The Sabres Roster - What do we have and what do we need?

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

We have:

Two good lines

Two good D-pairs

What we need:

Two more of each.

A goalie.

I think they have a good 4th line.   It’s just the 3rd line that’s the issue 

you really just need one more quality Dman when everyone is healthy 

and yes a goalie would be good but I think if you have 6 quality dmen the goaltending would be much jimproved 

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, pi2000 said:

I agree in that you can always reduce goals against by improving your depth on defense and getting the forwards to commit defensively.... both of which are significant needs for Buffalo. 

That said, IMHO their GAA would benefit more greatly from an upgrade in net than anything else.

Don’t agree   Playing 2/3 AHL level Dmen each night is killing them.  
 

even if you are right.  It’s the goaltending, not the D.  Who the heck is available for them to trade for ?

with the news that horvat  turned down the Canucks latest offer, it could increase the odds of them trading Demko.  Then again, it’s not like he lit the world on fire so far this year 

Edited December 12, 2022 by Crusader1969

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Really?  How many guys play a top 6 role in the NHL?  Quick math says 192 (6 x 32).  Guess where Casey sits?  He is tied for 134th in pts and is tied for 151st in P/GP.  That's a top 6 level on most NHL teams.  I also think he played very well with Tuch and Tage in the game against Pitt.  

Let’s look at this from a different perspective. 
 

Here is the breakdown of the percentage of points that each player in the Sabres Top 6 has generated at 5v5 

Thompson 59%

Skinner 69% (nice)

Tuch 75%

Cozens 63% 

Quinn 63% 

Peterka 86%

 

Mitts has generated five points or 31% of His Total Points at 5v5

For those that care about plus/minus every player in the Sabres Top 6 is a positive player. 

Mitts is -12 

And Mitts Advance Stats are well, not good 

Mitts is very good at face offs, but Cody Eakin was probably the best at this last year for the team. 
When a face off needed to be won, Eakin was put out for it with instructions to GTFO the ice after the puck was dropped. 
Eakin certainly is not a Top 6 Player under Granato. 
 

Mitts is more of a PP and Face Off Specialist, He is not a Top 6 Forward.  
 

Also Krebs has the exact number of 5v5 points that Mitts does with 100% of Kreb’s Points coming 5v5. He is a minus 3 for those asking. 
 

With Hinostronza out and the fact it’s only three games, I can see why Mitts is the choice. If there is a long term injury to the Top 6, He would not be the correct option 

[Brawndo]

20 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

Don’t agree   Playing 2/3 AHL level Dmen each night is killing them.  
 

even if you are right.  It’s the goaltending, not the D.  Who the heck is available for them to trade for ?

with the news that horvat  turned down the Canucks latest offer, it could increase the odds of them trading Demko.  Then again, it’s not like he lit the world on fire so far this year 

Demko has looked good in previous years when the Canucks were not a complete tire fire in front of Him. He is out until mid January, He might be a much better use of the Potential Chychrun Trade Assets 

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

Demko has looked good in previous years when the Canucks were not a complete tire fire in front of Him. He is out until mid January, He might be a much better use of the Potential Chychrun Trade Assets 

Wouldn’t he be playing in front of another tire fire if 2 or 3 of Bryson, Pilut, fitz and or Clague playing in front of him ? 
ill add, that I’m not adding any goalie who isn’t an UFA at the end of the year until I have Levi signed, sealed and delivered 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Crusader1969

[Brawndo]

15 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

Wouldn’t he be playing in front of another tire fire if 2 or 3 of Bryson, Pilut, fitz and or Clague playing in front of him ? 

None of the Canucks Pairings are good this season, so with the Sabres it would only be 16-18 minutes a night. It would feel like a vacation 

[Refuting]

They need a TONY TWIST 

[Doohicksie]

3 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I also think he played very well with Tuch and Tage in the game against Pitt.  

I thought he tried hard but he was out of sync with them.