How would you retool this team this summer?

[GASabresIUFAN]

Everyone get your President of hockey ops hat on.  Please be reasonable and keep the cap and NMC/NTCs in mind.  What changes would you make to the roster, coaches and management?

I have been adamant that I'd start with the defense and coaching.  I'd like Adams gone, but don't think it's realistic; but fire Adams if you must.  Cap projection is about $96 million.  22-23 man roster. Who are you trading and for whom?  What UFAs are you signing and for what $ and term?  Which RFAs are you retaining and for what $ and term? What areas do you most want to fix? Goaltending?  Defensive D, top 6 center or playmaker? 4th line makeover again?  Please be specific if you can.

 

Edited Tuesday at 03:15 PM by GASabresIUFAN

[mjd1001]

I'll focus on the 'on ice' product and direct coaching of it:

-Pay whatever it takes to get Mitch Marner (if possible).

-Overpay (via trade, give up some prospects or in free agency offer more money) for one legit, veteran, very good top 4 D-man.

-Fix the goalie situation. I have no idea how to do it.  Maybe UPL was playing hurt, maybe you need a free agent guy, maybe Levi is ready. Who know...I don't. But goalie needs to be a lot better.

-The young guys need to show they are ready/earn it.  Benson, Kulich, Quinn, anyone from Rochester...they can be on this team but they have to show they are ready, ready to work, and show they are better through camp.  If not, they don't just 'go in the lineup'.  They either go back to Rochester or they sit in the pressbox.

 

There are a ton of things that can be done, I'm sure other people have much more lengthy lists than me...but my first 2 above are very heavy lifts.  I'd just focus on the 3 things above.

Oh, maybe a 4th one.  PowerPlay. Find the best coach in the league, the guy who schematically does the best with the PP, have Pegula pick him up on his private jet, offer his family a vacation, make him the highest paid assistant in the league...WHATEVER you need to do, just get him here (along with letting Lindy have full control over his other assistants if he is back as coach)

Edited Tuesday at 12:13 PM by mjd1001

[bob_sauve28]

They should pretty much just stand pat. Their younger players are maturing and starting to round into shape. Sure, if a major opportunity to improve the team comes along via trade, take it, but don't just blow up everything for the sake of blowing everything up. 

Goaltending needs to be looked at long and hard, but really the options available to upgrade from outside are usually limited, so try and sign Reimer and hope UPL and Levi get their acts together, push each other and begin to form a tandem where they play the hot goaltender. Competition might help here. 

Of course, always be on the look out for a way to improve the team, but not go crazy for sake of change. 

[JohnC]

53 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I'll focus on the 'on ice' product and direct coaching of it:

-Pay whatever it takes to get Mitch Marner (if possible).

-Overpay (via trade, give up some prospects or in free agency offer more money) for one legit, veteran, very good top 4 D-man.

-Fix the goalie situation. I have no idea how to do it.  Maybe UPL was playing hurt, maybe you need a free agent guy, maybe Levi is ready. Who know...I don't. But goalie needs to be a lot better.

-The young guys need to show they are ready/earn it.  Benson, Kulich, Quinn, anyone from Rochester...they can be on this team but they have to show they are ready, ready to work, and show they are better through camp.  If not, they don't just 'go in the lineup'.  They either go back to Rochester or they sit in the pressbox.

 

There are a ton of things that can be done, I'm sure other people have much more lengthy lists than me...but my first 2 above are very heavy lifts.  I'd just focus on the 3 things above.

Oh, maybe a 4th one.  PowerPlay. Find the best coach in the league, the guy who schematically does the best with the PP, have Pegula pick him up on his private jet, offer his family a vacation, make him the highest paid assistant in the league...WHATEVER you need to do, just get him here (along with letting Lindy have full control over his other assistants if he is back as coach)

The Mitch Marner dream is fantasy. Does he have a partial no-trade clause in his contract? If so, you know that Buffalo is at the top of his "no go" locations. 

Acquiring a veteran top 4 defenseman seems to me an attainable desire. We have the assets to parlay to make such a deal. 

I also believe that adding another top two-line forward is realistic. I would be open to dealing Byram in a deal to make that happen. 

As far as the goalie issue is, I have no answers. If UPL is rehabilitated, then we are in a better situation. If not, the ship with a gaping hole will sink again. 

I would love to add another Zucker like player who is a little younger. 

We have a collection of young players such as Quinn, JJP, Kulich, Power, maybe Oustlund and Power. Will they all get better? Quinn has struggled more than I thought he would, but it seems that the other youngsters are improving. Our GM designed a rebuild strategy around the draft/develop model, so it seems he is fully invested in it. 

What it comes down to, a few smart and reasonable moves, added to the addition and return to health of Norris and Greenway, will thicken the roster and make it better balanced. 

 

As you and many others point out, the real critical issue between success and failure is the goalie position. I'm not sure how to get that issue resolved.  

[LGR4GM]

Coaching: Fire everyone not named Lindy Ruff and let him bring in a brand new staff. I feel as though Ruff has enough connections around the league to find good ppl which should be his mandate. I would specifically not let Ruff or anyone in Buffalo touch the pp because they suck at it. 

GM: I would fire Kevyn Adams, Jerry Forton, and a couple of other front office types. There's just too many hold overs and we need new ideas around here. I will keep this short because for most of us, it starts and ends with Adams and Pegula. 

Goalies: Beg, borrow, or steal, UPL would never play for this team again. I would be willing to retain 2million on his deal and to ship him out for a 4th round pick if it just got him off this team. Seems like a great guy but in 2 of the last 3 years he has been AWFUL. Others can blame the defense or the forwards or whatever they want, but the truth is UPL is a bad goaltender and I am sick of watching the same movie over and over. Buh bye. Levi gets a shot at making Buffalo but also trade or sign for a legit veteran #1 goalie. Not sure who without more research but you would easily have the ammo trade wise to do it. 

Defense: Samuelsson and Byram need trade partners. I would attempt to get Dobson out of the Islanders, Samuelsson I think I can package for forward. So for poops and potatoes... Byram and our 2025 2nd round pick for Dobson and a 2025 3rd. Samuelsson to Chicago for a 2025 3rd no retention. To recap, Dobson and 2 3rd round picks in, Samuelsson, a 2nd, and Byram out. Dobson gets 7yrs x 9mil

I extend Benard-Docker for 2yrs x 1.25million. I sign Vladislav Gavrikov to a 4yr, 5.25mil dollar contract. 

Defense is now:

Gavrikov - Dahlin

Power - Dobson

Docker - Clifton

trade for a guy using some of the assets acquired, unsure of who but there's always a guy

waive - Bryson

Forwards: Re-sign McLeod 5yrs, 5mil. Re-sign JJ Peterka 6yrs x6.75mil. I am trading Quinn either in the goalie deal or to bring in a forward, lets say the goalie deal to make this easier. 

Forward is now:

Benson - Kulich/Norris - Thompson

Peterka - McLeod - Tuch

Zucker - Norris/Kulich - trade/rookie (this is listed 3rd but would move up or down in TOI accordingly) 

Greenway - Krebs - Malestyn

extra Lafferty

I think my math works. I roughed out the numbers to just around 89million without adding in that goalie we are trading for. This includes Noah Östlund's 886k which I left in to represent a potential callup. My math says we had 36million in forwards and 28million in defense. So I added in another 20 million which is the difference from sending Muel and UPL out and adding Gavrikov, McLeod, JJP, and Dobson which added back in 20mil. If I messed up the math, I apologize. 

Edited Tuesday at 01:46 PM by LGR4GM

[thewookie1]

19 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Coaching: Fire everyone not named Lindy Ruff and let him bring in a brand new staff. I feel as though Ruff has enough connections around the league to find good ppl which should be his mandate. I would specifically not let Ruff or anyone in Buffalo touch the pp because they suck at it. 

GM: I would fire Kevyn Adams, Jerry Forton, and a couple of other front office types. There's just too many hold overs and we need new ideas around here. I will keep this short because for most of us, it starts and ends with Adams and Pegula. 

Goalies: Beg, borrow, or steal, UPL would never play for this team again. I would be willing to retain 2million on his deal and to ship him out for a 4th round pick if it just got him off this team. Seems like a great guy but in 2 of the last 3 years he has been AWFUL. Others can blame the defense or the forwards or whatever they want, but the truth is UPL is a bad goaltender and I am sick of watching the same movie over and over. Buh bye. Levi gets a shot at making Buffalo but also trade or sign for a legit veteran #1 goalie. Not sure who without more research but you would easily have the ammo trade wise to do it. 

Defense: Samuelsson and Byram need trade partners. I would attempt to get Dobson out of the Islanders, Samuelsson I think I can package for forward. So for poops and potatoes... Byram and our 2025 2nd round pick for Dobson and a 2025 3rd. Samuelsson to Chicago for a 2025 3rd no retention. To recap, Dobson and 2 3rd round picks in, Samuelsson, a 2nd, and Byram out. Dobson gets 7yrs x 9mil

I extend Benard-Docker for 2yrs x 1.25million. I sign Vladislav Gavrikov to a 4yr, 5.25mil dollar contract. 

Defense is now:

Gavrikov - Dahlin

Power - Dobson

Docker - Clifton

trade for a guy using some of the assets acquired, unsure of who but there's always a guy

waive - Bryson

Forwards: Re-sign McLeod 5yrs, 5mil. Re-sign JJ Peterka 6yrs x6.75mil. I am trading Quinn either in the goalie deal or to bring in a forward, lets say the goalie deal to make this easier. 

Forward is now:

Benson - Kulich/Norris - Thompson

Peterka - McLeod - Tuch

Zucker - Norris/Kulich - trade/rookie (this is listed 3rd but would move up or down in TOI accordingly) 

Greenway - Krebs - Malestyn

extra Lafferty

I think my math works. I roughed out the numbers to just around 89million without adding in that goalie we are trading for. This includes Noah Östlund's 886k which I left in to represent a potential callup. My math says we had 36million in forwards and 28million in defense. So I added in another 20 million which is the difference from sending Muel and UPL out and adding Gavrikov, McLeod, JJP, and Dobson which added back in 20mil. If I messed up the math, I apologize. 

I don't get the interest in Dobson; he's just Byram with a slightly different color paint.

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

I don't get the interest in Dobson; he's just Byram with a slightly different color paint.

I think he's better than Byram but is stuck on a very mediocre Islanders team. He's also a 6'4" RHD compared to a 6'1" LHD. 

[thewookie1]

This time I'm going for a relatively realistic approach.

UPL & Muel to Philly for Hathaway and a 3rd (maybe more?)

Quinn for Demko; when healthy he's a juggernaut if not then likely Levi gets pushed into duty earlier than I'd like.

Byram for Jared Spurgeon + pick - You'd have to convince Spurgeon to waive his 10 team NTC more than likely but he fits the perfect sort of vet defenseman that is aging gracefully and perhaps he could teach Power how to play defense. Plus Spurgeon plays bigger than he is while Power plays smaller than he is.

[Thorner]

4 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

They should pretty much just stand pat. Their younger players are maturing and starting to round into shape. Sure, if a major opportunity to improve the team comes along via trade, take it, but don't just blow up everything for the sake of blowing everything up. 

Goaltending needs to be looked at long and hard, but really the options available to upgrade from outside are usually limited, so try and sign Reimer and hope UPL and Levi get their acts together, push each other and begin to form a tandem where they play the hot goaltender. Competition might help here. 

Of course, always be on the look out for a way to improve the team, but not go crazy for sake of change. 

This 

[GASabresIUFAN]

6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I am trading Quinn either in the goalie deal or to bring in a forward,

Weren’t you the biggest advocate for Quinn about a year ago?

 

[LGR4GM]

8 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Weren’t you the biggest advocate for Quinn about a year ago?

 

Unlike Adams and really most ppl, I don't form 1 opinion and never change it even when evidence suggests otherwise. I'm on record in a few places of saying I'd give Quinn 15 games to figure it out but for this exercise, it made sense to move on. 

[dudacek]

6 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Unlike Adams and really most ppl, I don't form 1 opinion and never change it even when evidence suggests otherwise. I'm on record in a few places of saying I'd give Quinn 15 games to figure it out but for this exercise, it made sense to move on. 

I've been a Quinn guy since before we drafted him, but when it comes to looking at what's not working right now up front, Quinn in the top 6 is most obvious piece.

Also,we have too many callow, smallish roster players who project best as top 6 forwards. Benson plays defence, Peterka creates the most offence, Kulich is probably the sturdiest and can play centre.

To be clear, I'd trade any of them depending on the return, but we shouldn't keep them all and Quinn seems the most expendable.

[HOUSE]

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

I've been a Quinn guy since before we drafted him, but when it comes to looking at what's not working right now up front, Quinn in the top 6 is most obvious piece.

Also,we have too many callow, smallish roster players who project best as top 6 forwards. Benson plays defence, Peterka creates the most offence, Kulich is probably the sturdiest and can play centre.

To be clear, I'd trade any of them depending on the return, but we shouldn't keep them all and Quinn seems the most expendable.

There's a chance an offseason of training gets him back. Issue is, there's pressure from all over now. He'll have to work hard. 

[Carmel Corn]

4 key moves needed:

1. Fire GMKA

2. Trade for a legit 1C/2C (in addition to Norris).  Tage, Kulich are not true centers IMHO.  Trade picks, Quinn, prospects, etc. to get it done

3. Trade for a legit RHD who can play top 4 minutes.  Trade Byrum if that is what it takes

4. Trade/Sign a better goalie....trade UPL if that is what it takes

BTW - absolutely none of this will actually happen.

Edited Wednesday at 01:23 AM by Carmel Corn

[GoPuckYourself]

1. Fire GM Kevyn Adams and all assistants

2. fix the defense- Trade for Weegar (CAL) and Gudas (ANA)- Deal Byram and Samuelsson, do what we need to do in order to land a #1 C since I think it's completely unrealistic that Marner would come here and I even think he'll use Buffalo to get a better deal with a contender imo.

3. Upgrade Krebs, Lafferty and Quinn with all better 2 way forwards.

4. Add a legit #1 goalie, I just cant trust the UPL/Reimer combo since it wasn't working in the beginning of the season and I'd leave Levi in the AHL for another season.

Edited Wednesday at 01:18 AM by GoPuckYourself

[SABRES 0311]

Peterka-New Guy-Thompson

New Guy-Kulich/Norris-Tuch

Zucker-McLeod-Benson

Greenway-Krebs-New Guy

Dahlin-New Guy

Byram-New Guy

Clifton-JBD

New Guy

Reimer

Not sure who the new guys are exactly but you don’t get out of a decade and a half slump by running it back.

I think what will happen is:

Byram gets traded. 👎 

Thompson starts as 1C.

UPL as starter. 👎 

Levi as backup.

Again we try Benson in the top six. 👎 

And for a crazy prediction, either Norris or Kulich get traded. 🤷‍♂️ 

[Goldseatsaud]

I have feeling Adams will be here next year. 

[Night Train]

6 minutes ago, Goldseatsaud said:

I have feeling Adams will be here next year. 

Hopefully as a realtor in Clarence. 

[GoPuckYourself]

9 hours ago, Night Train said:

Hopefully as a realtor in Clarence. 

 

That's way too close to me, I don't want to see that smug face anywhere near my neighborhood.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Other than Reimer, the entire Sabres roster is under contract or control next season.   So any real change will come from trades primarily.

Forwards: (14) 

Signed: TNT, Norris, Tuch, Benson, Kulich, Zucker, Greenway, plus Malenstyn, Lafferty & Krebs

RFAs: McLeod, JJP, Kozak, & Quinn

Near ready Prospects: Östlund, Rosen

Other valuable prospects: Helenius, Wahlberg 

Defense: (7)

Signed:  Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson, Bryson, Clifton, 

RFAs: Byram and Bernard-Docker (plus Ryan Johnson)

Top Prospects:  Komarov, Strbak and Novikov

Goalies: (2) - Signed - UPL, RFA - Levi, UFA - Reimer

The plan

1) Fire all the assistant coaches and fire Adams, Forten and Jakubowski.  

I don’t who to replace them with, but I want Lindy to hire his own staff and I want veteran NHL people running the team.

2) Re-tool the defense 

a. Buyout Samuelsson.  I don’t think he has any trade value and the buyout only puts about 700K on the books.

b. Use his money to sign Gavrikov.  This is @LGR4GM’s idea and it’s a good one.  Biggest issue is he’ll probably be in huge demand this summer.  Signing him will he a real coup.  In the alternative Dimitri Orlov.  33 year vet is an LHD but can play either side, still logs big minutes and has a championship pedigree.  He’d also be a good mentor for our young D.  

c. Trade Power or Byram for the best offer, but a stay at home D has to be in the package.  If Power is traded, then re-sign Byram for 5 years for hopefully $6 mill per season.  If Power is traded the package should include a 1st and a stay at home D.  I’d then use the 1st to add another top 4 D if Gavrikov/Orlov doesn’t work out.

d. Trade Clifton.  He’s physical and …. That’s about it.  I think he’s easily replaced by a veteran FA like Jan Ruuta.  He’s a 3rd line D at this point, but is still good defensively and add another proven vet and a good placeholder until Novikov and or Komarov are ready.  

3) Tinker only with the Forwards  - There is much to like in our forward group.  TNT and Tuch are studs.  JJP is developing into a terrific scoring forward.  Benson and Kulich are contributing now, play the right way and have massive upside.  Greenway and Zucker add veteran presence and are good in their roles.  McLeod has run with his opportunity in Buffalo after a slow start.  That’s 8 of my 12 that I’m not messing with.  I also like Kozak as the 4th line center.  

a) Re-sign all 4 RFAs - McLeod 3 years $4.5; JJP 5 years $6.5; Quinn 2 years $2.35, Kozak 2 years $1.25

b) Trade or keep Norris, that is the question.  A healthy Norris adds more fire power, but Norris is healthy only 3/4 of the time.  Also what can we get for the oft injured $8 per season? Is he a long-term fit here as well with guys like Wahlberg, Helenius and Östlund soon to be pushing from below.   If I were the Sabres GM I’d entertain offers for him.  The one skillset were are really missing in our top 6 is that of playmaker.  Tuch, Benson and JJP have good passing skills, but none are pure playmakers.  If I could get a playmaking center for Norris I’d probably make the deal.  

c) Quinn is the other major question.  Injuries have hurt his development and he is a defensive liability right now.  Quinn is the 10th top 9 forward right now if we assume Greenway is slated for a top 9 role.  However, given Greenway’s and Norris injury histories, having someone with Quinn’s offensive skills is a nice luxury to have. Again I’d listen to trades and would pull the trigger on the right deal.  

If we can’t sign guys like Rutta, Orlov and/or Gavrikov for the defense, we’ll have to consider putting Norris or Quinn in deals to accomplish the defensive re-tooling.  

d) The 4th line: Kozak is the one player I want to return here, but realistically, Malenstyn and Krebs are almost certain to return.  I’m trading Lafferty for whatever.

4) Goaltending

a) re-sign Levi 2 years 1.25.  It’s now or never for the kid.

b) Trade UPL -  This isn’t happening if Adams returns, but it’s time to move on.  He’s had one good pro season. Still last year was good enough for someone to take a shot on him.  The question becomes, who is his replacement and Levi failure insurance policy?  I’m thinking Jake Allen?

Benson Kulich TNT

JJP Norris Tuch

Zucker McLeod Greenway

Krebs Kozak Malenstyn 

Dahlin Gavrikov

Byram New Player

JCB Rutta

Levi-Allen

I know this isn’t enough “change” for some here, but I don’t see wholesale change of the entire team as productive.  I also admit the goaltending is complete suspect, but that’s no different than out goaltending since Ullmark left town and at least Levi has a chance to make a Ryan Miller type impact in his first full NHL season.

Edited Wednesday at 07:13 PM by GASabresIUFAN

[Archie Lee]

Ruff not being allowed to bring in his own assistants has been a pretty big issue for a lot of people. To me, it is as much on Ruff as Adams/Pegula. Ruff agreed to this arrangement and it is as much an indictment of him and his willingness to accept an environment not conducive to success as it is of the GM and owner who created the environment.  

So, I am a bit surprised by the number of people who would see firing Adams as a priority, but who would then saddle a new GM with Lindy Ruff.  We’re going to do the same thing to the new GM that we did to Ruff and not let him pick his guy?  And aren’t we limiting our GM options if they can’t bring in their own choice for coach?

[GASabresIUFAN]

30 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

Ruff not being allowed to bring in his own assistants has been a pretty big issue for a lot of people. To me, it is as much on Ruff as Adams/Pegula. Ruff agreed to this arrangement and it is as much an indictment of him and his willingness to accept an environment not conducive to success as it is of the GM and owner who created the environment.  

So, I am a bit surprised by the number of people who would see firing Adams as a priority, but who would then saddle a new GM with Lindy Ruff.  We’re going to do the same thing to the new GM that we did to Ruff and not let him pick his guy?  And aren’t we limiting our GM options if they can’t bring in their own choice for coach?

This is fair, but it’s not unusual to see coaches survive a GM’s firing.  Often times that’s a discussion with the owner and GM and incoming GM wants to keep a veteran coach.  It also wouldn’t surprise me if a new GM insists on sweeping out all the coaches.  For my plan, I kept Lindy but am not married to the idea.  I figured Lindy has one more year on his deal, the new GM would play it out and re-access the HC after next season.  

[LGR4GM]

If Buffalo can trade Byram and sign Gavrikov and Dobson, I would be pretty excited for what the offseason holds. Ideally they add in a goalie too but I might be asking too much. 

If not Dobson, who else can we get on the right side? I might even just offer sheet Dobson for 9.1million x6 years if the opportunity arose. Small chance Lou will be like Not for that money and take the 1st, 2nd round pick compensation. 

Gavrikov - Dahlin

Power - Dobson

Samuelsson - Docker

Clifton (or trade him)

Edited Wednesday at 04:29 PM by LGR4GM

[thewookie1]

9 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

If Buffalo can trade Byram and sign Gavrikov and Dobson, I would be pretty excited for what the offseason holds. Ideally they add in a goalie too but I might be asking too much. 

If not Dobson, who else can we get on the right side? I might even just offer sheet Dobson for 9.1million x6 years if the opportunity arose. Small chance Lou will be like Not for that money and take the 1st, 2nd round pick compensation. 

Gavrikov - Dahlin

Power - Dobson

Samuelsson - Docker

Clifton (or trade him)

If there is one thing I would never do, trade next year's 1st unprotected