dudacek

Damn, scoured the internet - which is bursting with reports of already done deals and teams in the mix - no sign of blue and gold anywhere. I mean Eric (Mrs) Robinson to Carolina is even out there. My expectation meter is set for Girgs 1 year at $3.3M, a Bob Corkum PTO and a report late in the day that Dustin Tokarski’s agent butt-dialed Adams by mistake.

Got your gifts, puns and jokes handy everyone? If Adams can’t make me smile today, maybe Sabrespace can make me laugh.

So this is the kind of nuanced thinking you’re used to from Andrew Peters? And I thought the “rumour” was that GMs don’t want to deal with Adams. If what you are postulating is true, wouldn’t GMs want to deal with him?

Well he’s definitely wrong about the Kane thing 😁

With respect, I sincerely doubt there is anything Adams could say that could, or should, change your mind.

Kelly is a prick. We could do worse.

No but it officially ends any interest I have in Kane. He had his chance. I don’t want to be his farewell tour.

My uninformed take: I was very high on Buium, I liked him the most and will be watching him closely. He’s got the widest range of the 4: reads the game very well, but lacks the tools of a Byram or Power. Dickinson is a much safer pick: he’s a prototype. I don’t think he has 1D upside, but is a solid bet to reach a Brent Seabrook 2/3 level. Luchenko is a likable player: some skill and plays hard but I don’t see him higher than a 2C. Helenius is the guy I wanted and expected to take at 14. He is a solid prospect with enough game to play throughout the lineup and has Nick Suzuki upside. He’s better than Luchenko and on a similar range to Dickinson.

I'm not sure of the odds. Oh you can bet on that.

Absolutely possible guy might be back. But in the purest sense, none of these guys are tied to the Sabres anymore. They're unrestricted free agents.

RFA Shane Pinto reportedly chasing an offer sheet.

Adam Boquist getting bought out by CBJ. One of the rare exceptions to the hit rate among top 10 D picks. Still young enough he could pull something together if he stays healthy.

Durzi signs a last-minute extension with Utah 4x$6M. As much grumbling as there is about Power's deal right now, or even Samuelsson's I imagine they are going to be looking pretty sweet in a few years. And Bowen Byram should be very motivated.

I'm not saying this is particularly noteworthy, but Adams seems to be having no problem cutting ties this year with guys who haven't cut it, or he doesn't see as part of his plan: from Mitts all the way down to Biro, just because you want to be here doesn't mean he will automatically keep you. At the moment, he's effectively cut ties with Okposo, Johnson, Mittelstadt, Skinner, Olofsson, Robinson, Girgensons, Jost, Bryson and Comrie from the Sabres And from the pipeline he's dumped Murray, Biro, Weissbach, Cooley, Cedarqvist, Lindgren and Stillman, plus potentially a number of UFA Amerks. I mean its GM 101 to turn over pieces like that, so its not a big deal. I only bring it up because last year — and bringing back Girgs and Jost in particular — raised the question for many of us about whether he loved his players too much.

So we've relinquished the rights to Bryson, Murray, Biro, Weissbach and Stillman.

His defensive numbers were actual quite good last year, and 20-ish points is fine for a 4C. He drastically reduced his giveaways, and his shot-blocking and hitting numbers were fine. In terms of 5-on-5 play there is no need to upgrade him in that 4C role. This is a kid who has really been asked to transform his game over the past 2 years, from a high-risk offensive distributor to a conscientious, hard-to-play-against checker. It's been a big ask, and he's really worked hard to make the adjustment. I see his question as two-fold: How much specialization do they need on their 4th line, because he doesn't bring the high-end PK, faceoff, or physicality elements that coaches often look for from those players. Can he tap back into his innate playmaking skills at all without losing his defensive gains? Because that would make him a perfect 3C. I think he ultimately will settle into a long-term career and be pretty good in a 3C role. I just don't know if he can get there this year, or if the Sabres can afford to wait.

Steve Yzerman 5'11" 185 Joe Sakic 5'!1" 185 Pat Lafontaine 5'10" 180 Dale Hawerchuk 5'11" 185 Wayne Gretzky 6'0" 185 Mike Peca 5'11 181 Danny Briere 5'10 181 Chris Drury 5'10" 195 Derek Roy 5'8 187 Steve Ott 6'0" 189 Nikita Kucherov 5'11" 182 Kiril Kaprizov 5'!0 202 Sebastian Aho 6'0" 176 Travis Konecny 5'!0 192 Connor Bedard 5'10 185 Seriously dude, the amount of guys Helenius' size to have successful NHL careers is so ridiculously long, it's unbelievable people would even bring it up. Throughout positions, eras, franchises and roles. In a lot of ways, the 5'10 195-pounders with the big thighs and butts have an advantage, using a low centre of gravity and burst to get underneath and around defenders.

I do not think Savoie has a higher ceiling. Matt is faster and smaller and equally competitive. I think each projects as a middle-sixer and I might gave the edge to Helenius as more natural centre. Also, unrelated, but the thought of a 5'11" 190-pound kid who just turned 18 as 'small" to me is bizarre. He looks considerably thicker than Savoie and Östlund did 2 years ago. Forton said he projects to play at 6'0" 200. The list of very good NHL players around that size is long. Decent choice. I was wondering if it was Sennecke.

Doesn't deserve the rep he got here thanks to a horrible half-season fed top 4 minutes. Was fine last year as an adequate 7D. Doesn't deserve his QA either. Is easily replaceable and preferably with a different skillset. Another member of the original "blinding light brigade (TM)" and cool kid insider shown the door. Not surprising at all. Neither would both sides circling back after the initial FA flurry, a la Jost last year. I'm hoping that doesn't happen. Overall, I like this move.

No Kulich, Rosen, Savoie, Östlund, Wahlberg, Kisakov, Komarov, Levi, Johnson, Novikov... This is a crazy weak roster compared to what it could be. I think it's basically only the guys who haven't got a contract yet, with the exceptions of Neuchev and Nadeau. Neuchev is the only Amerk. Oh well, at least we might get to see the legendary Topias Leinonen for the first time. I wonder what the rationale is?

I was surprised when people on here pushed back when I said this would be a controversial move among the larger fan base. Never mind the obvious "bad team cuts 30-goal scorer" response. He was a popular personality.

This build was always about having a large collection of young talent emerging at roughly the same time. I know Tuch, Thompson, Cozens and (to a lesser extent) Dahlin have more to give than we saw last year. I believe the same is true of Quinn, Peterka, Krebs, Benson, Samuelsson, Power, Byram and Levi. Adams is right about one thing: youth is no longer an excuse for most of them. No matter who we add, it's time for these guys to step up.

Probably too early to discuss this, no? If you're talking about comparing off-seasons? Tampa got appreciably worse. Boston too. Ottawa and New Jersey filled their biggest hole. Don't know if anyone else has made significant moves. And still plenty of shoes to drop. Besides, I find that this team of year people seem to pay far more attention to additions than departures.

Like (I'm assuming), a lot of you, I had to look up Malenstyn when the trade was revealed. I have no ***** idea if he's any good or not. And I do think he is unlikely to have a better career than Hank Tallinder, Jason Pominville, Jhonas Enroth and Jake McCabe. But I know he's already had an as-good or better NHL career than Mark Dutiaume, Daren van Oene, Norm Milley, Jaro Kristek, Milan Bartovic, Doug Janik, Gerard diCaire, Mike Funk, Philip Gogulla, Luke Adam, Connor Hurley, Justin Bailey, Eric Cornel, Vaclav Karabacek, Brendan Guhle and Marcus Davidson. I know I wanted them to invest prospect capital into players that can help now. I know I wanted them to add speedy, punishing forecheckers. I know I wanted them to add defensive chops and character He played 14 minutes a night with some of the toughest defensive deployment in history. He was the Capitals fastest skater. He finished 12th in the entire NHL in hits. He kills penalties and blocks shots. He's a western Canadian farmboy who toiled for 4 years in the minors before finally making the show. Caps fans seem to respect him. He seems to tick the requisite boxes. So even though it looks like an overpay, I kinda shrug. Maybe the fact I didn't know the player says more about me than it does the Sabres? He seems like the type of player we need. We'll find out soon enough if he is.

Pending trades, I think these roster slots are set Five top 6 slots are taken: Tuch, Thompson, Cozens, Quinn, Peterka Four other forward slots are filled: Benson, Greenway, Krebs and Malenstyn Five defence slots are taken: Dahlin, Power, Byram, Samuelsson, Clifton Both goalie slots are taken: Luukkonen, Levi They still need to fill: Skinner's top 6 wing slot Mittelstadt's middle 6 centre slot Girgensons and Okposo's bottom six wing slots Comrie's #3 goalie slot They have decisions to make on Whether Jokiharju continues in the final defence slot How to handle the 14/15th forward slots and 7/8 D slots: are they prospects or veterans