Official Sabres Expansion Protection List

[Buffalonill]

22 minutes ago, Taro T said:

And most of his past 2 seasons were spent playing for a coach that prefers vets to rookies and 1/2 of that was for a GM that stockpiled RHDs like they were TP on March 30, 2020.

Plus he was injured for a good portion of the tenure of the coach that actually plays young guys.  

The fact he only has 14 games in at this point is more on circumstances than his play.  But, yes, he absolutely isn't a sure thing.  But IMHO he's been 3rd pairing quality for the past 2 years and could very likely be the stay at home 1/2 of a 2nd pairing (and might continue to have chemistry w/ Dahlin and actually play above that much like Daughty allows McNabb to be "1st pairing" though at the time he was 3rd pairing quality.)

Or he ends up like the other  Prospect this fanbase has overrated before they even play 1 full season. 

Weber, Sekera, butler , Guhle,MAG, 

The only person that was a star was campbell that was in 1977 after that our defenseman drafting in late rounds has been horrible 

 

 

"2 years and could very likely be the stay at home 1/2 of a 2nd pairing" 

 

Edit: forgot jake he was a good find 

Edited July 18, 2021 by Buffalonill

[Curt]

1 hour ago, YouDigg said:

Borgen is gone, but this really makes no difference.  Sabres are years away from being competitive.  
 

If you want a real eye opener, look at the Lightning protected list.   Most of the exposed players (Killorn, Palat, Gourde, etc) are better than most of our protected players!  SMH

Oh wow, my eyes are open now!  I had no idea TB was really good and Sabres were really bad and will be bad for years to come.

Thanks for the heads up.

[Doohicksie]

4 hours ago, Taro T said:

if Botterill sells him up to Francis

TIL JBott is an AGM for Seattle. 

[Curt]

A lot going on regarding Borgen.

Maybe he gets picked, maybe he doesn’t.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle prefers and picks someone else.

I must have missed all of the people who think Borgen is going to be a star or a #1/2 D or whatever.  I thought the idea was that he could be the defensive guy to pair with an offensive D and provide toughness that the team lacks.  I’m still hopeful that he can do that and I’m not sure many people are expecting anything more than that.

[Radar]

5 minutes ago, Curt said:

A lot going on regarding Borgen.

Maybe he gets picked, maybe he doesn’t.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle prefers and picks someone else.

I must have missed all of the people who think Borgen is going to be a star or a #1/2 D or whatever.  I thought the idea was that he could be the defensive guy to pair with an offensive D and provide toughness that the team lacks.  I’m still hopeful that he can do that and I’m not sure many people are expecting anything more than that.

I think fans are starving for physical play and that's adding to the Borgen rally. Question is when he solidifies a spot does that continue.

Edited July 18, 2021 by Radar

[Curt]

Just now, Radar said:

I think fans are starving for physical play and that's adding to the Borgen rally. 

Yeah, it’s not that so many think he is going to be a great player.  They just really want to see a player of his type on the ice for Buffalo.

[LGR4GM]

11 minutes ago, Curt said:

Yeah, it’s not that so many think he is going to be a great player.  They just really want to see a player of his type on the ice for Buffalo.

I just want a player with decent size who can use his body to separate offenders from a puck and then start the transition up ice. At the same time having great positioning. 

And before someone says it, this is exactly why I do not like Owen Power. He does not use his body to separate ppl from the puck and I dislike how he positions himself and makes his defensive reads. 

[Taro T]

41 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Or he ends up like the other  Prospect this fanbase has overrated before they even play 1 full season. 

Weber, Sekera, butler , Guhle,MAG, 

The only person that was a star was campbell that was in 1977 after that our defenseman drafting in late rounds has been horrible 

 

 

"2 years and could very likely be the stay at home 1/2 of a 2nd pairing" 

 

Edit: forgot jake he was a good find 

OK, "very" is a bit of hyperbole.  But so is saying Sekera wasn't a very solid D-man.

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, pastajoe said:

Former Sabres not protected: Derek Grant, Brendon Guhle, Ryan Miller, Taylor Hall, Nikita Zadorov, JT Compher, Jonas Johansson, Nathan Gerbe, Cliff Pu, Mikhail Gregorenko, Mark Pysyk, Paul Byron, Eric Stall, Evan Rodrigues, Chad Ruhwedel, Marco Scandella, Wayne Simmonds, Zack Bogosian, Jimmy Vesey, Conor Sheary, Nathan Beaulieu
 

Former Sabres protected: Nic Deslauriers, Zack Kassian, Cal Peterson, Marcus Foligno, Joel Armia, Evander Kane, Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Myers

So not only do we draft a lot of marginal players,  we also acquire a lot of marginal players  in trades and in free agency.  Could explain our record for the past decade.  

[Buffalonill]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

OK, "very" is a bit of hyperbole.  But so is saying Sekera wasn't a very solid D-man.

The Buffalo fanbase overrated sekera so bad people believed he was the next soup .

 

[nfreeman]

57 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Or he ends up like the other  Prospect this fanbase has overrated before they even play 1 full season. 

Weber, Sekera, butler , Guhle,MAG, 

The only person that was a star was campbell that was in 1977 after that our defenseman drafting in late rounds has been horrible

Sekera does not belong on this list.  Next season will be his 14th in the NHL, he's averaged 20 min per game and has always been an excellent skater.

[LabattBlue]

On a team that needs to be more physical and tougher to play against on the blueline, there is a good chance Borgen and Risto will not be here on opening night.   Let’s see who they are replaced with...after all, I was told players like them are “easily replaced”.  😞

[Hoss]

13 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Sekera does not belong on this list.  Next season will be his 14th in the NHL, he's averaged 20 min per game and has always been an excellent skater.

Not to mention Weber who has had an illustrious career

 

[kas23]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

TIL JBott is an AGM for Seattle. 

Good. We should be able to convince them to send us a 6th rounder not to take Borgen. 

[The Jokeman]

3 hours ago, Curt said:

A lot going on regarding Borgen.

Maybe he gets picked, maybe he doesn’t.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle prefers and picks someone else.

I must have missed all of the people who think Borgen is going to be a star or a #1/2 D or whatever.  I thought the idea was that he could be the defensive guy to pair with an offensive D and provide toughness that the team lacks.  I’m still hopeful that he can do that and I’m not sure many people are expecting anything more than that.

To me Miller the better play as he's a better player and could yield more if wanted to trade him for more assets. 

[Justin C]

Watch Seattle do something crazy like take Cody Eakin and all of this Risto/Borgen argument everyone has been having for weeks means nothing.

[Randall Flagg]

I think opining on the risto borgen discussion has long since passed the actual risto borgen discussion in frequency and volume 

[PerreaultForever]

Well I personally think protecting Ullmark rather than trading for a goalie and protecting him is one more check in the fail column for KA. So far still waiting for some checks in the pass or good column. Pointless. 

I think Miller gets taken ahead of Borgen but maybe there's a Kyle deal in the works. Certainly hope they don't give up too much of a sweetener for that. 

[The Jokeman]

5 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Well I personally think protecting Ullmark rather than trading for a goalie and protecting him is one more check in the fail column for KA. So far still waiting for some checks in the pass or good column. Pointless. 

I think Miller gets taken ahead of Borgen but maybe there's a Kyle deal in the works. Certainly hope they don't give up too much of a sweetener for that. 

We can still trade for one yet by protecting Ullmark he's showing the team does want him back. That said I'd talk to Seattle about taking Ben Bishop and offering them one of our three 2nd rounders for him.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Was any of this list a surprise? We have so little real talent that we are protecting people like Bjork and Thompson.  Pitiful!

[JoeSchmoe]

13 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Was any of this list a surprise? We have so little real talent that we are protecting people like Bjork and Thompson.  Pitiful!

Thompson will be a 20 goal scorer next year.

[The Jokeman]

32 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Was any of this list a surprise? We have so little real talent that we are protecting people like Bjork and Thompson.  Pitiful!

Bjork is a solid 3rd liner which a need for this team.

[Digger]

33 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Was any of this list a surprise? We have so little real talent that we are protecting people like Bjork and Thompson.  Pitiful!

Yes I agree with you compared with some of the other team's lists of available players.  I doubt that the Sabres pick will make a big impact for Seattle.  I've seen mock drafts picking anyone of Miller, Borgen, or McCabe's rights to sign as a UFA.

Colin Miller will most likely be the choice and it's doubtful it will hurt us down the road. 

That being said hopefully Thompson and Bjork improve their worth this upcoming season.  I'm glad that we are keeping both but would have loved to have better more established players on the roster to protect ahead of them.

[PromoTheRobot]

38 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Bjork is a solid 3rd liner which a need for this team.

Bjork is the kind of player that exemplifies the Granato Sabres. Always attacking. You have a young team? Use that youthful endurance to your advantage and always be pressuring your opponent. 

[miles]

Can the kraken say no thank you to a team?