The Roster Thread, Summer 2024

[zenthusiast]

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

Yeah, it definitely was a miss with him, but one must push forward with conviction through the scars of the past

 

[thewookie1]

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.

Teravainen would of been nice but I honestly think he went to Chicago independent of monetary reasoning. Guy was drafted and won a Cup there as a rookie so he may feel comfortable there.

Wennburg was never interesting to me, far too soft and wishy-washy for our new style of play

Bertuzzi was an ok idea but not really a great Top 6 winger.

Duclair was interesting but also has some red flags

Mantha has been stated to be lazy and to not play to his size for long stretches which isn't exactly something I want near our youngsters.

Toffoli would of been nice but even matching his SJ contract would be a recipe for disaster, 4x6mil for a 32 year old doesn't typically end well. Even worse we would of needed to pay more to convince him to come to Buffalo over sunny SJ.

 

[BFLO]

"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

No longer worth 9m??? Skinner was never worth 9m.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Power effectively took Sanderson's deal

He gave the team 8 years instead of 7, which is a big deal. That's a UFA year.

Power held firm on only 7 years, which was not a team friendly stance compared to Sanderson.

Also, Sanderson is a much more complete player -- so far, Power bring only offense. I'd much prefer Sanderson at this point.

 

[Zman5778]

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

Tarasenko, Skinner and Kane are all cut from the same cloth, be it with different patterns: all offense, little defense, varied effectiveness on the PK and little grindy-ness/physicality.

Once we cut bait with Skinner, I knew Vladdy and PKane weren't going to be options for us.

 

[Chainshot]

Power effectively took Sanderson's deal

Wish Power was at Sanderson's overall game level, though the hope is that he grows a bit more to be more effective.

 

[DapperCam]

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.

I didn’t mean we should have or could have signed Stamkos specifically (which I thought was obvious…). I meant we could have been more active in free agency without money/cap as a limitation.

In theory we could have outbid another team for any UFA that was available with our giant pile of available cap space.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Tarasenko, Skinner and Kane are all cut from the same cloth, be it with different patterns: all offense, little defense, varied effectiveness on the PK and little grindy-ness/physicality.

Once we cut bait with Skinner, I knew Vladdy and PKane weren't going to be options for us.

I like Zucker as a fit more than Skinner or the others. If the goal is to become tougher to play against, then the signing makes more sense even if his offense won't be as impactful. We just need to hope he buys in and that the wheels aren't falling off, which can probably be said for the other 3 guys as well.

 

[Jim Bob]

I didn’t mean we should have or could have signed Stamkos specifically (which I thought was obvious…). I meant we could have been more active in free agency without money/cap as a limitation.

In theory we could have outbid another team for any UFA that was available with our giant pile of available cap space.

The challenge is fit and what Adams identified as issues.

The lack of movement on D seems to be because Adams is happy with what he has there after acquiring Byram. I disagree with that approach and believe he should have been looking for a better partner for Power. But, that does not seem like how he viewed things.

He addressed the need for a vet to go with UPL & Levi in goal.

He added a 3C and remade the 4th line.

The only real issue has been a lack of a top 6 F add. And that was not a spot that he was likely to fill in FA. The trade route was going to be the better route for that hole. And the challenge has been the lack of movement league-wide with respect to top 6 Fs.

Some of that is Buch re-signing with St Louis. Some of that is Winnipeg wanting a ton for Ehlers without an extension. And some of that likely is that Verbeek needs cash back in a Zegras deal to stay above the cap floor and he doesn't want to move him for futures, in all likelihood.

With Krebs being the most likely roster player that Adams would move in a trade for a top 6 forward, that could really limit his options.

But, I do not see any impactful top 6 forwards that moved in UFA that were likely to sign here.

 

[Gras]

He gave the team 8 years instead of 7, which is a big deal. That's a UFA year.

Power held firm on only 7 years, which was not a team friendly stance compared to Sanderson.

Also, Sanderson is a much more complete player -- so far, Power bring only offense. I'd much prefer Sanderson at this point.

Was it stated publicly that 7 years was his choice and KA wanted 8?

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Was it stated publicly that 7 years was his choice and KA wanted 8?

I'm pretty sure it was Lance but it was a while ago so I could be mistaken. Someone definitely did. Sounded like Power was fine waiting but Adams really wanted to get it done so he caved.

Pretty sure it was from a podcast since the only reading I do these days are old heavy metal magazine issues (comics, not music) from the 1970s.

 

[SabresFanNorthPortFL]

Would it be nice to insert “any decent top six forward” into our lineup….sure but….

We’ve “suffered” enough waiting for the development of our draft picks….it’s all starting to come together. Peterka and Quinn need top six minutes….now. If you traded for Ehlers, and not 1 year’s Zucker, where are Benson, Kuluch, Sav (er sorry), Rosen, etc gonna go in two years???

I am so excited for Quinn. That kid is gonna be the best player in the team soon. If he’s surrounded by a real team this year, he’s potting 30+, and 40 wouldn’t surprise me. Every time the puck is on his stick, it’s electric. There is only so much ice time to go around.

This is the best this team has looked in over a decade, and half the team is 23 and under….very exciting

 

[The Red Helmet]

Joe Marino suggested a trade for Laine the other day and I think it's a great idea. Yes he is a bit of a prima donna but he he produces and only has two years left on his contract. If he ends up being a problem, you aren't stuck with him long term.

I think there's a chance if he gets on a winning team in the right situation he may settle in and be a good teammate. If he came to Buffalo the expectations wouldn't be sky high and I think with the added leadership with Ruff and some of the players it could be a low key, low pressure situation for him.

IMO the best part of a move like this would be the domino effect it would have on our forward lines. Players would not be asked to play above their role. I think a move like this could turn this team into a force quickly if the defense and goaltending end up being a strength like we think they will.

Laine Thompson Tuch
Peterka Cozens Quinn
Zucker McLeod Benson
Malenstyn Krebs/Lafferty Greenway

That looks like a very formidable forward group to me.

 

[TommyDangles]

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.

OP said impact players. Those guys aren't impact players. They are in the same tier as Zucker who we signed.

Also not an extreme example. To sign actual impact players we would have to offer max term with ridiculous AAV.

None of the top 6 trade targets like Ehlers/Konecny were moved either.

 

[HaNotsri]

"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

I love Skinner as a player and I'm happy for him. He has a couple of good years left and it's great that he get to spend time on a contender. I bet he'll even play defense in the playoffs.

Still the right move to buy him out. We need to surround the kids with more complete players.

 

[TheBarnIsElectric]

Joe Marino suggested a trade for Laine the other day and I think it's a great idea. Yes he is a bit of a prima donna but he he produces and only has two years left on his contract. If he ends up being a problem, you aren't stuck with him long term.

I think there's a chance if he gets on a winning team in the right situation he may settle in and be a good teammate. If he came to Buffalo the expectations wouldn't be sky high and I think with the added leadership with Ruff and some of the players it could be a low key, low pressure situation for him.

IMO the best part of a move like this would be the domino effect it would have on our forward lines. Players would not be asked to play above their role. I think a move like this could turn this team into a force quickly if the defense and goaltending end up being a strength like we think they will.

Laine Thompson Tuch
Peterka Cozens Quinn
Zucker McLeod Benson
Malenstyn Krebs/Lafferty Greenway

That looks like a very formidable forward group to me.

I would be ok with taking a flyer on laine, but only if the cost was low. I'm not giving anything of significant value for him. He's a talent and he'd help us score goals, but 1) there's no guarantee he even plays out his contract, 2) big cap hit, and 3) we can't use him AND Tage in the same spot on the power play, so I'm not sure we can fully utilize his gifts.

On the brightside, it's only for 2 years, so that mitigated some of the risk. Also, I could be wrong, but I don't read him as a prima Donna. He's an interesting character, but I don't get the sense he's not willing to work or that his teammates don't like him. Correct me if I'm wrong on that.

Again, given that we need a top 6 forward and seemingly haven't been able to find one for a reasonable price, I'd be ok with it, but only if he can be had cheap.

 

[DapperCam]

OP said impact players. Those guys aren't impact players. They are in the same tier as Zucker who we signed.

Also not an extreme example. To sign actual impact players we would have to offer max term with ridiculous AAV.

None of the top 6 trade targets like Ehlers/Konecny were moved either.

I just don’t accept that Adams’ hands were tied by the circumstances of FA and the trade market and that he was forced to enter the season with $8.5m in cap space. It doesn’t take huge amounts of creativity to think of ways the team could have been improved with that space.

 

[TommyDangles]

I just don’t accept that Adams’ hands were tied by the circumstances of FA and the trade market and that he was forced to enter the season with $8.5m in cap space. It doesn’t take huge amounts of creativity to think of ways the team could have been improved with that space.

Yes he could've given Jake DeBrusk 7 years at 6M+, but didn't want to. Not sure why fans who spent the last 4+ years complaining about the Skinner/Okposo deals wanted him to add another contract like that.

We seen what the trade market is like. Teams don't want to give up their good players. Matt Savoie got back McLeod in a trade. Was rumored that several teams declined trades involving Savoie. Carolina being one of them for Jack Drury. None of the popular top 6 targets got traded. Most of them are already being resigned long term.

Fans just got very delusional with what was possible this off season when I see comments about not signing Stamkos or not trading for Cirelli/Konecny/Ehlers etc..

 

[DapperCam]

Yes he could've given Jake DeBrusk 7 years at 6M+, but didn't want to. Not sure why fans who spent the last 4+ years complaining about the Skinner/Okposo deals wanted him to add another contract like that.

We seen what the trade market is like. Teams don't want to give up their good players. Matt Savoie got back McLeod in a trade. Was rumored that several teams declined trades involving Savoie. Carolina being one of them for Jack Drury. None of the popular top 6 targets got traded. Most of them are already being resigned long term.

Fans just got very delusional with what was possible this off season when I see comments about not signing Stamkos or not trading for Cirelli/Konecny/Ehlers etc..

Yes, it is the fans that are delusional. Not the front office of the team with the longest NHL playoff drought of all time, entering the season with huge amounts of cap space (again!).

 

[Diaspora]

[ . . . ]

Again, given that we need a top 6 forward and seemingly haven't been able to find one for a reasonable price, I'd be ok with it, but only if he can be had cheap.

Define cheap.

Edit: I've been thinking about Laine too. He may be the only legitimate top six candidate that could be had. I expect Columbus is going to want a 1st for him. Honestly, they're probably going to ask for more than that. But, they might be willing to let him go for a 1st.

Maybe if you considered it an early rental . . . .

. . . if you're willing to roll the dice.

 

[Butt Ox]

I believe that at this point giving up any asset for Laine would be an error.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Yes, it is the fans that are delusional. Not the front office of the team with the longest NHL playoff drought of all time, entering the season with huge amounts of cap space (again!).

Or teams want a boatload as a return NOW so they can figure out their cap situation and roster for the upcoming season. Once it starts, prices will drop.

Like I’d love if the Sabres got Farabee from the Flyers. I won’t like it if it costs Ostlund + Strbak + a 1st.

I’ll accept it if it ends up being Ostlund + 1st + Krebs (who it’s rumoured the Flyers are interested in).

 

[TommyDangles]

Yes, it is the fans that are delusional. Not the front office of the team with the longest NHL playoff drought of all time, entering the season with huge amounts of cap space (again!).

That has nothing to do with the reality of the FA/Trade market. If you thought that Stamkos was interested in coming to Buffalo or that guys like Cirelli were actually available, you are delusional. No Top 6 F were actually traded & most of the popular names on here like Buch or Konecny extended with their own teams. We will see Ehlers do the same.

 

[debaser66]

I definitely believe that Skinner was bought out primarily because Lindy looked at Skinner kind of like RBA did and wanted him nowhere near his roster.

That it saved Terry cash was a bonus.

And creating cap space to add more players for 2024-25 was a distant third.

I still believe Adams wanted to make a deal for a top6 forward too, but couldnt get it done, rather that then he was bought out because of Lindy.

 

[billsandsabres]

I believe that at this point giving up any asset for Laine would be an error.

agree. they've spent the entire summer acquiring forwards that are at least 2 of these things: fast, physical, straight-line, defensively responsible. laine ain't got any of that in his bag, doesn't seem to fit what they are looking for.