GASabresIUFAN

Sure both are under our control for now, but if Sam is only willing to sign a one year deal KA may have no choice but to trade him. Jack is easy to keep. He has a contract. That said do we want a miserable Jack as Captain of the team? My hope is that we get goaltending, the kids continue to mature and we become competitive next season and Jack’s attitude, if kept, improves.

I agree. IMHO if you trade Jack you need to commit to Sam and give him the 1C job. That means a 7 year extension. That said I don't think he wants to stay. The other options are to trade both or tell Jack to suck it up, trade Sam and use the proceeds and cap space to fix the rest of the team. I not for trading both, but I do think this is a very possible even likely outcome for this off-season. If this happens a top 6 RW and top 6 center must come back in the deals.

I'm working under the assumption that Risto, Jack and Reinhart will all be traded this off-season (I don't think this is what they should do). KA is going to hire Granato and they are going to move forward with the idea that Cozens, R2, and Mitts are the core forwards plus Quinn JJP and Berniers or Power in the draft. If this is the strategy they are going to want a veteran center to shepherd Mitts and Cozens for a few years and preferably one with a good 2 way game. That Courterier in a nutshell. Casey played like a legit top 6 forward once the streak ended with 17 points in his last 22 games (.77 pts per game). He was also +2 won nearly 50% of his draws and shockingly was used more in the D Zone then O zone last season. That's pretty incredible for a guy written off my most here and many in the media. If Mitts continues that growth then he has 1st line potential long-term. Cozens is also just 20 (Feb Bday) and showed flashes of being a good NHL center. We need to protect their growth curves and still field a competitive team.

Kennedy at the THN before the deadline mentioned Fla, Edm and Az as possible destinations for Reinhart. An LA writer wants Sam instead of Jack to play RW with their crop of young centers. I'm thinking that any deal for Sam will likely involve 3 pieces, a primary piece, a draft pick, and a cap casualty. Sending him to Edm interests me. I want Puljujarvi. We'll need to replace Sam's goal scoring and I think this kid has finally figured it out. I can also see Kassian as the cap casualty in the deal. What's the 3rd peice. Any interest in Johnny Hockey for Samson? What would an LA trade look like? Sam and a 2nd for Quick, Turcotte and a 1st?

And? I'm not talking about a 10 year extension. A 5 year deal and leadership for Casey and Cozens. His two way play would elevate this team.

Yeah I know, I just didn't see it up the thread.

Maybe, but only if Couterier is in the deal and re-signed.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Don Granato is a primary candidate for the head coaching job with the Sabres. GM, Kevyn Adams has talked to some college coaches to experience the full process. Adams is expected to meet with ownership this week to explain how he intends on moving forward. No rush.</p>&mdash; Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) <a href="https://twitter.com/DarrenDreger/status/1394636912963596291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Did anyone else post this tidbit?

Idiots. As some who has had COVID and has been vaccinated, all I have to say is “grow up!”

Possibly. in 2019-20 he was 15-28 for 43. However, in other seasons he was more even goals to assists. On further review he seems to be a guy who can do whatever the team needs. Nice player to have. Depending on how he is used, I can see 20 goals. That said, we really do need some decent playmakers especially if we trade the Tank Fruit.

More of a passer then goal scorer in his career so far and we actually need playmakers

Sam is a given. Skinner and VO if Jack returns, but VO only is Sam is the 1st line center instead. Casey also. If we do trade Jack or Same, the RW we get back will also score 20.

Probably. I remember so many kids growing up getting some Toffee from home. Didn’t know it was still popular.

https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/sabres-will-prioritize-goaltending-in-offseason-whether-linus-ullmark-stays-or-goes/article_cf7912c6-b8d3-11eb-a6d7-d3b9ef1b30ac.html Nice article about Ullmark. Also good information about Mrazek. If I were KA, I'd re-sign Ullmark asap and use our expansion protection on him. Take one issue off the board. Use his injury history to get a slight discount and go 4 years and 4.5 per season. I'd then sign Mrazek as the backup unless they can get Andersen at a reasonable cost. Mrazek and Bales have worked well together in the past and Bales has done a great job developing Ullmark. Seems like a really good fit.

Sadly they are now discontinued. I remember from camp up in Haliburton, the Toronto kids used to have a motto for Sweet Marie "the only girl with nuts."

Bocce at last when I was growing up. We have Galla pizza here for Buffalo style pizza. The owner’s dad owned Godfathers pizza back in the day. I finally figured out the best way to reheat pizza. Use an iron skillet. Turn on the skillet to medium heat. Once hot put the pizza in and let the bottom start to crisp up. Then place foil over the top to reheat the toppings and re-melt the cheese

I'm sure KA is listening to all offers, but I'm not sure he is a "willing seller." I just don’t think he'll move on from both Jack and Sam. One of the two probably but not both. Jack's contract gives KA some certainty and if Reinhart is only willing to sign a 1 year deal, I think the pendulum swings toward him being the guy that gets traded.

I'm going to go the other way. I've gone both ways on this, but I think it's more likely that Sam gets traded right now then Jack. This situation could resolve itself pretty quickly if the Sabres agree to the surgery once the 12 weeks of rest is completed or if the conservative approach works and Jack's Drs and the Sabres Drs agree that he's healthy after the 12 weeks of rest.. KA also said Jack hasn't asked for a trade.

Correct, although if Mitts and Cozens continue to improve and a coach knows how to manage his matchups, a spine of Mitts, Cozens and Cirelli could be good.

Absolutely. If those 5 guys leave or are traded, some of the holes must be filled by guys we get back in the deals. For example, one of trade proposals in the Athletic was Eichel to TB for Cirelli and Sergachev. Those 2 make 9.6 to Jack’s ten and would help fill 2 lineup holes. A spine of Cirelii, Mitts and Cozens would certainly be workable.

We do have the most leverage on Jack. He has a deal with us and KA can simply say we aren't trading you ever. We are going to build around you as our top line center and want you to play out your contract. End of story. Reinhart on the other had has a ton of leverage. He can take the team to arbitration play out the final year here and become an UFA after next season. If that is his stance KA would likely have to trade him this offseason or at the deadline to avoid losing him for nothing.

What does this team look like if KA goes for the maximum upheaval strategy? This assumes Jack, Sam and Risto are traded and McCabe and Ullmark aren't re-signed. Skinner ????? R2 Mittelstadt VO Asplund Cozens Thompson Girgensons ????? Okposo Dahlin Jokiharju ????? ????? Bryson Borgen

Do you really want to discuss Jack going to 31 different teams? @dudacek is a smart guy and my guess is with a little research he could come up with 8 or 10 reasonable possibilities. Vogl on the Athletic did exactly that already. For example, do really think Jack wants to go to Ott or NJ? They have the need, cap and assets but what is the likelihood of Jack wanting to work through another rebuild in those cities and therefore demanding a trade? I'd say they odds are very high he'd want out and they'd have to trade him at the deadline to avoid his NMC. Under this scenario why would they even make us an offer for his services? That doesn't mean it won't happen, it's just not likely. The opposite is also true. Some of the best teams either don't have one or more of the following such as the need or the cap or the assets to get a deal done. Do you really think that a deal with Pittsburgh is likely?

Like all good questions, the answer is it depends. What is KA’s off-season strategy? Is KA going down that maximum upheaval strategy of moving on from Jack, Sam, Risto, McCabe and Ullmark? Essentially distilling the team down to Cozens, Mitts, R2, VO, Thompson, Asplund, Dahlin, Joki, Bryson and Borgen (or Samuelsson). Is KA going for maximum retention by re-sign Ullmark and McCabe and keeping at least one of Jack or Sam, while using Risto and one of Jack or Sam as trade bait to fill other holes or is he plotting a middle course? It’s a very hard decision. His strategy may depend on what kind of offers he gets for the Tank Fruit. If I were the GM, I’d re-sign Ullmark first and foremost and then look at the offers I receive for Jack and Sam and see the lay of the land. I’m not interested in moving on from both guys. Risto is a whatever. If KA moves on from both a high end 2C at least must comeback in one of the deals. Still the needs are the same; 2 reliable goaltenders, 2 veteran defensive D, a 4C and more physical play in the top 9 forwards. Moving Jack and Sam also creates a hole at 1C.

I never said no small cities. I’m sure Jack would be happy in Nashville for example. He’d be happy here if we had a decent club. What I said was good teams that can afford Jack cap wise, are a good fit hockey wise and have assets/prospects we want. That is a very short list and WPG isn’t on it. It’s not a great fit hockey wise and no I don’t like the deal you are listing.