nfreeman

What's this alleged reason? You omitted Darcy and Sexy Rexy, 2 very experienced guys, from your list. Is the last sentence a "speculate that" or "speculate whether"?

I too would've been happy with Crawford or Holtby at the contracts they got.

OK, so Johnson, a longtime productive C, just turned 30 and has 4 years left on his contract at $5MM per year. He's 5'8", 183 lbs and his #s have been in decline for the past few years -- from 50 pts to 47 to 31 pts in 65 games this year, and, in ice time, from 18:49 to 17 to 15:57 to 14:33 this year. HOWEVER, he would unquestionably represent a major upgrade for the Sabres at 2C/3C or 2LW/3LW, would provide scoring depth and lineup flexibility, would cost zero assets to acquire and would probably be a pretty good player for at least 2 years. It's also worth noting that the Sabres need to make this decision ASAP, because once he clears waivers, his NTC reactivates. I'm pretty interested.

"MacKenzie MacEachern" has to be a top-5 Canadian name of all time.

Here's what I think the plan is: - Obtain 2C -- done, although I don't think they are opposed to bringing in another 2C if the right situation presents itself and making Staal the 3C - Draft the guys they like -- done - Keep TT at the price they've budgeted -- done - Keep whichever of Zemgus and Larsson is willing to sign at the number the Sabres have budgeted -- done - Keep Kahun at the price they've budgeted -- TBD - Bring in a good penalty-killing forward to improve an awful PK unit -- done - Do not go crazy in FA, but rather make their interest known to the guys they like and try to get them signed at the numbers they've budgeted -- TBD - Bring in a goalie -- TBD - Bring in a top-6 to top-9 forward --TBD - Above all, retain flexibility to allocate resources in either trade or FA towards filling the above needs, and recognize that the cap and economic environment will result in quite a few good players becoming available at good prices, and that the glut of goalies will result in quite a few of them becoming available at good prices. Let's see how they do.

The RK point is right on -- I am highly confident that RK's view of Kahun is a major factor in the Sabres' calculation here. I agree with this but I can't tell which one you believe! I'll guess it's that the #s are wrong, which is what I think.

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?