The 2024-2025 Roster Thread

[TehDoak]

Thats Adam's fault?

He took a .500 team to dead last and started another rebuild in less than a year.

He also bridged Reinhart instead of a long term deal, which forced him to trade reinhart.

Eichel still get injured and want this unapproved surgery still would have seen him traded

Impossible to know

Either way, a good GM try to repair the issues, Adams went full rebuild on a team with two top 2 draft picks n prime age and a 1st overall pick d-man entering his prime.

Stunning incompetence.

 

[SundherDome]

He took a .500 team to dead last and started another rebuild in less than a year.

He also bridged Reinhart instead of a long term deal, which forced him to trade reinhart.



Impossible to know

Either way, a good GM try to repair the issues, Adams went full rebuild on a team with two top 2 draft picks n prime age and a 1st overall pick d-man entering his prime.

Stunning incompetence.

That team was gunna be burning through coaches.

Botts also bridged, Reinhart. Maybe Sam didn't want to sign long term here after that?

There was no repairing the Eichel relationship, that f*** boi asked for a trade before his injury. He was Dubois himself outta here one way or another, he just needed to secure his 8 year deal before he f***ed around.

 

[Irie]

Where's our good to star player drafted in that 7-12th range? Rantanen? Clayton Keller? Necas, Suzuki? Quinn Hughes? Boldy? Rossi? Kadri, Nylander?

You are really cherry picking examples here, which is not how the real draft works for anyone.

The one year they drafted as high as 7th,, they took Cozens, and the 4 next picks after him were Broberg, zegras, Podkozin and Soderstrom. They didn't draft rantanen because they drafted Eichel. They didn't draft Hughes because they drafted Dahlin. They didn't draft Nylander because they drafted Reinhart. You can't just throw out the guys that are the cream of the crop per their draft position and ignore who was actually available when the their pick was called - Like Keller, who was already taken when the sabres picked.

Under Adams, I will submit that if Pegula just fired all of their scounting department and went with mackenzie's board, that they likely would have done better, but that holds true for probably 70+ percent of teams in the league.

I am not saying Adams and Co are great at the draft, I am just pointing out that citing the best picks for each pick number which is spread out across the league is disingenuous.

 

[SabresNorth]

That team was gunna be burning through coaches.

Botts also bridged, Reinhart. Maybe Sam didn't want to sign long term here after that?

There was no repairing the Eichel relationship, that f*** boi asked for a trade before his injury. He was Dubois himself outta here one way or another, he just needed to secure his 8 year deal before he f***ed around.

Pretty sure this exactly. IIRC Reinhart said he never got a term offer from Botteril and he ended up getting walked out the door.

 

[Fjordsen]

Byram situation is weird. Adams said he was a good match with Dahlin, which is true, but they decided to move him away from Dahlin and put him with Power (which doesn't work at all in my opinion). Kevyn also admitted that they need to add a partner for Power. Let's say they continue playing Sammy - Dahlin and find a partner for Power. Then Byram will play third pair, which is not a problem for me if he plays more than third pair minutes. But I'm not sure if this will suit Byram himself.

 

[Ygo88]

Byram situation is weird. Adams said he was a good match with Dahlin, which is true, but they decided to move him away from Dahlin and put him with Power (which doesn't work at all in my opinion). Kevyn also admitted that they need to add a partner for Power. Let's say they continue playing Sammy - Dahlin and find a partner for Power. Then Byram will play third pair, which is not a problem for me if he plays more than third pair minutes. But I'm not sure if this will suit Byram himself.

Good point... I just do not see a spot for him on this roster if he sees himself as anything more than a 4/5 D or Ras's partner.

Responsibly, they need to give the opportunity to Sammy too... Let the better pairing win. Sammy is locked up, so better for the team if that works.

 

[Fjordsen]

Good point... I just do not see a spot for him on this roster if he sees himself as anything more than a 4/5 D or Ras's partner.

Responsibly, they need to give the opportunity to Sammy too... Let the better pairing win. Sammy is locked up, so better for the team if that works.

For me it's not a problem, you just need to adjust the defensemen's ice time in this case. I saw Chychrun in the Caps this season playing on the third pair, but he played 20 minutes per game, which is obviously not the ice time of the third pair. Will this option suit Byram, while he will again most likely not play on the PP and only PK2. For us it could be a more balanced defense, where each pair has a PMD.

Samuelsson - Dahlin
Power - xxxx
Byram - JBD

Either they move Byram back to Dahlin and Sammy on the third pairing, which also seems logical. Or maybe they trade Byram and we'll need to add two defensemen.

 

[RefsIdeas]

I've been playing around with ideas on potential roster changes for next year - there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of great options. So many guys locked up long-term with NTC/NMC's. The top FA's we shouldn't even consider thinking about. Pionk/Orlov are probably too rich for our blood in UFA as well, but I put them in here anyways. Even with just re-signing our own guys and including the cap going up, we're left with ~$4m in space. It's a pretty awkward situation to be in, unless we end up making a major move like moving Owen Power.

As far as potential UFA's:

- Pionk
- Orlov (if Samuelsson traded/bought out)
- Iafallo

Trade targets:

- Brandt Clarke
- EP40
- Adam Fox?

I came up with this for next year:

https://puckgm.puckpedia.com/rosters/406723

This still gets us very tight to the cap - and Byram sticks out like a sore thumb for somebody that we could move. With this lineup I still think we need some help at forward. I'd also prefer another vet goalie instead of Levi. I don't really want to trade Peterka - but if the basis of the deal was Peterka for Laf I'd be fine with it.

 

[GrierIsGod123]

Byram situation is weird. Adams said he was a good match with Dahlin, which is true, but they decided to move him away from Dahlin and put him with Power (which doesn't work at all in my opinion). Kevyn also admitted that they need to add a partner for Power. Let's say they continue playing Sammy - Dahlin and find a partner for Power. Then Byram will play third pair, which is not a problem for me if he plays more than third pair minutes. But I'm not sure if this will suit Byram himself.

Personally...I cannot watch much more Samuelsson on the top pair or in the top 4 in general. Perhaps they want to test Byram to see what he's capable of without Dahlin. So far, it's been fairly damning for him, as he's not able to raise the second pairing's level at all. I think when Byram has to be "the guy" on his pairing, it doesn't seem to work too well.

I personally think they'll need to make a decision of Byram or Power, but not both. I think they then need to fill out the top 4 with defensive d-men that are good skaters. Those guys don't grow on trees, but a John Marino type for Power could work. Maybe Ryan Johnson can come up finally and just try to be a "Steady Eddy". We've seen Jacob Bryson do "ok" in that role in the past when he just keeps it simple with a better partner. Find a bigger, better version of that as it'll never cost you $8M per year. Flip Byram/Power for a big-time forward.

Also, I cannot watch Connor Clifton any longer. He just bleeds goals against and makes a lot of dumb mistakes.

 

[Beerz]

I've been playing around with ideas on potential roster changes for next year - there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of great options. So many guys locked up long-term with NTC/NMC's. The top FA's we shouldn't even consider thinking about. Pionk/Orlov are probably too rich for our blood in UFA as well, but I put them in here anyways. Even with just re-signing our own guys and including the cap going up, we're left with ~$4m in space. It's a pretty awkward situation to be in, unless we end up making a major move like moving Owen Power.

As far as potential UFA's:

- Pionk
- Orlov (if Samuelsson traded/bought out)
- Iafallo

Trade targets:

- Brandt Clarke
- EP40
- Adam Fox?

I came up with this for next year:

https://puckgm.puckpedia.com/rosters/406723

This still gets us very tight to the cap - and Byram sticks out like a sore thumb for somebody that we could move. With this lineup I still think we need some help at forward. I'd also prefer another vet goalie instead of Levi. I don't really want to trade Peterka - but if the basis of the deal was Peterka for Laf I'd be fine with it.

I think you're way off on your value of Samuelsson. 4 mill for a bottom pair D man is going to be the norm.


I hate the Laf for Peterka exchange.

 

[RefsIdeas]

I think you're way off on your value of Samuelsson. 4 mill for a bottom pair D man is going to be the norm.


I hate the Laf for Peterka exchange.

Yeah that was just to get him off the team. I legit don't care what we get for him. As long as he's out - I'm good.

I don't love Peterka for Laf - but there's a few things that make me pull the trigger on it.

A) I still believe in Laf's upside - even if time is running out.
B) Potential rumblings that Peterka doesn't want to re-sign here.
C) He's a bit more of a play-maker than Peterka is, and I think we need that style in our lineup. Peterka is a bit redundant. Not a knock on Peterka - who I do love as a player.
D) It's a shake-up. This group isn't working. It's similar to Cozens for Norris in a way, let's just try something different.

 

[Beerz]

Yeah that was just to get him off the team. I legit don't care what we get for him. As long as he's out - I'm good.

I don't love Peterka for Laf - but there's a few things that make me pull the trigger on it.

A) I still believe in Laf's upside - even if time is running out.
B) Potential rumblings that Peterka doesn't want to re-sign here.
C) He's a bit more of a play-maker than Peterka is, and I think we need that style in our lineup. Peterka is a bit redundant. Not a knock on Peterka - who I do love as a player.
D) It's a shake-up. This group isn't working. It's similar to Cozens for Norris in a way, let's just try something different.

If Peterka wants out and you want Sammy off team..

I would target Cuylle from Rangers and do Cuylle and Schneider from NY for Peterka and Samuelsson.

That completely changes the make up of team bringing in a lot of beef and physicality without losing a ton of production in the Peterka - Cuylle swap.

 

[Sabre the Win]

Is Terry still here?

If yes, None of anything they do will matter. This team is the Cleveland Browns.

 

[Fjordsen]

Personally...I cannot watch much more Samuelsson on the top pair or in the top 4 in general. Perhaps they want to test Byram to see what he's capable of without Dahlin. So far, it's been fairly damning for him, as he's not able to raise the second pairing's level at all. I think when Byram has to be "the guy" on his pairing, it doesn't seem to work too well.

I personally think they'll need to make a decision of Byram or Power, but not both. I think they then need to fill out the top 4 with defensive d-men that are good skaters. Those guys don't grow on trees, but a John Marino type for Power could work. Maybe Ryan Johnson can come up finally and just try to be a "Steady Eddy". We've seen Jacob Bryson do "ok" in that role in the past when he just keeps it simple with a better partner. Find a bigger, better version of that as it'll never cost you $8M per year. Flip Byram/Power for a big-time forward.

Also, I cannot watch Connor Clifton any longer. He just bleeds goals against and makes a lot of dumb mistakes.

Yeap, Samuelsson cannot be considered a completely legit and reliable top 4 D for me, at least because of his constant injuries. In theory, we can of course put him with Dahlin and if it works, then ok, but then we will need some decent LD in the third pair, who in case of another injury to Sammy can jump to the first pair with Dahlin and be fine. Such an option could make sense. But on the other hand, we could also add a defenseman to the first pair with Dahlin, who is more proven and does not get so many injuries. For example, Gavrikov or Pionk in UFA (these are just some of the options).

I think trading one of Power/Byram could make sense, in theory even both could make sense if the deal is really good for us and we can get a good PMD for the second pair return, but I think that's unrealistic. It's tough about Byram, he can't play without Dahlin and obviously shouldn't get a 7-8 million contract, but do we want to pay him 7-8 million even when he plays with Dahlin? I'm not sure either. Bryson didn't play many good games with Power, but overall yes, Power needs at least a decent complementary player who can eat top 4 minutes. Unfortunately Adams isn't very smart, since Marino and several other RDs without trade protection were traded not long ago and Kevyn for some reason didn't think about it and don't added one of them.

Yeap, Clifton makes a lot of mistakes, we also added JBD and hopefully he can be a decent third pairing guy, but we also might have cap issues so we might have to trade some of our defensemen to somehow improve the roster and fit into the cap.

 

[GrierIsGod123]

Yeap, Samuelsson cannot be considered a completely legit and reliable top 4 D for me, at least because of his constant injuries. In theory, we can of course put him with Dahlin and if it works, then ok, but then we will need some decent LD in the third pair, who in case of another injury to Sammy can jump to the first pair with Dahlin and be fine. Such an option could make sense. But on the other hand, we could also add a defenseman to the first pair with Dahlin, who is more proven and does not get so many injuries. For example, Gavrikov or Pionk in UFA (these are just some of the options).

I think trading one of Power/Byram could make sense, in theory even both could make sense if the deal is really good for us and we can get a good PMD for the second pair return, but I think that's unrealistic. It's tough about Byram, he can't play without Dahlin and obviously shouldn't get a 7-8 million contract, but do we want to pay him 7-8 million even when he plays with Dahlin? I'm not sure either. Bryson didn't play many good games with Power, but overall yes, Power needs at least a decent complementary player who can eat top 4 minutes. Unfortunately Adams isn't very smart, since Marino and several other RDs without trade protection were traded not long ago and Kevyn for some reason didn't think about it and added one of them.

Yeap, Clifton makes a lot of mistakes, we also added JBD and hopefully he can be a decent third pairing guy, but we also might have cap issues so we might have to trade some of our defensemen to somehow improve the roster and fit into the cap.

I have a feeling they'll dump Clifton ala Boosh a few years ago ... with one year left, his contract is much more tradeable. Maybe Boston would want him back?

 

[Fjordsen]

I have a feeling they'll dump Clifton ala Boosh a few years ago ... with one year left, his contract is much more tradeable. Maybe Boston would want him back?

Well, Boston has Peeke for that role, but I think it's quite possible to find some team.

 

[BFLO]

You are really cherry picking examples here, which is not how the real draft works for anyone.

The one year they drafted as high as 7th,, they took Cozens, and the 4 next picks after him were Broberg, zegras, Podkozin and Soderstrom. They didn't draft rantanen because they drafted Eichel. They didn't draft Hughes because they drafted Dahlin. They didn't draft Nylander because they drafted Reinhart. You can't just throw out the guys that are the cream of the crop per their draft position and ignore who was actually available when the their pick was called - Like Keller, who was already taken when the sabres picked.

Under Adams, I will submit that if Pegula just fired all of their scounting department and went with mackenzie's board, that they likely would have done better, but that holds true for probably 70+ percent of teams in the league.

I am not saying Adams and Co are great at the draft, I am just pointing out that citing the best picks for each pick number which is spread out across the league is disingenuous.

I'm really not. I listed off examples of some of the best players over the last decade or so to be drafted in that 7-12 range as an example of the caliber of player sometimes available within that range. I wasn't nitpicking each and every pick we made and saying who we should have picked instead, as you are implying.

I was making a broad point, that it sucks that other teams have come away with the gems that I listed off, and we've come away empty handed, despite picking within that range more than anyone else.

I could make the same point about our 2x 1st overalls or 2x 2nd overalls. I would list off the other players taken 1st or 2nd overall withing a similar time frame, and complain that we got Dahlin and Power instead of McDavid and MacKinnon.

You'd swoop in to tell me we didn't have the 1st overall pick either of those years.

Like no shit we didn't have the 1st pick in either of those draft years, that wasn't the point I was making.

Other teams have gotten much better 1st overalls than us. Just like other teams have gotten much better 7-12's than us. That was the point I was making.

 

[TehDoak]

My current annoyance with the setup is the volume of, essentially, dead money for next year

Samuelsson, Clifton, Lafferty, all who have been regular healthy scratches, are making almost 10M in cap space.

Curious if the buyout dollars come out for those guys this summer, and how ownership will feel about having to buyout contracts Kevyn himself signed.

 

[Fjordsen]

My current annoyance with the setup is the volume of, essentially, dead money for next year

Samuelsson, Clifton, Lafferty, all who have been regular healthy scratches, are making almost 10M in cap space.

Curious if the buyout dollars come out for those guys this summer, and how ownership will feel about having to buyout contracts Kevyn himself signed.

Do we have to buyout contracts? Looking at the trades in the league, it is almost always possible to trade such players.

 

[TehDoak]

Do we have to buyout contracts? Looking at the trades in the league, it is almost always possible to trade such players.

I mean, they have the cap room to essentially, sign everyone and run it back with the group as in.

But, with Zucker, Greenway and now Norris, to make a significant add, they have to send salary out.

I don't see a strong market for anyone listed there. Maybe someone takes a flyer on Samuelsson....but lafferty and clifton are, essentially, just kind of the bottom of the lineup guys teams routinely pickup on waivers at the NHL minimum.

The buyouts for any of them aren't bad and make sense....but is the team willing to do them assuming there will be no trade market?

 

[BUCKSHOT]

Not sure where this should go .....

An 'outsider' view of the Buffalo Sabres (must've recorded before the trade deadline)

 

[Dahlicious]

If Peterka wants out and you want Sammy off team..

I would target Cuylle from Rangers and do Cuylle and Schneider from NY for Peterka and Samuelsson.

That completely changes the make up of team bringing in a lot of beef and physicality without losing a ton of production in the Peterka - Cuylle swap.

If Peterka really wants out, I think a shakeup with the Rangers would make sense. Lafreniere vs Cuylle is definitely an "eye of the beholder" thing; I think they hold similar value, and I could definitely see how Cuylle would be a better addition in terms of getting more of what we don't have.

 

[GrierIsGod123]

If Peterka really wants out, I think a shakeup with the Rangers would make sense. Lafreniere vs Cuylle is definitely an "eye of the beholder" thing; I think they hold similar value, and I could definitely see how Cuylle would be a better addition in terms of getting more of what we don't have.

I'm honestly okay with trading Peterka ... as long as the return is substantial of course. If you can pull a former 1st overall pick out of them for a former 2nd rounder, I think you do it. I wonder if they'd do that 1:1.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Its the Sabres, not the players. We see players like Scandella come in as awesome defensive defensemen, play not so great, then get traded and do well. Clifton was just fine for Boston. Now he sucks. Boston puts Jokiharju with Zadorov for a game and he's good (I get the sample size).

More players leave Buffalo and do well than leave Buffalo and suck.

More players come to Buffalo as good players and underachieve here, than players come to Buffalo and find their game.

There's a common denominator.

 

[Fjordsen]

Its the Sabres, not the players. We see players like Scandella come in as awesome defensive defensemen, play not so great, then get traded and do well. Clifton was just fine for Boston. Now he sucks. Boston puts Jokiharju with Zadorov for a game and he's good (I get the sample size).

More players leave Buffalo and do well than leave Buffalo and suck.

More players come to Buffalo as good players and underachieve here, than players come to Buffalo and find their game.

There's a common denominator.

Because it's a vicious cycle and you can't do anything about it while Terry is the owner and Kevyn is the GM. You can't change the coaching staff or the coach because the owner doesn't want to, so you change the players and hope they succeed. Clifton wasn't good in Boston last season by the way. Jokiharju had some good games in Buffalo too. Mitts fell off a cliff in Colorado but was good for us. Dahlin is elite and one of the best defenseman in the league, Tage is a great scorer, Tuch is good, Zucker was not good in Arizona and great for us, McLeod is having his best scoring season and no PP time, Peterka is having his best points season, so maybe not everyone is as bad as we think?