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Prospect Info: Ryan Johnson, D, 2019 #31 overall: Signed, Rochester (AHL), Recalled 12/5/24

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I don’t have to blame him but I can believe he doesn’t even mean it and it’s a thing to say to get through interviews in a place you never intended to sign. He did it better than Portillo at least. If you think Johnson is signing…I can see it at least. if you think Portillo is I think your kidding yourself.
 
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starkravingsabres said:
It's not hand-holding. The Sabres are at the always-be- closing stage of their relationship, as they should be.

I'd much rather have a known commodity in Johnson, possibly a roster player in 2 seasons, rather than whatever a 2nd-round pick in 2023 becomes years later.
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Doesn't have anything to do with Johnson vs a 2nd.

jmelm said:
I guarantee you they've already been doing that all along.
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^ This is my point. If suddenly this year they feel the need to do something differently to show him they care, it's too late. I'm not suggesting they abandon him all-togehter.

But flying Matt Ellis to Minnesota to talk to a team nutritionist serves no purpose, unless Matt pushes for more fiber so Ryan can 'you-know-what' or get off the pot.
 
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jc17 said:
^ This is my point. If suddenly this year they feel the need to do something differently to show him they care, it's too late. I'm not suggesting they abandon him all-togehter.

But flying Matt Ellis to Minnesota to talk to a team nutritionist serves no purpose, unless Matt pushes for more fiber so Ryan can 'you-know-what' or get off the pot.
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If Johnson doesn't sign, it's only for one or both of two reasons: lifestyle (aka city, family considerations, etc.) and his perceived opportunity to advance on the team given the players already on the roster/in the system.

If he doesn't want to sign for one or both of those reasons, there's absolutely nothing we can do about it. We're not trading one of the other big 3, and we're probably not going to offer his dad a promotion from assistant coach in ANA to assistant GM with cherries on top just to lure his son here.

Hopefully he'll sign, but if he doesn't, hopefully we can find a team he's willing to sign with before the end of the season so we can trade him for a 2023 2nd rather than have to wait for the compensatory 2024 2nd.
 
jc17 said:
Doesn't have anything to do with Johnson vs a 2nd.


^ This is my point. If suddenly this year they feel the need to do something differently to show him they care, it's too late. I'm not suggesting they abandon him all-togehter.

But flying Matt Ellis to Minnesota to talk to a team nutritionist serves no purpose, unless Matt pushes for more fiber so Ryan can 'you-know-what' or get off the pot.
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So what's your sweet-spot between whatever the Sabres are or will be doing and abandoning the effort?
 
I think it's false angst perpetrated by the Swedes. They don't want to see so many good players in the NHL!

Either you got it or you don't! If you got it and don't sign you're throwing away money. And I'm sick of this crap where they don't have a serious discussion about signing and going back to school after retirement. Andrew friggin Peters did it!
 
Cirris said:
There's no trade. Sabres get a 2nd in compensation if they let him walk in UFA next year. No team is going to give you more than that. Especially if that team might have the inside track on signing him next year without giving up assets.

Only dumb GMs like Tim Murray would waste picks chasing after a soon to be college grad free agent. And even he only gave up a 3rd.
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The compensation increases his trade value. The team that acquires the pick gets the comp if they can't sign him.
 
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jc17 said:
Doesn't have anything to do with Johnson vs a 2nd.


^ This is my point. If suddenly this year they feel the need to do something differently to show him they care, it's too late. I'm not suggesting they abandon him all-togehter.

But flying Matt Ellis to Minnesota to talk to a team nutritionist serves no purpose, unless Matt pushes for more fiber so Ryan can 'you-know-what' or get off the pot.
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Ah potty humor :naughty:
 
starkravingsabres said:
So what's your sweet-spot between whatever the Sabres are or will be doing and abandoning the effort?
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I think they should do whatever they normally do.

I interpreted the original post as saying the Sabres should show some new-found commitment to his development and be in Minnesota constantly, which I think would be a mistake.

The bit about caring about him more as a person than a prospect also only works if that's how they've always treated guys. Suddenly telling someone you care about them when's there's risk of them leaving would come across kind of weak. And not that I think they should treat him poorly if he doesn't sign, but "we want players who want to be here" doesn't align with telling him that the Sabres are invested in his future, wherever he decides to play.
 
Chainshot said:
No report, just a seeming low-level attempt to stir shit up for someone's amusement.
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People are weird. The fact that he hasn’t declared he’s going back for his senior season is telling to me. He’s literally debating another year of college career vs signing. If he didn’t want to be a Sabre, he’d have already declared. He may just be making sure the Sabres don’t add another big piece on D. If they really are in on Chychrun, that doesn’t leave any room in the top 4 for Johnson.
 
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truthbluth said:
People are weird. The fact that he hasn’t declared he’s going back for his senior season is telling to me. He’s literally debating another year of college career vs signing. If he didn’t want to be a Sabre, he’d have already declared. He may just be making sure the Sabres don’t add another big piece on D. If they really are in on Chychrun, that doesn’t leave any room in the top 4 for Johnson.
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I agree, and I think the landscape has heavily shifted, and with it, likely this train of thought the last few months due to a couple of events.

First of all, Faber leaving the Gophers was likely huge news for Johnson, and that will weight on his decision.

Second was Anaheim's draft. The Ducks taking Mintyukov was likely one of the best scenarios for the Sabres and the Johnson situation,

Anaheim now has two top LHD prospects with Mintyukov and Zellweger. Early in the season, with Lindholm's UFA status, the return to college route and a spot in the Anaheim farm system likely looked to be an ideal situation and a fast track for Johnson to the NHL. That situation is not looking nearly as good now.

I still believe that if he returns to Minnesota he will test the UFA market and is likely gone(LA is still a pretty good option for him in that scenario), and I have a feeling that is the way he is leaning. I think he is on the fence now, and with going to Minnestoa being the familiar path, it is the easier decision, but it would not surprise me too much if he did in fact sign this summer.
 
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jc17 said:
He's going into senior year, I don't think he needs or wants the hand-holding.

What are constant visits going to do, aside from attempting to guilt him into signing (which doesn't exactly say "I value you as a person")? I imagine they have already established enough of a relationship to exhibit that they will give any help necessary, and if they haven't, a barrage of visits in his final year will just look disingenuous. Maybe he signs, maybe he doesn't, but I think respecting his space will be more valuable than hovering around him.
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I can see where you're coming from here. We have different perspectives.
 
jc17 said:
We might. Just to confirm, are you saying keep up with the typical stuff, or go after him with everything?
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I'm having a hard time trying to wrap my head around the 'go after him with everything' as "new", conceptually.

edit: that wasn't really an answer, was it. I'll say that dev staff should do their job so well that every player they work with who declines to sign will still remark about how good the organization was to them both personally and professionally, throughout the entirety of their relationship.
 
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I don't have much opinion on what the Sabres should do, as I assume they've done about everything possible. As for Johnson and any other college player in his scenario, I'll just say I think it's shitty to string along a team that spent a pick and time on you. If he truly is conflicted or wishy washy about what he wants, and has shared that all along then fine...weak minded but fair. If he's being cagy or selfish then, while it's his "right" under league rules, it's not respectful. If he really leaves Buffalo up in the air until going to FA... he's just a dick.
 
To me of the Portillo / Johnson duo who I feel is more important, I feel that Johnson seems a touch more interested. Portillo looked really out of place, and has no real interest of signing.
 
truthbluth said:
People are weird. The fact that he hasn’t declared he’s going back for his senior season is telling to me. He’s literally debating another year of college career vs signing. If he didn’t want to be a Sabre, he’d have already declared.
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Well, to be fair (to the bolded), he's only seriously "debating" another year vs. signing if he's actually willing to sign here. I don't think anyone is convinced that RyJo is seriously debating signing here now vs. signing here at the end of the college season.

To offer an alternate, and the obligatory glass-half-empty, theory: maybe he hasn't declared he doesn't want to sign because he wants to make it look like he's genuinely wresting with it so he doesn't appear to be a villain, even though he's going to sign with another team.

:nopity:
 
jmelm said:
Well, to be fair (to the bolded), he's only seriously "debating" another year vs. signing if he's actually willing to sign here. I don't think anyone is convinced that RyJo is seriously debating signing here now vs. signing here at the end of the college season.

To offer an alternate, and the obligatory glass-half-empty, theory: maybe he hasn't declared he doesn't want to sign because he wants to make it look like he's genuinely wresting with it so he doesn't appear to be a villain, even though he's going to sign with another team.

:nopity:
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I don't think the concern about being the villain is really dictating his actions.

At some point I think we have to take into account that money is a real factor here. Johnson is not a sure-fire NHL talent. While burning a year of his ELC is nice, the reality is that he is going be be earning AHL ELC wages, so something like 60 - 70k. (I will admit that I am not up to date on what AHL ELC wages are, someone please correct me if I am way off.)

If he lands on a team and gets some time as a #7 D even, he's propably looking at 800-900k. So he has to look around the league and assess where he has the best chance of that happening.

Maybe he develops into an NHL regular, and then the money and contract issues will resolve themselves. But if he doesn't, a few years making 900k sure beats 3 or 4 years in the AHL earning one-tenth that before maybe finding a gig in another league.

Does Buffalo offer a good path for him? I think that is likely his dilemma.
 
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