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

[Dingo44]

Sabres Source are a great follow on Instagram.

 

[Matt Ress]

Sabres Source are a great follow on Instagram.

Dang three years in a row without a 50 pt player

 

[Dingo44]

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Dang three years in a row without a 50 pt player

To be fair, 12-13 was the lockout shortened season (48 games). Vanek had 41 points in 38 games and definitely would have hit 50. Hodgson (34 points) and Ennis (31 points) also had 50 point paces. Pominville had 25 in 37 before being traded.

The two years that followed were the dark years. 12-13 Vanek would have hit 50, but he was traded in October itself. Hodgson and Ennis topped out at 44 and 43 points respectively. Moulson had 29 points but was limited to 44 games before he was shipped out.

14-15 has no "but if's" though. Ennis had 46 points while Moulson had 41 playing full schedules, and nobody was on pace for 50.

 

[Matt Ress]

To be fair, 12-13 was the lockout shortened season (48 games). Vanek had 41 points in 38 games and definitely would have hit 50. Hodgson (34 points) and Ennis (31 points) also had 50 point paces. Pominville had 25 in 37 before being traded.

The two years that followed were the dark years. 12-13 Vanek would have hit 50, but he was traded in October itself. Hodgson and Ennis topped out at 44 and 43 points respectively. Moulson had 29 points but was limited to 44 games before he was shipped out.

14-15 has no "but if's" though. Ennis had 46 points while Moulson had 41 playing full schedules, and nobody was on pace for 50.

Yeah I was putting that together after I posted but I definitely appreciate the work. It's good to have those days in the rearview. Solid name change as well man.

 

[VaporTrail]

With his recent play Casey's trade value has never been higher...I say use him in a package to get that top 4 d-man we need.

 

[Dirty Dog]

They’ll play Levi, Kulich and Savoie next year. It allows them to do what they want to. Sell how young they are, not address holes in the team because it’s another development season…and ice the cheapest lineup they can. They’ll be at the cap floor again. Unaddressed goaltending and defense will cost them again. People will swear it’ll be different the next year…again.

Rosen needs another year in Rochester. He’s overshadowed by Kulich’s year but he’s put a lot together down there already.

Kulich can play in the NHL next year but he would benefit much more by staying in the AHL and being put in more big minute situations there.

Savoie is a better player than both and people who dismiss him because he isnt allowed to play pro hockey outside of the NHL have lost total sight of that. If he comes to camp healthy he’s going to make the team. He is a different class of prospect than those two and it’s amazing that this has just been forgotten or ignored.

“They’ll play Savoie all next year and it just furthers their cheap team and people will defend it”

“People dont realize how good Savoie is and dismiss him, he’s making the team!!!”


Your ability to just be all over the place with takes is impressive (while always pretending all the “people” are wrong about everything”)

 

[Chainshot]

I seem to have stumbled into a prescribed burn area.

 

[Dingo44]

Even if there is one out there who is a bit clued in on the analytic side [Old School GM], a goal scoring specialist [Olofsson] is going to have some value though it's probably not going to be what some think. There are also some teams that will still be in the deep end of their long-term build who might want to take on a player who can give them some PP goals and maybe at the deadline give them someone to flip for another pick to a contender looking for a specialist.

And not for nothing, but part of Vic's hot month of January was how Jost and Mittlestadt were getting him the puck in position to score (Casey had an assist on 7 of Vic's 10 January goals).

Good point.

I was thinking after I posted about how Olofsson would be perfect for an old-time expansion franchise - one before Vegas and Seattle changed expectations. You know you're going to stink, but you need some guys who can score to keep the new fans somewhat interested. You're just looking for goals and the rest isn't that important. Guys like Andrew Brunette and Petr Klima and Stéphane Richer. But rebuilding teams work as well.

Only issue is if a team is rebuilding but looking for scoring, and also hoping to flip Olofsson at the deadline, then they aren't giving up futures. So maybe we're looking at someone like the often-mentioned Connor Murphy in Chicago as a package? Throw in one of our draft picks - and maybe even Bryson can be part of that deal as well.

 

[Gabrielor]

Sabres Source are a great follow on Instagram.

AND 06-07 didn't have

Krebs, Quinn, Peterka, Power, Savoie, Kulich, Ostlund, Rosen

waiting in the wings off that list.


This is the best the Sabres org has looked in my time.

 

[EichHart]

AND 06-07 didn't have

Krebs, Quinn, Peterka, Power, Savoie, Kulich, Ostlund, Rosen

waiting in the wings off that list.


This is the best the Sabres org has looked in my time.

3 top 50 picks in this yrs draft too. Not to mention a ton of cap space and no real bad contracts.

 

[Dingo44]

3 top 50 picks in this yrs draft too. Not to mention a ton of cap space and no real bad contracts.

Even what was once considered a bad contract (Skinner, Okposo, Bishop ha ha) are now decent to pretty good contracts, and Okposo's (and Bishop's) are off the books at the end of the season. Not to mention no more Cody Hodgson either. Glad we didn't buy out guys like Bjork like some were whining about - imagine having some of his contract on the books another year (not that it would have mattered a lot, but why bother?).

 

[Chainshot]

Good point.

I was thinking after I posted about how Olofsson would be perfect for an old-time expansion franchise - one before Vegas and Seattle changed expectations. You know you're going to stink, but you need some guys who can score to keep the new fans somewhat interested. You're just looking for goals and the rest isn't that important. Guys like Andrew Brunette and Petr Klima and Stéphane Richer. But rebuilding teams work as well.

Only issue is if a team is rebuilding but looking for scoring, and also hoping to flip Olofsson at the deadline, then they aren't giving up futures. So maybe we're looking at someone like the often-mentioned Connor Murphy in Chicago as a package? Throw in one of our draft picks - and maybe even Bryson can be part of that deal as well.

Chicago and San Jose were the two teams that keep coming to mind as possible landing spots for Vic - the team gets some goals to keep things from being too terrible but they also don't get too good to outpace their rebuild. Murphy could be a guy to go after and make it into a hockey deal. Maybe someone like Matt Benning too - though Murphy seems more apt as a Power-partner at first blush, though Benning has some good defensive measures on both the Preds and Sharks. Benning wouldn't be my first choice but he's a choice.

 

[RefsIdeas]

Chicago and San Jose were the two teams that keep coming to mind as possible landing spots for Vic - the team gets some goals to keep things from being too terrible but they also don't get too good to outpace their rebuild. Murphy could be a guy to go after and make it into a hockey deal. Maybe someone like Matt Benning too - though Murphy seems more apt as a Power-partner at first blush, though Benning has some good defensive measures on both the Preds and Sharks. Benning wouldn't be my first choice but he's a choice.

Benning has been a warrior blocking shots on the Sharks PK this year, a contributing factor to why they have a good PK relative to their team and goalie performance. I wouldn’t mind him, but certainly wouldn’t be my top choice as a Power partner.

 

[The Blunder Years]

Chicago and San Jose were the two teams that keep coming to mind as possible landing spots for Vic - the team gets some goals to keep things from being too terrible but they also don't get too good to outpace their rebuild. Murphy could be a guy to go after and make it into a hockey deal. Maybe someone like Matt Benning too - though Murphy seems more apt as a Power-partner at first blush, though Benning has some good defensive measures on both the Preds and Sharks. Benning wouldn't be my first choice but he's a choice.

Don’t know if they’ve been mentioned but Nashville makes so much sense to me. They have all the heavy big forwards a team could want but lack pure goal scoring. Fabbro for Olofsson+ is still my dream

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

Don’t know if they’ve been mentioned but Nashville makes so much sense to me. They have all the heavy big forwards a team could want but lack pure goal scoring. Fabbro for Olofsson+ is still my dream

Problem is Olofsson isn't a Trotz type of player. He just doesn't fit his archetype.

 

[Chainshot]

Benning has been a warrior blocking shots on the Sharks PK this year, a contributing factor to why they have a good PK relative to their team and goalie performance. I wouldn’t mind him, but certainly wouldn’t be my top choice as a Power partner.

He's a guy who is a Boosh replacement to me and I sort of like Boosh as the 3D. He wouldn't be the first guy I would look to, though with only another year on Lyubushkin's contract, I'm not sure what they will do (deal, hold to UFA or extend).

Problem is Olofsson isn't a Trotz type of player. He just doesn't fit his archetype.

Nor Hynes since he's the guy demanding everyone hit all the time.

 

[Chainshot]

Don’t know if they’ve been mentioned but Nashville makes so much sense to me. They have all the heavy big forwards a team could want but lack pure goal scoring. Fabbro for Olofsson+ is still my dream

As someone long on the Fabbro train, I've thought they flip Jokiharju for him in a change of venue type of move for both.

 

[The Blunder Years]

Problem is Olofsson isn't a Trotz type of player. He just doesn't fit his archetype.

I had the same thought, however I feel like if there was one way to make Olofsson work It would be to staple him to two defensive grinders that can cycle and get the puck to him in space. Then you roll him out on PP1 and he probably scores 25-30.

 

[Dingo44]

I had the same thought, however I feel like if there was one way to make Olofsson work It would be to staple him to two defensive grinders that can cycle and get the puck to him in space. Then you roll him out on PP1 and he probably scores 25-30.

Not a bad idea if you have no other options but we have better options than him and more coming.

 

[Chainshot]

Not a bad idea if you have no other options but we have better options than him and more coming.

I think that's in reference to some of the grinders in Nashville.

 

[Matt Ress]

Problem is Olofsson isn't a Trotz type of player. He just doesn't fit his archetype.

Maybe he's an archetype of Allvin.

 

[JThorne]

Good point.

I was thinking after I posted about how Olofsson would be perfect for an old-time expansion franchise - one before Vegas and Seattle changed expectations. You know you're going to stink, but you need some guys who can score to keep the new fans somewhat interested. You're just looking for goals and the rest isn't that important. Guys like Andrew Brunette and Petr Klima and Stéphane Richer. But rebuilding teams work as well.

Only issue is if a team is rebuilding but looking for scoring, and also hoping to flip Olofsson at the deadline, then they aren't giving up futures. So maybe we're looking at someone like the often-mentioned Connor Murphy in Chicago as a package? Throw in one of our draft picks - and maybe even Bryson can be part of that deal as well.

There's a name I haven't thought about in quite a long time.

 

[EichHart]

If Levi is him there aren't many more moves to make to make the playoffs next yr. Shore up defense with 1-2 vet dman is about all we need.

 

[Fezzy126]

Been working on a long offseason thoughts post for a while now, so here goes.

Offseason planning – what I think the Sabres will actually do edition:

Forwards

UFAs [Girgensons, Okposo, Hinostroza]: I’m of the opinion that both Girgs and KO will be interested in coming back and the Sabres would want that as well. They’ll probably look to extend Girgs to a multiyear deal as they value what he brings on and off the ice (as do I). Okposo looks to have lost a step this year, but the dude is a warrior and has earned the right to play another year if he wants it. I think they sign him to a moderately low 1-year deal, probably somewhere around $2M. Lastly, they let Hino go as he’s been passed in the pecking order by multiple prospects.

RFAs [Jost]: I don’t think they qualify Jost based on the price tag. However, they like him in the room and he’s a hard worker and good skater. I’d let him know exactly where he stands though – specifically that there’s going to be a competition for maybe one or two roster spots, otherwise he’s looking at being an extra forward or shuttled down through waivers. If he’s up for the competition, then sign him to a smaller deal, if he sees a better opportunity elsewhere, then best of luck. Based on some of his interviews this year, I think he likes it here so he re-signs for a smaller deal.

Trades [Olofsson]: The writing is on the wall - I think they move Olofsson out. He could use a change of scenery and there’s plenty of teams that could use a boost on the power play. For this exercise I’m shipping him off to Anaheim for a 2024 3rd rounder (they have two extra). Perhaps that’s a little high, maybe he goes for a fourth instead, they have an extra 4th in 2025… The Ducks have some dead weight in their top 6, plenty of cap space, and their power play is anemic and could use a shooting threat, so the fit seems good there.

That leaves us with the following lineup (obviously the exact lines are subject to change):

Skinner-Thompson-Tuch
Peterka-Cozens-Quinn
Greenway-Mitts-XXX
Girgensons-Krebs-Okposo
Extras – Jost, Biro, Rousek, Savoie

Final thoughts: Ultimately, I don’t think they bring anyone else in. But they probably need to decide if Mitts’ best spot is on the wing or at center. If they think he’s a winger, I could see a move to bring in a gritty, defensive, faceoff winning center for the bottom 6. If they see Mitts as a full time center, then they’re probably content to just let Jost, Biro, Rousek, and Savoie battle for that last winger spot, knowing that Jost, Savoie, and even Biro can fill in at center if there are any injuries.

Defense

UFAs [None]

RFAs [Clague]: Sure, qualify Clague - good piece for Rochester or organizational 7/8/9 type of piece.

Trades: None

Samuelsson-Dahlin
Power-Jokiharju
Stillman-Lyubushkin
Extras – Bryson, Clague

Final thoughts: I don’t think this defense group is good enough. Dahlin and Samuelsson are going to be an elite first pairing for the next decade, and in about 2-3 years Power will be good enough to carry any partner, but right now I’m not a fan of Jokiharju with him. I’d be looking at an upgrade via UFA or trade, there seems to be a lot of decent pieces out there which has been thoroughly discussed in the defensemen thread. However, regardless of the alleged Chychrun rumors, nothing about Jokiharju’s usage suggests that they’re down on him at all:

If they make a move, I think it will be on that 3rd pairing to push Stillman down as an extra and Bryson down to Rochester. I'd really like if they bring in someone like Severson, Graves, or Clifton, but I'm thinking they go with more of a traditional 3rd pairing guy like Harrington or Tinordi.


Goalies

UFAs [Anderson]: No surprise - Craig retires

RFAs [None]

Trades [Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen]: Yep, I think they trade UPL. Right now I’m sending him off to the Blackhawks, since they appear to have a void in goal both at the NHL and prospect levels. It’s tough to say what his value is since scouting opinions are split on UPL’s upside. Right now I’ll say he brings back a 2025 4th rounder.

Levi
Comrie

Final thoughts: This one will be even more unpopular than the defense core… I think they’re planning on running with Levi at the NHL level and staying the course with Comrie being the backup. Since UPL can’t go through waivers they trade him in the offseason. I was an advocate for UPL for a long time, but my biggest complaints about him are very difficult to fix via development: 1) he’s a big goalie that makes himself small in the net, 2) His glove hand is not very good, and 3) He doesn’t seem to handle post to post movements very well. For those reasons I’m moving him while he still has some value.

Final Final Thoughts: If we bring back the same lineup without any additions there will be hellfire in this forum. However, I don't think it should be doom and gloom because there is still room for growth from the majority of the roster, and I expect exponential growth from Quinn and Power at a minimum. In talking about Quinn specifically, I wouldn't be surprised with a 40 point improvement next year, it fits with his development history and the underlying metrics are already there.

While I don't have any additions in this post, we know that KA is cognizant of the lack of toughness/sandpaper in the lineup. I wonder who he would move out if the opportunity presents itself to add some more grit to the lineup. Is Greenway ultimately the answer to this issue? Does he just wait for KO to retire? Regardless, if we stand pat the playoffs will once again hinge on defense and goaltending.