I think that Cozens, Quinn, Peterka is the future top line and after this season we will see Cozens cement himself as the Center of the future for buffalo, this means we will probably have to trade away Mittelstadt and if we can I would Thompson as well at some point.
There shouldn't be 2 many cap issues in 25-26 but if there is, I'd buy out Skinners last 2 years. He will be 35 and probably not all that useful but we will see. Instead of 9m a year we cut the cap to 4m for 25, and 6m for 26 with 2m the next 2 years.
LTIR is player that I would trade, If we could upgrade RD I think it would be worth it, also a cheap veteran on the 3rd pair wouldn't be a bad option. I am not sure how we will fit all 3 of Ostlund, Savoie and Kulich in this lineup without running 4 skill lines and not worrying about having a gritty 4th line like most teams would.
Power play will be easy to fill out, might be players with the ability to contribute missing out. Like Ostlund, Kulich and Skinner in my mock lineup. The key to the PK being effective is pretty simple. Hold the puck and don't give up penalties, lol. Thompson and Tuch looked good last year on the PK so they continue to play PK with the Cozens line playing the big minutes at 5v5. Asplund is a Selke level defender and we play whichever other bottom 9 player has the drive to play PK, I like Kulich as the partner but maybe Krebs or Ostlund might step in. I think Cozens and Quinn are decent PKers and if we need a 3rd pair they are the go to, just with them playing #1 Power Play and top line I wouldn't want them over 22 minutes each night and playing PK could push them above that consistently.
Some Projections for 3 years out.
<strong>Peterka - The next german superstar. I expect him to become a high-end playmaker with decent goal scoring potential. I expect around 30 Goals and 50+ assists to put him at a PPG or better.
30-58-88pts
Cozens - Another Superstar, after breaking out in 22-23 with 30 goals and 50 points playing along side Peterka, Cozens scores a point per game and finishes with 40 goals in 2023-24. This season he is looking for more, with Quinn now on the same line as peterka and cozens.
Quinn - The best forwards on the team, will score 40-50 goals 40-50 assists each season.</strong>
I don't think Skinner - Thompson - Tuch is every anything more than what they where last year. I think they might have stretches of brilliance but all together as a line I don't expect any of them to ever eclipse 70 points regularly.
I don't have any projections or predictions yet for any of the bottom 6. I hope Savoie is the longterm 2C and Kulich looks like he could be something special. Krebs is 2 streaky and I think could be someone to get rid of to make room if he doesn't put something together in the next couple of years. Rosen is decent, could be a great option at 3RW, or a ok 2RW. Asplund needs to prove he can score otherwise he is a great option for the 4th line with the ability to play anywhere in the lineup because of his engine and defensive ability.
<strong>Dahlin ends up getting 80 points thanks to the power play. Power is just as good as expected and together Dahlin and Power are a top 3 pairing in the league.</strong>
Samuelsson is a great shutdown guy and it looks like the sabres management think Joki is a decent 2RD, I will have to see how he performs with power this year. Hopefully he can raise his level of play. Ryan Johnson seems like a decent option but he might now sign if he thinks that the LD is going to be 2 hard for him to break into. If that happens Bryson or Pilut can play the 3LD while we wait for Lingren, or we can sign a veteran to mentor Laaksonen.
IF Dahlin wants to move back to LD, I would trade Samuelsson and some forwards for a high end defensive RD. Samuelsson + Ostlund or Mitts would be a decent package for a defensive 1/2RD. Someone similar to Carlo, Pesce or Cernak. Chesley could be a good target for the future, especially if we where to help Washington retool for the playoffs. Something like Samuelsson + Mitts for Chesley end of 22-23 could become a win-win if Dahlin isn't liking RD.
UPL is a solid starting goaltender, Levi is the future. UPL will provide shelter for Levi as he gets acclimated and then we can trade UPL call up Portillo and start Levi full time.
Shooting from the hip here a bit but we will see how this team develops this year!
McDavid, Connor
$250,000)
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