Off-season Game Plan 2024

[thewookie1]

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Especially when Pegula wouldn’t authorize any salary retention 

Supposedly he was willing to in regards to Skinner which is curious

[GASabresIUFAN]

15 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Supposedly he was willing to in regards to Skinner which is curious

The Pegula theories are all so interesting. He won't allow KA to retain a salary in a trade, but will buyout Skinner.  He won't spend to the cap, but they sign Dahlin for 11 mill and Power for 8 for 7 or more years.  He also allowed KA to through $5 mill at Zucker.  He tries to pinch pennies, but then fires Granato and eats his new contract.  

 

[Flashsabre]

 

[Taro T]

21 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

 

Reports like this are why there probably is a pretty strong likelihood that the Sabres do end up trading a bit of their precious future capital for Zegras or someone similar.  One more 2nd liner and the team suddenly seems to have some depth when injuries inevitably hit.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Reports like this are why there probably is a pretty strong likelihood that the Sabres do end up trading a bit of their precious future capital for Zegras or someone similar.  One more 2nd liner and the team suddenly seems to have some depth when injuries inevitably hit.

I don't see as a problem a willingness of the Sabres in a proposed Zegras deal to to trading prospects. The issue is whether the receiving team insists on getting one of their upcoming players who is already on the roster, such as Quinn, JJP, Benson or Power. I don't see KA agreeing to that. 

Edited July 29 by JohnC

[Brawndo]

11 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

Supposedly he was willing to in regards to Skinner which is curious

Once the decision was made to move on from Skinner, it makes perfect sense. 
 

Skinner had 22 million left in actual dollars on his old contract, the buyout cost was $14,666,667 over six years.
Trading Him with max retention of 50% would have resulted in the Sabres paying him 11 million over 3 years, over a 3 million dollar savings 

 

11 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The Pegula theories are all so interesting. He won't allow KA to retain a salary in a trade, but will buyout Skinner.  He won't spend to the cap, but they sign Dahlin for 11 mill and Power for 8 for 7 or more years.  He also allowed KA to through $5 mill at Zucker.  He tries to pinch pennies, but then fires Granato and eats his new contract.  

 

Chad from Expected Buffalo broke down the Sabres spending over the past four seasons In terms of total dollars spend on player salaries over the past three full years only Arizona spend less. If you include this offseason so far only Arizona and Anaheim have spend less than the Sabres over the past four years. 
Only Buffalo and Anaheim are the only two teams in the league to have at least 7% or more of their cap space unused in each season. 
They’ve left a combined $46.4 million in cap space on the board the last four years, even when you adjusted up the number this summer. That’s 13.88% of their cap space that has been left unused during that time. That’s the second-highest in the league behind the Ducks per Expected Buffalo. 
 

Arizona has taken cap dumps in exchange for assets. Anaheim has acted as a broker in three team trades. The Sabres have not done either of these things, with the exception of trading for Ben Bishop to get to the cap floor. BTW his salary was covered by insurance since he was on IR. 

How long do you think Utah’s Owner Ryan Smith is going to allow his franchise to be in the bottom of the league in terms of spending? 
 

Pegula has spend money on contract extensions for the young core, but he has not spent enough. No team that his been in the bottom five for spending has made the playoffs, yet a team that finished one point out of the playoffs two seasons ago remains in the bottom five.  
 

If you look at the total number of points per dollar spent over the past three seasons Arizona is 25th and Anaheim is 27th, the Sabres are 11th, just ahead of Nashville, Winnipeg and Pittsburgh. That’s reason enough to let the analytics department suggest another specific player to acquire. 

Donnie’s Contract has 2 years at 1.9 Million left and the Devils are paying half of Lindy’s Deal for the next two years, even if the Sabres are paying him 3 million per that’s around 5 million for the next two seasons. As of now the Sabres are saving 7.5 and 4.5 million over the next two years with the Skinner’s Buyout and that money has not been on spent on any player. 

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

 

FWIW Chad DeDominicis  has been pretty consistent in stating the Sabres did not have interest in Necas. The conversations were centered around Jack Drury, the trade would have been identical cost to the Edmonton Deal.  

[Warriorspikes51]

On 7/29/2024 at 7:16 PM, Brawndo said:

FWIW Chad DeDominicis  has been pretty consistent in stating the Sabres did not have interest in Necas. The conversations were centered around Jack Drury, the trade would have been identical cost to the Edmonton Deal.  

Has CHAD ever been right?   

[Brawndo]

28 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

Has CHAD ever been right?   

Multiple times 

[dudacek]

Last year’s most frequently used players versus this year’s projection:

• Tuch 1,463 minutes-> Thompson (1st PP, 1st line)
• Cozens 1,361 -> Tuch (top 6, both special teams)
• Peterka 1,344 -> Cozens (top 6, both special teams)
• Thompson 1,286 -> Quinn (top 6, both special teams)
• Skinner 1,184 -> Peterka (top 6, PP)
• Greenway 1,166 -> Benson (middle 6, special teams alternate)
• Mittelstadt 1,133 -> McLeod (middle 6, PK)
• Benson 1,031 -> Zucker (middle 6, PP alternate)
• Krebs 1,000 -> Greenway (middle 6, PK)
• Okposo 830 ->Malenstyn (bottom 6, PK)
• Girgensons 747 -> Lafferty (bottom 6)
• Olofsson 590 -> Aube-Kubel (bottom 6)
• Jost 456 -> Krebs (next man up)
• Robinson 440 -> Rousek (first call-up, bottom six)
• Quinn 422 -> Kulich (first call-up, top 6)

[Taro T]

24 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Last year’s most frequently used players versus this year’s projection:

• Tuch 1,463 minutes-> Thompson (1st PP, 1st line)
• Cozens 1,361 -> Tuch (top 6, both special teams)
• Peterka 1,344 -> Cozens (top 6, both special teams)
• Thompson 1,286 -> Quinn (top 6, both special teams)
• Skinner 1,184 -> Peterka (top 6, PP)
• Greenway 1,166 -> Benson (middle 6, special teams alternate)
• Mittelstadt 1,133 -> McLeod (middle 6, PK)
• Benson 1,031 -> Zucker (middle 6, PP alternate)
• Krebs 1,000 -> Greenway (middle 6, PK)
• Okposo 830 ->Malenstyn (bottom 6, PK)
• Girgensons 747 -> Lafferty (bottom 6)
• Olofsson 590 -> Aube-Kubel (bottom 6)
• Jost 456 -> Krebs (next man up)
• Robinson 440 -> Rousek (first call-up, bottom six)
• Quinn 422 -> Kulich (first call-up, top 6)

Assuming all stay healthy (which won't happen) agree with most of it, but personally would flip Tuch and Thompson ice time wise.  Tuch will be getting more ice time when nursing a lead than Tommer will IMHO and expect they'll be pretty much glued to each other's hip when trying to score late.

(Would be willing to relook at that should they get another top 6W who might take some of Alex's PP time away.)

[dudacek]

My starting lines:

• Benson Thompson Tuch
• Peterka Cozens Quinn
• Zucker McLeod Greenway
• Malenstyn Lafferty Aube-Kubel

Nothing too controversial here at all. I think 90% of you will agree with 9 of the 12 slots, with the debate happening over where the top 3 LWs should go.

My rationale starts with believing Tuch and Thompson will succeed regardless of their 3rd wheel, and wanting “line2” to be a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches. Quinn is the guy I want driving that line and Peterka is the guy who he has the most chemistry with. I also need Cozens to rebound and the best way to do that is to play him with 2 of the team’s 3 best wingers. This was a good line when JJ and Jack were rookies. With the added experience of all 3, it could be great.

I think Lindy starts Zucker on the Thompson line and I can see the logic. He brings some of Skinner’s finishing ability and also his edge (except he brings it at both ends). And he can play with high-end skill; it’s easy to see him connecting with Tage the way he did with Malkin. He shouldn’t hurt them matchup-wise and it’s a way of maximizing his skill set. And I can understand his reluctance to use a 19-year-old the way he’s probably going to use Thompson and Tuch.

But I just see so much potential in adding what Benson does well to the Thompson/Tuch combo: he will get them the puck and clean up their leftovers in front of the net while upping the line’s defensive acumen. It would be so Benson to take the opportunity and run with it.

And while I think running Benson on line 3 would make for an effective trio in terms of tilting the ice, I prefer Zucker with McLeod and Greenway because he is the only one of the 4 who has shown any real finishing skills. I see three guys with different but complementary skill sets properly slotted where they can be effective: a real 3rd line.

The Lafferty line and its role needs no explanation.

Edited August 2 by dudacek

[Taro T]

37 minutes ago, dudacek said:

My starting lines:

• Benson Thompson Tuch
• Peterka Cozens Quinn
• Zucker McLeod Greenway
• Malenstyn Lafferty Aube-Kubel

Nothing too controversial here at all. I think 90% of you will agree with 9 of the 12 slots, with the debate happening over where the top 3 LWs should go.

My rationale starts with believing Tuch and Thompson will succeed regardless of their 3rd wheel, and wanting “line2” to be a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches. Quinn is the guy I want driving that line and Peterka is the guy who he has the most chemistry with. I also need Cozens to rebound and the best way to do that is to play him with 2 of the team’s 3 best wingers. This was a good line when JJ and Jack were rookies. With the added experience of all 3, it could be great.

I think Lindy starts Zucker on the Thompson line and I can see the logic. He brings some of Skinner’s finishing ability and also his edge (except he brings it at both ends). And he can play with high-end skill; it’s easy to see him connecting with Tage the way he did with Malkin. He shouldn’t hurt them matchup-wise and it’s a way of maximizing his skill set. And I can understand his reluctance to use a 19-year-old the way he’s probably going to use Thompson and Tuch.

But I just see so much potential in adding what Benson does well to the Thompson/Tuch combo: he will get them the puck and clean up their leftovers in front of the net while upping the line’s defensive acumen. It would be so Benson to take the opportunity and run with it.

And while I think running Benson on line 3 would make for an effective trio in terms of tilting the ice, I prefer Zucker with McLeod and Greenway because he is the only one of the 4 who has shown any real finishing skills. I see three guys with different but complementary skill sets properly slotted where they can be effective: a real 3rd line.

The Lafferty line and its role needs no explanation.

Can see the logic to it, and it is sound.

Who becomes your odd man out if they bring in a legit 2W should Greenway not end up part of the package going back.  If they did trade for Zegras (or similar primarily offensive W) and somehow the return didn't include Greenway as part of the package going back then either Greenway or Benson would seem to be the odd man out (at least until an injury gets them both back into the lineup).  REALLY like Benson, and don't want to take him out of the lineup, but would expect either Zegras or Zucker to take that spot you have Benson pencilled into and the other taking the spot Zucker is pencilled into.  So, either Benny or Greenway slides out as Benny doesn't have the size Ruff seems to want on L4 and Greenway doesn't have the speed he seems to want there.

Does he keep Greenway in to make that L3 more "balanced" or does keep Benny in to give it a bit more offensive punch?

[dudacek]

I really like the Sabres blue line talent and I think people tend to put too much emphasis on handedness (especially when Dahlin is a proven stud at RHD).

But the pieces sure don’t seem to fit together with the ease they do up front.

And it gets even more difficult once you begin to factor in the analytics of various pairings and the uncertainty about how Lindy intends to tweak the system and deploy his blueline.

I can see it going two ways, depending on whether or not Lindy wants his first pair to function as a shutdown/matchup pair in the way he used Zhitnik/Smehlik way back when.

If that’s the case, then I see Samuelsson/Dahlin as that pair with the other 2 pairs being high-risk high-reward r/l groupings.

I’d prefer:

• Byram/Dahlin
• Power/Jokiharju
• Samuelsson/Clifton 

To me, the first pair is all about skill and edge - a go-for-it, identity-creating, dare-the-opponent-to-keep-up unit that gets used in all situations.

I see Samuelsson/Clifton getting more work against the banging teams and lines, Power/Jokiharju against the skating teams and lines.

Mule and Power would get a lot more ice time than their partners because of special teams and a situational play, with Dahlin/Mule a tool Lindy would use to bring games home.

[PerreaultForever]

I don't see a pairing of Byram/Dahlin working. That the pairing you want up against opponent's number one lines? If so you better hope they get it out quick and spend a lot of time in the O zone because they will be a disaster in their own end. 

A lot depends on Samuelsson staying healthy and Power taking a step or two forward. Those two things are essential. 

[dudacek]

21 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I don't see a pairing of Byram/Dahlin working. That the pairing you want up against opponent's number one lines? If so you better hope they get it out quick and spend a lot of time in the O zone because they will be a disaster in their own end.

Yes, I am hoping — actually, expecting — a Dahlin/Byram pairing to get it out quick and spend a lot of time in the o-zone.

I don't foresee any pairing with Dahlin on it being a disaster in their own end. He's too good.

Last year he was a 55% possession player playing against the other team's best players. Didn't matter who his partner was. The idea that he needs a defensively sound partner to cover for him simply isn't true. He is a #1 D whose presence gives the Sabres a huge advantage in all three zones any time he's on the ice and makes the job of his partner easier. He's the team's best defender.

What a Byram/Dahlin pairing does is give Byram the team's best-defending RD to play with, to let him play freely and maximize what he does best. I wouldn't be afraid to use them against other team's top lines, but it would not be their primary task on a game-to-game basis. I described their deployment above.

We don't have an extra Jay McKee kicking around; we've got to maximize the abilities of the 6 we have.

What do you see as the best way to deploy this group?

 

[nfreeman]

I don’t mind @dudacek’s D pairs, but I’d like Power’s partner to be a guy who brings the fire and nasty.  I think Owen needs someone to inspire him a bit in that department.

Cliffie didn’t seem up to that job last season, and it’s probably over Gilbert’s head, so Joki probably gets it by default. I don’t love that outcome.  

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Yes, I am hoping — actually, expecting — a Dahlin/Byram pairing to get it out quick and spend a lot of time in the o-zone.

I don't foresee any pairing with Dahlin on it being a disaster in their own end. He's too good.

Last year he was a 55% possession player playing against the other team's best players. Didn't matter who his partner was. The idea that he needs a defensively sound partner to cover for him simply isn't true. He is a #1 D whose presence gives the Sabres a huge advantage in all three zones any time he's on the ice and makes the job of his partner easier. He's the team's best defender.

What a Byram/Dahlin pairing does is give Byram the team's best-defending RD to play with, to let him play freely and maximize what he does best. I wouldn't be afraid to use them against other team's top lines, but it would not be their primary task on a game-to-game basis. I described their deployment above.

We don't have an extra Jay McKee kicking around; we've got to maximize the abilities of the 6 we have.

What do you see as the best way to deploy this group?

 

It's summer so I don't want to get into a long argument about who is good or not good as a D man but to the bolded lines, to the first, you sound like Housley and Granato. Hasn't worked so far, don't think it'll work now. Can't see Ruff having that philosophy. 

To the second, your question, I really don't know as the Samuelsson question is real, I've never cared for Jokiharju, and I'm really unsure on Byram or where Power will be in his development. 

Having said that, I think Clifton will be better under Ruff. More like he was in Boston and Dahlin will be Dahlin so that brings up the issue of ice time and deployment. I would actually like to see Ruff try Power-Dahlin as the top pairing but again, it depends on where Power is.  Otherwise Samuelsson-Dahlin but Byram-Power doesn't really work for me so I just don't know. I still think we have too many of the softer puck movers and not enough of the tough defenders but we will see what Ruff can get out of them. 

[dudacek]

27 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

It's summer so I don't want to get into a long argument about who is good or not good as a D man but to the bolded lines, to the first, you sound like Housley and Granato. Hasn't worked so far, don't think it'll work now. Can't see Ruff having that philosophy. 

To the second, your question, I really don't know as the Samuelsson question is real, I've never cared for Jokiharju, and I'm really unsure on Byram or where Power will be in his development. 

Having said that, I think Clifton will be better under Ruff. More like he was in Boston and Dahlin will be Dahlin so that brings up the issue of ice time and deployment. I would actually like to see Ruff try Power-Dahlin as the top pairing but again, it depends on where Power is.  Otherwise Samuelsson-Dahlin but Byram-Power doesn't really work for me so I just don't know. I still think we have too many of the softer puck movers and not enough of the tough defenders but we will see what Ruff can get out of them. 

Any coach - real or internet wannabe - can only play the hand he’s dealt.

I think Lindy has a pretty long history of adapting to his personnel so long as they work hard and do what they’re told. Softer puck movers like Numminen, Campbell and Tallinder did just fine.

It will be interesting to see how this D core responds.

[Taro T]

10 hours ago, dudacek said:

Any coach - real or internet wannabe - can only play the hand he’s dealt.

I think Lindy has a pretty long history of adapting to his personnel so long as they work hard and do what they’re told. Softer puck movers like Numminen, Campbell and Tallinder did just fine.

It will be interesting to see how this D core responds.

For whatever it's worth, Ruff mentioned a couple months back that Dahlin would be playing with multiple partners and the 2 he specifically mentioned were Samuelsson and Power.

[dudacek]

10 minutes ago, Taro T said:

For whatever it's worth, Ruff mentioned a couple months back that Dahlin would be playing with multiple partners and the 2 he specifically mentioned were Samuelsson and Power.

 I remember that and I do think there will be a lot of in-game shifting - so much that the starting pairings may not matter much.

I think either of those duos would be better #1 pairings than Byram/Dahlin, I just think the other 2 pairings look way better with Byram and Dahlin as the base.

Power and Jokiharju have coverage issues in zone, but they handle speed very well and can flip the ice. They won more than they lost as a pair last year.

And I quite like the concept of Samuelsson and Clifton in-zone, especially as a way of coping with the pounding forwards like those with Tampa and Florida.

I think the mix would challenge any coach, but getting the right players out there is usually a Lindy strength, so I’m with @perreaultforever, it will be interesting to see how their games and roles shift under Lindy.

[Taro T]

17 minutes ago, dudacek said:

 I remember that and I do think there will be a lot of in-game shifting - so much that the starting pairings may not matter much.

I think either of those duos would be better #1 pairings than Byram/Dahlin, I just think the other 2 pairings look way better with Byram and Dahlin as the base.

Power and Jokiharju have coverage issues in zone, but they handle speed very well and can flip the ice. They won more than they lost as a pair last year.

And I quite like the concept of Samuelsson and Clifton in-zone, especially as a way of coping with the pounding forwards like those with Tampa and Florida.

I think the mix would challenge any coach, but getting the right players out there is usually a Lindy strength, so I’m with @perreaultforever, it will be interesting to see how their games and roles shift under Lindy.

What's interesting IMHO is that Adams had said, perhaps indirectly (don't recall his exact words), that he brought Byram in to be Dahlin's partner.  But he just chooses the players Ruff has to work with.  Ruff actually deploys them.

And, as this could be the year that Power really comes into his own, there is something to be said for using him and Dahlin the way the Ducks used Pronger and Niedermayer.  Keep them separated most of the game so the opponent has to deal with one or the other for 45-50 minutes and then pair them up come crunch time.  And IF Power does come into his own, maybe he and Byram could work together leaving Samuelsson in his familiar old spot and Clifton teaming with either Jokiharju or the guy they brought in to add more muscle to the D.  If Power and Byram could work, it pretty much lets the other pairings make sense IMHO.

[dudacek]

I think there is a tendency to overlook the importance of skill when it comes to defending.

We all want our D to be physically punishing and to sacrifice their bodies, but the essence of a defenceman’s job is simple: get in the way of the other team.

To do that effectively you need to be able to eliminate time and space and your best weapons for doing that are things like lateral mobility, length, and a good quick stick.

Without these things you can get by on grit and hockey sense and be Josh Gorges, but you add them to grit and hockey sense and you’re Charlie McAvoy or Victor Hedman.

Even without the grit, you can be Nick Lidstrom or Scott Neidermayer.

Because you need a high level of skill to be a top defender. All the grit and hockey sense in the world is not going to stop McKinnon or McDavid without the skill to react to the speed at which they play the game.

When I Iook at Byram’s elite lateral mobility, or Power’s world-class range, I see tools that could translate to that kind of defender. Byram also has the stick and a level of grit. Power has the hands and the hockey sense. They haven’t shown the discipline (Byram) or the assertiveness (Power) to maximize their gifts in their own zone.

But they have the skills to be good defenders. I’m hopeful experience and coaching can evolve that into their games as they mature, the way it has for Dahlin and so many other good young defencemen.

[PerreaultForever]

13 hours ago, dudacek said:

Any coach - real or internet wannabe - can only play the hand he’s dealt.

I think Lindy has a pretty long history of adapting to his personnel so long as they work hard and do what they’re told. Softer puck movers like Numminen, Campbell and Tallinder did just fine.

It will be interesting to see how this D core responds.

Without getting into details on those players attributes, he always had a mix of players though. There were other guys there to get the dirty jobs done so to speak. 

I personally don't think the changes we have made are adequate, BUT, the roster is assembled and constructed more like it should be finally and it looks more like a Ruff type team already without even playing. How the forwards will play D is perhaps more important than the actual D itself. 

So for me the biggest question this year is can these young talented forwards be offensive threats AND play good D at the same time. This is what Ruff will want. Have to wait and see if they can or will do it.

[dudacek]

Best case scenario

• Thompson — return to form from 2 years ago, flirts with 50 goals and 100 points and is a real gamebreaker
• Tuch — legit all-situations 1st-line power forward
• Cozens —  legit all-situations high-end 2C
• Quinn — breakout 30-plus goal, 70-plus point season driving the 2nd line
• Peterka — takes another step into the 30-goal, 60-point territory, improves his D
• Zucker — chips in 25, mostly in the top 6 and is a vast improvement over Skinner in terms of accountability and details.
• Benson — takes a jump into 50-point territory, mostly in a top 6 role with very good 2-way play
• McLeod — tilts the ice in favour of the third-line, helps the team bring games home while contributing 30 points and firing an improved PK
• Greenway — similar to McLeod, with the emphasis on size rather than speed
• Malenstyn — defensive rock and pounding forechecker who shows up every night shuts down opponents and becomes a fan favourite
• Lafferty — versatile bottom 6 razor blade who defends well and keys a refreshed hard-to-play-against team approach.
• Aube-Kubel — a bit of Malenstyn and a bit of Lafferty and a reason guys further up the lineup can't take a night off.
• Krebs — takes a step playing Lindy hockey, and challenges McLeod, Lafferty and Greenway for ice time, fills in positively in multiple roles as a lineup regular
• Dahlin — has a legitimate Norris trophy-level season
• Power — augments his size and skill with assertiveness and earns his $8M by starting to take over games
• Byram — adds considerable speed and fire to the team identity, scores goals and looks like a legitimate top-4 blueliner in all 3 zones
• Samuelsson — stays healthy and is the shutdown rock we've all seen glimpses of
• Jokiharju — looks like a veteran in a contract year and very much an asset playing 3rd-pair minutes
• Clifton — fits well with an edgier team attitude and also provides value playing 3rd-pair minutes
• Gilbert — adds some snarl and holds his own as a reliable 7th Dman
• Luukkonen — owns the #1 role and continues the level of play he's shown so far in 2024
• Levi — matches Luukkonen save for save as the Swayman to UPL's Ullmark
• Reimer — provides Craig Anderson level play and presence in a backup role

 

Worst case scenario

• Thompson — he is again what we saw last year
• Tuch — a likable 2nd-liner asked to do too much for a bad team
• Cozens —  he is again what we saw last year
• Quinn — he's more the 35- to 40-point guy he was as a rookie, than the driver we've talked ourselves into projecting
• Peterka — clashes with Lindy over his defence and regresses
• Zucker — Father Time takes away his edge and he quickly proves to be a mercenary playing out the string
• Benson — age, size and increased team depth marginalize his role early, it creeps into his head and he settles into a sophomore slump
• McLeod — a low-impact fast skater with weak hands and no edge, who quickly becomes a whipping boy for fans talked into expecting more
• Greenway — pending UFA who earns Lindy's ire for not using his size enough and gets shipped out of town
• Malenstyn — a hard-working stone-hands replacement-level 4th-line plug who fails to justify the price we paid
• Lafferty — just another in a long line of 4th-line Sabres JAGs
• Aube-Kubel — shows himself to be not good enough to be a roster regular, like he has in several other spots; Robinson 2.0
• Krebs — fails to take a step under Lindy, fades into the press box and gets moved for peanuts
• Dahlin — puts too much weight on himself and tries to do too much, resulting in similar point totals but increased errors
• Power — overcompensates trying to correct the weaknesses in his game, blows it up with too much thinking and regresses
• Byram — he struggles to carve out a role and find a comfortable partner, tries to do too much and makes too many mistakes
• Samuelsson — yet again, he can't stay healthy
• Jokiharju — both he and the coaching staff approach his UFA status as if he's already gone and he becomes an afterthought
• Clifton — overreacts to Lindy's desire for more direct hockey, hurting the team with too many mistakes and bad penalties
• Gilbert — is forced to play too much due to issues higher up the roster and proves to be not up to the task
• Luukkonen — gets off to a slow start and quickly climbs into his own head
• Levi — starts the season in Rochester, reacts poorly to the situation and fails to step up when he finally gets the call
• Reimer — he's just collecting his last paycheque and fails both when called on in Buffalo, and as a backstop for the young Amerks

 

All of the above assuming health. I can't recall the last time I've been so uncertain about what so many Sabres will deliver.

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.

Edited August 5 by dudacek