Is KA done tinkering with the roster this off-season?

[GASabresIUFAN]

As the calendar has now moved to August trades take a back seat to RFA signings.  It begs the question, is KA done tinkering with the NHL roster? it sure looks like it.  

We have discussed the possibility of a Necas, Farabee or Zegras trade and they look like non-starters at this point.  Necas doesn't want to come to Buffalo and Ana can't really afford to lose Zegras' cap hit right now.  Maybe he comes truly available at the deadline.

We have 12 NHL forwards under contract - TNT, Tuch, JJP; Cozens, Benson, Quinn; McLeod, Zucker Greenway; and Aube-Kubel, Lafferty, Malenstyn.  Krebs remains the only unsigned RFA.  Once signed he'll be roster forward 13.

We have 8 D under contract - Dahlin, Power; Samuelsson, Clifton; Byram, Jokiharju: and Gilbert, Bryson. 

We have 3 goalies under contract in UPL, Reimer and Levi.

The only real roster questions are whether Levi beats our Reimer for the backup job and how will Lindy put his lines (F & D) together.  

Do you agree?

 

[_Q_]

Yes.  And we will be ok.

[dudacek]

34 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

As the calendar has now moved to August trades take a back seat to RFA signings.  It begs the question, is KA done tinkering with the NHL roster? it sure looks like it.  

We have discussed the possibility of a Necas, Farabee or Zegras trade and they look like non-starters at this point.  Necas doesn't want to come to Buffalo and Ana can't really afford to lose Zegras' cap hit right now.  Maybe he comes truly available at the deadline.

We have 12 NHL forwards under contract - TNT, Tuch, JJP; Cozens, Benson, Quinn; McLeod, Zucker Greenway; and Aube-Kubel, Lafferty, Malenstyn.  Krebs remains the only unsigned RFA.  Once signed he'll be roster forward 13.

We have 8 D under contract - Dahlin, Power; Samuelsson, Clifton; Byram, Jokiharju: and Gilbert, Bryson. 

We have 3 goalies under contract in UPL, Reimer and Levi.

The only real roster questions are whether Levi beats our Reimer for the backup job and how will Lindy put his lines (F & D) together.  

Do you agree?

 

Mostly.

I think Adams has had several conversations about adding a top six forward and knows the basic parameters of what it will take to close a deal or deals.

If circumstances shift enough for either side, or something fresh emerges elsewhere, he won't hesitate to pull the trigger. Another pressure point won't emerge until training camp approaches.

In the meantime, he's assembled a squad that I think he'll be content to start the season with if the deal he wants doesn't materialize.

Edited August 6 by dudacek

[GoPuckYourself]

38 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

As the calendar has now moved to August trades take a back seat to RFA signings.  It begs the question, is KA done tinkering with the NHL roster? it sure looks like it.  

We have discussed the possibility of a Necas, Farabee or Zegras trade and they look like non-starters at this point.  Necas doesn't want to come to Buffalo and Ana can't really afford to lose Zegras' cap hit right now.  Maybe he comes truly available at the deadline.

We have 12 NHL forwards under contract - TNT, Tuch, JJP; Cozens, Benson, Quinn; McLeod, Zucker Greenway; and Aube-Kubel, Lafferty, Malenstyn.  Krebs remains the only unsigned RFA.  Once signed he'll be roster forward 13.

We have 8 D under contract - Dahlin, Power; Samuelsson, Clifton; Byram, Jokiharju: and Gilbert, Bryson. 

We have 3 goalies under contract in UPL, Reimer and Levi.

The only real roster questions are whether Levi beats our Reimer for the backup job and how will Lindy put his lines (F & D) together.  

Do you agree?

 

You should never be done tinkering with the roster. I still don't see the Skinner replacement, Jokiharju  can 100% be upgraded also. 

[Taro T]

33 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Mostly.

I think Adams has had several conversations about adding a top six forward and knows the basic parameters of what it will take to close a deal or deals.

If circumstances shift enough for either side, or something fresh emerges elsewhere, he won't hesitate to pull the trigger. Another pressure point won't emerge until training camp approaches.

In the meantime, he's assembled a squad that I think he'll be content to start the season with if the deal he wants doesn't materialize.

Yep.  Wouldn't be surprised if they bring in 1 more top 6 W.  But would be mildly surprised if it happens more than a week or 2 before TC opens in September.  And like you, personally believe Adams wants to make that deal, but has a max price he's willing to pay to make it happen and if it somebody's floor of what they're willing to accept doesn't drop from where it's at, then no deal will happen this summer barring a Quinn-esque training injury. 

Do expect that after watching what happened last year due to not replacing that key piece that he knew would be out ~3 months, he'd increase what he's willing to spend for that guy if a situation like that happened again.

[B-U-F-F-A-L-O]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

As the calendar has now moved to August trades take a back seat to RFA signings.  It begs the question, is KA done tinkering with the NHL roster? it sure looks like it.  

We have discussed the possibility of a Necas, Farabee or Zegras trade and they look like non-starters at this point.  Necas doesn't want to come to Buffalo and Ana can't really afford to lose Zegras' cap hit right now.  Maybe he comes truly available at the deadline.

We have 12 NHL forwards under contract - TNT, Tuch, JJP; Cozens, Benson, Quinn; McLeod, Zucker Greenway; and Aube-Kubel, Lafferty, Malenstyn.  Krebs remains the only unsigned RFA.  Once signed he'll be roster forward 13.

We have 8 D under contract - Dahlin, Power; Samuelsson, Clifton; Byram, Jokiharju: and Gilbert, Bryson. 

We have 3 goalies under contract in UPL, Reimer and Levi.

The only real roster questions are whether Levi beats our Reimer for the backup job and how will Lindy put his lines (F & D) together.  

Do you agree?

 

No, I do not. KA is always looking to upgrade the roster, he simply has to find the right deal that clearly makes us better…. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t…. As long as he doesn’t make an idiotic deal we’re OK…..

[PerreaultForever]

I think he might try to trade Krebs. 

[French Collection]

I think something might shake loose on other teams as camp gets closer. There are always cap issue somewhere and not many teams can take on the salary of a top 6 player.

There are still some RFAs to be signed and that will add pressure to a few teams.

[bob_sauve28]

He still might pick off a target of opportunity. Probably what he is looking for, just hoping a situation develops that makes sense. 

[LGR4GM]

List of current RFAs

https://dashboard.puckpedia.com/?q=VATEPN#&sort[table0]=23-1&c=[2,3,4,7,10,13,15,16,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]&

[Demoted]

12 hours ago, _Q_ said:

Yes.  And we will be ok.

Are they going to make the playoffs with this roster?

[RochesterExpat]

21 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

List of current RFAs

https://dashboard.puckpedia.com/?q=VATEPN#&sort[table0]=23-1&c=[2,3,4,7,10,13,15,16,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]&

I didn't realize Thomas Harley was still unsigned. Talk about one of the best "under the radar" guys from the last season.

[LabattBlue]

14 hours ago, _Q_ said:

Yes.  And we will be ok.

“We will be ok”?  What does this even mean?

[mjd1001]

I don't see an obvious hole that they can still make a move to fill.  Let me rephrase...I do now see what THEY think is an obvious hole they want to fill.  If an opportunity came along to get better, I'm sure they would package something to do that. But at this point, I think they are 'content' to take what they have into camp.

[Brawndo]

From the Athletic Fan Ranking of NHL Front Offices 

They dropped from 8th to 26th

 

Buffalo fans deserve better and that starts with a front office that actually spends what it takes to win. That the Sabres bought out Jeff Skinner for immediate cap gain only to not use that money feels like a massive misstep for a team that could use one or two impact players to put them over the top. Buffalo’s unwillingness to loosen up the purse strings has had a profound negative effect on how confident the team’s fans currently feel, putting the Sabres’ vision rightfully in question. In that vein, Buffalo getting a D-grade in both roster building and free agency feels apt.

 

Last year: 8th

“If we don’t make another big move and use the remaining cap space for Skinner’s cap space, the Sabres will be one of only two teams in the league that have had at least 7 percent or more of their salary cap unused in each of the last four years. They also have refused to weaponize the cap space to add assets. That’s not a team doing anything they can to win the Cup.”

[Doohicksie]

I think they're out of phase.  I would say we were 26th last year and higher (maybe not 8th but higher) this year.

[Doohicksie]

It's almost like the grade is for last year... lagged.

[Mr Peabody]

7 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I think they're out of phase.  I would say we were 26th last year and higher (maybe not 8th but higher) this year.

Or the downgrade could be based on not learning anything from last year?  Too much hopium and rostering another team at or near the youngest in the league.  Buying out Skinner for what looks like (now anyway) no apparent reason.  They were  getting toasted for that on XM NFL.  

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, Mr Peabody said:

Or the downgrade could be based on not learning anything from last year?  Too much hopium and rostering another team at or near the youngest in the league.  Buying out Skinner for what looks like (now anyway) no apparent reason.  They were  getting toasted for that on XM NFL.  

Whether you agree with it or not, there IS an "apparent reason" for Skinner to not be in Buffalo this season.  Ruff didn't want him.

(Personally, would have kept him this year and looked at unloading him next off-season, but it sure does seem that the coach wanted nothing to do with him.  And, he has past history of punting a highly paid offensive player with significant gaps in his game with (according to many, though by no means all, observers) no heir apparent in sight to pick up the slack; and having the O actually significantly open up after said punting.  So, pretty sure the coach had no qualms whatsoever in punting him.  

Am as frustrated as many others here that cap space gets wasted.  But, this move screams that the coach didn't want him.  (And if the coach didn't want him, the owner didn't want to pay him his full salary.)

[Mr Peabody]

26 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Whether you agree with it or not, there IS an "apparent reason" for Skinner to not be in Buffalo this season.  Ruff didn't want him.

(Personally, would have kept him this year and looked at unloading him next off-season, but it sure does seem that the coach wanted nothing to do with him.  And, he has past history of punting a highly paid offensive player with significant gaps in his game with (according to many, though by no means all, observers) no heir apparent in sight to pick up the slack; and having the O actually significantly open up after said punting.  So, pretty sure the coach had no qualms whatsoever in punting him.  

Am as frustrated as many others here that cap space gets wasted.  But, this move screams that the coach didn't want him.  (And if the coach didn't want him, the owner didn't want to pay him his full salary.)

I think we’re basically in agreement but here’s my push back: Ruff never coached him but knows for sure he won’t be able to utilize his skills and improve his weaknesses?   Obviously a whole lot I don’t of what goes on behind the curtain but couldn’t imagine going to my boss and saying I can’t have so and so on my team before even trying to make it work.   Especially like you said  when waiting a year would lessen the buyout hit.   

[7+6=13]

40 minutes ago, Mr Peabody said:

I think we’re basically in agreement but here’s my push back: Ruff never coached him but knows for sure he won’t be able to utilize his skills and improve his weaknesses?   Obviously a whole lot I don’t of what goes on behind the curtain but couldn’t imagine going to my boss and saying I can’t have so and so on my team before even trying to make it work.   Especially like you said  when waiting a year would lessen the buyout hit.   

My guess is the organization was already feeling a certain way about Skinner and Ruff agreed he can move forward without him.

[Taro T]

50 minutes ago, Mr Peabody said:

I think we’re basically in agreement but here’s my push back: Ruff never coached him but knows for sure he won’t be able to utilize his skills and improve his weaknesses?   Obviously a whole lot I don’t of what goes on behind the curtain but couldn’t imagine going to my boss and saying I can’t have so and so on my team before even trying to make it work.   Especially like you said  when waiting a year would lessen the buyout hit.   

But in your day job, are you locked in to working with someone for an ENTIRE year in a MISSION CRITICAL position if you accept that person for a day, or month, or whatever.  In the NHL, when you decide to not buy someone out, you are accepting that unless you can find a trade partner AND in this particular case a team that the player is willing to move to (because he has a full NMC), you are stuck with that player (for good or bad) for the entire season.

3 things.

1. We know Adams has tried to bring in a 2W this off-season.  That he hasn't succeeded, doesn't change the apparent fact that he's tried to do so and had he been able to pull off that move it almost certainly would've eaten into a fair to a substantial portion of those "Skinner savings." and 

2.  Buying in on him a few weeks ago is keeping him for a full year unless they can find a trade partner as the regular course buyout window is only open for a short time.

3.  In order to get a deal worked out with another team for that 2W they were looking for; it now might have to look very different than it would without Skinner on the roster because now there isn't much cap space to work with.  And what might've just been taking Krebs, a pick, and a prospect away now maybe it takes somebody that Adams and Ruff were planning on being in Buffalo and they've just created another (albeit smaller) hole to fill.

 

In a world where there isn't a limited buyout window and Skinner doesn't have a full NMC; maybe Ruff does try to see how things work out with Jeff.  But with those 2 considerations and the obviousness that the team wants to go in another direction it isn't all that surprising (at least IMHO) that he was bought out.

[GASabresIUFAN]

15 minutes ago, Taro T said:

1. We know Adams has tried to bring in a 2W this off-season.  That he hasn't succeeded, doesn't change the apparent fact that he's tried to do so and had he been able to pull off that move it almost certainly would've eaten into a fair to a substantial portion of those "Skinner savings."

Enough of this excuse for KA’s failures to get what this team needs. He tried to get Chychrun.  He tried to get a goalie and now he’s tried to get a RW.  Each time he’s failed.  His job is to get what this team needs and if he can’t, he needs to be replaced.

[Taro T]

19 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Enough of this excuse for KA’s failures to get what this team needs. He tried to get Chychrun.  He tried to get a goalie and now he’s tried to get a RW.  Each time he’s failed.  His job is to get what this team needs and if he can’t, he needs to be replaced.

Who's making excuses?  There was no editorializing on Adams' not having obtained a 2W this off-season.

[dudacek]

Interesting rumour out there that the Habs had the framework of a deal in place at the draft for Trevor Zegras.

But they ended up backing out when the draft broke their way with Demidov and Hage and they decided they didn't want too many players of the same type.

It's of particular interest to me because:

a) it adds credence to the idea that the Ducks and Zegras might have decided it's time to break up (I can see Pat Verbeek not being a fan).

b) the purported price tag was blueline prospect Logan Mailloux and the first they used to pick Hage (#21), which seems very much in line with the variations of Wahlberg and a 1st package we've seen from @tom webster and in other places.

Trading Zegras without salary coming back would drop the Ducks under the floor. I wonder if the holdup is simply the Ducks figuring out how they're going to bridge the salary gap?