Thorny

Ya, that’s what I said. The first option is the “maybe” roster. We’ve gone with that a few years in a row it might work. It can be argued for. It’s not a no stone unturned offseason, though, and there’s certainly no hindsight type concerns that need be raised should it not work out. Aka “well what could Adams have done?” We’ll have to see what the results are. I’ll tell you if it was a good offseason when we find out if we made the playoffs or not. It can, in fact, be judged entirely based on those results. We actually don’t need to decide now haha Good post

It’s true we seem to have a Casey sized hole on the roster, and I’m not sure people would be saying we had a Byram sized hole sans that particular asset could be wrong

Something tells me if they find a way to do it without touching any of the precious 26-27 roster, they won’t have really done it, at all not a coincidence we haven’t felt any pain yet- the big moves take that

Ya without replacing Krebs it’s a “squint and you can see a playoff team” roster replace him and it’s a “serious about making the playoffs and breaking this cursed drought” roster

Gotta spend some more dough

LMAO just.. lol

1st line is the “you better bounce back, Tage! And we’ll let you have our upstart (best?) F from last season on your left flank to help out” line 2nd line is the “focus purely on offense, but allow natural defensive aptitude uncommon for such young players (Benson, Quinn) to hold down the defensive side of things surprisingly well, too, considering matchups “ line 3rd line is the “hey with 3rd scoring line usage here, me and Zucks can actually help contribute on offense: or else we could have, without being anchored by a guy with a tattoo of himself” line 4th line is the “Lindy starts these dudes game 1 of the playoffs because they were his idea and he’s gloating after stellar defensive metrics that would make Johan proud” line He’s got a gap in his teeth

Can’t be, especially with zero reinforcement to top 6

I really doubt Zucker gets the first shot. Word from the twitter folk is the Sabres FO doesn’t view Zucker as top 6 material Peterka - Thompson - Tuch Benson - Cozens - Quinn Zucker - Krebs - Greenway Malenstyn - Lafferty - Aube-Kubel …is how it’s looking rn, more or less Have to say…I really like that 4th line. A reading of this lineup as it stands seems pretty easy: dicey proposition to make the playoffs as is, but certainly within the realm of possibility. But an “A” offseason from Adams (and an optimistic projection for playoffs) if we can add a true top 6 F, or, a 3C who’s better defined as middle 6. (Aka quite a strong one.) It almost seems like this top 6/middle 6 addition needs to be a C or else we have Krebs in the 3 spot by default But I really like the work from KA so far. It’s funny, it’s not going to look good without that big addition, it’s not a strong enough offseason without it, after everything we said, but yet, if we DO make the move it suddenly flips and looks quite solid. I suppose that’s the mechanics of filling in the fringes first It’s a big sticking point right now. Fix that and I see the vision. Don’t, and I don’t

He’s the 3C right now 75% of that expected reno is the 3C tho so we’ll see

Peterka - Thompson - Tuch Benson - Cozens - Quinn Zucker - Krebs - Greenway Malenstyn - Lafferty - Rookie?

Agree. Another deal that’s totally fine, but nonetheless leaves the sum total appearing lacking At least for now

Close the thread! I’ve seen the only post that needs reading

Come on lol I know you LIKE the Amerks but

4th line, def. There’s still a massive chasm at 3C, but it’s early

I agree they still seemed focused on the LT cap

Krebs is 3C so far - - - These additions look reasonable so far, we should have a good 4th line. Im not sure I’d bet on additions beyond shoring up that line, though, tbh. We said the Skinner buyout only makes sense if they spend the money, 5 mil for Zucker will help get there

I agree to an extent as a fact of the matter, but it makes perfect sense why fans would be conditioned to expect disappointment: what could we honestly fairly expect after this long of replicated results. im often torn between believing they surely have to do something to change, weighed against wondering why I would ever have the nerve to think we’d break trend

He will not challenge for a roster spot

It’s a reasonable add and the “overpay” is whatever. I wouldn’t even deem it an overpay if I had my way but i understand the prospect world by and large thinks differently none of the angst over this dude is anything other than anxiety and frustration over the makeup of the team (and therefor perceived lack of action from the GM) as a whole. And that is also reasonable

Sure, but I think the team as a whole is weaker. We can say “there’s more to these moves to come” until the cows come home, and that very well may be true. But, counting chickens, and all that jazz

No, you had it right the first time: if he “wants” to make the playoffs in 2025 but his priority is 2027, he should be fired If he’s *equally* weighing 2025 and 2027, he should also be fired. You don’t have the luxury of equally prioritizing two years down the line when you haven’t earned the goodwill from one playoff roster in 13 years and 4 already under your watch. That prioritizing of later is demonstrably handcuffing our ability to convert in the now. I don’t think that's the case though, I do think the focus is on playoffs cause I think he’s gonzo if we miss

There’s not just more work to do there’s more work to do than BEFORE the draft Beck is not as good as Skinner, obviously “Just scratching the surface” is a dicey proposition and im not sure at his age I agree with that either it’s a reasonable depth piece. Spade a spade

The point of it is his calling card is “in the AHL”