GASabresIUFAN

Why not sign Daniel Sprong at this point? The guy has had back to back 40+ pt seasons scoring 39 goals over the two campaigns. He made $2 mill last year and it seems a discount amount for a 40 pt player. Is his issue that he's a less talented version of Skinner? I haven't his D metrics, but he seems to be a dangerous EV scorer.

That so far is KA's undoing.

I fixed McLeod, but Johnson is in no longer a Sabres. He needs to be in the out column and the current Sabres with a Cup in Byram and he was a rookie that season; not exactly part of the leadership core.

I know, right!

@dudacek good list, except Savoie is no longer a Sabre. Also I suggest adding 4th rd pick 2024 Osburn. 2024 7th rd pick Leenders and 2021 3rd rd pick Sardarian to your list. Leenders is probably in the Levi mold and he is probably a better player than Leinonen and maybe Ratzlaf. He was part of the Canadian U18 team. Baker had some nice things to say about Sardarian's growth as a player the last few years. He may never play in the NHL, but I can easily see him being a solid contributor in the AHL who gets occasional callups. As to Osburn, he looks like a very good value pick up. Here is what Dobber said in April. https://dobberprospects.com/player/luke-osburn/ He is also very young as he doesn't turn 18 until Sept. I think this kid has chance to be a McCabe or Chris Butler.

current off-season grades from the Athletic. I thought the synopsis of the "competition" would be an interesting read. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5618498/2024/07/06/nhl-free-agency-grades-every-team-2024/ I skipped Fla, Bos, Tor and the NYR because I think they are playoff teams. I also skipped Mon and the CBJ because I don't think they'll be competitive. These 9 teams and the Sabres are the ones likely competing for the 4 remaining playoff spots. IMHO Car and TB are candidates to take a step back. I also think Detroit and Pitt have not improved so far this off-season. Washington looks improved on paper as does Ottawa.

Now back to the thread question, Is this a playoff caliber roster? Despite being general happy with the 5 new bottom of the depth chart forwards, I think the team is still a few pieces away from playoff contention. We still need 1-2 better defensive defenseman. None of our 6 starting D is a shutdown D. Dahlin is the closest. Mule has that pedigree, but can't stay healthy. Clifton throws the body around, but as we saw early last year, he can be a train wreck in the D zone. Joki was the easiest place to upgrade this off-season. but Adams choose to bring him back one more time. We also still need a top 6 forward. As much as I like Benson's long-term upside, I'm not sure he is ready for a top 6 role and I'd like better scoring depth upfront. After TNT, Tuch, JJP, Cozens and Quinn, the best of the rest of 13 forwards had 32 points (Zucker 14g 18a). Benson and McLeod had 30 pts each, Greenway 28, Lafferty 24, Malenstyn 21, Krebs 17 and Kubel 16. Other than Benson, I don't expect the other 6 to really exceed last year's totals.

They certainly need tough love and accountability.

I don't think Adams is arrogant, but I do think he has a rigid adherence to his "plan" until he gets beaten over the head. He has hasn't learned that no plan survives first contact. For examples: His failure to get legit veteran goaltending help for years. This decision directly lead to the team missing the playoffs 2 years ago. His failure to bring in help mid-season when injuries occurred or to bring in help when Quinn got hurt. This likely helped cause us to miss the playoffs two years ago and was a direct contribution to the team failing last year. His failure to make the team tougher to play against for years. Adding 1 or 2 bottom of the depth chart guys like Lyubushkin, Clifton and Greenway, doesn't solve the problem and none of these players ultimately made us harder to play against. We needed an entire rethinking of the bottom 6 and it only happened this off-season two years too late. His reliance on bottom roster leadership. For kids to grow, asking KO and Z to lead a group of kids was doomed to failure. What winning experience did they bring to the table? We needed bring in, and still do, winning veterans who can contribute higher on the roster, to teach these kids how to win. Bringing both of these failed leaders back last year was huge error in judgement. This team is crying out for someone like Teppo or Drury. Unfortunately it's probably to late this off-season to add such a player. Even now we are still waiting for legit help in the top 6 and the top 2 D pairs. This off-season again brought in 5 depth forwards (including Zucker and McLeod, and only McLeod has any important playoff experience. The swap of Mitts for Byram made the team even younger and coupled with Byram's poor play once he arrived, raises serious questions as to whether or not he is a top 2 pair D. At least he's been on a Cup winning team as a rookie. The only conclusion is Adams is still on his develop or bust plan despite paying lip service to desperation to make the playoffs. Some might call this arrogance, I call it incompetence.

I'm all for a Zegras deal. We lost our best playmaker in Mitts and need to replace that production. Zegras would be a great fit in that way. The other issues with him Adams and his team need to figure out, but the price is now substantially less than it would have been a year ago. I like the idea of Zegras on the Cozens line. TNT has Tuch as his playmaker. Don't forget that Tuch had the same number of assists as Mitts over the last 2 years. I think I need to clear the air. I really don't care if Adams specifically acquires Necas, Ehlers, or Zegras. My point is we have to change this team even if we have to overpay to get it done. Until we have a winning team, attracting top talent as UFAs or with NTCs is next to impossible. To make the necessary changes Adams (or his successor) is going to have a take a risk or two. We are fortunate that we have assets to get a deal done.

You are simply wrong. We have to begin to take risks to get this team better even if we have to overpay like we did for Zucker. We can no longer shop only at Bargain Mart for our outside players. We have to change the culture of this team. Wanting to be here is not a culture. Winning and accountability are. We have to create a winning team to change the perception in the league. Getting an Ehlers in here would significantly help this team. He'd also be playing for a big UFA contract. Both sides get what they want. I do agree that you can't empty the pipeline for one year of Ehlers, but we may have to overpay some to get an upgrade. It's Adams job to figure out the balance. I thought he did fine with McLeod. Again we are basically making deadline moves now because we have to be in playoff mode for opening night.

It was a joke, dude. Relax. That said, you have to build a shopping list from somewhere. He wanted to build team speed. Here is a list of fast players. You then do you do diligence from there, but you have to start somewhere and it's pretty clear that speed was central to that shopping list. Maybe he just went to ChatGPT and asked "show me a list of NHL players who are fast, have high hit totals and good defensive metrics."

@Archie Lee Considering that I started the thread, I kind of know the intent of the thread and the question. The intent was a guy who can play center in our top 9. I was hoping for a guy who could compete with Cozens for the 2C, like Ericksson-Ek or Karlsson, but also realized that I'm dealing with Kevyn Adams and we must lower our expectations. McLeod is a perfect Adams acquisition. Cheap $, is a legit 3C and can play up if needed. He isn't ideal, but he ticks most of the boxes.

What a bunch of BS. The Sabres have a huge credibility problem. No one “wants to be here”. Mitts must feel like he got paroled from prison. Winning and money cure the problem. Do you really think Buffalo was Zucker’s first choice? He came for the money. If you bring in a rental and the team starts winning, you’ll be amazed how quickly he starts saying how great it’s been to be part of the turnaround. Even if the player “doesn’t want to be here” but he’s playing for a big FA deal, you’ll be amazed at how hard he still works. The more success he has with the Sabres the bigger the next contract. By the way it’s KA’s job to overcome that objection. Using it as an excuse for failure is getting old.

So were many players on that list. My first reaction to that list was the same, but blazing speed does not necessarily equate with offensive success. For every McDavid or McKinnon you have the McLeod brothers or Aube-Kubel. Dahlin, Reinhart and Mitts aren’t blazing fast, but they seem to be effective. The more I look at the list, it makes you wonder, given we just acquired 3 guys from the top 20, if Adams printed it a few weeks ago and used it as his shopping list.

At some point a Sabres GM, be it Adams or his replacement, is going to have to take a risk to improve the talent on his roster. I agree you can’t break the bank on a rental, but for talent like Ehlers or Necas bringing them in for a year gives you a year to prove Buffalo is a good destination and winning cures most “destination” issues. Teams throw big time assets at 17 game rentals every year at the deadline. Is this really so different? Doesn’t the playoff chase start game 1 for the Sabres this season? The upside of a rental is that you also aren’t locked in if it doesn’t work. If the player isn’t a longterm fit and doesn’t elevate the guy can be traded at the deadline to recover similar assets spent in the off-season.

Guys like him are a dime a dozen and can be had for free. We signed two in free agency. Our friend Robinson, has size, excellent speed, hits people and has multiple 20+ point seasons was acquired basically for free. Why spend a premium pick on a 26 year rookie with a one year track record? Had he given Wash a 4th or 5th rd pick then who cares, but it’s just another example of Adams poor asset management.

Well the “No’s” were wrong about the 3C. Is it to far fetched to think the “No’s” could be wrong about a top 6 forward? I voted No by the way.

That's fine with me. I don't mind spending assets for an upgrade, but we also don't Adams to be completely viewed as an easy mark. The Malenstyn deal was bad enough.

It's probably always come easy for him. Maybe this last dreadful season showed him that you have to work to make it in the NHL where even the "worst" players are among the best in the world. Ruff would certainly be a good mentor for someone like Zegras. Ruff has always worked for everything and he'll hold players who aren't working accountable. KA likely won't acquire him without a consult with Lindy.

A Tkachuk brother may not be available, but Necas, Zegras and Ehlers still are.

Q, the Continuum called. Tkachuk is not available.

Given our need for playmakers I’d be interested in Zegras. The deal would be half of what it would have been a year ago. His playmaking skills would elevate Quinn and Cozens. I guess the questions are cost and how improved is his 2-way game. Greenway and/or Krebs would have to be part of the deal. A lottery protected 1st plus Kulich and Greenway for Zegras and a 3rd? JJP TNT Tuch Zegras Cozens Quinn Benson McLeod Zucker That’s a pretty good top 9

My guess is the conversations were recent. Once Edm signed Henrique and went over the cap, Kevyn called Edm and asked for McLeod. He probably offered Rosen. Edm said no and asked for Savoie. Kevyn said ok, but I need something else. If he had slated Savoie to start in Rochester, getting a young player with decent AHL results but young enough to potentially have upside makes sense. I don’t think this is an overpay. We saw how few centers changed teams this off-season by trade. There is value in youth, with experience, and cost control, especially when the player has some very marketable skills like speed and PK ability.

Why would Colorado trade Colton and why would Colton, with a full NTC, waive it to come to Buffalo?