Amerks 24/25 - Young Talented Roster

[Mr. Allen]

7 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

Before we get ahead of ourselves, remember that Quinn dominated in the AHL... Like really dominated. Where is he now? 

We don't need to keep being the youngest team in the league. He's so far from being able to contribute... If he ever does.

It's way easier said than done, but let's use him as part of a package to get a legit top 6 F or top 4 D. Let's see who can't afford to sign all their vets this summer and make a deal. 

No way.  He’s what this organization needs.  Keep him here.  Trade someone else.  

[Archie Lee]

8 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

Before we get ahead of ourselves, remember that Quinn dominated in the AHL... Like really dominated. Where is he now? 

We don't need to keep being the youngest team in the league. He's so far from being able to contribute... If he ever does.

It's way easier said than done, but let's use him as part of a package to get a legit top 6 F or top 4 D. Let's see who can't afford to sign all their vets this summer and make a deal. 

I’m not opposed to trading a prospect or two. Since we are overflowing with forwards who are legitimately in the NHL now (14 by my count), I would prefer we package 2-3 of our current NHL players for that difference maker. And, no, I don’t mean we can package Lafferty and Malenstyn for a top 6 forward.  

If we are not prepared to move on from a Quinn, a Kulich, or a Benson, then we are really just running another young team back and again hoping for internal development to carry us there. If we are going to trade our way to being better next season, and not simply be passive and wait for internal growth, then we need to bring in talented players and be willing to move on from some young roster players. The beauty of this is that it still leaves us a strong prospect pool. A good GM can manage these waves. 

There would be nothing wrong with the Sabres having Östlund or Rosen or Novikov playing an important role at some point next year. Contending NHL teams have such players on their team all the time (see: Knies, Lundell, Samoskevich, Sanderson, Grieg, Jarvis, Jackson Blake, Nemec, just from Eastern playoff teams). What you can’t have and be successful is all 3 on the roster plus Kulich and Benson and Power and Levi…etc.. Layering these young players onto the roster and moving some out at the appropriate time for veterans is the answer. Adams’s big error, in my view, was not being willing to move out any of the kids from the first wave to make the NHL (Peterka, Quinn, Benson, Kulich). It might pay off long-term, but he needlessly squandered 2-3 years when they could have been in the playoffs. 

[PromoTheRobot]

9 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

Before we get ahead of ourselves, remember that Quinn dominated in the AHL... Like really dominated. Where is he now? 

We don't need to keep being the youngest team in the league. He's so far from being able to contribute... If he ever does.

It's way easier said than done, but let's use him as part of a package to get a legit top 6 F or top 4 D. Let's see who can't afford to sign all their vets this summer and make a deal. 

So I'm confused. Is being a great player in the AHL a good thing, or not?

(You're also ignoring Quinn's injury history in the NHL. That might have something to do with his lack of impact.)

Edited April 1 by PromoTheRobot

[JoeSchmoe]

13 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

So I'm confused. Is being a great player in the AHL a good thing, or not?

(You're also ignoring Quinn's injury history in the NHL. That might have something to do with his lack of impact.)

The point is, if we trade/package him for a proven player this summer, we can end the cycle of being the youngest team in the league whose veterans eventually lose their love of the game and leave. 

[PromoTheRobot]

7 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

The point is, if we trade/package him for a proven player this summer, we can end the cycle of being the youngest team in the league whose veterans eventually lose their love of the game and leave. 

There are other players I'd rather move. Rosen for one.

[Mr. Allen]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

There are other players I'd rather move. Rosen for one.

Quinn, Rosen, Helenius, maybe even Kulich and Peterka (if they don’t want to be here).  I’m high on what Östlund could possibly bring.  

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Allen said:

Quinn, Rosen, Helenius, maybe even Kulich and Peterka (if they don’t want to be here).  I’m high on what Östlund could possibly bring.  

One of these things is not like other... 

[Mr. Allen]

33 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

One of these things is not like other... 

I know.  But that’s why I put the part in parenthesis.  If Peterka lets it be known he won’t sign an extension then he’s a young player to trade for an established vet.  Peterka would just get a better vet than the others. 

[shrader]

If he pans out and they walk away with three legit NHL centers out of that first round, that’s one hell of a win. If we’re stuck with an annual rebuild, that’s at least a very nice building block. 

[Mr. Allen]

12 minutes ago, shrader said:

If he pans out and they walk away with three legit NHL centers out of that first round, that’s one hell of a win. If we’re stuck with an annual rebuild, that’s at least a very nice building block. 

If he pans out it takes away the sting even more from that Eichel trade.  Tuch is obviously the best piece from that trade, but Östlund could be a major piece if he continues to develop. 

[PromoTheRobot]

4-2 win over Springfield. Levi tried to score an ENG but his shot was almost intercepted. Östlund got the ENG later.

[Porous Five Hole]

36 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

4-2 win over Springfield. Levi tried to score an ENG but his shot was almost intercepted. Östlund got the ENG later.

Division rival Laval will likely have the one seed overall in the AHL playoffs, but the Amerks are trending for the second best record in the league. It’s gonna be a heck of a round two matchup. My goal is to get to a road playoff game in Laval.  
It would help the Amerks if Montreal makes the playoff and goes on to the second round. 
 

Either way, in Levi we trust. 

[DarthEbriate]

11 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

4-2 win over Springfield. Levi tried to score an ENG but his shot was almost intercepted. Östlund got the ENG later.

Amerks clinch a playoff spot with the win.

Östlund keeps his goal-scoring streak alive at 6 and his points streak is up to 8 games. ENGs = wins.

[inkman]

Amerks responding well to the Östlund call up.  Down 5-0 in the second. 

[Ogelthorpe]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

Amerks responding well to the Östlund call up.  Down 5-0 in the second. 

Who is in net?

[PalmTreeMafia]

13 minutes ago, Ogelthorpe said:

Who is in net?

Sandstrom. They ended up losing 5-0. Levi should be in tomorrow night.

[DarthEbriate]

2 hours ago, inkman said:

Amerks responding well to the Östlund call up.  Down 5-0 in the second. 

Clinched a playoff spot. No Östlund. No Levi. No….  Wait. Panic! Panic!!!

[Believer]

On 4/1/2025 at 8:26 AM, Archie Lee said:

If we are not prepared to move on from a Quinn, a Kulich, or a Benson, then we are really just running another young team back and again hoping for internal development to carry us there. If we are going to trade our way to being better next season, and not simply be passive and wait for internal growth, then we need to bring in talented players and be willing to move on from some young roster players. The beauty of this is that it still leaves us a strong prospect pool. A good GM can manage these waves. 

Agreed.

And therein lies the rub.

[SwampD]

On 3/31/2025 at 4:14 PM, Thorner said:

Was a joke. But I don’t live in the area. I’d be a nut to obsess over Amerks games when I can barely bring myself to watch the big team 

I thought you said you weren’t insane.

 

 

[Porous Five Hole]

Helenius with an hattie and Levi with his league-leading seventh shutout.  Amerks win 4-0.  

[K-9]

Second time this season Levi and the Amerks answered a shutout the previous night with a shutout of their own. I thInk they also did it against the Checkers earlier in the season.

[MISabresFan]

I don't have any confidence that Adams or anyone else in this organization knows what to do with these players in Rochester.  I would leave it to the next president/GM.

[dudacek]

31 minutes ago, MISabresFan said:

I don't have any confidence that Adams or anyone else in this organization knows what to do with these players in Rochester.  I would leave it to the next president/GM.

One problem that doesn’t get talked about a ton is what happens to the logjam that’s developing in the pipeline?

In a typical organization, a 21-year-old 1st rounder who put up a point per game in the minors is almost certainly being given a shot to play on the big club next year. Same goes for a 23-year-old 1st-rounder being leaned on as your farm team’s shutdown D.

In a typical organization, they’d be plugged in to replace a Zucker type mid-6 UFA winger and a Jokiharju-type bottom-pair UFA blueliner as capfriendly contracts in sheltered roles where they hopefully develop into real contributors.

That’s just how the NHL typically works in the cap world.

Does anybody actually want Isak Rosen and Ryan Johnson, or players like them on the team next year?

How long before those guys stagnate? How long before they - and guys like Levi and Östlund and others - start to chafe behind them because there are just no opportunities for them on a big club that is already too young?

The Sabres need to flush the system with a few more Savoie/McLeod trades, and find a Reinhart-for-futures type deal they can be on the right side of. That includes moving young NHLers out of the Peterka/Quinn/Benson/Kulich/Byram/Power/ Samuelsson/UPL group.

Time to start behaving like a real NHL team.

Edited April 6 by dudacek

[JoeSchmoe]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

One problem that doesn’t get talked about a ton is what happens to the logjam that’s developing in the pipeline?

In a typical organization, a 21-year-old 1st rounder who put up a point per game in the minors is almost certainly being given a shot to play on the big club next year. Same goes for a 23-year-old 1st-rounder being leaned on as your farm team’s shutdown D.

In a typical organization, they’d be plugged in to replace a Zucker type mid-6 UFA winger and a Jokiharju-type bottom-pair UFA blueliner as capfriendly contracts in sheltered roles where they hopefully develop into real contributors.

That’s just how the NHL typically works in the cap world.

Does anybody actually want Isak Rosen and Ryan Johnson, or players like them on the team next year?

How long before those guys stagnate? How long before they - and guys like Levi and Östlund and others - start to chafe behind them because there are just no opportunities for them on a big club that is already too young?

The Sabres need to flush the system with a few more Savoie/McLeod trades, and find a Reinhart-for-futures type deal they can be on the right side of. That includes moving young NHLers out of the Peterka/Quinn/Benson/Kulich/Byram/Power/ Samuelsson/UPL group.

Time to start behaving like a real NHL team.

The answer is that you take an AHL guy add in one of our log jam NHL guys, and you package them to a team that's either rebuilding or a team that's in cap trouble and needs to shed a proven top 6 player to get under the cap.

[Archie Lee]

19 minutes ago, dudacek said:

One problem that doesn’t get talked about a ton is what happens to the logjam that’s developing in the pipeline?

In a typical organization, a 21-year-old 1st rounder who put up a point per game in the minors is almost certainly being given a shot to play on the big club next year. Same goes for a 23-year-old 1st-rounder being leaned on as your farm team’s shutdown D.

In a typical organization, they’d be plugged in to replace a Zucker type mid-6 UFA winger and a Jokiharju-type bottom-pair UFA blueliner as capfriendly contracts in sheltered roles where they hopefully develop into real contributors.

That’s just how the NHL typically works in the cap world.

Does anybody actually want Isak Rosen and Ryan Johnson, or players like them on the team next year?

How long before those guys stagnate? How long before they - and guys like Levi and Östlund and others - start to chafe behind them because there are just no opportunities for them on a big club that is already too young?

The Sabres need to flush the system with a few more Savoie/McLeod trades, and find a Reinhart-for-futures type deal they can be on the right side of. That includes moving young NHLers out of the Peterka/Quinn/Benson/Kulich/Byram/Power/ Samuelsson/UPL group.

Time to start behaving like a real NHL team.

100%. I would be fine if Rosen, Östlund, Johnson, played a role on the team next year. But not if Kulich, Peterka, Quinn, Benson, Power, Byram, are. Adams has done such a poor job managing his assets, that the prospects are now blocking the prospects.