What to expect next season, the 2018 Sabres

[darksabre]

Reading between the lines, sounds like JBOTS is not exactly enamored with Housley's practices.

Lol wut

[WildCard]

Reading between the lines, sounds like JBOTS is not exactly enamored with Housley's practices.

I could see that

[dudacek]

If Jbot trades ROR, this is taking us back to the beginning and sadly that maybe what needs to happen. He would be certainly be implying that everything TM was wrong.

While I don’t disagree that TM was incompetent, I can’t think of what we’d get back that would take the team forward next season.

A deal for futures would basically condemn us to another bottom finish for 2018.

What about a good old fashioned hockey trade blockbuster?

Target another team that is pissed off with their finish and wants to shake things up.

Edited April 4, 2018 by dudacek

[WildCard]

What about a good old fashioned hockey trade blockbuster?

Target another team that is pissed off with their finish and what’s to shake things up.

Calgary, Montreal, Dallas, and Chicago. Those are the only other teams I see that had really disappointing seasons. 

 

Well, Ottawa and Edmonton did too, but I'm not sure there's anything we really want to take from them, outside of Hoffman

[carpandean]

Lol wut

 

 

“Look, I do believe there are some pieces here,” said the Sabres GM. “But there’s also a level of consistency that’s just not here at all. That level of consistency goes through practices. It’s easy to say we want to change the culture, but it’s a little more difficult of implementing that and going through it. Just look at the last couple of weeks. We beat Toronto at home a few weeks ago, and then we lose the next (game) 5-1 at home to Calgary, and honestly, it should have been 10-1. We can’t sustain any success. To me, that goes back to working harder in practice and having more of a base, more of a foundation so we can actually have a bit more consistency to our game.”

[WildCard]

There were two other coaches we were looking at instead of Housely. Boogey Man down in Florida, and Gallant. Both of them have had very strong seasons

[dudacek]

O’Reilly, Ristolainen, Girgensons and McCabe

For Backlund, Brodie, Bennett and Valimaki

 

O’Reilly for Toews

 

O’Reilly and Lehner

For Price and their first

 

Ristolainen and Larsson

For Faksa and Lindell

[Randall Flagg]

That sounds to me like an indictment of players that he's received from Housley, who runs the practices. 

But I could see Botts being disappointed in Phil independent of that.

O’Reilly, Ristolainen, Girgensons and McCabe
For Backlund, Brodie, Bennett and Valimaki

O’Reilly for Toews

O’Reilly and Lehner
For Price and their first

Ristolainen and Larsson
For Faksa and Lindell

I might do the last one.

Top one, Brodie has regressed quite a bit. 

[dudacek]

O’Reilly, Baptiste and Ristolainen for nugent-Hopkins, Nurse and Puljujarvi

 

O’Reilly and Ristolainen for Karlsson

[Sabel79]

Nobody is trading for Lehner. Heck, nobody is signing him after the Sabres non-tender him.

[WildCard]

O’Reilly, Ristolainen, Girgensons and McCabe

For Backlund, Brodie, Bennett and Valimaki

 

O’Reilly for Toews

 

O’Reilly and Lehner

For Price and their first

 

Ristolainen and Larsson

For Faksa and Lindell

That sounds to me like an indictment of players that he's received from Housley, who runs the practices. 

 

But I could see Botts being disappointed in Phil independent of that.

I might do the last one.

 

Top one, Brodie has regressed quite a bit. 

Either you've learned to control yourself or you completely missed his mention of Taves

 

 

O’Reilly, Baptiste and Ristolainen for nugent-Hopkins, Nurse and Puljujarvi

 

O’Reilly and Ristolainen for KarlssonH

 

Hard pass on both for me. I still highly value Risto

[Randall Flagg]

Either you've learned to control yourself or you completely missed his mention of Taves

 

 

Hahha, I did completely miss it, but given that ROR is probably as good a player right now as Toews, but Toews has the 'leadership' and the track record an the contract, it would be a reasonable "blow up trade" (not one I'd do, but not from outer space) that likely wouldn't require too much editing. 

 

Side comment, but Hawks fans are legit sick of the dude, I was reading hfboards and I was almost tempted to cut in and defend him a little bit, I was surprised at their animosity (their takes weren't fair to Toews, they just aren't used to losing over there)

[dudacek]

O’Reilly and Ristolainen for Lindholm and hanifin

 

Whether you like the proposals or not, I’m a little surprised at how easy this has been.

Once you free yourself of the idea you are willing to give up a core player, its freeing.

o’Reilly and Risto are a valuable combo. How many trades net you two all-situations players, still youngish, with long term contracts?

Edited April 4, 2018 by dudacek

[darksabre]

 

I mean, I see the word practice, which is a thing that the coaches run but the players actually do. Seems like a stretch to turn that in to some indictment of Housley by Botterill.

 

Of course, I'm the guy who also thinks that problem players are problem players and coaching only goes so far, so my read is that he's not happy with certain players and intends to make changes accordingly.

 

Pi's Housley axe is down to the handle at this point, so forgive me for trying to follow his attempts at squeezing water from a rock.

[pi2000]

I'll go O'Reilly and Risto for Theodore and a 1st.

[TrueBlueGED]

O’Reilly and Ristolainen for Lindholm and hanifin

 

Whether you like the proposals or not, I’m a little surprised at how easy this has been.

Once you free yourself of the idea you are willing to give up a core player, its freeing.

o’Reilly and Risto are a valuable combo. How many trades net you two all-situations players, still youngish, with long term contracts?

 

Do we upgrade on either of those positions? Even if you want to argue Hanifin is an upgrade on Risto (and I don't think it is), I don't think it's nearly the level of the downgrade from O'Reilly to Lindholm.

[North Buffalo]

So guys I have been watching that Risto or ROR or both could be traded for that I think would help the Sabres, Theodore would be one... though I think I'd like Vegas Schmidt and Neal and a 2nd.  Just guessing though

[Randall Flagg]

O'Reilly, Nylander, Ristolainen for Aho, Fleury, Hanifin.

[TrueBlueGED]

I need someone to explain to me the interest in Hanifin. He has pretty so-so stats while occupying cushy minutes on the 2nd pair behind Faulk and Slavin, and the qualitative reviews from Canes fans aren't exactly stellar. 

[Randall Flagg]

I need someone to explain to me the interest in Hanifin. He has pretty so-so stats while occupying cushy minutes on the 2nd pair behind Faulk and Slavin, and the qualitative reviews from Canes fans aren't exactly stellar. 

Is Faulk-Slavin really a thing? That's prettty ugly, Faulk needs heavy sheltering and Slavin is a shutdown defensive D. 

 

And I mean Risto looks like hot trash for 45% of every season, so it's not like we're trading Leddy for 2 seconds here

Eichel + for Matthews 

 

:devil:

[TrueBlueGED]

Is Faulk-Slavin really a thing? That's prettty ugly, Faulk needs heavy sheltering and Slavin is a shutdown defensive D.

 

And I mean Risto looks like hot trash for 45% of every season, so it's not like we're trading Leddy for 2 seconds here

 

Eichel + for Matthews

 

:devil:

I dunno the actual pairs, I just took a quick glance at ice time. Hanifan isn't even getting 19 per game, the other two are around 23. If Risto could hang out at 19 per game I think his performance would blow Hanifin's doors off.

[North Buffalo]

Is Faulk-Slavin really a thing? That's prettty ugly, Faulk needs heavy sheltering and Slavin is a shutdown defensive D. 

 

And I mean Risto looks like hot trash for 45% of every season, so it's not like we're trading Leddy for 2 seconds here

Eichel + for Matthews 

 

:devil:

Picking a fight are you.  LOL  CT scan is slow tonight so I am enjoying this...

[PerreaultForever]

lol - I love all the nonsensical trades that overvalue players on a dead last place team - keep dreamin' boys, ya got to believe!

 

next season? Somewhere in the bottom 10 unless we get Dahlin AND somehow bring in 3-4 impactful free agents or rookies. Playoffs would require a miracle only dreamt of so far.  

[Marions Piazza]

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, I didnt read it, but it fits for the next season thread.

 

Pierre LeBrun retweeted a TSN Insider tweet, part of it said,  "Sabres taking calls on a core player".  Normally I wouldn't think much of a rumor like that, but coming from LeBrun and TSN, it holds a lot of water with me.  Could be a draft day deal or sooner?

[LGR4GM]

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, I didnt read it, but it fits for the next season thread.

 

Pierre LeBrun retweeted a TSN Insider tweet, part of it said,  "Sabres taking calls on a core player".  Normally I wouldn't think much of a rumor like that, but coming from LeBrun and TSN, it holds a lot of water with me.  Could be a draft day deal or sooner?

The draft is on June 22. I would expect their to be movement the week leading up to it (18-21) and on draft day. The Sabres should be in play considering they suck. There are only 5 UFA's or something like that so it makes sense that other players under contract will be moved to fix this mess. 

 

Here is the article in the Athletic that Lebrun wrote. https://theathletic.com/298928/2018/04/03/lebrun-sabres-feel-the-urgency-to-turn-things-around-next-season/It is paid for content however. 

Edited April 4, 2018 by Skurk Liger