dudacek

So I’m not completely alone around here. I love me some Jack Quinn, but I think it's kinda weird that Sabrespace has annointed Quinn a surefire stud this year after he put up 58 points In his first 104 games, but is lukewarm about Byram who has 72 in his first 161. Byram is just 3 months older and to my mind has a similar potential to pop. He plays fast and hard and I think he’s better defensively than last years numbers suggest. The team’s biggest need was a top 4 D and I think we got one just before he enters his prime. I like the concept of McLeod: the speed and his fancystats. I think this board overrates what he’s going to bring, but he will be better at protecting leads, transition and penalty killing than Casey was. The team is going to miss Casey’s playmaking, his puck possession and his ability to move up the lineup. And they’ll miss it even more if Cozens or Thompson gets hurt. I do think, however, that the fans are overlooking how some of Casey’s offence is going to be replaced by Byram. But they used two areas of strength to address 2 areas of weakness and the team is more complete and balanced as a result.

I’ve warmed to this one. It’s was hard initially to get over the “really, we’re going to be that predictable?” But I honestly can’t think of a better available match for this group of players at this time in their careers. New Jersey proved Lindy can still coach; the fast, hard game he prefers fits this collection of players; and he seem to be the right personality for this core at this time. Looking forward to seeing how the team responds, particularly Cozens, Krebs, Byram and Power.

Podkolzin was the 10th overall pick just 5 years ago. Holtz was the #7 four years ago and was traded for not much more. Neither had impressed but neither was a confirmed bust yet either. I guess “only a third” for Holloway is not as much of a good deal as I thought in today’s market, and a 2nd and more than $4M for Broberg (pick 8 in 2018) seems hefty considering an argument could be made that all 4 players are at a similar level. Puts a different light on the Savoie trade. The market for prospects is shifting.

I hadn't really thought of this too much but Girgensons/Skinner/Mittelstadt/Olofsson combined had never played a playoff game Lafferty's played 21, Zucker 52, Byram 27 and McLeod 56

This is what Adams has done since the trade deadline: Mitts -> McLeod Skinner -> Zucker Okposo -> Lafferty Girgensons -> Malenstyn Olofsson -> Aube-Kubel Erik Johnson -> Byram Comrie -> Reimer Granato -> Ruff [Plus it looks like Jost -> Gilbert in the final roster spot) Essentially, they’ve switched the coach and turned over about 1/3 of the roster, mostly in the bottom half. Did the Sabres get better? What still needs to be done?

The Sabres flushed long-time leaders Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons from their NHL roster along with Tyson Jost and Victor Olofsson. in their stead, they acquired of Beck Malenstyn, Nick Aube-Kubel and Sam Lafferty to round out the bottom half of their forward ranks. Those moves complemented how they brought in the more defensively oriented Jason Zucker and Ryan McLeod as middle 6 options over Jeff Skinner and Casey Mittelstadt. What do you think about the Sabres new look bottom six and what kind of impact will it have on the coming season?

The Sabres parted ways with their highest-paid player Jeff Skinner, deciding they were better off paying him $14M over the next 6 years to play elsewhere than keeping him on the roster for another 3 years for $22M. The team implied they were moving him off the top line and didn’t see Skinner as a good fit lower down the lineup. They signed Jason Zucker to a 1-year, $5M deal as his roster replacement and have yet to spend the money they saved under the cap by cutting him. What do you think about the decision to cut Jeff Skinner, and what kind of impact will it have on the coming season?

As last season slipped away, calls increased for Adams to dip into his rich store of futures and make a move to fix things. He eventually did, but not in dramatic fashion and not necessarily in the way people were thinking. Ultimately, the move came in 2 parts and effectively worked out to flipping Casey Mittelstadt and Matt Savoie for Bowen Byram, Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio. Looking at the two trades combined, what do you think of the moves and what kind of impact will they have on the coming season?

It seems like the heavy lifting of the summer is over and Adams has taken a number of steps to fix what was a very disappointing season. Now that you’ve had some time for things to settle in, what do you think about the decision to fire Don Granato and bring in Lindy Ruff, and what kind of impact will it have on the coming season?

I don’t think Adams is at “well, it’s feasible” I think Adams believes this group is a playoff team, not a bubble team. I think he’s bet his job on it. I wish I shared his confidence.

If there isn’t enough room to pay Byram, how are they going to afford that impact forward you’re calling for?

Adams Never disagreed that Byram wasn’t bad at defence over his last 10 or so games in Buffalo. Prior to this year, he’s never given me any reason to question his ability to play defence. And he’s never given me any reason to question his commitment. The kid is a stud talent and a competitor. I’m going to bet ability + commitment + coaching produces a player who makes you happy to be wrong.

I will. That team is so close, but it has moved in the wrong direction this summer. If they take the final step, it will be because of McDavid and Draisaitl, not what they’ve changed around them.

Can’t recall Lindy ever playing power games with his GM. From would I’ve observed from both men, I’d be shocked if their relationship is anything other than collaborative. I’d also be shocked if the bold isn’t the case. Tying this in to my conversation with @GASabresIUFAN, Byram strikes me as very much a Lindy guy: plays fast, attacks the game at both ends, competes hard, pushes back: he’s a Western Leaguer to the core. Real curious about what kind of summer he’s had. He’s better talent than the player he was traded for. If he finds his game the way Casey did at his age, he’s going to be a real asset.

No wonder you are so down on the guy.

Cozens has played 27 games for Hockey Canada over the past 5 years and scored 24 goals and 16 assists. He’s a longshot as things stand right now, but he’s big and fast and versatile and competitive and plays in all situations. He’s definitely on their radar.

You think Adams views Byram as basically a stopgap? Like basically he took him because he was determined to move on from Mittelstadt and Byram was the best piece offered? But in terms of any long-term planning, Adams thinks he’s at-best a Gostisbehere or a DeAngelo or a Tyson Barrie - a flawed second-tier offensive defenceman you use until someone better comes along?

So when Adams says this team has enough offence he’s blowing smoke, and deep down inside he doesn’t think they can contend without a Necas-level player? There’s a difference between improving the roster and adding to your core. And just so we’re on the same page when we’re talking “core”, how would you fill in the blank in this sentence with a number: “if he was traded to Buffalo, Martin Necas would be the Sabres —— most important forward.”

I read Adams moves as him making the statement "Tage, Tuch, Cozens, Quinn, Peterka, Dahlin, Power, Byram is the core of a contender, you'll see." And I read your post as you saying "in no ***** way is that correct" Fair?

I liked what Armstrong said about offer sheets: “There’s a perception that offer sheets are taboo by managers. Offer sheets that don’t work are taboo by managers. That’s the assessment we all make. I think teams are more than willing to at least explore that now. The cap has gone up, but a lot of that money has already been spent by the teams. If you have an RFA that is in an uncomfortable spot, it’s at least my job responsibility to assess: Is that an option that we should explore?” Basically, it's the counter-poaching GMs have to worry about: will your offer sheet make you vulnerable to losing one of your own players to a subsequent offer sheet, and is it worth the risk? A GM like Adams should be hesitant with Peterka, Quinn, Byram and Levi all pending RFAs. Armstrong has no one like that on his roster, he saw the Oilers squeezing themselves up against their cap with Skinner and Arvidsson, and he pounced.

I think Tage's coming season will have a lot to say about his chances. Over the past 3 years, he's the 4th-best US-born goal-scorer. Points-wise he's outproduced Eichel, Larkin, Boeser and Boldy and he's right there with Brady Tkachuk, Guentzel, Keller, and Conner. He's fast, really big and can play centre and wing. He's definitely in the mix.

Fun.

As I spread my hockey cards across the bedroom floor in what I now call a depth chart, Gare/Luce/Ramsay was always the 2nd line 😁

I guess this is just another example of how the same hockey terms have different meanings to different people. The Luce line may have been the matchup line, but by no measure where they bottom-sixers in terms of ice time, scoring or value to the team. The Luce of the French Connection era scored more than 56 points for 6 straight seasons and was pretty clearly the team's 2nd-best centre.

The top 10 games played by a Sabres bottom-sixer Rob Ray 889 Girgensons 688 Ruff 608 Mair 498 Gaustad 479 May 425 Larsson 392 Varada 376 Kaleta 365 Barnaby 317 HM: Ellis 286 (the Matt Ellis of top 10 bottom-sixers