Vinnie Reports to Rochester

[Brawndo]

 

[Huckleberry]

Good soldier 🙂

[inkman]

Huh.  Didn’t think this was in the fold. 

[DarthEbriate]

Now... release your anger. No other NHL team wanted you. Only your hatred can help the Amerks break out of their funk and make your 'Stroka the unquestioned first call-up back to the big squad.

[Taro T]

Good for us.  Bummer for him.  He's been a good teammate & is very well liked.  Too bad he couldn't stay in the show this season but he literally is behind 13 other skaters.

Wonder if he makes his 2nd trip to AZ next year or becomes a Blackhawk for the 3rd time?

Or if he follows Sheahan to Europe then?

[dudacek]

Remember when our 4th line was Bjork/Eakin/Hayden, Mark Jankowski and Drake Caggiula were regular options and Hinostroza and Asplund were usually in our top nine?

And now none of them can crack the roster?

That was last year.

Edited January 24, 2023 by dudacek

[Marvin]

25 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Remember when our 4th line was Bjork/Eakin/Hayden, Mark Jankowski and Drake Caggiula were regular options and Hinostroza and Asplund were usually in our top nine?

And now none of them can crack the roster?

That was last year.

Wow, is that a reminder of how far we have come in 1 season.

[GASabresIUFAN]

42 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Remember when our 4th line was Bjork/Eakin/Hayden, Mark Jankowski and Drake Caggiula were regular options and Hinostroza and Asplund were usually in our top nine?

And now none of them can crack the roster?

That was last year.

Most of those guys shouldn't have been here last year, but I digress.  

As the deep pipeline matures guys like Mitts, Krebs, Jost, and VO will be pushed out.  Z and KO are the next 2 to move on although maybe not for another season.  

Hopefully KA finds Vinnie a good home at the deadline and hopefully we stay healthy and don't need him to return.

Edited January 24, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[dudacek]

12 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Most of those guys shouldn't have been here last year, but I digress.  

As the deep pipeline matures guys like Mitts, Krebs, Jost, and VO will be pushed out.  Z and KO are the next 2 to move on although maybe not for another season.  

Hopefully KA finds Vinnie a good home at the deadline and hopefully we stay healthy and don't need him to return.

Generally agree with your overarching point.

But I remain confident that Krebs is part of the long-term core. He will be a valuable 3C as soon as next year and has upside beyond that.

I am surprised how quickly the shine came off him given the Granato/Adams track record of developing young talent. He’s 21. Think of where Cozens was 90-odd games into his career and how far he’s come since.

Edited January 24, 2023 by dudacek

[GASabresIUFAN]

15 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Generally agree with your overarching point.

But I remain confident that Krebs is part of the long-term core. He will be a valuable 3C as soon as next year and has upside beyond that.

I am surprised how quickly the shine came off him given the Granato/Adams track record of developing young talent. He’s 21. Think of where Cozens was 90-odd games into his career and how far he’s come since.

It’s not a shine questions. It’s more of a $ question.  You can’t keep everyone.  With Skinner, Tuch, TnT, and Mule signed long-term and Big $ going to be spent on Dahlin, Power, Cozens and then probably Quinn and JJP, you are going to have to have cap space for another 14 players.  If UPL becomes the goaltender long-term, he’ll have to paid as well.

Here are the numbers.  I estimate that adding Cozens, Power and Dahlin to Mule, TnT, Tuch and Skinner will cost 50-52 million.  Even at 85 million, we’re talking 33-35 million for 16 players.  Give JJP and Quinn 6 each and now were down to 21-23 for 14 players.  I expect Krebs and Jost to get 3 year deals, but after that, I think there time here could be over.  
 

Why? Savoie, Rosen, Kulich, Östlund, Bloom, Nadeau, Kisakov, Neuchev among others.  Even if only half these guys make an impact, they are going to force current guys to move on to help stay cap compliant.  In fact, I see Kulich and Savoie replacing Mitts and VO as early as 2024-25.

Edited January 24, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, Huckleberry said:

Good, well-paid soldier 🙂

fify

I could see where he might actually prefer at least a stint in Rochester where he's more likely to see increased ice time.

[pi2000]

Still think he should be a regular in Buffalo.    IMO he brings more to yhe table than guys like Girgensons and Mittlestadt... and if we're talking straight up on ice contribution then throw Okposo in their too. 

I thought he'd be a perfect linemate for Krebs, both can skate would put the defense on their heels.

Whatever Kevyn. 

[K-9]

4 hours ago, dudacek said:

Remember when our 4th line was Bjork/Eakin/Hayden, Mark Jankowski and Drake Caggiula were regular options and Hinostroza and Asplund were usually in our top nine?

And now none of them can crack the roster?

That was last year.

That’s indicative of something and there’s a word for it I think. 

[matter2003]

5 hours ago, dudacek said:

Remember when our 4th line was Bjork/Eakin/Hayden, Mark Jankowski and Drake Caggiula were regular options and Hinostroza and Asplund were usually in our top nine?

And now none of them can crack the roster?

That was last year.

That's why we are significantly better and trending upward quickly...

[Thorner]

6 hours ago, dudacek said:

Remember when our 4th line was Bjork/Eakin/Hayden, Mark Jankowski and Drake Caggiula were regular options and Hinostroza and Asplund were usually in our top nine?

And now none of them can crack the roster?

That was last year.

Forward health is a bit of a factor, too. We’ve been exceptionally healthy upfront as opposed to last season, where we had a more normal result 

For me there isn’t much drop off from the Girgs to the Asplunds and Hinostozas at least, in fact I’d probably play Asplund above him by choice. One or two injuries and both are back in and it could be top 9 if a C goes down (Asplund fill in for, say, Jost). 

But to you’re point when healthy, the top 9 in particular doesn’t look “crackable” for your average adequate 4th line guy which is real progress too 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Thorny

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

Forward health is a big of a factor, too

Definitely. It’s crazy how healthy we’ve been up front.

Weve really only used 14 forwards this year, plus 2 games for Sheahan and 1 for Bjork.

Last year it was 22 and 18 of them had at least 18 games.

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Definitely. It’s crazy how healthy we’ve been up front.

Weve really only used 14 forwards this year, plus 2 games for Sheahan and 1 for Bjork.

Last year it was 22 and 18 of them had at least 18 games.

I really hope something in their training is somehow a factor and it’s not just random luck 

[Taro T]

19 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I really hope something in their training is somehow a factor and it’s not just random luck 

Really expect it's a combo of 3 things plus luck.

1.  Most of the players aren't being asked to consistently play above their talent level.  And of the few that are, it's 1 slot up and playing w/ a guy that could be playing another level higher himself.  Don't underrated the value of not being forced into maximum exertion at all moments. 

2.  The team is crazy young.  Though a few guys still need to develop man strength, almost all but 3 guys should be at a very low risk of a soft tissue injury.  And they're at the age where they recover from bumps & bruises quicker too.

3.  It was reported that management was bringing in people to help them revamp their training, practice, & nutrition guidelines to minimize injuries & recovery times.  Surprising it would be effective this quickly.  But if there were major revisions, it's not out of the question.

And, then there's plain old luck.  Jokiharju, Samuelsson, & even Dahlin's injuries were in no small part bad luck.  Only Lyubushkin's was a product of his style of play.  That bad luck offsets good luck overall.

[LGR4GM]

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

Remember when our 4th line was Bjork/Eakin/Hayden, Mark Jankowski and Drake Caggiula were regular options and Hinostroza and Asplund were usually in our top nine?

And now none of them can crack the roster?

That was last year.

But the national media told me the Sabres didn't improve from last year because we didn't waste a ton of money on UFAs.

[GASabresIUFAN]

5 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

But the national media told me the Sabres didn't improve from last year because we didn't waste a ton of money on UFAs.

You and I laughed about this is the offseason.  Det and Ott had major roster holes to fill and not enough in the pipeline to fill them.  Buffalo had added Tuch and Krebs during last season and then the kids to the forward group.  We didn't need or want any UFA forwards.  

I still wish however that KA had made a run at someone better than Lyubashkin for the defense or get Lyubushkin and someone else.  It's just not his philosophy at this point.  

[Doohicksie]

7 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I still wish however that KA had made a run at someone better than Lyubashkin for the defense or get Lyubushkin and someone else.  It's just not his philosophy at this point.  

I think Bryson is serviceable as a defenseman, but I think we'd be that much better if we had someone that could bump him down to 7D.  Who in the system currently could replace him as an upgrade next year?  If the answer is no one, I think he's going to have to go outside for help.

According to the depth chart, the defense is pretty bare, with no waiver exempt Dmen, and no one under 25, in Rochester.  All their contracts are up this summer (two of them UFA).

And I don't see anyone from the unsigned prospects that will jump right into the NHL next year, unless Johnson decides not to go the free agent route and signs, has a really good camp, and displaces Bryson (the chance of all three of those happening is not great at all).

The only other scenario I can see is that the defensive equivalent of a Jost pops up but I think that's far more unlikely to happen with a defenseman; the best you can hope for is another Clague.  Kevyn is going to have to acquire a mature D prospect or two that are ready to potentially step up to the NHL next year, or stand pat (which would be a mistake).

Edited January 25, 2023 by Doohickie

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

I think Bryson is serviceable as a defenseman, but I think we'd be that much better if we had someone that could bump him down to 7D.  Who in the system currently could replace him as an upgrade next year?  If the answer is no one, I think he's going to have to go outside for help.

According to the depth chart, the defense is pretty bare, with no waiver exempt Dmen, and no one under 25, in Rochester.  All their contracts are up this summer (two of them UFA).

And I don't see anyone from the unsigned prospects that will jump right into the NHL next year, unless Johnson decides not to go the free agent route and signs, has a really good camp, and displaces Bryson (the chance of all three of those happening is not great at all).

The only other scenario I can see is that the defensive equivalent of a Jost pops up but I think that's far more unlikely to happen with a defenseman; the best you can hope for is another Clague.  Kevyn is going to have to acquire a mature D prospect or two that are ready to potentially step up to the NHL next year, or stand pat (which would be a mistake).

Joker has been much better and is meshing with Power. They are playing well together the last few games. If this continues there is less pressure to find a 4D. Power will only improve and Joker may become a great fit.

I too would like an upgrade to Bryson and wouldn’t be upset if he is moved while Clague remains as 7D. Someone who is a solid 5D that can fill in at 4 would be ideal. LD or RD, doesn’t matter to me now that Dahlin is owning RD. Someone like that could get loose at the deadline for the Sabres taking on salary, instead of picks/prospects. I know picks/prospects are usually the currency but teams may be desperate to add a high priced piece like Karlsson, Kane, Toews or O’Reilly.