An 8 year deal would take Cozens right to when he would turn 30 at what would be the final season of that deal.
- kingcong39

3yrs 6.2Avv

https://www.diebytheblade...ster-americans-nhl-hockey
Decent read!! I agree with this, Sabres just don't have the right mix for him. Send him down and see if he can build some chemistry with Rousek and Kulich, Rosen, Weissbach, hell he might work well with Murray. I don't know how good that would be with Murray but the kid needs to play.

3yrs 6.2Avv
- Buff36

Even a 3 year deal might be pushing $7M per.

I'm really curious what impact if any Tage's deal has on upcoming deals like Cozens and Dahlin.

It seems the approach has shifted with this org to trying to get the key players to sign longer term deals to potentially extract value out of with a rising cap limit in the years to come.

Even a 3 year deal might be pushing $7M per.

I'm really curious what impact if any Tage's deal has on upcoming deals like Cozens and Dahlin.

It seems the approach has shifted with this org to trying to get the key players to sign longer term deals to potentially extract value out of with a rising cap limit in the years to come.
- kingcong39

Agree, I just can't see them going over Tage at this point money wise. Almost like a 6yr deal would be perfect for Cozens side, he's gonna get paid and he would be 28 coming out of that deal. Could really Cash in at that time. The cap should be about 97m or above by then.

If the Sabres are smart, and with Tage and Sauelsson locked up it appears they are; then go full max term of 8 years with Cozens. $8 -$8.5m won't be a bargain the first couple years, but thereafter it could very well be.

Oh, and trade Mitts, Olo + to lock up a 2rhD sooner than later.
That helps in regard to clearing out two key contributors to the disaster of 3rd line while serving fortifying the D as needed. Schenn, Murphy two solid candidates..

I'd want to keep Johnson myself for the left.

I agree with claiming Meyers off waivers as well if they can't find a trade partner.

If the Sabres are smart, and with Tage and Sauelsson locked up it appears they are; then go full max term of 8 years with Cozens. $8 -$8.5m won't be a bargain the first couple years, but thereafter it could very well be.

Oh, and trade Mitts, Olo + to lock up a 2rhD sooner than later.
That helps in regard to clearing out two key contributors to the disaster of 3rd line while serving fortifying the D as needed. Schenn, Murphy two solid candidates..

I'd want to keep Johnson myself for the left.

I agree with claiming Meyers off waivers as well if they can't find a trade partner.
- IonSabres

Good Post!! They can't finish as a bottom feeder again, Johnson will walk. He knows there is a spot for him, but the dumpster fire of the past is hurting them. We are getting to that point in the season where you know who's working and who's not. The 3rd line is hurting this team.

3yrs 6.2Avv
- Buff36

8 years 7 mil per

8 years 7 mil per
- homiedclown

I would, but will Cozens

I would, but will Cozens
- Buff36

he should

he would be set for life with that contract

If the Sabres are smart, and with Tage and Sauelsson locked up it appears they are; then go full max term of 8 years with Cozens. $8 -$8.5m won't be a bargain the first couple years, but thereafter it could very well be.

Oh, and trade Mitts, Olo + to lock up a 2rhD sooner than later.
That helps in regard to clearing out two key contributors to the disaster of 3rd line while serving fortifying the D as needed. Schenn, Murphy two solid candidates..

I'd want to keep Johnson myself for the left.

I agree with claiming Meyers off waivers as well if they can't find a trade partner.
- IonSabres

I'd want to keep Johnson myself for the left.

Interesting, very interesting.....

I would, but will Cozens
- Buff36

Sign me up for that.

philippe myers is an upgrade over fitz

Agree, I just can't see them going over Tage at this point money wise. Almost like a 6yr deal would be perfect for Cozens side, he's gonna get paid and he would be 28 coming out of that deal. Could really Cash in at that time. The cap should be about 97m or above by then.
- Buff36

Tage's contract is now the limit to which other players cannot go beyond in terms of AAV?

Is that only true for the forwards?

What about Dahlin and eventually Power?

Slippery slope holding Tage's deal as one that cannot be passed.

philippe myers is an upgrade over fitz
- homiedclown

He's a possible upgrade over everyone outside the top 4?

He's a possible upgrade over everyone outside the top 4?
- kingcong39

he might be better than joker

he might be better than joker
- homiedclown

Bear and Clague might be upgrades over Joker, they don't seem to care.

From the snooze Mike Harington

Two thoughts on the state of the Buffalo Sabres' goaltending:

1). It's far too early to give up on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen but the question marks are rapidly growing.

2). Devon Levi better be really good. And better become NHL-ready super fast.

(And yes, that encompasses the widely held theory that Levi will sign with the Sabres after his college season at Northeastern is complete)

Eric Comrie is hurt and likely to be out a few more weeks. Craig Anderson is 41 and that limits the amount of time he can play. Specifically, the Sabres don't use him on a back-to-back day with no morning skate and really don't think he'll be effective and stay healthy for more than a game, or maybe two a week.

Frankly, it's probably a good thing. Luukkonen is 23 years old and was drafted in 2017. We all know goalies can take a while to develop but at some point the Sabres have to make a call on the big Finn and he has to show the waiting will be worth it.

Luukkonen has played four games in this NHL stint. One was a 34-save performance in a 6-2 win over St. Louis that had KeyBank Center fans giving him the "Luuuuuuuke" calls. The other three have been against prime competition – at Toronto and this week's home games against Stanley Cup finalists Tampa Bay and Colorado.

Luukkonen has been in over his head.

You can blame the Sabres' poor defensive structure and abhorrent penalty problems, and you'd be partially right. But at some point, the goalie is there to make saves and often has to do it to bail out his team. It hasn't been happening for Luukkonen.

The NHL's 32 teams have combined to use 75 goalies thus far this season. Luukkonen entered Friday No. 75 in save percentage (.846) and No. 74 in goals-against average (4.47).

Yikes.

Make. A. Save. Or a bunch of them.

A deeper look at the numbers isn't good either. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Luukkonen's 17 goals against are more than 3½ over his expected goals figure of 13.29. Comrie's 38 goals against are well over his expected figure of 30.79. Only 41-year-old Anderson is beating expectations, allowing 27 goals when the metrics say he should be at 29.5.

Luukkonen has an atrocious .659 save percentage on high danger chances, well below Comrie (.798) and Anderson (.857). His overall save percentage in the games against Tampa Bay and Colorado was just .810. Has to be better.

"He's in a development phase in his career," coach Don Granato said after Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Avalanche. "And I think he's taking in these opportunities to grow. His confidence looks good. He's fighting the battle and scrapping and working to improve every day."

I don't buy Luukkonen's confidence looking good at all and Granato shouldn't be selling it. The kid has played one real good period, the final 20 minutes Thursday against Colorado. Other than that? Nope.

Luukkonen never looked in control of the game against Tampa Bay, even with the Sabres holding a two-goal lead and less than six minutes to play. It was hard to specifically indict him on too many goals until Steven Stamkos' overtime winner, an unscreened wrist shot from the right circle to the top corner that saw Luukkonen off his angle just enough to give the shooter an opening.

Against Colorado, J.T. Compher's second goal of the game gave the Avs a 5-3 lead with 2:44 left in the second period and was the biggest blot on Luukkonen's night. He showed poor rebound control, kicking a Logan O'Connor shot directly into the slot, and couldn't get a glove on a shot by Compher after the Avs forward beat JJ Peterka to the puck.

But after giving up five goals on 22 shots in the first two periods, Luukkonen had a good third period. Alex Tuch scored at seven seconds to get Buffalo within a goal and Luukkonen kept the Sabres there with 12 saves, including a terrific stop on Avs star Nathan MacKinnon in alone.

"I think everybody feels confident with him and that he's a really good goalie, really good guy," said Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson. "He doesn't deserve to see the six (goals) up there. "We've got to clean up the other areas and not give them the freebies. For him to let those in in the second there and for us to give up that offense and then for him to come on the third and make some huge saves keeps us in it. It shows maturity."

Now we see if Luukkonen can take some steps against some reasonable opponents.

The Sabres were off Friday and return to action at home Sunday against San Jose, which is 27th overall and will be in the finale of a four-game road trip. Buffalo is at Columbus on Wednesday to meet a team with an Eastern Conference-low seven wins.

Then comes a home-and-home on Friday and Saturday with Pittsburgh, a team the Sabres have gone 3-0-1 against in their last four meetings and will likely be without star defenseman Kris Letang after he suffered a stroke on Monday. That's followed by a Dec. 13 home game against Los Angeles, a team the Sabres have beaten in 10 of its last 12 trips to Buffalo.

There's got to be some wins there. But only if there's enough saves. Granato will be looking for Luukkonen to harness some of the play he saw in the third period against Colorado.

"He was really good, which was nice to see," Granato said. "Because I'm sure he wished he had an opportunity to have one or two of those in the second. ... To bounce back and keep that game tight was a real good sign. He looked confident and that was a moment where it could have challenged confidence."

Here's hoping Luukkonen starts to find his game. Unless Levi follows the rapid college-to-NHL path Jeremy Swayman took from Maine to the Boston Bruins, the Sabres are still going to be waiting to find their man in net. At worst, Luukkonen was supposed to be a key guy next season. He's got a chance to make a dent on his career path right now. He has to start taking advantage of opportunity

Tage's contract is now the limit to which other players cannot go beyond in terms of AAV?

Is that only true for the forwards?

What about Dahlin and eventually Power?

Slippery slope holding Tage's deal as one that cannot be passed.
- kingcong39

Well I don't think Cozens is at 7m a year range yet. Yes if I have a chance to lock him up and I am buying hope that his game keeps growing I would do that long term at Tage or above. But why would Cozens at this time. His game is just taking off.

Bear and Clague might be upgrades over Joker, they don't seem to care.
- Lunaion

Would we know if clague was a good replacement if we traded for ef bear?

Probably not

We had defensive depth in clague......

Well I don't think Cozens is at 7m a year range yet. Yes if I have a chance to lock him up and I am buying hope that his game keeps growing I would do that long term at Tage or above. But why would Cozens at this time. His game is just taking off.
- Buff36

Tage got his $7M+ per deal after a 38 goal 30 assist season.

Dylan is on pace for a 30 goal 40 assist season.

If he finishes with 30 goals and 30 to 40 assists, how would he not be a $7M player, if not more given his age?

Would we know if clague was a good replacement if we traded for ef bear?

Probably not

We had defensive depth in clague......
- Boss34

Seems like the Sabres infatuation with Fitzgerald and Bryson is why Clague is not still on the Sabres roster, and maybe he should be based on his 7 game stint earlier this season?

in other news...
Every single monk from a Buddhist temple in central Thailand has been defrocked after testing positive for meth.



https://www.yahoo.com/new...-fail-drug-223931859.html

Tage got his $7M+ per deal after a 38 goal 30 assist season.

Dylan is on pace for a 30 goal 40 assist season.

If he finishes with 30 goals and 30 to 40 assists, how would he not be a $7M player, if not more given his age?
- kingcong39

If Cozens does that on a 2nd line, at a younger age, and not in a featured spot on the PP, it would be more impressive than Tage last season.

Seems like the Sabres infatuation with Fitzgerald and Bryson is why Clague is not still on the Sabres roster, and maybe he should be based on his 7 game stint earlier this season?
- kingcong39

That + waiver rules.