dudacek

Any other guys, like Power, Rosen, Johnson, etc? Paywall.

I personally think Gibson is an upper echelon goalie who has slipped into a mid-career funk on a bad team. I think he has several more good years in him and will still be a good starter in six years when he is 34. I hope Anaheim has soured on him and is willing to trade him as a cap dump.

The team with Eichel, Ullmark, Hall, Staal, Reinhart, Montour and Ristolainen was a 54-point (pace) team. If they dump them all and break 70 points, did they actually "torpedo" their chances?

It wasn't exactly random — he was at centre stage of the hockey world dominating the WJC, which was the only hockey happening at the time. But good stuff. Haven't heard the Sabres say much about him yet. Wonder if he was someone they had specifically targeted, or if he was more of a throw-in after the first. I suspect the ask for Sam was a 1st and prospect and they felt this was the best combo offered.

So the Sabres have yet to unveil a training camp roster yet, but their team page lists the following players, not listed above, which should be forming the bulk of the Amerks this year. Peterka Eakin Quinn Ogelvie McInnis Murray Weissbach Malone Rousek Biro Pekar Davidsson Laaksonen Fitzgerald Prow Schuldt Dell/Tokarski

So I created a new thread a week ago after reading this story, but it seems to have disappeared? https://www.kelownacapnews.com/sports/okanagan-nhl-scout-moves-from-red-wings-to-sabres/ At any rate, I note the subject of the story is not listed on the Sabres staff page yet, but the other new scout mentioned, Lukas Sutter, is, along with another new name, Tommy Vesanen, a Finn who scouted last year for Adler Mannheim of the German Elite League. Officially up to 10 scouts now, plus, Forton and Crowe.

Wouldnt offer sheet Pettersson but I would love him as an Eichel trade target should his Canuck talks sour. Laine/Dubois Subban/Weber type trade.

If the other player was Comtois and the pick was next year’s unprotected 1st, and it is the best offer on the table, I’d do it. I wonder if the Sabres have any interest in Gibson, if that interest figures into their moves to date in goal, and if he’s still an option given his 10-team no-trade that kicked in after free agency opened. (And thanks for the first real trade rumours we’ve been given in weeks.)

Clearly the next Kucherov in the making. I'm putting all my hopium doses in this kid's basket.

At the end of this season, the Coyotes will have just 6 players under contract and a total cap hit of less than $30 million. They also have 3 1st rounders and 5 2nds in the coming draft. Right now, their roster might be worse than the Sabres and Carter Hutton is their starting goalie.

A few things stand out about that line-up to me (besides the lack of skill). The defence can move the puck. And the forward group can skate and works hard. I think this team will have an identity

So assuming no more changes and Jack sitting, I go for cycling 4 balanced lines to start until we see what works (don’t pay much attention to the order) This would be my starting 23-man roster, with only Lukkonen (Dell) and Hayden (Eakin) really in doubt Skinner Ruotsalainen Bjork Asplund Mittelstadt Thompson Olofsson Cozens Okposo Hinostroza Girgensons Caggiula Hayden Dahlin Jokiharju Samuelsson Miller Butcher Bryson Hagg Pysyk Anderson/Lukkonnen

Peterka and Quinn should be the most notable. Not sure if we’ll get any of this year’s draft crop.

25 years ago, we moved into our first house and had our first child in the same month. The exterior, yard and every room except the one I'm sitting in right now has been changed, but we're still here. Our daughter now comes to visit when she's not hiking mountains and helping troubled kids. Enjoy. You are in for a ride.

Yep. Salt Lake gold medal winner.

I think Salt Lake?

Mike Peca

In regards to the rest of the list, I like that Levi has started to win Pronman over, and I worry that he might be right about Lukkonnen. I am pretty confident Quinn and Samuelsson are better than he thinks. The most fascinating group to watch for me will be this year’s picks after Power. We had 7 of the 1st 97 picks in the most poorly scouted draft in recent memory and we clearly approached it in a much different way than previous drafts. Eight months from now there will be a very high number of players who will emerge as steals and many others who will look like they were dramatically overdrafted. We had an opportunity to change the course of the franchise by finally hitting on some depth picks. Real curious if we will see signs that we did.

I think there are question marks around all four of the top players. Dahlin really needs to step up in year 4 to be a team leader and show he’s more than an inconsistent great talent: I expect miscues, that seems to be part of his game. But I need to see fewer and more wow plays. Time to step up: 50 points, 24 minutes and more of a take-charge attitude. I want Power to play like a #1 pick should against college competition and be the centrepiece of a dominant Michigan team. I also want him to the leader of Team Canada at the WJC. I’d like to see signs he is top-pair guy in the making and not just the safest choice in a difficult scouting year. I love Dylan Cozens and the way he approaches the game but I need to see more physical development and signs of offence. We need him to be more Ryan Kesler and less Danny Paille. It doesn’t have to all happen this year, but he has to take a step. Oddly, I have the fewest questions about Mittelstadt, perhaps because he has the lowest expectations and has come the closest to reaching them. I just want 70 games like his last 20, and signs that he can become the relentless guy other teams want to punch that I saw in junior.

Just thought it would be good to add this in here for posterity sake. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranks the Sabres U23 group as the best in the league, with 15 potential NHLers. Projected elite/all-star bubble 1 Dahlin Projected all-star 2 Power All-star/top-of-lineup bubble 3 Cozens Top-of-lineup/middle-lineup bubble 4 Mittelstadt Middle of lineup 5 Peterka 6 Johnson 7 Jokiharju 8 Quinn 9 Rosen 10 Poltapov 11 Levi NHLer 12 Samuelsson 13 Kisakov 14 Lukkonnen 15 Nadeau Has a Chance Rousek Laaksonen Marjala Novikov Bloom Pekar Portillo Notably not ranked Huglen Sardarian Weissbach

Looks tough. I approve.

For the record, we are tied for 3rd in the league in centres drafted in the 1st round over the past 8 years, with 4, all of them in the top 10. The Kings have picked 5 and the Devils 6. The Ducks, Senators Blues and Oilers are the other teams to have invested 4 1st round picks in centres over that period. Toronto, Tampa, Nashville, San Jose and the Islanders have picked 1. And the PIttsburgh Penguins havent picked any. The Sabres have drafted 10 centres total over those 8 years.

Maybe we aren’t. 😄 Otherwise, entirely fair.

I’d agree.

Maybe I haven’t read all the links? But the ones I recall were Okposo basically engaging in coachspeak - positive reinforcement of positive steps Jack has taken in order to facilitate continuation, and McCabe building up a buddy. With both sets of comments coming at the prompting of reporters in the context of (my words) Jack showing elevated maturity. *** I have considered Jack self-centred and immature, but not irredeemably so, pretty much his entire Sabres career. I didn’t complain about it much because he was young and competitive and had time to mature. It appeared he did mature in year 5. And I would not be surprised if the maturation continues if he is traded to an environment where it can be nurtured. The “supposition” is indeed a narrative of sorts, but it is one I’ve concluded based on what I’ve observed in trying to make sense of what has happened. Do you think Jack’s qualities as a leader and a teammate have played a role in the Sabres struggles? Why or why not? Which of suppositions don’t ring true to you? Why? Finally, why do you think Adams wants to trade a franchise talent, and what makes you think that?