nfreeman

I'm pretty skeptical of those #s too.

2-year deal for Holtby at $4.3MM per year. The Sabres should be able to get a solid goalie without making a major contractual commitment. Make it happen, KA. And pls get some other good players too.

No matter how cold it gets in Manitoba, @Thorny is far too refined a gentleman to drink his scotch as a shot. He has a single malt with a little water and sips it, just like the whisky gods intended.

Here's the Athletic on Hoffman: https://theathletic.com/1786155/2020/10/08/top-20-nhl-ufas-analysis-projections-and-thoughts-on-the-class-of-2020/ yeeeeeessshhh.

Speaking of Reino -- based on austerity measures, Domi's deal and recent KA interviews, I will be pretty surprised if the Sabres give him more than $6.5MM per year. OTOH, I don't expect them to give him a short-term deal like Domi's that walks him to UFA status.

Dude. Your disappointment at the canning of JB (which, as far as I can tell, is shared by no one other than JB's family and every other NHL franchise) has left you bitter and broken. There is NFW that Mitts is the plan at 3C, or that we've seen even half the plan yet. TT's contract is pretty cheap and represents effectively zero commitment, as a buyout (as noted by @Taro T) would cost next to nothing. The offseason has just started. Let's see what happens in the next week or so.

Zemgus played under 14 min per game last season, as he has each of the last 4. It doesn't seem likely that his role will increase much. Can that be worth $2.2MM x 3 years in the age of NHL austerity?

Hello @Thorny and your BPA skepticism!

Boy, the habs really went all in on Anderson. I would've liked him on the Sabres, but that is a really big contract.

I am pretty surprised they kept him at all, leaving alone the term and AAV. Still, RK must have liked him, and he did play pretty well last season. Separately: has anyone used an air fryer? Are they any good? I was wondering this myself.

Fair question. I think he (like most GMs) factor need into their decisions, but it's "need" broadly defined -- i.e. he likely factors in a need for a forward as opposed to LW/C/RW and D as opposed to LD/RD. But even then it's a minor factor, and it's based on broader organizational need, not immediate roster need. E.g. the Sabres didn't draft a goalie in the later rounds despite a clear need. I suppose the true test would've been what KA would've done if one of the top 2 defensemen had slipped to #8 and if the Sabres had that D as BPA at that point. Of course, we'll never know.

Based on KA's comments to Howard Simon this AM, I think his near-term expectations for Mitts are pretty low. He was responding to a question about both Mitts and TT, and he spoke much more positively about TT -- in particular, about how he thinks TT is ready to bust out this year -- while regarding Mitts, he just said that players mature at different rates and he was looking forward to seeing Mitts working hard in camp. So I don't think he has Mitts penciled in at 3C, or even on the Sabres' roster at all, for this coming season.

I think the bolded is an inaccurate description of KA's statements. He mentioned them in response to someone's question about the centers on the roster as part of a somewhat free-form response, which he concluded by emphasizing that their approach was BPA. Separately, Harrington's first question in that presser -- in which he caustically asked why Kahun wasn't qualified while TT was extended -- was IMHO a great reminder of how off-putting and sometimes clueless he is.

I agree with most of this, but: - I will be pretty surprised if Jack's wingers aren't Reino and either VO or Skinner. That changes of course if Reino is traded. - With Kahun, it really depends on the outcome. If he signs elsewhere for, say, $2.75MM x 2 years, most here (including me) will be PO'd that the Sabres didn't sign him (unless, of course, we are blown away by the Sabres' other moves, but that seems unlikely).

It sounds like the 2 guys they wanted were JQ and JJ, and they got both of them. Yes, it would've been slightly better to have worked out the trade down with Nashville, but that would've increased the risk of missing out on either or both of those guys, and the cost to them for locking in both of them was a 4th-rounder. Not a huge loss.

So, I've now listened to both KA interviews (last night's presser plus this AM with Howard Simon) as well as RK today with the Instigators. I strongly disagree with @Thorny's interpretation. There is simply no way to reconcile KA's and RK's statements with the theory that they didn't view Quinn as a better player than Rossi or Perfetti, regardless of position.

We, the loyal but battered and desolate fan base, are reeling from the franchise's apparent move into cheapskatedness, plus their less-than-inspiring 1st-round-pick, failure to make any trades at the draft and now likely loss of a promising young forward. Will they do something substantial on the first day of free agency -- i.e. at least as big as the Staal trade -- to bolster our spirits? I voted yes, but I'm probably deluding myself.

Interesting, and probably for the best, since it means they won't be relying on him to be the 3C.

How else do SabreSpacers get married?

The bolded is nuts.

Well, as noted upthread, the rule now is that if the award is $4.2MM per year or less, the team cannot walk away. I think that is the primary reason KA made this decision -- i.e. the risk of a non-avoidable award in the $4MM range.

I don’t think we’ve heard any numbers. I chose that one as it’s in the ballpark of the arbitration walk-away cutoff #s mentioned upthread and in the ballpark of what someone with Kahun’s recent production might reasonably expect in arbitration — and so what he might be pushing for in negotiations. I would guess that the Sabres want to give him a prove-it deal in the $2.5MM x 2 years neighborhood, while Dom wants more like $4.5MM x 4 years. So I don’t think it’s a matter of being $300K apart. I also think the TT deal is neither here nor there as it is so cheap as to essentially be a no-risk flyer. Again, i would like to keep him, but I think Kahun is in the class of guys that is really going to get squeezed this off-season, and that there will be plenty of alternatives at comparable cost.

Well, if Kahun wouldn't sign for less than $4MM, I think the Sabres did the right thing here. That would be a ridiculous contract in this economic climate. It's too bad, because he's shown some potential and I'd like to see how he does over a full season. But every team needs to be prudent and the Sabres are no exception.

It has to be said: unless they work out a deal to re-sign him, this looks like a shortsighted, penny-pinching move.

Whoa. So now he's UFA?