dudacek

So basically you're saying that if Adams fails this summer, we're hitting the reset button with the ultimate manifestation of the Peter Principle in charge of the next 4-year rebuild? Sabrespace crumbles to dust as even @PromoTheRobot admits defeat and adopts the Bandits as his full-time team. And @PASabreFan is left alone in the wasteland, wearing his tattered Larry Mickey jersey and gloating in the devastation of his ultimate victory.

God, I hope you're right. The fact you would even have to consider those kinds of shenanigans because of your owner... But we've all seen the evidence.

Looked like an obvious head shot to me. NHL discipline is like the weather. You don't argue, you just endure.

That's just what i was speculating. If Adams is sharp (unsure) or Guelli (likely) and Brawndo is right (he usually is), this is exactly what you do.

What does this even mean? He gets a raise and better title obviously, but does it mean anything for the Sabres? This is a new position; nobody moved on. He's still below Adams and Karmanos on the org chart. He's still part of the inner circle that includes Ventura, Jakubowski and Crowe. Does it mean more and different duties? A new chief scout getting hired? Has he been given more power and influence, or has he been quietly moved to a flashier but less important role? Hard one to read, but I'm going to consider a token move until something else drops.

Did you see Pronman’s piece in the Athletic today where he quotes anonymous scouts and executives? Great stuff that really reinforced to me how misleading trying to create a consensus NHL draft list is. Doesn’t really matter if the average of league opinions on Player A is 10th if there’s a team that has him 3rd picking at 5. There are teams who see Catton as a legit 1C and Silayev as a unicorn, others who see Catton as a guy who will struggle to be a top 6 centre in the NHL and Silayev as Samuelsson. Makes Bobby Mac’s draft list even more impressive because he’s gotta have insight on how specific teams are leaning. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5517608/2024/06/11/nhl-draft-confidential-2024-scouts-executives-celebrini-demidov/

This applies just as much to mattias Samuelsson, Dylan Cozens, and JJ Peterka as it does to Elias Lindholm. Every long-term contract is a bet. Also, I think the concern over being able to resign Peterka and Quinn is a bit overstated. The Sabres control their rights for 5 more years. They don't have to give them 7-year, $50M deals next summer.

Wait, 5'11 175-pound players can't play in the play0ffs. It's a well-known fact around here.

The 7-year deal were an example of the Sabres trying to take advantage to the opportunity. We shall see how successful they were as those contracts age.

What are our thoughts on Anton Silayev? A massive defensive defenceman who can skate and plays mean? I'm surprised no one has hyped him up more to the Sabres. I know he was hyped more as a top 5 pick than a top 10 pick, but from what I'm reading the hype on him has slipped a bit (Russian, not enough skill upside). Would anyone be absolutely shocked if he slipped to the 4th or 5th D taken and that made him available to the Sabres? And would they want him if he did?

Joshua is simultaneously one of the most attractive and most frightening free agents on the market.

The draft is kinda looking like it has 5 or 6 D that could have been the 1st D taken in last year’s draft. One of them will slide. It’s hard to tell who is the Adam Boqvist and who is the Quinn Hughes in terms if the hit and the miss out of the pack. Dickinson and Levshunov like the size-skill prototype all-rounders. Buium is the processor and Parekh the offensive dynamo - each has put up rare numbers. And Silayev is a unicorn physically, plus he can skate and has attitude. Yakemchuk has more holes, IMO, but he’s got edge and tools and production. At least one will be available at 11 due to franchise needs and instantly become our best prospect on defence.

Not trying to argumentative, but I’m not aware any Sabres executives who actually worked either of those guys at the time they were hired. When I see “guys we’ve worked with” I read it to mean that it means guys they actually worked with, like Adams and Ruff, or Karmanos and Ventura.

The pattern we were discussing was the hiring of first-timers in key positions. There certainly was a “know this guy already” vibe with Ruff and some of the others you cite. But there is none whatsoever that I’m aware of with the topic of this thread, Leone, or his predecessor Appert. I don’t know that the Sabres hire “guys they know” more than other teams. The team I follow the next most closely, Vancouver, is stuffed full of Jim Rutherford connections. Rutherford has earned more of a benefit of the doubt.

But they’re just so bad at adapting. The American national hockey broadcasts are the worst: so often, they tell the pre-scripted story regardless of what’s going on on the ice. Be prepared enough that you can react to the story the game is telling.

That’s why I’ve got you on follow 😘

Why do you hate the fans so much?

When I look at mock drafts and see a 6’3” 215 pound centre who skates like the wind and scored nearly a goal a game -in a draft lacking both power forwards and centres in general - falling out of the top 5 I really raise my eyebrows. The Ducks have McTavish and Carlsson already, so I can see them looking elsewhere. But I just don’t see how Lindstrom gets past Columbus or Montreal. Outside the injury, he’s everything GMs drool over.

I don’t listen to Sabres games on the radio, which seems to be Dan’s biggest criticism. i like the excitement level of his voice in games that call for that. His word play can be cringey at times but his tone is good; he’s got a touch of that old Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster in that he spends most of his time calling the game rather than drifting into anecdotes while the play goes on - at least compared to what I hear on national broadcasts. I think he gets the part about how the sound of his voice needs to convey the rhythms of the game. I liked how he called the explosive squad of 22/23. He’s a pro in the sense that he strikes a very good balance of letting us know he’s for the Sabres without ever feeling like he is pandering to them, or misleading us. He’s a decent foil for Ray; it feels like Rob has accepted him as part of the team now and the needling is more camaraderie than testing. I’m comfortable hanging out with him for 3 hours a couple times a week. I find myself getting annoyed when my feed is the other team’s. I’m looking forward to see what he does with a good team to work with.

Got excited by the mention of Eriksen Ek, but the other 2 names @tom webster mentioned would be good fits as well and should come cheaper. Not clear if he meant they are shopping for that caliber of player in general, or they’ve had serious conversations about each.

57 goals and you still struggle to see it?

Huge overpay. Fairer value for Laughton would be the 11th pick in the 2nd round, or Jokiharju straight across. Scott Laughton is a decent fit as a 3C: not exciting but he would help. He’s also a pending UFA. Look upthread for the types of assets one typically acquires for a pick around #11. You’ll find exactly one who isn’t obviously better. His name is Rasmus and if we made this deal it would absolutely be Philly’s revenge.

For me the big name unrestricted free agency discussion is moot anyway. The Sabres have hauled in their share of big names: Ehrhoff, Leino, Okposo, Skinner (he counts) and Hall. None of them really worked out. By and large, splashy UFA signings turn into overpaid veterans. Sometimes you’ll get lucky with a Zach Hyman or a Joe Pavelski. But for the most part, UFA works best for filling in the gaps, not adding core guys.

5’11” 190 pounds at 18 and they call Helenius too small?

Was it? Wasn’t the whole reason it dragged on for so long was because Adams refused to take a substantial discount? I go back to this: when was the last time a player got traded for 3 pieces as good, or better than #11 pick? Ek is an excellent player on an excellent contract, but by no means is he a 1C, a 1D, or an elite sniper or power forward. Thomas Hertl went for the equivalent of 2 late firsts CaseyMittelstadt went for Bowen Byram Elias Lindholm went for a late 1st, a prospect worth a 2nd and what some would consider a cap dump Alex Debrincat went for a mid-first and a prospect worth a 2nd. PL Dubois went for 2 average NHL wingers and 2 2nd-rounders Bo Horvat went for a mid-first and the equivalent of 2 2nds. Sure there are contract complications, but none of those packages are headlined by anything close to Peterka, let alone 3 Peterka-sized pieces. A great comparable for Ek was Ryan O’Reilly The trade where the Sabres got ROR from Colorado translates roughly to: Rosen, Östlund, Strbak and a 2nd for Ek and Foligno. ROR to The Blues works out to: Kulich, Rosen and a 2nd. I’d pay more, but the market generally doesn’t demand much more.