Sabres sign Justin Danforth 2 years 1.8 million AAV

[inkman]

2 hours ago, jad1 said:

Doan and Zucker are going to wind up in the top six.  Along with a occasional appearance by Greenway, when he's not injured.

I’ve been thinking the same thing.  As their styles, which are extremely ordinary in the NHL, are somewhat foreign to our group of snipers and danglers, will stand out amongst the passengers.  They are engaged, intense and willing to do what is necessary to win. 

[GoPuckYourself]

He even has a highlight video.

 

[thewookie1]

43 minutes ago, inkman said:

I’ve been thinking the same thing.  As their styles, which are extremely ordinary in the NHL, are somewhat foreign to our group of snipers and danglers, will stand out amongst the passengers.  They are engaged, intense and willing to do what is necessary to win. 

Effectively, because they can’t find engaged players for the Top 6 that can fit perfectly into the role; they’ve thrown darts at multiple lesser players who fit the role with the hope it can help push our skill guys just a bit harder. Doan, to me screams potential for Top 6 Power Forward but there are no guarantees when you have to shop in the potential or vet bins. 

[thewookie1]

Dansforth certainly grinds in front of the net which is a major positive to me

[Night Train]

3 hours ago, jad1 said:

 

Can't wait for the behind the scenes video of Adams' draft day.  I'll bet he takes 2 hours trying to figure out his lunch order.

[JP51]

16 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I said Doan was going to Rochester when acquired, but honestly I don't think so.  Kozak is the loser here presumably.  

I agree, I think Doan will determine where Doan goes, I think they want him badly to develop into the type of 2 way physical guy that can contribute... I think they give him every chance. 

[dudacek]

41 minutes ago, JP51 said:

I agree, I think Doan will determine where Doan goes, I think they want him badly to develop into the type of 2 way physical guy that can contribute... I think they give him every chance. 

I’m surprised anyone is thinking Doan isn’t inked into the lineup already.

It may not play out this way in terms of lines, but Thompson, Norris, Tuch, Zucker, Greenway and McLeod are going to be Lindy’s top six in terms of ice time, and Malenstyn and Danforth are there to keep kids honest.

Doan is right there battling with Benson, Quinn, Kulich and Krebs to carve out his role. His NHL production matches all of them except Quinn and only Benson is better in terms of defence/grit.

Kozak is not taking his spot and neither are any of the kids from Rochester

Edited Wednesday at 01:47 PM by dudacek

[JP51]

23 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I’m surprised anyone is thinking Doan isn’t inked into the lineup already.

It may not play out this way in terms of lines, but Thompson, Norris, Tuch, Zucker, Greenway and McLeod are going to be Lindy’s top six in terms of ice time, and Malenstyn and Danforth are there to keep kids honest.

Doan is right there battling with Benson, Quinn, Kulich and Krebs to carve out his role. His NHL production matches all of them except Quinn and only Benson is better in terms of defence/grit.

Kozak is not taking his spot and neither are any of the kids from Rochester

Yeah, I really feel Adams loved this piece of the trade.  The only way Doan isnt inked into the lineup is if he was a big swing and a miss and plays poorly, other than that... he has a spot and a shot.  And quite honestly, If he plays well enough I could see him getting even top 6 time. But I do think they have him penciled in 3/4 line. 

Edited Wednesday at 02:11 PM by JP51

[BullBuchanan]

23 hours ago, Thorny said:

Quinn - Kulich - Thompson

Benson - Norris - Tuch

Zucker - McLeod - Doan

Greenway - Krebs - Danforth

Malenstyn

That might be the worst Sabres forward group in my lifetime. 2 legitimate top 6 players + Tim Connolly 2025 edition.

[dudacek]

7 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

That might be the worst Sabres forward group in my lifetime. 2 legitimate top 6 players + Tim Connolly 2025 edition.

 

Moulson 29 Hodgson 44 Ennis 43

Ott 20 Girgensons 22 Stafford 34

Foligno 19 Leino 15 Flynn 13

D’Agostini 11 Ellis 6 Scott 1
 

Are you in middle school? 😜

 

And Moulson got traded and only played 44 games.

I think we’ve kinda flushed those teams from our memories.

[Thorny]

5 minutes ago, dudacek said:

 

Moulson 29 Hodgson 44 Ennis 43

Ott 20 Girgensons 22 Stafford 34

Foligno 19 Leino 15 Flynn 13

D’Agostini 11 Ellis 6 Scott 1
 

Are you in middle school? 😜

 

And Moulson got traded and only played 44 games.

I think we’ve kinda flushed those teams from our memories.

Relative to the goal and how disappointing and unacceptable it is to fall short of it, our current group is worse 

It’s a more flabbergasting set of players 

[MISabresFan]

21 hours ago, JP51 said:

Yeah, I really feel Adams loved this piece of the trade.  The only way Doan isnt inked into the lineup is if he was a big swing and a miss and plays poorly, other than that... he has a spot and a shot.  And quite honestly, If he plays well enough I could see him getting even top 6 time. But I do think they have him penciled in 3/4 line. 

Take the pile, throw them on the ice come camp time, see who is ready to play, in shape, making things happen on the ice, whether it is scoring, forechecking, banging bodies, making skilled passes, and not coughing up the puck; then set the lineup.  Make them earn it.  That will be Lindy's job.  If you don't compete, take a seat.

 

Edited 13 hours ago by MISabresFan

[JP51]

1 hour ago, MISabresFan said:

Take the pile, throw them on the ice come camp time, see who is ready to play, in shape, making things happen on the ice, whether it is scoring, forechecking, banging bodies, making skilled passes, and not coughing up the puck; then set the lineup.  Make them earn it.  That will be Lindy's job.  If you don't compete, take a seat.

 

Exactly, 100% people need to stop being annointed and start earning... I think Doan has real potential to develop into a guy that may not be overly flashy and get a point a game but one of those 20 goal scoring 50-60 pt guys that plays good defense, solid with contested pucks, and brings physicality.. but what I think means about zero... he needs to lace em up and go play... I think he gets every chance... but if he doesnt succeed it will be on him. 

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, MISabresFan said:

Take the pile, throw them on the ice come camp time, see who is ready to play, in shape, making things happen on the ice, whether it is scoring, forechecking, banging bodies, making skilled passes, and not coughing up the puck; then set the lineup.  Make them earn it.  That will be Lindy's job.  If you don't compete, take a seat.

 

Am I the only one who has almost no faith that Ruff has it in him? He's known for playing favorites. 

[Taro T]

23 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Am I the only one who has almost no faith that Ruff has it in him? He's known for playing favorites. 

IF Ruff had assistants that belonged in the NHL, sure it could work.  Does anyone have any faith that the guys that Ruff has teaching the players the X's and O's who just said, cool, walk away from Bernard-Docker, he brought nothing worth mentioning (other than Power playing well when paired with him) will have both insight and sway on helping decide how the lineup should be structured?

Yes, Ruff plays favorites (almost all coaches do to an extent) but he kept Afinogenov in the lineup when he must've been the most frustrating player to coach nearly ever.  And he never held Roy's diving against him even when he was a rookie.  So, Ruff has shown an ability to look past a guy's annoyances if he can actually play hockey.  And he & Regier bought off on Drury's request to dump Satan.  So, his opinion can be swayed.  Just have no faith that the crew he has will be effective in making correct player decisions.

[BullBuchanan]

12 hours ago, dudacek said:

 

Moulson 29 Hodgson 44 Ennis 43

Ott 20 Girgensons 22 Stafford 34

Foligno 19 Leino 15 Flynn 13

D’Agostini 11 Ellis 6 Scott 1
 

Are you in middle school? 😜

 

And Moulson got traded and only played 44 games.

I think we’ve kinda flushed those teams from our memories.

That's not the opening day line. The below is, which is a far stronger grouping. 2013 was also widely recognized as a teardown rebuild year, and we still had a stronger group than we have now. I actually like that whole roster makeup better than what we have now outside of Leino. Ott, Girgensons, Grigorenko and Kaleta were all very physical players with Stafford and Vanek not easy to push around either. That team had big holes and lacked a premier player in their prime like Tage is.
 

Thomas Vanek Cody Hodgson Drew Stafford

Steve Ott Tyler Ennis Ville Leino

Zemgus Girgensons Mikhail Grigorenko Brian Flynn

Cody McCormick Johan Larsson Patrick Kaleta

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

That's not the opening day line. The below is, which is a far stronger grouping. 2013 was also widely recognized as a teardown rebuild year, and we still had a stronger group than we have now. I actually like that whole roster makeup better than what we have now outside of Leino. Ott, Girgensons, Grigorenko and Kaleta were all very physical players with Stafford and Vanek not easy to push around either. That team had big holes and lacked a premier player in their prime like Tage is.
 

Thomas Vanek Cody Hodgson Drew Stafford

Steve Ott Tyler Ennis Ville Leino

Zemgus Girgensons Mikhail Grigorenko Brian Flynn

Cody McCormick Johan Larsson Patrick Kaleta

I dont think that is a stronger roster than 

Benson - Norris - Thompson

Zucker - Kulich - Tuch

Quinn - McLeod - Doan

Greenway - Krebs - Danforth

Kozak

Tage better than Vanek, Norris is better than Hodgson, Benson is probably not yet better than Stafford in goal scoring but is a better 2-way player so we will call that a push.

Zucker is better than Ott, Kulich is at least on par with Ennis although I guess we have to give it to Ennis until Kulich proves that. Leino v Tuch... come on now.

Quinn is better than Zemgus. McLeod is better than Grigorenko. Doan is better than Flynn. 

Greenway is better than McCormick. Krebs and Larsson are probably equal-ish. Kaleta and Danforth are similar enough. 

So the 2013 roster beats out Buffalo maybe when we compare Stafford to Benson, maybe Kulich is worse than Ennis playing center and then... no where else. For some it is laughably not close. The Sabres forward group is far better than the group they started 2013 with. 

[dudacek]

28 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

That's not the opening day line. The below is, which is a far stronger grouping. 2013 was also widely recognized as a teardown rebuild year, and we still had a stronger group than we have now. I actually like that whole roster makeup better than what we have now outside of Leino. Ott, Girgensons, Grigorenko and Kaleta were all very physical players with Stafford and Vanek not easy to push around either. That team had big holes and lacked a premier player in their prime like Tage is.
 

Thomas Vanek Cody Hodgson Drew Stafford

Steve Ott Tyler Ennis Ville Leino

Zemgus Girgensons Mikhail Grigorenko Brian Flynn

Cody McCormick Johan Larsson Patrick Kaleta

The list I posted was the 12 forwards who played the most games that year.

Vanek played 13 games.

Weird that you’re hanging your hat on the likes of end-of-the-line Pat Kaleta and “physical”!? Mikhail Grigorenko, but they played 5 and 18 games respectively and combined for 3 points.

The entire group you posted combined for 77 goals, or 3 less than just Tuch and Tage combined.

That team finished with 27 points less than this year’s team despite having Ryan Miller in goal.

If you want to follow @thorny’s lead and say you liked that forward group more, fill your boots.

But by no objective measure is it better. Not even close

Edited 6 hours ago by dudacek

[BullBuchanan]

6 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I dont think that is a stronger roster than 

Benson - Norris - Thompson

Zucker - Kulich - Tuch

Quinn - McLeod - Doan

Greenway - Krebs - Danforth

Kozak

Tage better than Vanek, Norris is better than Hodgson, Benson is probably not yet better than Stafford in goal scoring but is a better 2-way player so we will call that a push.

Zucker is better than Ott, Kulich is at least on par with Ennis although I guess we have to give it to Ennis until Kulich proves that. Leino v Tuch... come on now.

Quinn is better than Zemgus. McLeod is better than Grigorenko. Doan is better than Flynn. 

Greenway is better than McCormick. Krebs and Larsson are probably equal-ish. Kaleta and Danforth are similar enough. 

So the 2013 roster beats out Buffalo maybe when we compare Stafford to Benson, maybe Kulich is worse than Ennis playing center and then... no where else. For some it is laughably not close. The Sabres forward group is far better than the group they started 2013 with. 

You can't say Norris is better than anybody. Until proven otherwise he's Tim Connolly 2.0. There's an extremely likely possibility that at 26, he's near the end of his career. He's had 3 years of shoulder injuries.

Zucker is not definitively better than Ott. He scores more, but Ott was a more physical presence.
Comparing Quinn and Girgensons is stupid, but no he isn't. Girgensons was very reliable and often the best player in our bottom 6.
Doan is unknown. he might not even be an NHL level talent.
Kaleta was definitely better than Danforth thus far.
Benson should be in the AHL absed on production thus far.
Kulich is not yet on par with Ennis who was a routine 20G scorer.

Thompson + Tuch + McLeod is probably slightly better than Vanek + Stafford + Girgensons at that point int heir careers. But the rest of our group is a mess.

 

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

The list I posted was the 12 forwards who played the most games that year.

Vanek played 13 games.

Cool. None of that is relevant, because we have no idea who will play the most games this year. Maybe adams does a firesale in october -february like we did in 2013. All you can judge is the plan going into the year.

[dudacek]

3 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

You can't say Norris is better than anybody. Until proven otherwise he's Tim Connolly 2.0. There's an extremely likely possibility that at 26, he's near the end of his career. He's had 3 years of shoulder injuries.

Zucker is not definitively better than Ott. He scores more, but Ott was a more physical presence.
Comparing Quinn and Girgensons is stupid, but no he isn't. Girgensons was very reliable and often the best player in our bottom 6.
Doan is unknown. he might not even be an NHL level talent.
Kaleta was definitely better than Danforth thus far.
Benson should be in the AHL absed on production thus far.
Kulich is not yet on par with Ennis who was a routine 20G scorer.

Thompson + Tuch + McLeod is probably slightly better than Vanek + Stafford + Girgensons at that point int heir careers. But the rest of our group is a mess.

 

Cool. None of that is relevant, because we have no idea who will play the most games this year. Maybe adams does a firesale in october -february like we did in 2013. All you can judge is the plan going into the year.

😘 Nice talking to you.
 

[LGR4GM]

29 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

You can't say Norris is better than anybody. Until proven otherwise he's Tim Connolly 2.0. There's an extremely likely possibility that at 26, he's near the end of his career. He's had 3 years of shoulder injuries.

Zucker is not definitively better than Ott. He scores more, but Ott was a more physical presence.
Comparing Quinn and Girgensons is stupid, but no he isn't. Girgensons was very reliable and often the best player in our bottom 6.
Doan is unknown. he might not even be an NHL level talent.
Kaleta was definitely better than Danforth thus far.
Benson should be in the AHL absed on production thus far.
Kulich is not yet on par with Ennis who was a routine 20G scorer.

Thompson + Tuch + McLeod is probably slightly better than Vanek + Stafford + Girgensons at that point int heir careers. But the rest of our group is a mess.

 

Cool. None of that is relevant, because we have no idea who will play the most games this year. Maybe adams does a firesale in october -february like we did in 2013. All you can judge is the plan going into the year.

None of what you wrote here is accurate, other than Norris being a wildcard. The rest is flat out nonsense. 

Benson should be AHL based on production... you realize Steve Ott had 1 more goal and like 10 more assists than Benson? I mean what the ***** are we even doing here. 

Nonsense. 

[Taro T]

32 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

You can't say Norris is better than anybody. Until proven otherwise he's Tim Connolly 2.0. There's an extremely likely possibility that at 26, he's near the end of his career. He's had 3 years of shoulder injuries.

Zucker is not definitively better than Ott. He scores more, but Ott was a more physical presence.
Comparing Quinn and Girgensons is stupid, but no he isn't. Girgensons was very reliable and often the best player in our bottom 6.
Doan is unknown. he might not even be an NHL level talent.
Kaleta was definitely better than Danforth thus far.
Benson should be in the AHL absed on production thus far.
Kulich is not yet on par with Ennis who was a routine 20G scorer.

Thompson + Tuch + McLeod is probably slightly better than Vanek + Stafford + Girgensons at that point int heir careers. But the rest of our group is a mess.

 

Cool. None of that is relevant, because we have no idea who will play the most games this year. Maybe adams does a firesale in october -february like we did in 2013. All you can judge is the plan going into the year.

Kaleta played 5 games for the Sabres in '13-'14 and 7 in Ra-cha-cha.

Girgensons was a rookie that scored 8 goals in 70 games.  And he was in the top 6 that year.  He wasn't the solid 4th liner he'd eventually become at that point.

Grigorenko shouldn't have been anywhere near that team, he once again wasn't ready, and only played 18 games as a Sabre that year.

Larsson was still a rookie that year too.

[Flashsabre]

On 7/1/2025 at 8:31 PM, Night Train said:

Adams: “Hey Terry I need to go the washroom you think that’s OK?”

Pegula: “1 or 2?”

Adams: “It’s going to be a number two. Might be a while”

Pegula: “OK go ahead. And Kevyn, thanks for keeping me in the loop. Communication is key here with the Buffalo Sabres

[shrader]

4 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

None of what you wrote here is accurate, other than Norris being a wildcard. The rest is flat out nonsense. 

Benson should be AHL based on production... you realize Steve Ott had 1 more goal and like 10 more assists than Benson? I mean what the ***** are we even doing here. 

Nonsense. 

So you’re saying that Kaleta’s 27-27-54 over 348 games ISN’T “definitely better” than Danforth’s 31-33-62 in 183 games?

[Carmel Corn]

Anybody see any similarity between Danforth’s game and Benson?

I’m hoping for more offensive upside with Benson over time BTW

Edited 6 hours ago by Carmel Corn