What to do about Krebs?

[Porous Five Hole]

2 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Krebs is worth $2.5M, $2.75 max.  
 

 

 

 

Krebs is worth his qualifying offer of $1.45MM. There’s no reason to give him term. And the risk of an offer sheet is super low. He has almost no negotiating rights and the Sabres don’t have any reason to buy future years of term for a higher price. 

[Richard Noggin]

12 hours ago, dudacek said:

What do you call the player who had the 2nd most ES ice time among current Sabre forwards last year, 5th overall?

How about one who is 7th in points, 4th at even strength?

A 4th liner.

Hardest working player on the Sabres. Starting to become my favourite when I read threads like this. Does whatever the coach asks and always puts the crest ahead of himself.

Hope he gets term and a chance to flip his middle finger to the haters after Ras hands him the cup.

😘

 

 

11 hours ago, K-9 said:

Our best 4th line combo last season was Beck, Krebs, and Kozak. I like the idea of Carrick replacing Kozak for an entire season as that line would be even better. And as others have pointed out, there is value in being able to seamlessly move up the lineup in a pinch. And he’s another glue guy as well. 

Any questions at all about how Carrick's season ended with the "upper body" injury he maybe rushed back from, but also with what appeared to be at least two knee buckling KOs (the last of which was an absolute sucker punch(es)). Those had to be tough for his young family to witness over a relatively short period of time.

 

8 hours ago, Night Train said:

McLeod has never been my whipping boy. I viewed him as a 3rd line center and PK ace. 

54 and 53 points his last 2 years. 8 shorthanded goals. ..8 ! 

He fills the role I envision him. 

Now that Greenway and Tuch aren't here for the PK, He and Beck become very important. 

McLeod needs a massive rebound in '26 if he remains on the roster. He was so bad at times down the stretch. And for what we're paying him, he cannot be a total liability like that. I know his season looks okay in numbers. But we all have eyes and watched McLeod throw up all over himself a few too many times as the games got meaningful. 

[bunomatic]

21 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Any questions at all about how Carrick's season ended with the "upper body" injury he maybe rushed back from, but also with what appeared to be at least two knee buckling KOs (the last of which was an absolute sucker punch(es)). Those had to be tough for his young family to witness over a relatively short period of time.

 

McLeod needs a massive rebound in '26 if he remains on the roster. He was so bad at times down the stretch. And for what we're paying him, he cannot be a total liability like that. I know his season looks okay in numbers. But we all have eyes and watched McLeod throw up all over himself a few too many times as the games got meaningful. 

Hey ewe get off of McLeod

or is it hey McLeod get off of my ewe ? 
anyhoo every team needs a guy with a toothless smile. I hope he pulls hiself together.

[Porous Five Hole]

4 minutes ago, bunomatic said:

Hey ewe get off of McLeod

or is it hey McLeod get off of my ewe ? 
anyhoo every team needs a guy with a toothless smile. I hope he pulls hiself together.

How much have you had to drink tonight?

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, SwampD said:

In thinking about money for contracts, it used to be you’d figure around $100000 per point. I think it’s more like $125000 per point now.

He’s worth 5x5.

if we had a power play worth a squirt, he’d be worth even more. He draws a lot of penalties.

I really think you believe Krebs is far more valuable than he is. Paying people like him this sort of number would destroy your cap and we won't get out of the division. Team needs to get better, not stay the same. 

At the moment, the roster is actually not as good as last year's. Zellewegger might be good but he's not as good as Byram right now. We will also miss Tuch a lot until the kids develop to that level (if). If you're going to stick with just rolling back Krebs and Malentstyn and think the team is better it's pretty unlikely to come true. 

[Apollo]

5 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

How much have you had to drink tonight?

A Rolling Stone gathers no moss.

[oddoublee]

5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I really think you believe Krebs is far more valuable than he is. Paying people like him this sort of number would destroy your cap and we won't get out of the division. Team needs to get better, not stay the same. 

At the moment, the roster is actually not as good as last year's. Zellewegger might be good but he's not as good as Byram right now. We will also miss Tuch a lot until the kids develop to that level (if). If you're going to stick with just rolling back Krebs and Malentstyn and think the team is better it's pretty unlikely to come true. 

A lot of people are excited about our new shiny toys on D...that's fine.

But not only is Zellwegger not as good as Byram right now - Id but a solid dollar he will never be as good or even close to. 

In my perfect world, we bring in a responsible vet Dmen, and make our two new defensive toys and Timmins fight their ***** off for a top 6 roster spot. 

[LGR4GM]

20 minutes ago, oddoublee said:

A lot of people are excited about our new shiny toys on D...that's fine.

But not only is Zellwegger not as good as Byram right now - Id but a solid dollar he will never be as good or even close to. 

In my perfect world, we bring in a responsible vet Dmen, and make our two new defensive toys and Timmins fight their ***** off for a top 6 roster spot. 

They're not gonna do that. Zellweger has 164 games played, Crevier has 134. Timmins is at 198 games. 

I would note that most ppl think Östlund and Kulich and Helenius and other young guys will improve but Zellweger, Crevier, and Timmins just are what they are. I think at least 1 of them can probably get better. 

[#freejame]

42 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

They're not gonna do that. Zellweger has 164 games played, Crevier has 134. Timmins is at 198 games. 

I would note that most ppl think Östlund and Kulich and Helenius and other young guys will improve but Zellweger, Crevier, and Timmins just are what they are. I think at least 1 of them can probably get better. 

Timmins only being at 198 games is crazy to me. Seems like he’s been in the league forever. 

[dudacek]

6 minutes ago, #freejame said:

Timmins only being at 198 games is crazy to me. Seems like he’s been in the league forever. 

He’s missed more games to injury than Josh Norris.

And I think that may literally be true.

[oddoublee]

54 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

They're not gonna do that. Zellweger has 164 games played, Crevier has 134. Timmins is at 198 games. 

I would note that most ppl think Östlund and Kulich and Helenius and other young guys will improve but Zellweger, Crevier, and Timmins just are what they are. I think at least 1 of them can probably get better. 

I think they are all NHL capable - I'm just not sure they are top 4 D capable. 

Saying that...i do like that zell 'could be' as he is young and can grow still. Anaheim benching him come playoff time gives me a little pause. 

Crevier might be the one I'm highest on - a legit 3rd pair who can play on the PK and has the wheels to play with our team.

[K-9]

10 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

Any questions at all about how Carrick's season ended with the "upper body" injury he maybe rushed back from, but also with what appeared to be at least two knee buckling KOs (the last of which was an absolute sucker punch(es)). Those had to be tough for his young family to witness over a relatively short period of time.

Good point. We should all have concerns about his health going into the season. Especially when considering he’s 34 which isn’t exactly a spring chicken for hockey players. 

[Ghost of Ville Leino]

Interesting to see where Krebs's salary lands after the Malenstyn deal. Before this offseason I would have had him as a 2.5-3.5 bridge guy but seeing what 4th liners have been getting has me thinking more 4-5 mil. Whatever his number comes in at will tell us how much jarmo (and to a lesser degree the NHL) values size and violence. Krebs is a willing hitter but he's not imposing like Beck.

[Carmel Corn]

22 minutes ago, Ghost of Ville Leino said:

Interesting to see where Krebs's salary lands after the Malenstyn deal. Before this offseason I would have had him as a 2.5-3.5 bridge guy but seeing what 4th liners have been getting has me thinking more 4-5 mil. Whatever his number comes in at will tell us how much jarmo (and to a lesser degree the NHL) values size and violence. Krebs is a willing hitter but he's not imposing like Beck.

He has the will, but can’t back it up with size.  Anything over $3M is too much….or even $2.5 for that matter.

[Ghost of Ville Leino]

Just now, Carmel Corn said:

He has the will, but can’t back it up with size.  Anything over $3M is too much….or even $2.5 for that matter.

Krebs is a 25 year old former 1st round pick who just had a ton of ice time and 39 points in a successful role on a 109 point team.

Malenstyn is a 28 year old 14 point 4th liner.

 

How can you justify giving Krebs less?

[#freejame]

1 minute ago, Ghost of Ville Leino said:

Krebs is a 25 year old former 1st round pick who just had a ton of ice time and 39 points in a successful role on a 109 point team.

Malenstyn is a 28 year old 14 point 4th liner.

 

How can you justify giving Krebs less?

He actually played less last season than the year before. 13:46 a night. He’s also increased his production year over year. 

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, Ghost of Ville Leino said:

Krebs is a 25 year old former 1st round pick who just had a ton of ice time and 39 points in a successful role on a 109 point team.

Malenstyn is a 28 year old 14 point 4th liner.

 

How can you justify giving Krebs less?

RFA years vs UFA years.

Before commenting on what the contract $'s should be, need to know what the term is.  Krebs is an RFA for 2 more years.

[SDS]

14 minutes ago, Ghost of Ville Leino said:

Krebs is a 25 year old former 1st round pick who just had a ton of ice time and 39 points in a successful role on a 109 point team.

Malenstyn is a 28 year old 14 point 4th liner.

 

How can you justify giving Krebs less?

He did this on our top line. There is no universe where he belongs as a top line winger on a real NHL team. So we just saw his ceiling.

[Ghost of Ville Leino]

14 minutes ago, Taro T said:

RFA years vs UFA years.

Before commenting on what the contract $'s should be, need to know what the term is.  Krebs is an RFA for 2 more years.

The concept of buying 6 straight UFA years from a 28 year old 4th liner is so out of left field I'm not sure how to compare it to anything.

[Wyldnwoody44]

3 minutes ago, SDS said:

He did this on our top line. There is no universe where he belongs as a top line winger on a real NHL team. So we just saw his ceiling.

Yeah, for sure. 

But his agent isn't going to take that argument. Contracts are often based on highest point totals. 

[Ghost of Ville Leino]

4 minutes ago, SDS said:

He did this on our top line. There is no universe where he belongs as a top line winger on a real NHL team. So we just saw his ceiling.

He wasn't on the top line all year, was he? Definitely would prefer not to see him with Tage Thompson and to have a real top line but Krebs ability to play there in spot duty was a big help to Lindy when it came to balancing the other lines.

[Carmel Corn]

1 hour ago, Ghost of Ville Leino said:

He wasn't on the top line all year, was he? Definitely would prefer not to see him with Tage Thompson and to have a real top line but Krebs ability to play there in spot duty was a big help to Lindy when it came to balancing the other lines.

He did not stay on the top line all year because he lacks the talent to be there in the first place.  Yes it was spot duty, but because Lindy likes him he played there due to other team injuries.  To his credit, I think he loves being in Buffalo….BUT he’s not skilled enough for top 9 and not physical enough for the 4th line.

[Believer]

On 6/29/2026 at 2:01 PM, tom webster said:

I can line up about ten experts tomorrow who will tear that second paragraph apart. Phillip Danault and Josh Anderson have made a career out of shutting down superstars let alone Tage and Krebs.

You are counting on guys who;

1) missed a whole season with a potentially career ending condition

2) a guy who hasn’t played a whole season since he was fourteen back in Sweden

3) a guy who has played played less than twenty games in the NHL

No serious team would do that. That is complete opposite of what you do if you want to win the Cup.

Krebs has played over 80 games in each of the last three seasons and 74 games the ‘22-‘23 season.

No one plays that many games in a season without playing with some pain.

Easy to see why he is a Ruff favorite. Big energy. Big heart. Big smile every shift. He is an example to his teammates. And as so many mentioned, he can play up and down the lines. 

You can buy what Krebs has as his replacement, but it will cost you more than 4 x $3.5. I wouldn’t trade him. Believe he wants to be here. Pay him whatever keeps a smile on his face.

[Eleven]

Again, I think it's unwise to take Thompson's left and right arms away at the same time.

[...]

 

Evan Rodrigues.

$3.33M x 3.

Split down the middle.