The 2024-2025 Roster Thread

[Chainshot]

 

[Fjordy]

I hope Rasmus will be ready to play against the Canucks, now a very important stage of the season begins.

 

[Beerz]

I’m not sure how the roster would shake out, but I think McLeod should get bumped up to 2C, and Cozens should be moved to the wing.

Peterka - Thompson - Tuch
Benson - McLeod - Cozens
Zucker - Kulich - Quinn
Greenway - Krebs - NAK

Extras: Lafferty, Malenstyn

Bench Krebs for Lafferty and NAK for Malenstyn

 

[Aladyyn]

Bench Krebs for Lafferty and NAK for Malenstyn

That's just a hate boner for Krebs icl

 

[Beerz]

That's just a hate boner for Krebs icl

Duh.

 

[DapperCam]

Why NAK and not Malenstyn?

I just tried to keep players in their typical position. Moving Cozens to wing and bumping up McLeod would lead to some interesting choices. Like who is 3C if they don’t want to keep Kulich up? Does someone like Malenstyn or Greenway play RW even though it isn’t their typical position?

Probably one of the reasons they haven’t tried something like that. Leads to a bunch of other shuffling.

 

[TheNumber4]

How my Buffalo bros liking Mcleod. Must be working out well if you are considering him at 2C.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Idk, but Quinn is starting to find his game, he just needs to finish. I'm much more concerned about Cozens with his inconsistency and his contract.

Maybe he needs a year to get back physically to where he needs to be, problem is we do not have another year to waste.

 

[Zman5778]

How my Buffalo bros liking Mcleod. Must be working out well if you are considering him at 2C.

He's been EXACTLY what we've needed at 3C. His speed is great, he's really defensively sound.....and for all the flack that some Oilers fans seemed to give him regarding lack of contact....that really hasn't been an issue at all. He's not physical, but he's also not afraid of contact as some would have led us to believe.

He filled in for Tage as our 1C for a few games.....did some solid work, but also appeared over his head at times.

I think most have been very happy with McLeod. Hope Savoie is working out well for you guys.

 

[TheNumber4]

He's been EXACTLY what we've needed at 3C. His speed is great, he's really defensively sound.....and for all the flack that some Oilers fans seemed to give him regarding lack of contact....that really hasn't been an issue at all. He's not physical, but he's also not afraid of contact as some would have led us to believe.

He filled in for Tage as our 1C for a few games.....did some solid work, but also appeared over his head at times.

I think most have been very happy with McLeod. Hope Savoie is working out well for you guys.

Had a feeling you guys would like him. What’s not to like, skates like the wind, always responsible defensively, great team-first guy that always puts in an honest efffort. Plus untapped offensive potential that he looks to be tapping into this year. And yes, the criticisms of his lack of physicality I always thought was overblown in Edmonton. It’s funny, the Oilers as a whole finished near bottom of the League in hits last year. Finished low in the playoffs too. And it was Mcleod that was scapegoated as the non-physical player. Unfair assessment to him imo, especially when he gets the job done defensively with his skating and stick checks. What’s the difference between a body check and a stick check if both seperate man from puck? Not much.

Savoies been underwhelming production wise. But I don’t follow the A closely. Some are saying it’s due to the team being so bad offensively this year. But regardless, worries are starting to creep up.

 

[Fjordy]

I just tried to keep players in their typical position. Moving Cozens to wing and bumping up McLeod would lead to some interesting choices. Like who is 3C if they don’t want to keep Kulich up? Does someone like Malenstyn or Greenway play RW even though it isn’t their typical position?

Probably one of the reasons they haven’t tried something like that. Leads to a bunch of other shuffling.

Well I just thought Malenstyn looked good, I like him a lot more than Lafferty and NAK. Greenway plays on RW, with the same Zucker and McLeod and everything was fine with him.

Maybe he needs a year to get back physically to where he needs to be, problem is we do not have another year to waste.

It just seems like he doesn't need a year, he already looked physically good in the games in California, his skating and mobility have definitely improved, it's just that his shot hasn't hit the target yet, but he just needs to score a goal. As for us not having a year, I agree, but the same can be said about Cozens, we can't just wait for him to figure it out, especially as 2C, this is the second season in a row where Cozens falling.

 

[Fjordy]

Once again I looked at who could be found at RD from non-obvious options. From what I know for sure, Daniil is a very good and positive guy, I really liked his interview when he was still playing in Vegas, he works very hard and then tried to catch a chance to play in the NHL. I don’t know if he will be available, but in any case, I can take note.

 

[Dingo44]

This describes the Sabres press room to a T

 

[Chainshot]

How my Buffalo bros liking Mcleod. Must be working out well if you are considering him at 2C.

So far so good. He had a little hot streak that was nice and his game was a big part the reason for them staying afloat early in the season. He's excellent at transitioning the puck up the ice which all the Oiler fans had mentioned. There hasn't been much shrinking from contact that I've noticed - he's in the play and will give or take a bump. So far, so good, one of the Sabres better depth moves in a long time.

 

[Chainshot]

NHL.com pumping the tires of the Sabres Big Three on D:

NHL EDGE stats: Defenseman trio elevating Sabres into contention | NHL.com

Dahlin, Power, Byram excelling in advanced tracking categories; Buffalo top 10 in key possession metric

www.nhl.com

 

[Der Jaeger]

I'm still 100% on board with a big trade for Brady Tkachuk. Games like the Wild game screamed for a net front disruptor who could score ugly goals. I think that type of player is one of the three needs for this team.

The other two (and none of these three are in any order): RHD to pair with Power, and a 2C, especially if that center has a creative aspect to his game.

I've been advocating a Zegras trade for exactly the reason I stated in the center need. The Sabres have some really high hockey IQ forwards (Benson, Quinn), and some physically imposing players with size, speed and/or shot aspects to their games (Thompson, Cozens, Tuch, Greenway, McLeod, Peterka). But their most creative player was Mittelstadt, and now they really don't have that "create something out of nothing" or "how did he see that?" type of playmaker.

The RHD partner for Power has been discussion a ton on this board. Jiricek might be the long-term answer if Adams makes the trade. But Power needs someone now.

 

[Chainshot]

Once again I looked at who could be found at RD from non-obvious options. From what I know for sure, Daniil is a very good and positive guy, I really liked his interview when he was still playing in Vegas, he works very hard and then tried to catch a chance to play in the NHL. I don’t know if he will be available, but in any case, I can take note.

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View attachment 937232

I love charts. Really.

However... Vegas is a team that is set up to defend around the net and limit chances with a team that often has the advantage in possession due to the forwards, including a couple of the best defending forwards in the game IMO in Stone and WB Karlsson. We've seen fancy charts out of their depth guys before - Colin Miller was a gem as their third pair guy who didn't get the matchup difficulty. And then when asked to play above that in Buffalo, he wasn't him. Part of that was he didn't step into it, part of it was the team doesn't defend the way the Knights do/did. So it's cool to filter through and see if you can find someone who is performing better than expected. Then it's a matter of putting eyes on them and seeing what sort of situational deployments are they getting and who they are playing with.

Now that Miromanov is in Calgary, what's he doing and such? He's being paired with Weegar who we know is one of the better rush defenders in the game. Is some of what's happening for him this year due to that or is it that he's actually able to be a 2nd pairing guy? And then, would Calgary disrupt their start since they're in playoff contention even though they were thought to be a lottery team (and still might be) for this season?