The offseason so far - Are the Sabres better?

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, 7+6=13 said:

That's a real possibility.  If we trade him, I assume we'll get something back that will fill another need, so the hole would just change. Unless it's for another defenseman.

So for me it's either Bryson is closer or we're closer to a forward being in the top 6 we're not crazy about.

Don't forget that Johnson is still around and he might actually be ready to be an NHLer.  And the nice thing is if he's essentially what you're getting from Timmons and Bernard-Docker (just a LHed version) then pretty sure you can still send him down to Ra-cha-cha.  And if he's better than them, then you can always make Bryson the Amerks' top D-man.  Because NOBODY is claiming him if he gets waived (and if somehow miraculously he does get claimed, well 7 & 8's are easy to get).

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Well, since last June we have seen what? 

Cozens (who was atrocious) out for Norris and Bernard-Docker (adv Norris)

Peterka (who was not great defensively) out for Kesselring and Doan (adv Peterka)

Clifton out for Timmins

So are we better without Cozens, Peterka, Clifton and bringing in Kesselring, Doan, Norris, Bernard-Docker, and Timmins

As @Thorny says, not nearly enough for it to matter.  BUT the grade is still incomplete.  Ask again in 2 weeks and yet again when camp opens.  If the answers are still "maybe" at that point, we'll need to roll a whole lot of consecutive box cars to keep from going 15 for 15.

[CTJoe]

12 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Well, since last June we have seen what? 

Cozens (who was atrocious) out for Norris and Bernard-Docker (adv Norris)

Peterka (who was not great defensively) out for Kesselring and Doan (adv Peterka)

Clifton out for Timmins

So are we better without Cozens, Peterka, Clifton and bringing in Kesselring, Doan, Norris, Bernard-Docker, and Timmins

Better?  Different - yes

[inkman]

Free agency hasn’t even started 

[DarthEbriate]

36 minutes ago, Taro T said:

After some early season experimentation, Ruff had Dahlin and Byram together for almost the entire time the Sabres had a realistic chance of making the playoffs.  Once it got to be, well, if everybody else falters (pretty much happened) AND Buffalo runs the table (not even close), then Ruff went back to Dahlin-Samuelsson Byram-???.  Expect that was for 2 reasons, 1 Ruff (probably heavily influenced by the staff's opinion) had expected Muel-Dahlin would work as a pairing and he wanted to see if it would once both had been exposed to what he was asking of him; which would free up Byram to

either run a lesser pairing (Power's and Byram's pairs seemed to be 2A & 2B down the stretch with neither really getting THE 2nd pairing matchups, at least from the eye test) giving the Sabres a chance to create mismatches with the other team's lesser lines and/or to decide how easily they could overcome Byram's departure using him to either improve the F's or the goaltending.

Am HOPING that's a big part of why they let Kulich play 1C pretty much the entire last month of the season even though teams with really good 1st lines were eating him alive.  Explains Benson getting some top line work too as the last month was. or seemed to be,- let's see what we have while not getting blown out on a nightly basis time.

The season opened with Dahlin-Joker and proceeded until Ruff scratched both Muel and Joker. That's when Byram-Dahlin formed, and shortly thereafter Muel went to IR and Joker bounced partners until the trade deadline. Byram-Dahlin were together until the deadline, when it became a "who works together away from Dahlin?" mash-up, probably to help shop Byram for the summer (probably didn't work, as his main partners to close the season were Bryson and Clifton).

[WhenWillItEnd66]

During the KA interview after the draft he fell back on replacing the goals JJP had from within...... Just saying. Not expecting anything flashy. 

[Taro T]

And fully expect that Byram is an ex-Sabre by the end of the week.  So this is realisticlly moot.  But would be very intrigued at watching how 

Dahlin-Kesselring

Power-Bernard-Docker

Byram-Timmons 

with Bryson and Johnson as the true 7&8 (and hopefully not in that order).  Would give a lot of flexibility to ingame adjustments as Dahlin and Byram work well together should they want to shorten the bench and Power-Dahlin has been the Sabre go to late game press when behind by a goal or 2.  And would consider the bottom 2 pairings interchangeable.  Might help create some mismatches for the other teams when their lesser players are on the ice.

[Thorny]

32 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Well, since last June we have seen what? 

Cozens (who was atrocious) out for Norris and Bernard-Docker (adv Norris)

Peterka (who was not great defensively) out for Kesselring and Doan (adv Peterka)

Clifton out for Timmins

So are we better without Cozens, Peterka, Clifton and bringing in Kesselring, Doan, Norris, Bernard-Docker, and Timmins

I refer you again to my statement about the question not mattering if the answer isn’t obvious. That the Buffalo Sabres fans would have to squint to imagine improvement on the verge of year 15 is a joke 

I’ll just keep saying it

Edited 5 hours ago by Thorny

[Carmel Corn]

41 minutes ago, Taro T said:

VERY possilbe.  Both from punishing a guy for oftentimes not playing the "right way" and rewarding another one for ALWAYS playing the "right way."  (Well, at least as long as he wasn't giving refs the ability to call him for trips not a single other player on the ice would get called for.  Still amazed at how jealous the refs are that a little young player like Benson gets to live their dream and they never could.)

Maybe that’s why the refs call stupid penalties on him and don’t call the ones they should.  Zach deserves better, but the refs never give him a fair shake.

[Thorny]

19 minutes ago, inkman said:

Free agency hasn’t even started 

We do this every year 

After July 1 it’ll be at, “camp doesn’t start till August!” stage 

then, “gotta wait till rosters are finalized” stage.

then “give it to thanksgiving” stage 

[CTJoe]

4 minutes ago, Taro T said:

And fully expect that Byram is an ex-Sabre by the end of the week.  So this is realisticlly moot.  But would be very intrigued at watching how 

Dahlin-Kesselring

Power-Bernard-Docker

Byram-Timmons 

with Bryson and Johnson as the true 7&8 (and hopefully not in that order).  Would give a lot of flexibility to ingame adjustments as Dahlin and Byram work well together should they want to shorten the bench and Power-Dahlin has been the Sabre go to late game press when behind by a goal or 2.  And would consider the bottom 2 pairings interchangeable.  Might help create some mismatches for the other teams when their lesser players are on the ice.

Byram on 3rd pair? disagree with this ever happening

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I refer you again to my statement about the question not mattering if the answer isn’t obvious. That the Buffalo Sabres fans would have to squint to imagine improvement on the verge of year 15 is a joke 

I’ll just keep saying it

So should we just not talk about the changes or look at them at all? 

[Thorny]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

So should we just not talk about the changes or look at them at all? 

No I’m not mad, talk until your heart’s content. I’m just going to keep leveling my opinion. If that doesn’t bother you, we are good lol 

[Thorny]

This is a good point and it’s not like something can’t still happen 

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, Thorny said:

No I’m not mad, talk until your heart’s content. I’m just going to keep leveling my opinion. If that doesn’t bother you, we are good lol 

Didn't say you were mad. 

[Thorny]

As others have said, if this was any other team than the sabres anyone would look at the roster and say it was primed for an expected upgrade on the way - looking at the composition, the cap space, and the assets we can trade 

Edited 5 hours ago by Thorny

[dudacek]

6 minutes ago, Thorny said:

As others have said, if this was any other team than the sabres anyone would look at the roster and say it was primed for an expected upgrade on the way - looking at the composition, the cap space, and the assets we can trade 

Yep.

Its only the fact that they were similarly positioned in each of the past 2 seasons and didn’t take advantage of the Skinner money last year, and didn’t do anything at all the year before that would make anyone think otherwise.

Its so deflating.

[Taro T]

25 minutes ago, CTJoe said:

Byram on 3rd pair? disagree with this ever happening

Did you watch the last month of the season?  It's already happened.

 

5 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Yep.

Its only the fact that they were similarly positioned in each of the past 2 seasons and didn’t take advantage of the Skinner money last year, and didn’t do anything at all the year before that would make anyone think otherwise.

Its so deflating.

Yep.

Am HOPING they spend the cap space they have and some of the prospects/ next years picks/ rostered players that don't really fit into their plans to make some significant improvements.  But will believe they're going to use rather than pocket cap space once it actually happens and no sooner.

[CTJoe]

43 minutes ago, WhenWillItEnd66 said:

During the KA interview after the draft he fell back on replacing the goals JJP had from within...... Just saying. Not expecting anything flashy. 

Probably correct.  it's hard to acquire differences makers with a mandated "stay $10million under the cap."  Pegula missed that economic 101 class where it takes money to make money.  

[Thorny]

14 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Yep.

Its only the fact that they were similarly positioned in each of the past 2 seasons and didn’t take advantage of the Skinner money last year, and didn’t do anything at all the year before that would make anyone think otherwise.

Its so deflating.

I’d love to put you in the chair, right now 

Just, as is. Get to work. 

[MISabresFan]

No- not better.

 

[Justin C]

Krebs, Helenius, another B prospect and a 2026 1st Top 3 protected for Robertson

Byram for Jordan Kyrou

Sign Nate Schmidt or Ryan Lindgren

 

Robertson-Norris-Thompson

Kyrou-Kulich-Tuch

Benson-McLeod-Quinn

Greenway-Doan-Zucker

 

Schmidt/Lindgren-Dahlin

Power-Kesserling

Timmins-Bernard-Decker