Media Predictions for the Sabres!

[dudacek]

22 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

This is a potential problem with all those high end picks. If they all get there they will all want to be paid and some of them will have to be moved. Cap goes up though so no need to sweat this yet. 

They’re talking now like the cap is still artificially low because of the COVID advance the players got.

Without that, current revenue streams dictate a $100M cap right now.

26 minutes ago, Thorner said:

We could be maximizing those deals right now, ya 

Alas 

We’d rather wait until none of them are cheap 

I still hold out some faint hope that if the current top six doesn’t play like $7M players they’ll make a move with that money, and if they do play like $7M players, they’ll use it on their own.

I have no reason to actually think that, but it’s September and my hopium is is usually at its highest levels this time of year.

Edited October 1 by dudacek

[dudacek]

8 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

 

Is Girgs 3rd line? That is thinner than they used to be if that's the case. 

These 7 forwards are expected to be everyday players in Tampa:

Paul, Atkinson, Girgensons, Sheary, Glendening, Ylonen and Chaffee.

[Thorner]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

They’re talking now like the cap is still artificially low because of the COVID advance the players got.

Without that, current revenue streams dictate a $100M cap right now.

I still hold out some faint hope that if the current top six doesn’t play like $7M players they’ll make a move with that money, and if they do, they’ll use it on their own.

I have no reason to actually think that, but it’s September and my hopium is is usually at its highest levels this time of year.

I can buy that; but in a time frame necessary to save the current season, as it no-doubt needs to be saved, given the reason we are making the move in your hypothetical? That’s Peregrin Took territory  

Just now, dudacek said:

These 7 forwards are expected to be everyday players in Tampa:

Paul, Atkinson, Girgensons, Sheary, Glendening, Ylonen and Chaffee.

lol 3 of those are made up for sure 

Maybe 4 

[PerreaultForever]

54 minutes ago, dudacek said:

These 7 forwards are expected to be everyday players in Tampa:

Paul, Atkinson, Girgensons, Sheary, Glendening, Ylonen and Chaffee.

Well they gave Guentzel a lot and they already had a lot committed so it's not a huge surprise. 

I am interested to see how our new bottom 6 holds up but most of all I think this season hinges on what that second line becomes. It could go either way. 

[LGR4GM]

Our 2nd line will be good. Potentially very very good. 

8 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Well I wouldn't disagree with that. There's a window of opportunity (mostly due to entry level deals) and if we were actually spending the money we might be there but we still have unused cap space. All those teams spend to the cap. 

idk, if the Cozens Benson Quinn line comes together and is a good 2nd line then we might be good, but it's unproven for now. Have to see what it looks like in actual games. I doubt Zucker-McLeod-Greenway scares many teams at all. 

Benson Cozens Quinn will be fine. 

[Night Train]

No predictions. I need to see the lines and how they produce first. I'm encouraged after what little I saw in pre-season. 

[CallawaySabres]

Honestly, I would be happy if they were at least within 4 points of 8th when March begins. I don't expect playoffs but at least give me a season where most of the games are meaningful. I can't wait for the day when life is injected back into that sorry building.

[Thorner]

19 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

Honestly, I would be happy if they were at least within 4 points of 8th when March begins. I don't expect playoffs but at least give me a season where most of the games are meaningful. I can't wait for the day when life is injected back into that sorry building.

I feel like we are way, way past “meaningful games in March” being a reasonably aim tbh, but to each there own obviously 

Edited October 1 by Thorner

[CallawaySabres]

12 minutes ago, Thorner said:

I feel like we are way, way past “meaningful games in March” being a reasonably aim tbh, but to each there own obviously 

I have seen this song and dance far too many times to have any hope. But, since I finally dropped my season tickets, I am sure they will probably have a great season just to spite me.

[GASabresIUFAN]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5808861/2024/10/01/buffalo-sabres-prague-predictions-questions/
 

Quote

 

Bold predictions

1. Quinn will score 31 goals

Quinn has averaged 1.07 goals per 60 minutes of ice time at five-on-five.

2. Power will double his previous high goal total

In his first two full NHL seasons, Owen Power has scored four and six goals, respectively. He had 130 shots as a rookie and 108 last season, though his shooting percentage jumped from 3.1 to 5.6 percent.

3. Sabres will be top 10 in hits

Last season, the entire Sabres’ forward group had 991 hits. Buffalo added Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel to form a new fourth line. That trio combined for 592 hits last season. Will that translate into more wins?

4. Kulich will score at least five NHL goals

5. Peterka will lead the Sabres in goals and get the next big contract

Peterka was one goal shy of Tage Thompson for the team lead last season. All signs in the preseason point to another big year for Peterka. He has a knack for scoring goals from a variety of angles and has now shown an increased willingness to get to the net. He’s going to have a full season of playing on the top line and getting top power-play minutes.

6. Dahlin will get Norris votes

I expect Ruff’s presence to have a positive impact on Buffalo’s defense as a whole, and that should benefit Rasmus Dahlin. I think he’ll get 70 points again and be back in the Norris conversation next spring.

Lingering questions

1. Will there be a big in-season trade?

The Sabres have $7 million in cap space and plenty of prospects, but will Kevyn Adams find a trade partner at some point? We know the Sabres were poking around the trade market for a top-six forward throughout the summer and that need is one that went unaddressed. How strong the rental market will be depends on what happens early in the season, but Adams has the assets to make a move if Buffalo is in contention. He also has roster players who are in the final seasons of their deals, notably Jordan Greenway, who could be attractive trade chips if Adams wants to shake the roster up at any point. I think we’ll see a significant Sabres trade at some point, but there are a lot of variables at this point.

2. How will the goalie situation play out?

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s second half was stellar. That’s why the Sabres signed him to a five-year extension. But we’re still in the process of finding out what type of goalie Luukkonen is going to be year to year. Will he be able to match or exceed the season he had last season? Will he take a step back? The Sabres can’t afford for him to regress too much, and it should help if the team can play better team defense than it has the last couple of seasons. But Devon Levi is the lingering wild card in Buffalo’s goalie situation. He got beneficial AHL experience last season and is likely going to get the first crack at Buffalo’s No. 2 goalie job when the season opens in Prague this weekend. If he can have a better start than he did last season, Levi could work his way into a bigger workload. Goaltending doomed Ruff in New Jersey and it’s the position that could define his first season in Buffalo.

3. How much will the offense bounce back?

Which season was the outlier? Was it 2022-23 when Thompson, Tuch, Dylan Cozens and Dahlin all had career-high point totals? Or was it 2023-24 when Buffalo’s power play went cold, injuries hampered Thompson and Tuch and the Sabres became an average offensive team? Maybe it’s somewhere in the middle. I’ve liked the Sabres’ mentality on the power play much better during the preseason and training camp. There’s more movement and traffic in front. Ruff wants work ethic to come before skill on the man advantage. That should create some positive regression for the scoring. But I don’t have any ironclad predictions about the Sabres’ top scorers, because I need to see them in action against NHL competition in Ruff’s system. I believe they’ll be better, though.

4. What about the playoffs?

After 13 years without the playoffs, this is the only question Sabres fans really care about. Buffalo’s front office can’t sell development any longer. That’s what hiring Ruff was all about. It’s also why the Sabres brought in five new players for the bottom six. This team isn’t in a position to hand ice time to young players. There are still young players on this roster who are in need of development, but that needs to happen while the team wins. I predicted this team would get into the playoffs last season and felt foolish after watching them for a few weeks. I think they can make it this season, but a lot depends on how the rest of the conference looks. The division is still arguably the toughest in the NHL. Will a team like Boston or Tampa Bay drop off? What about the Islanders or Capitals? Are the Sabres ahead of other playoff hopefuls like Detroit and Ottawa? If the Devils take one of those spots, how much do the Sabres need to improve to knock off one of the other teams?

The reason I think the Sabres can make it is because of Ruff. I think coaching can make a difference in how consistently a team plays and how much a team is able to grind out ugly wins. Just look at the Flyers last season. They didn’t make the playoffs but they were a lot closer than many expected because they were often the hardest-working team when they played. The Sabres have more talent than the Flyers do. If Ruff can make them a team that works harder more consistently and is tougher to play against on a consistent basis, the playoffs are a reasonable expectation.

 

I’m sorry for posting most of this article but I thought everyone should read Fairburn’s thoughts.

Edited October 1 by GASabresIUFAN

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Our 2nd line will be good. Potentially very very good. 

Benson Cozens Quinn will be fine. 

another assumption. Has yet to be proven. Maybe yes, maybe no. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/41512880/nhl-2024-25-breakout-predictions-players-stats-goals-points-stars
 

Quote

 

Tier 4: The wait is over

Players we've been waiting to see break out who finally will.

Zach Benson (LW) and Jack Quinn (RW),
Buffalo Sabres

Both of these forwards are expected to contribute in a big way to the Sabres' second line with center Dylan Cozens.

Quinn, 23, is looking for the breakout season he was supposed to have in 2023-24, when he was limited to 27 games because of an Achilles tendon injury before the season and a lower-body injury that cost him almost all of February and March. He still managed 19 points in 27 games.

Benson had a promising rookie season (30 points in 71 games), showing great hockey sense and an effective two-way game. If the Sabres are going to take the leap to playoff contention, they'll need players like this to leap first.

 

 

[ska-T Chitown]

47 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/41512880/nhl-2024-25-breakout-predictions-players-stats-goals-points-stars
 

 

I just came here to make some mention of this, but you did a much better job than my lazy a$$ would have done!

[dudacek]

The PDO podcast has its “Our Guys” pod up, which is basically the guys Drance and Filopovic see as players of all levels who will be way better this year than the public perceives them to be.

First up among the young players category is our favourite teenage carnie, Zachary Ruben Benson.

Their verdict is much like many of ours: the size don’t matter, great skill and a capital D-O-G dog.

They can’t picture a better fit for Lindy Ruff 2022/23 Devils style of hockey - they also like the other moves the Sabres made for exactly that reason - and are actually predicting stardom in his future.

If listening to 2 well-informed out-of-market hockey nerds drool over a Sabre is your thing, a highly recommended listen.

Edited October 1 by dudacek

[Ctaeth]

4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

another assumption. Has yet to be proven. Maybe yes, maybe no. 

Isn't this the prediction thread?  Nothing is proven yet, the season hasn't begun

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, Ctaeth said:

Isn't this the prediction thread?  Nothing is proven yet, the season hasn't begun

media predictions. Aren't we supposed to be commenting on why we think those media projections are right or wrong?

Media has had us finally making the playoffs this year many times over these years. 

[Doohicksie]

78-3-1.  Book it.

 

 

 

This is why I live in a non-gambling state.

[GASabresIUFAN]

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2024-25-nhl-team-preview-buffalo-sabres
 

Quote

 

3. Well, can they make the playoffs? I mean, sure, they can. Dahlin and Power will take another step in their respective developments, the team has more than $8 million in cap space to add through the season, a newly paid starting goalie and a fresh tank of “new coach fuel,” which somehow rockets every team into the playoffs. At some point, in a league where half the teams make the playoffs, it has to be your turn. Right? Right?! Prove me wrong, kids. Prove me wrong. 

PREDICTION

Again, I love a lot of players on this team, but buying out Skinner and not sufficiently replacing his scoring just isn’t good enough. The Atlantic Division has too much talent to secure one of the top three spots, and I can’t envision the Sabres being that much better than some of the teams in the Metropolitan.

They have the ingredients for moves to be made (picks, prospects, cap space), but unless we see four lines and three pairings worth of hockey players having career years, it feels like they’re going to fall short, yet again. I’ll concede they hit the 90-point mark, but it will be in the low ’90s, well short of even the No. 2 Wildcard spot.

 

 

[7+6=13]

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

media predictions. Aren't we supposed to be commenting on why we think those media projections are right or wrong?

Media has had us finally making the playoffs this year many times over these years. 

Wait you comment on a line saying it's unproven, then say aren't we supposed to be giving our opinions?

You argue against what you do.

Start a thread titled "Only things that have happened".  

I get it, you're never going to satisfied until... blank happens.  That's fine. It's not fine when you shoot down every optimistic sentiment, those with hope or positive prediction.  

[PerreaultForever]

47 minutes ago, 7+6=13 said:

Wait you comment on a line saying it's unproven, then say aren't we supposed to be giving our opinions?

You argue against what you do.

Start a thread titled "Only things that have happened".  

I get it, you're never going to satisfied until... blank happens.  That's fine. It's not fine when you shoot down every optimistic sentiment, those with hope or positive prediction.  

You know what isn't fine? Judging and criticizing me rather than talking about the Sabres. 

[LGR4GM]

Athletic projects Buffalo to 89points this season but notes that coaching could have a big impact on that.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5786651/2024/10/02/buffalo-sabres-2024-25-season-preview-playoff-chances-projected-points-roster-rankings/?source=tw_c_buf

Quote

For the Sabres specifically, that’s important to keep in mind. Their 89-point forecast isn’t far off from where they ended last season, but there is room for more optimism now that offensive guru Lindy Ruff is back behind the bench. This Buffalo team has been constructed with an attacking mindset and one of the reasons they struggled to live up to the hype last year was that ethos being neutered. With Ruff leading the way, the Sabres should be back to playing to their strengths.

 

[dudacek]

5 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Athletic projects Buffalo to 89points this season but notes that coaching could have a big impact on that.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5786651/2024/10/02/buffalo-sabres-2024-25-season-preview-playoff-chances-projected-points-roster-rankings/?source=tw_c_buf

 

That piece sure seems to point fingers at last year’s coaching staff for breaking what didn’t need fixing while trying to fix what did.

 

[SabreFinn]

A podcaster and long time NHL journalist here in Finland, who usually is reasonable and up to date and on track with what is going on in NHL, predicted Sabres as third in Atlantic. Same man predicted Luukkonen break thru and Devils goalie problems last year.

[Stoner]

88.7. Scientific, eh?

[#freejame]

13 minutes ago, Stoner said:

88.7. Scientific, eh?

These idiots don’t even realize you only earn whole points. The whole article is rendered bogus.