Seravalli: Is there a better positioned non-playoff team than Buffalo?

[Zamboni]

6 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

You think him not doing anything is a real possibility? Be embittered all you like about the past dozen years of this franchise; it's not credible that KA does nothing. I expect he will actually be reasonably aggressive in bringing in veteran D. Not sure what he does in goal.

At this point, no one who claims KA does nothing or will do nothing, is taken seriously. That opinion is disingenuous agenda driven garbage for attention.

Now, Making the right moves at the right time… That’s a completely different conversation and a valid one to banter back and forth about. Hopefully KA will be smartly aggressive enough to improve the major holes this season has exposed. I’m confident in thinking he won’t mortgage the future in order to do it. And I for one, am totally cool with that approach.

[PerreaultForever]

6 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

You think him not doing anything is a real possibility? Be embittered all you like about the past dozen years of this franchise; it's not credible that KA does nothing. I expect he will actually be reasonably aggressive in bringing in veteran D. Not sure what he does in goal.

The word "nothing" is a little too extreme. By not doing "anything"  I suppose I should have worded that more as not doing nearly enough. Although I definitely feel he needs to make some big moves I think there is a real possibility he will stay the course of in house development. 

Your goalies will be Levi as the starter and UPL as the back up with Comrie sent down to Rochester. 

Your starting D could be Dahlin-Samuelsson, Power- Jokiharju, Stillman-Lybushkin, although he might add a lower tier FA for "depth". Maybe a Kyle Burroughs or Connor Carrick type. Maybe even Mayfield. A bottom end guy. 

and no forward activity at all aside from a re-sign or two and maybe a VO trade away. 

Not what I want, but wouldn't surprise me at all. 

[Dr. Who]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

The word "nothing" is a little too extreme. By not doing "anything"  I suppose I should have worded that more as not doing nearly enough. Although I definitely feel he needs to make some big moves I think there is a real possibility he will stay the course of in house development. 

Your goalies will be Levi as the starter and UPL as the back up with Comrie sent down to Rochester. 

Your starting D could be Dahlin-Samuelsson, Power- Jokiharju, Stillman-Lybushkin, although he might add a lower tier FA for "depth". Maybe a Kyle Burroughs or Connor Carrick type. Maybe even Mayfield. A bottom end guy. 

and no forward activity at all aside from a re-sign or two and maybe a VO trade away. 

Not what I want, but wouldn't surprise me at all. 

That's not much. I think he'll do a lot more. I'd prefer a veteran goalie to pair with Levi. Varlamov  or Freddie Andersen would be nice, but I don't find it outlandish to think KA stays the course there. A lower tier D and that's it is a joke. I suspect he makes a significant move to bring in a top 4D and more depth on D generally. Something along the lines of Hanifin and Graves is more appropriate. VO is almost certainly traded. 2023 1st, 2024 1st, maybe Rosen are chips. If KO retires as he should, I think they will want to bring in a gritty vet to replace him, which makes sense. I like Rousek, so I hope he gets a look.

[SabresBaltimore]

I will be a lot more surprised if KA doesn't bring in a middle 6 defenseman to play with Power who can play top minutes with Dahlin if/when Mule gets hurt. Then he might bring in another vet depending on what he does with Stillman/Clague/Bryson.

 

As to goalie, I fear he may stick with some form of what we have. However the fact that neither Comrie nor UPL had a game down the stretch when we were still in the hunt is telling. He may hope UPL can continue to develop though. But UPL isn't his prospect, Levi is.

 

I don't think him trading UPL is out of the question, but will it be for a Vet Goalie who can compliment Levi depending on how well he's playing (more games if he's struggling/needs more time). I could see him hoping Comrie just had bad luck with injury and bad defensive play. I hope not though.

 

At this point I'd bring Girgenson back on the same deal he's on, and move on from Okposo if he's not already planning to retire. That means we need to add some additional 4th line/PK/Sandpaper guy to take his spot.

 

I'm expecting him to make a few moves either way, but they may not be as big/flashy as some fans would like. He's definitely going to still stick to his plan of developing in-house talent over free agents. But he's also show he's willing to bring in the right guys from a trade (see: Tuch), so I don't think it would be unreasonable to see him move some forwards/prospects for the "right" trade.

 

It will really depend on what he can get this offseason and if he thinks the price is worth it though. Moving on from Eichel was the right thing for all parties, and I doubt anyone expected Tuch to be as good as he's been. I think they were banking more on Krebs developing into a solid middle 6 player and Tuch was more of a stop gap/ until that happened/additional value for losing Eichel. But that's just total speculation on my part.

[inkman]

24 minutes ago, SabresBaltimore said:

I will be a lot more surprised if KA doesn't bring in a middle 6 defenseman to play with Power who can play top minutes with Dahlin if/when Mule gets hurt. Then he might bring in another vet depending on what he does with Stillman/Clague/Bryson.

 

As to goalie, I fear he may stick with some form of what we have. However the fact that neither Comrie nor UPL had a game down the stretch when we were still in the hunt is telling. He may hope UPL can continue to develop though. But UPL isn't his prospect, Levi is.

 

I don't think him trading UPL is out of the question, but will it be for a Vet Goalie who can compliment Levi depending on how well he's playing (more games if he's struggling/needs more time). I could see him hoping Comrie just had bad luck with injury and bad defensive play. I hope not though.

 

At this point I'd bring Girgenson back on the same deal he's on, and move on from Okposo if he's not already planning to retire. That means we need to add some additional 4th line/PK/Sandpaper guy to take his spot.

 

I'm expecting him to make a few moves either way, but they may not be as big/flashy as some fans would like. He's definitely going to still stick to his plan of developing in-house talent over free agents. But he's also show he's willing to bring in the right guys from a trade (see: Tuch), so I don't think it would be unreasonable to see him move some forwards/prospects for the "right" trade.

 

It will really depend on what he can get this offseason and if he thinks the price is worth it though. Moving on from Eichel was the right thing for all parties, and I doubt anyone expected Tuch to be as good as he's been. I think they were banking more on Krebs developing into a solid middle 6 player and Tuch was more of a stop gap/ until that happened/additional value for losing Eichel. But that's just total speculation on my part.

I was today years old when I first heard the term “middle six defenseman”.  

[SabresBaltimore]

2 minutes ago, inkman said:

I was today years old when I first heard the term “middle six defenseman”.  

Yeah, not sure why I wrote it that way. I just meant middle pair. I mean there are typically 6 defenseman dressed, but I don't think I've heard anyone else say middle six when talking about defense either.

[Dr. Who]

10 minutes ago, SabresBaltimore said:

Yeah, not sure why I wrote it that way. I just meant middle pair. I mean there are typically 6 defenseman dressed, but I don't think I've heard anyone else say middle six when talking about defense either.

Second pair or a 4 to 6 guy which is probably what you intended.

[SabresBaltimore]

4 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

Second pair or a 4 to 6 guy which is probably what you intended.

I really mean/want a middle pair player who can play top pair when needed. Is that a 2-4? Either way not a 4-6. When Mule went down they often moved up Joker. Sometimes Bryson or I want to say Clague. That shouldn't happen.

[ExWNYer]

10 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Hey, Adams...This is on YOU!!

You forgot to add, "Im drunk !!! but pissed."

[Dr. Who]

1 hour ago, SabresBaltimore said:

I really mean/want a middle pair player who can play top pair when needed. Is that a 2-4? Either way not a 4-6. When Mule went down they often moved up Joker. Sometimes Bryson or I want to say Clague. That shouldn't happen.

I suppose you mean a second pair player who can play top pair. They definitely need to add a top4 D because of Mule's tendency to get hurt. 

And regardless, they should add as many solid veteran D as they can manage.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Dr. Who

[PASabreFan]

11 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Hey, Adams...This is on YOU!!

It's gonna cost a lot in lettering, but KA gets his first banner as Sabres GM.

[PromoTheRobot]

Just now, PASabreFan said:

It's gonna cost a lot in lettering, but KA gets his first banner as Sabres GM.

When do Hextall and Burke get theirs?

[PASabreFan]

Just now, PromoTheRobot said:

When do Hextall and Burke get theirs?

I think that was arranged earlier today.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

I think that was arranged earlier today.

In pink.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]