Off-season Game Plan 2024

[dudacek]

I’m also curious what will happen with Jokiharju.

I’m not one of those “Joki is garbage” types. He’s a legit NHL 4/5, 25, mobile and right-handed, a good value at his $2.6M qualifier.

But I’m wondering if the Sabres would rather have someone cheaper and more abrasive given their other 5 under contract and there is trade value there. I could see him moved.

If he’s not moved, there is probably a good chance he goes to arbitration, takes his reward and moves on at the deadline as a rental, or next summer as a UFA.

[thewookie1]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Am I the only one who thinks it unlikely that Jacob Bryson receives his qualifying offer?

I think he rehabilitated his game quite nicely last year and is a serviceable 7, but his QO of $1.9 is far too much for a spare defenceman, especially with what the Sabres are paying their top 5 (or 6 if Henri comes back).

I think the Sabres and Bryson like each other, but I think the only way he’s back is if he agrees to a pay cut. Which he might, because no team is going to give him $1.9M.

He's 1 of 3 Sabres that have been at both of Ruff's appearances so I'd guess he'll stick around. However I would hope without question they have zero intention of paying him 1.9mil to be a solid #7.

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

I’m also curious what will happen with Jokiharju.

I’m not one of those “Joki is garbage” types. He’s a legit NHL 4/5, 25, mobile and right-handed, a good value at his $2.6M qualifier.

But I’m wondering if the Sabres would rather have someone cheaper and more abrasive given their other 5 under contract and there is trade value there. I could see him moved.

If he’s not moved, there is probably a good chance he goes to arbitration, takes his reward and moves on at the deadline as a rental, or next summer as a UFA.

Jokiharju is more of casualty of circumstance than a bad player. He doesn't fulfill any physical role and his play with Byram was an affront to the Geneva Convention. I see him dealt to Utah for a 2nd or in some sort of exchange with Seattle potentially. 

[thewookie1]

A rather conservative approach to redoing the Bot 6

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/5166646

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, thewookie1 said:

A rather conservative approach to redoing the Bot 6

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/5166646

I would love Gourde, Tanev and Borgen but I doubt Joki, Rosen and a 3rd get that done. Seattle could push for Savoie and a better pick.

I just had a peek at Cap Friendly, Gourde and Tanev have NTCs.

Edited May 28 by French Collection

[French Collection]

6 hours ago, dudacek said:

Am I the only one who thinks it unlikely that Jacob Bryson receives his qualifying offer?

I think he rehabilitated his game quite nicely last year and is a serviceable 7, but his QO of $1.9 is far too much for a spare defenceman, especially with what the Sabres are paying their top 5 (or 6 if Henri comes back).

I think the Sabres and Bryson like each other, but I think the only way he’s back is if he agrees to a pay cut. Which he might, because no team is going to give him $1.9M.

He actually outperformed my expectations but I don’t want him at $1.9M.

Johnson would be a better option if they want to sign a 3C and some grit.

[thewookie1]

14 minutes ago, French Collection said:

I would love Gourde, Tanev and Borgen but I doubt Joki, Rosen and a 3rd get that done. Seattle could push for Savoie and a better pick.

I just had a peek at Cap Friendly, Gourde and Tanev have NTCs.

They aren't getting a Top prospect for 3 UFAs

The max is Joki, Rosen, and a 2nd

I'd drop out Tanev but they aren't getting Joki(RFA), Rosen(ELC) and a 2nd for Gourde(UFA) and Borgen(UFA) Mostly because its hard to gauge Gourde's value because you could pole Seattle fans and get everything from 1st round picks to he's a cap dump

[Archie Lee]

47 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

They aren't getting a Top prospect for 3 UFAs

The max is Joki, Rosen, and a 2nd

I'd drop out Tanev but they aren't getting Joki(RFA), Rosen(ELC) and a 2nd for Gourde(UFA) and Borgen(UFA) Mostly because its hard to gauge Gourde's value because you could pole Seattle fans and get everything from 1st round picks to he's a cap dump

I like the idea. Seattle, I suspect though, has every interest in getting back to the playoffs this year. I don’t think they trade those 3 made for playoffs vets for our about to become overpaid d-man who doesn’t fit, the top prospect that Sabre fans value the least and a 2nd. It’s not a deal that makes them better. You can make it work value-wise, but I don’t see it as practical from Seattle’s perspective. 

[Flashsabre]

 

[Archie Lee]

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

Am I the only one who thinks it unlikely that Jacob Bryson receives his qualifying offer?

I think he rehabilitated his game quite nicely last year and is a serviceable 7, but his QO of $1.9 is far too much for a spare defenceman, especially with what the Sabres are paying their top 5 (or 6 if Henri comes back).

I think the Sabres and Bryson like each other, but I think the only way he’s back is if he agrees to a pay cut. Which he might, because no team is going to give him $1.9M.

I think we offer Bryson a 2-3 year deal at around $1.2 million that clearly establishes his role as being an organizational 6-9 d-man. His future likely hinges on whether he will accept something like this in order to stay or whether he prefers to test the waters to see if he can get a larger role elsewhere. 

If we qualify Bryson, and I will be very surprised if we do, it will be a clear sign that Adams has not learned lessons from last offseason. 

[Doohicksie]

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

I think the Sabres and Bryson like each other, but I think the only way he’s back is if he agrees to a pay cut. Which he might, because no team is going to give him $1.9M.

I think this is a good assessment of the situation.  Offer him 1.3 to 1.5M and see how it goes.  He's a solid depth defenseman and I think he probably could squeak into the top 6 on some teams but I'm not sure those teams would want to pay him $1.9M either.

[SabreFinn]

3 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

A rather conservative approach to redoing the Bot 6

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/5166646

If Seattle  want to retool, and Adam Larsson would waive and be interested in signing for two more years at about the same 4m that he gets in Seattle, I think a trade with Jokiharju could work for both.

[Taro T]

8 hours ago, dudacek said:

Am I the only one who thinks it unlikely that Jacob Bryson receives his qualifying offer?

I think he rehabilitated his game quite nicely last year and is a serviceable 7, but his QO of $1.9 is far too much for a spare defenceman, especially with what the Sabres are paying their top 5 (or 6 if Henri comes back).

I think the Sabres and Bryson like each other, but I think the only way he’s back is if he agrees to a pay cut. Which he might, because no team is going to give him $1.9M.

Not at all.

Expect he'll sign for 2-3 years at $1.5MM or less (hopefully ~$1.1MM but not sure it'll end up that low) but with a 1 way deal.  He really likes it here and personally expect that he isn't going to Tim Kennedy himself out of town.  That was a bit before his time, but expect Ruff and Adams will ensure he knows all about that cautionary tale.

[Doohicksie]

3 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

A rather conservative approach to redoing the Bot 6

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/5166646

Zach Benson - Yanni Gourde - Brandon Tanev

Jordan Greenway - Peyton Krebs - Tanner Jeannot

I like the looks of that.

[thewookie1]

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/5181290

 

Tried to fix the seeming issue with the Seattle trade.

[GASabresIUFAN]

We need to change this roster.  We can’t continue to bring back failed or failing players.  Krebs, Bryson and Jokiharju all need to go.   Bryson isn’t physical, he doesn’t add offense and is mediocre in the D zone. There is no reason to keep him even as a depth D with Ryan Johnson available and Novikov rapidly improving.  Find a cheap vet for $1 who can play actual defense and go from there.

Having Joki in our top 4 is also a mistake, even if accepts his Q offer.  Trade him and find someone else.  He is just a better version of Bryson.  He isn’t overly physical, doesn’t add much O and is exceedingly mediocre in the D zone.  His metrics with most of the other D also aren’t very good.  Again we can do better. 

Krebs is miscast as a 4C and isn’t good enough to be a 3C.  Why bring him back even if he’s cheap?  He’s Jost 2.0.  I’d rather have Lazar back.  KA can do better than these 3 and should.  

 

[Buffalonill]

Hopefully buffalo trades for cirelli

[LTS]

if the Senators are willing to move on from Tkachuk that's a massive red flag.  He's their Captain and was on of their biggest draft picks. Watching him play it's clear he has to mature quite a bit. He takes very, very stupid penalties.  He might have some talent but he's undermining himself with his immaturity.

 

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, LTS said:

if the Senators are willing to move on from Tkachuk that's a massive red flag.  He's their Captain and was on of their biggest draft picks. Watching him play it's clear he has to mature quite a bit. He takes very, very stupid penalties.  He might have some talent but he's undermining himself with his immaturity.

 

It could be a red flag.  Then again, the Sabres traded away Eichel and that worked out pretty well for Vegas.

[sabresparaavida]

24 minutes ago, Taro T said:

It could be a red flag.  Then again, the Sabres traded away Eichel and that worked out pretty well for Vegas.

Of course Eichel was demanding a trade, which does make it a different scenario (unless Tkachuk does the same).

[LGR4GM]

38 minutes ago, LTS said:

if the Senators are willing to move on from Tkachuk that's a massive red flag.  He's their Captain and was on of their biggest draft picks. Watching him play it's clear he has to mature quite a bit. He takes very, very stupid penalties.  He might have some talent but he's undermining himself with his immaturity.

 

Their GM literally said no chance in hell yesterday. 

Quote

Nevertheless, do not expect Ottawa to move their captain this offseason, as General Manager Steve Staios recently shut down those rumors while speaking to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Subscription Article). In the article from LeBrun, Staios was asked about the rumors and bluntly said, “Complete B.S. We are building this team around Brady. His leadership and unique skill set are rare. There is absolutely no validity to it“.

https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/05/ottawa-senators-not-shopping-brady-tkachuk.html

[Brawndo]

 

[Archie Lee]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

 

This does leave about 3 - 3.5 million in space, but spots 21-23 aren't accounted for.  If filled with entry level-type deals, it leaves $1 million or less in space.

The thing I don't get about these roster projections is, if we are living in a the find of fantasy world where the Sabres make these kind of major acquisitions in trade and are spending to the cap, then why not go full-fantasy-mode and buyout Skinner?  Then you can add a more line appropriate winger for Roy and a veteran right-shot D to pair with Power. 

[thewookie1]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

 

Trade 1: Depending on the pick, sure

Trade 2: Hurts but sure

Trade 3: Nah, no thanks at that price; likewise I mentioned why Bryson wouldn't make sense for Tampa.

Draft: Not sure, he has the talent  but lacks size and would be par the course with our drafts

3.5mil to find 3 subs seems doable. Since Bryson might still be open even with the trade; offer him 2/3x1.3mil

Give Brendan Smith 1mil

And Tyler Johnson or like vet F 1mil and your good to go.

[thewookie1]

Worked from Joe's idea

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/5185758

[PerreaultForever]

On 5/28/2024 at 3:56 AM, French Collection said:

I would love Gourde, Tanev and Borgen but I doubt Joki, Rosen and a 3rd get that done. Seattle could push for Savoie and a better pick.

I just had a peek at Cap Friendly, Gourde and Tanev have NTCs.

I suspect these guys will be deadline dealt next year (assuming Seattle is out of it, which is likely). That's when they will have peak value and will also likely waive NTCs for cup runs. 

Seattle does have a 2C issue though. Wright just isn't that at this point (if ever).