Which Sabres players improve on last year?

[#freejame]

Lots of talk about regression and development. Curious to see who thinks what players will be better than last year. If you think their overall play is going to remain the same, don't vote for them. 

[dudacek]

On the fence with Quinn and didn’t pick him even though he  could pop 30.

Didn't pick Helenius either because he’s a blank slate.

I’ll be very surprised if we get more from Josh Doan, but Josh Norris will have a career season.

A year from now people will be taking Benson and Power for granted as core players.

If healthy, Noah Östlund will emerge as another McLeod.

Good thread. Like to see people on the record with their bold takes.

[sabrefanday1]

While I think Jack Q may improve, I fear Doan will not repeat last years numbers which may hurt more then Quinn's improvement. Obviously losing Tuch's numbers and leadership and oenalty killing (along with Greenway) wil hurt for sure and we desperately need someone to pick up the slack. Hopefully the "young guns" do that although penalty killing will be a big question mark.   

[Weave]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

On the fence with Quinn and didn’t pick him even though he  could pop 30.

Didn't pick Helenius either because he’s a blank slate.

I’ll be very surprised if we get more from Josh Doan, but Josh Norris will have a career season.

A year from now people will be taking Benson and Power for granted as core players.

If healthy, Noah Östlund will emerge as another McLeod.

Good thread. Like to see people on the record with their bold takes.

I doubt any of my takes are bold, but….

I think we are on the same page re: Doan.  I think when his career is over he’ll be remembered as a really solid 3rd liner that didn’t look out of place on the 2nd line.

If Norris plays 75+ games his numbers will justify the trade, and make the Sabres brass think they won it.

I think UPL and Lyon will repeat their play from the last 1/2 of the season, inconsistencies and all.  Which means we’ll be switching up who gets featured in any 5 games stretch.

And I think the F’in new D men are gonna be whipping boys this season.  I really wish we re-signed Stanley instead of getting the relatively undeveloped version from Chicago.  I expect we will miss that Stanley was pretty close to comfortable with the system here.

[thewookie1]

Doan will likely be what he was last year, possibly 5/10 more points due to PP time but 25-30-55 is likely to be his niche.

I said McLeod, as in his goals will go up a bit again but his overall points won’t really change.

Benson will come into his own and begin to become the Top 6 rat/Selke/net front guy. If he can match Doan next year we have little issue with Tuch’s departure.

Power’s offense will trend up in points again  in adjusting to post-Byram.

The rookie/AHL eligible guys will improve on their previous year’s stats with 2 of them being nearly guaranteed based on increased time to play.

Carrick will be Buffalo Carrick versus Rangers Carrick for the whole year. 

Krebs is less about points and more about consistency as a solid player. 
 

Both new defenseman will improve from their previous engagements. 
 

 

[#freejame]

Re: Doan being better, worse, the same this year. He’s almost specifically the reason I didn’t use points/numbers to measure this. I personally think it’s likely he’s a 50 point guy but we see strides made in his defensive game that make him much more well rounded. 

I’m curious as to what happens with Zucker this year. He was BAD in the playoffs. Was it a blip or has his ship sailed? He’s proved me wrong since his signing, but he’s the player I’ve got lined up for the biggest dip in performance. 

[LGR4GM]

6 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Doan will likely be what he was last year, possibly 5/10 more points due to PP time but 25-30-55 is likely to be his niche.

I said McLeod, as in his goals will go up a bit again but his overall points won’t really change.

Benson will come into his own and begin to become the Top 6 rat/Selke/net front guy. If he can match Doan next year we have little issue with Tuch’s departure.

Power’s offense will trend up in points again  in adjusting to post-Byram.

The rookie/AHL eligible guys will improve on their previous year’s stats with 2 of them being nearly guaranteed based on increased time to play.

Carrick will be Buffalo Carrick versus Rangers Carrick for the whole year. 

Krebs is less about points and more about consistency as a solid player. 
 

Both new defenseman will improve from their previous engagements. 
 

 

It's unlikely everyone gets better. 

[DarthEbriate]

I choose the quick and easy path: Kulich will improve.

The only games we saw him in last season were the initial ones where the whole team was adamsing scuffling. And, this season, he will not have the pressure of being 1C. He's got McLeod and now Carrick to handle d-zone starts. Norris isn't going to injure himself on a draw in Game 1 and has jelled in the lineup with Doan... slotting Kulich safely as that young Vanek/Pomer+Roy-Afino o-zone center type. Give him a TNT on his wing and someone on the other win to distribute (I selected Östlund in the other thread). He may hit a mid-season swoon as he's still a kid, but if healthy, his blood will be filled with midichlorians points.

[thewookie1]

20 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

It's unlikely everyone gets better. 

Unlikely sure, but I was taking a rather broad brush, aside the kids and Benson I don't exactly expect any significant change.

[PerreaultForever]

Honestly, I have no f'n idea. 

My gut tells me Doan might regress. He might have had a peak level year this year, but he also might be just the same.

My gut tells me Benson will keep improving, but I could also see a small step back.

My gut tells me Helenius is going to be a star, just a question of how soon. 

My gut tells me Kulich or Östlund might not be quite as good as we think they are, at least not yet. 

My gut also tells me Power is just starting to approach peak but he might also just be the same.

My gut tells me we will be okay with the subtractions/changes and we'll end up around the same point total. 

Then again I've been eating a lot of blueberries so it might just be gas. 

[Fansince70]

3 hours ago, Weave said:

I doubt any of my takes are bold, but….

I think we are on the same page re: Doan.  I think when his career is over he’ll be remembered as a really solid 3rd liner that didn’t look out of place on the 2nd line.

If Norris plays 75+ games his numbers will justify the trade, and make the Sabres brass think they won it.

I think UPL and Lyon will repeat their play from the last 1/2 of the season, inconsistencies and all.  Which means we’ll be switching up who gets featured in any 5 games stretch.

And I think the F’in new D men are gonna be whipping boys this season.  I really wish we re-signed Stanley instead of getting the relatively undeveloped version from Chicago.  I expect we will miss that Stanley was pretty close to comfortable with the system here.

Crevier is faster, younger and cheaper than Stanley.  They both have a big shot, but Crevier's speed puts him in better positions to use it.   He  also was Chicago's highest scoring D man last season- granted on a bad team, but his ceiling is much higher than Stanley's.  Looking for the young man to be the muscle, and he's never shied away from it.  He might be a pleasant surprise, along with Ellis.   

Edited July 23 by Fansince70

[SabresFan69420]

Quinn will score 30 goals this year 

[R_Dudley]

Probably more hope than reality or my forecasting ability to predict, i picked:

-Benson, 1 year older and counting on the off season program helps him get stronger and more polished in his game. 

-Norris, just hopium that he can stay healthy for closer to all 84 games.

-Kulich, good off season of growth and more games played.

-Helenius, strong end of season play and playoffs and an assumed dedicated offseason program should mean better.

-Quinn, more hopium driven based on the his trajectory before his achilles injury and now a few years removed to provide that confidence.

-Ostiund, more games played and another year older to embrace his growth.

-Krebs, plays up to the top 2 lines to cover top line injuries and stays healthy for more of the 84 games.

-Zellweger, moves up the top two pairings covering injuries there and is on the 2nd pairing PP.