dudacek

Does everyone think we can count on Zucker and McLeod to produce like 2nd-liners next year? On Norris and Greenway to play 70-plus games? On at least 1 of Quinn/Benson/Kulich to graduate to the 50-point-and-a-plus-player plateau? All at the same time? Substitute a 60-point 2C Cozens for Norris and isn’t that pretty much what Adams did this year?

The issue with the forwards is not about the talent, it’s about the composition. It’s not about the ceilings of Kulich, Benson and Quinn, it’s about having all of them in your top 6 at this point in their careers at the same time. Its about applying the same thought process behind the McLeod trade to this roster a few more times. Fingers crossed Norris qualifies. Its the Herb Brooks thing: I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right players.

This is something that the board still hasn’t quite wrapped its collective head around. None of Quinn, Cozens, Benson and Kulich performed like good top 9 performers this year or provided good value for their role. I know I’ll get pushback on this, but generally speaking, their contributions have been roughly on a tier with those of Peyton Krebs. Look at the numbers. We’ve replaced one of them. Sure they’re young enough to get better, but how many of them, and by how much? Are you willing to take that bet? Again? After this year, I can’t fathom the number of Sabrespacers who seem OK with our forwards.

I'm curious where he's going to settle. Hes going to fall back next year; nearly every one does after having this kind of breakout. The question is what will he typically be over the next 5 years? What I've liked most about McLeod is how often I see him covering and supporting on the backcheck: "oh *****, we're going to get caught.. nope, McLeod is there" On this team it's very noticeable. Tuch and Krebs are the only other ones doing that even half as much as McLeod does.

I've come full circle to the point where this is pretty much all I'm invested in. I mean I'm interested in the stuff away from the games, but I'm not letting myself get invested in the big picture until it actually changes. Even things that I want to see happen — Adams fired, winning the draft lottery — there's no point. We've done things like that before. 32 times happy, 42 not this year — one game at a time, that's how I cope.

Goaltending is so weird. As much of a weak link as he's been this season, he was a strong point last year. It's like after the elite guys, you never know what you're going to get from the next tier. I mean look at Blackwood and Gustafsson and Swayman and Saros. True #1s — such as they exist — don't get traded.

Me neither. I think Cozens desperately wanted to fix the Sabres and I’ll always appreciate that about him.

Meanwhile, what the hell has gotten into Alex Tuch? Goals in 4 straight games and 16 in his last 22? Leads the entire NHL over that latter stretch. Since he and Tage came back from the break after being overlooked for the 4 Nations they are tied for 3rd in NHL goals, one out of first.

The difference tonight was pretty clearly which team had Dylan Cozens 😜 In all seriousness, the bloom has started to come off Cozens in Ottawa after his quick start. Last 9 games his stat line looks pretty Sabresy. He’s got 1 goal and 4 assists, and his goals for % is just 33%.

Goalies look better when the D isn’t giving the other guy easy open looks. Defenders look better when the goalie makes saves. Huh. 🤔

“If Kulich and Benson and Samuelsson and Power and UPL are as good as I think they are, this is a playoff lineup” -overheard Adams to Pegula

Because 'little guys get hurt more, big guys are durable' is one of the more overrated tropes in hockey. You twist your knee sharply at 20 miles an hour, take a slash to the wrist or a puck to the jaw, or hit the boards hard, being 180 or 220 is irrelevant. The second most relevant issue to injuries is play style: how reckless are you with your body? The 3rd is responding to them in a way that maximizes recovery and minimizes any long-term effects: if/how you play through them, take time off, treatment, therapy, surgery etc. Genetics and age play a role in some types of injuries: do you break and tear easily? Heal quickly? But the most relevant factor is luck.

Now do Byram.

I can’t get on board an argument that says Josh Norris is going to miss games with injuries other than a shoulder because he missed a lot of games with a bad shoulder. Come on man, there is no logic in that. There is an obvious injury question with Norris: he’s had 3 surgeries on his shoulder. There is no other injury history. It’s like trading for Eichel: are we confident the neck can be fixed?

I remember the angst about Skinner’s concussion issues when we got him. Guy missed what, 25 games in 6 years? Same with Byram. Has played more minutes than any other Sabre this year. Norris has had 3 shoulder surgeries. The Sabres may have gambled on his shoulder, but his shoulder right now is apparently fine. Do you have some knowledge that his current injury is chronic or threatens to be? Otherwise your case here is pretty thin.

Stop using facts. Back to Power, here is a Dahlin thread from early in his 4th season. Sound at all familiar?

Despite who he plays for, Dahlin’s counting stats and his analytics are very much in the same ballpark as the Norris contenders and his physical play is better. The Sabres are 0/8/2 with him out of the lineup and have been completely lit up on the scoresheet. After O’Reilly, Eichel and Reinhart, I can’t believe people are still doing this stuff.

He's got 17 assists in his past 31 games as an AHL rookie. Looks pretty good to me? But this is the 2nd year in a row his goals and assists line up after having a more traditional ratio before that. https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/535699/noah-Östlund He does have a good shot, and apparently has been encouraged to use it more. He's been the playmaker and driver of his line every time I've seen him.

It's incredible to me that with how excited I was about Quinn's rookie season and how terrible i have perceived this season that his production is going to end up virtually identical for each year. Context.

I struggle with the duality of the two conversations that go on here simultaneously and constantly cause friction when they collide: The first is about plays and news and trends and analysis of things that are going on in and around Sabredom on a given day. The second is about 14 consecutive years of dismal failure. I get why most seem to focus on the latter; we all cope with negative situations as best we can and it’s good for people to have a place to vent. But personally, I find conversations like this tedious. I feel like it’s obvious, I’ve heard it all, I share the frustration, I rarely have something new to add and it does nothing but put me somewhere I don’t want to be. I still very much enjoy the other conversation stream but it’s hard when it inevitably moves into “none of this matters because the Sabres suck”. It sucks the joy out of hockey talk. It sucks the joy out of a debate over the merits of the Cozens trade, Lindy Ruff’s coaching job, or an 8-5 road win over the league’s top team. Now to be clear, blame for this rests primarily with the Sabres, not Sabrespace. But for me, whatever else the Sabres are, they remain primarily a hobby, entertainment, something I do for fun. The same applies to Sabrespace. I made a point this year to take the Sabres game by game. As a result they’ve generally made me happy 31 times and unhappy 42 times. Not a great ratio, but I find it better than being unhappy all the time. Threads like this are not fun. They embody why I havent spent as much time around here this year and probably won’t be in the weeks to come.

I don't think you (or anyone really) took that post in the tone intended. I'm highly skeptical of addition by subtraction and I definitely don't want the Sabres to run it back. And I think it is ***** hilarious and utterly Sabres-y how clearly the early returns (don't) support my position and fuel the fears of what the Sabres will do this off-season.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 When you’re right, you’re right. In the 12 games since Dylan Cozens was traded: Freed from the shackles of his wing, Jack Quinn has suddenly exploded for 10 points in 11 games. Moved up to the 3rd line, Peyton Krebs is suddenly more effective than Cozens was as the 2C, producing at a 20/20/40/+20 pace No longer weighed down by eating Cozens mistakes, Bowen Byram has led the team at +8 without being propped up by Dahlin It’s not really on point here, but it should be noted that the “other” new guy, JBD, has a 66% GF% And of course Cozens’ replacement at 2C Ryan McLeod leads the team with 14 points in 12 games. Without Cozens coughing up the puck, the PP has climbed to 25.7% good for 11th overall. Most importantly, the team has gone 7-5, good for 9th in the NHL over that stretch You can’t make this ***** up! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I do. I don't think he's going to be anywhere near Dahlin, but I vividly remember Dahlin's 3rd season and how Sabrespace was ready to punt him into Lake Erie for his mistakes: Dahlin GP: 56 G: 5 A: 18 P: 23 ESP: 12 SA%: 48.8 GF%: 37.1% Power GP: 73 G: 7 A: 32 P: 39 ESP: 33 SA%: 50.9 GF%: 47.5% Young players do get better, even in Buffalo. Dahlin took a step back in year 3 and 2 steps forward in year 4, then became himself in year 5. Owen Power has taken a step back defensively this year, and I'm not entirely sure why, but you'd be foolish to say this is who he is from here on out. This is the list of defencemen his age playing regularly in the NHL right now. https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/nhl/stats/2024-2025?position=d&age=u23

I hope not.

Not sure that's what they need to get for him anyway, unless Tage to RW is a thing. RFAs looking to get paid, like Byram, this year, or next: Rossi, Knies Villardi McTavish Cuylle Pinto Kakko Schneider Miller Hayton Zegras Players with a year to UFA: Connor Necas Kempe Schmaltz Lowry Andersson Coyle If we need to add a prospect, we've got 'em. If somebody needs to unload the dollars we've got space. Didn't put a ton of thought into it in terms of "equal value" or fit, it's just list of not completely outlandish players whose contracts are coming up, which is typically where GMs do their fishing. The other place to look is at rebuilding teams looking to get younger.