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

[SnuggaRUDE]

That's not going to age well . Do you really not see that kids potential beyond petrerka (who I also wouldn't trade , nor would I trade mitts both on cheap deals that we don't know their ceilings ) or whomever seriously?
Donny and ka , certainly believe and his movement is more fluid than anyone as far as potential as well, (they) are never trading that kid for years .

I think Quinn has every chance to be an excellent player. Thompson is in the Hart race right now. Are you really projecting Quinn as a top 3 winger league wide? That’s what it would take to be equivalent to a top 5-10 center.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

if he feels blocked by a fellow prospect who hasn't signed yet either I rather have him not around here anyways. bad compete

Unfortunately every other team has goaltending depth. So there’s not exactly better opportunities

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

would we be better off as a team if we got chychrun or if KA finds power a Saumelsson's like a Roy/Cernak/Fabbro/Borgen type player and use the extra assets to get some sandpaper in the forward group ? Wilson/Greenway/Crouse

its been hotly debated for months now

conclusion

we've agreed that we should be seated during negotiations

 

[Zman5778]

Unfortunately every other team has goaltending depth. So there’s not exactly better opportunities

Not really? If someone is looking for a cleaner path to starting soon, there are non-Buffalo options out there.

Chicago, LA, Montreal all pop to mind. Winnipeg might be a sneaky one if they choose to blow it up and not re-sign Helle after next year. Ottawa has a clean path....hell, Toronto has really nothing in the pipeline either. San Jose has a clean path. Pittsburgh could use a young goalie.

There are plenty of options out there for a guy that's performed well in the NCAA and wants to choose his own path.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Not really? If someone is looking for a cleaner path to starting soon, there are non-Buffalo options out there.

Chicago, LA, Montreal all pop to mind. Winnipeg might be a sneaky one if they choose to blow it up and not re-sign Helle after next year. Ottawa has a clean path....hell, Toronto has really nothing in the pipeline either. San Jose has a clean path. Pittsburgh could use a young goalie.

There are plenty of options out there for a guy that's performed well in the NCAA and wants to choose his own path.

I said they have depth. I didn’t say they have good depth.

 

[Ace]

Both Levi and Portillo need to be starting every game possible in the AHL next year for their development.

Both guys in the same net is bad for both guys.

Portillo would have to be an idiot to sign the same off-season Levi does when 31 other teams have an AHL net that won’t have Levi in it.

When he didn’t come out last offseason…that was it for that. He should be standing in the Rochester net every night right now. He chose not to. For a reason that isn’t solely Levi…who wasn’t going to be there. He turned down the inside track on this organization.

 

[Bendium]

The beauty of where the Sabres are at in terms of their youth and prospect pipeline is that the team could survive two major trades without really touching the core of the team. Using Meier and Ekholm as example.

Meier:
Rosen
2023 1st (top 4 protected)
Portillo
Flyers' 2023 2nd

Ekholm:
2024 1st (unprotected)
Vegas' 2023 2nd
Bloom
Rights to Johnson

Don't fixate on the trades or the targets, but these are trades Adams could offer and not touch the NHL roster.

As long as Meier is signing long term I do this in a heartbeat.

 

[Ace]

“Their #1 priority is winning” lol

 

[MarkusKetterer]

“Their #1 priority is winning” lol

Absorbing cap hit =/= not trying to win. They’re in the playoff race NOW, but you want them to spend money on what improvements exactly?

 

[TheMistyStranger]

“Their #1 priority is winning” lol

C'mon - you know that's a bad faith statement. Spending all the money doesn't guarantee winning.

 

[K8fool]

if he feels blocked by a fellow prospect who hasn't signed yet either I rather have him not around here anyways. bad compete

That's all so lame and if that's obvious then portillo is a flaming tool that's afraid of competition?

I think Quinn has every chance to be an excellent player. Thompson is in the Hart race right now. Are you really projecting Quinn as a top 3 winger league wide? That’s what it would take to be equivalent to a top 5-10 center.

He seems to have that creativity but two years...but yes.. line 1b 60 pts as he really has that confidence. If he's stronger and physical.. yes.

 

[Dex]

I've seen lots of conversation in this thread and elsewhere on the board virtually assuring us that Ryan Johnson will not sign with Buffalo. I then, am amongst the few who believe that Johnson will sign with Buffalo.

All I know about Johnson is that he appears to be a high hockey IQ player, fast, good puck mover, excellent passer, good vision, very mobile, great edgework with not a lot of offense at the college level. He can also play both the left and right sides. Seems to fill a need in Buffalo and if he has done him homework, he know that there is a spot available for him to earn. I've probably seen him play around 10 times over the past two years on the Big 10 network. I know that his father has ties to Anaheim and he hails from the LA area in California, which has not prevented him from playing in Sioux Falls or Minnesota to this point.

I'm no expert in how much or even if, a college player can express their plans to sign a pro contract. I know they have "advisors" who often end up being their agent. Anyone know Johnson's advisor and their track record for signings of their client with the team that drafted then? Anyone seen any reports with quotes from Johnson either way relative to signing with Buffalo?

Who here knows how much contact the Sabres development team has had with Johnson? He was at development camp this past summer, which he did not have to do, and, if I recall correctly, was open to signing with Buffalo. If the Sabres development team no longer interacts with him, that might be a sign he's a goner.

If there is still contact, has anyone overheard anything or seen any indication that the relationship has soured or even thrived? Does anyone know who the Sabres development team member works with Johnson is and the quality of the relationship that he has with that individual? (On a related note, I have read that the Sabres lack of interest in and support of Petersen is one of the reasons he ended up saying FU to the Sabres)

Does anyone know how the Sabres feel about Johnson's development to this point, having played big minutes at one of the top programs in the country and what may have been said or inferred relative to Johnson's development path post graduation?

Does anyone know if or how often Sabres development or scouts have seen Johnson play in person?

If I'm Johnson and weighing my options, I see in Buffalo a team that has a need for a 3rd pairing LHD, inasmuch as Bryson appears vulnerable. I see a team that is on the rise that appears to have a great culture. I see that my age (Johnson's) fits right in with the bulk of the team. I also see a team with a youth friendly outlook, a tolerance for learning on the job, a coach that has shown that he can develop players and a Gm that supports that process. If that does not entice him to sign with Buffalo, then he's not a good fit and I would not want here him.

 

[Djp]

if he feels blocked by a fellow prospect who hasn't signed yet either I rather have him not around here anyways. bad compete

i understand thsts he’s looking for his best opportunity. You have UPL and Levi signing he probably thinks he’s third string. Why not just wait till summer and sign where he thinks he has a better chance.

The never ending cycle of it isn’t time yet. Heard this same shit last offseason “year behind Detroit, don’t block youth, window not open yet” none of which was either accurate or were people suggesting to do in the first place.

now it’s “hey they’re pretty good…why try to improve or vibes”.

this off-season it will be “let’s see what another year of development does with this group and save cap space for the future even though that isnt how cap space works”

a never ending road to nothing

i think in the off-season some moves will be made possibly involving some of Bryson, mitts, Olofsson, and Jokiharju. Joki would only be traded if a better D was coming back but was not a short rental.

i don’t see Peterka or Quinn getting moved.

then you have Girgs and KO and if they are back.

Apologizing in advance for a long post.

Thinking about Meier and the need for another good D (IMO), I wanted to play it out and see where we'd land if we actually did both. I used Chychrun as the D acquisition because he is available and the Sabres are reportedly interested.

Traded Krebs, Bryson, Savoie, Rosen, '23 1st, and '24 1st to acquire Meier and Chychrun.
Signed Meier for 9mil, signed Dahlin to 10mil, Power to 8.
Re-signed Mittelstadt to be 3c, but you could replace him with another UFA if you want. Same for Jost and Girgs. Replace them with other role players if you wish.
Also signed Levi and Ryan Johnson and a few other prospects.

Here's where I ended up in 24/25...

View attachment 643066

This is a strong lineup top to bottom. We should have no problems scoring and definitely be in the playoffs, maybe even a contender by this point. And we're under the projected cap.

As far as problems, maybe we could use a really good bottom 6 C who can take faceoffs and PK, has size and physicality.

We only have about 1 mil in cap space, so we're now up against it and will find it challenging to make more moves. We were not able to afford Oloffson even if we wanted him. I think you could argue that Dahlin will be more than 10mil too, so there's that.

The following year, the cap will likely go up a little higher, but we'll need to re-sign: Kulich, Quinn, Peterka, Joki, and Chychrun. The good news is that I worked it so Mittelstadt, Jost, Girgs, Asplund come off the books, so we get a little room. But that won't be enough to bring back all five of those key FA's unless the cap somehow goes way up.

Our prospect ranks were heavily depleted, but we still have Ostlund as a good C coming up, and several other F's with potential (Bloom, Poltapov, Kisakov, Kozak, Nadeau, etc.) Not much in the D pipeline and remember we haven't had first round picks in 23 or 24. We do however have our '25 1st which in this scenario would be the following year.

So, to summarize: the roster looks great and if all goes well, we are likely to be winning lots of hockey games and contending to win it all. We are not quite in cap hell yet, but heading there, and we've still got some prospects, but it's unlikely we'll be helping out the D core with young cheap players any time soon. We're also hoping that everything goes great with UPL and Levi in net. No guarantees there, so it's possible that is still a weak point.

So... with all that laid out, I am again back to not wanting to acquire Meier. I'd rather bring in a good D and leave ourselves a little wiggle room, knowing that we are already in a good place at F. I learned from this exercise that I was probably discounting the cap issues more than I should have.

Having seen this laid out, anybody willing to change their mind on Meier, one way or the other?

What you are giving up is f***ing nuts……

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

What you are giving up is f***ing nuts……

A young roster player, a 1st, and a good prospect is nuts for a highly sought after player under contract?

Or are you just saying you don't want to trade for either? Because that's for sure what SJS and ARI are going to ask for. I thought I was being generous to us by allowing us to keep Kulich, because I'd guess they both would want him in this deal. If we can get either for less that'd be a steal, I just didn't want to assume trades that way favored us.

 

[Djp]

I've seen lots of conversation in this thread and elsewhere on the board virtually assuring us that Ryan Johnson will not sign with Buffalo. I then, am amongst the few who believe that Johnson will sign with Buffalo.

All I know about Johnson is that he appears to be a high hockey IQ player, fast, good puck mover, excellent passer, good vision, very mobile, great edgework with not a lot of offense at the college level. He can also play both the left and right sides. Seems to fill a need in Buffalo and if he has done him homework, he know that there is a spot available for him to earn. I've probably seen him play around 10 times over the past two years on the Big 10 network. I know that his father has ties to Anaheim and he hails from the LA area in California, which has not prevented him from playing in Sioux Falls or Minnesota to this point.

I'm no expert in how much or even if, a college player can express their plans to sign a pro contract. I know they have "advisors" who often end up being their agent. Anyone know Johnson's advisor and their track record for signings of their client with the team that drafted then? Anyone seen any reports with quotes from Johnson either way relative to signing with Buffalo?

Who here knows how much contact the Sabres development team has had with Johnson? He was at development camp this past summer, which he did not have to do, and, if I recall correctly, was open to signing with Buffalo. If the Sabres development team no longer interacts with him, that might be a sign he's a goner.

If there is still contact, has anyone overheard anything or seen any indication that the relationship has soured or even thrived? Does anyone know who the Sabres development team member works with Johnson is and the quality of the relationship that he has with that individual? (On a related note, I have read that the Sabres lack of interest in and support of Petersen is one of the reasons he ended up saying FU to the Sabres)

Does anyone know how the Sabres feel about Johnson's development to this point, having played big minutes at one of the top programs in the country and what may have been said or inferred relative to Johnson's development path post graduation?

Does anyone know if or how often Sabres development or scouts have seen Johnson play in person?

If I'm Johnson and weighing my options, I see in Buffalo a team that has a need for a 3rd pairing LHD, inasmuch as Bryson appears vulnerable. I see a team that is on the rise that appears to have a great culture. I see that my age (Johnson's) fits right in with the bulk of the team. I also see a team with a youth friendly outlook, a tolerance for learning on the job, a coach that has shown that he can develop players and a Gm that supports that process. If that does not entice him to sign with Buffalo, then he's not a good fit and I would not want here him.

Adams has talked to him multiple times. He has a good idea on him signing Or not.

everyone thinks he will walk like others did …now possibility is now coming off as a certainty which it’s not.

i think he would have been traded in the off-season if he wasn’t going to sign.

he signs with buffalo, he plays a game, he burns his first year. That gets him a year sooner to a 2nd contract.

ELC have a max level that he would get which is the same he’d get with anyone else. If he could get a non ELC contract with another team then most college players would go the UFA route.

with contracts…Bryson is only thru next season. If Johnson signs this yr and burns yr 1 of a 2 yr contract he will be an RFA too and Lyub is a UFA. So he has a big chance to be in the starting 6.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Yes he pretty much has, he hasn't signed yet. The biggest tell of them all.

Well. On account no prospect signs before they do, that doesn’t make much sense

 

[Matt Ress]

I've been 50/50 on Johnson signing but there's been no sign he has one or two teams that he's determined to get to and we can stop feeling sorry for ourselves. We have a young, fun up and coming team that Johnson would slide perfectly into. As a natural sceptic, I'm leaning towards him signing this spring.

 

[SabresFan26]

C'mon - you know that's a bad faith statement. Spending all the money doesn't guarantee winning.

Christain Ehrhoff and Ville Leino say otherwise.

 

[Duddy]

The Ehrhoff contract was genius, until they added that stupid recapture penalty.

 

[KrakenSabresMike]

Adams has talked to him multiple times. He has a good idea on him signing Or not.

everyone thinks he will walk like others did …now possibility is now coming off as a certainty which it’s not.

i think he would have been traded in the off-season if he wasn’t going to sign.

he signs with buffalo, he plays a game, he burns his first year. That gets him a year sooner to a 2nd contract.

ELC have a max level that he would get which is the same he’d get with anyone else. If he could get a non ELC contract with another team then most college players would go the UFA route.

with contracts…Bryson is only thru next season. If Johnson signs this yr and burns yr 1 of a 2 yr contract he will be an RFA too and Lyub is a UFA. So he has a big chance to be in the starting 6.

also seems like a lot of the buffalo hockey twitter guys think he will sign now ( dedominicis, charging buffalo guys etc...) - maybe they're just blowing smoke but may have inside info...

 

[Chainshot]

also seems like a lot of the buffalo hockey twitter guys think he will sign now ( dedominicis, charging buffalo guys etc...) - maybe they're just blowing smoke but may have inside info...

Seems like they stirred everyone up by saying he wouldn't and now are going the other way? Heh. Sounds like Jerry Sullivan's old column tactics - not have any actual information and just harp at something, then later flip 180 degrees while never acknowledging their stance in the first place.

 

[MOGlLNY]

Seems like they stirred everyone up by saying he wouldn't and now are going the other way? Heh. Sounds like Jerry Sullivan's old column tactics - not have any actual information and just harp at something, then later flip 180 degrees while never acknowledging their stance in the first place.

Not that I think those guys have any real sources anyways, but I definitely think people were disecting a 21 year old kids words a little too much like he was being malicious and using double entendres to sneak his way by.

Compared to Portillo's interview where it was pretty clear he wasn't going to be here.

 

[Chainshot]

Not that I think those guys have any real sources anyways, but I definitely think people were disecting a 21 year old kids words a little too much like he was being malicious and using double entendres to sneak his way by.

He didn't have to do any of this stuff or answer these questions, and I think most of his answers are positive. Compared to Portillo's interview.

It was being said before that interview.

 

[MOGlLNY]

It was being said before that interview.

For sure, but I think after that people should've relaxed a bit instead of doubling down.

He didn't have to do any of this stuff or answer these questions the way he did, and I think his answers are positive. He obviously didn't feel great about the old organization as I'm sure he'd heard plenty of horror stories from his dad through the grape vine.

He's feeling out a brand new air of energy around the organization. He has a path to be here for a long time and seems like it was a tough choice for him to go back because it did take awhile for him to decide. That's a positive, not a negative.

 

[Chainshot]

For sure, but I think after that people should've relaxed a bit instead of doubling down.

He didn't have to do any of this stuff or answer these questions the way he did, and I think his answers are positive. He obviously didn't feel great about the old organization as I'm sure he'd heard plenty of horror stories from his dad through the grape vine.

He's feeling out a brand new air of energy around the organization. He has a path to be here for a long time and seems like it was a tough choice for him to go back because it did take awhile for him to decide. That's a positive, not a negative.

Not sure we can make any assumptions about how he feels or felt. It's been a tizzy in a teacup seemingly since he was drafted and our crack reporting staff have never gotten nor given firm info on any of it.

He's said he intends to sign. I'll take him at his word.