GASabresIUFAN

The better question is Krebs vs Kulich and I think Kulich wins in camp.

This really isn't a defensive metric. It reflects offensive zone possession time more than anything else. It doesn't reflect his back checking, his ability to create breakouts from the D Zone etc... His Ozone starts last season were nearly 60%. I would hope he'd be better than average keeping the puck in the zone with that starting point. He also doesn't block shots, or hit many people, especially given his size, and he's horrible in the FO circles at 43%. He also doesn't kill penalties. DG tried it early last year and it didn't go well.

There is no question he is not a complete player and that certainly diminishes his status.

No. I think it’s fair to say that at his best he is an above average 1st line center, but far from the elite players at his position.

He is actually 8th. He is also 40th in assists and 22nd in total points.

The problem with the question is that he is easily not in the top 10 Here are 11 names that Tage is certainly below; McDavid, Draisaitl, McKinnon, Matthews, Hughes, Miller (284 pts the last 3 years), Petterson, Point, Crosby, Barkov, and Stamkos. Then you get into the next group. Guys like Eichel, Reinhart, Aho, Zibanajed, Larkin, Guentzel, Barzal, Stutzle, Thomas, Bedard, and Tavares. I can see Tage in this group. Better than some, but worse than others.

You don’t think other players go hurt and played through them as well? It’s hockey, everyone gets hurts and plays through nagging injuries.

Even if average his last 3 seasons, therefore giving him credit for his career year, his points per game puts him outside at 20th.

No! He probably isn’t even in the top 30. He was 45th in pts per game by centers last year who played at least 50 games and 31st in total goals scored.

Hope springs eternal and at least we know that Lindy is a competent coach and has won with very different kinds of lineups. That said, I thought RK was a bad hire the day it was made and think less of it now. I wrote then "I hate to say this but he sounds like Ted Nolan. Motivator but not an X and O guy. This teams real structure and real coach'em up coaching. Motivation is not enough. Who is going to provide the structure? Who is going to make sure that Risto isn't overplayed and who is going to teach him how to pass to facilitate the breakout? Not Krueger. On second thought, my initial reaction of Meh! was wrong. This is a bad hire."

Krebs has zero chance of unseating McLeod from the 3C. McLeod is faster, is better in the faceoff circle, unlike Krebs his offense has improved over the last 3 years and he is a proven PKer. Krebs does have a chance to possibly push Aube-Kubel to the bench, but I doubt that as well. If (when?) Kulich has a good camp, Krebs could end up as the 14th forward.

The biggest difference between Mitts, Thompson and Krebs opportunity. Because of the KA rebuild, the mess RK created and COVID, the Sabres were looking for anyone to step up and contribute and Mitts and Thompson stepped up. Now the Sabres are pretty set in the top 6 and Krebs missed his opportunity after Mitts was traded. Had Krebs shown any real offensive progress he'd be penciled in as the 3C and the McLeod trade wouldn't have happened. Instead Krebs' offense is on the decline. In the last 3 years he's gone from .45 pts/gp to .35 pts/gp to .21 pts/gp. I also don't see where he fits long-term. Kulich, Östlund and Helenius are coming. Kulich as soon as this season. I think all 3 will be better players than Krebs, all 3 can play center or wing, and Kulich may be better than Krebs now. So where does Krebs fit?

His q offer was 874k. He had 4 goals last year. Just because he was paid more on a rookie deal because he earned a bonus or two doesn’t mean he gets the same money going forward.

What about Ryan Johnson? Will they really bring 16 forwards and only 8 D?

Solid player who gave the Sabres his all. Enjoy the rest of your life Tyler.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5774710/2024/09/17/peyton-krebs-contract-sabres-training-camp/ “By making a two-year commitment to Krebs, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams is signaling that the team still has faith in Krebs developing into a regular part of Buffalo’s lineup. Now 23 years old, Krebs has shown that he can handle playing a defensive role. “

It’s part and parcel of the same problem. It’s safe to assume that KA is operating with an internal cap. Overpaying depth players eats into the budget and could be a reason that a deal for a legit top 6 forward has not been completed. You say we have 7 mill in cap space, but the truth maybe that KA is not allowed by Pegula to spend that extra cap. We maybe in a difficult catch 22. Pegula won’t spend to the cap until we have a winning team, but teams that don’t spend to the cap don’t win.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5731519/2024/09/17/nhl-rookie-tournaments-top-prospects/ “But Kulich, despite being the second-youngest of those five first-rounders, looked a clear cut above — like he was ready to play for and win an NHL job with the Sabres. He scored in all three games, scored twice in two of them, pounded his one-timer on the power play and, more importantly, was around and winning pucks, looking really strong.” I would love to see this kid force the Sabres to take him to Europe and give him a chance to play in Prague.

That does change the fact that all are overpayments.

Besides Lafferty, does any of the contracts KA signed this summer make sense? $5 mill for 32 pt player in Zucker, 5 years at 4.75 for a goalie with one good year in pro hockey, 2 years at 1.45 for a 13th forward who had 4 goals last year. 1.5 for a depth forward that hasn’t been good enough to play a full season for any of his previous teams. 2 years at 1.35 for a 26 year old rookie with 6 goals. Not that any of these deals are horrible on their face, but they are all overpayments and some significantly like Zucker and UPL. Not a surprise given he paid a 2nd rd pick for the 26 year old rookie forward and a former top prospect for a 3rd line center with a career high of 12 goals 30 points.

Probably. That's the only rationale explanation for overpaying a guy with zero leverage and no spot in the lineup.

Why? He hasn't proved he is anything but a marginal 4th line player. Stupid contract for a 13th forward with no leverage.

The only issues for both big Russian D is their skating. There were similar discussions with Samuelsson, but he seems to get around ok. I hope both guys prove that it's not an issue and can make the jump to the NHL. We certainly could use both guys sooner than later. After this season, the Sabres only have 4 D under contract (Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson and Clifton) D - RFAs - Byram & Ryan Johnson; UFAs - Jokiharju, Bryson, Gilbert, and Clague. It would surprise me at all that we could have Russian 3rd pairing starting in 2026-27 once Clifton is gone as well.

Not sure why there is angst about Krebs' contract. It will get signed when it's signed and if for some reason it doesn't get signed who cares. Krebs is the 13th forward. If he doesn't sign Rousek, a prospect or someone from outside or the organization will take his place. Maybe Kulich has a great camp and breaks with the Sabres forcing Greenway to the 4th line and Aube-Kubel to the 13th role. He has zero leverage in the "negotiations" and the Sabres have zero incentive to give a 13th forward more than the minimum contract, especially as he hasn't earned a bigger or longer deal. The Sabres also have zero incentive to sign him beyond this season as Rosen, Kulich, Helenius etc... are knocking on the NHL door and I believe Krebs will still be an RFA after this coming season if signed to a 1 year deal. Truthfully, adding McLeod and Lafferty sealed his fate. He failed his 3rd line center audition and KA moved on. As to trading him, what value does he have? A 3rd in 2026? Less? No real incentive to trade him either as his position flexibility is a useful trait in a 13th forward. I still hold our diminishing hope that KA makes a deal for a top 6 forward and Krebs is part of the package going the other way. Scant hope I admit, but still some hope that he kept the cap space open for a reason other than Pegula being cheap. https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhls-top-12-rfas-of-2024-latest-rumours-reports/

For what? A 5th rd pick in 2026? He should sign his QO get to camp and earn a friggin job.