/04/13/lebrun-with-some-quality-goalies-potentially-available-this-offseason-who-could-be-on-the-move-who-stays/
 

Lebrun’s 

Top UFAs - MAF, Kuemper, Husso, and Campbell.  Lebrun implies Colorado may not be able to afford to keep him.

Team looking for goalies - Edm, Wash, Colo, NJ, Toronto, Buffalo. Tor & Col hinges on whether they keep their current starters Campbell & Kuemper.

Trade market - Allen, Murray, Georgiev, Mrazek, Gibson - He’s not sure their will be much of a market for Murray or Mrazek.

[LGR4GM]

Husso is intriguing but risky, very risky. A reasonable 3yr deal for him would interest us I'd hope. He's also a fellow Finn for UPL. 

[Marvin]

Those who believe the Sabres have nothing to worry about are obviously glad the Sabres have Cal Petersen and Linus Ullmark in net to tide us over and we don't have to worry about our goaltender pipeline.

That means: there is something -- how much of your belief depends on your first-hand knowledge of the situation, how much you trust any second-hand reports, and other inferences you may draw.  (For instance, I don't dwell nearly as much as I used to on Cal Petersen because of the revelations which have come out over the years about how XGMTM dealt with players.  IMHO, that should have been part of his decision.)

Also, until one or both are in the NHL, I see no reason to assume that Portillo is a non-entity while Levi is a sure thing.  We can talk about that in 2045 after their careers are done.