Kevyn Adams in studio with WGR

[Broken Ankles]

I’ve asked my doctor to change my prescription of hopium to believium.  
 

[Brawndo]

15 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

Link?

Here is the article 

 

https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/sabres-peyton-krebs-mightve-found-niche-in-checking-role/

[LabattBlue]

49 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Here is the article 

 

https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/sabres-peyton-krebs-mightve-found-niche-in-checking-role/

Thx.  I still want replacements for KO and Girgs. 😂

[Mango]

20 hours ago, matter2003 said:

 

Carolina is the 2nd least hitting team in the NHL and they seem to be doing fine...

Admittedly I haven’t listened yet.

But I think there’s likely an agreement that the Sabres need to be a more physical and stronger hockey team. The discussion around hits are whether or not that’s a good metric. They’re almost separate conversations. 

[matter2003]

57 minutes ago, Mango said:

Admittedly I haven’t listened yet.

But I think there’s likely an agreement that the Sabres need to be a more physical and stronger hockey team. The discussion around hits are whether or not that’s a good metric. They’re almost separate conversations. 

 

Agree...you can be physical without hitting a ton. Sabres are plenty big enough to be more physical if they want to.

[GASabresIUFAN]

21 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

He mentioned that they had 4 goalies LAST year (and don't want to do that again)

He was referring to UPL Comrie Anderson and then later Levi

 

I went back and re-listened to the segment and he was talking about the goalies last season, but I still come away with the impression that the goalie structure for next season will be the 4 remaining; Levi, UPL, Comrie, and then Subban.  @JohnC has been very adamant that KA's going to keep the guys currently under contract and although I hate that idea, I'm coming around to the fact that the Sabres could very well have all 3 guys in the organization next fall without adding anyone from outside the organization.  This is not a smart strategy IMHO, but it very well could happen. 

Edited May 4, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[dudacek]

4 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I went back and re-listened to the segment and he was talking about the goalies last season, but I still come away with the impression that the goalie structure for next season will be the 4 remaining; Levi, UPL, Comrie, and then Subban.  @JohnC has been very adamant that KA's going to keep the guys currently under contract and although I hate that idea, I'm coming around to the fact that the Sabres could very well have all 3 guys in the organization next fall without adding anyone from outside the organization.  This is not a smart strategy IMHO, but it very could happen. 

Sounded like a real focus of post-season conversation upstairs has been the viability of a 3-goalie system.

Adams said only that it’s not ideal, but you can make it work. My impression is his path will be guided somewhat by his options, but I think we’re both just guessing.

[Randall Flagg]

23 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I went back and re-listened to the segment and he was talking about the goalies last season, but I still come away with the impression that the goalie structure for next season will be the 4 remaining; Levi, UPL, Comrie, and then Subban.  @JohnC has been very adamant that KA's going to keep the guys currently under contract and although I hate that idea, I'm coming around to the fact that the Sabres could very well have all 3 guys in the organization next fall without adding anyone from outside the organization.  This is not a smart strategy IMHO, but it very well could happen. 

It's fine that you believe this but the only time adams referred to the number 4 in the context of goalies was describing the situation in the 2022-2023 buffalo sabres season

[sabremike]

8 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Here is the article 

 

https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/sabres-peyton-krebs-mightve-found-niche-in-checking-role/

Killer Kreb!!!

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I went back and re-listened to the segment and he was talking about the goalies last season, but I still come away with the impression that the goalie structure for next season will be the 4 remaining; Levi, UPL, Comrie, and then Subban.  @JohnC has been very adamant that KA's going to keep the guys currently under contract and although I hate that idea, I'm coming around to the fact that the Sabres could very well have all 3 guys in the organization next fall without adding anyone from outside the organization.  This is not a smart strategy IMHO, but it very well could happen. 

You correctly stated what I believe the organization is going to do with respect to the goalie situation. In fact, based on how Levi looked in his stint, I'm even more convinced about this issue. Is it a risky? Yes. 

My center of attention in this offseason is watching to see how the GM will address the blueline unit. Is he going to bring in a #4 defenseman to pair with Power?  And if he does, will he still add another player to the unit? The minimum amount of action I want to see is adding two 4/5 caliber of blueliners. As the GM stated on WGR, the loss of Samuelsson reverberated throughout the unit because it was thin to begin with. As you well know, I'm more comfortable than most having Joki paired with Power. If a better player is brought in to work alongside Power, then that would be fine with me. The imperative for me is to add at least two 4/5 caliber of players in order to strengthen the lower pairings and create enough quality depth to be able to absorb injuries when they inevitably happen. 

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

3 hours ago, JohnC said:

You correctly stated what I believe the organization is going to do with respect to the goalie situation. In fact, based on how Levi looked in his stint, I'm even more convinced about this issue. Is it a risky? Yes. 

My center of attention in this offseason is watching to see how the GM will address the blueline unit. Is he going to bring in a #4 defenseman to pair with Power?  And if he does, will he still add another player to the unit? The minimum amount of action I want to see is adding two 4/5 caliber of blueliners. As the GM stated on WGR, the loss of Samuelsson reverberated throughout the unit because it was thin to begin with. As you well know, I'm more comfortable than most having Joki paired with Power. If a better player is brought in to work alongside Power, then that would be fine with me. The imperative for me is to add at least two 4/5 caliber of players in order to strengthen the lower pairings and create enough quality depth to be able to absorb injuries when they inevitably happen. 

 

It would be wonderful if he'd add 2 decent to good D. Don't count on it after he has gone out of his way to discuss Joki's "growth" this past season.  

I believe KA sees his team like this

Dahlin, Samuelsson, Power, Joki, Lyubushkin and Stillman.  That leaves one opening somewhere between Power and Lyubushkin.

[Porous Five Hole]

3 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It would be wonderful if he'd add 2 decent to good D. Don't count on it after he has gone out of his way to discuss Joki's "growth" this past season.  

I believe KA sees his team like this

Dahlin, Samuelsson, Power, Joki, Lyubushkin and Stillman.  That leaves one opening somewhere between Power and Lyubushkin.

I would be pleasantly surprised if KA were able to make some magic via trade with someone age appropriate (and ideally with term) to add to the D corps. I’m skeptical anything will get done because goals are on the rise league-wide and Top 4 D are incredibly valuable (see Risto trade fetching so much).  
 

I think at a minimum, a first round pick out the door is a given. 
 

If I’m KA, I’m making that deal.  Hopefully the pick is the bottom third of the draft and this team needs defensive depth now. 

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It would be wonderful if he'd add 2 decent to good D. Don't count on it after he has gone out of his way to discuss Joki's "growth" this past season.  

I believe KA sees his team like this

Dahlin, Samuelsson, Power, Joki, Lyubushkin and Stillman.  That leaves one opening somewhere between Power and Lyubushkin.

Will be very surprised if Adams doesn't bring in a top 4 guy on D this summer.  Expecting 1 other 3rd pairing / tweener guy as well along with 3 or 4 guys specifically for Ra-cha-cha which won't factor into anything.

Expecting he'll not make any additional upgrades to the F's (with the only real changes being Savoie and 1 of Rousek or Kulich make the roster out of camp and Olofsson gets traded away; maybe 1 or both of Okposo and Girgensons decide to walk) or G but really hoping that's incorrect.  And really want a PK specialist 4C brought in.  Varlamov too.  4 pieces, is it really that much to ask for?  Doesn't seem like it, but expecting to only get 2 of them.  (The 4D and an extra 6D.)

[...]

I haven't listened to the interview yet, so please feel free to let me know if KA addressed the following opinion:

The goalie situation will be guided by what KA and crew think led to the high goals against - were it due primarily to bad goaltending or poor defense? Obviously, it's a combination of the two, so let's consider them as a ratio.

I have the impression that for KA, the ratio biases significantly toward bad defense. I'm not saying he's right, just sharing my impression of his judgement based on his comments.

Supposing that's accurate then I expect him to respond by adding, as @Taro T suggests, a top 4 D. He has goalies already that, after last season (especially), he likely can't move for a reasonable return but also publickly maintains that he believes in them - ignore Levi, this theme applies to UPL and Comrie.

There are lots of ways to game this out from here. I prefer the thread where he trades one of them for a vet goalie with a solid record but I don't have confidence Varlamov will leave the Islanders (see attached article).

Personally, while a top 4 D man is essential regardless of the aforementioned goals-against-causation-ratio, I'm not sure it's so heavily skewed toward defense as KA seems to think it is.

 

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/semyon-varlamov-new-york-islanders-ilya-sorokin-contract

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by ...

[dudacek]

39 minutes ago, ... said:

I haven't listened to the interview yet, so please feel free to let me know if KA addressed the following opinion:

The goalie situation will be guided by what KA and crew think led to the high goals against - were it due primarily to bad goaltending or poor defense? Obviously, it's a combination of the two, so let's consider them as a ratio.

I have the impression that for KA, the ratio biases significantly toward bad defense. I'm not saying he's right, just sharing my impression of his judgement based on his comments.

Supposing that's accurate then I expect him to respond by adding, as @Taro T suggests, a top 4 D. He has goalies already that, after last season (especially), he likely can't move for a reasonable return but also publickly maintains that he believes in them - ignore Levi, this theme applies to UPL and Comrie.

There are lots of ways to game this out from here. I prefer the thread where he trades one of them for a vet goalie with a solid record but I don't have confidence Varlamov will leave the Islanders (see attached article).

Personally, while a top 4 D man is essential regardless of the aforementioned goals-against-causation-ratio, I'm not sure it's so heavily skewed toward defense as KA seems to think it is.

 

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/semyon-varlamov-new-york-islanders-ilya-sorokin-contract

 

He did not, at least not directly.

He said what he always says about the goalies, he has faith in UPL and he thought he took steps, and he beams about Levi like he's his son.

It's my opinion that he believes Levi upgrades the goaltending, Whether he believes he upgrades it enough is an open question.

He was pretty open about the defence falling apart whenever it wasn't fully healthy and he talked about having space to add, so I read that as an open admission that he intends to add a defenceman who is at least good enough to play in the top 4.

He talked about two other things that you didn't but fit into your line of questioning.

One is team defence: he openly admitted that the primary goal of the past 2 years was to build confidence by developing the offence of his young players. He implied that the team is now in a position where there will be more emphasis and accountability on defence, combined with what he perceives as a natural improvement in decision-making due to experience.

The other is the penalty kill. There will be deep dive into how and why they failed (there was a suggestion of a lack of confidence). He seems to be hoping that late season use of Tuch, Quinn, Krebs and Cozens gave them valuable experience in that role. And he also acknowledged their desire to look closely into acquiring players who are good at the PK. My impression was that he believes there were tweaks made at the end of the season that will pay dividends next year, particularly if a good start (and some big saves) builds confidence early.

It is my belief that the plan for fixing the goals against is Devon Levi, a Ryan Graves type who can kill penalties, Jordan Greenway, and better defensive play from most notably Power, Quinn, Cozens and Krebs. We may also add a responsible veteran forward if either Girgs or Okie walk.

Edited May 5, 2023 by dudacek

[dudacek]

Further to the above, the final 12 games of the season (basically when Tuch, Dahllin and Samuelsson came back and Levi arrived) the Sabres were 15th in goals against, with 3.00, and 19th on the PK at 78.6%.

Small sample and mediocre numbers to be sure, but improvements, if they can be sustained.

[GASabresIUFAN]

44 minutes ago, dudacek said:

He said what he always says about the goalies, he has faith in UPL and he thought he took steps, and he beams about Levi like he's his son.

It's my opinion that he believes Levi upgrades the goaltending, Whether he believes he upgrades it enough is an open question.

He was pretty open about the defence falling apart whenever it wasn't fully healthy and he talked about having space to add, so I read that as an open admission that he intends to add a defenceman who is at least good enough to play in the top 4.

The problem at this point with relying on development to solve the terrible goaltending is the downside risk of another terrible season in net.  What if Levi struggles and UPL continues to be sub-par?  Is KA willing to throw away another playoff opportunity?  Will the fans and ownership stand for it?    

[French Collection]

7 hours ago, ... said:

There are lots of ways to game this out from here. I prefer the thread where he trades one of them for a vet goalie with a solid record but I don't have confidence Varlamov will leave the Islanders (see attached article).

He definitely loves it on the island. Does he love it enough to cut his salary in half on what is likely his last contract?

[JohnC]

9 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It would be wonderful if he'd add 2 decent to good D. Don't count on it after he has gone out of his way to discuss Joki's "growth" this past season.  

I believe KA sees his team like this

Dahlin, Samuelsson, Power, Joki, Lyubushkin and Stillman.  That leaves one opening somewhere between Power and Lyubushkin.

I see it a little differently. As indicated by the Chyrun pursuit, the GM understands that he needs to add a player or two to the blueline from the outside. KA said on WGR that Arizona wanted either Savoie or Kulich in the trade deal. He said no. My point is that there is a recognition that he wants to bring in players from the outside to bulk up the unit. In his extended WGR interview, he noted the damaging effect to the unit when Samuelsson was hurt. 

The GM and coach have gone out of their way to point out Joki's upside. I don't understand why you are so determined to undercut him. He's a player they are counting on. Leave him alone. Focus on adding players and not subtracting them.😄

[GASabresIUFAN]

48 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The GM and coach have gone out of their way to point out Joki's upside.

There is nothing in the eye test or his counting stats or his analytics to suggest Joki is improving.  Nothing. That is just the facts.  He is the UPL of our defense; young enough to be thought of with upside, but an older young player that hasn’t shown any real progress.  I fully acknowledge that both players will likely be back next season and I fully believe bringing both players back is a mistake.  

The mistake with Joki isn’t that he isn’t an NHL player, he is one marginally, It’s that his skill set isn’t what the Sabres need right now.  He isn’t a Jay McKee type and he doesn’t add much help creating offense.  His game also doesn’t improve when he plays good players.  

Edited May 5, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[French Collection]

44 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I see it a little differently. As indicated by the Chyrun pursuit, the GM understands that he needs to add a player or two to the blueline from the outside. KA said on WGR that Arizona wanted either Savoie or Kulich in the trade deal. He said no. My point is that there is a recognition that he wants to bring in players from the outside to bulk up the unit. In his extended WGR interview, he noted the damaging effect to the unit when Samuelsson was hurt. 

I think KA will add a Dman or two in the 4-6 range. A successful off season will be getting them closer to the 4 than the 6.

The UFA pool has a few and KA has prospects, picks and a guy like VO to deal for another.

[Mango]

22 hours ago, matter2003 said:

 

Agree...you can be physical without hitting a ton. Sabres are plenty big enough to be more physical if they want to.

A lot of boys on the team that need to become adults and grow into their adult bodies. 

Physicality is a big reason why I liked the line shake ups at the end of the year. Every shift there was somebody on every shift who made that line tougher, with a skill player or two that made them smoother. 

Not to compare the two, but the Pens had a lot of success splitting Malkin/Crosby. I would have no issue with those lines being our core going into next season, and putting Tommers back as 1C situationally. 

[Pimlach]

On 5/3/2023 at 1:45 PM, dudacek said:

My interpretation of the response: Basically, it’s that the conventional hit stat is full of empty calories.

The Sabres strategic goal is to have the puck. Hits are valued and encouraged for separating player from puck and gaining possession, hits for the sake of hits are discouraged for removing the hitter from the play.

 

I appears to me that hits are counted by the home team and it varies night to night on how they do it.  If you posses the puck you are not hitting.  If you do you get an interference penalty or you take yourself out of the play - it is that simple. 

Where the Sabres need to do better is defensive zone play and there is an element of hitting - separating the opposing player from the puck - that they need to get better at.  

 

[Taro T]

11 hours ago, dudacek said:

Further to the above, the final 12 games of the season (basically when Tuch, Dahllin and Samuelsson came back and Levi arrived) the Sabres were 15th in goals against, with 3.00, and 19th on the PK at 78.6%.

Small sample and mediocre numbers to be sure, but improvements, if they can be sustained.

The team certainly seems to have reached an inflection point.  The monster question is will Adams be able to bring in the right guys to fill the few remaining holes to have them see the exponential rise that they seem to be on the verge of?

Personally, expect the odds are good that he will.  (Though if he doesn't, pretty sure goaltending will be the culprit yutzing the works up.  (File that last bit in the "No Schlitz, Sherlock" folder.))

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

I see it a little differently. As indicated by the Chyrun pursuit, the GM understands that he needs to add a player or two to the blueline from the outside. KA said on WGR that Arizona wanted either Savoie or Kulich in the trade deal. He said no. My point is that there is a recognition that he wants to bring in players from the outside to bulk up the unit. In his extended WGR interview, he noted the damaging effect to the unit when Samuelsson was hurt. 

The GM and coach have gone out of their way to point out Joki's upside. I don't understand why you are so determined to undercut him. He's a player they are counting on. Leave him alone. Focus on adding players and not subtracting them.😄

I am in the camp that believes we need a big, mobile, physical, defensive-defenseman with top 4 talent to improve this team.  Get that player and we will be better able to cope with injuries on the backline.  You keep bringing up Chyckrun, but the acquisition does not even have to be that splashy.  Get Ryan Graves or another defensive defenseman of that ilk.   Get someone that has size, strength, mobility, good PK, and consistently keeps the slot clear.   Graves was +34 for the Devils this year.  Not flashy, just quietly very good.  He will allow either Dahlin or Power more ability to create.   He would help in the event that Samuelsson gets hurt.  

Dahlin is the top player.  Power is next.  Separating them will be powerful.  They each need the right partner.  

Samuelsson was good as a first pairing compliment to Dahlin.  He was often very good and has not reached his full potential yet.   The Sabres record without him in the line up says a lot about him as a player, but it says even more about the poor depth on the team. 

Enter Joki.   He was adequate as a 4 but how much better would the team look with a more physical and better defensive presence back there?  Joki's skill set is more similar to a Dahlin than to a Samuelsson.   That is one reason we struggle with Samuelsson out and even with Lubyshkin out or playing injured.  We lack physical presence on defense without Muel and Bush -  unless you want and expect Dahlin to carry that load, which I think is not the way to structure this team.  

Looking at the playoff teams, I cannot help but see we need that big strong rock back there.  We do not have that.   Power is still years away from getting that kind of physical strength let alone the mind set.  Dahlin is much more physical, but his game should be Bobby Orr, not Don Awrey.  

Think about replacing Joki (-12) with Ryan Graves (+34) for a minute.  You just upgraded on Joki and maybe even on Samuelsson (+14).  

Add a defensive-defensive player to the top 4 and move Joki to lead the 3rd pair as the 5.   He brings skills to the 3rd pairing that most teams won't have.  Pair him with a platoon of Lubyshkin/Stillman (the 6/7 combo) to add more physical presence to the lineup. 

An 8th defender that can play in Rochester and come up/down without waiver risk would be nice and that appears to be the role KA has for Johnson if he decides to "settle" for playing in Buffalo.  

Bryson and Clague can be packaged in a trade, or can be signed to Rochester.

The GM and coach are saying the right things, they are not going to talk bad about Joki.  He is still young for a defenseman and he can get better.  But he is not what we need in the top 4 if this team is going to take another step.  He just isn't.  

They need to add a defensive stud into the  top 4, it is a glaring need.