What Does KA have to accomplish for this off-season to be considered a success?

[HumanSlinky39]

Ideally - add a solid, veteran top-4 defenseman and a solid 2-way top-6 forward.

For a grand slam, add a good vet goalie, though I recognize there is limited supply and many suitors for the same. I'm fine with not overpaying as I think bolstering the defense in front of the net will help out whomever is in net significantly. But, if they can't land the bodies in front of the net, a good goalie to help Levi settle in is imperative.

In house - get Rasmus and Owen extended.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by HumanSlinky39

[Buffalonill]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Just outright lies and deliberately negative spin. They are already over the cap floor and are poised to extend Dahlin, Power and probably Mitts.

Are you expecting them to make a bunch of salary dumps this summer to get back down?

Me and @SwampD  are expecting them not to get bishops ,  Johnny Boychuks and use that money for help .

But you never know with this franchise 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Buffalonill

[LGR4GM]

23 minutes ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Ideally - add a solid, veteran top-4 defenseman and a solid 2-way top-6 forward.

For a grand slam, add a good vet goalie, though I recognize there is limited supply and many suitors for the same. I'm fine with not overpaying as I think bolstering the defense in front of the net will help out whomever is in net significantly. But, if they can't land the bodies in front of the net, a good goalie to help Levi settle in is imperative.

In house - get Rasmus and Owen extended.

 

 

Which top 6 forward are you demoting? Cozens, Tage, Tuch, Skinner, Peterka, or Quinn?

[HumanSlinky39]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Which top 6 forward are you demoting? Cozens, Tage, Tuch, Skinner, Peterka, or Quinn?

Good point, meant middle six.

[PerreaultForever]

9 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

3 and 4 c are not weak spots. This team has an abundance of centers and forwards. The 2way guy with gritty size was already added, Greenway. You are doing this deliberately so when Adams doesn't add all these forwards you want, you can come back say "LOOK! Adams sucks! He is so bad!" when in reality the forward ranks are fine if not good. They need 2 defenders and another veteran goalie to pair with Levi. 

We aren't missing the playoffs in 2024. I will bet money on that. 

To the bolded, lol. 

They have "an abundance" of offensively minded forwards, not 2 way forwards. 

What did Greenway do that was in any way "gritty"?

Don't tell me what I am doing. Especially when I'm not.

The bolded I agree with, but ideally we need a little more than that.

We MIGHT make the playoffs, but only if we upgrade the roster or several players make big unexpected leaps (or both). At this moment it's iffy. 

I don't bet online, but if we miss the playoffs you can make a donation to your favourite charity in my name.

[PerreaultForever]

7 hours ago, SwampD said:

Hope is not a strategy. What if you were wrong?… and they doubled down like you “thought” they should have, and Tage wasn’t the Tage we know now,… and they didn’t just miss out on the playoffs? Then what? Start over?

The path the Sabres appear to be on, at least by me, and apparently KA and others, is the right one. It’s moving in the right direction. It’s slow, but seems to right, and they are getting better every season.

But, if they don’t spend to the cap floor on actual skaters this year, they can ***** off.

I can't really follow the argument in the first sentence. You make an evaluation of the team and make moves based on what you believe will be happening with that roster next season. It's not hope. It's an analysis of what you see on the ice. 

Slow can be too slow. I've never taken issue with the direction. I wanted a tear down and trade Eichel etc. over a year before we actually did it. It was like FINALLY they did what had to be done. 

Cap floor? You're content with cap floor for next year? I'm not. 

[JohnC]

On 6/22/2023 at 2:07 PM, GASabresIUFAN said:

@JohnC has said for months, that will return with the status quo goaltending.   However, I think that would be a mistake.  Teams have a limited window in a cap world and we are entering ours.  We no longer have time to risk more lousy goaltending.

You brought up Freddie Andersen, but lets play out his acquisition for a second.  You wouldn’t be comfortable with him as the primary starter, but what about a tandem of him and Levi vs Levi/UPL or Levi/Comrie?  
 

By the way UPL fell off a cliff in Feb and March when we needed him to play well. He went 3/6/2 in 12 games with a .870 save% and a 4.33 gaa.

I'm more than comfortable with working with the three goalies we currently have on the roster. I'm projecting Levi to be our #1 goalie with Comrie and UPL competing for the backup spot. Comrie was hurt for much of the year and was never able to get in a good rhythm. He should be a credible backup. Clearly, the Sabres had major deficiencies on the blueline that became dramatically worse because of the lack of depth. Getting another top 4 caliber defenseman and another third pairing player added to the unit is need even more important than bringing in another goalie. Maybe sometime in the season Ryan Johnson will be brought up to add depth to the unit some time in the season. There is no question that our goaltending was not adequate enough. But what made the stoppers more vulnerable is the play of the blueline and also the lacking team defense. 

I'm not adverse of giving up a first-round pick for a top tier defenseman who has some term on his contract. What I'm adamantly against is giving up significant assets for a goalie such as Helly who is on a one year contract. That makes no sense to me. If you want to see better goalie play, then address the blueline and stress more the defensive responsibilities of the lines. 

[tom webster]

6 hours ago, JohnC said:

I'm more than comfortable with working with the three goalies we currently have on the roster. I'm projecting Levi to be our #1 goalie with Comrie and UPL competing for the backup spot. Comrie was hurt for much of the year and was never able to get in a good rhythm. He should be a credible backup. Clearly, the Sabres had major deficiencies on the blueline that became dramatically worse because of the lack of depth. Getting another top 4 caliber defenseman and another third pairing player added to the unit is need even more important than bringing in another goalie. Maybe sometime in the season Ryan Johnson will be brought up to add depth to the unit some time in the season. There is no question that our goaltending was not adequate enough. But what made the stoppers more vulnerable is the play of the blueline and also the lacking team defense. 

I'm not adverse of giving up a first-round pick for a top tier defenseman who has some term on his contract. What I'm adamantly against is giving up significant assets for a goalie such as Helly who is on a one year contract. That makes no sense to me. If you want to see better goalie play, then address the blueline and stress more the defensive responsibilities of the lines. 

There is no way that anyone, not even Levi himself, can know for sure how he will hold up to the rigors of an NHL season. UPL has been either just below average or terrible since his one phenomenal season in Juniors and Comrie has been a career minor leaguer. Sure, given the unpredictability of goaltenders anyone of them could be the guy but if you are serious about contending this year, you can’t go into the season with this trio.

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, tom webster said:

There is no way that anyone, not even Levi himself, can know for sure how he will hold up to the rigors of an NHL season. UPL has been either just below average or terrible since his one phenomenal season in Juniors and Comrie has been a career minor leaguer. Sure, given the unpredictability of goaltenders anyone of them could be the guy but if you are serious about contending this year, you can’t go into the season with this trio.

I agree with you that the goaltending position is difficult to project because the mercurial nature of the position. Unless you have one of the few elite netminders there is a level of unpredictability that should make anyone uncomfortable. Almost everyone agrees that the caliber of last year's netminding was below average. And what everyone should also agree is that our blueline, especially the lower half, was below par and the unit lacked depth. But also, what is often not being mentioned here is that the forward lines were average to below average in their defensive play. My contention is that if the blueline is upgraded and the forwards in general play a more responsible two-way game, the goalie play should improve. The end of the season playoff run demonstrated that the team was capable of adjusting their game and playing a tighter brand of winning hockey against good teams. 

If the GM didn't have Levi, I would have had a much more dire view of the goalie situation. Are my expectations too high for him? Maybe. But from what I saw last year, I am very excited about him being able to immediately step in and play on a rotational basis as our primary goalie. 

While others are dismissing Comrie and UPL as players, I am not. My sense (guess) is that the GM, although willing to seek an upgrade, is not afraid to stand pat with his group if the price for a change can't be worked out. 

The majority of responders are clamoring for a change in net. That is a reasonable position to take. However, I see it otherwise. The issue for me is as much on the team's general defensive play as it is on the goalies. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by JohnC

[Night Train]

 I believe KA is looking at G but may indeed fall back to the 3 G idea again without reaching in a trade or overpaying in FA.  D is a FAR bigger priority. 1-2 Vets.  The team as a whole needs to learn how to play D in front of their G. 

 I'd actually be a bit surprised to see another forward added. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Night Train

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Night Train said:

 I believe KA is looking at G but may indeed fall back to the 3 G idea again without reaching in a trade or overpaying in FA.  D is a FAR bigger priority. 1-2 Vets.  The team as a whole needs to learn how to play D in front of their G. 

 I'd actually be a bit surprised to see another forward added. 

I agree with the general tenor of your response with a slight difference. I see Levi as our primary goalie with Comrie and UPL vying for the backup spot. It gets somewhat complicated because of their status of being subjected to being claimed if sent to Rochester. That's the challenging situation that the GM has to deal with. Repeating what I have said before: the key to improving the play of our netminders is improving the overall defensive play of the players in front of him. Granato has openly stated that his first priority was to emphasize offense at the expense of defense. That was the first stage. Now, this team is at a more advanced stage where this team is at a higher competitive level. The team simply has to be more balanced on how it plays. 

 

[tom webster]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

I agree with the general tenor of your response with a slight difference. I see Levi as our primary goalie with Comrie and UPL vying for the backup spot. It gets somewhat complicated because of their status of being subjected to being claimed if sent to Rochester. That's the challenging situation that the GM has to deal with. Repeating what I have said before: the key to improving the play of our netminders is improving the overall defensive play of the players in front of him. Granato has openly stated that his first priority was to emphasize offense at the expense of defense. That was the first stage. Now, this team is at a more advanced stage where this team is at a higher competitive level. The team simply has to be more balanced on how it plays. 

 

You are assuming that the goalies are at least average and so far UPL and Comrie have very little good history to back that up on. 

[JohnC]

18 minutes ago, tom webster said:

You are assuming that the goalies are at least average and so far UPL and Comrie have very little good history to back that up on. 

Comrie was hurt for much of the season and it had an effect on his play. I'm not giving up on a young goalie such as UPL based on his play last year. It should be remembered that the expectation was for UPL to play the season in Rochester for further development. Because of injuries he was brought up sooner than expected. We shall see how the GM handles this position prior to training camp.

[PerreaultForever]

17 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Which top 6 forward are you demoting? Cozens, Tage, Tuch, Skinner, Peterka, or Quinn?

Is it a "demotion" to create 3 good lines instead of 2? 

Quinn or Peterka on a solid 3rd line, against other 3rd lines, could have a VERY good year. 

[tom webster]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

Comrie was hurt for much of the season and it had an effect on his play. I'm not giving up on a young goalie such as UPL based on his play last year. It should be remembered that the expectation was for UPL to play the season in Rochester for further development. Because of injuries he was brought up sooner than expected. We shall see how the GM handles this position prior to training camp.

UPL has been underwhelming since his “great” junior season. Of course that was followed by hip surgery but he’s been awful in Rochester since then, not much better in Buffalo and I challenge you to find one league wife list of promising young goalies that includes him. He is a Buffalo only phenomenon.

[Thorny]

4 hours ago, JohnC said:

I agree with the general tenor of your response with a slight difference. I see Levi as our primary goalie with Comrie and UPL vying for the backup spot. It gets somewhat complicated because of their status of being subjected to being claimed if sent to Rochester. That's the challenging situation that the GM has to deal with. Repeating what I have said before: the key to improving the play of our netminders is improving the overall defensive play of the players in front of him. Granato has openly stated that his first priority was to emphasize offense at the expense of defense. That was the first stage. Now, this team is at a more advanced stage where this team is at a higher competitive level. The team simply has to be more balanced on how it plays. 

 

News to me..

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

News to me..

Assuming the GM decides to work with the goalies he has on the roster, which of the three players do you believe would be the primary goalie? 

[SwampD]

On 6/24/2023 at 12:53 AM, PerreaultForever said:

I can't really follow the argument in the first sentence. You make an evaluation of the team and make moves based on what you believe will be happening with that roster next season. It's not hope. It's an analysis of what you see on the ice. 

Slow can be too slow. I've never taken issue with the direction. I wanted a tear down and trade Eichel etc. over a year before we actually did it. It was like FINALLY they did what had to be done. 

Cap floor? You're content with cap floor for next year? I'm not. 

Where do you get that I’m content with the cap floor?! I’ve been bitching about them not trying to win and using their salary as proof for a while now.

Again, hindsight is a wonderful thing. You say KA missed an opportunity because we only missed the playoffs by 1 point. You might want to go back and look what you really thought of the team when the season started. You had them at 82 points and missing the playoffs. If the goal is to win the Cup, what “moment did he miss” that would have gotten us to the playoffs, without sacrificing the larger goal?

I’m looking forward to next season. I’m really looking forward not having salaries go to retired players. And if they don’t make it, fire everyone and move the team to Hamilton.😂

[Pimlach]

On 6/22/2023 at 11:48 AM, nfreeman said:

If there is no extension for Dahlin, it's a disappointing offseason.

If there are extensions for Dahlin and Power and a credible D partner brought in for Power, it's a very good offseason.  Those plus a credible goalie would make it a great offseason.

Agree here.  My add, was for a bottom 6 center that wins face-offs, plays an effective PK, and provides some grit.  That ship has sailed with KO, ZG, and Rousek all retained and Jost likely retained as well.  
 

Adding two vet defenseman would be good so we can drop Bryson and Clague and roster 8 solid defensemen. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Pimlach

[Pimlach]

On 6/24/2023 at 12:57 AM, JohnC said:

I'm more than comfortable with working with the three goalies we currently have on the roster. I'm projecting Levi to be our #1 goalie with Comrie and UPL competing for the backup spot. Comrie was hurt for much of the year and was never able to get in a good rhythm. He should be a credible backup. Clearly, the Sabres had major deficiencies on the blueline that became dramatically worse because of the lack of depth. Getting another top 4 caliber defenseman and another third pairing player added to the unit is need even more important than bringing in another goalie. Maybe sometime in the season Ryan Johnson will be brought up to add depth to the unit some time in the season. There is no question that our goaltending was not adequate enough. But what made the stoppers more vulnerable is the play of the blueline and also the lacking team defense. 

I'm not adverse of giving up a first-round pick for a top tier defenseman who has some term on his contract. What I'm adamantly against is giving up significant assets for a goalie such as Helly who is on a one year contract. That makes no sense to me. If you want to see better goalie play, then address the blueline and stress more the defensive responsibilities of the lines. 

The bold text is a major shift for you @JohnC.  Last season you were adamant about Joki being a solid 4D and there was no need to upgrade.  Now you want to add a 4D and a 5/6 D as well.  What changed for you?   

Ryan Johnson might get a look at some point but we should not count on him to help us this season.  
 

I think that Adam’s should not neglect goaltending again.  He should not go with Levi and UPL/Comrie.  Which teams are we going to pass to get into the top 8 in the conference or top 3 in the division?   He should not gamble on a rookie to two boarder-line backups.  
 

Adam’s has prospects that he can never fully utilize.   It’s time to make a few hockey trades and go for it.  

[JohnC]

On 6/24/2023 at 12:48 AM, PerreaultForever said:

They have "an abundance" of offensively minded forwards, not 2 way forwards. 

What did Greenway do that was in any way "gritty"?

Don't tell me what I am doing. Especially when I'm not.

The bolded I agree with, but ideally we need a little more than that.

We MIGHT make the playoffs, but only if we upgrade the roster or several players make big unexpected leaps (or both). At this moment it's iffy. 

I don't bet online, but if we miss the playoffs you can make a donation to your favourite charity in my name.

You don't think that Quinn, JJ, Power, Joki and Mitts will continue to get better? I expect Quinn, Power and maybe JJ to get make noticeable leaps forward next year. If the GM decides to mostly stand pat the team will be better through internal improvement of players already on the roster. 

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, Pimlach said:

The bold text is a major shift for you @JohnC.  Last season you were adamant about Joki being a solid 4D and there was no need to upgrade.  Now you want to add a 4D and a 5/6 D as well.  What changed for you?   

Ryan Johnson might get a look at some point but we should not count on him to help us this season.  
 

I think that Adam’s should not neglect goaltending again.  He should not go with Levi and UPL/Comrie.  Which teams are we going to pass to get into the top 8 in the conference or top 3 in the division?   He should not gamble on a rookie to two boarder-line backups.  
 

Adam’s has prospects that he can never fully utilize.   It’s time to make a few hockey trades and go for it.  

You haven't accurately read my posts. I am very comfortable with Joki as our number 4D. I have stated that point on many occasions. I have also frequently pointed out that Power excelled while being paired with Joki. However, if you can find a better second pairing player to pair with Power and move Joki to the third pairing it would improve the unit. If you get a better player that moves a player to a lower pairing or line you are upgrading the roster. Why would I be against that and how is that a contradiction to what I have previously stated?

With respect to the goalie position I'm not as worried about it as most are here. My priority is addressing the blueline this offseason. 

[Pimlach]

10 minutes ago, JohnC said:

You haven't accurately read my posts. I am very comfortable with Joki as our number 4D. I have stated that point on many occasions. I have also frequently pointed out that Power excelled while being paired with Joki. However, if you can find a better second pairing player to pair with Power and move Joki to the third pairing it would improve the unit. If you get a better player that moves a player to a lower pairing or line you are upgrading the roster. Why would I be against that and how is that a contradiction to what I have previously stated?

With respect to the goalie position I'm not as worried about it as most are here. My priority is addressing the blueline this offseason. 

Well we debated the defense a lot last season and you consistently commented on no need for 4D help but ok.  You are on board to it now.  
 

If this team misses playoffs again our fans will be extremely disappointed.  If it is because of goaltending again I will blow a gasket.  I just can’t trust a plan that entails going with a rookie backed by UPL/Comrie when we are sitting on so many assets.  

[JohnC]

7 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Well we debated the defense a lot last season and you consistently commented on no need for 4D help but ok.  You are on board to it now.  
 

If this team misses playoffs again our fans will be extremely disappointed.  If it is because of goaltending again I will blow a gasket.  I just can’t trust a plan that entails going with a rookie backed by UPL/Comrie when we are sitting on so many assets.  

Overall team defense that includes the blueliners and the play of the lines is the biggest priority for me. As far as upgrading the goalie position the issue becomes what is available on the market and what are you willing to give up to make that change. What I'm adamantly opposed to is giving up prime assets in high draft picks and high-end prospects for a goalie such as Hellybuyck who will be a UFA in a year. That makes no sense to me. 

Again, if you can get an upgrade on a player at any position and you can do it for an acceptable price, you do it. That's what GM's get paid to do. My stance on that point has never changed. 

[5th line wingnutt]

On 6/24/2023 at 7:42 AM, tom webster said:

There is no way that anyone, not even Levi himself, can know for sure how he will hold up to the rigors of an NHL season. UPL has been either just below average or terrible since his one phenomenal season in Juniors and Comrie has been a career minor leaguer. Sure, given the unpredictability of goaltenders anyone of them could be the guy but if you are serious about contending this year, you can’t go into the season with this trio.

we should not spend significant assets getting another one.