Layout Your Offseason Plan

[msw2112]

I'd take the Kane equivalent (veteran player on the downside of a HOF career) on defense, but the Sabres don't need another small, skilled, scoring forward who will command a decent-sized contract.  I also don't know much about Kane as a leader.  He was immature as a younger player and I think he's matured in general, but I don't know how much his presence would add to the locker room.  If we wasn't a Buffalo native, I doubt he'd be too high on the radar.

[TRIP65]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

 

To me "We should fire the assistant coaches" is the ultimate in fans mindlessly needing someone to blame.

Do you have any idea of what any of our assistant coaches actually did, or didn't do, to contribute to the issues you listed? Yet you want someone to lose their job?

My favourite example of this is the abysmal offence of the 2021 Sabres. The forwards coach of that team was Don Granato, someone who clearly has plenty of insight about how to generate offence.

I think what I like about Kevyn Adams is how he does not seem to be driven by finding people to blame, or to sacrifice; his focus is on support and solutions.

Granto's strength was convincing players to play to their skill without getting Chastised for Mistakes. Bench coaches handle the schemes. So this years Offense Bench coach and Granto did well. Goalie coach did well? Penalty? Even Granto did terrible managing pulling goalies. MISSED the Playoffs with a Rookie coming in giving them a 4-2-1 record. Comrie since injury 5-1-1 yet other Goalies played. Missed Playoffs by 1-4 points depending on last two games.

Sabres SHOULD have been in playoffs, NOT on the players. On the GM trade deadline and on Coach/ Bench coaches. Giving Adams and Granto the pass!!!

3 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

They could have went for him but didn’t. They aren’t going to do it now. They don’t want to pay another winger over $9 million.

I like the player but NJ gave up a lot for him and will extend him.

Jersey doesn't have the CAP

[TRIP65]

3 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

We can go that route but unless we go all in I'm more inclined to spread the money around on mid level guys that fill holes and roles and let the homegrown talent we already have be the core with the (eventual) big salaries. 

This is why I'd go after a guy like Nosek. He's everything we wanted Cody Eakin to be but he wasn't. PK instantly improves. 

That is fine but we need more scoring from other 3 lines or BETTER defense and two really good Goaltenders to keep scores 3 or under.

Something has to be different than this year. 91 pts, if we get that, NOT enough.

3 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

It was a rookie year they were adjusting.

I"ll tell you what dont be surprised when quinn hits 40g and JJ hitting 30.

Those 2 are going to explode next year 

Quinn yes, don't see Peterka doing that. Actually see Kulich or Savoie getting there first. Peterka was streaky at Amerks.

[TRIP65]

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

Personally don't want Willford canned at this point as a big part of the woes on D and on the PK can be attributed to the goaltending (primarily) and the focus on generating offense at nearly all times (secondarily).  

Am also good with bringing Bales back if he wants to come back. 

But, would need to hear a clear plan for how to improve the PP in '23-'24 before renewing the contract of either Ellis or the other guy that was an ECHL coach forever (whichever one was responsible for it).  Because that's been hot trash ever since Bob Wood left and the only reason it statistically didn't look horrible this year is the talent on the PP simply willed the 2 units to success for about 6 weeks towards the end of '22.

The entry is beyond horrible.  The structure is bad.  The movement is lacking.  etc, etc. 

There is too much talent for the PP to be this bad again next year.

Play defense in the middle not the wings, Don't pass across the Goaltender, don't pass unless you see where your going. Just a lot you see on BAD days from many players, not just Bryson, Clague. Dahlin as GREAT as he is some games, still Brutal. Sorry the defense with TWO #1's should be near TOP of the League.

[TRIP65]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

Lots of kane supporters in this thread.  😕

I was for Kane this year but we DON'T NEED HIM NOW TO LEARN. We need a younger scoring winger for Cozens.

[GoPuckYourself]

Sign free agents RD Damon Severson (32 pts/+9), LD Ryan Graves (26 pts/+34), G Antti Raanta (19W/3L, 2.23 GAA, 9.10 save %)- He is a smallish goalie who I think will relate to Levi really well.

I'd also really like to try and trade our 1st and Victor Oloffson for a 2nd line LW or 1st line and bump SKinner down perhaps unless we're not touching that line. I like JJ Peterka but I'm not so sure he's 2nd line material maybe a guy like Carter Verhage or maybe the Devils will deal us Meier (Would most likely cost next years 1st also)  like we should have gone after perhaps at the deadline. Make JJ Peterka earn a top spot, he did a good job as a rookie but a power forward like Meir or Verhage would be alot better option imo.

Draft RHD, Goalie prospects with some of the rest of our picks

Edited April 13, 2023 by GoPuckYourself

[Randall Flagg]

Just crazy what losing Samuelsson does to this team. Simply can't happen next year

[Doohicksie]

5 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

What about kitchen updates? 😉

They will be done before summer.

[French Collection]

7 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Just crazy what losing Samuelsson does to this team. Simply can't happen next year

Yes, they need another Samuelsson type. Graves fits that skill set.

[lowsabre]

Before clicking on this thread, I thought it'd be about what we as users would do in our own personal lives while we wait till the next season lol

Edited April 14, 2023 by lowsabre

[GASabresIUFAN]

Quote

 

This is the "Status Quo" Roster

Forwards: (Cap Cost $44,812,856 - This assumes QO's of 787,500 for Rousek and $2.25 mill for Jost)

lIne 1 Skinner TnT Tuch

line 2 JJP Cozens Quinn

line 3 VO Mitts Savoie

line 4 Rousek Krebs Greenway (Jost)

Defense: (Cap Cost - $19,652,381)

A. Dahlin Samuelson

B. Power Jokiharju

C. Stillman Lyubushkin

D. Bryson 

Goalies: (Cap Cost - $3,562,500)

Levi, UPL, and Comrie

Total Cap - $68,027,737 for a complete 23-man roster from internal players.  

Note: Clague's QO is 787,500.  

 

Off-season gameplan forwards - The Plan - 1. Trade VO for whatever KA can get. A 2nd rd pick may be enough.  2. Re-sign Girgensons and Jost. 3. Sign UFA Eric Haula for the 3rd or 4th line center job (2 years 3.5 per season).  Haula is an excellent 2-way player who can score and wins faceoffs.  Rousek and Kulich will be the 1st 2 recalls. Cap-wise trading VO and leaving Rousek in Rochester is a wash for adding Haula and bringing back Z.  (cap cost approx 44.850)

lIne 1 Skinner TnT Tuch

line 2 JJP Cozens Quinn

line 3 Mitts Haula Savoie

line 4 Girgensons Krebs Greenway (Jost)

Off-season gameplan defense - The Plan - 1. Trade/Waive Bryson.  2. Trade Jokiharju for a good D prospect. 3. Acquire Joel Edmondson from Montreal. Joel is 29 and has 2 years left on his contract. Adding Orlov and Edmondson while subtracting Joki and Bryson would add about 5.65 to the cap bringing the cost of the D group to 25.3

A. Dahlin Samuelson

B. Power Orlov

C. Edmondson Lyubushkin

D. Stillman

Off-season gameplan Goaltender -  The Plan - 1. Move on from one of UPL or Comrie and send the other down to Rochester.  2. Signed Adin Hill to a 3-year deal at 3.5 per season.  Adding Hill while trading UPL and waiving Comrie to Rochester would bring the cost of the goalies to $5.125. (3.5 for Hill, .925 for Levi and .7 retained for Comrie.)

Total team cost approx 75.28.

Edited April 14, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[freester]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Off-season gameplan forwards - The Plan - 1. Trade VO for whatever KA can get. A 2nd rd pick may be enough.  2. Re-sign Girgensons and Jost. 3. Sign UFA Eric Haula for the 3rd or 4th line center job (2 years 3.5 per season).  Haula is an excellent 2-way player who can score and wins faceoffs.  Rousek and Kulich will be the 1st 2 recalls. Cap-wise trading VO and leaving Rousek in Rochester is a wash for adding Haula and bringing back Z.  (cap cost approx 44.850)

lIne 1 Skinner TnT Tuch

line 2 JJP Cozens Quinn

line 3 Mitts Haula Savoie

line 4 Girgensons Krebs Greenway (Jost)

Off-season gameplan defense - The Plan - 1. Trade/Waive Bryson.  2. Trade Jokiharju for a good D prospect. 3. Acquire Joel Edmondson from Montreal. Joel is 29 and has 2 years left on his contract. Adding Orlov and Edmondson while subtracting Joki and Bryson would add about 5.65 to the cap bringing the cost of the D group to 25.3

A. Dahlin Samuelson

B. Power Orlov

C. Edmondson Lyubushkin

D. Stillman

Off-season gameplan Goaltender -  The Plan - 1. Move on from one of UPL or Comrie and send the other down to Rochester.  2. Signed Adin Hill to a 3-year deal at 3.5 per season.  Adding Hill while trading UPL and waiving Comrie to Rochester would bring the cost of the goalies to $5.125. (3.5 for Hill, .925 for Levi and .7 retained for Comrie.)

Total team cost approx 75.28.

UPL can’t go to Rochester without being subjected to waivers and he would definitely get claimed. 

[Huckleberry]

I would  have toews come in and do a physical and see how far he is at.   Seems not a lot of teams in the league want him and might be a bottom 6 steal.  

O'Reilly if he wants to play here, but seems Terry was pretty pissed off about his comments back then.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Huckleberry

[Randall Flagg]

5 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I would  have toews come in and do a physical and see how far he is at.   Seems not a lot of teams in the league want him and might be a bottom 6 steal.  

O'Reilly if he wants to play here, but seems Terry was pretty pissed off about his comments back then.

Looked like Toews was terrible this year

[Huckleberry]

Just now, Randall Flagg said:

Looked like Toews was terrible this year

Yeah long term covid really ***** him up, just curious how much he can recover though.

[Brawndo]

On 4/12/2023 at 11:53 PM, dudacek said:

Wasn't on my radar because I wasn't aware he was a pending UFA, but this makes a ton of sense. He's the right type of player.

$6 seems high to me. Ben Chiarot got the best D contract last year at $4.7, which was way high for a stay-at-home 2nd-pairing guy. $4/4 would seem to be the minimum though

Other pending UFAs who may fit the profile: Dumoulin, Severson, Gavrikov, Soucy, Gudas, Holl, Mikkola, Mayfield, Clifton, Schenn, Dehaan

 

It's also worth noting that the Devils picked up Graves for a 2nd because a cash-strapped Avs team couldn't afford to keep him. That happens when a team can't sign players they want to and either move that player, or someone else to make room. And, of course, there are teams who might be looking to shake things up.

Pending RFAs: Dunn, K'Andre Miller, Byram, Borgen, Bouchard, Bjornfot, Bahl, Fehervary, Peeke

Players on cash-tight teams: Ceci, Kulak (Edm needs to sign Bouchard), a Vegas D (holes at forward and goal, no cap space)

Possible shakeups: Tanev, Zadorov, Hanifan (all entering their last contract year with Cal), Roy, Walker (entering last year, LA has kids ready to move up) Dillon, Demelo (entering last year of contract,Jets have 5 guys over $3 million on blueline),

 

And @SwampD, you'll be happy to know that without signing a single contract in the off-season the Sabres are already over the cap floor thanks to the combined $15 million raises of Mule, Cozens and Tage kicking in. And Ben Bishop's contract is nowhere to be found

Capfriendly has them with $19 million to spend on re-signing or replacing Vinnie, Girgs, Kyle, Anderson and Jost. It will be very interesting to see how they will use it.

If Ryan Johnson chooses UFA, I imagine Adams and Co will do the same with the compensatory pick 

[Huckleberry]

I would let go of Okoposo and Girgensons and resign Jost.

[Buffalonill]

30 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I would  have toews come in and do a physical and see how far he is at.   Seems not a lot of teams in the league want him and might be a bottom 6 steal.  

O'Reilly if he wants to play here, but seems Terry was pretty pissed off about his comments back then.

He is done ... 

And ROR can go suck an egg 

12 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I would let go of Okoposo and Girgensons and resign Jost.

This

Edited April 14, 2023 by Buffalonill

[dudacek]

43 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I would  have toews come in and do a physical and see how far he is at.   Seems not a lot of teams in the league want him and might be a bottom 6 steal.  

O'Reilly if he wants to play here, but seems Terry was pretty pissed off about his comments back then.

 

38 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Looked like Toews was terrible this year

 

The concept of Toews is highly enticing: a competitive, 2-way 3C with 3 cups and the ability to win faceoffs, who can move up the lineup in a pinch and share some wisdom with the kids on a short-term deal as an upgrade from Jost.

The idea of a player like that between between Peterka and Quinn next year is enticing.

I suspect that's not what you're getting though. I worry about entitlement issues and how much he has left. He'd have to come in with an Anderson mindset, and I just don't think that's who Toews is.

I'd be taking a look though. Granato will have some insight and a connection.

Edited April 14, 2023 by dudacek

[Pimlach]

51 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I would  have toews come in and do a physical and see how far he is at.   Seems not a lot of teams in the league want him and might be a bottom 6 steal.  

O'Reilly if he wants to play here, but seems Terry was pretty pissed off about his comments back then.

Unfortunately, his chance to come to Buffalo and to be a leader came and went.  He went to a perfect situation for him in St Louis, and maybe another good one in Toronto too.   Not a fit for this group.  

[msw2112]

58 minutes ago, dudacek said:

 

 

The concept of Toews is highly enticing: a competitive, 2-way 3C with 3 cups and the ability to win faceoffs, who can move up the lineup in a pinch and share some wisdom with the kids on a short-term deal as an upgrade from Jost.

The idea of a player like that between between Peterka and Quinn next year is enticing.

I suspect that's not what you're getting though. I worry about entitlement issues and how much he has left. He'd have to come in with an Anderson mindset, and I just don't think that's who Toews is.

I'd be taking a look though. Granato will have some insight and a connection.

Toews is a pretty humble guy for the career that he's had.  If he was healthy and had some gas left in the tank, he'd be a great add to the Sabres and would be a fantastic presence in the locker room.  Unfortunately, I think that, given his health issues, he's probably done hockey-wise.

[Huckleberry]

22 minutes ago, msw2112 said:

Toews is a pretty humble guy for the career that he's had.  If he was healthy and had some gas left in the tank, he'd be a great add to the Sabres and would be a fantastic presence in the locker room.  Unfortunately, I think that, given his health issues, he's probably done hockey-wise.

Still would keep my eye on those health issues, long term covid is a peculiar thing.   He might have a good summer and come back better.

[Carmel Corn]

Probably am repeating what others have already said.....

1. "Defensive" defenseman - maybe a Graves type defender with experience but still in his 20's.  Need to push Joki down to the 3rd pairing

2. Power forward who can play with grit and win puck battles, go to the net, etc.

3. A "1B" goalie who can shoulder a workload to compliment Levi

4. Assistant Coach upgrades - fix the D-zone coverage, PK and PP, maybe goaltending as well.

5. Strength and Conditioning experts to work with our young guys to improve their bodies for an 82 game + playoff grind

6. Addition by subtraction - KO, VO, Bryson move on.

[GASabresIUFAN]

12 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Adding Hill while trading UPL and waiving Comrie to Rochester would bring the cost of the goalies to $5.125. (3.5 for Hill, .925 for Levi and .7 retained for Comrie.)

 

9 hours ago, freester said:

UPL can’t go to Rochester without being subjected to waivers and he would definitely get claimed. 

I agree.

[GASabresIUFAN]

What should KA's greatest priority be this off-season?

Upgrading the defense?  Finding a partner for Levi or a starter to play ahead of him?  What about upgrading the number of 2-way forwards in the bottom 6?