The new Core

[sweetlou]

I feel GMKA will want to shed a few of the light weight "talent" and get a few more hard working types in the line up.  So who is the Core for the next 3 years.

Eichel, Olofsson, Dahlin, and Joker to me are the only untouchables.

Reinhart, Skinner, Kahun, Risto, and Montour are good pieces but also are good chips to trade and build the team he wants.

Cozens, Mitts, and Thompson are prospects but nothing he should rely on.

 

With having a pretty clean slate to work with this off season, I expect the 20-21 team to look different and definitely have some more toughness.

[Drag0nDan]

12 minutes ago, sweetlou said:

I feel GMKA will want to shed a few of the light weight "talent" and get a few more hard working types in the line up.  So who is the Core for the next 3 years.

Eichel, Olofsson, Dahlin, and Joker to me are the only untouchables.

Reinhart, Skinner, Kahun, Risto, and Montour are good pieces but also are good chips to trade and build the team he wants.

Cozens, Mitts, and Thompson are prospects but nothing he should rely on.

 

With having a pretty clean slate to work with this off season, I expect the 20-21 team to look different and definitely have some more toughness.

Skinner's got a NMC with a bad contract.  Finding a taker for the contract will be hard enough, let alone making sure he wants to go there.  May as well include him in the untouchables... he'll have to be added to the list of protected for the seattle expansion too.  

[mjd1001]

To me, nobody on this team is 'untouchable'.  I'll listen to talk for anyone. Does that mean I'm shopping them? No, but I will listen to any offers......

Untouchable means trade under almost no conditions.  To me the only way a player is untouchable is if 1.) your team is a championship contender ever year  2.) the player in question is a top 10 player in the league  3.) the player is under your control long term. 4.) the player wants to be with your team long term and has 100% commitment to the team.

Peyton Manning in his prime. Mario Lemieux. Lebron James or Jordan. Sidney Crosby of the last decade.  They were untouchables.

Now if you want Jack, my asking price would probably be too high for most other teams.  Lets start with a Kyle Connor/Seb Aho type player...give me another young player with them that is either a potential 20 goals scorer or a top 2 D-man..and add your top prospect or a first round pick that is a top 10 pick..and lets start the discussion.    Does that asking price seem outrageous...thus putting him the category of untouchable?  Maybe, but I'm listening to offers like that.

[Stoner]

37 minutes ago, sweetlou said:

I feel GMKA will want to shed a few of the light weight "talent" and get a few more hard working types in the line up.  So who is the Core for the next 3 years.

Eichel, Olofsson, Dahlin, and Joker to me are the only untouchables.

Reinhart, Skinner, Kahun, Risto, and Montour are good pieces but also are good chips to trade and build the team he wants.

Cozens, Mitts, and Thompson are prospects but nothing he should rely on.

 

With having a pretty clean slate to work with this off season, I expect the 20-21 team to look different and definitely have some more toughness.

Adams has hinted at icing a team that's more in line with the community. As Matt Barnaby said in his podcast, Buffalo's a "blue collar town." Probably not anymore, but the perception is there. And I don't care if you're a blue collar town or not, a huge percentage of the fans want to see fights, hits, hustle, grit, wallpaper, dirt and elbow grease — whether it contributes to winning or not. My opinion is that at this point in team history, it's more about filling the seats than anything else.

(I meant sandpaper, but I'll leave wallpaper as clear evidence of my cognitive decline.)

Edited June 22, 2020 by PASabreFan

[MattPie]

3 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Adams has hinted at icing a team that's more in line with the community. As Matt Barnaby said in his podcast, Buffalo's a "blue collar town." Probably not anymore, but the perception is there. And I don't care if you're a blue collar town or not, a huge percentage of the fans want to see fights, hits, hustle, grit, wallpaper, dirt and elbow grease — whether it contributes to winning or not. My opinion is that at this point in team history, it's more about filling the seats than anything else.

(I meant sandpaper, but I'll leave wallpaper as clear evidence of my cognitive decline.)

I've been fading away for awhile now, and if the team is heading towards a grinding game I'm out. I do realize you can play fast and skilled AND have all those "blue-collar" attributes, but those players are pretty hard to come by.

 

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

7 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Adams has hinted at icing a team that's more in line with the community. As Matt Barnaby said in his podcast, Buffalo's a "blue collar town." Probably not anymore, but the perception is there. And I don't care if you're a blue collar town or not, a huge percentage of the fans want to see fights, hits, hustle, grit, wallpaper, dirt and elbow grease — whether it contributes to winning or not. My opinion is that at this point in team history, it's more about filling the seats than anything else.

(I meant sandpaper, but I'll leave wallpaper as clear evidence of my cognitive decline.)

This could be one of the reasons the Sabres let Pilut walked.  He is fast and skilled, but not big enough to be "gritty" on the back line.

[dudacek]

I think it would be a mistake to read “a team Buffalo can identify with“ as a Boogie Man/May Day type squad.

I read it as a team that plays fast, works hard and cares: I think it more favours 2006 than 1997.

Really, if you want to typecast, think about the way Adams himself approached the game. Hopefully with a bit more skill.

[Curt]

10 minutes ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

This could be one of the reasons the Sabres let Pilut walked.  He is fast and skilled, but not big enough to be "gritty" on the back line.

They didn’t let him walk.  He walked out on them.

[dudacek]

Just now, Curt said:

They didn’t let him walk.  He walked out on them.

Not that I care a ton, but I wonder if the change in regime may lead to a change of heart on the Pilut front.

[In The Buff]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Not that I care a ton, but I wonder if the change in regime may lead to a change of heart on the Pilut front.

Possibly. But given the long time off from playing here in the States, what is it, 9 months before the Sabres might play a game again? I wouldn't possibly expect Pilut to come back at all til the following year. Why come back sooner just not to play yanno? So change in regime or not, at least for now i don't see it impacting things in the short term. Down the road possibly & i hope it does, at the very least so we can use that asset which is Pilut in some way that can improve the team. For whatever thats worth...

 

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

1 hour ago, Curt said:

They didn’t let him walk.  He walked out on them.

I guess but that's semantics to me.  If they weren't willing to offer him $ over league minimum they basically opened the door, and shoved him.  But technically yes, he walked.

[Curt]

25 minutes ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

I guess but that's semantics to me.  If they weren't willing to offer him $ over league minimum they basically opened the door, and shoved him.  But technically yes, he walked.

I don’t know what they would have offered him, and I don’t know what he got in the KHL.  I think if they had played him in the NHL more he would have stuck around.  He was only making 70K in the AHL and he probably wasn’t up for a 3rd year of that.

[bob_sauve28]

I think the team is fine, add another goalie, fix the PP, get Skinner going and hope the prospects pan out, draft well, and go! 

 

This is already a good team. We literally had a goalie last season that couldn’t track the puck. 

[PalmTreeMafia]

19 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I think the team is fine, add another goalie, fix the PP, get Skinner going and hope the prospects pan out, draft well, and go! 

 

This is already a good team. We literally had a goalie last season that couldn’t track the puck. 

This team badly needs a second line center and a second line winger as well. You can't rely on Mitts and Cozens this season. Anyone know of any good free agents for the second line?

[Andrew Amerk]

23 minutes ago, ManyRasmusFewWins said:

This team badly needs a second line center and a second line winger as well. You can't rely on Mitts and Cozens this season. Anyone know of any good free agents for the second line?

We need a 2C - and not try to force someone into the position who doesn’t qualify (i.e. Mitts, Johansson, Grigorenko, Leino, etc). 
 

We also need a 2W, and not pray for a Sheary, Vesey, Sobotka, Tage, Frolik, or a Kahun etc to fill it. 

We have plenty of candidates to properly fill the 3rd and 4th lines. It doesn’t seem like rocket science, but those in charge make it seem like they’re trying to perform brain surgery blindfolded. 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Andrew Amerk

[Weave]

31 minutes ago, ManyRasmusFewWins said:

This team badly needs a second line center and a second line winger as well. You can't rely on Mitts and Cozens this season. Anyone know of any good free agents for the second line?

I hate that you can't see a user's name history anymore.

[NAF]

I think Adams should seriously consider trading Reinhart. While I wouldn't be actively shopping him, I don't think he belongs in the "core/untouchable" category. He's a smart player and an excellent passer, but brutally slow, meh defensively, and weak on the puck. I think Eichel could do just as well (or negligibly worse) with a player like Alex Tuch or Josh Anderson on the wing -- that is, a cheaper, faster, stronger, goal scoring winger.

I just find it hard to justify paying a player like Reinhart the $7,500,000 he'll demand. That type of money (in my mind at least) is reserved for players who can drive scoring on a line by themselves.

[Curt]

14 minutes ago, NAF said:

I think Adams should seriously consider trading Reinhart. While I wouldn't be actively shopping him, I don't think he belongs in the "core/untouchable" category. He's a smart player and an excellent passer, but brutally slow, meh defensively, and weak on the puck. I think Eichel could do just as well (or negligibly worse) with a player like Alex Tuch or Josh Anderson on the wing -- that is, a cheaper, faster, stronger, goal scoring winger.

I just find it hard to justify paying a player like Reinhart the $7,500,000 he'll demand. That type of money (in my mind at least) is reserved for players who can drive scoring on a line by themselves.

I don’t think that he will.  What about $6.5M?

[Doohicksie]

38 minutes ago, NAF said:

I think Adams should seriously consider trading Reinhart.

He's another one of those, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" players.  There's no reason to move him.  He improves other players.  He's got a good head for hockey and makes a lot of very good plays that go unnoticed unless you really look for them.  Now, if he demands a salary out of line with his contributions, then maybe you move him.  2nd in goals and points, 3rd in assists.  He's not someone who is easily replaced.

[Andrew Amerk]

25 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

He's another one of those, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" players.  There's no reason to move him.  He improves other players.  He's got a good head for hockey and makes a lot of very good plays that go unnoticed unless you really look for them.  Now, if he demands a salary out of line with his contributions, then maybe you move him.  2nd in goals and points, 3rd in assists.  He's not someone who is easily replaced.

Idk, I’m no longer convinced. He may be a 1st line player here due to lack of talent, but he may only be a 2nd liner on actual good teams. 

I like him, but I don’t see him as being a solid player if he was ever in the playoffs. 

Picture the Sabres in the playoffs. It’s a game 7, game is tied, 4 minutes left in the game. Puck goes into the corner. Do you trust Samson to go in and win that battle? 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Andrew Amerk

[sweetlou]

I'd rather have Tuch and Anderson on my top 2 RW then what we would have to pay Reinhart!!

[LGR4GM]

Oh god really? We're really going to do the Reinhart thing, again? 

Trading Reinhart is a stupid idea because you'll never get back what he is. You'll just create another hole. I love how olofsson is the greatest thing ever but Reinhart sucks. I need a break. 

[PerreaultForever]

No idea is a stupid idea on a gutted team imo. Who is the "core?"   Better question for me, IS there a core? There's Eichel and Dahlin and maybe some kids like Cozens who aren't here yet but otherwise does anybody else really matter? Any trade is a good trade if you get a good return.

Pretty obvious nobody'd take Skinner unless you ate a massive amount of contract and a cost cutting organization isn't going to eat players salary to improve their team so pray Skinner goes back to performing at an elte level - even though my cynical gut says worst contract in NHL history by the end of it. 

The bigger question is will anybody not under contract now come back? Want to come back? If someone else offers them a deal I'd figure no way. As the rumors now have it JBot apparently tried to bring in other FAs with no success. Adams has no chance of bringing in anybody (unless grossly overpaid, which won't happen) especially on a team that the league is now laughing at (if they weren't already).

The only thing the Pegulas have going for them now is if next season takes place in empty arenas they won't be embarrassed by the half empty arena, the paper bags and the signs calling for resignations, including their own.

 

[Drag0nDan]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

No idea is a stupid idea on a gutted team imo. Who is the "core?"   Better question for me, IS there a core? There's Eichel and Dahlin and maybe some kids like Cozens who aren't here yet but otherwise does anybody else really matter? Any trade is a good trade if you get a good return.

Pretty obvious nobody'd take Skinner unless you ate a massive amount of contract and a cost cutting organization isn't going to eat players salary to improve their team so pray Skinner goes back to performing at an elte level - even though my cynical gut says worst contract in NHL history by the end of it. 

The bigger question is will anybody not under contract now come back? Want to come back? If someone else offers them a deal I'd figure no way. As the rumors now have it JBot apparently tried to bring in other FAs with no success. Adams has no chance of bringing in anybody (unless grossly overpaid, which won't happen) especially on a team that the league is now laughing at (if they weren't already).

The only thing the Pegulas have going for them now is if next season takes place in empty arenas they won't be embarrassed by the half empty arena, the paper bags and the signs calling for resignations, including their own.

 

This is my thoughts on gutting it.  Eichel could fetch the most in a trade, but he's by far the best player we've had here in a very long time.  I dont need to look at jersey sales to say that he's #1 by a long shot.  Skinner's value is super low... so why move him for pennies on the dollar.  Dahlin and Joki are on ELCs, I wouldn't move them when i can likely add years of team control after next year. If they're smart they lock up oloffson for like a 5ish mil cap hit, thats fairly palatable.  

Everyone else?  I'm listening to offers.  Reinhart, Montour, Risto are the big 3.  It's probably a bit early to give up on mittelstadt and Thompson - but you can't also go into a season fully expecting them to contribute more than they have.  If packaging them in gets you a better return, I'm for it.  But this team has like no forward prospects, so its hard to consider moving the ones they do have.  

I just have no idea who's ready to come up from AHL, because so few players have come up in the last several years that i just assume they'll suck when they're here.  Can Borgen play at the NHL?  He's played 2 years at AHL- when else does he get a shot?  What about Bryson?  3 year starter in college, played real well last year. Hickey?  4 years.  Do we have any forwards who can play?  

[Sabres Fan in NS]

13 hours ago, ManyRasmusFewWins said:

This team badly needs a second line center and a second line winger as well. You can't rely on Mitts and Cozens this season. Anyone know of any good free agents for the second line?

So, I checked your profile, as did many others ... who in the blazes are you?

And, the Sabres need a lot.  Cozens I think will be a keeper, probably will become a good NHL winger, possibly first line, second line on a good Sabre team.