Sabres Sign Matt Savoie, Noah Östlund and Jiri Kulich to ELCs

[Brawndo]

51 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Maybe we need to draft some D?

Done 

[GASabresIUFAN]

5 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Done 

Do you really think Lyubushkin, Joki and Bryson are part of the longterm solution?  

[dudacek]

9 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Do you really think Lyubushkin, Joki and Bryson are part of the longterm solution?  

As support pieces? Why not?

[GASabresIUFAN]

23 minutes ago, dudacek said:

As support pieces? Why not?

That's ok for the next 2 years, but then we have to re-sign Dahlin and Power and we are going to need a couple of prospects ready to step in.  Other than Johnson, we have no one and he may not sign.  

Compare that to the forwards.  Savoie, Östlund, Rosen, Kulich, Bloom, Nadeau, Kisakov and others are signed in the system and will be fighting for jobs in the NHL maybe as early as next year in some case, but certainly in the next 2-3 years.  That means as guys like Z, KO, VO, Asplund's contracts expire, we have cheap but quality talent to take the jobs.  

We don't have that same luxury on defense.  Obviously we can continue to fill in with guys like Lyubishkin, but that's not the best solution.

Edited July 16, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

That's ok for the next 2 years, but then we have to re-sign Dahlin and Power and we are going to need a couple of prospects ready to step in.  Other than Johnson, we have no one and he may not sign.  

Compare that to the forwards.  Savoie, Östlund, Rosen, Kulich, Bloom, Nadeau, Kisakov and others are signed in the system and will be fighting for jobs in the NHL maybe as early as next year in some case, but certainly in the next 2-3 years.  That means as guys like Z, KO, VO, Asplund's contracts expire, we have cheap but quality talent to take the jobs.  

We don't have that same luxury on defense.  Obviously we can continue to fill in with guys like Lyubishkin, but that's not the best solution.

They have 3 2nd round picks so they have a lot of ammunition for restocking the D pipeline.  And if a 1-2 year stopgap or 2 waiting for those reinforcements is/are necessary to fill in the 3rd & 4th pairings, those guys are pretty much always available for anywhere from Adams favorite FA price tag up to the Fitzgerald price tag.  Barring major injury, they don't need to replace any of the top 3 & likely are set at 4 as well.

It's a concern, but IMHO it's pretty much where C was last year.  1 draft later & that pipeline should be deep enough.  Fully expect we can say the same about the D next August.

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Do you really think Lyubushkin, Joki and Bryson are part of the longterm solution?  

That wasn’t Your Question. Your question was should We draft some D. 
 

The Sabres, as You know, in the past five drafts have spend Two First Overall Picks, 31st and 32nd on Defenseman, all still under the Age of 23.
 

They have drafted Defenseman.  

Jokiharju and Bryson are part of a group of players who need to establish what Their Roles are moving into the future. 

Bryson has proven to have good defensive metrics so He could be a good 3rd pairing D-Man.

The Sabres have constructed a very good analytics department who will be able to find players such as Lyubuskin on cheap deals when needed.
 

In terms Power’s Partner on the second pairing, if or more likely when Jokiharju doesn’t measure up to the task, a trade or less likely another UFA Signing could fill the role. One advantage of having arguably the deepest forward prospect in the NHL is that one of them could be used as a trade chip. Couple that with Two First Round Picks and Four Second Round Picks in the next two drafts, the team does have trade capital. 
 

I do believe the Sabres are going to follow the Nashville Model, particularly when it comes to building the defense. They have two dominant defenseman in Josi and Ekholm and usually one very good homegrown defenseman. The Sabres potentially have that in Dahlin, Power and Samuelsson. They usually have a lower pairing drafted defenseman (Bryson) and a UFA Signing.  They also have a player they traded for, TBD in this case. 
 

Hopefully Ryan Johnson decides to sign after Minnesota completes it season as He would be two to three years away from becoming a NHL Regular if He continues on His Development Pathway.  Lindgren is probably three to four years, but can project into a second pairing role if He or Power can play on their off hand.

 

That being said I would have drafted one of the RHD at 41, but that’s just me. 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by Brawndo

[Flashsabre]

People are really happy about Savoie and love Kulich this week but I think people are really over looking Östlund.

The kid has world class skating, skill and brains. All he is missing is bulk. If he can get to a solid 185lbs then you have a star player there. Interested to see how he does in the 3 on 3 tournament tomorrow.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Flashsabre

[Cage]

Here's a good summary of where each of them will likely play next year.  For Ostland and Kulich there appear to be a number of options...

https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2022/07/buffalo-sabres-sign-three-draft-picks.html

 

[dudacek]

9 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

People are really happy about Savoie and love Kulich this week but I think people are really over looking Östlund.

The kid has world class skating, skill and brains. All he is missing is bulk. If he can get to a solid 185lbs then you have a star player there. Interested to see how he does in the 3 on 3 tournament tomorrow.

He came as advertised.

Smart, good pace, always moving himself and the puck where it should go.

Also, not physically strong.

[bob_sauve28]

 

Skinny!

[JustOneParade]

He looks like the kid that mows my yard. Got some growing to do. Get him something to eat FFS.

[GoPuckYourself]

This just tells me next year they will be pulling a Ottawa, then we can welcome Patrick Kane. 😅