Who are your ‘untouchables’?

[elijah]

I think there may have been a thread on this earlier in the year, so merge if necessary. However some time has passed and we now have a new and aggressive GM, and are also winning and on the edge of a playoff race so the answers may differ. 

Rasmus Dahlin is obviously an untouchable, but what got me thinking about this thread is my second player. 

While having a conversation with a friend, I realized that the only player outside of Rasmus Dahlin that I deem to be untouchable (in my mind obviously) is Zach Benson. He’s analytically sound, he passes the eye test, and he’s producing. He’s also only 20 years old. His play style exactly embodies what it is that is leading to this renaissance of Sabres play that we’re seeing. Between the hustle, the effort and the commitment to team defense. I would be heartbroken to see Benson go, and I really believe he can eventually be the face of this new era of Sabres hockey. I think he peaks as a 65-75 point two way forward that’s annually in Selke discussions. 

Outside of Benson and Dahlin, I would be fine with literally anyone being moved in a trade if it upgraded the team. Even Tage, as good of a goal scorer as he is, if you were to move Tage I’d assume that it’d be for one that’s even better than he is. 

So who are the untouchables in this organization for you guys? Curious if anyone agrees on Benson, and if not what other names there are.

[PASabreFan]

Still no one. And how is Jarmo aggressive?

[elijah]

5 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Still no one. And how is Jarmo aggressive?

Every step of his Blue Jackets tenure supports the notion that he’s an aggressive GM. He is an aggressive GM by nature. 

Claiming he isn’t because he hasn’t made a trade yet in his first month as acting GM that included a 10 game winning streak and possibly not wanting to break up the chemistry during it would be an absolutely ludicrous hill to die on.

[Wyldnwoody44]

I'd keep Doan, Benson, Dahlin, Östlund....I also like McLeod a lot 

[Scottysabres]

Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith

[pastajoe]

8 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith

[SABRES 0311]

Dahlin, Thompson, and surprisingly Lyon.

Dahlin: He’s kind of off this year for understandable reasons. He’s still a very high end defenseman and I’m excited to seeing him when he’s back to true form.

Thompson: Visually seems to have picked up his game. Still has moments of looking nonchalant but ever since he was selected to the Olympic team he has looked more motivated. I’d like to him with an experienced playmaking winger. Looking forward to hopefully see him elevating his game during and after the Olympics.

Lyon: Not an all star by any means but he has done a real good job for this team. If we acquired a legitimate and consistent 1G he would make a great backup we can rely on.

Hard to part with but willing for a good price:

Tuch, Muel, Byram, Doan

Good support but willing to part if there’s an upgrade:

Malenstyn, McLeod, Zucker, Benson

Needs to go:

Greenway, Quinn, Krebs, UPL, Power in that order.

Way too early to tell for the role they play:

Norris, Östlund, Kozak, Kesserling, Timmins, Dunne

[Weave]

Never an untouchable.  Show me the return first.

[Flashsabre]

#78 Bryson, Jacob

[Stads]

The Strawberry Jelly is pretty good but this is my favorite. I was meaning for someone to ask about my affinity for Uncrustables. I also can't read very well so apologies if this was wrong

[PASabreFan]

1 hour ago, elijah said:

Every step of his Blue Jackets tenure supports the notion that he’s an aggressive GM. He is an aggressive GM by nature. 

Claiming he isn’t because he hasn’t made a trade yet in his first month as acting GM that included a 10 game winning streak and possibly not wanting to break up the chemistry during it would be an absolutely ludicrous hill to die on.

I'm dying on a hill... OK.

[French Collection]

24 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

#78 Bryson, Jacob

His guardian angel has been reassigned.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

Still no one. And how is Jarmo aggressive?

Since he's become GM, I believe there's been 1 minor trade in the entire league. 

Aggression shouldn't be code for foolish. And I think decisive is better word. 

Untouchable:

Dahlin, Samuelsson, Doan, Benson, and Thompson. 

I'd hesitate to add others but I like quite a few of these guys including Norris, Tuch, Zucker, McLeod

[elijah]

27 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

I'm dying on a hill... OK.

Jarmo traded for Ivan Provorov, Jakub Voracek, Seth Jones, Max Domi, Ryan Dzingel, Matt Duchene, Thomas Vanek, Artemi Panarin, Scott Hartnell and Brandon Saad all in their prime or atleast still high end producers slightly out of their prime.  

He traded away 5 1st round picks and 4 2nd round picks and countless prospects that I don’t feel like sifting through to see who was significant at the time. 

One of his first interviews in Buffalo after being promoted to GM, he said something along the lines of as a GM, if you think you have even a chance to win it all I believe it’s your duty to go all-in and you can get the picks and prospects back later when that core is exasperated. 

The insinuation that Jarmo is not aggressive is literally nothing but a statement meant to be contrarian for the hell of it, it is an objectively wrong statement. So yes, you are dying on a hill for no apparent reason and it’s a hill that is extremely far from the reality of the situation. 

[Big Guava]

Dahlin,Thompson, Benson, Samuelsson, Doan...

Maybe one or two others.

[HumanSlinky39]

Tage

Dahlin

That's it as far as "untouchable."

I'd much prefer to keep: Norris (if healthy), Benson, Samuelsson, McLeod, Õstlund, Kulich, Rosen, Doan.

If Tuch was locked up, he'd be pretty close to "untouchable." I still consider him my favorite Sabre.

Excluding Zucker from prefer to keep only because of his age.

Anybody else can be moved to improve the team.

Edited January 10 by HumanSlinky39

[HumanSlinky39]

21 minutes ago, elijah said:

Jarmo traded for Ivan Provorov, Jakub Voracek, Seth Jones, Max Domi, Ryan Dzingel, Matt Duchene, Thomas Vanek, Artemi Panarin, Scott Hartnell and Brandon Saad all in their prime or atleast still high end producers slightly out of their prime.  

He traded away 5 1st round picks and 4 2nd round picks and countless prospects that I don’t feel like sifting through to see who was significant at the time. 

One of his first interviews in Buffalo after being promoted to GM, he said something along the lines of as a GM, if you think you have even a chance to win it all I believe it’s your duty to go all-in and you can get the picks and prospects back later when that core is exasperated. 

The insinuation that Jarmo is not aggressive is literally nothing but a statement meant to be contrarian for the hell of it, it is an objectively wrong statement. So yes, you are dying on a hill for no apparent reason and it’s a hill that is extremely far from the reality of the situation. 

I'd also add he managed to lure Johnny Hockey, the prize FA of his class to a non-hockey market when nobody had them anywhere near the mix. Jarmo has the balls to make the moves Adams was afraid to even attempt. 

[elijah]

1 minute ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

I'd also add he managed to lure Johnny Hockey, the prize FA of his class to a non-hockey market when nobody had them anywhere near the mix. Jarmo has the balls to make the moves Adams was afraid to even attempt. 

Lol, I didn’t even think to look at free agency as well. Good point

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, elijah said:

I think there may have been a thread on this earlier in the year, so merge if necessary. However some time has passed and we now have a new and aggressive GM, and are also winning and on the edge of a playoff race so the answers may differ. 

Rasmus Dahlin is obviously an untouchable, but what got me thinking about this thread is my second player. 

While having a conversation with a friend, I realized that the only player outside of Rasmus Dahlin that I deem to be untouchable (in my mind obviously) is Zach Benson. He’s analytically sound, he passes the eye test, and he’s producing. He’s also only 20 years old. His play style exactly embodies what it is that is leading to this renaissance of Sabres play that we’re seeing. Between the hustle, the effort and the commitment to team defense. I would be heartbroken to see Benson go, and I really believe he can eventually be the face of this new era of Sabres hockey. I think he peaks as a 65-75 point two way forward that’s annually in Selke discussions. 

Outside of Benson and Dahlin, I would be fine with literally anyone being moved in a trade if it upgraded the team. Even Tage, as good of a goal scorer as he is, if you were to move Tage I’d assume that it’d be for one that’s even better than he is. 

So who are the untouchables in this organization for you guys? Curious if anyone agrees on Benson, and if not what other names there are.

Right now Muel is approaching Dahlin as far as someone to keep and build on.  

Thompson is a big piece and has been growing his game with more physical play - only in spurts for now,  would like to see angry Tage more. 

I put Doan with Benson as equally important to build on.  That’s a good nucleus. 

[Second Line Center]

Doan.  Benson.  And I’m adding Muel.  
 

They are off limits.  You can always find skill but the intangibles and IQ you can’t teach is too hard to find and too valuable to part with.  

[Sabres73]

The way we're playing right now, I'm only making minor tweaks to the roster at most until this lineup shows they're not there yet. Team chemistry is a fragile thing. Look at Ottawa and how they're completely falling apart. If we start losing on a regular basis again, then I make a move if it makes sense. We won't maintain the current winning pace, but we don't have to to be in the playoffs. Imagine making a huge deal, and we then miss the playoffs after being right on the cusp. Let's go boys!

Edited January 10 by Sabres73

[PerreaultForever]

As I've said earlier nobody is untouchable. If they are offering you McDavid for example, anybody can be on the table.

Honestly my list of players to trade is shorter so I will do that. 

Quinn, Greenway, one goalie (at the moment my choice is Ellis), Power or Byram IFF we are getting a defensive stud D man back, possibly Kesselring, Timmons or Bryson but again only with D men coming back in, any prospect or Rochester player except for Helenius and Mrtka, and Tuch maybe if he won't sign before the deadline. Would also consider moving Kulich in the right deal but preferably not. All draft picks up for grabs.

I have no interest in trading anyone else unless it's a can't refuse offer on a proven player. 

[elijah]

3 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Would also consider moving Kulich in the right deal but preferably not. All draft picks up for grabs.

I think at this point in the season and with the breakout of Östlund, Kulich needs to be dangling out there as trade bait. Even before the blood clots and the Östlund break out I wasn’t in love with his commitment to defense. At the very least when he comes back he needs to get an AHL ‘reconditioning’ stint (more a stint to tell him he needs to commit to defense in the big league). 

In any big fish splash, Kulich should be your A level prospect that you’re discussing 

[quill]

There are several players in mind who I'd hate to see traded, but Dahlin is the only one I'd consider untouchable. He's a franchise player. 

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, elijah said:

I think at this point in the season and with the breakout of Östlund, Kulich needs to be dangling out there as trade bait. Even before the blood clots and the Östlund break out I wasn’t in love with his commitment to defense. At the very least when he comes back he needs to get an AHL ‘reconditioning’ stint (more a stint to tell him he needs to commit to defense in the big league). 

In any big fish splash, Kulich should be your A level prospect that you’re discussing 

Well I still think Kulich has more upside than Quinn but I included him as a possible because we have other offensive scorers. It all depends on who is coming in. One assumes here we aren't going to trade players for futures. Those days are hopefully done aside from needing to move an extra body for cap reasons or redundancy.