LGR4GM

He has elite manipulation skills

I have seen nothing in the preseason to make me think VO can do this. I saw nothing last year when it was ABUNDUNATLY obvious he needed to play better to make me think he can do this. I have seen nothing that makes me think VO has it in him to improve his game to a level above liability and he has had multiple chances to do that.

The more I look at this the more this makes total sense to my brain... Skinner-Thompson-Benson Peterka-Cozens-Olofsson Savoie Greenway-Mittelstadt-Tuch Girgensons-Krebs-Okposo Rousek-Jost Olofsson is traded or waived and Biro is waived? or sent to Rochester. I am fine with swapping Biro for Rousek as I think both players are somewhat interchangeable. That gives you 14 forwards and you only keep 7 defenders and 2 goalies. Of course... Savoie hasn't practiced so maybe I am wrong.

Here are Sabres lines as Rochester also opens camp today. Skinner-Thompson-Benson = I like it and think this could work Peterka-Cozens-Olofsson = I think within a week they'll realize that you can't saddle Olofsson this high up. Greenway-Mittelstadt-Tuch = This has a lot of potential but only if Mitts can replicate last years abilities. Girgensons-Krebs-Okposo = Pretty much what we expected Rousek-Jost-Biro = The island of misfit toys or first callups/subs Murray-Kulich-Rosén = Eastbound and down... shortly Dahlin-Clifton = Yup Power-Jokiharju = idk if I trust joker but donny does Samuelsson-E. Johnson = solid R. Johnson-Bryson = sorry little johnson Stillman-Clague = yupers If I could swap in Savoie for Olofsson right now, I actually kinda like that forward lineup. Savoie has the speed to keep up with Cozens.

It is a really good question. They have similarities such as high motors, both think the game well, lots of chaos generation, and I would say both are smart. Where they are different is what you say here. Benson is smarter and that allows him to have all these finer details to his game. Savoie is faster and more dynamic on his skates. Both have solid shots and good passing. They are fun players and I hope they get a couple inches taller and pack on about 20lbs of muscle because they have dynamic traits that would allow them to be dangerous in the NHL.

FTR, I really like Kulich a lot. My issue is that he doesn't effect the game enough away from the puck. Benson is almost the ideal player because he creates chaos with or without the puck he is a disruptive force and chaos is what you want. I say almost because I do wish Benson was 6'2" 205lbs but that's fine. Kulich can create chaos but he doesn't thrive on creating it. He tends to float a bit more and sit in open ice as opposed to attacking opponents and probing for weakness. It is a different style and it is a reason I worry a little about Kulich's game translating. It mirrors some of what makes Olofsson frustrating although to a lesser extent. Rosen falls into a similar category but he seems to be able to play that 200ft game where Kulich really lacks in the defensive end and could be better on puck retrievals. I do like Kulich and I think with good coaching and a little time, you can get a solid player out of him who probably always leans more offensive such as 65/35 or something. I hope he uses his time in the AHL well.

I would say that Savoie is closer to Benson than Kulich is to Savoie. Östlund is a wildcard because he isn't in jrs and he plays in a men's league, really hard to compare that to any of the rest (yes ik the AHL is a men's league but it is different).

To give Beane credit, I think it was wise that he stopped wasting draft assets on defensive end and especially RB. He instead used picks to fix problem spots including Torrence (who thankfully slid). What he couldn't draft he found good UFA options between Rapp and Ford, the defense has better depth. Also I personally think Bernard has been more influential on the game than Edwards was. Edwards was an athlete with IMPO poor instincts for the position. I questioned Beane going into this season and honestly I think that was justified. He however has restored much faith through the first 4 games. Also Ken Dorsey seems to have finally settled in but I am concerned that he lacks the ability to adapt to good defenses such as the jets. The Dolphins, the Raiders, and the Commanders don't necessarily have rock star complicated defenses. My concern is that Allen and Dorsey seem to panic a little against complex defenses which doesn't make sense because they see a complex defense in practice every day. Either way, for now they are humming and I think the improved O-line is a big reason for it. You gotta win in the trenches. If college football has taught me anything is that you win in the trenches first and I think last year especially the o-line just couldn't handle it and that got into Josh's head and he honestly panicked and went into hero ball land. All of that said, Dorsey and McDermott have done very well since the Jets game and deserve a lot of credit. White going out is a tough loss but Vonn's return is intriguing. I would personally limit Vonn's snaps for the next few weeks especially if we are dominating like we did against the last 3 opponents.

I think the Sabres very honestly told Johnson that if he wants to be in Buffalo, his best chance is the right side unless he wants to sit behind at a minimum Power and Dahlin and possibly Samuelsson as well. Samuelsson is the perfect 4/5 defender since you can move him up and it doesn't hurt anything because Dahlin and you can move him down as a shutdown pair and it doesn't hurt anything because Power. Razmataz - Cliff Bar Power Ranger - Big Johnson Muel - The Joker Little Johnson

I keep saying to ppl look at the prospects we think will make it, now pick half of them and toss them out. The NHL shows you who's marginal and who's got it, it's the great equalizer. Asplund, never managed to take that final step. It's what worries me most about Rosen or kisakov or a few others.

We've seen nothing this preseason to think olofsson has improved either. Also the points here really show how undervalued Quinn is if anyone thinks VO can be plugged into his spot.

Is there a forward you felt should have been drafted over Savoie or Benson?

I don't personally think anyone has interest in UPL. I certainly don't think you'll get a 3rd for him.

He just played against a mostly full NHL roster and certainly a fully full NHL defense group. I am curious to see him in meaningful games once the season starts but it might wait depending on the plan Don and Kevyn have.

I'm sorry but what? The biggest sport in NA and the biggest Pop Star in NA wouldn't have a bunch of overlapping fans? I somehow doubt that.

Would you rather have Zach Benson or Matthew Wood?

I don't think that was ever true. Kulich was just overhyped by fans but I think management knew his 2 way game still needs lots of work and he's not nhl ready. Sidenote: I think Bedard will struggle at times due to his size at 18, but Bedard is better skater and one of the best releases I've ever seen. Benson would need to upgrade his hands and his skating.

If the question is do I want Foligno for 5 years at 4 mill with mntc Or Do I want Okposo for 1 year at 2.5 mil... Okposo.

Was coming here to say similar. Credit to Dorsey and Allen for a really well played game. Thought McDermotts defense was excellent after that first quarter. Hope it isn't Tre's Achilles but that's what Twitter thinks. Kair Elam, you're up.

If I were to think on it seriously, the op was tongue and cheek, I would say as few as 3 maybe 4 teams will regret it. Chicago with Bedard is happy. Columbus with Fantilli is happy. Anaheim with Carlsson is happy. But after that, right now with expectations and recency bias, I think a bunch of teams might look back and be like "$#!+"

Out of the 3 players listed, I think Benson has the best 200ft game. As I've said elsewhere, I'm good with him going to the whl again. Truthfully I'm good either way.

Benson fell to 13th overall

Seriously, what do they want for Jiricek?

That's pretty close to Columbus starting defense. That's about half their starting forwards. They are playing against buffalo's top line and 1 nhl defender. I think everyone needs to back away from the panic button.