Flashsabre

I think with the increased increases in the Cap coming the Sabres should be looking at signing Byram long term. Him and Dahlin give the Sabres a very good top pairing. The focus (as it has always been) is finding a quality vet RHD to play with Power and help him out. Muel and Joker can go. Clifton is a solid third pairing guy. Get a solid vet LHD for the 3rd pairing that plays well defensively and is physical. Guys like Novikov, Komarov, Strabek, Kleber have promise but are all 2 years+ out. Up front I would move out Cozens if possible. Sabres need a centre with hockey sense and playmaking skill to compliment all the shooters. I would keep Benson and Kulich. JJ and Quinn both needs deals. I might move one to bring in a different type of forward. Id try to extend Zucker and Greenway for reasonable deals. Guys like Kozak, McLeod, Malenstyn are good bottom 6 guys. Rosen is a guy that is going to need a look next season or be moved for a good piece. He has great chemistry with Kulich. I don’t trust Adams to get any of this done and the cap space means nothing if Pegula continues to go cheap.

LOL he is and I originally said he was special but I thought using special twice was too much so I changed the wording to great. McKenna’s hockey sense and vision is elite. Kind of reminds me of Paul Kariya, a LW that dominates the play with his brain and skill.

McKenna is great . It looks like a Canadian will go 1OA the next 3 years with Schaefer in 25, McKenna in 26 and DuPont in 27. DuPont is a special talent. He is a RHD who is tearing it up as an underage in the WHL.

July 1st

Misa won a Memorial Cup last year and is averaging 2 points per game in his draft year which is very impressive. He’s quickly outgrowing the OHL. He is an explosive skater with a great shot. If he’s not ready for the NHL then junior is his only option next year unfortunately.

Great to see. They are the top line along with Brett Murray. Then you throw in guys like Wahlberg, Helenuis, Neuchev up front and Novikov, Johnson, Komarov on D and Levi and net and there is a lot of development going on in Rochester.

Try to extend Zucker and Greenway before the deadline. If there isn’t common ground then move them. Other than that there is no big move that has to happen at the deadline, Big moves usually happen in the offseason.

The Amerks are stacked and that is with Kulich up with the Sabres. They have a real nice balance of quality AHL vets and young developing kids. Metsa is such a good Dman at the AHL level. Rosen is really developing as a game breaker. Leone seems to be a good coach who has them playing well.

I was just thinking wouldn’t it be peak Adams if he pulled off a trade for Elias Petterson for Cozens and Byram but he never read the fine print and the Canucks send him Elias Petterson their young dman instead.😛

Kulich is the real deal. If you watched him at the U18s, WJCs and in Rochester he is the guy that wants the puck on his stick in big moments and wants to score the big goal and often times he delivers. Of all their younger players, Kulich and Benson are the two I wouldn’t move.

A) He’s not available B) He is the opposite of what this team needs. He is the right handed Power. No D, No Physicality

I wouldn’t be surprised if Vancouver trades EP40 as well. I think they are tired of all parties involved.

Can’t wait for the presser: Reporter: “Kevyn why are the Sabres $25 million under the cap?” Adams: “Read my lips: Absolutely…No…..Financial….Restrictions!!!!!!!”😝

He’s probably in hospital after seeing those salary cap numbers the next 3 years😝

If they don’t get the first pick then Misa or Hagens are my targets if they pick top 4. Give me the centre. Misa is more explosive but the Sabres haven’t had a natural playmaker like Hagens in a long time.

It went through. Philly also got a 2nd and 7th round pick. Like the deal for Calgary

The big difference is Misa and Hagens don’t have the size that Carlsson and Fantilli do. Not that Hagens and Misa are small per se just not the height and weight that Carlsson and Fantilli bring combined with their skill.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/scouts-analysis-ranking-the-top-50-prospects-for-the-2025-nhl-draft/ Good write up on the upcoming draft.

It’s pretty solid. From what I have read this draft drops off quite a bit but the top 5 is good. Schaefer seems to be the consensus number 1. He’s very young for this draft so there is extra development time. Not sure if he will be a superstar but he will be an all star. Hagens and Misa are very talented players. Martone has a nice package but I don’t think he is this punishing power forward that some seem to think he is.

I was making my own point😁 My point was whether people think a player is rushed (Benson) or not rushed (Rosen) there are too many of them right now to fit in a competitive lineup. With guys like Quinn and JJ up for deals they have to make some decisions on who to keep, who to move up and who to move on from. They need to turn a couple of these guys into good vet players that can help this team win now. Rosen is looking like a guy who will need a look soon but whether that is in Buffalo or somewhere else is the question. The years of littering the lineup with kids and hoping they figure it out has to be over if this team wants to compete.

I don’t think EP40 is a soft player. He competes hard. He is a tremendous 2 way centre. The knee injury is a concern though. With a player of his calibre and cap hit, the Sabres medical team would have to thoroughly check him out first and sign off on the deal first.

The question with EP40 is has his production fallen because of the drama and the system he plays in or has his knee issue caused the drop. The year he had a 100 points he was in the 90th percentile for speed. Last couple years he’s been in the 50th percentile for speed and the production has dropped. Biron and Duff were discussing it one day. For an $11+ million player that is something you better make sure you know the answer to before pulling the trigger. Edit: someone on Reddit did the work about the situation: ” So this is somewhat interesting. NHL edge has his top skating speed stats going back to 2021-22: https://edge.nhl.com/en/skater/20212022-regular-8480012 and his numbers are all over the place. 2021-22 > 56 Percentile > 68 points 2022-23 > 94 Percentile > 102 points 2023-24 > 65 Percentile > 89 points 2024-24 > ~50 Percentile > 62 point pace” Apparently his issue is tendinitis in the knee.

How much cap space do the Bills have for next year? Diggs hit will be gone and what about Miller’s? Beef up the D in the draft and FA and take another run with better personnel. This team was written off as 3rd place in the division as it was a rebuilding year. They made it to the AFC Championship and with a couple proper calls could be Super Bowl bound. They were undefeated at home all season. They will be in much better shape next season. Yeah losing sucks but don’t pretend this team is dead.

Pronman’s new ratings. Top 10: 1. Schaefer 2. Hagens 3. Misa 4. Desnoyers 5. Martone 6. Eklund 7. McQueen 8. Frondell 9. Aitcheson 10. O’Brien

The answer was in the room the whole time.😝😁