Roster Thread (2023-2024 Season)

[CaliSabresfan24]

With Tommer being out near 2 months, this is a HUGE opportunity for Mittelstadt

 

[joshjull]

With Tommer being out near 2 months, this is a HUGE opportunity for Mittelstadt

What? Getting an opportunity implies more minutes or maybe chances with better players. Outside of moving to PP1, I don’t see what opportunities were opened up to Mitts by this injury.

Mitts plays the most 5v5 of any forward (2mins more a night than Tage). He‘s the leading scorer on the team and one of the best 5v5 offensive players in the league. What exactly are you expecting from him that he wasn’t already doing?

The guy getting the biggest opportunity from Tage out would will be Cozens. He is going to be leaned on as a top 6 center in a way that hasn’t happened since last season. Krebs is another one who might be getting greater offensive opportunities.

 

[Tijuana Donkey Show]

With Tommer being out near 2 months, this is a HUGE opportunity for Mittelstadt

I tend agree, but on the other hand, does anything really change for him?

Tuch is injured at RW and even when he hasn't been has been a rollercoaster. We need a 2C so Cozens doesn't exactly fit at RW right now either.

So do we move Mitts up, or just shuffle the line match ups a little bit and keep Greenway-Mitts-JJP. They have just as good as any other line we have put out there.

Good opportunity for Mitts to be "The Guy", but he's arguably already been our best/most consistent player this year. This is a bigger opportunity for Cozens to add consistent value as 2C. And it might not even be an opportunity. It is a necessity.

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

What? Getting an opportunity implies more minutes or maybe chances with better players. Outside of moving to PP1, I don’t see what opportunities were opened up to Mitts by this injury.

Mitts plays the most 5v5 of any forward (2mins more a night than Tage). He‘s the leading scorer on the team and one of the best 5v5 offensive players in the league. What exactly are you expecting from him that he wasn’t already doing?

The guy getting the biggest opportunity from Tage out would will be Cozens. He is going to be leaned on as a top 6 center in a way that hasn’t happened since last season. Krebs is another one who might be getting greater offensive opportunities.

I'd agree its's a bigger opportunity for Krebs then Mittelstadt but Cozens is already viewed as a top 6 center and already has his contract... Mittelstadt needs a contract.

To your point, Mitts is already the biggest point producer mainly playing with JJ and Greenway. Playing with Tuch and Skinner will improve his point production even more.

Opportunity wasn't the correct word but these next 2 months are really going to show how valuable Mittelstadt is is what I'm trying to say

 

[old kummelweck]

This roster is a mess.

 

[Gabrielor]

Tough times. I don't know where the team goes from here.

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

 

[Jim Bob]

LeBrun rumblings: Gambling rules, Flames trade talk, Patrick Kane's list and more from the NHL GMs meeting

Also on a loaded NHL docket: registering no-trade lists, cut-resistant equipment, plus the latest on Juuse Saros, the Sharks and more.

theathletic.com

Patrick Kane’s list grows​

Agent Pat Brisson continues to move the process forward on UFA Patrick Kane and there are Zoom calls scheduled for later this week with interested teams, involving both coaches and GMs.

While Brisson told me recently that he would try to limit the list to five or six teams, it sounds like that’s grown to seven or eight as clubs try to get in on it.

One club that hopes to remain part of the mix is Kane’s hometown Buffalo Sabres.

“Yeah we are a team that checked in on him once he became a free agent, and we asked them to keep us posted and that’s what they’ve done,” Sabres GM Kevyn Adams said. “We’ll see where it goes from there.”

Some other tidbits of note:

Flames open for business​

Nikita Zadorov’s trade request made headlines Friday, but it was just a part of a bigger-picture reality for a Flames team that sounds ready to shift gears.

With GMs gathering in Toronto the past couple of days, word spread on the fact the Flames are willing to listen on most of their pending unrestricted free agents, a list that includes Zadorov but also Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev.

Flames GM Craig Conroy politely declined to comment on the team’s plans Tuesday, but the buzz is growing from front offices around the league.

Hanifin came very close to signing a sizeable extension a month ago (believed to be close to $60 million) but decided to hold off to see how the season started. Now that ship has sailed. For both parties.

But whether it’s Hanifin or Tanev or Lindholm, teams showing interest also will potentially want to talk extension, so they’re trying to gauge that part of it, too. We could see an extension as part of a trade with these players, which would help the Flames garner more in return.

There’s no urgency to any of this. The Flames have until the March 8 trade deadline to figure it all out, but they are for sure in listening mode, looking to reset their roster to some degree and get high-end future assets. And that’s dominating chatter across NHL circles.

Tanev is still a beast and while the Maple Leafs, for obvious reasons given former Flames GM Brad Treliving now running things in Toronto, were connected to Zadorov over the weekend and I do also believe there’s interest there, there’s no question Treliving has also inquired on Tanev. But I’m told three to four teams have already shown interest in Tanev. There should be a robust market there. The dilemma for the Flames on Tanev is probably timing. Do you wait closer to March 8 to get the best possible trade for him but then risk losing him to injury along the way? Tough call.

Vancouver and New Jersey are believed to have also inquired on Zadorov, meanwhile.

While not getting into specific names, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin confirmed Tuesday his hope of eventually adding another D.

“Yeah, I mean, there’s one area where we’d like to see if we can find something,” Allvin said. “But it’s also still early and there’s still not much movement around (the league). But if there’s anything there (adding D), we would have interest.”

Predators not looking to trade Saros​

Juuse Saros would be a dream addition for several teams, including wishful thinkers in Edmonton, but the reality is that the Predators have no intention to move him.

They see Saros at 28 as being part of the re-tool they’re doing and expect that when the team is ready to contend again, he’ll be front and center.

“I met with his agent, I’d like to re-sign him, I told them that’s our intention,” Predators GM Barry Trotz told The Athletic. “We’re obviously in a little bit of a re-tool type of situation and when we get reset here, I’d like him to be part of the backbone.

“I understand that there’s (trade) rumors out there. There’ll be rumors from the top teams, but that’s not our intention with Saros.”

It’s believed the Predators turned down a pretty strong offer for Saros last year.

They hope to extend him this summer, one year ahead of his contract expiry. Obviously, never say never in this business, because a team could make the kind of offer that is impossible to turn down, but the Predators don’t see that scenario right now.

Now, if the Preds can’t get Saros extended this summer, then the organization has a different decision to make. They likely wouldn’t want him to enter next season on an expiring deal. But they seem confident he will want to sign.

“I think Saros and Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg, those three are where you start, and we’re trying to add some good people,” Trotz said.

 

[TehDoak]

OK. Let's look at the bright side -- there's precedence to this.

05/06 Buffalo Sabres. Started 8-9. Danny Briere hurt, misses 3 months. Season over already.



We all know what happens next.


Maybe we can have history repeat? Maybe? Possibly? PLEASE I'M BEGGING.

There is another potential parallel to that 05-06 season that was rolling through my head during last night's game - we repeatedly got our asses kicked by a division opponent before figuring them out at the end of the year:

View attachment 768576

Although for that to be considered a "parallel" assumes we eventually figure out how to beat this Boston team, which seems like an impossible task at this point.

Please stop with the 05-06 posts. 05-06 was a unique confluence of events that included:

- Almost the entire roster on one year deals
- Two banner year season of rookies getting on the roster at the same time after getting extended year in Rochester due to the lockout (Vanek, Roy, Pominville, Miller)
- The NHL making drastic rule changes in favor of our roster makeup.

It was lightning in the bottle that got derailed by an obscene injury streak in the ECF. You couldn't recreate it if they tried.

What we have is a group of very good, young, and talented NHLers with not enough vets mixed in to support them (when our roster was fully healthy). We are going to be prone to streaky play. There are going to be highs and lows. We likely are down 2/3rds of the top line that insulated the 'kid' line last year. So I think its safe to assume the up and downs are going to probably swing even wilder now. It's a question of, will we see more ups or downs? That is going to determine how we end up the season. 66 games left to go, we can go lots of different directions still.

 

[Zippy316]

Any insight on what the Sabres plan is for goaltending?

I know the initial plan seems to be to carry all of UPL, Levi, and Comrie, but was curious how the first two looked.

Can’t help but think Comrie could be an intriguing stop gap option if the Devils goalies continue to struggle and they want to get Schmid some AHL time.

 

[TehDoak]

LeBrun rumblings: Gambling rules, Flames trade talk, Patrick Kane's list and more from the NHL GMs meeting

Also on a loaded NHL docket: registering no-trade lists, cut-resistant equipment, plus the latest on Juuse Saros, the Sharks and more.

theathletic.com

Some other tidbits of note:

Lindholm would be pretty much the perfect fit for what we need. Curious what the asking is and if he'd be interested in a long term deal.

 

[BuffaloGooner]

Any insight on what the Sabres plan is for goaltending?

I know the initial plan seems to be to carry all of UPL, Levi, and Comrie, but was curious how the first two looked.

Can’t help but think Comrie could be an intriguing stop gap option if the Devils goalies continue to struggle and they want to get Schmid some AHL time.

Comrie has been our best goalie imo. We kinda need him right now with Levi playing like an inconsistent 21 year old (shocker) and UPL being UPL.

 

[Zippy316]

Comrie has been our best goalie imo. We kinda need him right now with Levi playing like an inconsistent 21 year old (shocker) and UPL being UPL.

That’s what it seemed like from the outside.

Was curious if he was eventually seen as the odd man out later in the year. I seem to recall UPL needing waivers this year, so thought the intent was to eventually move on from Comrie and run a UPL/Levi tandem.

Seems like the more likely scenario is Levi going to the AHL for a bit.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Seems like the more likely scenario is Levi going to the AHL for a bit.

This should have been the plan from the beginning -- no one but the GM understands why they're taking the dumb ass approach they're taking.

For all we know, they might trade Comrie away because they don't want to hurt the feelings of a 21-yr old who might be good one day.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Yuck.

Just a terrible fit all around.

 

[Jim Bob]

Lindholm would be pretty much the perfect fit for what we need. Curious what the asking is and if he'd be interested in a long term deal.

I think the contract would be tough because there were rumors that he wanted $9M+ AAV on a long term deal.

 

[Dubi Doo]

LeBrun rumblings: Gambling rules, Flames trade talk, Patrick Kane's list and more from the NHL GMs meeting

Also on a loaded NHL docket: registering no-trade lists, cut-resistant equipment, plus the latest on Juuse Saros, the Sharks and more.

theathletic.com

Some other tidbits of note:

Lindholm would be an interesting option for the 3rd line. Am I remembering correctly that he's a solid two-way player?

If so- it'd be nice to get a veteran C in the top-9. Only hold up is he's on the las year of his deal.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

No Tage, Tuch, or Quinn, that's half of our top 6... We're f***ed

I'd rather they call up Rosen than Kulich right now given Rosen's overall game.

 

[Beerz]

Lindholm would be an interesting option for the 3rd line. Am I remembering correctly that he's a solid two-way player?

If so- it'd be nice to get a veteran C in the top-9. Only hold up is he's on the las year of his deal.

Lindholm would be a perfect fit.

 

[Krieger Bot]

We're 3 points out of a playoff spot. If we can tread water while he's out......I like where we sit.

That said, if we sink like a rock.....we're done.

They can still put together a decent roster too while Tage is out. It might require shuffling some guys between NHL/AHL/juniors, but they can ice a competitive team. Something like:

Skinner - Mitts - Greenway
Peterka - Cozens - Tuch
Kulich - Savoie - Rosen
Girgs - Jost - Okposo

R. Johnson - Dahlin
Power - Samuelsson
Jokiharju - Clifton

Obviously, there's plenty of different combinations that can be played around with. You can play around with the top 6, top 4, kid line, etc. But that basic structure isn't bad. Biggest question mark would still be goaltending. If they can hold up, this team can tread water until Tage is back.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

They can still put together a decent roster too while Tage is out. It might require shuffling some guys between NHL/AHL/juniors, but they can ice a competitive team. Something like:

Skinner - Mitts - Greenway
Peterka - Cozens - Tuch
Kulich - Savoie - Rosen
Girgs - Jost - Okposo

R. Johnson - Dahlin
Power - Samuelsson
Jokiharju - Clifton

Obviously, there's plenty of different combinations that can be played around with. You can play around with the top 6, top 4, kid line, etc. But that basic structure isn't bad. Biggest question mark would still be goaltending. If they can hold up, this team can tread water until Tage is back.

Savoie is in the WHL again...that ship has sailed.

Skinner - Cozens - Tuch
Greenway - Mittelstadt - Peterka
Olofsson/Benson - Krebs - Rousek (minimal minutes)
Girgensons - Jost - Okposo

That's the best they can hope for, and it also requires Cozens to get his head on straight if that line is going to break even. It's going to be another November nose dive, drifting into December.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Yuck.

Just a terrible fit all around.

Agreed — it’s looking like Adams is a terrible fit since he’s unable to make decisions. He’s been a deer-in-the-headlights since day one and isn’t improving.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Agreed — it’s looking like Adams is a terrible fit since he’s unable to make decisions. He’s been a deer-in-the-headlights since day one and isn’t improving.

We'll see. I like some of what he's done, but re-signing Jost and Okposo + the rumors surrounding Kane have me questioning his roster building ability.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

We'll see. I like some of what he's done, but re-signing Jost and Okposo + the rumors surrounding Kane have me questioning his roster building ability.

I think we can all identify good things that each of the last handful of GMs have done, but they were still all fired because they weren’t good enough. Adams has a good management team around him and has done a great job drafting, but he just shouldn’t be the #1 guy at the wheel imo. He doesn’t have nearly enough confidence or experience to handle a team in such dire straights.

 

[toddkaz]

The bottom 6 on this team with all the injuries is just awful.

Probably the worst bottom 6 in the league.