What would you grade Adams this off season (so far)?

[old kummelweck]

I give him a C since these changes should have been done last year and so he's getting docked a letter grade for turning in his assignment late.

 

[kirby11]

Like a lot of others, I'm giving Adams a C for much-needed bottom 6 revamping. They could still use a top 6 winger and I don't like the look of their defense corps--too many of the same type of guy and neither of their right-handed options are particularly good.

For better or worse (seems like worse), it looks like they'll go into this upcoming season with the same "pray everyone stays healthy and has big years" approach when it comes to scoring in the top 6

 

[Bobby Bottle Service]

Solid B.

Bottom six looks formidable. It doesn't seem like previous seasons where they took whomever they could. The team is much faster and under Lindy, can turn a corner.

For some reason, this doesn't feel he's done yet.

With the new bottom 6, this should free up Tage and others from the heavy defensive lifting, including PK. Could Tage not breaking his hand blocking a shot on the PK when the team was already losing 5-0 had an effect on his season? Maybe the goals we're looking for are already on the team.

 

[allsilverdreams]

C
He did a decent job for the bottom 6.
But it cost a high prospect and a early second.
I don't think you give up those kind of assets for bottom 6 players.
Everything depends on just how well McLeod turns out. KA job being in jeopardy caused the overpayments.

 

[MOGlLNY]

McLeod was, again, scratched exactly one time in the playoffs. A game they lost. He scored the next game and helped them shut down the Stars the rest of the way. That was the *checks notes* conference finals. He then played all seven games of the *checks notes* Stanley Cup finals, scoring three goals.

If you don’t like 24 year olds for getting scratched once in the playoffs. I can’t imagine why you’d be upset about a 9th overall pick who wasn’t going to make the NHL here in his draft plus three season. Where he was drafted stopped mattering a long time ago. When he got passed by guys. When he got hurt twice. When he bombed at WJC. When he wasn’t as good as Benson or Firkus on his juniors teams. If none of that matters he was scratched in the ahl playoffs once. That I know you must care about.

Cook

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

He gets no f***ing accolades for doing something all of us have clamored for for two+ years. Rebuilding the bottom 6 was a great move…two summers ago.

 

[Moncton man]

The best time to improve the team was in the past. The second best time is now. And they are making steps to do that

C
He did a decent job for the bottom 6.
But it cost a high prospect and a early second.
I don't think you give up those kind of assets for bottom 6 players.

The other thing to consider is the second round pick was a free asset and the prospect was dealt from a surplus. Arguably both future assets improved the team right now

 

[debaser66]

The best time to improve the team was in the past. The second best time is now. And they are making steps to do that


The other thing to consider is the second round pick was a free asset and the prospect was dealt from a surplus. Arguably both future assets improved the team right now

He missed already more than one off season, he did everything late, its a pattern.
From keeping the coach, not moving on from Okposo last off season, 3 goalie syndrome, not having enough vets, keeping Krebs in the NHL, logjam in the AHL, not dealing the prospects while he has too many (probably overvalueing them) etc.
He brought this all upon him through his inaction and he did the absolute minimum too account for the hole he created at C and revamping the bottom6.
I still thing his D pairings are not balanced but he created that situation with bringing in Bryam.
I am also not convinced of or 1C/2C to handle it, they are certainly no elite centers. There is a lot to be proofed.

I dont care about the assets he spent, I am just not convinced he did enough.

Lets hope for the best and that it works out anyway and that at least the top6 starts out stronger than last season.
The biggest addition is still the coach.
In Lindy I trust.

 

[toddkaz]

This is not a playoff team and people are giving Adams Bs

He gets a D from me.

 

[Sabresbyswords104]

He didnt get the top 6 forward in ehlers/Necas/farabee/zegras and instead got zucker as a veteran top 6/9 forward for 1 year overpaying him. So still would like That good younger forward longer term That suits us. He improved the 4 th line with 3 new players with good contracts and metrics as how they wanna play so Thats very Good. Also got rid of the older 4 th line players That didnt help us achieve success or didnt teally suited us in how we wanna play. A bit overpayment for Malenstyn But he didnt loose any on this as we got Helenius and Malenstyn to move Down a few spots. It was a mismatch the 4 th line before and they been through losing to long. He got a 3 line center McLeod That i like . Overpaying But he did something and understod That he needed to improve even if it cost a bit. So thats a + . If not Savoie become a 30-40 + goal scorer and elit .

He added a veteran backup as insurance not going only Young in goal. I would give him a C+ on his way to a B. If added a good winger like farabee it would be a B- B+ and with also another rhd and trading one of our D would result in a A . A + he cant get as this would be getting good value for less investment .

 

[Dirty Dog]

Remember...they opened up 7.5 million in cap when they let Skinner go, they will pay a penalty the first several years for that, and so far, they spend that on nothing.

Factoring in UPL/Malenstyn/Krebs deals, they'll still be 7-8 million under.

Terry Cheapgula.

Since you grade our owners’s willingness to spend based on roster salary and fail to consider any context, will you agree he is Terry Moneygula when we are near the cap in the future?

 

[Der Jaeger]

Adams did pretty well if we look at it holistically.

Two years ago, the Sabres lived and died on run and gun hockey and the power play. Last season they tried a more responsible system but the power play dried up. And the bottom six were not real bottom 6 players.

Now the team has a legit head coach, a legit coach running the power play, and a real bottom 6. If the Sabres do what they did last season, with the bottom 6 driving the responsible play, and the Sabres return to a respectable level of a power play, they’ll get into the playoffs as a wild card.

 

[DJN21]

Im a lindy fan and think he is the best coach we've had since...him but it perplexes me how so many people are tying their hopes to him dramatically improving this team when he's never won anything. Like yes it will be better but we didn't just get prime Scott bowman lol.

 

[Old Navy Goat]

Im a lindy fan and think he is the best coach we've had since...him but it perplexes me how so many people are tying their hopes to him dramatically improving this team when he's never won anything. Like yes it will be better but we didn't just get prime Scott bowman lol.

Scottie Bowman was a black mark on the Sabres, a disaster that tore down the franchise and led to a decade of mediocrity

 

[DJN21]

Scottie Bowman was a black mark on the Sabres, a disaster that tore down the franchise and led to a decade of mediocrity

Not really the point I was going for but okay lol

Not really the point I was going for but okay lol

Red wings coach and all...

 

[Old Navy Goat]

Not really the point I was going for but okay lol


Red wings coach and all...

That was the difference, the Knox brothers gave him the keys to do as he liked. Illitch kept his ass behind the bench. The proverbial know your limitations

 

[DJN21]

That was the difference, the Knox brothers gave him the keys to do as he liked. Illitch kept his ass behind the bench. The proverbial know your limitations

that relates to your first comment how?

My point was Ruff is a decent coach for the time being but not the Lombardi some people attribute his potential success to...

 

[Old Navy Goat]

that relates to your first comment how?

My point was Ruff is a decent coach for the time being but not the Lombardi some people attribute his potential success to...

Bowman came in as the post-Punch savior and turned a perennial contender into playoff cannon fodder. His coaching had little impact but his GM actions were highly detrimental.

You commented about his in prime ability, I just commented that he was atrocious. My second comment extrapolated upon it

 

[Zman5778]

My point was Ruff is a decent coach for the time being but not the Lombardi some people attribute his potential success to...

I don't see anyone here hailing him as some sort of "best ever" coach. The excitement around Ruff comes from nostalgia plus that he seems to be the right coach at the right time for this roster.

Time will tell about the 2nd half of that second sentence.

 

[joshjull]

Im a lindy fan and think he is the best coach we've had since...him but it perplexes me how so many people are tying their hopes to him dramatically improving this team when he's never won anything. Like yes it will be better but we didn't just get prime Scott bowman lol.

What a bizarre way to frame Ruff’s tenure as a NHL coach. Talk about being miserable just to be miserable.

 

[Moncton man]

He missed already more than one off season, he did everything late, its a pattern.
From keeping the coach, not moving on from Okposo last off season, 3 goalie syndrome, not having enough vets, keeping Krebs in the NHL, logjam in the AHL, not dealing the prospects while he has too many (probably overvalueing them) etc.

I agree that these are problems but they are in the past. Right now Buffalo is tied with last year’s Stanley Cup winning Panthers at 0-0. Not saying they are comparable as teams of course. But Okposo, Granato, 3 goalies etc are last years problems and shouldn’t affect the grade for this off season’s moves

I know I deleted some of your stuff didn’t want to quote the entire thing

Keeping Krebs, signing Joker again, or how you feel about the guys he brought in. I think those are valid. But the past should be the past, even if it still stings. We’re still posting on Murray and Lafontaine in 2024 in some of thes threads

 

[rams]

B

No doubt.

Filled major holes in the bottom 6, found an emergency backup, but still left room for the young guys to grow.

 

[Chainshot]

Adams did pretty well if we look at it holistically.

Two years ago, the Sabres lived and died on run and gun hockey and the power play. Last season they tried a more responsible system but the power play dried up. And the bottom six were not real bottom 6 players.

Now the team has a legit head coach, a legit coach running the power play, and a real bottom 6. If the Sabres do what they did last season, with the bottom 6 driving the responsible play, and the Sabres return to a respectable level of a power play, they’ll get into the playoffs as a wild card.

They do now have the personnel to have a stylistic shift in the bottom six. That misfit toy line that sometimes worked (Mitts with Olofsson in January of 2023 for example) and so often didn't (Skinner with Krebs most recently in a list of fails) is no longer a bad emulation of the top two lines. They are looking more like a group that can shift possession up the ice, end shifts in the offensive zone, play the rest of the ice if these players play to their abilities just last year.

I still rate that as average (which is a C) and still need to see the resolution of the Krebs, Malenstyn and Luukkonen contracts before giving a final grade. Doing well there might bump it up to a C+. Doing poorly could knock it down a letter grade or two.

 

[Der Jaeger]

They do now have the personnel to have a stylistic shift in the bottom six. That misfit toy line that sometimes worked (Mitts with Olofsson in January of 2023 for example) and so often didn't (Skinner with Krebs most recently in a list of fails) is no longer a bad emulation of the top two lines. They are looking more like a group that can shift possession up the ice, end shifts in the offensive zone, play the rest of the ice if these players play to their abilities just last year.

I still rate that as average (which is a C) and still need to see the resolution of the Krebs, Malenstyn and Luukkonen contracts before giving a final grade. Doing well there might bump it up to a C+. Doing poorly could knock it down a letter grade or two.

I think I give it a slightly higher grade, with good RFA contracts included. More like a B- if Adams can sign the three RFAs to good deals in both term and money.

For the first time since maybe early in Murray's tenure, and possibly even into the last throws of Regier's time, I'm seeing an actual forward group formed to play the full game. When you look at the Bylsma teams, they wanted to be the Kings. Eichel, ROR, Reinhart, Okposo, Kane, Moulson, and when healthy, Ennis in the top 6. Foligno-Larsson-Gionta, Carrier, Girgensons, Deslauriers, etc in the bottom 6. I actually thought they were even better the previous year with Foligno-Larsson-Gionta, and Girgensons, Legwand, and Deslauriers in the bottom 6. That's a workable 3rd line and mostly players with a distinct purpose.

That last real Regier-Ruff season in 2011-2012, where they almost made the playoffs, was the same for me. Foligno-Ennis-Stafford, Vanek-Hodgson-Tropp, and Leino-Roy-Pominville. Three scoring lines, similar to what Ruff had since the lockout. The 4th line was a lot of players around Gaustad, but it also had a purpose.

You nailed it when you looked at the bottom 6 as just spare parts. It's either got to be a bottom 6 committed to easing situations for the top 6, or a 3rd line of continued offense and a 4th for defense. Ruff has that now. I think both McLeod's line and Lafferty's line will eat a lot of d-zone starts and be the primary workers on the PK. Just that along will go a long, long way.

 

[K8fool]

A for tp and kev w a y IF the sounds of key now resemble the intamacy of all
Levels of The AUD . To humbly remove all barriers aside from players and coach to reflect sounds of unity of community paying subtil attention to minutiae.

Finally, Suggest ( or full on Jack White) to lower bowl sth to leave the phones at home or hidden to further advance the community AUD experience and have Ruff intelligence regularly disable nhl EDGE on key game days. Gracias.