DarthEbriate

Absolutely. He's on the board.

Good for Dahlin and the Sabres (provided the cap goes up as anticipated). The unspoken item is that this year's Cup-winner will have a $10M/year player no matter who wins (Barkov, Bobrovsky, Eichel). The ceiling is broken for winners!

Thanks! I skipped right past it in my notes, 7/13/22 Prow and the 2-year deal. I see Bryson's salary easily passing waivers at the end of training camp; I'm of the mind that the Sabres like Clague as an 8. Either could be on PP2 for the Amerks.

Agreed. If you must draft for need, you do it organizationally. My thoughts are... don't look at the NHL roster because it's 3 years out. And mostly, you can skip the AHL roster, too. Instead, you can base your needs on what is missing in all the feeder systems to maintain a healthy pipeline of potential NHL players. Example: Outside the NHL/AHL, the Sabres have 1 LHD (Lindgren), 1 RHD (Komarov), and 1 G (Leinonen) who you would give a "maybe NHL" grade to if they hit their peak and stay healthy. Nyberg and Lyckasen both appear to be outside the teams' plans. This draft, you'd best find some D and G. Also, this year, I still seriously consider a late pick on a goalie for an AHL backup gig (Milic, Suchanek). I don't think they both make it through to UDFA status. That would be a need pick to keep Rochester competitive so the kids all get meaningful games and a playoff-caliber squad. Also, also, draft by the coolest and most Star Warsy-sounding names. That's a need.

The Amerks are now in the market for someone to run their PP. Prow can be re-signed to an AHL deal. The incoming defensive prospect reinforcements are not especially known for PP prowess. Metsa and Jandric have scored some points throughout college. But Novikov and Johnson probably don't play on a 4F-1D PP unit.

If you have the opportunity to draft someone with the last name Mania... Do it.

It only ever comes into play with dead cap hits after the player is no longer on your team and you can't do any more tweaks with the contract. Even then it's usually easy to plan for.

Per the bolded, last season, yes the Amerks were younger among the forwards. However, for defensemen, the Sabres were younger. In goal, the Sabres were the younger battery anytime Anderson wasn't on the ice.

Komarov with the secondary assist. Remparts build the wall higher to 2-0, midway through the game.

Komarov scores! 2nd shot of the tournament... goal in the Final. (Now T-Birds... get a goal, kindly.)

Welcome to ‘Space, @skip jibblet Always BPA, but just make sure that the draft board is loaded with well-scouted defensemen this season so you can nab the d-man if you’ve got him rated with the same potential as a forward. And unlike seasons/GMs past, keep all avenues open: Russia, CHL, US HS and USHL, etc. Don’t avoid locations, avoid the wrong play style, personality, and hockey IQ.

Mayhaps. But we’re hockey degenerates. If you thread it, we will post.

As stated above: good for the player, good for the Sabres' contract situation, and likely good for the Amerks too as they'll be forced to sign/ice a veteran AHLer center instead of break in another rookie. Biro or Malone or Jobst (if he's playing center) is helpful for the overall club, rather than going all-kids, particularly come playoff time.

The garbage will do. Especially in the playoffs. I'm hopeful that the Sabres don't rush anyone (or rather, they have sufficient talent at the NHL level that the kids can't break in until they're complete players). Seeing this year's playoff Amerks vs. next season playoff Amerks and how much better will Kulich, Rosen, and Kozak look with an extra year of growth/seasoning. And add Nadeau (and also Kisakov knowing he'll be on his 2nd contract before he's ready, strengthwise.) Pilut was the only Amerk D you'd call up and he's a 7/8. Everyone else is AHL talent. I'm not sure what the Bears were rolling in terms of NHL potential, but it will definitely be nice to see Novikov and Johnson (both potentially somewhere in the 4-6th D range at the NHL, depending on partner) added to the mix. And Komarov in another season. If Pilut re-signs, cool, but if not then you can probably figure Bryson starts next season in Rochester and he's a darn good AHL-level guy.

Anaheim has been on the rebuild (6th-8th in their division) for 5 straight years and went full-on tank mode this season for Bedard. While the team was not good, it could also easily be argued that Gibson is a major reason they finished 6-8 instead of 4-6 in those seasons. His play started downhill in 2018 and hasn't stopped sliding. I'm curious why Gibson refused a trade last offseason. There was hope and some young talent (Zegras, McTavish, Drysdale), but they also weren't setting themselves up for anything but a tank year. This year, is he finally tired of losing, or has he appraised that young talent and said, "They don't have it. Send me elsewhere." ? I wouldn't trade for him. But... I do wonder what Anaheim would send with him to get out of that contract? Because I don't think you have to give up anything for Gibson, I think Anaheim would be trying to unload him, especially if they don't have to retain any salary.

When Johnson makes his NHL debut and holds up the "Get to know your 2025 Sabres" placard it reads: Favorite movie = Princess Bride; Favorite snack = anything with salsa!

Sabres' leadership said there would be suffering and they weren't lying.

That's accurate. He's a high-effort guy because he has no reach to coast with and by extension can be a fan favorite, but I agree: on most teams he would be a 12-13F or an AHLer. He just happened to be on 3 separate rebuilds where that effort/culture is needed and because of it he scored 25 or more points four times.

Hope the kids make a strong impression tonight. Fight to the end and force another game.

Round up! --Uh, below 5' 11.5" would round down, sir. No. Always round up! --190.25# Round up! 200!

I'm not sure how the Johnson thread became a Krueger/Ullmark and Gerbe/Peters thread, but for his career, Gerbe was trusted by his coaches to do something that Andrew Peters wasn't, and that's to play hockey. Gerbe averaged 14:31 TOI for his career. He was 3rd line winger. If you're dressing Peters in your lineup (career 3:52 TOI) you're basically only dressing 11 forwards. Granted, Gerbe was a bottom-6 forward on a dwindling Sabres franchise, then two rebuilding teams in Carolina and Columbus. When Carolina's current forward core arrived, Gerbe was out of a job just like Skinner. But... Peters wouldn't have even dressed for that Carolina squad.

We all have to remember that Johnson was a JBot pick, with the exception of the obvious (Dahlin) and the one top-end defender (Samuelsson), every defenseman he drafted/acquired would be classified as a puck-moving defenseman with the attributes: slight in frame/bulk relative to height, good skater (relative to size), and an outlet-pass. Note: They were being acquired for Housley's activated D system, which even though he was fired a bit before Johnson's 2020 draft, the draft board would have been influenced by that approach, as well as JBot's preferred type. It's really striking to see the type of defensemen signed/drafted/extended by GMTM, then JBot, and now Adams.

The announcers are going to forget Dalpe, too, aren't they? 😇

Savoie took Cederqvist's spot for 2 games, but Cederqvist was coming back from a knee-on-knee hit in the opening round. He returned for a bit, but maybe was sore enough that it made sense for him to come out of the lineup. Cederqvist returned last game and assisted on both of the Amerks' goals. The best thing for the Amerks right now is probably keeping Savoie in the press box as he doesn't yet play at AHL speed and Hershey plays with sufficient speed and a very sound defense to stymie WHL play-speed and Savoie and his small size. Add to that that the refs are letting Hershey play clutch-and-grab playoff hockey and it's a poor mix for him. Cederqvist and Passolt as grown adults are better options for the team. But, it was good for Savoie to see what he'll be up against in the future.

Does the tandem bike photo get shown in a pre-Final hype video? How much does the ex-Sabres' saviors angle get played up? During the broadcast, are they each referred to as "former Sabres" or the former teammates if they happen to take a draw together, etc.?