Curt

I don’t disagree. I’m just a pedant is all.

Pesce is about to be 29. Maybe half a decade, 5-6 more years, if he lucky, as a top 4 D. I agree with your overall point, I’m just saying. He isn’t a spring chicken.

No, I really really don’t think so. Murray was going to occupy the role that Comrie ended up taking.

Huh, just realized this. Darn. I had envisioned him becoming a 6’2” beastly physical specimen. A 5’11” beast just isn’t quite the same.

Granato in a press conference today talked about the Sabres having 3 LHD (Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson) that E Johnson (and Clifton) could pair with and benefit any of them. My takeaways were I hope that they don’t overplay Johnson too much, and also it sounds like they intend to play Dahlin on the left side.

No, the teams already had agreed to a trade, but Murray wouldn’t waive his NTC to come to Buffalo.

I get being skeptical. The way I look at it though, all Sabres defenders 2-8 should be improved. Dahlin may be better too, but that’s hard. Power and Samuelsson should be better, Clifton pushes down Lyubushkin and Jokiharju, Johnson adds to the 6/7 mix. Stillman/Bryson are pushed down to 8/9. Guys like Pilut, Fitzgerald, Clague shouldn’t be playing any games at all.

Because the 6/7/8 guys would probably be a combination of players on their ELCs, like Johnson or Novikov, and guys making the minimum, like Stillman. Maybe one guy making ~$2M mixed in there. 6/7/8 defensemen just don’t usually make that much.

Lol, it’s been so long we don’t even know. I know that Clifton was in the top 4 for stretches with Boston but he was also surrounded by a great defensive team. I don’t see him as a high end 2nd pair guy, but I think he’ll play fine on a 2nd pair, especially if he is paired with Dahlin/Power. I’m hopeful that the signing works out.

Yeah, I’m optimistic, but I kind of think he might be more of a 4/5 than a rock solid 2nd pair guy. We’ll see how it goes.

Even if you don’t think he is going to be great in the role, I think it’s pretty definite that Clifton is the #4 defenseman to start the season.

I don’t know, Clifton played top 4 for the Bruins for a good chunk of early last season when they were winning like 80% of their games. Also, I think the forward group as a whole will be better defensively due to player improvement and the coaching staff’s increased emphasis on playing a responsible defensive game.

By “doing it” do you mean taking Gibson for free?

Was that confirmed to be two 2023 2nds thought? If it was a 2023 and 2024 2nd for their 1st then it could have been almost any team.

Need to be? No, but when you are signing an 8 year $80M contract, it would be nice, wouldn’t it?

I think it’s a similar offensive profile but Kane was just flat out more skilled. Better stick handling and better shot. In Kane’s draft year in the OHL he had 62 goals and 145 points in 58 games. Bonkers production. Compared to Benson’s 36 goals and 98 points in 60 games in the WHL, still great but just doesn’t compare. On the other hand, Benson was regarded as an excellent defensive forward in juniors, while Kane was basically considered a one way player even back then.

I don’t know that the overall style of Skinner and Benson is very similar, but specifically that part of Skinner’s game where he sometimes goes all out pest pressure to try to force a turnover in the offensive zone, Benson does that, and also the 10-2, skating technique that they both pull out from time to time. Overall, I would say that Benson is more diligent in getting back on the backcheck and overall defensive play. Also their offensive games are very different. Benson is a lot more of a puck possession playmaker, while we know Skinner is more of an opportunistic goal poacher.

Any ideas on why Gibson has been worse than his backups the past few years? Don’t very good starting goalies generally perform better than their backups?

I think he just meant career year so far.

Well, he is going to be an RFA, so it’s not like he can just walk in one year.

Probably not enough, but who knows.

I see some of Skinner in Benson’s dogged, quick puck pressure that sometimes creates turnovers.

Gibson is proven? Proven to be what? An average to below average goaltender? Sure he used to be good, but that was 5 years ago. Maybe he could rebound, but……. Gibson has been outperformed by his backups 3 of the past 4 years (the other year his backup was a washed Ryan Miller). There are reports of him being reluctant or unwilling to grow/adjust his game to incorporate new techniques. He is about turn 30 and he is under contract for 4 more years at $6.4M. Not sure if I want him for free to be honest.

Even if true, GMs ask for more than they are ultimately willing to take. What if that two 1st equivalent package is Rosen, a 2nd, and UPL?

The problem with Gibson is that the simply hasn’t beeen a good goalie the past few years. He has been outplayed by his backups 3 of the past 4 years. I wouldn’t do a Hellybuck trade because of his contract situation. If we are going to trade significant assets to acquire a goalie, why not go for Carter Hart who could form a solid duo with Levi, or flat out become the legit starter, for several seasons?