DarthEbriate

And different a position. But Cozens still has 4 years of filling out, strengthening up, and learning boardwork as they've had. But in terms of size, strength, going into corners and to the net, and willingness to battle, he's the current Sabre that could matchup. Quinn trailing 2-1 and now Tuch early on decided that Latvia and Germany should be competing for bronze.

Currently from the Sabres' perspective, yes. Everyone else is on an AHL deal. LHD: Pilut, Davies-AHL, Bartkowski-AHL, Tischke-AHL || Johnson, Novikov, Jandric-AHL (and Bryson as his salary would likely clear waivers at the start of the season, but may not later in the year if a team is crushed by injuries); Clague, possibly RHD: Prow-AHL, Cecconi-AHL, Strand-AHL, Eliot-AHL || Metsa-AHL It'd be really nice to keep Prow and Davies. Pilut probably can find a franchise that's willing to give him a shot as a 6/7 for a year, but he's an excellent AHL-level guy.

What about Cozens?

The little fish have been taken care of. Now it's time to address the real items of the offseason: Extensions for Dahlin and Power, determining what Joker and UPL and Mitts mean to the franchise, and then finding the veteran D and goalie. (OK probably not goalie because it's GM Sheevyn and we have all we need right here, but still a veteran goalie would be very, very helpful.)

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Rochester's blue line looks much more sound next season with he and Novikov as options.

The willingness to draft a CHL or Russian league player across all rounds is a significant advantage compared to the previous GMs' approaches of only taking players committed to the NCAA or in Sweden/Finland for additional years of team control once past round 3.

Yup. We'd like to thank Oskari for his time with the NHL and its affiliates and wish him the best in his future endeavors.

If all goes according to plan, the Sabres are going to be legitimate contenders, spending to the cap, and Tuch is going to be an in-demand player from deep postseason runs when his current contract expires. He's also already had one significant shoulder surgery. He could very easily become a cap casualty no matter how much he wants to be here. Either of your questions could be possible. (Granted, if he becomes captain [my gut says yes], then they definitely do lock him up through his mid-to-late 30s.) Only time will tell. I believe Skinner is going to face the same problem he did in Carolina; he's a very good player but a youthful core is going to kick him out because he isn't a bottom-6 guy who kills penalties, etc. and the Sabres' version of Svechnikov is coming. The question is... is it Neuchev/Savoie, this year's #13, or even a 2024 draft pick?

Fascinating. Maybe Johnson just wanted to focus on relaxing and finishing the school year. But... he did just let Metsa take all his postseason appearances with the Amerks. Johnson could have been getting valuable experience playing with longtime veteran Bartkowski, meshing with his future teammates, etc.

This is definitely a disconnect for me. The core as I see it is spanning Dahlin and Power. Tage is on the upper end and Tuch is on the outskirts (in 4 years there's going to be a thread called "Alex Tuch Kyle Okposo is back" and people will be griping that he's blocking young talent). They're set up to get good (really, really good) in 2025-26. That is when the age 20-23 core will start to enter their window. And what I hope is that the Sabres win one early so that the window is broken open, and then remains wide open for 15 seasons while they've got the Power.

I am surprised by the haste that folks want to see from the core of this team. The core is a bunch of kids and they are still years from their collective prime. Rosen is in line age-wise with some of them... if he hits his ceiling he could be an incredibly important part of the franchise. If he doesn't, he could be an Armia, who is still kicking around the league 10 years after being drafted. But the central core of this Sabres team is years younger than any of the 4 NHL semifinalists. Heck, the Sabres core is years younger than New Jersey's. I think Rosen is tracking upward. He seems to be contributing really well with the Amerks in the playoffs (where Quinn's scoring completely disappeared last season). Honestly, I don't know where to project him vs. the other top forwards yet. But because of the core Sabres' ages, I'd think it'd be more likely to see Rosen in the lineup if/when the Sabres make the Stanley Cup Final than it would be to see Skinner.

Yeah. I don't think Bills fans have even heard of it. Zing! And I'm out!

Forsling has been on the up and up for a couple seasons now. To think, the Blackhawks had him and Joker as a couple young D guys to build into a top 6 back in 2018-19. Both were maybe slightly undersized in terms of weight, but showed some potential. They jettisoned them both. Later, they decided to completely tank (it worked).

On a related note... JJP was simply sick of the Swiss and their good preliminary round. They beat Canada... with Montambeault! It meant nothing.

I hope they both make their Sabres' debut this season. But I would rather they fill out their frames and come to dominate the AHL in all 3 zones and build their hunger so that when they come up they can step immediately into a top-6 role if it's warranted, or anywhere else in the lineup. I want them killing penalties, closing out games, and not just sitting in the FO circle shooting one-timers on the PP (and yes, they've both already surpassed that baseline). I want 22 year-old rookies who are carrying 185#+ for their frames, who are hard to knock off their feet or off the puck and are ready to break the world.

He's in the same boat as Savoie. Too young! To young to begin the training play in the AHL this season. Maybe (extremely doubtful) some games as the #8 in Buffalo and rotating in and then back to the Q.

Hershey tried to lay some heavy hits in game 1; speed killed them. If they spend their time running around to make hits they're going to be down 2-0 in the series right quick. I think the more difficult thing for Savoie is if Hershey just tries to play really sound and no-space defense and try to go all-out cycle/grind in the o-zone. Add in post-whistle scrums and wrestling where they outweigh him by 30 pounds... that's a potential way to counter him and wear him down. Seattle eliminated he and his line (including top-10 pick this season Benson) in the WHL final at 5-on-5 by doing just that. Edit: And I'm excited to see Savoie in the AHL playoffs and want him to do well. I just saw a ton of skill but not dominance from him in the WHL final. There were a bunch of players that were more noticeable in good ways than Savoie in that series.

I now have little to no worries about Poltapov signing in a couple years when his KHL contract is up. And I'm keen to see if the Sabres target any MHL/VHL guys this draft.

Jeff Solo is yelling at everyone: I just got this bucket back together with NHL-caliber players and vets. I'm not going to let something tear it apart with 4 more rookies in the lineup again every night.

Yes, this year Florida is the #8 and is riding Bobrovsky and Tkaclutch. If the East had been seeded 1-8, they would have faced: BOS #1, CAR #2, and TOR #4 (provided Toronto had beaten the Rangers and TBL [who they did beat in Rd 1]). Same matchups. A #8 on a run breaks all seedings in any setup. In the West, if seeded 1-8: VGK-WPG (was the real matchup, VGK rolled in 5); EDM-SEA (that would've been fun Rd 1); COL v. MIN; and DAL v. LA. Maybe things turn out differently with EDM/SEA-COL in round 2, but VGK should still get through WPG and DAL/LA if they play like they have. The issue with seedings is within the division level. The Sabres would have had to get through nasties like BOS, TBL, and TOR year after year. Last year, Florida did not. This year, they did.

It should be noted that with the exception of the Bruins (and an absurd EA NHL-like +128 goal differential this season), almost every team's dedicated d-zone forward line (whether ranked 3rd or 4th) is going to be a negative +/- or very close to even. If you're tasked with d-zone face offs against the opponent's top lines every night for 82 games, you're likely to give up a few more goals than you gain 5-on-5. D-zone FO% for Sabres forwards last year vs. their %CF Rel at 5-on-5 to the rest of the team. These are the top 9 and 3 stand out tremendously: ZG 58.7% DZ FO; CF% Rel -0.4 KO 56.7% DZ FO; CF% Rel 0.9 Krebs 52.7% DZ; CF% Rel 1.1 contrast vs. Hino 58.4% DZ FO; CF% Rel -1.0 Bjork 57.1% DZ FO; CF% Rel -1.4 Jost 51.6% DZ FO; CF% Rel -1.7 Coz 50.5% DZ FO; CF% Rel -2.2 I'd throw out the players who were way over the D-only threshold (8% more DZ faceoffs than ZG). But they're already been moved anyway. Sheahan 66.7% DZ; CF% -10.5 Asplund 64.1 DZ; CF% -6.9 ZG/Krebs/KO is a solid defensive line. They're going to start in their own zone and gain more shots than the opposition. That's a really good trait to have. Swapping Bryson's spot for a vet UFA 3/4 and Greenway for VO in the lineup and the team will take a massive step ahead.

JJP and Nico Sturm tally late in the 2nd to put the Swiss on the ropes.

I don't think GM Sheevyn would say Okposo in that sentence. Because there's blocking youth and there's blocking youth. Last year, Quinn and JJP had some names cleared in the offseason: Hayden, Caggiula, Eakin. The folks they had to beat for playing time were Bjork, Hinostroza, Sheahan, and Asplund. It's still TBD which players are cleared out this offseason. But, currently the players that Savoie, Kulich, and Rousek are pushing on for the bottom 6 (if JJP-Cozens-Quinn is a 2nd line): Hinostroza, Greenway, Jost, Mitts, Girgs, Krebs, KO, and VO (or JJP or Quinn). That's a step up in talent (especially offensively) from Bjork, Sheahan, and Asplund. And I believe Sheahan-Girgs is a push; Girgs has much better wheels. Based on what I saw in Seattle, Savoie gets a good look in October, but needs another year to grow physically and doesn't get game 9 this season. He's too good for the WHL, but a day too young to be where he belongs in Rochester. Kulich also gets another full season in Rochester to bulk up with a callup or two along the way. Rousek is the 12/13 in Buffalo. If the goal is playoffs, you want NHL veterans and physically mature players for the season's grind and not even more kids under 21. (And yes, a vet 3/4D and goalie too, but I'm trying to stick to forwards.)

Does Canada go with Levi today? (or do they go home without a medal?)

Jackikin Eichwalker: "I have brought peace, freedom, and wins over Stars to my new Empire."