The offseason so far - Are the Sabres better?

[PerreaultForever]

39 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

You should know this by now, were selecting 8th, then we will lose a spot in the lottery and select 9th. 

Usually, but this year I think we've actually taken a step backwards. 

[Archie Lee]

48 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Kulich is the No. 1 center.  He is making this team.  

The reason for the 3 years deals for both Kozak and Johnson is to try to avoid them getting claimed if management has to send one of them down.  

Odds are that one or more injuries in camp will make sending Kozak or Johnson down moot.  

Kulich should be the 3C, playing between a couple of vets like Zucker and trade acquisition Rust.

Norris is 1C by default until he is injured or proves he isn’t up to it. Thompson and Benson on the wings. 

McLeod should be 2C with Tuch and Greenway. Potential to be a real shut down line. 

Krebs, Doan, Malenstyn, Danforth, Kozak make up line 4, with Krebs and Doan playing up when there are injuries. 

Need to move Quinn in a package for Rust.

I actually think this works as a wild card level group of forwards on a team that actually plays with structure. So, not the Sabres. But the best I am hoping for is that the pieces are there and Adams and Ruff are turfed in November. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

6 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

Only in Buffalo would a young prospect be anointed as a 1C where otherwise in properly managed teams it would be questionable that he is even a center and/or top 6 player (yet).

It's a nominal designation.  Your choices are McLeod, Norris and Kulich.  Who are you playing with Thompson?  You need McLeod to play against the other teams' best line.  Norris and Thompson are both shoot first players.  I don't see a fit there.  That leaves Kulich who showed good chemistry with Thompson last season.  This isn't ideal but I disagree with those who argue he can't handle the job.  He is defensively aware and has good offensive instincts and plays hard.  I expect him to blossom this season.

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

Kulich should be the 3C, playing between a couple of vets like Zucker and trade acquisition Rust.

Norris is 1C by default until he is injured or proves he isn’t up to it. Thompson and Benson on the wings. 

McLeod should be 2C with Tuch and Greenway. Potential to be a real shut down line. 

Krebs, Doan, Malenstyn, Danforth, Kozak make up line 4, with Krebs and Doan playing up when there are injuries. 

Need to move Quinn in a package for Rust.

I actually think this works as a wild card level group of forwards on a team that actually plays with structure. So, not the Sabres. But the best I am hoping for is that the pieces are there and Adams and Ruff are turfed in November. 

This sounds like poor team to me. 

[SABRES 0311]

Answer is still no. McLeod signing doesn’t change what already existed. A couple AHL signings. A little more physicality on the backend.

KA has to get something done be amuse real soon GMs are going to be content with what they have. Either trade Byram or resign him for what he wants then figure out another way to get the 1st forward line set.

[Turbo44]

No answer until Byram situation and any subsequent related moves occur

[Archie Lee]

8 hours ago, Pimlach said:

This sounds like poor team to me. 

It’s not a contending team.  I think with a good HC and/or better goaltending (and I think these go together) it could be a playoff / WC team. To me, it is the best we can hope for that we are this year’s Montreal or Ottawa, a 91-96 point team that gets in.

It was never going to be the case that we would get to July 2nd and look at the roster and say: "That's a playoff team". It was always going to be that we will need Tage to again score 40+, Norris to be healthy and be the player that some project him to be, that Benson takes a step forward, Tuch maintains his strong play, McLeod repeats his performance from a year ago, Dahlin plays like a Norris winner, Power takes a step forward, UPL bounces back, and a couple of new guys contribute positively, etc.  If most of those things happen, maybe we can complete for a WC spot.

We are never going to be a contending team under Adams and Ruff. 
 

Edited 31 minutes ago by Archie Lee

[Archie Lee]

If we extend Byram and Timmons to their projected contracts and, hypothetically, replace Quinn with a veteran at Rust's level, we would be spending between 97-99% of the cap (depending on if Byram is bridged or signed long-term). If we are spending that kind of money and are nowhere close to having a playoff team, then either Adams is one of the worst GMs in modern NHL history (it’s already open to debate I think) or Ruff is, at this time, one of the league's worst HCs, or both.

I don’t like the job that Adams has done. Even if he has an internal cap to contend with, he has wasted enough money on underperforming players that had he been better at his job, the team could have been better also. Further, I think he does have influence over Pegula and if he wanted to go in a different direction in certain areas, like coaching, I think he could convince Pegula to do so. Ruff continues to get too much credit from the fan-base in general, in my view. It remains that the single biggest thing that could be done to improve the team’s fortunes between now and October would be to replace Ruff with a better HC. It would do more for the team than adding Robertson or Ehlers, in my view.

Brind'Amour could get this team in the playoffs.  I know we aren't getting Brind'Amour, but we could try to hire the next Brind'Amour. There is a reason why NHL teams cycle through head coaches so quickly. You can't fix your roster as fast as you can change coaches. Look at all the money the Sabres have wasted in the past few years on players who underperformed or were sent to Rochester or were bought-out.  Spending an extra $2 million a year on a fired head coach is comparative peanuts.    

[Pimlach]

29 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

It’s not a contending team.  I think with a good HC and/or better goaltending (and I think these go together) it could be a playoff / WC team. To me, it is the best we can hope for that we are this year’s Montreal or Ottawa, a 91-96 point team that gets in.

It was never going to be the case that we would get to July 2nd and look at the roster and say: "That's a playoff team". It was always going to be that we will need Tage to again score 40+, Norris to be healthy and be the player that some project him to be, that Benson takes a step forward, Tuch maintains his strong play, McLeod repeats his performance from a year ago, Dahlin plays like a Norris winner, Power takes a step forward, UPL bounces back, and a couple of new guys contribute positively, etc.  If most of those things happen, maybe we can complete for a WC spot.

We are never going to be a contending team under Adams and Ruff.  Terry Pegula.  
 

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