Sabres Sign UFA Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin 2 Years 2.75 Million AAV

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

So why was he in the throwaway pile in Toronto?

 

Just now, thewookie1 said:

Cost is my guess

And they are allergic to actually playing defense in Toronto; ask all their ex-goalies.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

So why was he in the throwaway pile in Toronto?

Is the answer because Dubas is throwing anything at a wall to see what'll stick w/ 3/4's of his cap tied up in F's and wasn't fully cognizant that teams ice 6 players regularly & not just 3?  (Yeah, yeah, it only SEEMS like 3/4's of the cap.)

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

Never heard of him

Can’t be good then.  

[Flashsabre]

Because they needed funds to pay for their high risk goaltending duo of Murray and Samsonov😜

[Crusader1969]

45 minutes ago, apuszczalowski said:

Another Meh signing

Wasn't good enough for the Leafs, but if we are honest, that might be a good thing because what do they know about defence (and goaltending?)

In what way was he not good enough for the leafs ????  Assume you have the basic understanding of the salary cap

[HoosierDaddy]

Here's a write-up from when we was traded to Toronto in February:

https://thehockeywriters.com/maple-leafs-address-concerns-lyubushkin-ritchie-trade/

The upshot is that he's a stay at home D-man who blocks shots and has a nasty streak. Sounds to me like what this team was lacking. 

[Curt]

50 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Trouble staying healthy, or never good enough to play a regular top 6 role?  At the NHL level prior to last season when he played 77 games...

 

18-19 41GP
19-20 51GP
20-21 42GP

18-19 was rookie season, he was probably just breaking in, 19-20 was a 70 game season, 20-21 was a 56 game season and he actually played a few games in the KHL too.   Obviously doesn’t explain everything but his games missed are less extreme than if those were full seasons.

[Curt]

I like this signing.

He isn’t a star by any means, but he checks a lot of boxes.

RHD - check

Physical/Defensive D - check

Russian NHLer for baby Ruskies - check

Seems he could reasonably be paired with either Power or Bryson in the bottom 4.  Can be a primary PKer with Samuelsson.

[Huckleberry]

Our analytics department coming though 🙂

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, Curt said:

I like this signing.

He isn’t a star by any means, but he checks a lot of boxes.

RHD - check

Physical/Defensive D - check

Russian NHLer for baby Ruskies - check

Seems he could reasonably be paired with either Power or Bryson in the bottom 4.  Can be a primary PKer with Samuelsson.

Me thinks they expect an influx of russians next year for sure.

[bob_sauve28]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Samuelsson - Dahlin

Power - Jokiharju

Bryson - Lyubushkin

- - -

Roster looks pretty much filled in now 

I hope they get Pysyk as 7th d-man 

[Thorner]

9 minutes ago, Curt said:

I like this signing.

He isn’t a star by any means, but he checks a lot of boxes.

RHD - check

Physical/Defensive D - check

Russian NHLer for baby Ruskies - check

Seems he could reasonably be paired with either Power or Bryson in the bottom 4.  Can be a primary PKer with Samuelsson.

Agree, Adams did what was necessary in bringing in this dude and Comrie. Not saying I/one couldn’t have hoped for better, but the holes have been reasonably filled. In the conservative way most predicted, too. 

The next move, if there is one, could potentially be the “exciting” one. But I’m not holding my breath for that. 

[bob_sauve28]

 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

Perfect signing. RHD that is defensive and physical

 

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Exactly what they were looking for.

Right-handed, physical.

 

1 hour ago, NJhopelessSabresfan66 said:

Defensive physical defenseman. A RHD to boot. Definitely helps.

So he is physical.  I wonder if he has grit too? 
 

[Gatorman0519]

The Leaf fans are not happy.  Take it for what it is worth. 

[Zamboni]

1 minute ago, Gatorman0519 said:

The Leaf fans are not happy.  Take it for what it is worth. 

In other words… Their constant emotion.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

2 hours ago, Weave said:

Wtf is he?

Beat me to it.

Former Leaf Dman ...

[Taro T]

28 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I hope they get Pysyk as 7th d-man 

Wouldn't be surprised if they do.  But 1st, he's going to see if anybody will give him a legit shot at top 6.  If he signs in Buffalo would expect it more likely in an August time frame after the agent has beaten all the bushes.

 

[The Jokeman]

44 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I hope they get Pysyk as 7th d-man 

Who's our 3rd Dman? Pilut? Ick. 

[RangerDave]

33 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

 

 

So he is physical.  I wonder if he has grit too? 
 

He is physical.  Good, we need that.

How does he compare with Rasmus Ristolainen?  He was physical.  Is this guy better, worse, or the same as Risto was for us?

 

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Who's our 3rd Dman? Pilut? Ick. 

Huh?  

The 3rd D-man is Power.  Hoping the 4 is the Russian and 5-6 are currently Bryson- Jokiharju.  

Fitzgerald is currently 7 though that likely will change.

[Pimlach]

5 minutes ago, RangerDave said:

He is physical.  Good, we need that.

How does he compare with Rasmus Ristolainen?  He was physical.  Is this guy better, worse, or the same as Risto was for us?

 

He is nowhere near as good offensively.   Probably not as physical either.  He could be better defensively, we shall see.  

[PerreaultForever]

This is not a terrible signing. Not earth shattering or game changing but an upgrade over Pysyk or Fitzgerald, depending on how you want to look at it. If Dahlin stays on the right side I see him as third pairing but he could possibly pair with Power too. 

The Russian on the roster thing might work too. Good signing. 

[matter2003]

Adams continues to make these sneaky good under the radar signings that are going to pay off in a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" way

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Is the answer because Dubas is throwing anything at a wall to see what'll stick w/ 3/4's of his cap tied up in F's and wasn't fully cognizant that teams ice 6 players regularly & not just 3?  (Yeah, yeah, it only SEEMS like 3/4's of the cap.)

He didn’t play in the Soo as a junior.