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The 2024-2025 Roster Thread

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GrierIsGod123 said:
Totally agree on Clifton ... I feel as though you can find someone to fill that role for much cheaper and likely improve. The question becomes, which teams are willing to pay him his current salary? I'd suggested Boston earlier but could see them keeping Jokiharju around on the cheap. They benched Clifton in the playoffs for a reason.

At some point, they need to make room for Ryan Johnson and see if he can be a full-time NHL'er. I thought he looked pretty solid last year, with a few struggles, but he's certainly better than Clifton (imo). You'd like to see him paired with someone that's physical with some size (i.e. someone better than Gilbert). He also seems capable of playing top 4 minutes, if needed. Any time Clifton has played top 4 minutes, it's been an unmitigated disaster.

Basically, you have to get rid of some combination of below to re-shape your defense:

-One of Byram or Power - In exchange for a defensive d-man, preferably a righty
-Clifton or Samuelsson (or both) - Bring in some combination of cheaper vet and/or Ryan Johnson
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It's weird to me that Johnson didn't really get much of a chance, was he really that much worse than Bryson and Gilbert? I don't think so, Clifton made mistakes, Sammy made mistakes and was injured for a while. Now we have JBD and I hope he can be a decent third pairing guy.

I don't know what our defense is going to look like at this point, but we need some serious changes there. They're playing Sammy with Dahlin right now, and even if that pairing looks great the rest of the season, we can't just rely on Sammy 100% because of his injuries, so we need some insurance for that. Or Byram playing third pairing with JBD for example, which I don't think would suit him, it's hard to figure out how to build that right now. Either way, we need some good depth on defense and we'll probably have to trade 2-3 D, including for cap reasons.

I don't expect many changes in attack, but I don't want to go with four young players in the top 9 again, that's a risk again. So I would ideally like to add a top 6 C or at worst a top 6 F/legit and solid mid-six forward.
 
Fjordsen said:
It's weird to me that Johnson didn't really get much of a chance, was he really that much worse than Bryson and Gilbert? I don't think so, Clifton made mistakes, Sammy made mistakes and was injured for a while. Now we have JBD and I hope he can be a decent third pairing guy.

I don't know what our defense is going to look like at this point, but we need some serious changes there. They're playing Sammy with Dahlin right now, and even if that pairing looks great the rest of the season, we can't just rely on Sammy 100% because of his injuries, so we need some insurance for that. Or Byram playing third pairing with JBD for example, which I don't think would suit him, it's hard to figure out how to build that right now. Either way, we need some good depth on defense and we'll probably have to trade 2-3 D, including for cap reasons.

I don't expect many changes in attack, but I don't want to go with four young players in the top 9 again, that's a risk again. So I would ideally like to add a top 6 C or at worst a top 6 F/legit and solid mid-six forward.
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The defense needs to be balanced in the offseason ... somehow someway. In theory, you should have two good top 4 puckmovers ... just need the complimentary pieces. Easier said than done I guess.

For forwards, I'd aim to have Benson start in the AHL (if that's still possible without waivers). Go into the offseason with a skeleton like this:

Peterka-X-Tage
X-Norris-Tuch
Zucker-McLeod-X
Greenway-X-X

X-Dahlin
Power/Byram-X
X-X

On the forwards...they badly need heady playmakers in the two open spots in the top 6. Peterka could get traded for more of a playmaker if he truly wants out. I'd be fine with that in an effort to re-form the top of the lineup. I don't see anyone in our system filling the roles needed. Rosen hasn't looked ready and is likely trade bait. Everyone else can continue slow roasting in Rochester. I'm honestly not sure what to do with Kulich right now. He's solid in the middle but doesn't give us the playmaking ability that we need right now. The only way I put him on the top line is if we somehow ended up with Marner or another top line playmaking winger. Otherwise, he might be a fit on the third line with Zucker and McLeod next year and battle for that spot with Quinn. Plus he gives you depth in case Norris has injury troubles. Fourth line can be anchored by Greenway and hopefully two bigger bodies. I'd only like to see one of Krebs or Malenstyn in the starting lineup, or neither quite frankly. Greenway can also fill in higher up as needed and be on the top PK unit.

Defense as mentioned above needs some re-arranging. I'd aim to have a puck-mover and more stout defensive player on each pairing. Dahlin requires the least help, but you still need someone that can keep up with him. If we MUST keep Samuelsson, that might make the most sense for him. I'd prefer they buy him out or trade him if possible. I'd use Power or Byram as my main trade chip this offseason for either forward help or for a true top 4 righty. Maybe that requires a three team trade, but I'd have to imagine these guys have pretty high value league-wide. Moving on from the failed-Clifton experiment would be huge. Keep Bryson and JBD around for depth. They could possibly make a passable third pairing. Also, Ryan Johnson should be provided a fair shot to make the roster. I think he's a good player and a fit for today's NHL.
 
Byram is 23. What do you guys think his upside is say by the time he is 25-26 if he puts it all together? Does he have the talent to become a #1 dman? (I understand dahlin is that in Buffalo, but i just mean in general be a top 30 dman in the league)
 
TageGod said:
Is 3 years of evidence enough to show it isn't just luck? Couldn't it just be players scoring from non-scoring chance areas?
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I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to. Buffalo does have a number of players with shooting skill above expected. Thompson is pretty high on that list, he's been outscoring his possession for several seasons.

Even getting lucky, or being really good shooters they aren't at a playoff goal differential, and that's a huge issue. Two years ago they were like 5 goals above expected 5v5. They're a bad team while being significantly better than expected 5v5.

On the powerplay they score right at their expected rate (but below their talent adjusted rate), on the PK they're giving up an extra 5 goals.

Whenever Dahlin/Thompson/Tuch are on the ice it's really tilted in Buffalo's favor. When they're not on the ice it's meh to blah.
 
EXTRAS said:
Byram is 23. What do you guys think his upside is say by the time he is 25-26 if he puts it all together? Does he have the talent to become a #1 dman? (I understand dahlin is that in Buffalo, but i just mean in general be a top 30 dman in the league)
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I’m more pessimistic about the team in general so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but IF he figures it out, I think he’s a 2nd pairing anchor sort of player that might be able to support the #1 guy if the chemistry is there. I don’t think he’s a guy that has the top end talent to be a #1 guy, to be the go to guy.

The longer he sticks with Buffalo the less chance he will have to figure things out. If you are invested in the player and want to see him grow into more of a complete player, you would want to see him moved from the current Sabres environment.

The best case scenario you should expect to see from him is a solid to good PMD with the strength of offensive production with a weakness of off puck decision making. I think he’s ends up as a top 4 guy in the league that probably hovers around being a top 40-50 guy.
 
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Any truth to this? Maybe it gets revisited in the off season.
1741992324268.png
 
The funniest thing about the national attention is that one agent quote about how they shouldn't trade young players because they might break out here eventually.

I know people like the pegula/Adams embarrassment but it still irks me when the criticism is so detached from the reality of this team
 
toddkaz said:
Any truth to this? Maybe it gets revisited in the off season.
View attachment 992569
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Stat Boy Steven has 20k followers and I know the other two report on the Rangers....they are just random fans.

jc17 said:
The funniest thing about the national attention is that one agent quote about how they shouldn't trade young players because they might break out here eventually.

I know people like the pegula/Adams embarrassment but it still irks me when the criticism is so detached from the reality of this team
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They might break out but even if they do like Tage Thompson what does it matter? They are still losing. Soon as the prospect can hit free agency or refuses to sign they leave. The team needs to win. They need a get their shit together and put winning first and not brown nosing Pegula first.
 
toddkaz said:
Stat Boy Steven has 20k followers and I know the other two report on the Rangers....they are just random fans.


They might break out but even if they do like Tage Thompson what does it matter? They are still losing. Soon as the prospect can hit free agency or refuses to sign they leave. The team needs to win. They need a get their shit together and put winning first and not brown nosing Pegula first.
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They have one of the best players on the planet playing the most minutes every night.

They’re in last place.

Until they build a team…it doesn’t matter what an individual can do. At all.
 
TehDoak said:


The Peterka talk and malcontents.

not great
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The offer sheet fear is the dumbest thing to be afraid of though. They have more money than enough cap space. And they can’t let him walk for picks and tell Dahlin…shit happens. In fact…JJ would be foolish to sign an offer sheet if he wants out so bad. Because they’re not letting him go for draft picks. It’s the last thing they can do.

Our worst case scenario is he signs a four year offer sheet that walks him to UFA.

In FOUR years.
 
Beerz said:
A lot wrong in this article but some interesting quotes from former players, agents and others ..

www.espn.com

Inside the Sabres' never-ending rebuild -- and how they get back to the playoffs

From Ryan O'Reilly to Jack Eichel to Sam Reinhart and more, success follows for a player once he leaves, with Buffalo set to miss the playoffs again.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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Hits many good points.

Most importantly good that the national press if giving notice and attention of accountability to the owner/GM!
 
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I'm not happy with this roster, but I'm even more unhappy with the owner, the GM and his staff, and the coach and his staff.
 
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Great ufa group this summer to improve our forwards. Overpaying Granlund and Roslovic could really improve the top 9.

I think the key to improving our defense is to fix the forward group. It's hard to play solid defense when you can't trust your forwards, you become passive.
I'd be willing to run close to the same defensive group if we don't get good trade value. I think fixing our forwards will fix our defense.

Looking at the options I think goaltending will be the hardest to improve.

New GM, new coach and spending to the cap is really the only way forward. I think we'll see some bad trades by Adams, a cheap roster and then another season of crash and burn.
 
HaNotsri said:
Great ufa group this summer to improve our forwards. Overpaying Granlund and Roslovic could really improve the top 9.

I think the key to improving our defense is to fix the forward group. It's hard to play solid defense when you can't trust your forwards, you become passive.
I'd be willing to run close to the same defensive group if we don't get good trade value. I think fixing our forwards will fix our defense.

Looking at the options I think goaltending will be the hardest to improve.

New GM, new coach and spending to the cap is really the only way forward. I think we'll see some bad trades by Adams, a cheap roster and then another season of crash and burn.
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You want Granlund, but he doesn't play defense, and neither does Roslovic. So basically the same problems will happen. I don't agree that we only need to fix the forwards, our defense is unbalanced, they play poor defense, often four lefties in the top 4, three PMD, where only Dahlin carries the defense. We need several capable guys in the top 4 who know how to play defense, on the PK, are decent near net. We need to get rid of 2-3 defensemen and also do all this within the cap, which we will have almost none. Of course they should fire Wilford, Appert and Ellis, I'm not sure if this will happen, but they should. Ruff will probably stay for another season and nothing can be done about it, but at least we could improve our PK and PP at the expense of other assistants and maybe improve the individual play of our defensemen.
 
Ace said:
The offer sheet fear is the dumbest thing to be afraid of though. They have more money than enough cap space. And they can’t let him walk for picks and tell Dahlin…shit happens. In fact…JJ would be foolish to sign an offer sheet if he wants out so bad. Because they’re not letting him go for draft picks. It’s the last thing they can do.

Our worst case scenario is he signs a four year offer sheet that walks him to UFA.

In FOUR years.
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Well. If buffalo signs all their rfas to market level deals and doesn’t move any salary out, they will be close to the cap. Is the team willing to spend that much to be close to the cap?

They will be spending 13 million more if they ‘run it back’ in terms of salary than this year.

Maybe an offer sheet isn’t about whether they have space or not but are they willing to spend it. And that will be after the buyout period is over so they won’t have easy options to cut costs. And what if that player has already asked for a trade?

It’ll be an interesting summer, that’s for sure.
 
Fjordy said:
You want Granlund, but he doesn't play defense, and neither does Roslovic. So basically the same problems will happen. I don't agree that we only need to fix the forwards, our defense is unbalanced, they play poor defense, often four lefties in the top 4, three PMD, where only Dahlin carries the defense. We need several capable guys in the top 4 who know how to play defense, on the PK, are decent near net. We need to get rid of 2-3 defensemen and also do all this within the cap, which we will have almost none. Of course they should fire Wilford, Appert and Ellis, I'm not sure if this will happen, but they should. Ruff will probably stay for another season and nothing can be done about it, but at least we could improve our PK and PP at the expense of other assistants and maybe improve the individual play of our defensemen.
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I've always liked Granlund defensively. I haven't checked his stats but I've always seen him as positionally sound.
 
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