Sabres Free Agency Thread

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Obsession with wood.   heh heh 

Everyone is stealing @inkman's lines these days.

[Curt]

8 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

 

What do we have? $18MM cap space? We can do things. But I think there was a belief the Sabres had way more than that available.

As it stands now, assuming they just hold the status quo (they probably won’t), Sabres project to have about $13M in cap space for the 23-24 season, $3M for the 24-25 season, and project to probably be right at the cap for the 25-26 season.  This is factoring in the projected $4-5M jumps in the cap during each of the 2024 and 2025 off seasons.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

I’d imagine adding a F is a near certainty in the case where we move VO, and that’s counting Jost re-signed. Going into the season expecting 2 of the young guys to establish as reasonable NHLers seems like it would be a really big mistake. You’d have say, Rousek on line 3 and Kulich as next guy in after one more injury. It’s not really enough.

Looking back even before Quinn went down I’m surprised there wasn’t more talk of a depth F add under the assumption VO was gone. Rousek/Kulich as “next man up” 13 doesn’t seem like a recipe for success. They should at least have viable vet competition- if they beat it out, so be it. 

Prior to the injury, wasn't Jost the presumed depth F with Rousek (or another kid) sliding into the top 12 after the Olofsson trade?

And do expect that either Olofsson stays or that 4C we've been pushing for (or perhaps even a 3C) now becomes inevitable.

[Ruff Around The Edges]

2 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Orlov would be the crazy move

Graves would be the great move

Mayfield would be the solid

move

Andersen would be he ideal 2 year pickup. I wonder if they plan to bring another goalie in though.

Im all in for Ryan Graves.

6'5 LHD can be a shutdown defenseman who can move the puck well enough not to be a liability on offense and has a good shot. Imagine our Top 4 D being 6'3 (Dahlin) 6'4 (Samuelsson) 6'6 (Power) and 6'5 (Graves) I think 5X5M AAV can get Graves done or close to that, 5.5 max

[nfreeman]

If the Sabres want to bring in a forward on a short-term deal to fill Quinn's spot this season, how about Blake Wheeler or Matt Duchene, both of whom are being bought out?  Both have scoring skill and a ton of experience, and neither would be expensive.

[Pimlach]

2 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

If the Sabres want to bring in a forward on a short-term deal to fill Quinn's spot this season, how about Blake Wheeler or Matt Duchene, both of whom are being bought out?  Both have scoring skill and a ton of experience, and neither would be expensive.

Isn't Wheeler a bit of a diva though, and does he have a 200 foot game?  

[Ruff Around The Edges]

2 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

If the Sabres want to bring in a forward on a short-term deal to fill Quinn's spot this season, how about Blake Wheeler or Matt Duchene, both of whom are being bought out?  Both have scoring skill and a ton of experience, and neither would be expensive.

Very interesting idea that I like, this is the last year where the Sabres can weaponize some cap space and those are both intriguing short term options, and this would allow the Sabres to get Quinn really take his time.

[Eleven]

5 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

If the Sabres want to bring in a forward on a short-term deal to fill Quinn's spot this season, how about Blake Wheeler or Matt Duchene, both of whom are being bought out?  Both have scoring skill and a ton of experience, and neither would be expensive.

Duchene isn't a bad idea if that's the route they're going.

[Flashsabre]

Dumba would be the other D man that could be considered a top 4 rhd.

[GASabresIUFAN]

17 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

If the Sabres want to bring in a forward on a short-term deal to fill Quinn's spot this season, how about Blake Wheeler or Matt Duchene, both of whom are being bought out?  Both have scoring skill and a ton of experience, and neither would be expensive.

 

11 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Duchene isn't a bad idea if that's the route they're going.

I would be very surprised if KA brought in any forward to play in the top 9 even with Quinn's injury.  I think he'd much rather see if his internal solutions can fill the void.

However, he has repeatedly stated that he wants to upgrade the D and this should be his primary focus.  Pesce, Dumba, Gudas, Hanifin, Orlov, Soucy, Sanheim, Dumoulin, Mayfield, Graves, Andrew Peeke, Tanev, etc.. should all be on KA's watch list.  It will interesting to see which route he goes to fix this roster issue UFA or trade.

After fixing the D, getting a vet goalie should be his next priority.  

[Eleven]

2 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Dumba would be the other D man that could be considered a top 4 rhd.

I think he'll cost as much as Graves and I'd rather have Graves.

2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

would be very surprised if KA brought in any forward to play in the top 9 even with Quinn's injury.  I think he'd much rather see if his internal solutions can fill the void

Frankly, I agree, but Duchene, if KA is going that way, isn't a bad idea.  But the concentration needs to be on the blue line and goal line.

[kas23]

1 minute ago, Eleven said:

I think he'll cost as much as Graves and I'd rather have Graves.

I think it depends on if the LHD Graves can play RHD. Outside of Dahlin, the myth that handedness doesn’t matter on the Sabres has been busted. 

[Buffalonill]

37 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

If the Sabres want to bring in a forward on a short-term deal to fill Quinn's spot this season, how about Blake Wheeler or Matt Duchene, both of whom are being bought out?  Both have scoring skill and a ton of experience, and neither would be expensive.

Both ***** pass 

[Curt]

1 minute ago, kas23 said:

I think it depends on if the LHD Graves can play RHD. Outside of Dahlin, the myth that handedness doesn’t matter on the Sabres has been busted. 

Agree.  Should focus on players who have actually successfully played RD.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Curt said:

As it stands now, assuming they just hold the status quo (they probably won’t), Sabres project to have about $13M in cap space for the 23-24 season, $3M for the 24-25 season, and project to probably be right at the cap for the 25-26 season.  This is factoring in the projected $4-5M jumps in the cap during each of the 2024 and 2025 off seasons.

Right. So we aren't spending like drunk sailors on free agency.

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

If the Sabres want to bring in a forward on a short-term deal to fill Quinn's spot this season, how about Blake Wheeler or Matt Duchene, both of whom are being bought out?  Both have scoring skill and a ton of experience, and neither would be expensive.

Wheeler is a massive locker room problem here lol

[Thorner]

52 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

 

I would be very surprised if KA brought in any forward to play in the top 9 even with Quinn's injury.  I think he'd much rather see if his internal solutions can fill the void.

However, he has repeatedly stated that he wants to upgrade the D and this should be his primary focus.  Pesce, Dumba, Gudas, Hanifin, Orlov, Soucy, Sanheim, Dumoulin, Mayfield, Graves, Andrew Peeke, Tanev, etc.. should all be on KA's watch list.  It will interesting to see which route he goes to fix this roster issue UFA or trade.

After fixing the D, getting a vet goalie should be his next priority.  

Was KA projecting we’d make the playoffs by such a margin that the drop off from Quinn to say, Rousek or Olofsson for half the season doesn’t meaningfully change the likelihood we make it, in his mind? Because IF the drop off is severe enough it needs to be accounted for unless he’s feeling we were well clear, beforehand 

[PerreaultForever]

57 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Frankly, I agree, but Duchene, if KA is going that way, isn't a bad idea.  

Absolutely and unequivocally a big NO. 

 Just track his career and see how every single time he  was moved it ended badly for the franchise that got him. It's no accident or coincidence. 

[PerreaultForever]

Buffalo has a long history of disappointing me in Free Agency so I expect this year to be the same. Like an idiot however I will watch and listen and hope to be wrong this time, just like all the other times. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

23 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Was KA projecting we’d make the playoffs by such a margin that the drop off from Quinn to say, Rousek or Olofsson for half the season doesn’t meaningfully change the likelihood we make it, in his mind? Because IF the drop off is severe enough it needs to be accounted for unless he’s feeling we were well clear, beforehand 

The Sabres scored 293 goals last season.  That was certainly enough to get us into the playoffs if we had had adequate D and goaltending.  Quinn only potted  14 of the 293 goals.  I think adding Rousek should replace most if not all of those 14 goals.  The bigger loss from a scoring standpoint was the potential trade of VO.  My guess is KA had penciled in improvement from JJP, Quinn, and Greenway to replace that loss.  Now he has to hope that guys like Krebs (9 goals), Mitts (15 goals), and Power (4 goals) pick up the slack if VO isn't retained or replaced.

Either way, this lineup is lethal enough without Quinn and/or VO to be a playoff team.  The more important question is limiting he scoring chances against through better backchecking, better defense, and better goaltending to get the GA down from 300 to a more reasonable 265 or so.

Edited June 30, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[Drag0nDan]

16 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Absolutely and unequivocally a big NO. 

 Just track his career and see how every single time he  was moved it ended badly for the franchise that got him. It's no accident or coincidence. 

Friend of mine lives in Nashville and was pretty tight with Johansen and Duchene... I'm not shocked that a new GM would move them.  

[Buffalonill]

Just now, Drag0nDan said:

Friend of mine lives in Nashville and was pretty tight with Johansen and Duchene... I'm not shocked that a new GM would move them.  

Did you basically call your friend  *****

[GASabresIUFAN]

18 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Buffalo has a long history of disappointing me in Free Agency so I expect this year to be the same. Like an idiot however I will watch and listen and hope to be wrong this time, just like all the other times. 

True.

It begs the question, who was the best UFA signing ever by the Sabres?  Teppo? Okposo? Gionta? Spacek? Leopold?  Not exactly a list of greatness.

The worst are easy.  Erhoff, Leino, Hutton, and Moulson to name but four.  There are plenty more.

Edited June 30, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[Thorner]

8 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The Sabres scored 293 goals last season.  That was certainly enough to get us into the playoffs if we had had adequate D and goaltending.  Quinn only potted  14 of the 293 goals.  I think adding Rousek should replace most if not all of those 14 goals.  The bigger loss from a scoring standpoint was the potential trade of VO.  My guess is KA had penciled in improvement from JJP, Quinn, and Greenway to replace that loss.  Now he has to hope that guys like Krebs (9 goals), Mitts (15 goals), and Power (4 goals) pick up the slack if VO isn't retained or replaced.

I don’t really think GMs pencil it in like this, we need all the goals we can get we aren’t just counting on Quinn to score to “replace Olofsson’s”. Tage could score less. Skinner could not have a career year. There’s also the defensive side of the equation. I’m not sure Rousek or Olofsson are going to help their team stay out of their own end as much, thought you’d know more than me on Rousek. 

If Olofsson is traded you absolutely need to bring in a forward, we are one injury from a rookie starting, our 13th man would be Kulich entering into the year if Olofsson is gone. What if we get 2 injuries more? These are LOW numbers. 

with the injury, imo KA should be proactive here. Nothing splashy, just a capable proven depth player 

Edited June 30, 2023 by Thorny

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I don’t really think GMs pencil it in like this, we need all the goals we can get we aren’t just counting on Quinn to score to “replace Olofsson’s”. Tage could score less. Skinner could not have a career year. There’s also the defensive side of the equation. I’m not sure Rousek or Olofsson are going to help their team stay out of their own end as much, thought you’d know more than me on Rousek. 

If Olofsson is traded you absolutely need to bring in a forward, we are one injury from a rookie starting, our 13th man would be Kulich entering into the year if Olofsson is gone. What if we get 2 injuries more? These are LOW numbers. 

with the injury, imo KA should be proactive here. Nothing splashy, just a capable proven depth player 

I have a name for you.  Pius Suter.  

What you just wrote is why I have posted up thread that I think Quinn's injury definitely decreased the likelihood VO gets traded.