Value of: Jack Quinn, Dylan Cozens, Jordan Greenway

[Zman5778]

Samuelsson sort of falling off a cliff and being pretty undependable is frustrating for Sabres, as he at least seemed like he could potentially be one of those solutions at one point, when they handed out the super risky projection contract.

I'm one of the few Sammy defenders left on the Sabres board. I still think that if the guy can stay healthy (and remove his head from his ass), he's exactly what we need.

But we do need another of his type to balance things out.

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

I'm one of the few Sammy defenders left on the Sabres board. I still think that if the guy can stay healthy (and remove his head from his ass), he's exactly what we need.

But we do need another of his type to balance things out.

And I, one of his most vocal detractors, don't think this is possible lol.

 

[CowbellConray]

I'm one of the few Sammy defenders left on the Sabres board. I still think that if the guy can stay healthy (and remove his head from his ass), he's exactly what we need.

But we do need another of his type to balance things out.

If Boston were to try to sell off some pieces, I'd be targeting Carlo. Some say he has lost a step, but he get's such minimal o-zone starts and continues to produce. If they wanted to deal him for a prospect and pick? Sign me up

 

[Zman5778]

And I, one of his most vocal detractors, don't think this is possible lol.

I find it amusing that you and I tend to agree on a lot of things Sabres......but wow are we diametrically opposed on the player that is Mattias Samuelsson

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

I find it amusing that you and I tend to agree on a lot of things Sabres......but wow are we diametrically opposed on the player that is Mattias Samuelsson

I really thought he'd be the exact player you think he still could be - but I just haven't seen it since, well, before he signed his deal and then got hurt every three months.

 

[ReimanSum1908]

Montreal would probably like to acquire Cozens, but the team lacks assets necessary to do so absent the likely top ten pick from this year's draft with obvious additions. Most of the actual players that would be packaged to acquire him, or of sufficient value to be traded directly like Demidov and Hutson, are too valuable to the rebuild.

I would happily add to Reinbacher or Slafkovsky, but Buffalo would be foolish to take either one as the key component in a package.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Yeah. I'd say the LD/RD thing is a bit overblown for Buffalo. It's really more about the overlap of "player types" than the handedness/sides. Overloaded a little bit on LH shooting offensive-minded D who are all kind of competing for the same sort of minutes. At least, that's sorta how it looks to me.

It's where...regardless of RD/LD, i think Buffalo does still have to make some sort of a call on which two of Dahlin/Byram/Power they want to really build around. And probably need two more "shutdown" or "stay at home" types. Though that could be two RHD, or it could be on RHD and one LHD just fine, which gives them a little more wiggle room in trying to find the right guys to restructure their blueline more coherently.

Samuelsson sort of falling off a cliff and being pretty undependable is frustrating for Sabres, as he at least seemed like he could potentially be one of those solutions at one point, when they handed out the super risky projection contract.

This is mostly right, but I do wanna call out the characterization of Dahlin as an offensive D. Is he an outstanding offensive talent? f*** yes. Is he also an outstanding defensive talent? Yes. Dude is just plain elite.

 

[Grinner]

You might want to stick to inventing electricity.

In other words, go fly a kite

 

[biturbo19]

This is mostly right, but I do wanna call out the characterization of Dahlin as an offensive D. Is he an outstanding offensive talent? f*** yes. Is he also an outstanding defensive talent? Yes. Dude is just plain elite.

I don't mean to diminish Dahlin's ability. There's really nothing stopping him from being a Norris caliber all-around guy. But i'd still characterize him more as "offensive-minded" in the context of trying to build a "balanced" defence corps. I think it's pretty clear though, that among the 3 LH shooting D there, he's the obvious "keep" and especially because of the versatility and comfortability at LD or RD. So it basically comes down to Power vs Byram. But the broader point is...Dahlin as an all around stud, is going to be a go-to guy in offensive situations, powerplay minutes, etc. So that's already a lot of that opportunity eaten up by a potentially Norris-caliber defenceman. Already straining at the seams to fit another offensive-minded guy like Power/Byram in there as another LH shot as well, so eliminating even the potential of a rare 2D Powerplay1 setup. So one or the other...have to choose.

 

[is the answer jesus]

I don't mean to diminish Dahlin's ability. There's really nothing stopping him from being a Norris caliber all-around guy. But i'd still characterize him more as "offensive-minded" in the context of trying to build a "balanced" defence corps. I think it's pretty clear though, that among the 3 LH shooting D there, he's the obvious "keep" and especially because of the versatility and comfortability at LD or RD. So it basically comes down to Power vs Byram. But the broader point is...Dahlin as an all around stud, is going to be a go-to guy in offensive situations, powerplay minutes, etc. So that's already a lot of that opportunity eaten up by a potentially Norris-caliber defenceman. Already straining at the seams to fit another offensive-minded guy like Power/Byram in there as another LH shot as well, so eliminating even the potential of a rare 2D Powerplay1 setup. So one or the other...have to choose.

I don't think we have to choose between Byram or Power. I view it simply in terms of assembling a top 4. Right now we have 3 guys that excel offensively. We absolutely need a shutdown defense first defenseman that can play in the top 4, preferably a righty. That would really help solidify our defense. PP opportunities for Power or Byram are really far down my list of priorities although admittedly that could be a factor for Byram moving forward. That's about the only way Buffalo's hand could be forced to choose between those 2 guys. Ultimately I think that gets trumped by money, term and the general expanded role that Buffalo has given Byram. Now if a team calls expressing interest in either of these guys and has a very tempting offer that could fill a bigger void in the organization you obviously listen. The problem in these parts is people view our situation as untenable and offer futures and crap that Buffalo has in spades for these guys and frankly that won't cut it.

 

[Satanphonehome]

I don't think we have to choose between Byram or Power. I view it simply in terms of assembling a top 4. Right now we have 3 guys that excel offensively. We absolutely need a shutdown defense first defenseman that can play in the top 4, preferably a righty. That would really help solidify our defense. PP opportunities for Power or Byram are really far down my list of priorities although admittedly that could be a factor for Byram moving forward. That's about the only way Buffalo's hand could be forced to choose between those 2 guys. Ultimately I think that gets trumped by money, term and the general expanded role that Buffalo has given Byram. Now if a team calls expressing interest in either of these guys and has a very tempting offer that could fill a bigger void in the organization you obviously listen. The problem in these parts is people view our situation as untenable and offer futures and crap that Buffalo has in spades for these guys and frankly that won't cut it.

What’s weird about this whole “too many talented D” (LOL, 1st-world problems) talk is how the Sabres explicitly said they had been trying for 2 years to add a top 4 defencemen.

Byram, they explicitly said, was brought in to be Dahlin’s partner.

A year later, he is succeeding very well as Dahlin’s partner: 23 minutes a night on a bad team against the opponent’s best players and he’s been a plus player by a significant margin.

Byram is one of the few things in Buffalo that is actually working like the GM drew it up.

Yet this conversation persists as if it isn’t and that trading Byram isn’t going to recreate a huge, hard-to-fix hole in the Sabres blueline.