Buffalo Sabres and NHL 2023-2024

[Dr. Who]

13 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

The odds of UPL being a reasonable #2 and Marc Andre Fleury coming back from a year off and being good are about the same.

I'm not terribly sanguine about the situation. I guess you could take that coin flip and hope UPL works out (he might.) Hellebuyck is the play if you could stomach the price for a one-year rental. I don't see how we fit an extension in given what Hellebuyck would want and the cap going forward with core players needing to be accomodated. And I wouldn't want to give the kind of term a goalie on the wrong side of thirty is probably seeking.

[Doc]

Forget the older, high-priced goalie.  The Sabres missed the playoffs by just 1 point last season with a deficient defense and UPL, Anderson and Comrie in net.  They've added some decent defensive pieces and Levi replaces Anderson.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Doc

[plenzmd1]

1 hour ago, Dr. Who said:

I'm not terribly sanguine about the situation. I guess you could take that coin flip and hope UPL works out (he might.) Hellebuyck is the play if you could stomach the price for a one-year rental. I don't see how we fit an extension in given what Hellebuyck would want and the cap going forward with core players needing to be accomodated. And I wouldn't want to give the kind of term a goalie on the wrong side of thirty is probably seeking.

One way for Helly to work. Trade them Levi and sign Helly to a 5 year deal. Only way it works. Not saying I would do it mind ylu. 

[BillsFan4]

2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

The odds of UPL being a reasonable #2 and Marc Andre Fleury coming back from a year off and being good are about the same.

When did fleury take a year off? He played 46 regular season games for the wild last year, and 2 playoff games.

 

I don’t think the wild trade him though. He said this is likely his last year before retirement. I just don’t see the wild trading him to a new team. The only way I see him being traded is if he asked for a trade (and he won’t).

 

[BillsFan4]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

Forget the older, high-priced goalie.  The Sabres missed the playoffs by just 1 point last season with a deficient defense and UPL, Anderson and Comrie in net.  They've added some decent defensive pieces and Levi replaces Anderson.

The problem is Anderson was their only decent goalie last year (.908%). UPL (.892%)and Comrie (.886%) put up terrible numbers.

 

Levi looked decent to end the year (.905%) but it’s a big gamble betting that he’s ready to carry a big load, and neither UPL nor Comrie can be relied on to help carry the load. They both sucked. They needed to replace UPL/Comrie with someone who can start. But unless they make a trade it’s not happening.

 

Had they had even league average goaltending last year (outside of Anderson’s starts) they easily make the playoffs, even with their poor defense.

 

[Doc]

48 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

The problem is Anderson was their only decent goalie last year (.908%). UPL (.892%)and Comrie (.886%) put up terrible numbers.

 

Levi looked decent to end the year (.905%) but it’s a big gamble betting that he’s ready to carry a big load, and neither UPL nor Comrie can be relied on to help carry the load. They both sucked. They needed to replace UPL/Comrie with someone who can start. But unless they make a trade it’s not happening.

 

Had they had even league average goaltending last year (outside of Anderson’s starts) they easily make the playoffs, even with their poor defense.

 

Anderson played in 26 games.  You figure Levi is good for around twice that and the other 2 split the remainder.  That and better defense should be enough to get them into the playoffs.

[BillsFan4]

3 hours ago, Doc said:

 

Anderson played in 26 games.  You figure Levi is good for around twice that and the other 2 split the remainder.  That and better defense should be enough to get them into the playoffs.

that’s the hope right? lol

 

I think it’s a gamble is all. What if Levi isn’t ready? What if he struggles? I just don’t like the idea of relying on an unproven rookie goalie to be the starter before he’s actually shown he can do it.

 

I want(ed) a backup plan in case he’s not ready to start and I don’t think UPL or Comrie are good enough to be it. Ideally they would add someone who can split the starts with Levi and carry the load if he’s not ready. But I’m not sure if there’s even anyone available that would fit that mold.

 

Hopefully if they play better team defense it will improve the play of the goaltenders too.

[Doc]

1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

that’s the hope right? lol

 

I think it’s a gamble is all. What if Levi isn’t ready? What if he struggles? I just don’t like the idea of relying on an unproven rookie goalie to be the starter before he’s actually shown he can do it.

 

I want(ed) a backup plan in case he’s not ready to start and I don’t think UPL or Comrie are good enough to be it. Ideally they would add someone who can split the starts with Levi and carry the load if he’s not ready. But I’m not sure if there’s even anyone available that would fit that mold.

 

Hopefully if they play better team defense it will improve the play of the goaltenders too.

 

Better defense will help everyone. 

[Nextmanup]

26 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Better defense will help everyone. 

This team plays among the worst TEAM defense in the league, and it did not improve even 5% over the course of the entire season.  I would have replaced the entire assistant coaching staff for that reason, especially when you consider our  PK was ATROCIOUS and there is no reason for that, ever, to be the case.  That's all on the assistants.

 

Let's hope this is emphasized in training camp.

 

I just don't think Levi (who I love) is ready to be the man in net.  6K is a bust, or close to it, and the other 2 guys should not be on the team next year.

 

We need a bridge goalie better than what we have now but who won't get in the way, long term, of Levi.

 

Or we can just go out and get Hellebuyck (if these rumors are true) and move on from Levi.  I'm OK with that too.

 

This team with better team defense and Helle. in net may well even get out of the first round next year.

 

Still need to acquire a defensive top-4 D-man to play with Power, too.  That's priority #1 for me, along with addressing the goalie situation.

 

 

 

 

[Doc]

3 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

This team plays among the worst TEAM defense in the league, and it did not improve even 5% over the course of the entire season.  I would have replaced the entire assistant coaching staff for that reason, especially when you consider our  PK was ATROCIOUS and there is no reason for that, ever, to be the case.  That's all on the assistants.

 

Let's hope this is emphasized in training camp.

 

I just don't think Levi (who I love) is ready to be the man in net.  6K is a bust, or close to it, and the other 2 guys should not be on the team next year.

 

We need a bridge goalie better than what we have now but who won't get in the way, long term, of Levi.

 

Or we can just go out and get Hellebuyck (if these rumors are true) and move on from Levi.  I'm OK with that too.

 

This team with better team defense and Helle. in net may well even get out of the first round next year.

 

Still need to acquire a defensive top-4 D-man to play with Power, too.  That's priority #1 for me, along with addressing the goalie situation.

 

Huh?

[BillsFan4]

I’m hoping that having a respected, cup winning veteran like Erik Johnson in the locker room will help get the young guys to buy in to team defense more.

 

EJ went through it with the Avs from a young up and coming team to cup winner.

 

Team defense is definitely an area that needs to improve for Buffalo to take the next step.

[BillsFan4]

14 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

This team plays among the worst TEAM defense in the league, and it did not improve even 5% over the course of the entire season.  I would have replaced the entire assistant coaching staff for that reason, especially when you consider our  PK was ATROCIOUS and there is no reason for that, ever, to be the case.  That's all on the assistants.

 

Let's hope this is emphasized in training camp.

 

I just don't think Levi (who I love) is ready to be the man in net.  6K is a bust, or close to it, and the other 2 guys should not be on the team next year.

 

We need a bridge goalie better than what we have now but who won't get in the way, long term, of Levi.

 

Or we can just go out and get Hellebuyck (if these rumors are true) and move on from Levi.  I'm OK with that too.

 

This team with better team defense and Helle. in net may well even get out of the first round next year.

 

Still need to acquire a defensive top-4 D-man to play with Power, too.  That's priority #1 for me, along with addressing the goalie situation.

 

I think Clifton will get a chance to be Power’s d partner. He’s still young enough that he could be a longer term partner too. I’m sure Johnson will get a chance to play with Power too but even if he’s a good fit for Power I think as the season goes on they’ll need to cut back EJ’s minutes. Plus it would obviously only be a short term solution anyway. I’m hopeful that maybe Clifton/Power will be a good fit. Clifton wasn’t the established top 4 defenseman I wanted but I do really like the signing and I’m hopeful he will be a good match for Power.
 

I agree on the assistant coaches. I at least wanted Marty Wilford replaced. He runs the defense and I believe the PK as well (or at least he did in Anaheim before coming to Buffalo). It seemed like an area to make improvements seeing as both areas were big weaknesses. 

It seems clear the assistants are getting at least one more season though. Maybe Granato felt it was more on the players than the coach? Hopefully No more excuses after this season…

[Dr. Who]

18 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

I think Clifton will get a chance to be Power’s d partner. He’s still young enough that he could be a longer term partner too. I’m sure Johnson will get a chance to play with Power too but even if he’s a good fit for Power I think as the season goes on they’ll need to cut back EJ’s minutes. Plus it would obviously only be a short term solution anyway. I’m hopeful that maybe Clifton/Power will be a good fit. Clifton wasn’t the established top 4 defenseman I wanted but I do really like the signing and I’m hopeful he will be a good match for Power.
 

I agree on the assistant coaches. I at least wanted Marty Wilford replaced. He runs the defense and I believe the PK as well (or at least he did in Anaheim before coming to Buffalo). It seemed like an area to make improvements seeing as both areas were big weaknesses. 

It seems clear the assistants are getting at least one more season though. Maybe Granato felt it was more on the players than the coach? Hopefully No more excuses after this season…

I think Clifton is a 4-5 tweener, though unless there are more moves coming, it seems evident they've penciled him in as Power's partner. Johnson will probably have some situational minutes with Power, but overall they can't be counting on huge minutes from him. 

[BillsPride12]

I agree Buffalo's overall team Defense is sorely lacking at the moment...and this includes both the Defense corps themselves and the Defensive game of our forwards but this is just an assumption on my part...I wonder if that is something up to this point Granato just hasn't emphasized yet.  It's clear to me he first and foremost wanted to get an up-tempo style of play going which is letting our young talent maximize their Offensive skills.  I wonder if this offseason he is going to put a stronger emphasis on adding a more Defensive structure to our style of play(while still keeping an aggressive Offensive style).  So far I trust Donny knows what he's doing.

[Pete]

34 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

I agree Buffalo's overall team Defense is sorely lacking at the moment...and this includes both the Defense corps themselves and the Defensive game of our forwards but this is just an assumption on my part...I wonder if that is something up to this point Granato just hasn't emphasized yet.  It's clear to me he first and foremost wanted to get an up-tempo style of play going which is letting our young talent maximize their Offensive skills.  I wonder if this offseason he is going to put a stronger emphasis on adding a more Defensive structure to our style of play(while still keeping an aggressive Offensive style).  So far I trust Donny knows what he's doing.

We have 9 defensemen, and we have a very nice top 5 at the very least.  D is most definitely on the up and up 

[Dr. Who]

8 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

One way for Helly to work. Trade them Levi and sign Helly to a 5 year deal. Only way it works. Not saying I would do it mind ylu. 

Any plan that starts with trading Levi is a non-starter. I understand what you mean, though.

[BillsFan4]

It’s being reported that John Gibson demanded a trade and said he’s not playing another game for Anaheim.

[Dr. Who]

4 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

It’s being reported that John Gibson demanded a trade and said he’s not playing another game for Anaheim.

Aren't there reports out there that Hellebuyck also refuses to suit up for the Jets again? Two disgruntled goalies and not many landing spots. How many teams have both need and cap space? Somehow KA needs to turn that to his advantage.

[QCity]

7 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

that’s the hope right? lol

 

I think it’s a gamble is all. What if Levi isn’t ready? What if he struggles? I just don’t like the idea of relying on an unproven rookie goalie to be the starter before he’s actually shown he can do it.

 

 

This is where I'm at. I think a lot of fans are tired of going into season after season of wishful thinking and hope at the most important position on the ice. Unfortunately the time window to make a move that would fit our plans appears to have closed. Gibson has too much term and money for what he's worth and Hellebuyck is a pipe-dream.

 

And it's not the defense. We watched a 41-year old goalie on his last legs put up decent numbers behind the same defense that UPL and Comrie floundered with. Nobody was complaining about the defense during those late season Levi starts.

 

Speaking of which, a lot of people have Levi already penciled in for 50-55 starts with his stats being a direct projection of his 7-game sample size. If that happens, well sure everything is all good -- but that's a lot to ask from a rookie. If he falters or god-forbid gets hurt, this season will wind up ranking very high on the Sabres Disappointment List.

[BillsFan4]

12 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

Aren't there reports out there that Hellebuyck also refuses to suit up for the Jets again? Two disgruntled goalies and not many landing spots. How many teams have both need and cap space? Somehow KA needs to turn that to his advantage.

The reports are that Hellebuyck told the Jets that he won’t sign an extension with them.

 

https://illegalcurve.com/the-athletic-report-connor-hellebuycks-next-contract-likely-not-with-the-winnipeg-jets/

 

he only has 1 year left on his deal so everyone is just assuming the jets will trade him instead of losing him for nothing in a year.