The Roster Thread, Summer 2024

[ValJamesDuex]

5 new players of 6 in the bottom 6 now. 2 new lines basically. 3-4 line looks good and top 6. I think sabres trade for a top 6 player at the deadline before playoffs . we reach it this season

Peterka Thompson Tuch
Benson Cozens Quinn
Zucker Mcleod Greenway
Malenstyn Lafferty Aube-Kubel

Dahlin Byram
Power Jokiharju
Samuelsson Clifton

one thing analytics and spitballing does not give you is player chemistry, so we will see who fits with who during the preseason and beyond but I expect there to be some shuffling here and there in the bottom 6 by then.

 

[Uberpecker]

Malenski, Kübel, Lafferty seems like a reasonable fourth line. That top 6 sans Skinner looks awfully light on talent, though.

I just don't know how Joker/Clifton work as a pair. Joker and Dahlin would switch sides quite a bit when they played together so I guess Joker can work on the left. I just don't have any file on if they've ever been Joker/Clifton paired b4.

Clifton seemed to get his game going the 2nd half of last season. The hope I had in signing him was he could pair with Power...maybe that can actually happen this season.

Sammy and Joker as a pair have success, both eye test and with the metrics.

It's what I was hoping, as well. It would solve a ton of problems, and he doesn't even have to be the best 2nd pairing dman, just decent and a good complement to either Power or Byram, probably the former.

 

[Gabrielor]

I never got to watch Savoie a ton, but had high hopes for him nonetheless.. Friends who watched lots of Wpg ice games tell me Benson was already ahead of Savoie in his draft year.

Easy to get stuck on the 9th overall pick, but value obviously just wasn't as high as many expected. Best of luck to Savoie, but nice to see an addition who can play right now and bring a much needed element. Mcleods pking during the playoffs was masterclass.

*assume they are now essentially done for the offseason aside from reupping rfa's.

I've seen probably 40-45 WHL games of Savoie.

Lightning fast acceleration. Pro-style shot. Goes to the net.

Admittedly, scores a lot of 'CHL points', also known as 'I doubt that's a goal/assist levels up', but that's common for just about every CHLer.

I'll miss him, but this kind of move was coming.

 

[stokes84]

Feels like a make or break year for Rosen. He has to push his way onto this roster, and I think he needs to do it by showing he has some two way ability.

 

[Gabrielor]

Feels like a make or break year for Rosen. He has to push his way onto this roster, and I think he needs to do it by showing he has some two way ability.

Rosen and Kulich have the same thing keeping them from the bigs. Consistency. Gotta show it.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Adams has done most of the things that he talked about doing his press availabilities after the Ruff hire and pre-draft and FA.

The only thing left on his To Do list is the top 6 F. And that was always going to be the hardest/costliest item to get done.

And if he does trade for an Ehlers or Necas or Zegras and people whine about the trade package going the other way...

I like the blend of skillsets our wings have. Doesn't Ruff typically stick with a C/W combo, then may rotate other wingers depending on the game situation? I vaguely remember him doing that when he was able to roll 3 or 4 lines.

-Thomspon-Tuch
-Cozens-Quinn
-McLeod-Greenway
-Lafferty- Aube-Kubel

You can then rotate Peterka, Benson, Beck, and Zucker throughout the lines depending on the in-game situation. You need goals? Lean on Peterka and Zucker more. You need to lock it down? Lean on Greenway and Benson.

I'd still rather shoot for a top-4 D. I also like Krebs and Lafferty fighting for 4C. It's nice to have a 13th forward who has actual NHL skill down the middle.

 

[Beerz]

Yeah... not trading Jack Quinn.

He's gonna be a star.

 

[stokes84]

Rosen and Kulich have the same thing keeping them from the bigs. Consistency. Gotta show it.

Yes, but Rosen is a year older. I have almost no doubt that Kulich will get there. Rosen is a bigger question.

 

[Gras]

We will be somewhere between 81.5 and 83 million after we sign the RFAs. So 5 to 6.5 million under the cap. Gives us a lot of options and possibilities at the trade deadline.

RFA watch next season -
Peterka, Quinn, McLeod, Byram, RyJo, Levi

Looking to next years roster lol, Kulich replaces Zucker, and maybe Greenway and Aube-Kubel come back...or not. Wahlberg could maybe take one of those spots. Ostlund and Helenius both in Rochester in 25-26 if all three of Krebs/McLeod/Lafferty return. If Byram comes back, RyJo is the cheap replacement for Joker.

Edit to add, Rosen is absolutely in the mix for 3RW next season. Easy to forget about him for some reason.

Having some cap cushion could also come in handy with any performance bonuses.

 

[Team Cozens]

Where is the heavy in the top of the lineup? Or the portable walls on defense? I see fast, sure, and a marked improvement in contact by all but McLeod who is Granato-level shy about contact.

McLeod brings the speed.... and I am referring to the bottom 6 being heavier and faster. Just the fact we got rid of Skinner, KO, Girgs and Jost improved the team. McLeod is a perfect for for the Sabres from a 3C, PK, FW and speed of play perspective. So many fans make assumptions without doing any research. I'd take 30 points from out 3C. McLeod bad. Savoie is Briere 2.0. LOL

 

[TehDoak]

We will be somewhere between 81.5 and 83 million after we sign the RFAs. So 5 to 6.5 million under the cap. Gives us a lot of options and possibilities at the trade deadline.

RFA watch next season -
Peterka, Quinn, McLeod, Byram, RyJo, Levi

Looking to next years roster lol, Kulich replaces Zucker, and maybe Greenway and Aube-Kubel come back...or not. Wahlberg could maybe take one of those spots. Ostlund and Helenius both in Rochester in 25-26 if all three of Krebs/McLeod/Lafferty return. If Byram comes back, RyJo is the cheap replacement for Joker.

Edit to add, Rosen is absolutely in the mix for 3RW next season. Easy to forget about him for some reason.

I have us at 81.3 at the high end with 22 players. So 6M with 22 players, 5M with a full 23 players.

Well no space left unless greenway is gone. Adams probably done now. Looks good overall. Should be fun to watch.

Incorrect.

 

[Jacob582]

I think I would go:

Power - Dahlin
Byram - Clifton
Samuelsson - Jokiharju

(Bryson-Clifton or Gilbert-Jokiharju during injuries to Sammy)

 

[Djp]

So Kuli replaces Zucker next year and opens up some space for resigning frenzy next summer while other kiddos steadily transform into vets to ease his transition.

For 25/26 roster...
Summer UFAs
Zucker
NAK
Greenway

I think Kulich and another ELC being promoted full time. I can see Grernway getting resigned for 3-4 yrs. Dont have to rush wahlberg.

Greenway could be resigned. I think they could sign Iaffalo as 4th line/13F

 

[Old Navy Goat]

Trading Quinn would be beyond asinine. He's the most talented forward on the team. He basically put up a prorated 30g/40a season after missing all that time. His vision and ability to make a play jump started Cozens after his forgettable first half

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

If you move Quinn, you are essentially swapping the RFAs you need to sign for a UFA.

And realistically, you could afford around 7-8M additions long term with everyone here.

my love-o-meter:

Truly madly deeply
1) benson
2) cozens
3) quinn
4) peterka
5) levi
6) power
7) Savoie
8) kulich
Just friends

So dealing Quinn would hurt my sensitive areas.

There’s also going to be a lot of posters that I’m not going to be able to take seriously for a while after the last weeks behavior.

 

[Chainshot]

I think Ruff will have the Sabres playing a lot heavier than Granato. Tuch/Cozens/Zucker/Tage can play heavy. Having Dahlin/Clifton and maybe Gilbert on the backend help too. Maybe Ruff can even get Power to play more physical.

McLeod brings the speed.... and I am referring to the bottom 6 being heavier and faster. Just the fact we got rid of Skinner, KO, Girgs and Jost improved the team. McLeod is a perfect for for the Sabres from a 3C, PK, FW and speed of play perspective. So many fans make assumptions without doing any research. I'd take 30 points from out 3C. McLeod bad. Savoie is Briere 2.0. LOL

My point remains that Vegas has heavy throughout the entire lineup. I like what they’ve done with fourth line and they filled the need for 3C. I just would pump the brakes comparing them to a western powerhouse.

 

[TageGod]

A

I have us at 81.3 at the high end with 22 players. So 6M with 22 players, 5M with a full 23 players.



Incorrect.

what am I incorrect about? Did they sign players just to bench one of them for your mythical top 6 winger?

 

[Dingo44]

My point remains that Vegas has heavy throughout the entire lineup. I like what they’ve done with fourth line and they filled the need for 3C. I just would pump the brakes comparing them to a western powerhouse.

I hope that's not directed towards me. I'm not comparing the Sabres to Vegas. I also don't think the Sabres need to emulate Vegas to win.

Of course maybe this is in regards to some posts I'm not seeing.

 

[Chainshot]

I hope that's not directed towards me. I'm not comparing the Sabres to Vegas. I also don't think the Sabres need to emulate Vegas to win.

Of course maybe this is in regards to some posts I'm not seeing.

No, I may have double quoted you! Phone fail.

 

[Matt Ress]

I don't think Krebs is around in October let alone 25/26

 

[Dingo44]

The Sabres scored 7 shorthanded goals last season. What's the Over on how many more we score this year?

 

[HOOats]

Couple roster thoughts:

-I like Krebs as the 13 to start. I care less about stunting his development than I do about having a 5th utility center available in case of injury. His development doesn't matter.

-It sounds like McLeod doesn't like to finish checks and could benefit from getting inside on O. I'm hopeful that he still has some development in those areas even if it isn't his exact nature. Ideally Lindy and his new gang of Greenway, Beck, Lafferty, Zucker, and NAK establish a culture of effort and physicality in our bottom six that is infectious to guys like McLeod and even the top six (and eventually guys like Wahlberg and Konsta). We haven't had that standard in a long time.

-I'm maybe most excited about what our new bottom six means for our three young dynamic offensive D. Structure and support have been sorely lacking and 26/25/4 should be much more confident trusting their instincts and taking risks now.

-Main PKers are Greenway, McLeod, Malenstyn, and Benson/Lafferty? I like that we won't have to use guys like Cozens, Tuch, Tage on the PK now. Throw them out there if they need a spark or a late SH chance, but keeping those heavy minutes and blocked shots off their bodies is a bonus in-game and season-long. Hell, Donnie may still be the coach if Tage doesn't break his hand.

 

[jc17]

The Sabres scored 7 shorthanded goals last season. What's the Over on how many more we score this year?

I just want to know how many PP goals we score.

With all this talk about our four 5v5 lines, and whether we need to add another top 6 guy, I almost forgot that we were 12th 5v5 goal differential and really only a semi-competent PP from being a playoff team. Granted that was with Mitts contributing a lot .

And while of course a top 6 guy could help the PP, coaching will (hopefully) be the big swing. Dallas had 2 entire units performing better than us this year, I don't think it's purely the player talent.

 

[Jim Bob]

Yeah... not trading Jack Quinn.

He's gonna be a star.

The biggest challenge with Quinn is staying healthy. He hasn’t been able to do that as a pro.

 

[Fjordy]

I think Greenway is fine from a defensive and physical game, but it doesn't seem like what Lindy wants from a speed standpoint, not at all. Greenway was the guy Granato wanted. I don't think we should necessarily trade him, he'll be useful in the lineup. I just think if Adams wanted to add a speedster like Necas or Ehlers to the lineup, maybe Greenway could be a bargaining chip. But I'm fine with him staying.