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Sabres Free Agency Thread


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5 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Seriously, Adams just re-signed KO, ZG, and he said Jost is next. 

Bringing in guys Accari and Engvall would have been good and something I have wanted (adds experience, two-way play, and grit) but there looks to be no more room, even if you move on from forwards like VO and VH.   Are they  going to look closely at Kulich, Rousek and Savoie, or are they going to stockpile bottom 6 forwards?  

We need to add defensive depth and a goalie, same as we talked about for quite awhile.  

I do want a good look at the youngsters. To me the reason for another forward is on a short term deal to replace Quinn (I don’t expect him to skate into the ice in January as a new improved player over last year. I suspect he would struggle a bit the second half and will take more time to get to full speed). But move on as the young players come into their own. 

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14 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The Sabres scored 293 goals last season.  That was certainly enough to get us into the playoffs if we had had adequate D and goaltending.  Quinn only potted  14 of the 293 goals.  I think adding Rousek should replace most if not all of those 14 goals.  The bigger loss from a scoring standpoint was the potential trade of VO.  My guess is KA had penciled in improvement from JJP, Quinn, and Greenway to replace that loss.  Now he has to hope that guys like Krebs (9 goals), Mitts (15 goals), and Power (4 goals) pick up the slack if VO isn't retained or replaced.

Either way, this lineup is lethal enough without Quinn and/or VO to be a playoff team.  The more important question is limiting he scoring chances against through better backchecking, better defense, and better goaltending to get the GA down from 300 to a more reasonable 265 or so.

I like this point. I think Krebs, Mitts and Power should definitely be expected to exceed their goal totals from last year. Not by leaps and bounds, but a modest increase for each.

Let's say Krebs gets 14 (+5), Mitts 19 (+4), and Power 10 (+6) then we have +1 goal added over last season. So, if Rousek gets penciled in, whatever he totals for the season is in addition to that. If he gets 10, then our goal total, all other things not discussed here being the same, is 304.

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2 minutes ago, ... said:

I like this point. I think Krebs, Mitts and Power should definitely be expected to exceed their goal totals from last year. Not by leaps and bounds, but a modest increase for each.

Let's say Krebs gets 14 (+5), Mitts 19 (+4), and Power 10 (+6) then we have +1 goal added over last season. So, if Rousek gets penciled in, whatever he totals for the season is in addition to that. If he gets 10, then our goal total, all other things not discussed here being the same, is 304.

Don’t forget that Quinn’s aren’t just removed in a vacuum - his linemates that someone else now subs in with could pay a bit of a price. Rousek isn’t going to provide the complimentary value Quinn did, so not just outright production 

Edited by Thorny
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Agree that we need to have more than just two rookies at 12 & 13 fwds. Hence a relatively low priced Vet. It might be wise to wait and see and let some of the prices come down (unless we get a deal right away that’s appealing cap wise)  

I still lean to move on from VO. When we look at goals we also have to look at what he gives up defensively. And that is the other issue with defense. Yes, we need a top 4 defender, imo, and a vet goalie. But on defense a two way forward can really help and better two way play from the forwards is needed. 

I doubt we’d get that from the rookies at this stage. 

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14 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Don’t forget that Quinn’s aren’t just removed in a vacuum - his linemates that someone else now subs in with could pay a bit of a price. Rousek isn’t going to provide the complimentary value Quinn did, so not just outright production 

No, but Mitts will if moved to that line.  In fact, Mitts' passing ability could elevate JJP and Cozens further.  

It's a set of dominoes.  Quinn is out, but Mitts (our ultimate utility player) steps in for him.  Krebs now centers a 3rd line of Rousek (who is solid 2 way players) and Greenway.  Now Jost or a UFA step in to center the 4th line.  

In the alternative, Krebs centers Vo and Greenway.  

Either way, I think the offense will be fine.  

PS: I do think that GMs and their staff look at players' role and development and project their potential offensive output and utilize that projection to aid roster decision making.  In this case, prior to Quinn's injury, I'm sure management felt VO was expendable because they believed that the development of Quinn, JJP, and Greenway would replace the lost offense.

Edited by GASabresIUFAN
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17 minutes ago, JohnC said:

On WGR's Sabre Live show Shana Goldman talks about the free agency market. She offers some interesting suggestions at the end of the interview. This is a 14 minute interview. 

https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/hosts/sabres-live

Far and away the most knowledgeable and articulate local sports reporters . Makes most others look bad.

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57 minutes ago, kas23 said:

Unless we get an offer we can’t refuse, we should just roll with Oloffson next season. He knows how to put the puck in the net. I don’t want to make another hole for a 2024 5th rounder or whatever. 

True, but when he played in 5v5 situations, the puck went into our net 23 more times than it went into their net.  I prefer we move on from him and add a steady two way forward or help on the blue line.   
 

Alone he may not get much, maybe we can package him an add a useful player that helps fill the gaps we have today.  

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https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/buyer-beware-five-players-to-watch-out-for-when-nhl-free-agency-opens/

55 minutes ago, JohnC said:

On WGR's Sabre Live show Shana Goldman talks about the free agency market. She offers some interesting suggestions at the end of the interview. This is a 14 minute interview. 

https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/hosts/sabres-live

Can you give the coles notes for those of us that can’t listen?

Edited by Flashsabre
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