Offseason Gameplan 2022 - Solving the goaltending system wide.

[matter2003]

20 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

@matter2003

No question goaltending is the greatest need. While UPL was decent during his time here, he has some serious flaws in his game that Marty Biron has pointed out on occasion.  Frankly, I’d wipe the slate clean.  I don’t trust UPL at all, nor do I want Anderson or Tokarski back in the NHL.

The biggest problem facing KA this off-season is who is a proven upgrade on Anderson & Co. who is willing to come here.  Most of the available players have flaws or allegedly don’t want to come here.  For example DeSmith has never played more then 36 NHL games in a season; Holtby hasn’t started to 2 years and not sure if his rebound in performance is sustainable; MAF is old, expensive, and probably won’t come here etc…

Husso, Kuemper, and Campbell are probably the top 3 UFA starters and all 3 play for contenders.  I honestly can’t see Colo (Kuemper) and Tor (Campbell) letting their starters walk.  Husso is the most obvious player to invest in at 27 except this was only his second season in the NHL and his numbers were drastically improved year over year.  Stl is committed to Binnington via a longterm deal with a NTC, thus Husso should be available.  Sadly I just don’t see KA taking that risk.

IMO if UPL can improve on rebound control where he is 71st out of 75 ranked goalies, I think it will go a long way to helping in other areas. Cannot give up rebounds at the clip he was giving them up at and be a successful NHL goalie long term.

Save percentage and GAA were both very respectable at .917 and 2.74 but his record was only 2-5-2

[LGR4GM]

 

[Flashsabre]

36 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

I am really looking forward to the end of season PC to see what their plan is in net next season.

It sticks out like a sore thumb what is the one move they can make to take the next step next season.

[Zamboni]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

I am really looking forward to the end of season PC to see what their plan is in net next season.

It sticks out like a sore thumb what is the one move they can make to take the next step next season.

And like every end of season press conference by every team in every sport …. What they say and what they do are not the same. Close? Maybe. Debatable. Exact? Nope. Almost never is.
And of course what they do say, will leave some fans very unhappy because those fans eat up what they say and believe it as gospel. GM’s try their best to not “show their cards” with what their exact plan of attack is in the off season. In my opinion press conferences are just fluff for the masses to eat up. Carries no weight. For me.

[Flashsabre]

41 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

And like every end of season press conference by every team in every sport …. What they say and what they do are not the same. Close? Maybe. Debatable. Exact? Nope. Almost never is.
And of course what they do say, will leave some fans very unhappy because those fans eat up what they say and believe it as gospel. GM’s try their best to not “show their cards” with what their exact plan of attack is in the off season. In my opinion press conferences are just fluff for the masses to eat up. Carries no weight. For me.

That’s fine but atleast we get a sense of if they are serious about it or if they are going to push the “Well we want to bring Anderson back and hope UPL can step up” nonsense.

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

“32nd in 5-on-5 save percentage (.873).”

and that is with Anderson starting most nights.  Please KA hear our plea and move on.  

[Zamboni]

1 minute ago, Flashsabre said:

That’s fine but atleast we get a sense of if they are serious about it or if they are going to push the “Well we want to bring Anderson back and hope UPL can step up” nonsense.

“Getting a sense” is exactly what I mean by eating up what they say. I Understand for some fans it’s important for them to hear what the GM says at the end of season press conference. They wanna be able hang their fandom hat on something going into the off-season. and that’s fine.
 

I’m just not one of those fans that believe anything that comes out of the GM’s mouth going into the off-season. Other than reflecting on what just happened during the season. And even that I would take with a grain of salt to a degree. I’ve seen and I’m sure you’ve seen enough postseason press conferences with enough sports throughout the years to know that things just aren’t said and given to the masses for a reason. I just don’t look forward to them for reasons I’ve stated. 
 

… to each his/her own. 👍🏼

[dudacek]

23 hours ago, Zamboni said:

And like every end of season press conference by every team in every sport …. What they say and what they do are not the same. Close? Maybe. Debatable. Exact? Nope. Almost never is.
And of course what they do say, will leave some fans very unhappy because those fans eat up what they say and believe it as gospel. GM’s try their best to not “show their cards” with what their exact plan of attack is in the off season. In my opinion press conferences are just fluff for the masses to eat up. Carries no weight. For me.

Yet Adams has done, or at least tried to do, exactly what he said he was going to one year ago.

[GASabresIUFAN]

24 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Yet Adams has done, or at least tried to do, exactly what he said he was going to one year ago.

Yeah pretty much with a couple of notable exceptions like the goaltending pivot and the failure to get assets at the deadline.  Some of that is on him and some on others 

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Yeah pretty much with a couple of notable exceptions like the goaltending pivot and the failure to get assets at the deadline.  Some of that is on him and some on others 

Disagree that not trading away vets for late picks is a failure.  The ones like Hinostroza and Anderson that might have brought back something higher than a 5th have been key contributors in this late season "surge."  If they're gone, so very likely is any momentum they've gained.

Adams traded 1 guy.  The one that wouldn't have a role in 2 weeks as soon as Michigan's season ended.  Don't really take issue w/ not trading the others.  Obviously we differ in that opinion.  🍺

 

[dudacek]

33 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Yeah pretty much with a couple of notable exceptions like the goaltending pivot and the failure to get assets at the deadline.  Some of that is on him and some on others 

My post wasn’t really a judgement on his moves, it was a response to @Zamboni’s skepticism of GM speak.

Adams said he was going to trade away the players that didn’t want to be here, acquire players that did, give his young players opportunities, trade Jack Eichel when he got an offer that made sense for the Buffalo Sabres, treat players the way he’d want to be treated, build out an analytics staff, build out a development staff, foster an environment of open and honest communication, adopt a fast, attacking style of play and ice a team that fans can connect with.

By and large, these are cultural things. By and large to me, he followed through.

[sabresouth]

I'm not going to be happy unless we get a true number one netminder. Bring up UPL to be the number two or whatever. But we don't need to mess around any more. We lacked 30 points from having a solid playoff position. Thats 15 wins short. Lack of good goaltending especially earlier in the season is a big part of that. It will be a disaster to miss the playoffs next year because of one position. Do not take a chance on a maybe or hope player. If we can pick up next year in play where we are now we will be there. Please fix goaltending.

[Brawndo]

The one complaint I have, is that UPL should have been brought back up to get at least an additional 20 starts with the Sabres. That way the organization would have a better idea of what the goaltending needs are at the NHL Level and if UPL is truly an option 

Edited April 24, 2022 by Brawndo

[Digger]

3 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

The one complain I have, is that UPL should have been brought back up to get at least an additional 20 starts with the Sabres. That way the organization would have a better idea of what the goaltending needs are at the NHL Level and if UPL is truly an option 

Yes, I can't argue with that.  I wanted to see Rochester in the playoffs but we decided to keep the other eligible prospects with the Sabres.  It would have been nice to see him play a few more games with the Sabres with the overall improved team play.  I still think we need a number 1 going into next season.

[JohnC]

6 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Yeah pretty much with a couple of notable exceptions like the goaltending pivot and the failure to get assets at the deadline.  Some of that is on him and some on others 

What asset could he have gotten for what he had that he was willing to ship out? Miller probably had the most value but he was recovering from a surgery. Basically, we got nothing in return because we had noting to offer. 

[Taro T]

29 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

The one complaint I have, is that UPL should have been brought back up to get at least an additional 20 starts with the Sabres. That way the organization would have a better idea of what the goaltending needs are at the NHL Level and if UPL is truly an option 

Just playing Devil's Advocate here.  What if they already know what they have with him, public votes of confidence not withstanding?  

[Taro T]

20 minutes ago, JohnC said:

What asset could he have gotten for what he had that he was willing to ship out? Miller probably had the most value but he was recovering from a surgery. Basically, we got nothing in return because we had noting to offer. 

Anderson & Hinostroza might have brought back reasonable returns (meaning better than a 5th round pick each).  Would rather have them contributing to "meaningless" wins down the back stretch.  Hard pressed to seeing any other UFA bringing back a return worth mentioning.

Doubt even Pysyk would've brought much back.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Anderson & Hinostroza might have brought back reasonable returns (meaning better than a 5th round pick each).  Would rather have them contributing to "meaningless" wins down the back stretch.  Hard pressed to seeing any other UFA bringing back a return worth mentioning.

Doubt even Pysyk would've brought much back.

There were reports that Anderson would have been amenable to going back home and play for Florida. Florida had no interest. There is a good chance that Hinostroza will be brought back next year. By all accounts Granato has an affinity for players who are fast. Hinostroza falls in that category. I realize that on this site Bjork often gets skewered. I wouldn't be surprised if he returns because Granato favors players with speed. And he definitely has that attribute.  

[Brawndo]

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

Just playing Devil's Advocate here.  What if they already know what they have with him, public votes of confidence not withstanding?  

I’m not sure how they could make an accurate assessment of His NHL Ability. 

Sure He was 2-5-2 in His Appearances with the Sabres this season, but that was before the team started improving.

He also had the best analytics, albeit in a small sample size, of the three main Sabres Goalies this season. 

Since January He has been playing behind an ECHL Level Defense for a Team that gives up a lot of scoring chances. 

Rochester is going to have minimal legitimate NHL Prospects on Defense next season even if Ryan Johnson signs, so it will probably be a heavy amount of AHL Veteran Defenseman  next season, not the best situation for a NHL Prospect to be in next year. 

[Taro T]

28 minutes ago, JohnC said:

There were reports that Anderson would have been amenable to going back home and play for Florida. Florida had no interest. There is a good chance that Hinostroza will be brought back next year. By all accounts Granato has an affinity for players who are fast. Hinostroza falls in that category. I realize that on this site Bjork often gets skewered. I wouldn't be surprised if he returns because Granato favors players with speed. And he definitely has that attribute.  

Bjork will return because he is under contract & nobody will take him.  Doubt he gets a regular shift though.

[Flashsabre]

Gibson is Sieve City for the Ducks tonight against the Blues.

He has not been good in 3 years.

That Minnesota-St. Louis series will be crazy. Interesting to see if the Blues go with Husso or Binnington in net.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Flashsabre

[JohnC]

9 hours ago, Taro T said:

Bjork will return because he is under contract & nobody will take him.  Doubt he gets a regular shift though.

He's a utility player who will play intermittently. He's also useful as a PK. 

[Archie Lee]

After watching San Jose beat Vegas last night, if San Jose decides to go to younger, then I will throw out Reimer and Bonino as trade options for veteran goalie and veteran bottom 6 centre. Both were good. Reimer made several enormous saves. 

[sweetlou]

9 hours ago, Taro T said:

Bjork will return because he is under contract & nobody will take him.  Doubt he gets a regular shift though.

Could trade him to Arizona for 5th rd pick.  They like those young guys who have not proven anything and on cheap contracts.

[sweetlou]

With Portillo and Levi going back to college, I would keep UPL with Amerks to start next year.  Sign either Subban or Toker to be in AHL as well.  

Sabres need to get stronger in goal and depth is key because of injuries.  

They can growth more proven goalie as starter for next two years,  Kuemper, Holtby, or Fluery, or go with less proven commodities like Husso, Kahkonen, Georgiev, or DeSmith.