dudacek

I listened to the interview and didn't catch this. It sounded to me like they wouldn't be spending big money free agency, just filling out the bottom half of the roster. But I didn't hear pushback against the idea of adding to the top 6. I thought his willingness to trade #11 sort of implied the opposite.

His response on Skinner was very interesting. He was asked about whether or not he thought Skinner's game was falling off. He responded about Jeff being proactive about taking care of himself and how there is no crystal ball, but then finished up with a statement all players are being reviewed and they are going to look at everything: make decisions that help them win hockey games. The question really had nothing to do about making any decisions on Skinner, so I am making the huge leap that there may actually be some consideration given to moving on from Jeff.

Adams tells WGR the merits of long-term extensions for Quinn and Peterka are questions they are talking internally about. He didn't outright say this, but to me his tone was such that it seemed the team and the agent might be cautious about doing.

Adams tells WGR talks with UPL are underway and positive. Says getting players in their prime is important and UPL is entering his prime.

Adams tells Jeremy that trading the pick is absolutely in play.

Actually, I was kinda ranting about UPL being pissed off about not getting “a fair shot,” if indeed that was the case. Second paragraph is both a misrepresentation of my feelings and kinda dickish. Sorry you feel that way. I’ve obviously overstayed my welcome.

I happened on a St. Louis Blues draft video last night that made it it clear the Blues used McKenzie’s list to get feel for how the draft was likely to unfold. Which really reinforced to me how valuable this list is. Even more interesting, the video made it clear that the Blues had a deal in place to trade down to #13 in last year’s draft if their guy (Dvorsky) wasn’t available. He was, so they cancelled the deal. In case we don’t remember, #13 belonged to the Buffalo Sabres.

Tavares will replace Mitt’s production short-term and seriously bolster our middle six. He can also win faceoffs and might help the PP. This is a short-term proposal I would absolutely entertain.

Was there a Sabrespacer who had UPL ahead of Levi in September? I can remember being dismissed every time I tried to suggest UPL hadn’t finished developing yet and being told emphatically that he hadn’t even proven himself a competent AHL goalie yet. UPL was 3/7/2 in February and March of last year. His GAA was over 4 and his S% was under .870. He was handed the keys and the above is what he did. Levi was then handed the keys and he won. If he had fallen behind Levi in the pecking order, he had no one to blame but himself. And when the play level changed this fall, so did the pecking order. Isnt that the way it’s supposed to work?

Ideally, this is Ullmark (the mid-20s talent who paid his dues) and Swayman (the hotshot college kid who arrived quickly and stuck) I get UPL feeling the way @Brawndo described, but the flip side of that was that UPL didn't actually earn the net either until this December and January. And once he earned it, he kept it. Most athletes understand that's the way it's supposed to work.

Who do people think will be in over their heads in these roles? 1C Thompson* 2C Cozens* 4C Krebs T6W Tuch T6W Skinner* T6W Quinn* T6W Peterka B6W Greenway B6W Benson To me, this is best case scenario with the current roster. The guys with stars are the guys who didn't live up to their role this year and proof of why you can't count on the best-case scenario. And it's why I've said there is a Mitts-sized hole in the lineup: a guy who creates competition in the top 6 and in the process strengthens the bottom six.

What’s the 3rd? No, goal, ?

A. The bold is a motherhood statement that most on here would agree with. B. That the Sabres are the worst franchise in the NHL over the past decade is a fact. I don’t agree with the implication that B means A isn’t happening. This is the 6th playoff series Rochester has played in over the past 25 months. Mersch/Jobst/Murray Biro/Rousek/Weissbach Cecconi/Davies/Prow are AHL veterans “helping the kids through it.” Rochester has graduated Krebs, Quinn, Peterka, Samuelsson, and Luukkonen during this process. Johnson and Levi will almost certainly join them. Not trying to change your mind, just sharing a different view. I already know the response to this will be some version of “well the Sabres missed the playoffs again” because that’s all the really matters.

Pretty sure Stillman is out for the season. I don’t think Clague was returned when the Sabres were done. Not sure about that though, and no idea why.

This was last night’s game. Johnson and Levi were key players for the Amerks. Novikov, Kulich and Rosen got regular shifts. The other kids were non-factors. Mersch/Jobst/Murray Biro/Rousek/Weissbach were the guys who carried the water.

And how do you build that when you have no proven veterans in your organization and very few outside the organization want to play for you? 3 years ago, when this started, our "veterans" were Skinner, Okposo, Girgenson, Eakin, Coilin Miller, Pysyk, Hagg and Anderson. And there was nobody for Mitts and Thompson and the rest of compete with for prime ice. Now they are Skinner, Thompson, Tuch, Cozens, Greenway, Dahlin, Jokiharju, Clifton And there is plenty of bodies for Benson and Kulich and the rest to compete with. I mean, you're not wrong with bold, but you also act like they haven't been trying to move toward that, and that it doesn't take time for the talent to be developed and acquired. I mean the year we just finished was probably the first time we could have reasonably expected to be close to that under this rebuild. You can't snap your fingers and voila.

I think it’s weird how some things fix themselves in people’s minds. In it’s genesis, “don’t block the kids” was about force-feeding the Botterill leftovers Thompson, Cozens, Mittelstadt, Dahlin and Jokiharju key ice time to accelerate their development, build their confidence and see what the team had. By and large, it did what it was supposed to do. The team improved notably and those players pretty significantly. Year 2, it was about giving the 2nd wave - Power, Quinn, Samuelsson, Krebs and Peterka - a similar opportunity, but in mid-roster roles.Those players were younger and predictably didn’t have the same impact. But they did show they belong, and the guys in front of them took big jumps. By and large people were happy with the improvement and were predicting good things ahead. Year 3, “don’t block the kids” wasn’t really a thing. I mean, I guess it was in goal, but it also kinda worked in goal. Elsewhere, they didn’t hand jobs to Rousek and Rosen and Kulich and Ryan Johnson. Instead, they blocked the kids, re-signing Girgensons, and Okposo and Jost, and adding Robinson and Clifton and Greenway and Erik Johnson. It wasn’t not blocking the kids that killed last year’s team, it was the fact that most of the above veterans sucked. And they sucked while Thompson, Tuch, Skinner and Cozens - all of whom all now count as vets - also sucked. The players who stepped up - UPL and Peterka - happened to be the kids who weren’t blocked. This “not blocking” hasn’t been the problem for Adams some of you make it out to be. Rather, it’s been putting together a consistent, focused and complete team.

Now that’s the kind of “now” trade I’d look for. It’s not about not trading futures, it’s about trading them for the right player.

Some impressions of those prospects after the 3 games: Rousek is the probably the best forward on the Amerks right now, but doesn’t look fast or strong enough to play the same game in the NHL. Kulich is MIA. He just hasn’t done anything noticeable. I want to like Rosen. His feet and his hands are the most noticeable on the team and he’s not timid or irresponsible. But it’s maddening how infrequently he applies his will on the game, he’s got more to give, but he’s content to let it come to him. Östlund’s lack of strength means he has faded as the clutching and grabbing has escalated. But he sees the game better and plays it faster than anyone else down there. Based just on these 3 games, he projects the best of the big 3, when you account for his lack of AHL experience. Anton Wahlberg doesn’t know how good he can be yet. His effectiveness wavers because he’s 18 and it shows. But he is a physical specimen who can skate and he wants to make a difference. When the going got tougher Ryan Johnson seemed to play better. His ability to move the puck to safety shone, rather than wilted under the heavy fire. Novikov has got some heavy feet, but his attitude is every inch what the Sabres lack. He sees the game very well and pushes first. Levi has simply been fantastic. Technically poised, cool under fire and athletic. Easily the best player on the ice for either team.

They’re all in the shop for their regularly scheduled summer conditionings.

I was just looking for a yes or no 😜 So you do the deal?

Sure, in a vacuum. But Ehlers is a pending UFA. My take is you shouldn't have to give up that much to get that player; And, if you're giving up that asset, better to use it on a different kind of player.

Such an awesome reference. (No way he's McKinnon 😁) Would you do the deal? It would be the ultimate expression of short-term thinking: clearly makes the team better, but for one year only.

Wondering how many people on here know 21 Buffalo Sabres teams finished with worse records than this year's team.

Dylan Cozens had a bad year. Even with that bad year, his 47 points ranked him as a low-end 2C. The 68 points he scored last year would have ranked him as a low-end 1C this year alongside, Eichel, O’Reilly, Larkin, Horvat and Hischier. There is no doubt in my mind Dylan Cozens will be a very competent 2C for the Sabres next year and probably for the majority of his contract.