Speculation: Sabres Roster Speculation - Pre-season 2023 Edition

[OkimLom]

Darren Dreger has talked for years how Adams is looking to make big moves.

Darren and that lot of "journalists" have ratings to worry about...I don't take much stock in anything they say.

 

[HOOats]

Kane's significant hip procedure this summer is proof he was obviously not 100% last year. Add in the fact that he was a lame duck on a tanking Blackhawks team and was traded to a bipolar Rangers team, and 57 points in 73 games isn't terrible. 92 in 78 the year before, 66 in 56 before that.

Who knows how much time this hip resurfacing is going to buy him, but if our medical staff likes how it looks I'm down to give him a one year shot.

He's still massively talented. He would be unreal feeding Tage. He's the best American of all-time, he's from here and is a Sabres fan, he's 35 and by all accounts his foolishness is a decade behind him. I think he could mix into our locker room just fine as a local guy with infinite postseason experience to share. And the storyline is just too juicy.

 

[Jim Bob]

Kane's significant hip procedure this summer is proof he was obviously not 100% last year. Add in the fact that he was a lame duck on a tanking Blackhawks team and was traded to a bipolar Rangers team, and 57 points in 73 games isn't terrible. 92 in 78 the year before, 66 in 56 before that.

Who knows how much time this hip resurfacing is going to buy him, but if our medical staff likes how it looks I'm down to give him a one year shot.

He's still massively talented. He would be unreal feeding Tage. He's the best American of all-time, he's from here and is a Sabres fan, he's 35 and by all accounts his foolishness is a decade behind him. I think he could mix into our locker room just fine as a local guy with infinite postseason experience to share. And the storyline is just too juicy.

He has been VO-esque defensively at 5 on 5 for more than a couple of seasons. He does not add what the Sabres are missing.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Darren and that lot of "journalists" have ratings to worry about...I don't take much stock in anything they say.

I don't know why but he bugs me the most.

 

[HOOats]

He has been VO-esque defensively at 5 on 5 for more than a couple of seasons. He does not add what the Sabres are missing.

100%. But I'd trade VO retained for a 4th and sign Kane in a heartbeat if he comes out the better from his hip. I want to score 350 goals.

 

[Jim Bob]

100%. But I'd trade VO retained for a 4th and sign Kane in a heartbeat if he comes out the better from his hip. I want to score 350 goals.

The challenge is that you have to sign Kane without really knowing if he would be any better after the hip surgery.

 

[CrazyWayne]

It's almost like a projected good team with cap room is being rumored to be the landing spot for all these guys looking for a new contract

I'm sure it has nothing to do with negotiating

For the record I'd be interested in both Kane and zegras but all depends on cost. Also what is zegras looking to sign for?

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

I am curious to know what a deal for Kane would look like. I have no idea what the term or AAV would be

 

[HOOats]

The challenge is that you have to sign Kane without really knowing if he would be any better after the hip surgery.

There's some risk for sure. But between his agency and our medical staff, we could study pre and post procedure imaging and get an idea. Then have him skate for us. I don't think he's so in-demand that he'll be signed sight unseen.

I am curious to know what a deal for Kane would look like. I have no idea what the term or AAV would be

One year deal for sure. And nothing more than Vic is making, although he may want something like Tarasenko got.

 

[Der Jaeger]

I completely know that a Zegras trade with Anaheim isn't happening.

But that's the type of trade Adams should be looking for with the depth of prospects in the organization. Same thoughts as Pettersson.

 

[TageGod]

Had the misfortune of turning WGR on the moment Paul Hamilton was discussing Zegras trade. The man literally said Cozens has to go the other way. First no, second, no. Third, the rumor was assets for Zegras because they didn't want to pay him.

I expect terrible takes and incompetence, but wow.

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

I completely know that a Zegras trade with Anaheim isn't happening.

But that's the type of trade Adams should be looking for with the depth of prospects in the organization. Same thoughts as Pettersson.

That's a guy I would make a big offer for.

 

[Jim Bob]

There's some risk for sure. But between his agency and our medical staff, we could study pre and post procedure imaging and get an idea. Then have him skate for us. I don't think he's so in-demand that he'll be signed sight unseen.

I doubt his agent lets him skate for any team before a contract is signed. It will be a normal physical and medical review and that's it.

 

[HOOats]

I doubt his agent lets him skate for any team before a contract is signed. It will be a normal physical and medical review and that's it.

Far be it for me to underestimate hockey's backwardness and insularity, but mid-season FAs coming off injury in every other sport do private on-field workouts when looking to catch on with a team. Odell Beckham being the most recent relevant example. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.

 

[Diaspora]

I'd probably do a Zegras deal, but I'd need to know what the ask is.

If it's futures heavy, then of course the answer is yes.

Will he sign for 7x7? If not, then no.

 

[Weltschmerz]

Kane is toast.

Him in a Sabres jersey is not fun for me to think about.

Is he really? I thought hips are easier to fix than for example a knee.
He is not that old compared to other star players.

 

[Jim Bob]

Is he really? I thought hips are easier to fix than for example a knee.
He is not that old compared to other star players.

He has been horribad defensively for a while.

This team does not need another all offense and no defense or jam winger, IMO.

Will he sign for 7x7? If not, then no.

EFP projects Zegras to get 3x$6M and change on a bridge deal and 8x$8M and change on a long term deal.

And they have undershot some AAVs this off season...

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[BuffaloGooner]

Had the misfortune of turning WGR on the moment Paul Hamilton was discussing Zegras trade. The man literally said Cozens has to go the other way. First no, second, no. Third, the rumor was assets for Zegras because they didn't want to pay him.

I expect terrible takes and incompetence, but wow.

He’s got the facts to back up his shitty opinions!

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Weltschmerz]

He has been horribad defensively for a while.

This team does not need another all offense and no defense or jam winger, IMO.


EFP projects Zegras to get 3x$6M and change on a bridge deal and 8x$8M and change on a long term deal.

And they have undershot some AAVs this off season...

Don't want him really with the sabres, just wondering if his health may improve.

 

[BFLO]

Yep. We can watch the games and see a 21 year old who is top 3 on the team in PK time a game, who back checks hard, and reads the ice pretty well for his age and understands passing lanes and positioning and evaluate the player on his play

Or...

we can read a chart that takes everything out of context and completely ignores that a 21 year old is playing top six minutes and centering two physically under-developed rookies on a team without a defensive system that plays incredibly loose, and use the goals the team surrendered to compare him to players in completely different situations on different teams and pretend that the 100 bucks we dropped to obtain this info was worth it.

A good measuring stick to check the validity of your charts is to post Taylor Hall's player card with the sabres and Taylor Hall's player card with the Bruins and compare them. Please humor me and do that. I mean, if they are accurately measuring the ability of a player, then they should be extremely consistent, right?

Looking forward to the results of this experiment.

This is where you and so many others seem to be confused by these stats. They don't measure the players "ability", or potential or characteristics, they measure their results.

It's the difference between thinking the stats say that, "Cozens has had bad defensive results", and "Cozens is inherently or intrinsically a bad defensive player".

All stats are devoid of context. It's like saying goals, assists or wins/losses are worthless because they are devoid of context. It's on you to be aware of the context and interpret the stats accordingly. And as regular posters on HFboards and avid Sabres fans I'm pretty sure we're all aware of the context here.

You're arguing out of both sides of your mouth. You say Cozens is defensively responsible, but then you say the system is incredibly loose. Which means that the players in the system are playing incredibly loose and Cozens is one of them. I don't see you or anyone else saying Tage or Skinner are defensively responsible, but you tie yourself in knots to defend Cozens as defensively responsible when he plays the same system, style, and puts up nearly the same defensive results as Tage and Skinner.

I watched nearly every game last season. I saw a young kid who played "run n' gun" hockey, who generally struggled defensively at even strength and on the PK. The stats line up with what I saw. He played a lot more like a Tage or a Skinner than a Girgs or an Okposo. I'm not saying he can't become more responsible defensively, I'm simply saying he has not been so far. And given how irresponsible he has played to date, it's pretty outrageous to call him defensively responsible.

 

[CaliSabresfan24]

Hmmm..

 

[Dingo44]

Who would be the best Sabre player on the PGA Tour?

Fresh Off The Ice: PGA Tour | Buffalo Sabres

Who is most likely to play on the PGA Tour?

www.nhl.com

Spoiler alert: Mittsy wins in a landslide.

 

[TageGod]

He’s got the facts to back up his shitty opinions!

I love that the statement is literally hyperbole.

This is where you and so many others seem to be confused by these stats. They don't measure the players "ability", or potential or characteristics, they measure their results.

It's the difference between thinking the stats say that, "Cozens has had bad defensive results", and "Cozens is inherently or intrinsically a bad defensive player".

All stats are devoid of context. It's like saying goals, assists or wins/losses are worthless because they are devoid of context. It's on you to be aware of the context and interpret the stats accordingly. And as regular posters on HFboards and avid Sabres fans I'm pretty sure we're all aware of the context here.

You're arguing out of both sides of your mouth. You say Cozens is defensively responsible, but then you say the system is incredibly loose. Which means that the players in the system are playing incredibly loose and Cozens is one of them. I don't see you or anyone else saying Tage or Skinner are defensively responsible, but you tie yourself in knots to defend Cozens as defensively responsible when he plays the same system, style, and puts up nearly the same defensive results as Tage and Skinner.

I watched nearly every game last season. I saw a young kid who played "run n' gun" hockey, who generally struggled defensively at even strength and on the PK. The stats line up with what I saw. He played a lot more like a Tage or a Skinner than a Girgs or an Okposo. I'm not saying he can't become more responsible defensively, I'm simply saying he has not been so far. And given how irresponsible he has played to date, it's pretty outrageous to call him defensively responsible.

I have been subscribing to the "team" impact on stats more. Having two young players who are suspect defensively at times, combined with poor D, and awful G, It is no surprise stats played out this way. The "I need to outscore because my D and G sucks" mentality is probably deep rooted in Sabre's players last season. We know his two way ability exists and I expect to see it more this season.