Sabres Re-Sign Craig Anderson to 1 Year 1.5 Million AAV Extension

[Pimlach]

On 6/30/2022 at 10:41 AM, tom webster said:

Settle down, he is the perfect 2/3.

The perfect 3 for sure, but more likely a 2 for most of the season and playing ~25 games.  

[GASabresIUFAN]

16 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

You assume Ullmark would choose to remain a Sabre over getting on a playoff contender.

You can’t assume he wouldn’t have stayed for the right deal.  

Whether he would have stayed or left it doesn’t change the facts that there were multiple opportunities to extend him prior to KAs last failed attempt and that has yet to be adequately replaced.  
 

As I’ve said before supporting the kids with at least Ullmark level goaltending is even more imperative this season then last.  Looking at who is available I believe KA will have a difficult task in getting there.  

[JohnC]

22 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It's a fair statement and one I've made before, but I honestly believe Sabres management (Jbot and KA) had multiple opportunities to get an extension done with Ullmark and failed to do so.  If they weren't sold on Ullmark, coupled with Hutton's failure, they also failed to have an adequate contingency plan.

The failure to retain Ullmark is a symptom of a greater problem.

It's not surprising that many players weren't keen on staying with this unstable franchise. There were plenty of players who wanted out, and got out. That's the tumultuous past. It seems to me that since KA took over he established a rebuild plan that is being followed. There is a coherent plan that is being consistently followed throughout the organization. What's encouraging is that there is no more lurching forward and then backward with a mishmash approach to building a roster. The patchwork mentality of putting together a roster is the opposite of a longer view that KA is taking. 

I don't blame players like Jack, Risto, Reinhart, ROR and Ullmark wanting out. They recognized that the ship they were on had gaping holes and was sinking. It just seems to me that the hockey operation has stabilized and is steadily pursuing a vision that is attainable. The numerous failures of the past are easy to point out. The players now here want to be here and are invested in the team's success. Evidently, Ullmark wasn't a player who wanted to be here. That's understandable and is his prerogative.  

[tom webster]

31 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

The perfect 3 for sure, but more likely a 2 for most of the season and playing ~25 games.  

I don’t think so. I think they acquire a 1. He plays 50/55, UPL 15/20, CA 10/15

[Pimlach]

19 hours ago, JohnC said:

The GM has been candid about how he is going to rebuild this roster. The veterans on the team know that the focus of the GM is on the young players and the future. They are smart enough to recognize that and accept the situation for what it is. If they didn't, they wouldn't remain on the team. Okposo is one of the veterans who knows that the GM is working on rebuilding this roster with mostly young players and prospects within the system. No one should be surprised. 

Eh, the veterans that actually could leave (McCabe, Uhlmark, Reinhart, Risto, and Eichel) have left.  While current vets like Okposo, Tuch, and Girgensons might like it here, no top veteran free agents are lining up to join this organization.  The only choice the Sabres have is to re-build slowly from within.  
 

I am ok with Anderson as a 2/3,  with UPL coming up from Rochester periodically to get some NHL starts.  Adams must find a goalie that can play like a legit NHL #1 to help this young team continue to progress.   Until he does, Anderson could quite possibly be asked to play a bigger role once again.  That I don’t like   

I don’t care how candid “the GM” is, Adams needs to get a starting goalie in here before I applaud any moves he make this off season.  

8 minutes ago, tom webster said:

I don’t think so. I think they acquire a 1. He plays 50/55, UPL 15/20, CA 10/15

I want you to be right.  I think this makes the most sense. 

[Jävə Keith]

On 6/30/2022 at 7:21 PM, nucci said:

mentor is so overused and overrated

Perhaps you've never had a great mentor?  Not just for individual performance, but learning how to become a leader of men, self-sacrificing for the betterment/development of others, becoming a cohesive team that out-performs the sum of it's parts, and a trusted guide through the trials of life that are certain to happen.

Everyone should Have a mentor & Be a mentor.

[JohnC]

5 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Eh, the veterans that actually could leave (McCabe, Uhlmark, Reinhart, Risto, and Eichel) have left.  While current vets like Okposo, Tuch, and Girgensons might like it here, no top veteran free agents are lining up to join this organization.  The only choice the Sabres have is to re-build slowly from within.  
 

I am ok with Anderson as a 2/3,  with UPL coming up from Rochester periodically to get some NHL starts.  Adams must find a goalie that can play like a legit NHL #1 to help this young team continue to progress.   Until he does, Anderson could quite possibly be asked to play a bigger role once again.  That I don’t like   

I don’t care how candid “the GM” is, Adams needs to get a starting goalie in here before I applaud any moves he make this off season.  

I want you to be right.  I think this makes the most sense. 

I agree that no top veteran free agents are interested in signing with the Sabres. And the Sabres are not interested in pursuing high cost, top tier free agents. That's not part of their repeatedly stated plan. The Sabres are choosing to mostly rebuild from within because that is the approach they wanted to take since the installation of KA. 

Who doesn't agree with the view that the GM needs to get a starting goalie? What's obvious is obvious! I'm very hopeful bordering on confident that a credible (not top tier) goalie will be added to the mix who will get most of the starts. 

 

 

[Eleven]

19 hours ago, Derrico said:

 If Levi and Portillo are threatened by someone already in the organization they’re not who I thought they were anyways.

I think Portillo is threatened by Levi.

[Buffalonill]

9 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I think Portillo is threatened by Levi.

 We don't need him then

 If he doesn't like competition loser mentality Already Built in

[MattPie]

6 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I think Portillo is threatened by Levi.

That's probably reasonable, really. If the scouting reports line up, Portilo might end up as a back-up. Maybe Marty Biron should have a chat with him about how being a backup in Buffalo isn't that bad. 🙂

[JohnC]

On 7/1/2022 at 9:01 AM, LGR4GM said:

I think in 2 years Adams thinks Devon Levi will be on the Sabres and in 3 years he will be the starter.

Of all the returns that KA got for dispatching our old core (Eichel, Risto and Reinhart) getting Levi might be the most consequential player from that group. Just like with the Tage for ROR deal it might take a few years to fairly evaluate the trade that brought us Levi. 

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

You can’t assume he wouldn’t have stayed for the right deal.  

Whether he would have stayed or left it doesn’t change the facts that there were multiple opportunities to extend him prior to KAs last failed attempt and that has yet to be adequately replaced.  
 

As I’ve said before supporting the kids with at least Ullmark level goaltending is even more imperative this season then last.  Looking at who is available I believe KA will have a difficult task in getting there.  

Woulda coulda shoulda. No one bats 1.000. I don't recall people begging to extend Ullmark with a huge deal. Only once he left.

[Weave]

40 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I think Portillo is threatened by Levi.

I think targeting Levi in the trade was a sign that the team wasn’t sold on Portillo.  That is definitely reason to be threatened.

Nonetheless, it is an indication of Portillo’s lack of faith in his ability to come out on top of this.  He’s going to be battling the next guy in line for however long his pro career lasts.

[Pimlach]

17 minutes ago, Weave said:

I think targeting Levi in the trade was a sign that the team wasn’t sold on Portillo.  That is definitely reason to be threatened.

Nonetheless, it is an indication of Portillo’s lack of faith in his ability to come out on top of this.  He’s going to be battling the next guy in line for however long his pro career lasts.

If all these comments on Portillo are true then his rights just might get packaged as a throw in on a draft day trade.  As we have seen in the past, those rights don’t mean much.  

[JohnC]

29 minutes ago, Weave said:

I think targeting Levi in the trade was a sign that the team wasn’t sold on Portillo.  That is definitely reason to be threatened.

Nonetheless, it is an indication of Portillo’s lack of faith in his ability to come out on top of this.  He’s going to be battling the next guy in line for however long his pro career lasts.

Portillo's priority was staying in school for another year. It wasn't what goalies he was going to compete against in the organization that drafted him. When Power was asked about his college teammate's intentions were he said that school was a priority for him and his family. At this point it is probable that Portillo will become a free agent. If and when he gets to that point, he will decide what is in his best interest as a player. Wherever he goes he will have to compete. It's the nature of the business.  

[jad1]

22 minutes ago, Weave said:

I think targeting Levi in the trade was a sign that the team wasn’t sold on Portillo.  That is definitely reason to be threatened.

Nonetheless, it is an indication of Portillo’s lack of faith in his ability to come out on top of this.  He’s going to be battling the next guy in line for however long his pro career lasts.

Nothing is locked in when drafting (or trading for a recently drafted) goalie.  Goalies take years to develop.  Most aren't viable starters until they are 24 or 25.  

Any decisions on Levi or Portillo as Sabre starters are at least 4 years away. And Adams would probably be wise to draft a strong goaltender prospect in this year's draft to keep the pipeline full.

Maybe one of these guys could be the exception to the standard development curve, but neither of them seem eager to prove it, which is fine. 

In the meantime, guys like Thompson, Dahlin, Skinner, Okposo, Olofsson and Tuch have played well enough to deserve a functional NHL caliber goaltender for the next few years while the young goalies develop.

Adams can't keep kicking this down the road.  The players who developed over the last year deserve to play competitive hockey and not be undone by poor management of the goaltending position.  Adams has to figure it out.

 

 

[Derrico]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

I don’t think so. I think they acquire a 1. He plays 50/55, UPL 15/20, CA 10/15

I sure hope so.  Then again we’ve been hoping Adam’s can accomplish this for the third straight offseason now…

[jsb]

On 7/1/2022 at 8:47 AM, GASabresIUFAN said:

It's a fair statement and one I've made before, but I honestly believe Sabres management (Jbot and KA) had multiple opportunities to get an extension done with Ullmark and failed to do so.  If they weren't sold on Ullmark, coupled with Hutton's failure, they also failed to have an adequate contingency plan.

The failure to retain Ullmark is a symptom of a greater problem.

 

On 7/1/2022 at 8:07 AM, GASabresIUFAN said:

So basically if had given Ullmark a 4 year deal that would have bridged the gap.

Now we are scrambling again to even get Ullmark level goaltending.  It may work out, but KA's short sighted work on the goaltending has been his greatest mistake to date and could still crater this rebuild 3.0

He has a chance to fix this, but even signing a Holtby, or DeSmith, or acquiring Varlomov for a year doesn't even get us back to UIllmark level goaltending.  What a mess.

Although I don't think Ullmark was worth the money or term, IMO the #1 thing that kept KA from matching that contract was the NMC.

Your posts on this reminds me of an old song:

• In the year 2525 
• If KA is still alive
• If GASabres can survive he may find
• Ullmark's reign is thru
• But thru eternal light the sprinkling of starlight
• We can move on to something else to biotch about

[GoPuckYourself]

I think a smart approach would be to target 1 if the RFA Washington Capitals goalies, either 25 year old Illya Samsonov (23W-12L-6OTL) or 26 year old Vitek Vanecek (20W-12L-6OTL).  I personally like Samsonov, his age fits more where we are and I think he's further along. I don't think the Capitals would be able to absorb a large offer imo.

[tom webster]

I’m sure someone is going to dig up some old lists but other than UPL’s one great junior season, I don’t  think Portillo or UPL were ever thought of as well as some on this board seem to think. Now goalies are funny and they all develop differently so who knows, but I never felt confident either of those two would be the Sabres long term goalie. Levi, now him I think of as special.

[irregularly irregular]

2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

The perfect 3 for sure, but more likely a 2 for most of the season and playing ~25 games.  

Ideally #3. That would allow UPL to cook in Rochester until he is ready to force his way onto the Sabres roster.

Realistic assessment is he would be the #2 and we hope his games are limited while he stays healthy. 

I don't want to block the young talent from making it to the NHL, so I like the concept. At the same time there has to be a reasonable #1 (or #1 and #2) that can carry the load until that young talent is ready for the show.

[Weave]

57 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Portillo's priority was staying in school for another year. I

Given KAs total lack of comment regarding Portillo, I don’t buy this for a second regardless of Power’s comments.  KA essentially treating Portillo as a non Sabres prospect speaks volumes regarding the situation.

[Buffalonill]

9 minutes ago, Weave said:

Given KAs total lack of comment regarding Portillo, I don’t buy this for a second regardless of Power’s comments.  KA essentially treating Portillo as a non Sabres prospect speaks volumes regarding the situation.

Adams said he was fine with him going back to school even before his decision.

[Weave]

18 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Adams said he was fine with him going back to school even before his decision.

That doesn’t  change a bit Adams not even mentioning Portillos name once in regards to the future

[tom webster]

Another question. When did not “blocking a young player” overtake “they have to earn it?”

I understand with guaranteed contracts it’s a little different but I never heard that as an accepted narrative until about a year ago. That might be the best public relations move in a GM’s arsenal. “We have to be “not good” yet because we have all these prospects that are going to need a spot soon.”