pi2000

They scored the 8th most goals in league and gave up the 4th most. They traded away 27 goals in Peterka. If you take away his goals, they finish in the bottom half of the league in goals for. They're undoubtedly worse on paper. I'm not buying the idea they got better defensively. There's just nothing to support that claim... same goaltending, same coaches, same game plan. The team as a whole plays poor defense. Dahlin and Power are not defensive stalwarts, the're offensive minded players who will continue to struggle defensively against tough matchups. UPL is borderline NHL backup, Levi isn't good enough... Lyon? lol They needed to make a splash, trading some assets for a starting vet goalie and finding a vet partner for Power... and I'd argue Dahlin needs a steady defensively sound partner as well. Samuelsson ain't it, he's regressed. I like their draft, but that's not going to help this year. Norris is a roulette wheel, if he plays 60 games I'll be tickled. This feels to me like lowkey subtle tank for McKenna. They have all the excuses built in... Norris injuries, UPL, still a young team, etc etc. If they were serious about making a run at the playoffs they would've kept Peterka (he's an RFA, who cares if he "wants to be here"), fired some coaches, acquired a starter and a proven vet defenseman for Power. Improving the defense and maintaining the offensive production is what was needed, you don't need to sacrifice one for the other if done correctly.

It will be interesting to see if his production drops playing against 23-24 years olds. Will all these kids transferring from the CHL to the NCAA see their draft stock drop as a result?

It's better for Johnson's development to play heavy minutes in Rochester vs the spot duty Bryson is getting in Buffalo.

I expect somebody will break out in Rochester and get some extended looks in Buffalo this season. Impossible for us to predict who that might be, but the "older" guys like Rosen and Kozak are running out of time.

Agreed. Johnson needs the heavy minutes in Rochester at this stage of his development.

prepare the banner

reminds me a lot of Parayko

Chara

ironic to see Mrtka wearing #25 on stage

I've arm wrestled him and lost tho

Love the pick! Kid is a stud has grown man strength already. Probably needs only one more year of junior... or maybe starts the season in Rochester since he's a Euro like Helenius last season.

they've added over 13 feet of defensemen this week

On the Sabres he fits squarely on the 3rd line maybe 2nd line if he takes another step? Seems to play a similar game to Tyson Kozak... but with better hands and shot. Has the ability to score from the outside, accurate shooter with a quick release and velocity. Saw some time on the powerplay last season.

Everyone ripping Peterka for not being defensively sound just blows my mind. He's a 23 year old goal scoring winger. You pay him to score goals and create scoring chances, his ability to defend will improve as he matures but that's not his role. You now have 27..likely future 30-40 less goal production in your lineup moving forward. You have to replace that hole or you've made your team appreciably worse.

This is rock bottom for me. Just an absolute gut punch. They hit on JJ in the draft, spent years developing him, then he's gone. Who the ***** cares if he wants to be here, he's an RFA and was supposed to be a core guy moving forward. This smells like a salary dump. This franchise took a step backwards today, sad times for fans.

Harrington had some good questions, which he didn't really answer.

Power is still young for a defenseman. Ekblad, also a #1 pick, put up just 21 points and was a -23 in his third full season.

Trading Peterka is dumb. You hit on him in the draft, spent years and significant resources developing him into a nice top 6 player... and then you want to ship him off because he's not physical\defensive enough? In the meantime you're drafting the same type of skill players over and over and over again in the early rounds, developing them... for what? To replace the guys like Peterka that you traded? This cycle needs to stop. This is where a POHO could help. Hopefully Jarmo picks up on this and stops the madness. Who cares if Peterka wants to be here.... he's an RFA and YOU the GM want him to be here, that's all that matters.

If I'm GM I tell JJ he's not being moved, end of story. You don't like it? Too bad.

I, for one, believe Appert is a good coach. He'll be successful as a head coach in the NHL if put in the right situation as a rookie HC. He's energetic and has charisma. Players like him. He was successful in Rochester and helped develop guys like Krebs, Peterka, Kulich and Quinn. That said, I don't believe Buffalo is a good fit for him to take over HC duties. Buffalo needs a veteran HC with a recent track record of success in the NHL, someone the young players can trust and lean on... not somebody learning the ropes.

If you keep the pick at 9 you unquestionably take BPA. Sure, "size and grit" are part of the BPA equation, but passing on a much more productive player just because you have similar stature players in your pipeline is a mistake. Past the 1st round perhaps you tune your BPA algo such that size/grit are a bit more valuable, but don't over do it.

next piece of good news? They sign JJ and he "wants to be here".

I like the idea of it. "Senior Advisor" tho? Why not just name him POHO? They make it sound like he'll just be a sounding board for KA. In reality they need somebody who's much more than that. This has all the makings of an internal power struggle between KA and JK, with Terry ultimately deciding who sticks around... this could get ugly very quickly as JK seems like a no-nonsense type of guy.