Injury update, Sept 26, 2025: Samuelsson minor injury

[SwampD]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

I feel like Muel and Greenway are guys they could’ve moved on from.

They could’ve let Johnson and Jones battle it out for 3rd LD and a fourth line  combination of

Beck/Geertsen Krebs/Kozak.  Dunne

would suit Lindy’s needs.  Would save the team about $7 million to use elsewhere.

Like freed up cap space?

[JohnC]

13 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

And aren't the physical presence they were claimed to be

If you are referring to Power and Samuelsson, neither one of them were claimed to be physical presences. Their games were never predicated on ruggedness and physicality. It's just the opposite. Their games were always described in terms associated with skating and puck movement. The type of players that many want these big fellows to be will never materialize because it's not who they are as players now and will ever be. In the spectrum scale with physicality on one end and finesse on the other end, the marker will lean more towards finesse.  

[LGR4GM]

On 9/26/2025 at 12:05 PM, LGR4GM said:

What's the point of Samuelsson? He's the concept of kassian but as a defender. 

 

12 minutes ago, JohnC said:

If you are referring to Power and Samuelsson, neither one of them were claimed to be physical presences. Their games were never predicated on ruggedness and physicality. It's just the opposite. Their games were always described in terms associated with skating and puck movement. The type of players that many want these big fellows to be will never materialize because it's not who they are as players now and will ever be. In the spectrum scale with physicality on one end and finesse on the other end, the marker will lean more towards finesse.  

I'm not. 

13 hours ago, shrader said:

Power was claimed to be a physical presence?

I'm not. 

[K-9]

12 minutes ago, JohnC said:

If you are referring to Power and Samuelsson, neither one of them were claimed to be physical presences. Their games were never predicated on ruggedness and physicality. It's just the opposite. Their games were always described in terms associated with skating and puck movement. The type of players that many want these big fellows to be will never materialize because it's not who they are as players now and will ever be. In the spectrum scale with physicality on one end and finesse on the other end, the marker will lean more towards finesse.  

Agree entirely about Power, disagree about Muel. I may be wrong, but I don’t recall anyone ever suggesting Muel’s game is predicated on skating and puck movement. He’s a plow horse out there and he ain’t that good at plowing, either.

[Flashsabre]

24 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Like freed up cap space?

Greenway and Muel make about $8.3 million between them. Replace them with let’s say Dunne and Johnson and you have significant money freed up for a Tuch extension or something else.

Edited 3 hours ago by Flashsabre

[JohnC]

7 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Agree entirely about Power, disagree about Muel. I may be wrong, but I don’t recall anyone ever suggesting Muel’s game is predicated on skating and puck movement. He’s a plow horse out there and he ain’t that good at plowing, either.

We have a different perception on Samuelsson's style of play. I never considered his game predicated on a hard-nosed and rugged style of play. However, while  acknowledging how I perceive how these two players play, that is not to say that they shouldn't put more effort on the physical side of the game. 

[K-9]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

We have a different perception on Samuelsson's style of play. I never considered his game predicated on a hard-nosed and rugged style of play. However, while  acknowledging how I perceive how these two players play, that is not to say that they shouldn't put more effort on the physical side of the game. 

I don’t think his game was ever predicated on being hard-nosed and rugged, either. Imo, his game was predicated on making smart decisions with the puck and being able to clear the crease and win battles in the corners when necessary. If clearing the crease and winning puck battles in the corners means “hard-nosed” then we can agree on that. In my mind, hard-nosed simply means being hard to play against. As in Benson is far more hard-nosed than Muel. 

[Pimlach]

36 minutes ago, JohnC said:

If you are referring to Power and Samuelsson, neither one of them were claimed to be physical presences. Their games were never predicated on ruggedness and physicality. It's just the opposite. Their games were always described in terms associated with skating and puck movement. The type of players that many want these big fellows to be will never materialize because it's not who they are as players now and will ever be. In the spectrum scale with physicality on one end and finesse on the other end, the marker will lean more towards finesse.  

I disagree on Samuelsson.  He was expected to play a more physical game.  Unfortunately he can’t hold up and is injury prone.   

[JohnC]

Just now, Pimlach said:

I disagree on Samuelsson.  He was expected to play a more physical game.  Unfortunately he can’t hold up and is injury prone.   

We disagree on what was expected from Samuelsson associated with his style of play. On the other hand, I agree with you that even if he altered his game to being more physical, it certainly doesn't appear that he could handle the rigors of that style of play. I haven't given up on Samuelsson. But it does seem that he is in the category of a pro athlete whose career is always going to be plagued/marred with injuries. It's a shame.  

[Pimlach]

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

We disagree on what was expected from Samuelsson associated with his style of play. On the other hand, I agree with you that even if he altered his game to being more physical, it certainly doesn't appear that he could handle the rigors of that style of play. I haven't given up on Samuelsson. But it does seem that he is in the category of a pro athlete whose career is always going to be plagued/marred with injuries. It's a shame.  

Adam’s thought he had a big, rugged,, top 4 and he paid him as such.  

Based on Muel’s performance the past couple of seasons I have no reason to think he will ever be anything more than a 5/6 defender.  He is overpaid for that role, blame that on Adams.   His inability to stay in the line up is another negative.  

[SwampD]

34 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Greenway and Muel make about $8.3 million between them. Replace them with let’s say Dunne and Johnson and you have significant money freed up for a Tuch extension or something else.

I was being sarcastic.

I’ll believe that they will use extra money in an attempt to win when they actually do it. Until then, it’s all lip service.

Remember when we needed all that money to sign JJP,… and then let him walk.

Edited 2 hours ago by SwampD

[French Collection]

Just now, JohnC said:

We disagree on what was expected from Samuelsson associated with his style of play. On the other hand, I agree with you that even if he altered his game to being more physical, it certainly doesn't appear that he could handle the rigors of that style of play. I haven't given up on Samuelsson. But it does seem that he is in the category of a pro athlete whose career is always going to be plagued/marred with injuries. It's a shame.  

The history of injuries probably makes even more tame, scared of getting hurt again.

[JohnC]

Just now, Pimlach said:

Adam’s thought he had a big, rugged,, top 4 and he paid him as such.  

Based on Muel’s performance the past couple of seasons I have no reason to think he will ever be anything more than a 5/6 defender.  He is overpaid for that role, blame that on Adams.   His inability to stay in the line up is another negative.  

Adams miscalculating on anything is not only not a surprise but should be expected. The silent owner with the big boat made a peculiar GM hire. The resulting performance by the GM shouldn't be a surprise. I agree with you that Samuelsson is a third pairing caliber of player. And assuming that he is healthy (big assumption) that is where he will be playing.  

[French Collection]

49 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

It blows my mind that he still has an A on his jersey? captains don't need to be skill players, but I expect these guys to lead with their effort on the ice and I've never seen it from Mule. 

The other reason to rip that A off was when TNT is laying on the ice after a cheap shot and this big Mule looks around with a dumbfounded look on his face instead of grabbing someone and asking for answers.

More donkey than Mule.

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, French Collection said:

The history of injuries probably makes even more tame, scared of getting hurt again.

It just seems to me that regardless what his style of play is he appears to be the type of player who will always be plagued with injuries. I want to be wrong on this issue. But the record indicates otherwise. 

[inkman]

20 minutes ago, JohnC said:

We disagree on what was expected from Samuelsson associated with his style of play. On the other hand, I agree with you that even if he altered his game to being more physical, it certainly doesn't appear that he could handle the rigors of that style of play. I haven't given up on Samuelsson. But it does seem that he is in the category of a pro athlete whose career is always going to be plagued/marred with injuries. It's a shame.  

What does a 6’5” dman with no offensive talent supposed to bring to the table? Because it’s not lock down D.  It’s barely serviceable. 

[JohnC]

Just now, inkman said:

What does a 6’5” dman with no offensive talent supposed to bring to the table? Because it’s not lock down D.  It’s barely serviceable. 

I, and most others agree, that he is not a lock down defenseman. He's a third pairing caliber of player who can also be a good PK player. 

[inkman]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I, and most others agree, that he is not a lock down defenseman. He's a third pairing caliber of player who can also be a good PK player. 

I 1000% need a player in that role to rip faces off 

[Archie Lee]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

We disagree on what was expected from Samuelsson associated with his style of play. On the other hand, I agree with you that even if he altered his game to being more physical, it certainly doesn't appear that he could handle the rigors of that style of play. I haven't given up on Samuelsson. But it does seem that he is in the category of a pro athlete whose career is always going to be plagued/marred with injuries. It's a shame.  

I think that we are generally talking about what Samuelsson was projected to be when he was a prospect. In Rochester, Seth Appert described Samuelsson as “miserable to play against”.  There was no mistaking what Appert was inferring: Samuelsson was big, tough, and mean and he made opposing forwards pay a price for going to the hard places on the ice. Whether something changed in Samuelsson or Appert and others were just wrong in their evaluation, I don’t know.  As an NHL player, he has shown only glimpses of being a player who is miserable to play against.  

 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

I was being sarcastic.

I’ll believe that they will use extra money in an attempt to win when they actually do it. Until then, it’s all lip service.

Remember when we needed all that money to sign JJP,… and then let him walk.

JJP wanted out. He didn’t want to be here and I’m not so sure that the HC wanted to keep him. The GM traded him for Kesserling and Doan. JJP immediately signed an extension with his new team which he wasn’t going to do with the Sabres. In my view,  it was a fair deal for both organization. 

[JohnC]

5 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

I think that we are generally talking about what Samuelsson was projected to be when he was a prospect. In Rochester, Seth Appert described Samuelsson as “miserable to play against”.  There was no mistaking what Appert was inferring: Samuelsson was big, tough, and mean and he made opposing forwards pay a price for going to the hard places on the ice. Whether something changed in Samuelsson or Appert and others were just wrong in their evaluation, I don’t know.  As an NHL player, he has shown only glimpses of being a player who is miserable to play against.  

 

Clearly, the projection didn’t materialize. The type of player he was in the AHL didn’t end up being transferable to the higher league. Starring in the AHL doesn’t always mean that the lower league star will be a higher league star. That’s a regular occurrence. 

[LGR4GM]

I'm just glad there's so many defenders in the prospect pool that Samuelsson will be expendable. 

[Archie Lee]

9 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I'm just glad there's so many defenders in the prospect pool that Samuelsson will be expendable. 

What is frustrating, I think, is that a skilled GM is, generally if not always, a step ahead in evaluating his own players. An organization should be able to sort out its own players and identify the traits that will hold them back. Such players should be moved when their value is still high and before long-term commitments are locked into. I’m not implying this is easy or that any GM gets every evaluation correct. Going back to the end of the 91 point season though, it is largely where Adams has failed and what set the team back. 

Edited 40 minutes ago by Archie Lee