The 2024-2025 Roster Thread

[littletonhockeycoach]

Something I can't figure out: everyone knows this team's shooting percentage is comically awful. What puzzles me is that while it often leads to a breakout the other way it also often leads to getting a dangerous opportunity with everyone scrambling if you get a good bounce yet that never happens for us. It can't just be puck luck, it has to be something we are (or aren't) doing right?

It's a fine line........ If anyone on this board lined up against these guys, they would get smoked. None of us is a NHL-level talent.

But they are (supposedly) NHL talent.

But apparently, not the top of the totem pole (bad reference, I know. Sorry...)

They regularly get out performed in terms of passing precision and accuracy, puck handling skills, close in puck recovery along the boards and in front of the net.

Just compare anyone on today's squad with the skill level of a Sam Reinhart when seeking deflections, redirects, rebounds, possession in close in scrums.

Some of that is physical. A lot more of it is simply better stick and positioning talent (and smarts).

Of all the personnel decisions made the last 2 years, moving Sam (not sure of whether that was what brought Levi here), is one of the worst.

Turned out to be (to me) just another case of wack-a-gopher....

 

[MarkusKetterer]

It's a fine line........ If anyone on this board lined up against these guys, they would get smoked. None of us is a NHL-level talent.

But they are (supposedly) NHL talent.

But apparently, not the top of the totem pole (bad reference, I know. Sorry...)

They regularly get out performed in terms of passing precision and accuracy, puck handling skills, close in puck recovery along the boards and in front of the net.

Just compare anyone on today's squad with the skill level of a Sam Reinhart when seeking deflections, redirects, rebounds, possession in close in scrums.

Some of that is physical. A lot more of it is simply better stick and positioning talent (and smarts).

Of all the personnel decisions made the last 2 years, moving Sam (not sure of whether that was what brought Levi here), is one of the worst.

Turned out to be (to me) just another case of wack-a-gopher....

It is a bad reference. Because the bottom of the totem pole is actually the strongest, even though that’s not as impressive.

 

[sabremike]

It's a fine line........ If anyone on this board lined up against these guys, they would get smoked. None of us is a NHL-level talent.

But they are (supposedly) NHL talent.

But apparently, not the top of the totem pole (bad reference, I know. Sorry...)

They regularly get out performed in terms of passing precision and accuracy, puck handling skills, close in puck recovery along the boards and in front of the net.

Just compare anyone on today's squad with the skill level of a Sam Reinhart when seeking deflections, redirects, rebounds, possession in close in scrums.

Some of that is physical. A lot more of it is simply better stick and positioning talent (and smarts).

Of all the personnel decisions made the last 2 years, moving Sam (not sure of whether that was what brought Levi here), is one of the worst.

Turned out to be (to me) just another case of wack-a-gopher....

They had to trade Sam because he was going to walk as an UFA (I believe he outright told this to KA as he wasn't willing to waste more of his career on another rebuild).

 

[BFLO]

They had to trade Sam because he was going to walk as an UFA (I believe he outright told this to KA as he wasn't willing to waste more of his career on another rebuild).

...because Adams only extended Sam for 1 year the season before, when at the time Reinhart wanted to extend long term.

 

[stealth1]

...because Adams only extended Sam for 1 year the season before, when at the time Reinhart wanted to extend long term.

I don't think it would have made a difference even if they signed him long term. Once they decided on a rebuild he most likely would have asked for a trade. Once Eichel wanted out a rebuild had to happen

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

They had to trade Sam because he was going to walk as an UFA (I believe he outright told this to KA as he wasn't willing to waste more of his career on another rebuild).

Sam wanted to be here. He said so several times. I believe that once again, it was all about the contract and the financial perspective as Adams perceived Pegula would accept.

It is a bad reference. Because the bottom of the totem pole is actually the strongest, even though that’s not as impressive.

Just should have said most of the Sabres are not the creamed la creme across multiple skill sets.

 

[Fjordy]

They do have to spend to get to the cap floor so they have to spend some money. If you have noticed they haven't been close to a cap team since COVID. There is a reason for that.

As far as trading a top 6 C for a LD, I don't think that's who they necessarily targeted but more so that was the best deal available for budget reasons.

Like I said IMO they traded Mitts not necessarily for Byram but to use that money to upgrade the bottom 6. My view was it was either keep Mitts or upgrade the bottom 6.

As far as Reimer goes, Reimer wasn't cut for budget reasons but they wanted Levi up with the big club to start the season. Reimer was the odd one out and they hoped he would pass waivers and could play in Rochester to start.

I do agree Adams isn't doing the best job but at the same time I don't fault him for everything, especially when you are told how to run the team.

I feel all this could have been much better had Pegula not bought the Bills. Since then the Sabres are an afterthought to Pegula.

Well I just don't agree with that, Adams is a bad GM. Terry has done a lot of bad things, but that doesn't absolve Adams of any wrongdoing.

Reimer was never going to clear waivers for me. Keep Levi in Buffalo makes no sense. He just isn't playing, isn't developing, and is failing.

Trading for Byram made no sense, especially trading Mitts.

Adams screwed up with goalies, screwed up with defense, screwed up with attack. Yeah, he improved the bottom 6, but he screwed up the top 6.

We need another GM.

 

[TageGod]

Quinn sucking has put a big dent in our top 6 (Zucker is looking the part but is not ideal). Sabres can score a lot, but they need to pull out some 2-1 wins when they can't. November will get ugly again if the goalies don't steal some games.

 

[stealth1]

Well I just don't agree with that, Adams is a bad GM. Terry has done a lot of bad things, but that doesn't absolve Adams of any wrongdoing.

Reimer was never going to clear waivers for me. Keep Levi in Buffalo makes no sense. He just isn't playing, isn't developing, and is failing.

Trading for Byram made no sense, especially trading Mitts.

Adams screwed up with goalies, screwed up with defense, screwed up with attack. Yeah, he improved the bottom 6, but he screwed up the top 6.

We need another GM.

I never said Adams was good. Pegula isn't helping either. As far as trading Mitts, I fully believe he had to trade him. Budget wise Mitts wouldn't fit. There is a reason they don't spend to the cap now. The Sabres have a budget to spend each season. How else do you explain never spending that much more than the cap floor.

 

[BFLO]

I don't think it would have made a difference even if they signed him long term. Once they decided on a rebuild he most likely would have asked for a trade. Once Eichel wanted out a rebuild had to happen

Was there really any difference between "trying to compete" with Eichel and "rebuilding" post Eichel?

The results have remained the same.

Sam doesn't strike me as the type to request a trade, let alone after the first season into an 8 year extension.

 

[Fjordy]

I never said Adams was good. Pegula isn't helping either. As far as trading Mitts, I fully believe he had to trade him. Budget wise Mitts wouldn't fit. There is a reason they don't spend to the cap now. The Sabres have a budget to spend each season. How else do you explain never spending that much more than the cap floor.

And why are you so sure about this? Adams said the opposite, that he has no internal limit. Or maybe Adams himself is just leaving space in the cap to prolong his kids (Quinn, Peterka and others) in the future. Maybe this is his plan. I have no evidence, so we can only assume. But the fact that Adams is not doing his job is a fact for me.

 

[HaNotsri]

I never said Adams was good. Pegula isn't helping either. As far as trading Mitts, I fully believe he had to trade him. Budget wise Mitts wouldn't fit. There is a reason they don't spend to the cap now. The Sabres have a budget to spend each season. How else do you explain never spending that much more than the cap floor.

With the Skinner buyout and without the Zucker add he'd 100% be able to afford him. Remember that Mitts already had a salary and that we added Byram in his place...

No excuses for Adams, even though we have a budget he's deciding what to spend it on. He's a welfare king that spent all his money day 1 on booze and scratch tickets, now he can't feed the kids. Blaming Pegs for that would be like blaming the government for a single individual's inability to plan.

 

[joshjull]

Sam wanted to be here. He said so several times. I believe that once again, it was all about the contract and the financial perspective as Adams perceived Pegula would accept.


Just should have said most of the Sabres are not the creamed la creme across multiple skill sets.

He did until he didn’t. Sam didn’t want to be part of the rebuild that was coming after the Jack trade. Risto asked out for the same reason as well. Its was all part of the “we only want players who want to be here” thing that developed out of the Jack situation. Although Sam and his camp went about it in a much more respectful way.

 

[joshjull]

I never said Adams was good. Pegula isn't helping either. As far as trading Mitts, I fully believe he had to trade him. Budget wise Mitts wouldn't fit. There is a reason they don't spend to the cap now. The Sabres have a budget to spend each season. How else do you explain never spending that much more than the cap floor.

There was no budget preventing a Mitts extension. Adams chose to trade him because he felt we had our top 6 centers and he would use the “extra” one to get a top 4 dman. If there was any “budget” considerations factored in by Adams. It would be him worrying about future Peterka/Quinn extensions. Which is putting the cart before the horse. Good teams keep their talent and don’t worry about cap ramifications until they’re forced to. They usual trying to work all options (bridges, mid range deals, etc) each offseason until they’re boxed into a corner and forced to deal with the cap.

Our spending is explained by Adams committing to a rebuild that focused heavily on youth with guys on ELCs and reasonable bridge deals. Our payroll only goes up, relative to the NHL cap range, when those guys start getting paid.

21-22 -> At lower limit
22-23 -> At lower limit
23-24 -> Slightly above midpoint
24-25 -> Between midpoint and upper limit.

We’ve paid a goalie decent money, a d-corp with big money spent on it and a bottom 6 that was invested in. The only place we haven’t spent money relative to the rest of the NHL is our top 6. We have 3 guys on ELCs in it and it’s no coincidence they are all Adams draft picks. We can debate how many should be on the top 6 right now. But no one could realistically argue all 3 earned it. One legit top 6 forward traded for/signed gets us right up near the upper limit.

That rebuild approach and continued commitment to the players from it is also why we’re continually the youngest team in the NHL.

 

[Fjordy]

Preach! That's exactly what I think. Adams just has too much faith in his youngsters and leaves cap space for their future extension, which also doesn't make sense, since we see Quinn now, what kind of extension is he getting? Another rookie contract?

 

[stealth1]

There was no budget preventing a Mitts extension. Adams chose to trade him because he felt we had our top 6 centers and he would use the “extra” one to get a top 4 dman. If there was any “budget” considerations factored in by Adams. It would be him worrying about future Peterka/Quinn extensions. Which is putting the cart before the horse. Good teams keep their talent and don’t worry about cap ramifications until they’re forced to. They usual trying to work all options (bridges, mid range deals, etc) each offseason until they’re boxed into a corner and forced to deal with the cap.

Our spending is explained by Adams committing to a rebuild that focused heavily on youth with guys on ELCs and reasonable bridge deals. Our payroll only goes up, relative to the NHL cap range, when those guys start getting paid.

21-22 -> At lower limit
22-23 -> At lower limit
23-24 -> Slightly above midpoint
24-25 -> Between midpoint and upper limit.

We’ve paid a goalie decent money, a d-corp with big money spent on it and a bottom 6 that was invested in. The only place we haven’t spent money relative to the rest of the NHL is our top 6. We have 3 guys on ELCs in it and it’s no coincidence they are all Adams draft picks. We can debate how many should be on the top 6 right now. But no one could realistically argue all 3 earned it. One legit top 6 forward traded for/signed gets us right up near the upper limit.

That rebuild approach and continued commitment to the players from it is also why we’re continually the youngest team in the NHL.

I agree the top 6 could use some help. Where do you get that help? Other teams aren't trading that or they have a NTC that includes the Sabres.

Don't answer with that's for Adams to figure out? Many of you keep saying they need an upgrade in the top 6 but never have an answer to who you think the team could realistically get.

 

[Fjordy]

I agree the top 6 could use some help. Where do you get that help? Other teams aren't trading that or they have a NTC that includes the Sabres.

Don't answer with that's for Adams to figure out? Many of you keep saying they need an upgrade in the top 6 but never have an answer to who you think the team could realistically get.

Granlund - No trade protection, Sharks in rebuild, one year away from UFA.

Coleman and/or Kuzmenko - Flames lacks young talent, I think they also talked about rebuilding or something like that.

Zegras and/or Vatrano - Ducks still rebuilding, Zegras is a change of scenery, Vatrano one year away from UFA.

Maccelli and/or Crouse - new team willing to trade, they need help on defense, and we have Byram/Sammy. I don't really believe in the Crouse option, but Maccelli I think real, we lack good playmakers.

St. Louis - There are interesting forwards there and their left side of defense looks questionable. I think a guy like Byram will play in the first pair there, it could be a good option for trade.

Here is an options for you, and this is far from all, just obvious examples, if necessary I can name more.

 

[BluesReport25]

St. Louis - There are interesting forwards there and their left side of defense looks questionable. I think a guy like Byram will play in the first pair there, it could be a good option for trade.

As a Blues fan, I love the idea of adding Byram. Realistically, what forward would you be looking at from the Blues? I have some good fits below.

Jake Neighbours - the best fit but he's practically untradeable. Future captain of the Blues if I had to guess.

Brandon Saad - 2nd best fit. Brings a winning mentality and is literally always a lock for 20 goals. Can play with anybody and still produce. Would he waive his NTC for Buffalo?

Matheiu Joseph - Loved his game so far and would be exactly what Buffalo needs. Nonstop motor and gets the best out of his linemates. Can play anywhere in the lineup.

Alexandre Texier - Young and fits the core age in Buffalo. Like Joseph he has a nonstop motor. More skill than Joseph and has legit top 6 upside. Doesn't have the best shot.

I would've traded Buch last year, but they won't move him right after signing him.

My offer would be Brandon Saad + Matthew Kessel for Byram.
Kessel is a young solid RHD that plays the game the right way. Saad is a veteran top 6 winger who can play with anyone and score 20 goals.

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

As a Blues fan, I love the idea of adding Byram. Realistically, what forward would you be looking at from the Blues? I have some good fits below.

Jake Neighbours - the best fit but he's practically untradeable. Future captain of the Blues if I had to guess.

Brandon Saad - 2nd best fit. Brings a winning mentality and is literally always a lock for 20 goals. Can play with anybody and still produce. Would he waive his NTC for Buffalo?

Matheiu Joseph - Loved his game so far and would be exactly what Buffalo needs. Nonstop motor and gets the best out of his linemates. Can play anywhere in the lineup.

Alexandre Texier - Young and fits the core age in Buffalo. Like Joseph he has a nonstop motor. More skill than Joseph and has legit top 6 upside. Doesn't have the best shot.

I would've traded Buch last year, but they won't move him right after signing him.

My offer would be Brandon Saad + Matthew Kessel for Byram.
Kessel is a young solid RHD that plays the game the right way. Saad is a veteran top 6 winger who can play with anyone and score 20 goals.

It would need to be a similarly-aged top-6 forward (preferably center) with team control. Nothing else moves the needle.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

As a Blues fan, I love the idea of adding Byram. Realistically, what forward would you be looking at from the Blues? I have some good fits below.

Jake Neighbours - the best fit but he's practically untradeable. Future captain of the Blues if I had to guess.

Brandon Saad - 2nd best fit. Brings a winning mentality and is literally always a lock for 20 goals. Can play with anybody and still produce. Would he waive his NTC for Buffalo?

Matheiu Joseph - Loved his game so far and would be exactly what Buffalo needs. Nonstop motor and gets the best out of his linemates. Can play anywhere in the lineup.

Alexandre Texier - Young and fits the core age in Buffalo. Like Joseph he has a nonstop motor. More skill than Joseph and has legit top 6 upside. Doesn't have the best shot.

I would've traded Buch last year, but they won't move him right after signing him.

My offer would be Brandon Saad + Matthew Kessel for Byram.
Kessel is a young solid RHD that plays the game the right way. Saad is a veteran top 6 winger who can play with anyone and score 20 goals.

Buchnevich would've been the closest thing.

Trading down for a combination of lesser pieces is going in the wrong direction. We need a quality vet for the top 6 or a top 4 defender that can allow Dahlin/Power to flourish offensively.