Roster thread: Get To Work (2022-2023 Season)

[Chainshot]

Feel pretty good he'll clear. If not, I'm not losing sleep over it.

Yeah, I don't think I would be sad if Larry goes somewhere he can play.

 

[Dubi Doo]

I know a lot of posters want the big splash, but if they could upgrade Bryson and get Joki back healthy- that'd go a long way. I actually have a bit of faith that Power/Joki can become a good top-4 pair, but my biggest hesitation in keeping Joki is his health. He always seems to be injured.

 

[Matt Ress]

So UPL. This kid for real? Any thoughts on sustainability? I think he's doing more than just making the saves he supposed to make.

 

[Jim Bob]

So UPL. This kid for real? Any thoughts on sustainability? I think he's doing more than just making the saves he supposed to make.

He was the Sabres' best goalie last season. He just couldn't stay healthy.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 2023-24 Stats per Game - NHL - ESPN

The 2023-24 NHL season stats per game for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Buffalo Sabres on ESPN. Includes full stats, per opponent, for regular and postseason.

www.espn.com

So far this year, he has had 3 really bad games out of 10.

But, the last of those was on 12/1.

Like most goalies, he will have a bad game here or there. But, I think he can continue the way things have been going. The unknown is can he stay healthy the rest of the way and how will the Sabres handle things when Comrie is healthy.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

I dont know what your point is

there is nothing inherently good about making moves and nothing inherently bad about not making moves

or are you just adding to the narative that Adams doesnt do anything and the Pegulas are cheap?

or just a general statement that they wont make any moves?

confused why you responded to my post

We played multiple games with #7, #8, #9 and #10 d men. We endured an eight-game losing streak that could cost us playoffs and maybe could have been shortened with just a tiny bit of depth. Instead, we played guys like Pilut, who couldn't really cut it in the KHL. Frankly, Bryson and Fitzgerald are not 6th men in the NHL and we could easily upgrade that spot by adding nothing but cap.

But tell yourself otherwise when they miss the playoffs again.

I'm not sure anyone predicted us to be the #1 offense in the league and so competitive... it's not hard to see why they didn't make any commitments over the offseason.

In the offseason maybe but they could have added some one-year deals for D. But I'll live with argument of letting Bryson go one more year to see what he's got. He's a borderline NHLer. Then when injuries hit, it would have been easy to add depth for nothing. I still think we should.

 

[DapperCam]

Manson was a deadline rental for a Cup run. His contract was expiring. Then he was signed in the offseason. I don’t see the relevance to our current situation.

Maybe we should trade for a top 4 defenseman (on the more affordable side) on an expiring contract and try to sign them in the offseason.

 

[Dirty Dog]

We played multiple games with #7, #8, #9 and #10 d men. We endured an eight-game losing streak that could cost us playoffs and maybe could have been shortened with just a tiny bit of depth. Instead, we played guys like Pilut, who couldn't really cut it in the KHL. Frankly, Bryson and Fitzgerald are not 6th men in the NHL and we could easily upgrade that spot by adding nothing but cap.

But tell yourself otherwise when they miss the playoffs again.

Every team plays 7, 8, 9, 10 Dmen when they lose 4 of their top 5 games. LITERALLY every team.

That isn’t the result of it making moves. That’s the result of injuries. Come on…

 

[MOGlLNY]

me when I have to kill Craig so UPL can live

 

[Bendium]

In the offseason maybe but they could have added some one-year deals for D. But I'll live with argument of letting Bryson go one more year to see what he's got. He's a borderline NHLer. Then when injuries hit, it would have been easy to add depth for nothing. I still think we should.

I like Bryson, but he is not going to cut it. He will make a really good AHL guy or could hold down a spot with a rebuild team, but his size is too big of a disadvantage. (see what I did there?) He will never hold up to playoff hockey, so don't waste another year to see. Just trade him in a package while he has value and move on.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

So UPL. This kid for real? Any thoughts on sustainability? I think he's doing more than just making the saves he supposed to make.

I think an 0.889 is pretty sustainable. Not sure you'd want him to sustain those numbers though.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

We played multiple games with #7, #8, #9 and #10 d men. We endured an eight-game losing streak that could cost us playoffs and maybe could have been shortened with just a tiny bit of depth. Instead, we played guys like Pilut, who couldn't really cut it in the KHL. Frankly, Bryson and Fitzgerald are not 6th men in the NHL and we could easily upgrade that spot by adding nothing but cap.

But tell yourself otherwise when they miss the playoffs again.

Bryson looked fine as a #6 last season, so re-signing him and figuring he would continue to develop was a logical choice. As for the depth, guys like Fitz, Clague, and Pilut were all seen as solid depth in the AHL that could play a few games if needed. Guys better than that get claimed on waivers, because guys like Clague, Fitz and Pilut are the same level of depth most teams in the NHL have so anyone better than them is an upgrade and getting claimed by a team that needs them.

Who are they adding during that 8 game skid? Who are these great depth Dmen that were available when many other teams were also dealing with injuries? Timmins? Hayes? I mean Timmins looks pretty decent on Toronto, but how good would he look on a team that doesn't play sound defensively? or when he has another depth Dman as a partner instead of Brodie?

Fact is with the injuries they had they couldn't completely shelter the depth guys. They also were severely outplayed in many of those games.

 

[debaser66]

I think an 0.889 is pretty sustainable. Not sure you'd want him to sustain those numbers though.

a bit of context:
the last game he was under 0.900 was at the start of the winning streak since then
2 GP with 0.903 and 2 GP with over 0.950
and its .892 atm

 

[Dex]

I think an 0.889 is pretty sustainable. Not sure you'd want him to sustain those numbers though.

He's been improving......

He's played 10 games:

Over his first 5 games, his SV% was 0.863
Over the next 5 games his SV% has been 0.917

That most recent 5 games had one clunker - the first game he played in that most recent set of 5. Looking at just his most recent 4 games, his SV% has been 0.931

We'll see if he sustains that, but it's likely he'll go down to Rochester soon, unless Comrie goes down for a conditioning stint - which will give him a few more games.

 

[sabresfan129103]

I think Pilut is better than Fitzgerald. IDK why they keep him on the team. Literally every AHL guy they have called up played better than him.

 

[Zman5778]

I think Pilut is better than Fitzgerald. IDK why they keep him on the team. Literally every AHL guy they have called up played better than him.

Fitz brings a level of snarl and grit that Pilut lacks. And both play to relatively the same level.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

I think Pilut is better than Fitzgerald. IDK why they keep him on the team. Literally every AHL guy they have called up played better than him.

Clague has been relatively decent so far I think. He had a couple of rough games against Arizona and especially Vegas but he's gotten better the more games he's played.

 

[Ace]

When I read people ready to roll with Joker in the top 4 and Bryson on the roster I just can’t help but wonder if those people ever want to make the playoffs.

Because they don’t act like it

 

[toddkaz]

Maybe we should trade for a top 4 defenseman (on the more affordable side) on an expiring contract and try to sign them in the offseason.

Luke Schenn Right Handed could be had for a 2nd(guessing)

Fits perfect as Power's partner.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

Luke Schenn Right Handed could be had for a 2nd(guessing)

Fits perfect as Power's partner.

Schenn is a weird one. He seems like the type that might get the Canucks a late first at the TDL. 2 cups, extremely physical, blocks shots, plays a shutdown role. He could be this seasons Chiarot, teams still love those guys for the playoffs.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

So UPL. This kid for real? Any thoughts on sustainability? I think he's doing more than just making the saves he supposed to make.

TBD, solid postioning and play periods 1/2 last night, the some blips on side to side crease movement in 3rd.

 

[Irie]

Luke Schenn Right Handed could be had for a 2nd(guessing)

Fits perfect as Power's partner.

I believe a 2nd is wishful thinking. This TDL will likely be light on rental D men, and Schenn with his cap hit is going to be a well sought after commodity.

It will probably be two 2nds at a minimum, and a contender likely goes all in and offers up a 1st for him. I think Vancouver holds out till the TDL knowing this.

 

[flashsabre]

TBD, solid postioning and play periods 1/2 last night, the some blips on side to side crease movement in 3rd.

You can’t blame him for those First 2 goals. Broken plays, no goalie in the league would stop those.

 

[Bendium]

I think Pilut is better than Fitzgerald. IDK why they keep him on the team. Literally every AHL guy they have called up played better than him.

Pilut is just another one of that group, and most importantly, he is an UFA at the end of the year. I am sure KA tried to move him first, but any way it goes, the Sabres had determined he is not in thier future past being an AHL vet. If we lose him to wavers it is no big deal at all. If they want to bring in Comrie and keep UPL up, they need a roster spot when they convert UPL from an emergency call up to a normal call up.

Fitz is younger and still an RFA next year, so he has more value than Pilut still.

Clague is also an RFA at the end of this year and is performing the best of the group.

Waving Pilut was the easy call.

 

[Beerz]

I hope Pilut clears...

Nice having him in the NHL

Sorry AHL

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

We played multiple games with #7, #8, #9 and #10 d men. We endured an eight-game losing streak that could cost us playoffs and maybe could have been shortened with just a tiny bit of depth. Instead, we played guys like Pilut, who couldn't really cut it in the KHL. Frankly, Bryson and Fitzgerald are not 6th men in the NHL and we could easily upgrade that spot by adding nothing but cap.

But tell yourself otherwise when they miss the playoffs again.



In the offseason maybe but they could have added some one-year deals for D. But I'll live with argument of letting Bryson go one more year to see what he's got. He's a borderline NHLer. Then when injuries hit, it would have been easy to add depth for nothing. I still think we should.

god forbid no one prepared to need a #10 dman, heavens

also a nice sarcastic addition, i'll just add if they make the playoffs am i then right and you'll admit you got it wrong? how about if they miss the playoffs but its because thompson doesn't score again, does it still matter that they didn't make a minor move to address defense? what if they put up 101 points and miss the playoffs, that would be a crazy occurance no one could have planned for? will that still be because they didnt go after a #10 dman? or are you just making random meaningless statements and then trying to pull of a mic drop because you think your sarcastic quip proved a point?

it didnt, mainly because

I WANTED THEM TO TRADE FOR MORE DEFENSEMEN AND HAVE POSTED IT MULTIPLE TIMES

in fact i have probably posted it 5 times in the last week that I thought they missed a great opportunity to secure a playoff spot by not bringing in better third pairing help prior to Christmas roster freeze, thats just this week

in fairness I'll respond to what you actually said because I also disagree with that despite still thinking we needed to add more D, 1) no one can build out a roster that can cope with losing almost 50% of the teams games missing a 20minute a night dman and a 16 minute a night dman, 2) look at the actual state of the team, without Sammy in the lineup they are the worst point% team in the nhl, with him in the lineup they are second behind boston, who the F are we acquiring as our 6/7/8/9/10th dman that makes up for losing our #2 dman? or in the alternative, does that even suggest that either of us are right for thinking the team needs anything? second in the league in point% with Sammy in the lineup 3) they never even made it to ot in that stretch, they were not even competitive enough to get it to ot, lets dive deeper 5-3 to tbl, 5-3 car, 4-1 ari (yuck), 7-4 vegas, 3-1 bos, 5-4 Van (blew a big lead), 4-1 ott, 5-2 Tor so during that stretch they played 5 playoff teams all of whom are cup contenders and got blown out in all but 1 game, really? being prepared to ice a #10 dman was going to shorten that streak? i have my doubts

so not only are you incorrect in assuming i dont want to make a trade for more dmen, but lets all face some facts, that losing stretch of 8 games is probably not much better unless the d we brought in were capable of playing 20+ minutes a night shutting down cup contenders, which forgive if i think 3 1st round equivalent assets is too much to pay for something we have 3 1/2 of already

I will restate it again for anyone else that missed it, our bottom pairing and third line are giant boat anchors holding this team down from having a true breakout season and should be replaced, IF AND ONLY IF, sensible and reasonable opportunities are available, no I'm not interested in dumping half the farm to add another 9 million dollar dman to this roster, we are at our limit of roster defining contracts on the back end with Dahlin/Power, and shortly after chychrun would need reupping, someone will have told Sammy hes worth more than what hes getting paid