dudacek

Pretty much everyone agrees that the best move for the Sabres is to acquire a reliable proven veteran who can act as a bridge for Levi - ideally work in a tandem, but also carry the freight if he falters, and not act as a block if he gets hot. Pretty much everyone wants a guy who has put up consistently strong numbers in recent years, who is available without costing us #13 or a top prospect, and who doesn’t carry a contract commitment beyond 2 years. Why does pretty much no one recognize there is no better fit for the Sabres than Linus Ullmark?

I said more than anything else, the pipeline needs an Ekholm. He sure seems to fit the bill.

Last time a Sabre put up that many highlights in one season? Had to be Dom, right? That was a special year he gave us.

Interesting talk on the latest Athletic draft podcast about whether or not Michkov is a ***** and whether that should matter. They danced around for awhile about double standards, and how plenty of other high picks have deserved those concerns and didn’t get the same amount of attention, and whether even if they are true, does it matter? And they had me thinking “it kinda sounds like they’re talking about Eichel?” And then one just bluntly said “there are many people around the league who for many years have said bad things about Jack Eichel and I’m sure he doesn’t give a ***** about that right now”

I think it’s probably where you need to be. I understand why some people’s jaws drop, but I’d do it. This is all true. Thing is, Power doesn’t need to be a Norris Trophy candidate for the contract to make sense. $8 million right now, meaning as of today, would make him the 17th highest paid defenceman in the league. 3 or 4 years from now, it may not be in the top 30. Nine years from now, when he’s 29, I’d be surprised if it’s top 50. Yeah, he might be overpaid the next year or two, but he might be underpaid for 5 or 6 after that, even if he “only” turns into a Thomas Chabot level player. I have no problem betting on Power being a top 50 NHL defenceman for the majority of the deal and $8-million reflects that. I really think it’s just the appropriate manifestation of what powered the Mule and Tage signings: if you’ve seen enough to believe, lock him up.

I gotta say that I've never really seen the value in Bader's stuff. Not really commenting on the info above, it's just that I've come to the point where I just don't pay any attention to him, fair or not. I just don't see the value in saying these selected numbers are close to this other guy's therefore we should expect a similar career.

Switching Rousek for Z probably helps the offence and opens cap space while making us slower, smaller, weaker on the forecheck and worse defensively. Not exactly robbing from strength to address weakness

I'm looking to Quinn to elevate his role on the PP and hope the coaches are adjusting their tactics to emphasize his skillset.

I’d really like to watch you and Don break down a game together.

He’s smart and he competes. His size/speed/skill combination is OK, but looks to be lacking any one standout quality, so my questions would be two: Is the package enough to hold down a Jack-of-all trades middle-six role in the NHL, I guess like a Jochen Hecht or a Dixon Ward? If not, can he carve himself out a specialty (PK, forecheck, faceoffs, etc) that can keep him in an NHL lineup? I think he’ll get a chance this year and likely makes the team as a bottom of the lineup utility guy, the way the forward corps stacks up right now. Not sure if he has a role here beyond that.

With all due respect, Sabrespace knows ***** about coaching. As in, even Ralph Krueger knows more about coaching hockey than any of us. (Except @Taro T that guy is coach smart) I’ve been reading this place for years. Many of us seem to operate under the misunderstanding that hockey is like football and coaches have an entire playbook that they are constantly able to pull from to attack or counter opponents throughout the game. Or that coaches are somehow able to dictate what a player does in that split second after puck hits a skate at the left circle and bounces at a 60 degree angle on a cross-ice pass attempt during the cycle. Or we pick a specific moment or game decision or coaching tendency we disagree with and hold on to it forever like it is the clear reason the team lost or won. We say things like “Sullivan totally outcoached Granato tonight” because “way too many turnovers” or “the Sabres are soft”. Because I guess Granato told them to make bad passes or not battle for pucks? Let’s be honest, most of us don’t understand tactics and strategies and wouldn’t recognize an in-game shift if it slashed us in the shins. We have no clue about what the Sabres are being told on the bench or in the room. We have no insight into who is hurt, or sick, or hungover. We say and believe stupid things like “coach is an idiot for not letting Skinner shoot in the shootouts” without ever checking to see if he is good at shootouts. Or “Granato has no experience” when he has been coaching pro hockey players for 30 years. Eleven is smart guy, I respect most of his opinions. But he has no more ***** clue whether or not Don Granato can coach a non-development team than I do. Because neither of us has ever seen him in that situation. Let’s face it, we basically judge a coach on whether we like his pressers and his demeanour behind the bench, as well as his won/lost record filtered through our expectations. That’s it. That’s fine. I do it too. But it has very little to do with actual coaching. Nearly every player on Don Granato’s roster had career seasons while the Sabres had their highest point total in 12 years. If you think that carries less weight than the fact he didn’t pull Eric Comrie with 10 minutes left against Dallas when a 5-3 game turned into an 8-3 game, you’re welcome to that.

This year’s goalie market is clearly better, IMO. On the trade market Gibson and Hart have much better resumes than last year’s group. Hellebuyck is elite (as is Saros, if he’s actually available). And the UFAs (Raantta, Andersen Korpisalo Jarry Hill Varlamov off the top of my head) look to better fit Buffalo’s sweet spot.

Further to the above, the D situation is not like the situation in goal last summer. Last summer the Sabres were shopping from a list headlined by question marks like Campbell, Husso, Vanecek, Georgiev and Comrie. This year the names of potential D targets is much more proven: Graves, Pesce, Hanifan, Grelczyk, Faulk, Parayko, Martinez, Mayfield, Tanev, Toews, Girard, DeMelo, Murphy, Edmundson, Lindgren, Dumba, Orlov, Dumoulin, Dunn, Soucy, Gudas, Schenn, Bouchard, DeHaan, Peeke, Borgen… Gavrikov, Severson and Provorov have already been locked up. I’m sure there are others I’ve missed. Any of these guys could solidify our corps. Most will see the opportunity that exists for them here. Adams has the ammunition to acquire them. There’s just no excuse not to pull the trigger on someone.

The Sabres have a bigger piggy bank than most teams (cap space, assets) and there appears to be multiple options out there, be it trade or free agency. The price is the price, the need is obvious. Failing to add a bigger piece than Lyubushkin in the next 2 weeks would be derelict, in my opinion.

Been cable free for awhile now. Started this last season when they switched up the apps. Bit of a learning curve initially, but it’s been relatively glitch free and I’ve been happy with the service.

I mean it’s a promotion, but living in New York, working with Drury and Laviolette? Yuck. He’ll come home eventually.

If I’m Power I’m betting on myself. If the Sabres want 8 years, it better be for around 8 per.

As someone who lives relatively close to Vancouver, visits frequently, and was there as recently as last week that video (at least the intro and brief snippets I saw) is hardly a fair reflection. It’s like showing 60 minutes of Jacob Bryson and saying “look at the Sabres”.

I feel like the media has kinda hand-waved Michkov as “Russian issues” and has provided very little insight as to what he is as a player and a person. Before the war,when he was playing against his peers in this draft he was a clear #2, if not a 1B. We live in a world where even top draft picks take 2 or 3 years to make the jump, so I don’t see why his Russian contract is a huge concern. Russian players are still coming. We just added 2. Why are scouts saying “he’s going to get someone fired?” Is he a diva? A puck hog? A talent who got overrated early like Wright but hasn’t progressed? Is he tied up with the oligarchs? If he has a good chance to be Nikita Kucherov, there’s no way he shouldn’t be in consideration for the 2nd pick. What’s the real story on this guy?

Shh! Why any Sabres fan would want to question the results of this meticulous report from T. Pegula and Associates Research Inc., released so close to free agency day is beyond me.

On paper I can see why somebody would look at him on paper and go “Teppo? Jeep?” You wouldn’t feel the same way if you watched him. Dude looks shot and has for some time. That’s for 2 teams and multiple coaches. (There, by the grace of god, goes Jeff Skinner. Did we ever dodge a bullet there)

And the above is pretty much part of why I’m leaning towards trading the pick: There are lots of intriguing players available around 13, who will be great adds to our asset pool. Not sure if any of them make me go “that’s the piece we are missing.” You’re never beyond the need for adding assets, and you never get stupid about blowing up your pipeline. But we’ve reached the time where roster building takes precedence. If 13 is the price we have to pay to fill in our missing pieces, pay it.

Not sure where I am with Benson, but I’d think the same logic applies. He’s not what we need at all, but if he slips to 13 the value is probably too much to ignore. Perreault is the same script, although, unlike Benson, there will probably be other guys available at 13 who are as good as he is.

Maybe even some suffering? 😜