DarthEbriate

Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper win a faceoff? Rossi is good; his potential is still not reached. I'm just wondering why yet another 23 year-old who isn't a superstar or powerplay savant... and hasn't shown any veteran grind, long playoff-run, relentless tenacity, holding-others-accountable, being a punk to play against, angst-at-the-world fervor makes sense for this roster at forward.

But top-5 picks go back to juniors most of the time (excepting 1st overalls). And we know in the Sabres' situation that year, the obvious play was a veteran winger to come in and guide top-6 JJP/Cozens through New Year's (I always note Tarasenko because that'd be a solid career for Quinn to become and he was available). Then, ease Quinn back into the lineup. Trade VO with retention for more defense/tenacity in the bottom 6. All this with $10M in cap space and 2 points from being a playoff team the year prior. And don't go into the season with 3 goalies, but whatever. Adams gonna Adams with goalies.

Zucker has definitely tried to do damage control and be a team leader -- as he would have learned in his time in good locker rooms in Minnesota (maybe except Suter?) and Pittsburgh (no playoff success, but Crosby). The goaltending, as ever, remains the biggest obstacle to success (coinciding with a top-4 d-man to allow Power to grow into unlimited status). And both have been true for 3 consecutive seasons.

Putting on my JJP Agent Helmet.... My client has already effectively replaced Jeff Skinner in the lineup. Skinner had one year riding Eichel's coattails for which you rewarded him 8x$9M. The cap ceiling is now much, much higher. Skinner then gave you one career year since then and otherwise, my ascending young client has already outdone all the production of the previous top-line player. If JJP gets to play with Norris-TNT or TNT-Tuch, somewhere in an 8-year term he'll outdo Skinner's career year. You need to be able to pay him first line cash ($9M). If not, we'll sign an offer sheet at 7 which you can feel free to match. And my client will bet on himself and a much higher cap next summer and Tuch headed to UFA. Everybody wins. Happy to do business with you.

The bold is the saving grace. But don't tempt GMKA by saying there's no room. There's always room for 1st-round draft picks. There wasn't room for Benson in July (post-draft), but by season's start: Quinn was on IR, Savoie was injured and soon to head to AHL for conditioning before returning to juniors, Olofsson slotted into Quinn's spot in the lineup for opening night, and Jost sat in the press box. Cynic me says: Eklund would when Greenway and Norris are hurt in preseason, leading Kulich and Eklund into the lineup. Lafferty watches. Bonus: either JJP or Quinn signs an offer sheet and becomes 2026 draft picks rather than pay someone who doesn't want to be here.

Here's what the first round this season looked like: 1 WPG v. 4 STL 1 TOR v. 4 OTT 2 DAL v. 3 COL 2 TBL v. 3 FLA 1 VGK v. 4 MIN 1 WSH v. 4 MTL 2 LAK v. 3 EDM 2 CAR v. 3 NJD Here's what it would have been in the previous alignment 1-8, (with division winners guaranteed 1 & 2 as previously div winners got 1-3): 1 WPG v. 5 STL (same) 1 WSH v. 8 MTL (same matchup) 2 VGK v. 6 MIN (same) 2 TOR v. 7 NJD 3 DAL v. 7 EDM 3 TBL v. 6 OTT 4 LAK v. 8 COL 4 CAR v. 5 FLA We'd have seen our two Conference Final matchups in the first round instead. But, everyone was talking about how DAL/COL should have been a semi-final or later matchup and lookout when Heiskanen got back into the lineup. Instead, it's been the Stuart Skinner show. The most important thing is: just get in, then let the chips fall where they may.

For sure. He's too driven and ornery. Although, for enough cash, I'm betting he could coast for an entire season and Edit: then get traded to a playoff contender of his choice because Adams signed him with trade protections... then retire after the season.

I'd have thought Boushh would've been a good fit for Power, but Power spent the 22-23 season with Joker (which worked --- it might have been both of theirs best seasons as Sabres). But Boushh got stuck on the third pairing with Bryson, Fitzgerald... and then acquired Stillman in a trade at the deadline. See... Adams stinks. Because the right move that season was to get a top-4 defender and make a move, and maybe even have that top-4 guy stick around or be under contract for the following season. Push everyone else down a spot and get Bryson out of the lineup. Hell, get two D because you're going to the playoffs. Instead... Stillman was the deadline pickup. And $17 million just sitting there in cap space. Le sigh.

Annnnnd... if you can sign him.... he raises the age of the roster by a whole Benson.

I don't want him as the pick, but at least Eklund does have a high motor. The fear I have as a Sabres fan is that a high motor is sufficient to get you onto the NHL roster in your draft year.

It's odd. Adams' entire qualification for the GM job was that he was willing to axe the AHL staff and scouts to save money when JBott refused to. And yet, Adams can't perform poorly enough or embarrass the franchise enough at his job to get fired. It's all about priorities at the top.

Sanderson also got to skate with Zub, Jensen, and Chabot and even Hamonic this season. All established veterans on the right side who would provide steady guidance and positioning for a young offensive go-getter. The Sabres best guy not named Dahlin for that the last two seasons was Jokiharju.

And now we witness the compounding errors of years of futility (and not making an effort to win) cause the new core to begin to collapse in on itself. The players with team control are the ones who have to exercise their "don't want to be here" message to salvage their careers and sanity. Ownership set the stage for it, embraced it, and now feeds it in a sublime cycle.

The Concept of Shanahan?

A good AHLer who would get into puck battles and then look to feed his snipery linemates. The last three seasons he was a top five Amerk scorer: 4th (2nd in assists), 5th (1st in assists), and 1st (1st). Best fortune to him in the SHL. And then there was one. Ryan Johnson is now the sole remaining player in the Sabres organization from JBott's 2019 draft class.

At 9, I wouldn't, but I think Detroit could take him as early at 13 as a potential future-Larkin. I'd slot him at 16 with Montreal's 2nd pick, depending on if there's a mini-run on D or Ravensbergen the goalie. Top-20 for sure, even if there are a few reaches scattered in.

All young teams. For the Flyers specifically, I wonder how much of that is simply Michkov magic and his rush prowess.

Of course, there's an other other side of me that hopes Skinner skates in the Final, and after a scrum where Marchand slashes him and points to the scoreboard, Skinner turns away dejectedly to head to the bench, and then... in one of the great stand-up-against-the-bully moments in history (George McFly v. Biff Tannen), spins back with a dropped glove and cheap shot cold ***** Marchand into oblivion. It's the momentum changer in the game and series as the Oilers rally from a 2-goal deficit to win game 2, then rattle off 3 more consecutive victories. Finally, as Skinner is accepting the Cup from Corey Perry, he turns to the mic and camera and screams, "Thanks, Tpegs, I'm still on your flippin' payroll!" and "My cap hit goes up next year and the year after!" and "Eichel, Reino, Okie, ME! Who's next?"

13 regular season Amerks games, 5 goals and 7 points. Brännström we hardly knew ye. Hope he has a good career back across the pond.

The current stated goal of ownership is Efficient, Effective, and Economical. There’s been no public messaging from the owner since 2020 regarding the team. Until the owner says otherwise, the goal still isn’t to win, it’s just to maintain lifestyle and yacht in this tricky Covid economy.

But he’s not a center. He’s one of their borderline top-6. He should probably be on the Olympic roster, but he’s not a bottom 6, so if they have someone on the wing who has an all-around game they’re gonna take them. Matthews is his USA lineup nemesis.

Well. Shoot. No one wants a Flyers-like no-show in a deciding series game.

The defense doesn’t back off like Austria’s in the 4 nations though.

I don’t think Florida will make that mistake.

True. Although, the Amerks were 6th overall in the league. They’re not some pushover. Just not showing up in the deciding game thus far. And that’s disappointing. Maybe another season from now.