GASabresIUFAN

...and there was much rejoicing. Now go get a friggin' center.

There are some strange things going on with the Sabres. I watched Baker and Fairburn last night and they raised some weird things going on with the Sabres. 1. Adams has been taking shots at Granato. Essentially blaming him for last year’s failures instead of the assistants, who are all still with the organization, or looking inward to see if his roster was bad last year and whether he properly supported the team in-season. 1b. They talked about Granato’s teams earning more points than any other teams with a bottom 5 payroll and the youngest roster in the NHL during that time. The implication to me is Adams is the problem and or Terry’s internal cap. 2. They also wondered why buyout Skinner and not spend the savings unless the only goal was to save TP real money? 3. They wondered if the actual big acquisition was Lindy. 4. But if Lindy was the big acquisition, why wasn’t he allowed to bring in his own assistants? 5. They also felt Adams is talking like a guy who is very secure in his job even if he doesn’t do anything more to improve the roster and the roster is still lacking. 6. They also were surprised at the complete lack of veteran prospects at development camp. They think the older guys should be there to help the new guys adjust to pro hockey and to build friendships and general team building. They also think the vets should be there for the coaches and staff to see their off-season progress especially guys like Kisakov. 7. Baker did mention that there was and may still be an internal cap. I put this rundown here as the only conclusion I can see is that Adams and Terry are running the team into the ground.

I'm a little surprised that the board thinks it's more likely that Adams acquires a top 6 forward vs a center. When I look at the roster, it looks to me like the only "available" forward job is the 3C. We have ample wingers in Tuch, JJP, Quinn, Benson, Zucker and Greenway, but all we really have at center is Cozens and TNT.

Listening to Baker and Fairburn's show and Baker thinks KA isn't done. Thinks they should go get Zegras. Fairburn thinks there is a deal to be made with Calgary who needs a youth injection. Maybe Coleman, maybe Kadri. I'm wondering if Backlund is available. His experience would be very valuable and he is still effective.

The worst bad guy in Star Wars history?

How hot will Adams' seat get if this team stumbles out of the gate?

How long until he's fired?

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/breaking-down-the-winners-and-losers-of-a-chaotic-free-agent-fre~2950438 Button roasts Adams

A couple of acquisition ideas from another thread Henrique is still un-signed JG Pageau maybe on the trading block from the NYI. He does have a limited NTC. Roslovic is still available. He might be the best target at this point. 7-1 so far! You will have much shaming to do if I made the poll public.

Does he skate well enough? The other name I thought of is JG Pageau. I think the NYI still need to trim payroll with some RFAs to re-sign and Mayfield coming off LTIR.

You will sit in the penalty box and feel shame.

This is fair and I agree to an extent. We needed more guys who give a legit effort every night and guys like Lafferty and Zucker are those types of guys. What remains inexcusable is not finding a quality center to add to this mix.

So you agree that Adams sucks! 🙂

Will Adams acquire a legit top 6 forward or 2/3 center before next season? Who do you think is still available to acquire? OK, let the debate begin!

I think the optimist would say with better coaching (a given) coupled with good goaltending this team could be a playoff team. Last season the Sabres decreased their goals allowed by 56 goals. That is nearly a 20% drop year over year. In the last 3 years the Sabres' differential went from -58 to -4 to +2. Unfortunately the sticking point last season was the drop in goals from 296 to 246. Moving on from Mitts and Skinner with only Zucker as a replacement so far is definitely not an offensive improvement. Asking for TNT, Tuch and Cozens to all rebound coupled with continued growth from JJP, Quinn and Benson is asking a lot without having a legit 3rd scoring line to pick up needed slack at times.

So you basically confirming @Thorny's post that keeping Skinner with 3 replacement level players would be better than the bottom of the barrel acquisitions by Adams again this season?

You'd have to bet on Kane as well considering they are now teammates. We also need to add Jost & Robinson to the poll now that they've joined the Canes.

LMAO. I do love Kevyn Adams.

except Krebs of course! 🙂 My guess is that Savoie or Kulich maybe better than Krebs is right now.

Where would you rank his replacement, Krebs, on the current roster? 10th, 11th?

According to capfriendly, it's a 1 year 2 way deal for 775K.

This is a very astute post. Zucker and Greenway can play up, but that's not a very preferable option. The current reliance on the development of Krebs is just not smart. I say current reliance as there is still a possibility that KA somehow manages to trade some prospects for a real top 9 center. The depth signings are fine. I like the new tougher and faster 4th line, but they aren't enough to cover up a 3rd line of Zucker, Greenway and Krebs. This team is now 2 2nd lines with 2 4th lines. Not exactly a winning combo. Not exactly the aggressive moves to make the Sabres into a playoff team.

I just had a chance to watch my recording of the 1st rd of the NHL draft. A couple of interesting stats they mentioned. During the U18's Helenius lead the tourney in possession and in passes that resulted in a shot on goal. I'd love to see him in Rochester in the fall. Should be interesting to see how he measures up against Östlund, Savoie and Kulich (assuming some of those guys aren't traded).

Obviously you don't follow RFAs very well. In the news today, Shane Pinto, an RFA, has been unable to reach a new contract with Ottawa and has requested a trade. Don't assume anything. Maybe that's too hard a concept for you.

You act like it's a sure thing that UPL and Joki will be back. It's not. Both are arbitration eligible RFAs. If they go to player elected arbitration, the team can walk away from the ruling. These are rare but do happen (see Tim Kennedy). Also they can also be included in trade before a contract is signed (see Beck Malensytn). Until the contract is signed, that player is not officially on the roster no matter how much you want to pencil him in.