Denver lost in frozen four.

It's tough, we are in uncharted territory, but so far we've seen it's not really worth it. Sure, the Sabres got lucky, but you can't rely on that and expect to get anywhere. Twice the best odds have won and twice the best odds have dropped to 4th.
- Wetbandit1

Is Vancouver a good example? They fell short each of these three years, but they stealth tanked all of it and wound up going at least 2 for 3 it seems (not sure what to make of Juolevi yet) on their top picks

I wish they traded Scandella as soon as we won Dahlin in the lottery. Sobotka is our 4th line C next year me thinks. Qualify Girgensons and Larsson just so you can trade them for late round picks and get something for them.
- Pegullaville

I’d tether trade Sobatka for a 7th (even if we keep half)...
than trade Girgs or Larsson for a 5th(?)

That’s just me though

I know our 4th line didn’t really score
But they were pretty good (for the most part) of getting the puck outta our zone & getting shots down in the other end

Yeah, yeah (J Crag)...
i know they didn’t score enough
But overall, they were pretty decent
And there’s other areas we need to focus on first imo

Denver lost in frozen four.
- SABRES 89

Met Bryson’s Fam earlier today

And took care of JuJu and McCaffrey the other night (and some other They were in town shooting a commercial for New Era

Got to hang out with Buccigross tonight
Super nice guy

Nick Filigno’s sis was at the bar last night
She was super cool
We hung out for a while & told me a lot of stuff from both her brothers about BUF, CBS, & MIN
I know it’s not first hand, but still seemed believable & pretty cool


It’s been a star studded weekend in Buffalo
Pretty fun

That’s fair
But it doesn’t mean they’re all ready
Some could be though, for sure

Samuelsson is one of the guys who still needs time
He had an “decent” year this season
I doubt he’s ready to make the jump to the NHL
I actually don’t even think they’ll sign him to Rochester
1 more year of college for him is my guess based on everything I’ve read
*i didn’t actually see him play at all though
- jdfitz77

oh, fitz...

I hate tanking.

If our GM is able to improve the team only through the entry draft, and we can't obain quality players other than by tanking, we're in a world of trouble.

Once we get into the first and second rounds of the playoffs, there will be non-draft methods to perfect the roster.
- Der Kaiser

Tampa Bay's only top 5 picks are Stamkos and Hedman.. their ability to draft defensemen is suspect at best, but their knack for finding forwards in the past 8 years is second to none.

And here's a fun little fact. Brayden Point has the lowest cap on the entire team. It's lower than Girgensons'.

take a bite of that one.

F the Leafs!!!

Just to be clear, that was me typing out loud mentioning Laine for the 7th.
- SABRES 89

Yes and next years first and 20th

Yes and next years first and 20th
- gerbe75pts

So you want to use 7, 20 and next year's 1 on a less impactful, one dimensional Jeff Skinner.

So you want to use 7, 20 and next year's 1 on a less impactful, one dimensional Jeff Skinner.
- TheSabresTaco

It's early.... hopefully he is drunk or something.

I’d tether trade Sobatka for a 7th (even if we keep half)...
than trade Girgs or Larsson for a 5th(?)

That’s just me though

I know our 4th line didn’t really score
But they were pretty good (for the most part) of getting the puck outta our zone & getting shots down in the other end

Yeah, yeah (J Crag)...
i know they didn’t score enough
But overall, they were pretty decent
And there’s other areas we need to focus on first imo
- jdfitz77

I don't think this is an either / or scenario, rather both can be achieved at the same time.

Build a decent middle six through trades and FA.
That enables them to push down guys who were playing over their level into roles they can excel at.
If, for example, they were able to trade Risto for say RNH as a 2C
And
Acquire a 3RW through FA,
That would
-push Sheary and mitts to 3rd line with said FA 3Rw
- put Skinner-RNH- Sam as 2nd line
-Push Smith-ERod -Okposo as 4th line

That would be a decent 4th line that could reasonably be expected to kick in 35 goals

So you want to use 7, 20 and next year's 1 on a less impactful, one dimensional Jeff Skinner.
- TheSabresTaco

A guy that gets 30-40 goals and is 20 yes and if OV can learn how to play defense Patrick Laine can too

I originally thought Duchene and Dzingel would be interesting targets, but saw charts that show both are issues from the perspective of having more goals scored against them than they score while on the ice. Certainly not ideal.

I am hoping Botts has some superior Analyst providing him with relevant Advanced Stats to help drive targeting the right guys.
Having a) scored 50 less goals, and b) allowed about 50 more against compared to the East wild Card teams means they need to focus on both, not simply increase goal scoring at the expense of increased goals against.

A guy that gets 30-40 goals and is 20 yes and if OV can learn how to play defense Patrick Laine can too
- gerbe75pts

we only have to wait 15 to get there..........

I originally thought Duchene and Dzingel would be interesting targets, but saw charts that show both are issues from the perspective of having more goals scored against them than they score while on the ice. Certainly not ideal.

I am hoping Botts has some superior Analyst providing him with relevant Advanced Stats to help drive targeting the right guys.
Having a) scored 50 less goals, and b) allowed about 50 more against compared to the East wild Card teams means they need to focus on both, not simply increase goal scoring at the expense of increased goals against.
- IonSabres

and potentially losing 40 goals for nothing.. yay

A guy that gets 30-40 goals and is 20 yes and if OV can learn how to play defense Patrick Laine can too
- gerbe75pts

I don't remember OV getting demoted to the 3rd line multiple times in a season, let alone his career. If we can get 3 1st round picks including 7 overall for Skinner why didn't we do that yet?

A guy that gets 30-40 goals and is 20 yes and if OV can learn how to play defense Patrick Laine can too
- gerbe75pts

Ya know, I thought you were on a pretty good string of takes lately..

Ya know, I thought you were on a pretty good string of takes lately..


- TheSabresTaco

A+

A+
- CoHo_to_B-Lo

Thanks. I'm glad I was able to up my grade from that B+

and potentially losing 40 goals for nothing.. yay
- SabresFaninIndiana

It is becoming more and more clear to me that Botts simply has to get Skinner resigned.
If he walks, he is essentially looking at getting the same type of player (30-40 Gs and great chemistry) as a replacement...and that isnt coming cheap either.

He has to consider the fact the Cap will go up as is has since the 2005 lockout, roughly 3-4% annually, and the impact Seattle will have growing that further. At say $8.5m now, that would be the equivalent of say $7.75 or $8m in 2 years or so.(I didn't do the math for exact equivalency)

It is becoming more and more clear to me that Botts simply has to get Skinner resigned.
If he walks, he is essentially looking at getting the same type of player (30-40 Gs and great chemistry) as a replacement...and that isnt coming cheap either.

He has to consider the fact the Cap will go up as is has since the 2005 lockout, roughly 3-4% annually, and the impact Seattle will have growing that further. At say $8.5m now, that would be the equivalent of say $7.75 or $8m in 2 years or so.(I didn't do the math for exact equivalency)
- IonSabres

"General manager Jason Botterill on Sunday said there remains what he called “a 100% chance” of Buffalo re-signing Skinner."

I don't think this is an either / or scenario, rather both can be achieved at the same time.

Build a decent middle six through trades and FA.
That enables them to push down guys who were playing over their level into roles they can excel at.
If, for example, they were able to trade Risto for say RNH as a 2C
And
Acquire a 3RW through FA,
That would
-push Sheary and mitts to 3rd line with said FA 3Rw
- put Skinner-RNH- Sam as 2nd line
-Push Smith-ERod -Okposo as 4th line

That would be a decent 4th line that could reasonably be expected to kick in 35 goals
- IonSabres

So who plays with jack?

So who plays with jack?
- Der Kaiser

Skinner-Eichel-_______
Olofsson-_______-Reinhart
Sheary-Mitts-Nylander/Thompson
Erod-Larsson/Sobotka-Okposo
Smith

Dahlin-Bogo
McCabe-Montour
Pilut-Risto

Eventually Mitts can graduate into the 2C role once he shows he’s capable and I like the look of that line moving forward. We need to find veteran stop gap 2C and another veteran top 6 winger.

In terms of the d-pairs I just tried to even everything out. I think Risto had his most success playing with Pilut this year and McCabe can be a stay at home guy for Montour. Dahlin and Bogo played together frequently this year and I think Dahlin will take a huge step next season while Bogo can settle in to a stay at home role and provide a bit of sandpaper.

A guy that gets 30-40 goals and is 20 yes and if OV can learn how to play defense Patrick Laine can too
- gerbe75pts

It only took Ovie 14 years to learn how to play defense.