Off-season Game Plan 2024

[mjd1001]

20 hours ago, dudacek said:

I mean have strong feelings about where many of these players will land (for example, I think Thompson is being seriously underestimated around here), but the only ones whose track records carry enough weight to give me legitimate confidence in a prediction are Dahlin and Tuch.

I think it is much more likely, than not, that Thompson give you 50+ goals this year. Again, if he is healthy, I expect that.

The goal for the Defense has to be to have one player on the ice at all times that is elite (or soon to be elite).  Dahlin.  Power.  A combo of Samuelsson/Byram.  I think the design of this team (intended) is as those players get older better, they control the puck form the back end. They get the puck in the D-zone and make breakout passes/carries to get it out, making the Sabres (eventually) the best in the league at doing that at all times.

Tuch is where I am curious.  I think he's the best forchecker on the team and should be good for 25 goals.  But what is his future here?  On one hand when his deal is up he'll still be very good and he's the 'great guy that wants to be here, which Adams likes.  On the other hand, he is a forward that is good, but not a star.  When his next contract would be starting, he will be a 'good' player, with an injury history, that is 30 years old.  Not exacly the kind of guy you want to give a multi-year deal to.

[dudacek]

17 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2024/08/nhl-trade-rumors-sabres-flyers-linked.html

Does Farabee in, Zucker/Greenway/Benson out make the Sabres a better team?

Particularly in the off-season context of "faster, harder, more accountable"?

 

[nfreeman]

Great breakdown as always @dudacek.

I tend to think that Lindy will pull most of these guys towards the better scenarios you have posted.  However, some disappointments are inevitable -- and I'll include in that category the likelihood of one or both of Samuelsson and Quinn, getting hurt again.

Other guys (Tage, Cozens, Tuch, Dahlin, Power, UPL) are more important than those 2, but I think the Sabres need a good healthy season out of at least 1 of them to make the playoffs.

[dudacek]

18 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

The goal for the Defense has to be to have one player on the ice at all times that is elite (or soon to be elite).  Dahlin.  Power.  A combo of Samuelsson/Byram.  I think the design of this team (intended) is as those players get older better, they control the puck form the back end. They get the puck in the D-zone and make breakout passes/carries to get it out, making the Sabres (eventually) the best in the league at doing that at all times.

 

Agreed. I think the play of Power/Byram/Samuelsson is the key to the coming season.

People talk about not making moves to improve the defence this summer. Byram played 18 games for us last year and Samuelsson 41. They can and should be significant upgrades to Johnson and Johnson. Power still has loads of unrealized potential.

On the downside, I'm not sure if any of three is ready to deliver on his promise.

 

18 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Tuch is where I am curious.  I think he's the best forchecker on the team and should be good for 25 goals.  But what is his future here?  On one hand when his deal is up he'll still be very good and he's the 'great guy that wants to be here, which Adams likes.  On the other hand, he is a forward that is good, but not a star.  When his next contract would be starting, he will be a 'good' player, with an injury history, that is 30 years old.  Not exacly the kind of guy you want to give a multi-year deal to.

Tuch is an interesting UFA case that I've been wondering about too.

I expect he'll be in high demand if he goes to market and still an important part of this team.

Two years is a long time in the NHL, particularly given the state of the Sabres roster. Will the Sabres be a contender? What kind of jumps will Benson, Peterka and Quinn have made, requiring what kind of contracts? How much contribution will Rosen, Wahlberg, Helenius, Östlund, Poltapov etc be capable of? Will Tuch be willing to give us a hometown discount?

Too early to really make a call there yet.

Edited August 6 by dudacek

[Flashsabre]

14 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Does Farabee in, Zucker/Greenway/Benson out make the Sabres a better team?

Particularly in the off-season context of "faster, harder, more accountable"?

 

I think Farabee would give offensive depth in the top 6 and round out the top 9:

Farabee Tage Tuch

JJ Cozens Quinn

Benson McLeod Zucker

Beck Lafferty NAK

You can switch JJ and Farabee. I just love the chemistry between JJ and Quinn.

Farabee is a 24 year old from the NY area with good speed. He does score from in front of the net too.

[triumph_communes]

I don’t see farabee coming in as an automatic out for someone else. It’ll make the press box rotation the top story every game. He’s a reclamation, with way higher upside than krebs

[Flashsabre]

3 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

I don’t see farabee coming in as an automatic out for someone else. It’ll make the press box rotation the top story every game. He’s a reclamation, with way higher upside than krebs

He had 50 points last season so he replaces Skinner’s production last year and is 24 so he still has some upward mobility.

It would probably be Krebs and a pick/prospect going back.

I see Greenway as a guy Ruff would like for his size and defensive chops. See him rotating in the bottom 6.

[dudacek]

2 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

I think Farabee would give offensive depth in the top 6 and round out the top 9:

Farabee Tage Tuch

JJ Cozens Quinn

Benson McLeod Zucker

Beck Lafferty NAK

You can switch JJ and Farabee. I just love the chemistry between JJ and Quinn.

Farabee is a 24 year old from the NY area with good speed. He does score from in front of the net too.

Taking out Greenway sure makes a difference in the hard-to-play-against quotient of that top 9.

Adding Farabee feels like adding another Zucker and a step back in the direction of the types of players we've stepped away from this summer.

Also, according to the NHLEdge stats, Farabee is not fast.