The 2024-2025 Roster Thread

[DapperCam]

I don't think anyone is advocating a full rebuild.

There is talent here. There is talent in the system.

It's a poorly built team lacking leadership.

You are going to have to shake up the top 6 forwards and top 4 d-men quite a bit.

I think we kind of need a full rebuild, if a full rebuild includes shipping out like 4 or 5 of our “vets”, and moving some of our younger players for actual vets. We already turned over the majority of our bottom 6 this past offseason. If we turnover some of the top 6 then it is a very different roster from 2 seasons ago.

We don’t even need to sell off pieces to tank, we’re already last place in the conference.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

A hugely consistent trend of failure, is bringing up prospects based on their comparable talent to what's already on the roster. That's why you end up with not just very young, but physically small and comparably weak players that aren't any good at defending. Quinn, Peterka, Benson, Krebs, Cozens for a year or so...on top of players that just aren't good defensively anyway like TT, Mitts kind of (swapped out for another poor defensive player in Byram), Power, Jokiharju.

But that's what happens when the front office decides to go the cheap route cloaked in a PR "youth movement" that can't be hindered by vets and bigger contracts "blocking the youth" bs. It's great to have a youth movement, if you allow them time to physically develop and learn defense before throwing them out for failure on NHL ice, with no decent vets to learn from.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Every now and then I see Beniers name pop up as a potential trade target. Is that us dreaming or has Seattle soured on him?

 

[dickiedunnwrotethis]

Every now and then I see Beniers name pop up as a potential trade target. Is that us dreaming or has Seattle soured on him?

It's us dreaming. I'd like to think things are getting hot enough for Francis that he feels like he needs to make a hockey trade, but I know that's just the tyranny of hope.

 

[Ehran]

Logan Brown on waivers (was just signed to an NHL contract so has to clear waivers).

Logan Brown Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Title | Hockey-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Logan Brown. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, trade, draft and more on Hockey-Reference.com

www.hockey-reference.com

6'6" 218 lb 26yo Center. Former 11th overall pick.

What do you think? Take a flyer on him?

Logan Brown

EDIT: 7g 12a 19pts in 25 games in Syracuse. So not a total schlub. but it looks like he missed all of last season?

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

Logan Brown on waivers (was just signed to an NHL contract so has to clear waivers).

Logan Brown Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Title | Hockey-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Logan Brown. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, trade, draft and more on Hockey-Reference.com

www.hockey-reference.com

6'6" 218 lb 26yo Center. Former 11th overall pick.

What do you think? Take a flyer on him?

Logan Brown

EDIT: 7g 12a 19pts in 25 games in Syracuse. So not a total schlub. but it looks like he missed all of last season?

I think there's a gentleman's agreement that these guys don't get claimed.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I think there's a gentleman's agreement that these guys don't get claimed.

Wasn’t there some guy the Leafs signed and then the Coyotes claimed him a couple of years ago?

 

[BFLO]

So, start another rebuild?

Great....

20 year playoff drought incoming.

The alternative is staying the course with Kevyn. I can't think of a better way to guarantee the drought reaches +20 years.

 

[Beerz]

Can Benson go down? I think it's time to send him and Kulich down to Rochester and let them enjoy some winning.

No reason to have them up here having to go thru motions to get thru rest of season.

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

Can Benson go down? I think it's time to send him and Kulich down to Rochester and let them enjoy some winning.

No reason to have them up here having to go thru motions to get thru rest of season.

I think he'd be eligible once the WHL season ends? Maybe?

 

[Zman5778]

Can Benson go down? I think it's time to send him and Kulich down to Rochester and let them enjoy some winning.

No reason to have them up here having to go thru motions to get thru rest of season.

Benson cannot go down until the end of Wentachee's season.

 

[Ace]

So, start another rebuild?

Great....

20 year playoff drought incoming.

I bet everything I have and ever will have that a GM with half a brain and a quarter of a pulse could get them from full blow up to the playoffs before Adams can from here.

 

[Krieger Bot]

Top-4 D and top-6 C should be at the top of the list of needs. Top-4 D become available fairly frequently. That shouldn't be hard. Top-6 C is a bigger issue. Not many teams are willing to give up a top-6 C, and we saw how expensive McLeod cost in a trade. I fear we're in it for the long haul with this lack of center depth, so I suppose building the flanks up may be the best option. Also, finding another middle-6 C like McLeod who can stay afloat and put up some points in a top-6 role should be an option.

Leaning on Kulich to be a solid top-6 C seems destine for failure. I'd rather find a Hecht-lite player to hold that spot down, put Kulich on the wing, and roll with that for the foreseeable future until Kulich proves he can hold down the all too valuable top-6 C spot.

This feels like the way forward. Add a top 4 DFD. Then add 1-2 middle 6 centers who play a 200 foot game so you can move Tage and Cozens to wing permanently while the likes of Helenius, Ostlund, and whoever we draft this year marinate (maybe Benson can be one of those middle 6 centers we "add"?)

It's not ideal offensively. But making those and some other tweaks (i.e. - goaltending, assistant coaches, getting rid of chaff like jokiharju and quinn) would go a long way towards stopping the bleeding defensively. And you can probably offset any offense that's lost by simply spending less time chasing the puck in your own zone and fixing the power play.

 

[Der Jaeger]

I can’t even put solid trade ideas together anymore. I’m at the point where I’m just thinking “let’s see what they do by Friday.” I’m not sure what can be done. Maybe we’ll bumble f@ck our way into something.

 

[zenthusiast]

I can’t even put solid trade ideas together anymore. I’m at the point where I’m just thinking “let’s see what they do by Friday.” I’m not sure what can be done. Maybe we’ll bumble f@ck our way into something.

Best case scenario is we get some exciting plausible rumor about a major acquisition that fits the future and it’ll fizzle out because it was too rich for Kev’s blood

 

[Sabresbyswords104]

New rebuild? So many bad draft picks on this team. New coach next season ? Trades ? What is the main problem ?

 

[Fjordsen]

New rebuild? So many bad draft picks on this team. New coach next season ? Trades ? What is the main problem ?

Just not another rebuild, I'm not going to stay here with another rebuild.

I don't liked some drafts over the last 5-6 years, but it's also not the right way to develop young players.

A new coach makes sense to me, but it's unlikely to happen unless Ruff leaves.

The main problem is the idiot owner who thinks he's the smartest and the idiot GM with no front office experience that owner hired.

We need an experienced GM or POHO or at least an advisor to that idiot owner.

 

[Ace]

I would, once again, suggest drawing a line at players 24 and under…picking half of them and trading the other half for either veterans to support the half you picked or futures to trade for veterans to support the half you picked.

I don’t even care if you insulate them with Neanderthals that get suspended ever three weeks and provide nothing else at this point.

It’ll change the culture, cut the youth struggles in half, set a tone in the room of how to prepare and how weather tough situations…and give everyone I picked a much better chance to succeed than looking in the stall to the left and right and seeing another young guy with no answers looking back at him

 

[Jim Bob]

I bet everything I have and ever will have that a GM with half a brain and a quarter of a pulse could get them from full blow up to the playoffs before Adams can from here.

A quality GM wouldn't blow it up and get to the playoffs faster than a GM that would blow the entire thing up and rip everything to the studs.

I would, once again, suggest drawing a line at players 24 and under…picking half of them and trading the other half for either veterans to support the half you picked or futures to trade for veterans to support the half you picked.

I don’t even care if you insulate them with Neanderthals that get suspended ever three weeks and provide nothing else at this point.

It’ll change the culture, cut the youth struggles in half, set a tone in the room of how to prepare and how weather tough situations…and give everyone I picked a much better chance to succeed than looking in the stall to the left and right and seeing another young guy with no answers looking back at him

OK, so are you Craig or Andrew?

 

[Jim Bob]

The alternative is staying the course with Kevyn. I can't think of a better way to guarantee the drought reaches +20 years.

Those are not the only two options.

They could fire Adams, do a thorough search for a replacement with the expectation that they make the playoffs in the next season or two.

Firing Kevyn does not mean that they have to start all over again with a new GM. There are plenty of examples of teams changing GMs and turning things around in a timely manner and not just restarting another rebuild.

It's all about a sense of urgency from the top on down. There has been zero sense of urgency with the Sabres since Murray was fired, IMO.

 

[TageGod]

Team full of young players, high draft positions, no need to rebuild. There are teams every year looking to get younger, or rebuilding. Move Cozens and Byram to get a real top 6C and top 4 D and were mostly there. The second line wingers will be better just by having a real C.

 

[TehDoak]

I am curious to see if these 'extensions' happen or not.

Greenway brings a lot we need, but can't stay healthy for the life of him.

Zucker...I certainly don't understand anything beyond 1 year. We've seen the best we're going to see out of him this season and we're still in last place. Why are we trying to keep this group together that hasn't accomplished anything?

 

[My Cozen Dylan]

I would, once again, suggest drawing a line at players 24 and under…picking half of them and trading the other half for either veterans to support the half you picked or futures to trade for veterans to support the half you picked.

I don’t even care if you insulate them with Neanderthals that get suspended ever three weeks and provide nothing else at this point.

It’ll change the culture, cut the youth struggles in half, set a tone in the room of how to prepare and how weather tough situations…and give everyone I picked a much better chance to succeed than looking in the stall to the left and right and seeing another young guy with no answers looking back at him

Keep: Byram or Power, Benson, Kulich, Peterka, Ostlund or Helenius, Wahlberg, Levi

Trade: Byram or Power, Cozens, Quinn, Krebs, Rosen, Ostlund or Helenius

 

[Fjordsen]

I am curious to see if these 'extensions' happen or not.

Greenway brings a lot we need, but can't stay healthy for the life of him.

Zucker...I certainly don't understand anything beyond 1 year. We've seen the best we're going to see out of him this season and we're still in last place. Why are we trying to keep this group together that hasn't accomplished anything?

Who exactly do you mean? Zucker?

 

[TehDoak]

Who exactly do you mean? Zucker?

Yeah. We'll see what happens. Seems like a slam dunk flip for free assets and upgrade in the summer.

He's 33 and looked completely washed last year. The fact that he's played well this year has been a bonus. I don't understand trying to bring him back, especially if its beyond 1 year. It's not like his leadership has moved the needle for us.