Off-Season Roster Thread #2 -- Nothing to do but wait

[Zman5778]

Why not just make the kids get better at faceoffs?

You think they're not trying? Practicing against themselves isn't ideal if there isn't a guy who can reliably win 50%+ of draws.

Congrats if Mitts can win 75% of draws against Tage, Cozens, Krebs, Girgs, etc........doesn't mean anything if he can't beat guys in the opposing jersey.

 

[Fezzy126]

See, if we're adding a C, I think we absolutely need to prioritize FO winning ability. Maybe it doesn't matter all that much over the course of a regular season.....but it absolutely matters if/when we get to the postseason. There are plenty of goals scored as a direct result of a FO win in the offensive zone in the playoffs.

At the bare minimum, I want a FO guy here if for no other reason than to teach the kids how to do it.

Bring Peca up during training camp (I'm pretty sure they do that anyway)

 

[Zman5778]

Bring Peca up during training camp (I'm pretty sure they do that anyway)

I'm sure they do.......but how much does that help? His reflexes can't be as good as they were in his heyday.

 

[jc17]

How can you say there's a very small chance the Sabres reach out? I'm sure management recognizes the need for a competent Eakin replacement at the very least.

That would still involve losing/demoting a current roster player which they seem resistant to doing

 

[Der Jaeger]

You think they're not trying? Practicing against themselves isn't ideal if there isn't a guy who can reliably win 50%+ of draws.

Congrats if Mitts can win 75% of draws against Tage, Cozens, Krebs, Girgs, etc........doesn't mean anything if he can't beat guys in the opposing jersey.

Not what I meant. They aren't going to get better if they get sheltered every game. They need reps against other teams' best faceoff players.

 

[Zman5778]

Not what I meant. They aren't going to get better if they get sheltered every game. They need reps against other teams' best faceoff players.

Completely agreed. My point is that they need reps OTHER than in-game against guys that are actually good at faceoffs.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Completely agreed. My point is that they need reps OTHER than in-game against guys that are actually good at faceoffs.

Sure, I can get behind that.

 

[Jim Bob]

Why not just make the kids get better at faceoffs?

I wish it were that simple.

Eakin was the only player on the roster this year with a 50%+ FO%.

Cozens was the best of the kids at 45.6%.

Mitts was close at 44.7%.

But, after that it got really ugly with Thompson at 40.3% and Krebs at 35.2%.

That is really, really bad and I do not believe that growth in that area from the kids will be enough.

 

[Der Jaeger]

I wish it were that simple.

Eakin was the only player on the roster this year with a 50%+ FO%.

Cozens was the best of the kids at 45.6%.

Mitts was close at 44.7%.

But, after that it got really ugly with Thompson at 40.3% and Krebs at 35.2%.

That is really, really bad and I do not believe that growth in that area from the kids will be enough.

You're probably right. But if I'm the GM, I'm not prioritizing a faceoff specialist over the talented kids who could play at the NHL level. Sink or swim.

 

[Jim Bob]

You're probably right. But if I'm the GM, I'm not prioritizing a faceoff specialist over the talented kids who could play at the NHL level. Sink or swim.

Again, I don't think it negatively impacts the kids that much and actually helps the wingers that are playing with the guy that can actually win more than his share of draws.

I don't see Granato playing Thompson, Cozens, Mitts, and Krebs all at center when everyone is healthy. And if you already moving at least one of them to the wing, they might as well have a better 4C option than moving Zemgus there given his struggles at center over the years.

 

[Jacob582]

Would Gudas cost any more than taking the Hornqvist contract?

I think value wise it would be close. It would be dependent on Florida really wanting to free up cap space by getting rid of Hornqvist.

 

[TehDoak]

I wish it were that simple.

Eakin was the only player on the roster this year with a 50%+ FO%.

Cozens was the best of the kids at 45.6%.

Mitts was close at 44.7%.

But, after that it got really ugly with Thompson at 40.3% and Krebs at 35.2%.

That is really, really bad and I do not believe that growth in that area from the kids will be enough.

As a team, I don't think you have to be strong on faceoffs collectively. I look at colorado being one of the worst faceoff teams in the league. Though they did go out an actively acquire Nico Sturm, who was good during the regular season (though he isn't cracking the Avs lineup night in, night out). Kadri struggled on the dot this year where he was historically pretty good.

The Sabres, at the very least, need to replace Eakin and have one other forward be passable at the dot.

 

[Jim Bob]

As a team, I don't think you have to be strong on faceoffs collectively. I look at colorado being one of the worst faceoff teams in the league. Though they did go out an actively acquire Nico Sturm, who was good during the regular season (though he isn't cracking the Avs lineup night in, night out). Kadri struggled on the dot this year where he was historically pretty good.

The Sabres, at the very least, need to replace Eakin and have one other forward be passable at the dot.

The Avs had Landeskog and Sturm around 55% and Compher at 51% in the regular season. And their team total of 47.3% is better than the Sabres 46.0% this year with Eakin.

If you take away Eakin's 860 faceoffs at a 56.0% clip and distribute them amongst the returning forwards, the Sabres could be close to 40% as a team at the dot.

No thank you.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

That would still involve losing/demoting a current roster player which they seem resistant to doing

There are quotes from Adams where he talks about discussions leading up to the deadline for things that will be revisited during the offseason. I think there's a clear long-term vision for the team, which still has some pieces that need to get adjusted. The idea that they won't be calling up Copp in July to see if he has any interest, assuming he's available, just because they have 13 forwards on July 18th seems staggeringly unlikely.

 

[tsujimoto74]

I'm sure they do.......but how much does that help? His reflexes can't be as good as they were in his heyday.

If practicing against guys they'd routinely lose draws to were the path to improvement, shouldn't their game-playing experience be doing the trick by itself? Peca can teach them techniques.

 

[Chainshot]

I'm game to not have a player who is measurably bad at almost everything on the ice but one specialized skill that he performs in such a way to be good 55 times and bad at it 45 times out of 100 if they can have player who is good at some or most of bits not involved in that specialist skill.

 

[Chainshot]

I'd also like them to get cracking on working up winger wins on the faceoff. Some teams are much better at it - perhaps with the foundational stuff they finally put in place last season they can dip more into more advance concepts. That is certainly one.

(That's where the draw is a 50-50 and the contested puck is won by a player not taking the draw.)

 

[Sabresbyswords104]

Ullmark is à really bad goalie. These are the mistakes other gm would have Done to resign him. Never want him back rather have what we have now . To much money .

Sabres roster next season

Skinner Thompson Olofsson
Cozens Krebs Tuch
Quinn Mittlestadt Peterka
Asplund Girgensons Okposo


No problem to reach the floor sign a fa 1 year or trade for a vad contractcc 1 year or trade for someone . Go with the Young Core no subban or something bad

 

[zenthusiast]

I'm sure they do.......but how much does that help? His reflexes can't be as good as they were in his heyday.

I actually got a chance to learn from Peca at a camp while he was still playing. A lot more technique than just QuickDraw, but obviously you’re not gonna win without the twitch

 

[Sabresbyswords104]

Dont want johan Larsson or someone back. Also really bad . Just go with what we have and full the roster with 1 year contracts til we can Compete and rather resign our players . We will soon be a playoff team . We have 3 first rounder that also need a place on this roster in the future . Could be:
Gauthier
Kasper
Mesar

Dont need more Skinner or Okposo contracts

 

[zenthusiast]

I'm game to not have a player who is measurably bad at almost everything on the ice but one specialized skill that he performs in such a way to be good 55 times and bad at it 45 times out of 100 if they can have player who is good at some or most of bits not involved in that specialist skill.

Yeah, it’s not like Gaustad just shit himself when he wasn’t taking face offs. Find them or make them but don’t settle for just the marginal draw advantage

 

[RefsIdeas]

I was doing some research today when it comes to free agents, and I think this year/next year is a pretty unique opportunity for the Sabres to really take advantage of their cap space.

Because of the cap only going up 1m (probably going up another 1m or so next year, then the COVID debt should be paid off and a good increase for 24-25) there's not a lot of teams with cap space.

By using CapFriendly, LeftWingLock, EvolvingWild's contract projections, along with perusing team boards and trying to get a sense of what they believe their lineup will look like next year, I was able to get an idea of what most teams salary cap situation will look like going into next year. I broke it down into three categories:

1. Next to no cap space/can only resign their own players (IE Panthers, Leafs, Knights). They may be able to grab a couple players in free agency, but certainly none of the top-mid tier guys without moving significant cap. There are 11 teams I placed in this category.

2. Little cap space/can probably afford 1 mid-tier or 2-3 low tier players (IE Sharks, Kings, Blues). I put some other teams into this category trying to project their FA signings (IE Predators resigning Forsberg, they'd still have room for one mid-tier FA). There are 13 teams I placed in this category.

3. Plenty of cap space (IE Sabres, Ottawa, Red Wings, Ducks). All of these teams can comfortably fit one high-tier free agent, plus one mid-tier and/or 2-3 lower tier guys. I placed 8 teams in this category.

Then, I went through the top 50 free agents and tried to match player to team for each one while trying to account for cap space. One thing that really stood out is how few teams are left as a realistic option for many of the mid-lower tier free agents. For guys like Domi, Reilly Smith, Chiarot, Zadorov, Vatrano, Rakell, Strome, Sturm, Namestikov, Motte etc, I was often only left with 2-3 teams that would be able to comfortably be able to fit the player under their cap.

This doesn't take into account a few things, such as potential trades and buyouts. I also tried to under-estimate player contracts on CapFriendly using the EW model, rounding down to the nearest 500k mark (some contracts could be well over or under the projection).

With that being said, I know some Sabres fans are worried about overpaying and giving out too much term to potential FA's, but if we wanted to make a couple smart signings - this may be the year. We could find good players and sign them to reasonable term/contract without having to sacrifice any of our future. I know the biggest concern right now is that there isn't lineup space - but IMO the Sabres should create space by trading a player or two to open up room for a mid-tier FA that may not only help now, but in the future as well.

 

[Professor Chaos]

See, if we're adding a C, I think we absolutely need to prioritize FO winning ability. Maybe it doesn't matter all that much over the course of a regular season.....but it absolutely matters if/when we get to the postseason. There are plenty of goals scored as a direct result of a FO win in the offensive zone in the playoffs.

At the bare minimum, I want a FO guy here if for no other reason than to teach the kids how to do it.

See, if we're adding a C, I think we absolutely need to prioritize FO winning ability. Maybe it doesn't matter all that much over the course of a regular season.....but it absolutely matters if/when we get to the postseason. There are plenty of goals scored as a direct result of a FO win in the offensive zone in the playoffs.

At the bare minimum, I want a FO guy here if for no other reason than to teach the kids how to do it.

Mike Peca comes to mind...

 

[Professor Chaos]

If I agree with this, I will be accused of trying to run VO out of town.

All I will say is that I doubt Adams goes down that path unless VO is pushing to sign a one year deal that walks him to UFA next summer.

come out on the ledge with me lol...VO can score goals but plays on the perimeter and Palat brings a skill set this team lacks and needs. We also have VO's replacement already in Quinn who makes league minimum. If we're spending 4.5-6.5 million on a forward it shouldn't be VO

Why not just make the kids get better at faceoffs?

Mike Peca says hi...

 

[threeVo]

Skinner is actually pretty good at faceoffs just have him take more. You can get better at faceoffs easier than skating, IQ, etc... MacKinnon is a career 45.9% at the dot with 1 outlier season over 50%. He 41.9% the year he had 97 points and slightly better the year he had 99.

McDavid came in as a 41% faceoff player and got better every season so far peaking over 50% this year. I am not signing a guy just to win faceoffs. Complete waste of time and roster space