dudacek

I mean I’m with you, but their top 3 centres are Zacha, Coyle and Geekie, and Van Rymsdyk, Greer, Brown, Boqvist, Megna and Lucic will be regulars up front. That looks more like Eakin, Bjork, Caggiula, Hayden, and Jankowski era Sabres than a contender. If they chalk up 50 wins with those forwards, we’ve got to be looking past Twain and into the possibility of a Daniel Webster type deal somewhere.

I would be surprised if the Leafs miss and the Habs make it. Nothing else would shock me.

Whathas Quinn done to prove he's better? Lafreniere had more goals and more points than Quinn did last year, and done far more over the 3 years since the draft. You might disagree with his opinion, but it's hardly a joke.

He was expected to be on the roster prior to his injury. (I think it was Bakes who said this) Östlund (and his former linemates) and Strbak don’t need this showcase, they will be on their teams if they are made available. Wish I could say the same for Leinonen. Dont recall a WJC that had more than 4 Sabres prospects. This year there could possibly be 6 and maybe more: Canada: Benson, Savoie Sweden: Östlund, Wahlberg Slovakia: Strbak Germany: Panocha Kulich, Leinonen, Lindgren, McCarthy and Ratzlaff have histories with their programs and might be longshots (Kulich, only because I suspect he won’t be made available)

The list also shows how hard it is even 3 years out to do a firm ranking. Just 2 players have played 3 full years and only 4 more have played 2. You’ve only got 15 players who have played 60 NHL games. I think you could argue Quinn into the top 5 or down to 12-15 at the moment. Stutzle has certainly stepped out into the lead, but Lafreniere vs Byfield vs Drysdale vs Perfetti vs Quinn vs Lundell vs Guhle etc. could all still go so many ways over the next few years.

It doesn't really. He was a UFA and played on a minimal contract last year. They remain $5 million under the cap with 2 regulars to sign (Frederic and Swayman) who should use that all up.

I was high on Myers after his rookie year too. But the 1st one that popped to mind for me was Sam Reinhart. I thought he was going to be that elite 2nd line centre: 25-30 goal, 40-50 assist, plus-player against tough competition: a core piece on a contender. He’s a very good player, but definitely a notch or 2 under my expectations for him as a prospect. I will always wonder what might have been if he had been developed as a driver in the role we drafted him for, rather than cast as Eichel's sidekick by Bylsma and Housley. I thought we got a glimpse when he went a point per game at centre in his April under Donnie. Another opportunity wasted in the lost decade.

People tend to minimize the fact Quinn, Peterka and Krebs were rookies last year and overlook how they were behind Mitts, Olofsson and Okposo in terms of ice time. I was expecting that to flip this season at least for VO and KO. The Quinn injury certainly puts a drag on that process and adds pressure to the latter 2 to continue their growth. I think people have been too quick to push Krebs off to the side. I think he grew a lot last year, and he could really cement himself as a versatile middle-sixer this year and a valuable part of the team moving forward.

We've mostly focused on Olofsson, but upon further reflection, the guy with the biggest opportunity here is Quinn's's sidekick, Peterka. As you say, it won't be the 13th forward getting thrust into the 6th forward slot, it will be players bumping up a slot throughout the lineup. Tage/Tuch/Skinner/Cozens/Mitts will continue to get the best offensive opportunities and linemates, the question is who will be joining them and benefitting from their skills and PP time. Given his skillset, work ethic and trajectory, Peterka is the player most likely to grab that spot and run with it.

It will be really intriguing to see how the Bruins stack up this year. I think the "Best team in regular season history" was a bit of a mirage, but that's relative; they still made the playoffs by 44 points. Their goaltending remains strong, their defence corps is deep with two studs, and they are very well-coached. But they've also lost a 3rd of their team, including their captain and best centre: Hall, Foligno, Clifton, Nosek, Orlov, Bertuzzi, Hathaway, Bergeron and probably Krecji and replaced them with the likes of Lucic and van Reimsdyk. Their forward group is a mess; It's hard to picture a team boasting Zacha/Coyle/Geekie as their top 3 down the middle challenging for anything, and their bottom 6 is a mix of fringe guys and has-beens. And re-signing Frederic and Swayman should put them at or over the cap. On paper, they look like a bubble team, but I will believe when I see it.

Such a relief to not have to respect a Bruin any more.

Both Luongo trades were for players not picks. You might be thinking of Schneider, who was traded for pick 9, the highest return for any goalie post-lockout Darcy Kuemper went for a late 1st and prospect Conor Timmins (4 years removed from being the 32nd overall pick). Next year's 1st and Ryan Johnson is technically 2 1st-rounders and probably similar to Hart's value in the current market, in my opinion.

Fighting fires?

Donnie said as much. “Guys that have been with us as a coaching staff by the end of the year had 162 opportunities to grow and that’s more than enough for me.”

I don’t think he means happy, more like he thinks people will move goalposts and say things like “well, it was never really the plan to contend this year” or “it was always about Levi maturing, and when Benson gets here” or some such. At least that’s how I’ve been reading him. He thinks the plan of building from within isn’t so much about building a winner, it’s about Adams managing expectations and building job security. He might be right. 🤷 I don’t really give a ***** as long as the team continues to improve like it has.

Well, Pimlach and Thorny and I won’t be for 3. 🤷 Plenty is a little hard to quantify, but I’m not seeing it.

How would you compare your confidence in Levi to your confidence in Anderson? We missed by one point with Anderson and I have high confidence Levi can replace his 26 games and supply another 26 at that level. I think the experience gained and the pieces added over the 82 games last year will make a difference over the 82 games this year. I think Clifton and Johnson improve the weakest part of last year’s depth chart (PK, defensive depth) while also adding to those characteristics (experience, defence, edge) the team was lacking. I also think it is highly unlikely the forwards will be able to repeat the scoring totals and the good health they had last year and I think the confidence in Levi needs to be buttressed with a better insurance policy. I think they should be a playoff team as currently constructed. I also think more can and should be done.

Great post. I read elsewhere on here today that the Sabres are putting out the vibe that “now’s not the time, we’re still a year or two away” and I don’t see that all. Those who are buying into Adams by and large see the pieces of a playoff team assembled right now. If they cough up an 86-point year, no one is going to be OK with that, and Adams knows it.

Seems to me after hashing the issue to death that the Venn diagram of goalies better than UPL, available, and at a price acceptable to Adams is very small. Or maybe he’s just trying to wait somebody out, or he’s got something he wants to do, but it’s held up by another shoe that has to fall around the league first. Who knows? It’s dead out there and we’re just basically trying to fill the vaccuum.

He pretty much outright said he wasn't going to acquire a goalie if he didn't believe that goalie was better than what we had. Now you have to assume a big part of that is posturing toward other GMs, but another one is that he may feel better about his trio than we do. And I'd say the same goes for Victor as the Quinn replacement. the league has moved into waiting mode and he seems content to wait it out. He's got a lot of depth in most spots and the flexibility to make a move or 2 if the dominoes start to fall. But hes done a good job of making it seem like he doesn't have to make a move.

I think ideally most fans wanted: a goalie to share the load with Levi 1 top 4 defenceman defensive depth plus maybe someone to take faceoffs, then Quinn got hurt and it opened another spot there. Seems to me like there's still work to be done.

That's an interesting and sweeping take. I think we're an extremely soulful and bruised fanbase divided between those eager to embrace reasons for joy and those reluctant to do so because they've been fooled before.

Yes there are. Did you think that was one?

You keep living in that world of your own making. Doesnt seem like a fun place, but to each his own.

Those blackouts are starting to affect your memory.