One of the problems earlier this decade...not a quality backup tender. We now have one. He's arguably been a solid starter. I would retain him, knowing he can steer the ship when our injury prone starting goalie goes down.
Roster speculation part XIV
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I agree, I have every confidence in the goalie tandem we have, they'll do a great job behind an NHL quality defense.
Even if TM wants to re-sign Johnson, at this point there's a chance another team with a bigger hole at G offers him a better deal. If so, I'm ok with Lehner starting 60+, but health is a concern.
It definitely isn't an "if" kind of deal concerning Lehner getting injured. It's a "when". Johnson is one of the best insurance policies in the league. I'll take him for anything less than 2.5 million AAV.
I'm also a big fan. But I have to admit, I really like the idea of this:
O'Reilly - Eichel - Reinhart
Kane - Girgensons - UFA/Bailey/Fasching
Foligno - Larsson - Gionta
I know in some people's eye's it's putting all your eggs in one basket, but I don't really agree. That creates 3 awesome lines that can score and wear the opposition down. And that top line could be one of the best ES lines in the league.
Der Jaeger
Generational EBUG
I trust you and all, but can you link me to something that confirms this?
It seems strange to me that players not under contract during the expansion team's first season in the league (like Gionta and Franson -- players who won't even be claimed because they don't have contracts and will be UFAs) will count towards the percentage of payroll the original team is required to expose in the draft.
That was wordy. Hopefully you follow what I'm trying to convey.
Download the CBA. http://www.nhlpa.com/inside-nhlpa/collective-bargaining-agreement
- League year (page 5) is defined as from July 1st to June 30th.
- Page 24 outlines a Group 1 player in each league year (the above dates). This is how we know that Reinhart and Eichel are exempt.
- Page 28 onward talk about free agent, free agency, and everything is in the terms of "league year."
- Page 310 is the Standard Player Contract (SPC). It's from the time of signing (variable based on when they sign) through an agreed upon League Year.
So, if I sign a three-year contract with the Sabres on July 8th, 2016, it's valid through three league years: June 30th, 2019.
Der Jaeger
Generational EBUG
My thoughts behind this line-up (bit of a stream of thoughts after reading the CBA):
Eichel line: O'Reilly had success on Duchene's wing. I like him at RW on his off-hand. Eichel tends to drift left and look to pass on his off-hand back to the right side of the ice. I think a left-handed shot at RW would work well. Having Girgensons as a lefty also allows the wings to shift. I think this line would be a monster puck-possession line. And you've got three centers, and both wingers are good defensively. I think O'Reilly gets 30 goals on this line. Easy.
Reinhart line: Reinhart looked great at center in the WJC and the last Dev Camp. The common thread was having footspeed on the wing. At Dev Camp, he was between Carrier and Fasching, and looked great. Kane and Fasching can skate, and combined with their size and power game, I think it opens up passing lanes and opportunities for Reinhart. Reinhart goes nuts as a passer on this line. He's also so cerebral that he'll compensate for Kane's mental gaffs. At a minimum, Kane's one-man band gets this line in the zone. I see lots of stretch passes to Kane. Fasching is also a smart kid and worked well with Reinhart.
Larsson line: We see it working now and can all see why.
Future changes:
Eichel line: no need, don't do anything.
Reinhart line: when Kane's contract runs out, move Carrier up if he's developed to that point. Or look for a power/speed winger in free agency.
Larsson line: Compher would've been a perfect replacement for Gionta. I think the RW on this line needs to have what Gionta is bringing: combination of playmaking, scoring, defense, etc. I wonder if Cornel develops enough for this spot.
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joshjull
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HiddenInLight
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For those of you who like the idea of getting nash from nyr, what would you say to a trade of pysyk + Molson for Nash + Marc staal?
Well, if you can argue that Staal's decline is directly related to having to prop up Dan Giradi....maybe?
The question is, he is signed for 5 more years. The Cap hit isn't awful....but its not great. Having them eat Moulson probably makes the risk a bit more tolerable....still not a huge fan.
HiddenInLight
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He would also be a guy that might get at least a good long look in the expansion draft. Especially if he come to buffalo and looks fairly serviceable.
JThorne
Stop accepting failure
The Sabres have hit the 49 contract limit. What RFA's in the system do the Sabres renew next year. (I've left out the NHL guys for now.)
Casey Nelson
Tim Schaller
Matt Donovan
Alexander Guptill
Jerry D'Amigo
Cole Schneider
Eric O'Dell
Chad Ruhwedel
Jack Nevins
Michael Sdao
Daniel Catenacci
Bobby Sanguinetti (UFA)
Colin Jacobs
Andrey Makarov
Nathan Lieuwen
Jason Kasdorf
Casey Nelson
Tim Schaller
Matt Donovan
Alexander Guptill
Jerry D'Amigo
Cole Schneider
Eric O'Dell
Chad Ruhwedel
Jack Nevins
Michael Sdao
Daniel Catenacci
Bobby Sanguinetti (UFA)
Colin Jacobs
Andrey Makarov
Nathan Lieuwen
Jason Kasdorf
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I think the obvious ones are: Nelson, Schaller, Schneider, O'Dell, Ruh and Kasdorf
Rhett4
Buffalo Selects Jack
They'll trim a few out of that list, for sure. Jacobs and Nevins are no brainers to be gone. They'll knock out a goalie.
Husko
Registered User
Just to add, the UFA list is Legwand, Cola, Johnson, and Sanguinetti. Can't imagine more than one or two of those four back.
dotcommunism
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Quite a few of those players are going to be UFAs: Schaller, Donovan, D'Amigo, Schneider, O'Dell, Ruhwedel and Sdao. I think they try to re-sign Schaller, but aside from that I'm not sure. Lean towards yes on Schneider and O'Dell too.
As for RFAs, as said above Jacobs is a lock to not be qualified and I agree that Nevins is likely too. Guptill may or may not be qualified, I'm not sure. Makarov might be qualified, but he's expected to sign in Russia so he wouldn't make any difference towards the contract limit.
Catenacci, Nelson and Kasdorf are the only RFAs I see as locks to be qualified (aside from the guys who've been in the NHL all year like Deslauriers, Foligno, Girgensons, Larsson, McCabe and Ristolainen)
As for RFAs, as said above Jacobs is a lock to not be qualified and I agree that Nevins is likely too. Guptill may or may not be qualified, I'm not sure. Makarov might be qualified, but he's expected to sign in Russia so he wouldn't make any difference towards the contract limit.
Catenacci, Nelson and Kasdorf are the only RFAs I see as locks to be qualified (aside from the guys who've been in the NHL all year like Deslauriers, Foligno, Girgensons, Larsson, McCabe and Ristolainen)
Yatzhee
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There is going to be more Sabres youth entering the pipe line in the next 2 years as well. Rochester is about to fill up with competition directly related to Murray and the enhanced scouting staff. Will be a good 2 to 3 year period to assess how that's working.
Husko
Registered User
dotcommunism
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They're all Group VI UFAs, which means they would've been RFAs if they'd played in 80 or more NHL games (total, not just this season). Sites usually don't update players like that to UFA until the season is over, even if there aren't enough games remaining in the current season for them to break 80.
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