RochesterExpat

He had the same games played as Tokarski with a better GAA but worse SV%. He was also on a worse team. I would say for an AHL goalie he's fine. Not sure why we're saying he's terrible.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the Sabres have proven this free agency you can build the bottom six without giving up a 2nd round draft pick. The idea the draft pick was "free" for trading back is wrong. The pick still held value. Trading a 2nd for an unsigned RFA who is a 4th line forward is pretty much universally agreed on as an overpay. The short of it is I still think the trade was bad, but the player acquired is a good fit. I'm happy to have Malenstyn in Buffalo, but I still believe the cost of acquisition was too high.

Random side note: if we go by fancy stats per 60 with the top 6 (for lines that played more than 60 minutes last season) and only look at lines using the players remaining, your top 6 will look like: Greenway - Tage - Tuch JJP - Cozens - Quinn That leaves Benson as the odd man out. His numbers--much like the rest of the team's numbers from last season--were really only good when he was on a line with Mitts or, weirdly enough, Krebs. I don't think it was Krebs elevating Benson's game as much as Benson was on the ice matched against less skilled opponents. The Benson - Cozens - Quinn line was effective, but substantially less effective than JJP in that role. The top line with Peterka - Thompson - Tuch was not a good line, but Benson in that role wasn't any better. Skinner - Thompson - Tuch was actually more effective than both. I also doubt Lindy is going to focus that much on advance stats. We also don't know how Thompson's injuries affected his play during the periods where we were rotating his partners. I don't think Greenway is a first line winger. Anyway, there really wasn't anywhere I was going with this. It really just shows the roster holes created by the departure of Mitts and Skinner. I love JJP, but he makes the team better when he's playing with Cozens and Quinn. I love Benson too, but he isn't a top line winger (yet). I like Greenway, but we shouldn't be relying on him as a first line winger because he isn't one. Frankly, the biggest issue with using any kind of advanced stats from last season was just the massive regression the team took. Cozens in particular. Obviously Quinn missing half a season really skews things further. It's a mess.

You do realize these agreements were likely already in place and KA is not the only person who would be handling this, right? Karmanos should have handed Adams a list of names for FA acquisitions and targets for the Rochester club. The free agency isn't just one man, Kevin Adams, trying to make as many phone calls after 12pm EST as possible. Look, I'm not a GMKA fan, but this is the dumbest criticism I've seen in a while.

As long as we still fill the 3C role, I don't think anyone who wanted the bottom six revamped should be complaining.

AHL goalie for the AHL team. That's fine.

Which is why trading Mitts because the projected cost when you ended up buying out Jeff Skinner makes a whole lot less sense.

Are we trading Krebs then? Please don't tell me Krebs is going to be the 3C.

I'm hoping they aren't penciling in Kulich as 3C. We should offer sheet Pinto for the Mitts replacement. Just whatever bridge contract takes him straight to Free Agency. That way if he signs and Ottawa matches, we just ***** Ottawa over.

Low risk contract since it's one year, but it's definitely an overpayment. Doesn't matter if we can't use the rest of the cap room to bring anyone else in. I'm fine with it.

Good addition on a good contract.

If nothing else, Dunne will help lead in Rochester. Not a blockbuster pickup by any means, but I'm happy with this move.

Maybe the real free agents are the memes we made along the way.

Bertuzzi with Benson would be some pretty funny hockey to watch.

It’s been talked about a lot. His skating is too slow for the NHL.

A Shakespearean Sonnet for Jeff Skinner from Google's AI: In Buffalo's heart, a tale of woe unfolds, Of Skinner's dream, once bright, now bought and cold. A promised land, a winger strong and bold, Yet seasons passed, and glory's cup withheld. The cheers arose, when first his skates did grace The frozen pond, a hope to win the race. But fleeting were the highlights, fleeting pace, And empty nets did mock his scoring chase. Nine million chimes, a contract's heavy weight, A discordant note within the game's sweet play. The fans did sigh, their patience wearing thin, And farewell songs they sang at season's end. Now freed he is, to seek a different win, While Buffalo bids adieu to 'might have been'.

I actually didn't recognize him until the third or fourth time we'd met and I pretty much blurted out "Oh *****, you're Jeremy Roenick." The more embarrassing bit is we'd literally talked about playing high school hockey the first time we met and he even said he'd kept playing for a while after high school. I just assumed he meant Beer League.

I agree with this except your conclusion. Joki had a good season and we know he can play with Dahlin in a pinch. I think you sign him to a long term contract reflective of his role as a third pairing guy (if he wants a contract as a 2nd pair guy we should move on). This leaves your defensive pairings as: Power - Dahlin Byram - ???? Sammy - Joki Clifton Putting Sammy on the third line will hopefully help keep him healthy while also limiting his 5v5 minutes so he can be fresh for the PK. I think the upgrade is Clifton. We need to find a more appropriate partner for Byram. We never saw him play with Ryan Johnson. Not that I want to hold off making a move to improve the roster on the hopes of Johnson making the team (also, Novikov should be considered), it's worth mentioning. Byram has more to give and I'd rather see us try and improve on Clifton than move on from Joki when Joki played pretty well last season.

Because he was part of the Eichel trade and accepting the fact he's not a Top 6 player is a tough pill to swallow. I think Krebs has a place in the NHL. It's just not the place most of us were hoping for when he came to Buffalo.

I dated his daughter briefly. Or more accurately we were “hanging out.” In real life he’s exactly like you would expect.

Subscribed.

Adams is afraid of injury since he’s going to need them taking roster spots at this rate.

Your words cut deep.