ehh Dahlin, Power, and, to a lesser extent, Bryson, are the only ones who I really trust will lead to controlled exits, the other defensemen can be something of an adventure.
Hopefully GMKA isn't stuck on some 4 year rebuild plan he started at the beginning of last season and is trying to make some moves.
We are 2 defensively responsible 3rd liners and a top 4 stay at home D man away from a legit playoff team and we have plenty of spare parts left to go around.
not at all. they've got basically the entire top of the roster set, which is the hardest part. they just need one more top four defenseman, a third line center and winger, a goalie, and a bottom pairing defenseman or two. you can get most of that in an offseason.
well I suspect the Sabres are going to try and fill out the third line internally this offseason, which is fine. You have a building block in Asplund. You just have to find two more players out of
> Biro
Kulich
Rousek
Weissbach
Cederqvist
Rosén
Savoie
Östlund
Kisakov
the bottom pairing defense won't be hard to solve as money talks (Lyubushkin was more than willing to sign since the Sabres were willing to overpay him for two years). that leaves a top four defenseman and a goalie. The top four d-man is harder to fix (Adams could've fixed it in the short term if he had claimed Mike Reilly, though I suppose he could go for a long term fix by trading for Chychrun) and I haven't the slightest clue as to how to fix the goaltending. Sign Levi this season and hope he's NHL ready next year? Anyways the situation isn't near as bleak as you make it out to be.
I disagree. I assume we mean replacing Mitts and Olofsson with an 2 players similar to, but ideally better than, Asplund. I think if we could get 1 solid 2 way center and then put him between Krebs and Assman, that could be a good line. I think our defense is playoff caliber when there aren’t any injuries. Goalie is really the big one. Who’s going to be on the market this off season? Levi isn’t coming up quite yet. Love Andy but he’s probably going to hang up the skates at 42
Varlamov, Freddy Anderson, Jarry, Korpisalo
Those 3rd line guys that would be upgrades for Buffalo are also what pushes the good teams over to cup contenders, and they won't be easy to find.
While I wouldn’t mind jumping straight to a contender, I don’t think it’s going to happen in the same season that playoffs happens. I think we need to get to playoffs, evaluate what we have, and make moves to fill holes then. I would love for our current top 6 to be exactly the same as they are and be contenders in a few years, but it’s likely that we’ll have to make some moves
If you look at the last few seasons he's put up points, his seasons with 25 he didn't play in 20+ games. Not saying he's your go to guy when you need to make something happen but for a 3rd liner he does generate offense and he brings that grit and energy we need. Can't really count any of his seasons here because we were fucking garbo. Sabres need a guy like that.
I don’t really buy the whole “buy look at the PPG” thing unless the player puts up those kind of numbers in at least a few full seasons. In his first 2 seasons with Minny he put up 42 points in 159 games.
I’m not saying he’s a bad player, but staying healthy and producing consistently throughout the grind of an 82 game season IS part of the challenge in the NHL. A 25 point player gets you 25 points regardless of if he plays 82 games or 20 games
It is ENTIRELY not. Draft, develop, then TRADE those assets for what you need.
We NEED a top 4 D Man, we have none in the pipeline but a plethora of offensive talent in the minors.
We need a defensively responsible 3rd line but have two offensively capable 3rd liners who can't play defense.
We need a #1 goalie, ???
We don't need a blockbuster trade here. Just proper roster and asset management.
yeah, for the first time in over a decade scoring isn't a problem. incredible what having a legitimate second line can do for you.
That and having defensmen who can get the puck up to the forwards.
ehh Dahlin, Power, and, to a lesser extent, Bryson, are the only ones who I really trust will lead to controlled exits, the other defensemen can be something of an adventure.
What? Did you see Samuelson last night? Streaking down the wing and ripping that wrist shot! /s
Samuelsson to Dahlin after that snipe: https://imgur.com/9qLo3Re
I mean, what teams have 6 transitioning D?
Now all we need is a third line, a goalie, and a top 4 defenseman!
I hope Levi can be the goalie he’s being hyped up to be
TIL 71 has more 5v5 goals than PP
Hopefully GMKA isn't stuck on some 4 year rebuild plan he started at the beginning of last season and is trying to make some moves. We are 2 defensively responsible 3rd liners and a top 4 stay at home D man away from a legit playoff team and we have plenty of spare parts left to go around.
.....and a goalie
yep, so 5 players on a 23 man roster away....it's a lot farther than it sounds
not at all. they've got basically the entire top of the roster set, which is the hardest part. they just need one more top four defenseman, a third line center and winger, a goalie, and a bottom pairing defenseman or two. you can get most of that in an offseason.
Show me the list of all those upgrade positions that are dying to sign in Buffalo....
well I suspect the Sabres are going to try and fill out the third line internally this offseason, which is fine. You have a building block in Asplund. You just have to find two more players out of > Biro Kulich Rousek Weissbach Cederqvist Rosén Savoie Östlund Kisakov the bottom pairing defense won't be hard to solve as money talks (Lyubushkin was more than willing to sign since the Sabres were willing to overpay him for two years). that leaves a top four defenseman and a goalie. The top four d-man is harder to fix (Adams could've fixed it in the short term if he had claimed Mike Reilly, though I suppose he could go for a long term fix by trading for Chychrun) and I haven't the slightest clue as to how to fix the goaltending. Sign Levi this season and hope he's NHL ready next year? Anyways the situation isn't near as bleak as you make it out to be.
lol no you can't. wtf?
Yes, you can get two effective third liners, a bottom pairing defenseman or two, and a top four defenseman.
I guess you did say _most_ , but that is a pretty tall shopping list for a single off season.
I disagree. I assume we mean replacing Mitts and Olofsson with an 2 players similar to, but ideally better than, Asplund. I think if we could get 1 solid 2 way center and then put him between Krebs and Assman, that could be a good line. I think our defense is playoff caliber when there aren’t any injuries. Goalie is really the big one. Who’s going to be on the market this off season? Levi isn’t coming up quite yet. Love Andy but he’s probably going to hang up the skates at 42
Varlamov, Freddy Anderson, Jarry, Korpisalo Those 3rd line guys that would be upgrades for Buffalo are also what pushes the good teams over to cup contenders, and they won't be easy to find.
While I wouldn’t mind jumping straight to a contender, I don’t think it’s going to happen in the same season that playoffs happens. I think we need to get to playoffs, evaluate what we have, and make moves to fill holes then. I would love for our current top 6 to be exactly the same as they are and be contenders in a few years, but it’s likely that we’ll have to make some moves
Replace olofsson with a guy like marcus foligno, a guy who gets points and is tough as nails
I like Moose and he is tough but aside from last year, he’s always been a 20-25 point guy. So he’s not really a “puts up points” type of player
If you look at the last few seasons he's put up points, his seasons with 25 he didn't play in 20+ games. Not saying he's your go to guy when you need to make something happen but for a 3rd liner he does generate offense and he brings that grit and energy we need. Can't really count any of his seasons here because we were fucking garbo. Sabres need a guy like that.
No, he put up 42 once. Literally every other season has played has not cracked the mid 20s.
Yes and I'm saying that's because he didn't play full 82 game seasons. In 2019 he had 25 points in 59 games and 2020 26 points in 39 games.
I don’t really buy the whole “buy look at the PPG” thing unless the player puts up those kind of numbers in at least a few full seasons. In his first 2 seasons with Minny he put up 42 points in 159 games. I’m not saying he’s a bad player, but staying healthy and producing consistently throughout the grind of an 82 game season IS part of the challenge in the NHL. A 25 point player gets you 25 points regardless of if he plays 82 games or 20 games
Draft & develop is the only way.
It is ENTIRELY not. Draft, develop, then TRADE those assets for what you need. We NEED a top 4 D Man, we have none in the pipeline but a plethora of offensive talent in the minors. We need a defensively responsible 3rd line but have two offensively capable 3rd liners who can't play defense. We need a #1 goalie, ??? We don't need a blockbuster trade here. Just proper roster and asset management.
for the past few years it felt like we didn't score any shorties and we have three already, that's standing out for me as well.
top 5 in absolute NERDS TOO im kidding
At least the people who said Ullmark wasn’t worth $4m a year look pretty dumb.