dudacek

He’s smart and he competes. His size/speed/skill combination is OK, but looks to be lacking any one standout quality, so my questions would be two: Is the package enough to hold down a Jack-of-all trades middle-six role in the NHL, I guess like a Jochen Hecht or a Dixon Ward? If not, can he carve himself out a specialty (PK, forecheck, faceoffs, etc) that can keep him in an NHL lineup? I think he’ll get a chance this year and likely makes the team as a bottom of the lineup utility guy, the way the forward corps stacks up right now. Not sure if he has a role here beyond that.

With all due respect, Sabrespace knows ***** about coaching. As in, even Ralph Krueger knows more about coaching hockey than any of us. (Except @Taro T that guy is coach smart) I’ve been reading this place for years. Many of us seem to operate under the misunderstanding that hockey is like football and coaches have an entire playbook that they are constantly able to pull from to attack or counter opponents throughout the game. Or that coaches are somehow able to dictate what a player does in that split second after puck hits a skate at the left circle and bounces at a 60 degree angle on a cross-ice pass attempt during the cycle. Or we pick a specific moment or game decision or coaching tendency we disagree with and hold on to it forever like it is the clear reason the team lost or won. We say things like “Sullivan totally outcoached Granato tonight” because “way too many turnovers” or “the Sabres are soft”. Because I guess Granato told them to make bad passes or not battle for pucks? Let’s be honest, most of us don’t understand tactics and strategies and wouldn’t recognize an in-game shift if it slashed us in the shins. We have no clue about what the Sabres are being told on the bench or in the room. We have no insight into who is hurt, or sick, or hungover. We say and believe stupid things like “coach is an idiot for not letting Skinner shoot in the shootouts” without ever checking to see if he is good at shootouts. Or “Granato has no experience” when he has been coaching pro hockey players for 30 years. Eleven is smart guy, I respect most of his opinions. But he has no more ***** clue whether or not Don Granato can coach a non-development team than I do. Because neither of us has ever seen him in that situation. Let’s face it, we basically judge a coach on whether we like his pressers and his demeanour behind the bench, as well as his won/lost record filtered through our expectations. That’s it. That’s fine. I do it too. But it has very little to do with actual coaching. Nearly every player on Don Granato’s roster had career seasons while the Sabres had their highest point total in 12 years. If you think that carries less weight than the fact he didn’t pull Eric Comrie with 10 minutes left against Dallas when a 5-3 game turned into an 8-3 game, you’re welcome to that.

This year’s goalie market is clearly better, IMO. On the trade market Gibson and Hart have much better resumes than last year’s group. Hellebuyck is elite (as is Saros, if he’s actually available). And the UFAs (Raantta, Andersen Korpisalo Jarry Hill Varlamov off the top of my head) look to better fit Buffalo’s sweet spot.

Further to the above, the D situation is not like the situation in goal last summer. Last summer the Sabres were shopping from a list headlined by question marks like Campbell, Husso, Vanecek, Georgiev and Comrie. This year the names of potential D targets is much more proven: Graves, Pesce, Hanifan, Grelczyk, Faulk, Parayko, Martinez, Mayfield, Tanev, Toews, Girard, DeMelo, Murphy, Edmundson, Lindgren, Dumba, Orlov, Dumoulin, Dunn, Soucy, Gudas, Schenn, Bouchard, DeHaan, Peeke, Borgen… Gavrikov, Severson and Provorov have already been locked up. I’m sure there are others I’ve missed. Any of these guys could solidify our corps. Most will see the opportunity that exists for them here. Adams has the ammunition to acquire them. There’s just no excuse not to pull the trigger on someone.

The Sabres have a bigger piggy bank than most teams (cap space, assets) and there appears to be multiple options out there, be it trade or free agency. The price is the price, the need is obvious. Failing to add a bigger piece than Lyubushkin in the next 2 weeks would be derelict, in my opinion.

Been cable free for awhile now. Started this last season when they switched up the apps. Bit of a learning curve initially, but it’s been relatively glitch free and I’ve been happy with the service.

I mean it’s a promotion, but living in New York, working with Drury and Laviolette? Yuck. He’ll come home eventually.

If I’m Power I’m betting on myself. If the Sabres want 8 years, it better be for around 8 per.

As someone who lives relatively close to Vancouver, visits frequently, and was there as recently as last week that video (at least the intro and brief snippets I saw) is hardly a fair reflection. It’s like showing 60 minutes of Jacob Bryson and saying “look at the Sabres”.

I feel like the media has kinda hand-waved Michkov as “Russian issues” and has provided very little insight as to what he is as a player and a person. Before the war,when he was playing against his peers in this draft he was a clear #2, if not a 1B. We live in a world where even top draft picks take 2 or 3 years to make the jump, so I don’t see why his Russian contract is a huge concern. Russian players are still coming. We just added 2. Why are scouts saying “he’s going to get someone fired?” Is he a diva? A puck hog? A talent who got overrated early like Wright but hasn’t progressed? Is he tied up with the oligarchs? If he has a good chance to be Nikita Kucherov, there’s no way he shouldn’t be in consideration for the 2nd pick. What’s the real story on this guy?

Shh! Why any Sabres fan would want to question the results of this meticulous report from T. Pegula and Associates Research Inc., released so close to free agency day is beyond me.

On paper I can see why somebody would look at him on paper and go “Teppo? Jeep?” You wouldn’t feel the same way if you watched him. Dude looks shot and has for some time. That’s for 2 teams and multiple coaches. (There, by the grace of god, goes Jeff Skinner. Did we ever dodge a bullet there)

And the above is pretty much part of why I’m leaning towards trading the pick: There are lots of intriguing players available around 13, who will be great adds to our asset pool. Not sure if any of them make me go “that’s the piece we are missing.” You’re never beyond the need for adding assets, and you never get stupid about blowing up your pipeline. But we’ve reached the time where roster building takes precedence. If 13 is the price we have to pay to fill in our missing pieces, pay it.

Not sure where I am with Benson, but I’d think the same logic applies. He’s not what we need at all, but if he slips to 13 the value is probably too much to ignore. Perreault is the same script, although, unlike Benson, there will probably be other guys available at 13 who are as good as he is.

Maybe even some suffering? 😜

Size concerns, as in he thinks we’d have too many small skill guys who’d get pushed off the puck too easily. I think he’s probably right, but I’d still draft Michkov: draft for talent, trade for roster construction.

I don’t think he’s getting traded. I think he loves Carolina and wants to stay and the Canes have dangled this story to LeBrun in order to frighten Pesce into taking less than he’s worth. I mean he says he loves the Carolina weather and gets told Buffalo and Edmonton are sniffing around? Fake news.

Vanek is quite good. Seems a lot more savvy than the hosts.

There seems to be a lot of options out there and you get the sense Adams is leaving no stone unturned. I think filling that number 4 spot has been a huge priority and they’ve done a done of work identifying what’s needed and the best available fits. Really curious who their top targets are and how much they are willing to pay.

He's going to really have to wash out for me to give up after 2-years. You're looking at at least 5 years with goalies. Look at the 2017 draft. Oettinger was the top goalie picked and arrived relatively quickly. The next most successful guys (UPL and Stuart Skinner) are just starting to show up this year.

Victor no longer has a spot; that’s why he didn’t play down the stretch and it’s why he’s being moved. His replacement on the roster is already here in Jordan Greenway. Adams sacrificed excess scoring in his middle six wing group for a boost in size and defensive awareness. The combination of Greenway and whatever Adams uses Victor for needs to benefit the team more than Olofsson and the 2nd he gave up for Greenway.

I’m in a comfortable place with the draft. Nobody bats 1.000, but the Sabres are on a run of either drafting players I’ve liked, or proving me wrong when I’ve questioned their choices. It’s been proven to me that Adams, Forton and Ventura are better at the draft than the internet is. If they pick a guy I’m meh on, chances are I’m probably the one who’s wrong.

Those Athletic quotes from anonymous scouts seem to indicate he is very high on some people’s lists. 6’5” and highly skilled? I’d tend to think he’s underrated on some lists due to lack of exposure. Might be a top 10 talent. I’d be fine with Adams taking a swing.

We thinking that when we do a checklist of what this D needs there aren’t many NHLers who tick more boxes than Pesce.

The offence really doesn’t matter to me. Im looking for Mattias Ekholm. Ive said it before, and it’s why I haven’t been really concerned about the lack of D in the pipeline: it’s a helluvalot easier to find a 4-6 than a 1-3. Having Power and Dahlin around for a decade is going to be a privilege this franchise has never seen the likes of.