What Does KA have to accomplish for this off-season to be considered a success?

[GASabresIUFAN]

With KO, Z and Rousek re-signed and Jost also likely to return, KA is obviously going with a status quo forward group.  The team also now has a complete roster of players under contract with 13 forwards, 7 D and 3 G.  

In the presser KA admitted that the 3 headed goalie monster is a possibility next season. KA also said he is looking at possible deals that could involve our 1st rd pick.  He also stated that he is trying to lock up Dahlin and Power and rumor has it that the Dahlin deal is done.

Given this back dropped what more does KA have to do to have had a successful off-season and what additional moves would take the off-season from good to great?

[sabresparaavida]

In my opinion, to make this a good or great offseason, KA still needs to upgrade the Defense. Adding one 4/5 D would make this a good offseason (Graves, Mayfield, Soucy, trade candidates, etc). Adding 2 would make it a great offseason and fix the team's biggest current weakness. Something like 

Samuelsson-Dahlin

Power-Graves

Soucy-Jokiharju

Stillman-Boosh

Would give us a great defense, and would leave goaltending as the only area of concern (a concern I hope is soon lifted by Levi). 

[dudacek]

Make @Buffalonillsmile and @PerreaultForever love the Sabres again.

[Night Train]

 Still need 1-2 Vets on D... who can play D.  Goalie is a bit trickier but can be done. Need a compliment to Levi. UPL is too inconsistent and Cromrie seemingly cannot stay healthy enough to get a read on him. 

Dahlin gets a new long deal and Power gets a 3 year bridge deal. 

Also needs to instruct Granato that the forwards need to quit getting caught deep and floating back on D. Never has a Sabres team given up so many clean breaks down the center of the ice. Alarming. Can't blame the Goalie there. 

So it starts with the draft this coming week and some wheeling and dealing to improve this roster. 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Night Train

[Scottysabres]

Depends on who you ask.

Some will consider the ascension ti the playoff ranks a success.

Others will say "Bring us the head of he who shall not be named out of a Stanley Cup series victory against the current reigning Cup Winners".

[Believer]

Bring in a couple gritty mature veterans with Stanley Cup Championship success.

[nfreeman]

If there is no extension for Dahlin, it's a disappointing offseason.

If there are extensions for Dahlin and Power and a credible D partner brought in for Power, it's a very good offseason.  Those plus a credible goalie would make it a great offseason.

[Mustache of God]

Going with 3 goalies again would be a disaster, in my opinion. It only sort-of worked last year because Anderson was 40 years old and was there to act as a mentor.

This year we'll have Comrie wanting to be the starter for the first time in his life, UPL whose put in the work to come up through the organization vying with the new wunderkid in Levi. I think egos will eventually get in the way in this situation. 

[Weave]

The only measuring stick for offseason success is a post season schedule.

I can wait to judge.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 minute ago, nfreeman said:

If there is no extension for Dahlin, it's a disappointing offseason.

I agree I would be disappointed if Dahlin isn’t locked up, but it wouldn’t ruin the off-season if KA manages to acquire a top 4 D and a good goalie.  Both the Sabres and Dahlin seem committed to working a deal out and even if it doesn’t get finalized in the off-season, I suspect it would be done early in the season.

If I had to rank my off-season priorities I rank them as follows

1) Top 4 D

2) Good goalie

3) Dahlin extension

4) Better D depth

5) Power extension

6) 4th line center if Krebs promoted to the 3rd line.

Bonuses would be a Mitts extension, shipping off dead wood like Bryson, Comrie, UPL, and VO, and 2 D in our top 3 draft picks.
 

1 minute ago, Weave said:

The only measuring stick for offseason success is a post season schedule.

I can wait to judge.

While this is ultimately true, I believe your hope for success entering next season will be greatly influenced by the move KA makes (or doesn’t make) this summer. 

[Weave]

4 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

While this is ultimately true, I believe your hope for success entering next season will be greatly influenced by the move KA makes (or doesn’t make) this summer. 

Well, judging an offseason in September is a but like judging a draft in July.  It’s more than a bit premature, eh?

Lets see where the chips fall first.

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 minutes ago, Weave said:

Well, judging an offseason in September is a but like judging a draft in July.  It’s more than a bit premature, eh?

Lets see where the chips fall first.

Not the same at all.  What we are judging is whether the right kind of decisions were made to improve the team for next season.  

Won’t you be annoyed if KA doesn’t add D help in the off-season?  Do you really believe that UPL and Comrie are good enough to give us good goaltending when Levi doesn’t play or if Levi proves not to be as NHL ready as we hope?

[Weave]

5 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Not the same at all.  What we are judging is whether the right kind of decisions were made to improve the team for next season.  

Won’t you be annoyed if KA doesn’t add D help in the off-season?  Do you really believe that UPL and Comrie are good enough to give us good goaltending when Levi doesn’t play or if Levi proves not to be as NHL ready as we hope?

How the ***** do you decide if the right decisions were made in August before you witness the results on ice?

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 minute ago, Weave said:

How the ***** do you decide if the right decisions were made in August before you witness the results on ice?

Simple. We have two major roster holes that need filling, top 4 D and a veteran goaltender.  If he doesn’t acquire players with the credentials for those jobs, I believe he has failed the team this off-season. 

[Randall Flagg]

The only answer is playoffs in April 2024

He could do absolutely nothing and I'd be very worried but if it resulted in the playoffs, I'd have to consider it a success. Meanwhile if I came up with 4 player additions that would constitute my perfect offseason and he made all of them but we sucked, it would be a failure (one that I'd be more forgiving of than if he didn't do anything and we missed, mind you)

[pastajoe]

Along with top 4 D and veteran goalie, a 4th line center who can win faceoffs and kill penalties. An upgrade from Jost.

[GASabresIUFAN]

@Weave

The analog I’d draw is you’re in HR for your company tasked with hiring a Sales Manager.  You list the job, interview internal and external candidates and hire the best candidate for the job.  When hired you don’t know for sure whether or not the person will succeed in the job, but you hire based on credentials.  There are no guarantees? But you still have to hire someone.

KA has two key jobs available without adequate internal applicants.  

[Zamboni]

Yea I’m not gonna play the fortune teller judge and jury in June 23.

 

KA will have made the right moves IF the Sabres make the playoffs in April 24.

[Eleven]

39 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Simple. We have two major roster holes that need filling, top 4 D and a veteran goaltender.  If he doesn’t acquire players with the credentials for those jobs, I believe he has failed the team this off-season. 

Why do you keep asking open-ended questions when you clearly have one answer in mind?  Your question *really* is, "If KA just gets a top 4 D and a G, isn't the offseason a success? Fite me if no."

Edited June 22, 2023 by Eleven

[GoPuckYourself]

A decent goalie in the form of a trade or in UFA, there are plenty of options so there is no excuse, no way can we go into the season with the guys we have and be content imo. We need a faceoff guy, I read somewhere that we have interest in Jordan Staal and I'd really like that option but I'm sure some will hate it. I was hoping for upgrades in place of Okposo & Girgensons so I'm not sure if there will be room now for a forward but a player who can play on the PK effectively, hits, has grit etc and a defensemen or 2 is a must and 1 must be a compliment to Owen Power pushing Jokiharju to a more natural 3rd line pairing. Playoffs is a must, we can't miss this year which is why I'm surprised Adams didn't go for it all last season when we were in contention.

[Eleven]

45 minutes ago, Weave said:

How the ***** do you decide if the right decisions were made in August before you witness the results on ice?

Exactly.  We didn't know whether Comrie was the right decision when he signed, and some people say we still don't b/c of injuries and sample size.

Edited June 22, 2023 by Eleven

[nfreeman]

6 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Exactly.  We didn't know whether Comrie was the right decision when he signed, and some people say we still don't b/c of injuries and sample size.

It's still quite possible IMHO that Comrie plays for the Sabres this season and plays quite well.

[Eleven]

13 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

It's still quite possible IMHO that Comrie plays for the Sabres this season and plays quite well.

Yes it is.

[GASabresIUFAN]

24 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Why do you keep asking open-ended questions when you clearly have one answer in mind?  Your question *really* is, "If KA just gets a top 4 D and a G, isn't the offseason a success? Fite me if no."

Because i want to see others opinions.  It’s called a discussion.  Some might be satisfied if KA does nothing more this off-season.  Others might want more substantial restructuring of the defense.  Others are dissatisfied with the status quo forward group and want a 4th line center and some more physical forwards.  Others here want a coaching philosophy change and assurance that our young forwards backcheck.  Truthfully these are all valid opinions.

However simply stating we can’t judge any moves at this time is a little disingenuous.  As KA said in his presser his goals are to improve the team both for next year while preserving the franchises’ ability to sustain long-term success.  This is a hard needle to thread, but he is clearly committed to attempting to improve the roster over it’s current form and he is open to moving our top pick to get it done.  He doesn’t know whether the move will work, but it’s a calculated risk and he should be positively judged for recognizing the issue and trying to correct it.  

As to Comrie, I have no issue with his signing of Comrie.  With the information he had made it a reasonable calculated risk. The move to acquire Greenway was a similar calculated risk, but it was the right move and whether it works or not doesn’t change that fact.  My hope for this off-season is that KA graduates from small moves and at least somewhat goes for a homerun, like Fla did for Tkachuk and LV for Jack.  Getting Saros and or Pesce would be those kind of moves.  Those players would elevate us to contender status overnight and help make for a great off-season.  

The Athletic today suggested Pesce (with an extension) for Östlund and the 39th pick.  I’d make this move in a second.  It solidifies our defense for years to come without hindering our pipeline much given our depth at forward while keeping our 13th and 45th picks. 

Edited June 22, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[dudacek]

7 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

It's still quite possible IMHO that Comrie plays for the Sabres this season and plays quite well.

Unlikely, but yes.

Im not betting on the Sabres trio, but no one was betting on Georgiev or Brossoit last year.

12 months ago a lot of you were looking at Comrie as a good backup who paid his dues and was probably ready to make the jump.

The development path UPL started when he was the 2nd goalie taken in the 2017 draft projected him to be arriving as a useful NHLer this year.

Watching them play last year I say “no, can’t trust that”, but on paper it’s certainly possible.

Watching Levi play last year I say “kid looks good enough to be the guy” even though on paper it shouldn’t be likely.

We won’t know if sticking with these guys this off-season is a success or a failure until we see how well they play.