UFAs Sabres may want to sign

[Carmel Corn]

2 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

Not to put too much of a damper on your enthusiasm for possible UFA upgrades, but if the Sabres just give conservative extensions to their RFA's and promote Levi, Johnson and Rousek to back-up roles, they are left with under $10 million to fill out three bottom-6 forward positions.  If the plan is to "up" spending on the bottom-6 (ie: spend more than the $8.6 million paid last year to Girgs, Okposo, Jost and Robinson), then the cap is nearly gone.  That assumes the Sabres are even considering spending something close to the cap.  I'm not trying to be pessimistic as I do think there are meaningful changes that can be made. But, unless they are willing to spend to the cap and/or trade a vet (Joker $$$ or higher) and/or buyout Skinner, they will just be playing with the edges of the roster.   

Are you factoring in VO’s salary coming off the payroll?

[Archie Lee]

5 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

Are you factoring in VO’s salary coming off the payroll?

That is including VO’s departure and the $4.2 million cap increase. 

I’m not saying we have no room to manoeuvre. Unless we are going to be bold though, there isn’t as much room as some might think. 

[Malazan]

3 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

That is including VO’s departure and the $4.2 million cap increase. 

I’m not saying we have no room to manoeuvre. Unless we are going to be bold though, there isn’t as much room as some might think. 

I feel like this is misleading. The Sabres $8.48M in cap space is the 3rd most in the league and they are also projected to have the 3rd most. The only teams with more space are the Blackhawks and the Ducks.

[kas23]

So, besides the obvious (Skinner), is there any other dead wood we can shed? Too many players making inflated salaries with not enough results. I look down this roster and ask myself, we’re having imminent cap problems?

[Sabres73]

It's not really a cap problem when you have the core of your young team locked up for years in what will be seen as very reasonable contracts.

[LabattBlue]

1 minute ago, Sabres73 said:

It's not really a cap problem when you have the core of your young team locked up for years in what will be seen as very reasonable contracts.

…but it is a problem if said core is overpaid. 

[Archie Lee]

23 minutes ago, Malazan said:

I feel like this is misleading. The Sabres $8.48M in cap space is the 3rd most in the league and they are also projected to have the 3rd most. The only teams with more space are the Blackhawks and the Ducks.

I think you are looking at 23-24 year end numbers.  

[Taro T]

52 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

…but it is a problem if said core is overpaid. 

And therein lies the rub.  If the "core" have bounceback years coming back healthy and under Ruff, this team probably should be pencilled into slot 7 or 8.  If they look like they did last year; then we'd better hope that UPL's improvement wasn't a mirage, that Levi is also ready for prime time, Benson and Quinn take leaps forward, and the new F's don't have the same acclimation period that Clifton had last year.  Having great luck at staying healthy might also be necessary to have a shot in that latter scenario. 

[Flashsabre]

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/sabres
 

Here is the new year’s numbers.

Sabres have over $23 million in cap space today.

[dudacek]

The Sabres have the 9th most space with $23M

They have 13 NHL players signed and 10 players to re-sign or replace with that space:

Luukkonen, Jokiharju, Krebs, Bryson, Clague, Olofsson, Girgensons, Jost, Comrie, Robinson.

For sake of argument, I’m going to dedicate $10M to re-signing the first 3 and let the rest go.

Also for sake of argument, I’m going to budget $3M on the 3 guys starting in the press box.

That leaves $10M to spend on 3 top 12 forwards and a backup goalie.

That’s plenty of space for upgrades to Okposo Girgensons Olofsson and Comrie, particularly when you have a Comrie upgrade already available at $900K in Levi.

Edited May 17 by dudacek

[oddoublee]

1 hour ago, kas23 said:

So, besides the obvious (Skinner), is there any other dead wood we can shed? Too many players making inflated salaries with not enough results. I look down this roster and ask myself, we’re having imminent cap problems?

No one will like my answer, but Muel is dead weight. Doesn't play enough. Analytics are poor. 'his' win loss record is good...but that has to be taken with a grain of salt based on his role. That is 4 million I personally would love to shed

[klos1963]

7 hours ago, pastajoe said:

Chandler Stephenson could be the veteran center they need for their 3rd line, with the ability to move up or play wing when needed. Good at face offs and penalty kill.

I can’t believe VO made almost $5 million. 😳

I'm guessing because , at the time, he was one of our best goal scorers and we needed to hit the cap floor.

[Huckleberry]

Necas is supposed to be available and Pesce won't be going back to the canes.

[SabresBillsFan]

I would go for Pesce and Stephenson.

[Malazan]

5 hours ago, Archie Lee said:

I think you are looking at 23-24 year end numbers.  

I think you're looking up a horse's arse.

[JoeSchmoe]

5 hours ago, dudacek said:

The Sabres have the 9th most space with $23M

They have 13 NHL players signed and 10 players to re-sign or replace with that space:

Luukkonen, Jokiharju, Krebs, Bryson, Clague, Olofsson, Girgensons, Jost, Comrie, Robinson.

For sake of argument, I’m going to dedicate $10M to re-signing the first 3 and let the rest go.

Also for sake of argument, I’m going to budget $3M on the 3 guys starting in the press box.

That leaves $10M to spend on 3 top 12 forwards and a backup goalie.

That’s plenty of space for upgrades to Okposo Girgensons Olofsson and Comrie, particularly when you have a Comrie upgrade already available at $900K in Levi.

What's Bryson going to cost? He was visibly better this season and has the advanced stats to prove it. I like him in the 6/7 slot for next season. Arguably RJ is good for this, but I think he might benefit with more ROC time.

[JoeSchmoe]

Not looking for specific names or anything, but what does Joki and a prospect (preferably Östlund or Rosen) get us up front?

Can we get a legit good middle 6 forward?

Could adding a pick get us a legit good 3C?

Edited May 18 by JoeSchmoe

[Archie Lee]

15 hours ago, dudacek said:

The Sabres have the 9th most space with $23M

They have 13 NHL players signed and 10 players to re-sign or replace with that space:

Luukkonen, Jokiharju, Krebs, Bryson, Clague, Olofsson, Girgensons, Jost, Comrie, Robinson.

For sake of argument, I’m going to dedicate $10M to re-signing the first 3 and let the rest go.

Also for sake of argument, I’m going to budget $3M on the 3 guys starting in the press box.

That leaves $10M to spend on 3 top 12 forwards and a backup goalie.

That’s plenty of space for upgrades to Okposo Girgensons Olofsson and Comrie, particularly when you have a Comrie upgrade already available at $900K in Levi.

The above is all true.  To take it a step further, let's assume Krebs is moved back to 4C.  Let's also assume that Skinner and Greenway are the 3rd line wingers.  And let's assume Levi is the 2nd goalie as is likely to be the case.  This leaves us around $9 million to bring in a 3rd line C and two 4th line wingers.  Upgrades don't need to cost more than what we paid Okposo, Girgs and Jost, but we probably have to spend at least the same, $7 million, to get better players. If this happens, we will have increased our spending to within $2 million of the cap (give or take), without upgrading or changing the make-up of our top-6 and D.  It also assumes we are actually prepared to spend that much.

I do think that the above scenario can render us a better team than a year ago. With development of existing players and bounce back years and better coaching, it could yield a playoff team. Unless we are moving a veteran out though (Joker, Greenway, Samuelsson, Skinner), there is little to no room for a bigger splash.  Lots of fans want us to move #11 and/or one or two top prospects for veteran upgrades.  Such a trade or trades would mean, I think and hope, bringing in a player with a larger contract. I'm not making excuses for management. Just pointing out that all of the hope for big acquisitions (not you, but from this thread: Pavelski, Necas, Pesce, E. Lindholm, Stephenson, Stamkos, Marchessault and Zadorov) is likely misplaced for multiple reasons, one of which is there actually isn't a lot of cap space available.     

Edited May 18 by Archie Lee

[dudacek]

50 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

The above is all true.  To take it a step further, let's assume Krebs is moved back to 4C.  Let's also assume that Skinner and Greenway are the 3rd line wingers.  And let's assume Levi is the 2nd goalie as is likely to be the case.  This leaves us around $9 million to bring in a 3rd line C and two 4th line wingers.  Upgrades don't need to cost more than what we paid Okposo, Girgs and Jost, but we probably have to spend at least the same, $7 million, to get better players. If this happens, we will have increased our spending to within $2 million of the cap (give or take), without upgrading or changing the make-up of our top-6 and D.  It also assumes we are actually prepared to spend that much.

I do think that the above scenario can render us a better team than a year ago. With development of existing players and bounce back years and better coaching, it could yield a playoff team. Unless we are moving a veteran out though (Joker, Greenway, Samuelsson, Skinner), there is little to no room for a bigger splash.  Lots of fans want us to move #11 and/or one or two top prospects for veteran upgrades.  Such a trade or trades would mean, I think and hope, bringing in a player with a larger contract. I'm not making excuses for management. Just pointing out that all of the hope for big acquisitions (not you, but from this thread: Pavelski, Necas, Pesce, E. Lindholm, Stephenson, Stamkos, Marchessault and Zadorov) is likely misplaced for multiple reasons, one of which is there actually isn't a lot of cap space available.     

They absolutely could get a bigger-name guy for $6-8 million and 2 plugs for the 4th line and call it a day.

Let’s focus on the Canucks here since they are a team whose jump we are trying to emulate.

I think the Sabres would be more than happy with a summertime haul that yields the likes of Elias Lindholm, Dakota Joshua, Sam Lafferty and Teddy Blueger.

Vancouver is paying those 4 guys $4.8M, $800K, $1.9M, and $1.1M - $8.8M total.

Lafferty was acquired for a 5th-rounder, Blueger signed July 1 to a 1-year UFA deal, Joshua was basically a Brett Murray they signed for depth.

And Lindholm was acquired for the type of deal many of us want Adams to make: a bushel of picks and prospects - roughly equivalent to Ryan Johnson, next year’s 1st and scraps - and Kuzmenko, a fat contract sitting in the press box.

Edited May 18 by dudacek

[dudacek]

isn’t it really just about spending your money wisely?

I think it @GASabresIUFAN who has talked on here about Adams choices at the bottom of his roster.

While Vancouver was paying $4M to Lafferty, Blueger and Joshua, the Sabres were paying $7.2M to Okposo, Girgensons and Jost.

That’s not just about having a better bottom 6, the difference might be what allows you to acquire an Elias Lindholm.

It”s not something the Sabres have really had to worry about as they stocked their roster with players on their first and 2nd contracts.

But it’s something they need to worry about now.

[LGR4GM]

14 minutes ago, dudacek said:

isn’t it really just about spending your money wisely?

I think it @GASabresIUFAN who has talked on here about Adams choices at the bottom of his roster.

While Vancouver was paying $4M to Lafferty, Blueger and Joshua, the Sabres were paying $7.2M to Okposo, Girgensons and Jost.

That’s not just about having a better bottom 6, the difference might be what allows you to acquire an Elias Lindholm.

It”s not something the Sabres have really had to worry about as they stocked their roster with players on their first and 2nd contracts.

But it’s something they need to worry about now.

Adams has been a compete failure at pro scouting ufas. He's been trash at filling out the roster to this point. 

[Archie Lee]

31 minutes ago, dudacek said:

They absolutely could get a bigger-name guy for $6-8 million and 2 plugs for the 4th line and call it a day.

Let’s focus on the Canucks here since they are a team whose jump we are trying to emulate.

I think the Sabres would be more than happy with a summertime haul that yields the likes of Elias Lindholm, Dakota Joshua, Sam Lafferty and Teddy Blueger.

Vancouver is paying those 4 guys $4.8M, $800K, $1.9M, and $1.1M - $8.8M total.

Lafferty was acquired for a 5th-rounder, Blueger signed July 1 to a 1-year UFA deal, Joshua was basically a Brett Murray they signed for depth.

And Lindholm was acquired for the type of deal many of us want Adams to make: a bushel of picks and prospects - roughly equivalent to Ryan Johnson, next year’s 1st and scraps - and Kuzmenko, a fat contract sitting in the press box.

This is a bit of a Royal Flush, isn't it?  I mean, sure, we could this.  We will likely try to. But most of the teams in the league will be competing to find their Lafferty, Blueger and Joshua. All 3 are free agents this off-season.  If you want players like that in reality and not theoretically, it's going to cost a lot more than $3.8 million.

[dudacek]

5 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

This is a bit of a Royal Flush, isn't it?  I mean, sure, we could this.  We will likely try to. But most of the teams in the league will be competing to find their Lafferty, Blueger and Joshua. All 3 are free agents this off-season.  If you want players like that in reality and not theoretically, it's going to cost a lot more than $3.8 million.

Sure, but let’s not dismiss it as a pipe dream either.

This is how good teams have stayed competitive and mediocre teams have made the jump.

You’re not going to sign Lindholm and Joshua for anywhere near that money, but you can find the next Lindholm and Joshua.

If you want to contend, you have to.

[Archie Lee]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Sure, but let’s not dismiss it as a pipe dream either.

This is how good teams have stayed competitive and mediocre teams have made the jump.

You’re not going to sign Lindholm and Joshua for anywhere near that money, but you can find the next Lindholm and Joshua.

If you want to contend, you have to.

Agreed.  It also helped that the Canucks were willing to buyout the guy who didn't fit anymore (OEL).  They get full credit for being smart and bold.   

[Sabres73]

21 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

…but it is a problem if said core is overpaid. 

I bet the last few years of the contracts will be bargains at that point.