Who do you move for Norris (and eventually Kesserling)?

[SabresBaltimore]

Norris returned last night with a hell of a game, and to make room they sent their 7th defender. But their about to go on a 6 game road trip and won't have the luxury of a quick trip down the 90 if you suddenly need to dress another defender.

To further complicate things, Kesserling is skating. No timeline on when he returns, but they will need to make a spot for him when he does. If you call up a 7th defender this becomes easy to deal with.

Last night they kicked the can down the road another day, but can they afford to go on this trip without a 7th defender? It seems like they have to make another roster move before leaving for Philly tomorrow.

The easy answer is Östlund. Not because he's the right choice, but because he's waiver exempt. I think he's justified staying up, and the other options don't bring what he has added to the roster. I think he's slotted into Kulich's expected role fairly well.

They have 3 goalies. That's the obvious cause we've been dealing with all season. Do they waive Ellis and just move on? St Louis will grab him right back (if someone else doesn't). Do you try to trade one? Have they been trying to trade one? A trade isn't likely to just happen by tomorrow night unless they have been close on a move. If they waive Lyon I'd think he'd get claimed by someone, possibly just as a rental like what happened to Reimer last year.

The other options are Dunne or Kozak, but both would need to clear waivers. I think Dunne has a better chance to clear than Kozak, but maybe I'm overvaluing Kozak or undervaluing Dunne with how well he's played for us this season.

Personally I'd dress either Kozak or Dunne over Greenway, but I don't see that happening. They seem to like Greenway more than I do. I think his contract makes him hard to move.

I'd probably waive Dunne (though I'd prefer to waive Greenway, but the Sabres won't do that)

What's your move?

[Ctaeth]

The Kesselring move may be easier if one of the goalies just takes over the net and makes the others expendable.  

For now, I don't think you can send Östlund down.  Norris just returned and if he goes back out again on the trip... we're probably starting Jordan Greenway as top line center again 🤢.  Östlund gives some flexibility to the lineup that they need imo.  

[shrader]

Dunne has been a nice surprise, but he's very clearly the choice.  He's not getting claimed, but if by some chance he does, you move on.  That's a piece that is much easier to replace than anyone else.

[Pimlach]

It sure seems like Östlund has taken a job from Kulich right now.   

Until they figure out the 3 goalie situation they will have to release either Dunne or Kozak.   

Dunne might be the one waived and is the most likely to survive and make it back to Rochester.  I think Kozak would be picked up by another team if waived.   

 

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

Dunne has been a nice surprise, but he's very clearly the choice.  He's not getting claimed, but if by some chance he does, you move on.  That's a piece that is much easier to replace than anyone else.

When Norris 1st started skating, thought Östlund's play dipped a bit realizing that he was now in Rosen's boat when Greenway came back into the lineup.  But Östlund has picked his play back up the last couple of games.

Kozak gives the team more flexibility for the games that Ruff wants to give Greenway a game off.  Dunne fits better into the role on the 4th line that Greenway fills than Kozak does.  But again, Kozak gives more flexibility to roster construction and is a better player.

So, expect Dunne gets exposed to waivers, unless somebody decides they REALLY want one part of the 3 headed monster and meet Adams price.

[shrader]

11 minutes ago, Taro T said:

When Norris 1st started skating, thought Östlund's play dipped a bit realizing that he was now in Rosen's boat when Greenway came back into the lineup.  But Östlund has picked his play back up the last couple of games.

Kozak gives the team more flexibility for the games that Ruff wants to give Greenway a game off.  Dunne fits better into the role on the 4th line that Greenway fills than Kozak does.  But again, Kozak gives more flexibility to roster construction and is a better player.

So, expect Dunne gets exposed to waivers, unless somebody decides they REALLY want one part of the 3 headed monster and meet Adams price.

This thought about Östlund came to mind this weekend. After that draft, I said I’d be thrilled if we could get 2 NHL centers out of those 3 first round picks. It’s starting to look like we got 3. If they ever turn it around, that draft is a huge part of it. 

[msw2112]

Unfortunately, I don't see any of the 3 goalies seizing the crease anytime soon, so they may be stuck there.  Östlund is deserving to stay, but may need to go down for now so that they don't lose a contributing player.  If it's not Östlund, it's probably Dunne.  All of the early season injuries aside, which has been abnormal and crazy, it's normal for teams to have injuries here and there during the course of the season and it's likely that a Sabre player will be injured sometime soon, clearing the way for Östlund's return.  I do agree with the post above saying that Dunne is the most replaceable and would likely clear, so I wouldn't be shocked if he were the one sent down.  I don't have time to get into a Greenway discussion/debate right now, but I do believe that Dunne is adding more value than a less than 100% Greenway at this point.  Greenway to IR might not be a terrible decision, as he clearly can't play every night, so he's wasting a roster spot on nights he can't play (and others may argue that he's wasting a roster spot on nights that he DOES play, but, again, not looking to get into that debate here).

I assume it's going to be quite some time before Kulich comes back, but things could get a lot more challenging/interesting then.  I assume that Kesserling takes the spot on the ice from Bryson, but I don't know what that does in terms of a roster spot.  I'm not as down on Bryson as some here, but I do believe he's the most expendable of the defense corps.

[Drag0nDan]

2 minutes ago, msw2112 said:

Unfortunately, I don't see any of the 3 goalies seizing the crease anytime soon, so they may be stuck there.  Östlund is deserving to stay, but may need to go down for now so that they don't lose a contributing player.  If it's not Östlund, it's probably Dunne.  All of the early season injuries aside, which has been abnormal and crazy, it's normal for teams to have injuries here and there during the course of the season and it's likely that a Sabre player will be injured sometime soon, clearing the way for Östlund's return.  I do agree with the post above saying that Dunne is the most replaceable and would likely clear, so I wouldn't be shocked if he were the one sent down.  I don't have time to get into a Greenway discussion/debate right now, but I do believe that Dunne is adding more value than a less than 100% Greenway at this point.  Greenway to IR might not be a terrible decision, as he clearly can't play every night, so he's wasting a roster spot on nights he can't play (and others may argue that he's wasting a roster spot on nights that he DOES play, but, again, not looking to get into that debate here).

I assume it's going to be quite some time before Kulich comes back, but things could get a lot more challenging/interesting then.  I assume that Kesserling takes the spot on the ice from Bryson, but I don't know what that does in terms of a roster spot.  I'm not as down on Bryson as some here, but I do believe he's the most expendable of the defense corps.

Personally i want to evaluate Östlund on a long road trip more than i want to keep dunne assuming he doesn't clear.  I also don't think you can operate with kozak/krebs as the 3/4 centers and expect to score enough goals.  

[SabresBaltimore]

11 minutes ago, msw2112 said:

I assume that Kesserling takes the spot on the ice from Bryson, but I don't know what that does in terms of a roster spot.

I think we make a move now to let us call up a 7th defender, then Kesserling becomes easy. Defender goes back to Rochester, Kesserling goes in and Byrson is now the 7th defender instead of a callup. I just don't think it's practical to only carry 6 defenders for very long, especially with all the injuries we've already had this year.

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, SabresBaltimore said:

I think we make a move now to let us call up a 7th defender, then Kesserling becomes easy. Defender goes back to Rochester, Kesserling goes in and Byrson is now the 7th defender instead of a callup. I just don't think it's practical to only carry 6 defenders for very long, especially with all the injuries we've already had this year.

Not so sure about that.  They definitely kept Greenway out longer than needed and they seem to have been able to get Norris back sooner too, but with both guys they wanted to err on the side of caution about possibly rushing them back too soon.  And even now, Greenway is getting spelled games while he works back from the surgeries.

So, expect there's a good chance that Kesselring could play now if the absolutely needed him.  But they're happy with what Bryson has been doing.

We'll know either way tomorrow as they aren't likely to travel to Filly without a 7th D-man available, whether he's on the 23 man roster or not.

[SabresBaltimore]

6 minutes ago, Taro T said:

So, expect there's a good chance that Kesselring could play now if the absolutely needed him.  But they're happy with what Bryson has been doing.

We'll know either way tomorrow as they aren't likely to travel to Filly without a 7th D-man available, whether he's on the 23 man roster or not.

I hadn't considered the possibility that Kesserling was close enough for them not to call someone up from Rochester, especially since he only started skating again yesterday. I still think they'll have to call someone up from Rochester for tomorrow night, even if they send him back sooner than later.

[LGR4GM]

 

[Scottysabres]

UPL

[Flashsabre]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

It sure seems like Östlund has taken a job from Kulich right now.   

Until they figure out the 3 goalie situation they will have to release either Dunne or Kozak.   

Dunne might be the one waived and is the most likely to survive and make it back to Rochester.  I think Kozak would be picked up by another team if waived.   

 

Östlund is a true centre whereas Kulich is not. Kulich is better suited as a goal scoring winger.

It doesn’t sound like Kulich will be back anytime soon but they shouldn’t be competing for the same position when he does return.

[Jorcus]

It only gets difficult when Justin Danforth comes back assuming all others are healthy. Not sure why they signed this Amerk blocker to a 2 year 1.8 AAV contract. If this was Jarmo's doing it's a bad look. Not sure where they intended to slot him into the lineup in the first place. With that contract he is going to be difficult to get rid of this year. I am not worried about losing Dunn but this guy could cost us Kozak.  

[#freejame]

Greenway has a stupid contract for what he provides and on top of that they need to manage his playing time because of injury risks related to a hernia. Dump Greenway or figure out the tenders. Östlund has earned his playing time, as has Kozak. Waiving Dunne is fine, but I don’t see the benefit of Greenway over him. 

[Porous Five Hole]

2 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Östlund is a true centre whereas Kulich is not. Kulich is better suited as a goal scoring winger.

It doesn’t sound like Kulich will be back anytime soon but they shouldn’t be competing for the same position when he does return.

I don’t agree and I think this is recency bias. Kulich was centering a top six line as a rookie and in 62 games, he put up 15G, 9A and was only a -4. 

I think what it boils down to is usage. Östlund is centering a bottom six line with absolute dawgs on each side (Doan & Tuch yesterday, before that Benson & Kozak). He’s been good but there’s no pressure for production. Kulich had that pressure to produce and was on a 20 goal pace as a rookie…and was not a dud defensively.

I’m not down on Östlund at all. He’s a smart hockey player and the points will come.
But their usage is completely different and it’s important to consider.

[Doohickie]

4 hours ago, Taro T said:

Dunne fits better into the role on the 4th line that Greenway fills than Kozak does. 

I'm not seeing that.

[GASabresIUFAN]

The Sabres have a 23 man roster right now with Kesselring, Kulich and Danforth on IR.  I doesn't look like Danforth and Kulich are coming off IR any time soon.  

If they take another D (Johnson?) on the WC swing the choices to create a roster spot are

1) Do nothing if there is another injury against the Flyers

or

2) Send Östlund down.  This is the simplest move and we know how much Adams likes simple.  If they like what Östlund brings then they move on to one of options 3-5.

or

3) Waive Dunne - He is 26 year old journeyman.  I doubt he gets claimed if waived and if he does such is life.  

or

4) Waive a skater not named Dunne - guys like Krebs, Kozak, Bryson all fit the bill of "replaceable" depth players.  I doubt any are on KA's list.  Bryson because he must have some incriminating photos of Adams (no other reason he is still a Sabres or in the NHL for that matter).  Kozak because he can play anywhere and is an absolute effort forward that even Adams wouldn't be stupid enough to part with.  Krebs because he can play anywhere in the bottom 9 and Adams would never admit he screwed up in acquiring him.

or

5) Move on from one of Lyon, Ellis or UPL - If we move on from one of the goalies, odds favor Lyon.  He's on a two year contract and might clear.  If not, not.  Adams again won't move on from his guy UPL and Ellis is cheaper and has more upside than Lyon.  

Edited 1 hour ago by GASabresIUFAN

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Östlund is a true centre whereas Kulich is not. Kulich is better suited as a goal scoring winger.

It doesn’t sound like Kulich will be back anytime soon but they shouldn’t be competing for the same position when he does return.

Agree. But Kulich played a lot of center last season and some for parts of this season.   Kulich is still valuable as a winger and versatility is never a bad thing.  

Östlund is a true center.  He sees and feels what’s happening on the ice and is smart with his positioning.  So far he is willing to get back and be defensively responsible.  He plays like he has had good coaching coming up.