The Roster Thread, Summer 2024

[Irie]

Well, there's our problem -- you're happy with Zucker and truly believe he was the best option. Fair enough. I certainly don't.

And Adams has such a poor track record with his UFA signings that I don't believe he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

I believe there is a cap crunch coming and planning for the long term future and not losing patience and making bad moves is more important than a short term slight bump in competitiveness with long term repercussions.

I believe this team has a lot of young prospects that are pushing hard to be a top 6 solution, and getting a versatile temp depth vet on a one year deal that can play up and down the lineup that will buy into Ruff's coaching system is never a bad thing.

The team is finally seeing the end of the Skinner and Okposo bad contract era and they do not need to replace those mistakes with new overpriced disasters going forward.

I also firmly believe that we all need to be patient and re-evaluate what we have in this roster under a completely new coach and system before making huge splashes in free agency or big farm-depleting trades that may not be necessary.

Zucker was not the best option in my opinion. The best option was not panicking and making desperation moves before we see what we have under Ruff. Zucker was just a fine depth move without any longterm repercussions.

 

[BFLO]

A short-term overpay deal with a promise to flip to a contender at the trade deadline if necessary is exactly how shitty teams like the Sabres manage to hook a decent aging player looking to cash in before they fall off entirely

If that’s not one’s cup of tea, sure, but I think this team could benefit from an Arizona Phil Kessel or Ottawa Vlad Tarasenko tier player

We could have benefited from that for the past 3 seasons. And the assets gained by flipping those guys at the deadline could have in turn been flipped into a good roster player by now. We may have even squeaked into the playoffs in 2022-23 with some additional talent on the roster.

When I say Pegula is cheap, this is what I mean. We bought zero UFAs worth flipping for 3 years and sat on the cap space instead.

 

[Jim Bob]

One handicap is, sort of like @Doug Prishpreed posted, is that Zucker is a semi-underwhelming replacement for Skinner. Another handicap is (which apparently is a difference of opinion between us) that the cap savings over year two and three can't be filled with a player with enough impact to justify the move. The last handicap is not debatable, which is a 2.4 mil cap hit for three more years after Skinner and his contract could've been a distant memory.

Some argue that this season is so important that ditching Skinner is worth it...yet the organization is not filling his roster spot with a player with a big enough cap hit or on-ice impact, that would be a legit signal of "going for it". To be clear, I don't think the team is ready to "go for" anything but a playoff spot and then get their teeth kicked in. Having to now wait for quality C depth to develop and be playoff-quality impact players, and D-men to age and physically develop and gain experience...to the level of making the team a Cup contender...they may as well have waited out Skinner's contract and be in a much better position to spend to the cap in three years (for good players on multi-year deals). They just got younger and less experienced swapping Cs and getting Byram instead of a veteran rock. For now anyway, that's a half step backward and ditching Skinner doesn't change that.

Who in their right mind thinks that they entered the offseason expecting a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 13 years is going to be a Cup contender?

Lindy likely views buying out Skinner as addition by subtraction given how the offseason has played out. We will see.

 

[Sabresbyswords104]

Krebs the last One to sign now ?

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Whats the cap space remaining post UPL btw just for sh*ts and giggles ?

 

[Chainshot]

Whats the cap space remaining post UPL btw just for sh*ts and giggles ?

Puckpedia has them with this: $8,449,484

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Who in their right mind thinks that they entered the offseason expecting a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 13 years is going to be a Cup contender?

Lindy likely views buying out Skinner as addition by subtraction given how the offseason has played out. We will see.

I wasn't suggesting that posters expect a Cup contender, just that the Skinner buy-out would signal a serious set of moves to improve both that roster spot and the team in general, to the point of being significantly better. I don't think that has happened, no matter how anyone thinks there was "addition by subtraction", and I don't think the Skinner buy-out could realistically accomplish that.

 

[old kummelweck]

Who is left unsigned? Just Krebs?

 

[elchud]

Skinner is no longer a top 6 forward and he doesn't have the attributes of a bottom 6 forward. Zucker can play anywhere in the lineup.

I get not liking something, but it's all understandable. Skinner had to go he doesn't fit on this team.

Who is left unsigned? Just Krebs?

Yep. And Philip Nyberg.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Skinner is no longer a top 6 forward and he doesn't have the attributes of a bottom 6 forward. Zucker can play anywhere in the lineup.

I get not liking something, but it's all understandable. Skinner had to go he doesn't fit on this team.



Yep. And Philip Nyberg.

Don't forget about Slava Buravchikov.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1816273187702739277

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

So yeah, enough space to add an impact player but nah, at best you’ll hear Adams bullshit about “weaponizing” cap space which is another bullshit lie.

 

[DJN21]

I believe there is a cap crunch coming and planning for the long term future and not losing patience and making bad moves is more important than a short term slight bump in competitiveness with long term repercussions.

I believe this team has a lot of young prospects that are pushing hard to be a top 6 solution, and getting a versatile temp depth vet on a one year deal that can play up and down the lineup that will buy into Ruff's coaching system is never a bad thing.

The team is finally seeing the end of the Skinner and Okposo bad contract era and they do not need to replace those mistakes with new overpriced disasters going forward.

I also firmly believe that we all need to be patient and re-evaluate what we have in this roster under a completely new coach and system before making huge splashes in free agency or big farm-depleting trades that may not be necessary.

Zucker was not the best option in my opinion. The best option was not panicking and making desperation moves before we see what we have under Ruff. Zucker was just a fine depth move without any longterm repercussions.

preach!

 

[Aladyyn]

I would have loved Tarasenko but he doesn't fit the current roster construction almost as much as Skinner.

 

[TommyDangles]

So yeah, enough space to add an impact player but nah, at best you’ll hear Adams bullshit about “weaponizing” cap space which is another bullshit lie.

Where are these impact players that are readily available? Have any impact players even been traded this summer?

 

[DapperCam]

Where are these impact players that are readily available? Have any impact players even been traded this summer?

The highest paid UFA this summer in terms of AAV was Stamkos at $8m, so they could have literally outbid for any UFA.

 

[TommyDangles]

The highest paid UFA this summer in terms of AAV was Stamkos at $8m, so they could have literally outbid for any UFA.

So people want to add another Skinner/Okposo contract after getting rid of them?

 

[DapperCam]

So people want to add another Skinner/Okposo contract after getting rid of them?

There were middle 6 options or 2nd pair defenseman we could have added for depth that don't even approach those types of contracts. Why is it always the most extreme example?

How about Teravainen, Wennberg, Bertuzzi, Duclair, Mantha, Toffoli, etc? That tier of guy will probably be available at the trade deadline, hopefully we are still in a position then to be buyers and make a run.

 

[jc17]

Skinner is no longer a top 6 forward and he doesn't have the attributes of a bottom 6 forward. Zucker can play anywhere in the lineup.

I get not liking something, but it's all understandable. Skinner had to go he doesn't fit on this team.

"No longer a top 6 forward, can't play anywhere else" is another popular idea on this board that's a bit of an exaggeration.

No longer worth 9m, or maybe a bad fit here, but I think we're about to find out that he's capable of being a useful player somewhere in a good team's roster

 

[Jim Bob]

The highest paid UFA this summer in terms of AAV was Stamkos at $8m, so they could have literally outbid for any UFA.

Stamkos wasn't coming to Buffalo for all the available cap space the Sabres will have at the end of the summer.

That is living in fantasy land and not reality.

 

[tsujimoto74]

A short-term overpay deal with a promise to flip to a contender at the trade deadline if necessary is exactly how shitty teams like the Sabres manage to hook a decent aging player looking to cash in before they fall off entirely

If that’s not one’s cup of tea, sure, but I think this team could benefit from an Arizona Phil Kessel or Ottawa Vlad Tarasenko tier player

We tried that with Hall, and his effort/attitude was so abysmal that he actually made the team worse.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

UPL doesn't seem motivated by money...he could've bet on himself and probably made a lot more, if he keeps up his play.

Sabres are lucky they don't have too many greedy guys...Skinner, Dahlin, and Power seem to be the only ones who didn't give the team a friendly deal.

 

[Jim Bob]

We tried that with Hall, and his effort/attitude was so abysmal that he actually made the team worse.

Peters and Rivet talked about that issue based off of a text from a former NHLer after the Sabres signed Zucker to his deal. Those kinds of deals with those kinds of vets for this kind of team rarely works out well.

 

[thewookie1]

UPL doesn't seem motivated by money...he could've bet on himself and probably made a lot more, if he keeps up his play.

Sabres are lucky they don't have too many greedy guys...Skinner, Dahlin, and Power seem to be the only ones who didn't give the team a friendly deal.

Power effectively took Sanderson's deal

 

[KeepKane]

I want to see Tuch, Cozens, and Power gain 10-15 lbs from last season. Both Tuch and Cozens looked too thin and too weak to start the season last year and by the time the grind of the season hit they looked even more fatigued/injured. Power, being only 21, has the body to gain weight and should gain some muscle each of the next 3/4 off-season's. He played some serious 5v5 minutes without much help from his partner. If he has Dahlin as a partner, I think he takes that next big step. I feel these 3 guys adding beef without losing much quickness/speed along with the transformed 4th line can make us much much tougher to play against. Thompson and Dahlin bulked up a few years back and their game's transformed. Gave them supreme confidence and allowed them to slow the game down.

top line- TT and Tuch @ 6'6 and 6'4 220lb
2nd line- Cozens 6'3 and hopefully closer to 210/215
3rd line- Greeway 6'6 230

Power 6'6 and hopefully closer to 225.

Add in the 5 elite skaters we added ( Byram, McCleod, Malenstyn, Laffery, Aube-Kubel.) That's a big and fast team (sans Greenway).

Ruff will get our PP back on track- He will know how to utilize TT & Dahlin. Not sure who gets the right half wall spot on PP1. Byram did it a little bit last year, Cozens thrived( before getting contract) then fizzled out. I like Quinn over there opposite Thompson but they might have him in the TT spot on PP2 and maybe they go with a lefty?(Peterka).
PP1- TT, Dahlin, Quinn, Tuch and Cozens
PP2- Byram, Power? , Benson, Peterka, Zucker, McCleod ---Need a righty tho as all lefties



For arguments sake say we are in a wild card spot nearing the deadline and add 1 proven forward and Dman. I would want these players to be bigger, physical type.

Peterka-TT-Tuch
Mcleod-Cozens-Quinn
Benson-Vet 3C(deadline add)-Zucker
Malenstyn-Lafferty-Greenway
xNAK, Krebs

Power-Dahlin
Byram- Vet RD( big &physical )
Sammy-Clifton
x Ry John, Gilbert, Bryson

This team can compete with anyone besides the top 2/3 from each conf.