Confirmed with Link: Sabres sign D Connor Clifton to a 3 year deal worth $10 million ($3.33M AAV)

[FaschingStatement]

Power made Kale Clague look serviceable. I'm thinking this will be better.

 

[Fjordy]

I am scrapping every prenotion that I had about next season's D pairings now.

Power was not stellar in his own end, and I don't think Johnson or Clifton are guys that have the defensive pedigree to play 20+ minutes and pick up the slack to make a solid second pairing.

That said, I absolutely love the D depth the team now has. If Granato can roll 3 lines all closer to 20 minutes like he did in a few games last season, everyone seemed to play much better. Adding Johnson and Clifton gives the team a ton of pairing options

Well, Clifton is decent in defense, physical, with a good transition and PK. He played almost 18 minutes a game in Boston, almost like #4 on some teams. I like him. Johnson is definitely only for a third pair, or a change if his wheels are off. Depth has improved, although I don't understand who will play LD in the third pair if none of them play there.

The problem with goalies is still critical for me.

 

[Irie]

Well, Clifton is decent in defense, physical, with a good transition and PK. He played almost 18 minutes a game in Boston, almost like #4 on some teams. I like him. Johnson is definitely only for a third pair, or a change if his wheels are off. Depth has improved, although I don't understand who will play LD in the third pair if none of them play there.

The problem with goalies is still critical for me.

What I am saying is that they are both good adds, but I do not see them as solutions to what we all assumed was the exact fit we needed.

Despite what some misguided posters here have pretended, Power was very bad positionally on D. With the puck on his stick he played like a 10 year allstar vet, but defensively he was still a 20 year old rookie and was a rover who's decision making left his assignments regularly wide open in dangerous areas. Clifton is probably not the guy that can cover for Power in the D zone, but there is a good chance he doesn't have to be.

I mean, whose to say they have to run with a top four and a limited 3rd pairing? Maybe Power gets a ton of PP time, but his ES pair gets equal time with the 3rd pair, and maybe his defensive load is lightened substantially that way.

Maybe Sammy plays with Power, and someone else finds chemistry with Dahlin at ES. Maybe there is still a potential deal to be made that moves Boosh or Joker out for a LHD option which is easier to find.

We've been all under the assumption that they have to find a #4 to compliment Power and that was the only option. Maybe it is time to think outside that box and realize there are other creative solutions to make the pairings and D load work until Power's defensive game improves enough were they do not need a defensive savant to play with him and cover his errors.

 

[old kummelweck]

You guys seem to be a lot higher on Clifton than Reddit is ,that's for sure.

Sour grapes IMO. Sabres D will be fine.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

..so no Pesce then? I like Clifton. But we talked about a Pesce..

I’m good with the FAs, honestly. Flexibility, depth, and didn’t gotta lose nothing.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

You'll love him.

Physical style, drops the gloves, good defensively and chips in some offense and can PK

He's a very good 2nd pair guy and an excellent 3rd pair guy.

 

[K8fool]

Wow , buffalo is a tough, battered crowd..

I'm reading more than once.. Clifton is an okay 6 , get us a 4.. wow..

Look at the kids numbers. in his prime , will peak the next couple years.. Learning from 3 humble number 1 picks...Played on that sh*tty bruins team that closed out a couple games. top 25 in the league last year w hits playin w less ice Time... top 50 blocked shots..
This doosh is actually hungry and wants a bigger role and prove it within thr Division. yea not even a 5d but a 6 on a winning team.. Wtf!?

maybe if he went around like the biggest gurl in the League and axe tomahawk chopped players better than him like pietrangelo dishonored the sport w darisaitl.? Would that make Clifton a top 4D , ya traumatized mooks?

So Yea.. This 28 year old late blooming kid wants a bigger role.. F yeah.. Looks like he'll earn it and we'll be thrilled, even a bahston, hey John likes him..

IF NOT , time adjusting to our fun run and gun.. Well, Erik freakin Johnson will have one last great year, maybe more and Clifton will play third pair w another hungry and healthy, jokiharu. Impressing us all there getting better thru maybe April , Who cares, good job KA and agree w both choices psychological

Having a hungry physical D w something to prove against a division he KNOWS, and has more than doubled his hits and blocked shots against since last year .. I'm betting he could slide beside Dahlin and not look out of place, maybe thrive..

 

[K8fool]

You'll love him.

Physical style, drops the gloves, good defensively and chips in some offense and can PK

He's a very good 2nd pair guy and an excellent 3rd pair guy.

i talk too much, this is all we want to hear..

Power made Kale Clague look serviceable. I'm thinking this will be better.

This is also, great information I'd forgotten about. And it's true, Thank you.. I'm going back to reading and liking , much lazier anyways , more succinct necessary info .

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

i talk too much, this is all we want to hear..


This is also, great information I'd forgotten about. And it's true, Thank you.. I'm going back to reading and liking , much lazier anyways , more succinct necessary info .

Also he fits a run n gun style (Bruins played that last year). He's good at breakouts and is a faster skater than you think

 

[RecycledEichel]

I like him, the problem is he's a wild card. I don't know what he'll look like when he plays 20 minutes with Power. Also, if it doesn't work, then we have no one to play in the top 4. Another problem I have is with our goalies. Adams takes a big risk.

If Adams is any good at his job, Clifton would not be a wild card. He should know exactly what he's getting in a player that he just gave a 3 year contract to. If KA is a good GM and Clifton is brought in to be Power's partner, then you would think they'd match up well with each other.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

And the term is good. There is some freakin' snarl to their bottom pair or to play with Power.

he had two fights against us last season I believe.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Dont think the pedos are hanging out there though.

I don’t know why you think anyone would care that there’s a lack of pedos but I find it gross that you consider that a negative, or know where pedophiles hang out at all.

 

[Diaspora]

Wow , buffalo is a tough, battered crowd..

I'm reading more than once.. Clifton is an okay 6 , get us a 4.. wow..

Look at the kids numbers. in his prime , will peak the next couple years.. Learning from 3 humble number 1 picks...Played on that sh*tty bruins team that closed out a couple games. top 25 in the league last year w hits playin w less ice Time... top 50 blocked shots..
This doosh is actually hungry and wants a bigger role and prove it within thr Division. yea not even a 5d but a 6 on a winning team.. Wtf!?

maybe if he went around like the biggest gurl in the League and axe tomahawk chopped players better than him like pietrangelo dishonored the sport w darisaitl.? Would that make Clifton a top 4D , ya traumatized mooks?

So Yea.. This 28 year old late blooming kid wants a bigger role.. F yeah.. Looks like he'll earn it and we'll be thrilled, even a bahston, hey John likes him..

IF NOT , time adjusting to our fun run and gun.. Well, Erik freakin Johnson will have one last great year, maybe more and Clifton will play third pair w another hungry and healthy, jokiharu. Impressing us all there getting better thru maybe April , Who cares, good job KA and agree w both choices psychological

Having a hungry physical D w something to prove against a division he KNOWS, and has more than doubled his hits and blocked shots against since last year .. I'm betting he could slide beside Dahlin and not look out of place, maybe thrive..

Preach, brother!

The Sabres got better today. Keep building.

 

[Beerz]

I don’t know why you think anyone would care that there’s a lack of pedos but I find it gross that you consider that a negative, or know where pedophiles hang out at all.

Dude.. you can't actually think that is what was meant

 

[Jeremy2020]

I am scrapping every prenotion that I had about next season's D pairings now.

Power was not stellar in his own end, and I don't think Johnson or Clifton are guys that have the defensive pedigree to play 20+ minutes and pick up the slack to make a solid second pairing.

That said, I absolutely love the D depth the team now has. If Granato can roll 3 lines all closer to 20 minutes like he did in a few games last season, everyone seemed to play much better. Adding Johnson and Clifton gives the team a ton of pairing options

This is my basically my view as well. These guys are a bulwark against what is likely a high price for someone like Pesce. If Adams can't find that "true top 4" guy at a reasonable price then at least they have some depth and flexibility.

 

[Chainshot]

I am scrapping every prenotion that I had about next season's D pairings now.

Power was not stellar in his own end, and I don't think Johnson or Clifton are guys that have the defensive pedigree to play 20+ minutes and pick up the slack to make a solid second pairing.

That said, I absolutely love the D depth the team now has. If Granato can roll 3 lines all closer to 20 minutes like he did in a few games last season, everyone seemed to play much better. Adding Johnson and Clifton gives the team a ton of pairing options

I still keep coming back to wonder at Power-Samuelsson as the pairing. Dahlin gets a different partner and they rotate in and out - sometimes Power-Dahlin in offensive need situations, perhaps Samuelsson-Dahlin in more defensive need situations.

We'll see. Hopefully having some better depth does allow them to keep some players fresher longer by spreading minutes and matchups more evenly.

 

[Dubi Doo]

What I am saying is that they are both good adds, but I do not see them as solutions to what we all assumed was the exact fit we needed.

Despite what some misguided posters here have pretended, Power was very bad positionally on D. With the puck on his stick he played like a 10 year allstar vet, but defensively he was still a 20 year old rookie and was a rover who's decision making left his assignments regularly wide open in dangerous areas. Clifton is probably not the guy that can cover for Power in the D zone, but there is a good chance he doesn't have to be.

I mean, whose to say they have to run with a top four and a limited 3rd pairing? Maybe Power gets a ton of PP time, but his ES pair gets equal time with the 3rd pair, and maybe his defensive load is lightened substantially that way.

Maybe Sammy plays with Power, and someone else finds chemistry with Dahlin at ES. Maybe there is still a potential deal to be made that moves Boosh or Joker out for a LHD option which is easier to find.

We've been all under the assumption that they have to find a #4 to compliment Power and that was the only option. Maybe it is time to think outside that box and realize there are other creative solutions to make the pairings and D load work until Power's defensive game improves enough were they do not need a defensive savant to play with him and cover his errors.

I agree with a lot of a lot of this.

All I'll say is, when Power elevates his defenisve game to become more consistent, then we wont need a bonafide #4. That should actually be a role we save cap space on because Power will be an expensive player on our second pairing, but there's no doubt in my mind he'll be well worth it.

The risk is, can Clifton support him through those growing pains? I dont know enough about the fine details of his game to say, but it seems like there's potential there. Hopefully, they can grow as a pair (if they are one to start the season). A lot of their growing as a pair will probably correlate with Power growing his defensive game.

You're right, though. We shouldn't hyper focus on the set of pairs. Anything can happen. Dahlin can likely make Clifton serviceable. If one of Power or Samuelsson can play their offside well, then perhaps Dahlin carries Clifton around for 20 mins a night while Power-Samuelsson play another 20 mins a night.

Granato can get even more creative during certain situations. Down by two in the third? Let's give Power-Dahlin a few shifts together to up their minutes. 1 minute left and there's a faceoff in our zone? Samuelsson-Dahlin are paired together (that will likely become Power-Dahlin in time).

 

[Ace]

Power’s biggest growing pains involved a partner who he’d see skating to the wrong area on one end and turned over the puck instead of finding him on the other.

 

[Chainshot]

I agree with a lot of a lot of this.

All I'll say is, when Power elevates his defenisve game to become more consistent, then we wont need a bonafide #4. That should actually be a role we save cap space on because Power will be an expensive player on our second pairing, but there's no doubt in my mind he'll be well worth it.

The risk is, can Clifton support hin through those growing pains. I dont know enough about the fine details of his game to say, but it seems like there's potential there. Hopefully, they can grow as a pair (if they are one to start the season). A lot of their growing as a pair will probably correlate with Power growing his defensive game.

You're right, though. We shouldn't hyper focus on one the set of pairs. Anything can happen. Dahlin can likely make Clifton serviceable. If one of Power or Samuelsson can play their offside well, then perhaps Dahlin carries Clifton around for 20 mins a night while Power-Samuelsson play another 20 mins a night.

Granato can get even more creative during certain situations. Down by two in the third? Let's give Power-Dahlin a few shifts together to up their minutes. 1 minute left and there's a faceoff in our zone? Samuelsson-Dahlin are paired together (that will likely become Power-Dahlin in time).

To dig into this a bit, I think Clifton is similar to Nick Blankenburg when he was Power's partner at Michigan - not a zone denial guy but someone who handled the physical play around the net and the takeout portion of the duo. He's smaller but combative, though not as combative as Clifton, so I'm eager to see if that's the fit. Or if the fit is Samuelsson on his off-hand side with Power and one of the righties with Dahlin in standard time.

It's not perfect but he could get time on any of the pairs.

 

[The Blunder Years]

Yeah Power is exceptional positionally. Just needs someone to play with that holds their own and can handle the physicality.

Clifton seems like a good partner based on his strengths.

 

[Chainshot]

Power’s biggest growing pains involved a partner who he’d see skating to the wrong area on one end and turned over the puck instead of finding him on the other.

While that makes a good tale, Power's issues are how he engages around the net and a lack of urgency in getting body position or stick position in tight. He puck watches which could be part of fatigue but isn't dissimilar to how he played in his own zone in Michigan. He's not good at play without the puck in his own zone yet. Hopefully that will come but it's not possible to put Power's individual failures all on Jokiharju's struggles. That overlooks how much Power needs to improve his defensive game.

 

[Ace]

While that makes a good tale, Power's issues are how he engages around the net and a lack of urgency in getting body position or stick position in tight. He puck watches which could be part of fatigue but isn't dissimilar to how he played in his own zone in Michigan. He's not good at play without the puck in his own zone yet. Hopefully that will come but it's not possible to put Power's individual failures all on Jokiharju's struggles. That overlooks how much Power needs to improve his defensive game.

What will help improve it is not having to run to cover when his partner is standing next to him for no reason. You call it puck watching. I call it Joker watching. Dude skates into Power’s covered man repeatedly

 

[Zman5778]

What will help improve it is not having to run to cover when his partner is standing next to him for no reason. You call it puck watching. I call it Joker watching. Dude skates into Power’s covered man repeatedly

I'm not entirely sure that one has anything to do with the other. Power's struggles I don't think had much, if any, to do with being paired with Jokiharju.

Similarly, I don't think Joker's struggles had anything to do with being paired with Power.

Each had their own issues.......which did not synergize well at all.

 

[Gras]

I don’t know why you think anyone would care that there’s a lack of pedos but I find it gross that you consider that a negative, or know where pedophiles hang out at all.

You missed the entire context, I had asked what was the bigger cesspool, Reddit or Twitter and someone brought up Sabres Facebook, which prompted that response, implying that the pedos are on Reddit and Twitter and not on Sabres Facebook.

 

[Chainshot]

What will help improve it is not having to run to cover when his partner is standing next to him for no reason

Your still trying to frame this that he's fine and it's on Jokiharju. He's not fine. A better partner will help, but it's not the only issue at play and bigger gains will be made when he gets involved in engaging to defend instead of watching. That's one of the things with Clifton - he engages on people hard which will separate folks from the puck and Power's best skills are his abilities to quickly move the puck out of danger once in possession.