Didn't washington just sign TVR to an extension? Doubt they move him before that even starts

didnt see that, regardless there are a plethora of RHD they can get to put with power. TVR was just the guy I liked but wasn't aware of the extension

I don’t think NSH has space for any more NHL-ready D men. I think I’d rather keep the pick then spend it on a guy that we won’t be able to give proper minutes to

They like Jokiharju there with him, we wont see a move there.

They'll replace bryson

I dont like signing of Tatar. He is nice player, contract is reasonable but with Okposo and Girgensons also coming back, you are just blocking Kulich/Savoie. Sabres should only sign top 6 player and obviously top 4 RHD.

agree but kulich and savoie dont have guaranteed spots, they gotta earn them while kevyn makes the team better. I see them adding a middle 6 forward to put with mitts, kulich and savoie rotate throughout the season. gotta remember they are just rookies, most likely not ready for a full 82 game season

hopefully not, im fine with joki on the third pair but him and power are not good together. And i think kevyn sees that and will grab one of the many defenseman out there

yeah i didnt look through it a ton, its just compensation and nsh stuck out to me but it could be any of the other teams

Kevyn considers him part of the core, I don’t think that’s what he’d say for 3rd pair d-man

Yeah, regardless of the value (which I think is fair), teams don't sign guys to extensions and trade them before they've kicked in. This does make me nostalgic for the old NHL video games though where you could still just sign all the top free agents every summer and then immediately trade them away for picks! It was kind of a bummer when they finally put a stop to that.

Again, Johnson can become a free agent in mid-August so 1) why would Nashville trade for him when they can try to sign him?; and 2) even if they did want to trade for him to get his rights to negotiate with him before then, who says Johnson rejects them and still goes to free agency?



Seattle seems like a decent landing spot because of Botterill being there, who drafted Bryson.



From all of the sounds of what we've heard from Granato and Adams, this is true - but I also think they will look for adding a defensive-minded, steadying partner to allow Power to develop his offensive game further much like how Samuelsson allowed Dahlin to do. Jokiharju isn't really that kind of defenseman - his strength is the breakout pass and, judging how Granato sometimes uses him on the power play, I suspect that the Sabres will try to put Jokiharju next to Lyubushkin on the 3rd pairing in an attempt for him to use his offensive instincts more. The only question is whether or not he can adapt to playing the left side.

This is the correct move but their decision to lump him in to the core makes me think thats not what theyll do.

It is far more likely Jokiharju plays with dahlin (he did quite a bit at the end) and they move Samuelsson "down" to play with power.

Savoie can't rotate. He is WHL, Europe or NHL.

I disagree - before Samuelsson arrived late in '21-'22, Dahlin and Jokiharju were a regular pairing that had mixed results because Dahlin couldn't freewheel offensively as much as he wanted to or was capable of. Once Samuelsson was teamed with him, Dahlin took off - and it was because their styles differed more than the styles of Dahlin and Jokiharju do. Jokiharju is young and the Sabres seem to see him developing into a better 2-way defenseman that has more to give offensively - which is why I don't believe the Sabres see him as the long-term solution for Power's partner. If they want to unlock Power's skillset more like they did with Dahlin and really have a solid 1-2 punch on the top 2 pairs, I think they know they need to find someone more of a steadying safety net for Power like Samuelsson is for Dahlin.

I do agree that, despite the whippings on social media that fans and media cast on Jokiharju, the Sabres still believe in him and want him on their roster moving forward - but that doesn't mean he's cemented into the top 4 defensemen like Dahlin, Power and Samuelsson.

Again, all of this is correct and I am inclined to agree but that's not how the sabres see it. Based on what guys like lance are writing about the off season, its pretty clear that changes to the core are not under consideration. It seems pretty clear they are happy with their top 4. If they weren't, they had more than enough ammo to win the chychrun or even ekholm sweepstakes.

yeah thats what I mean, he will make the roster but only play half the games, watch the others from the pressbox to get a feel for the speed of the game. The sabres do that with a lot of their rookies. And if not he will go back to the W, i never said he would play in the ahl.

NO he won't he's either on te team or not. I want him off the team.

There;s only 23 roster spots. H can't play 41 games. He needs to play a lot. Not 41 games.

Well, Granato and Adams also said they have 100% confidence in UPL and Levi as a tandem next year, joined by Comrie - but, as Lance noted in his 'Maintenance Day' podcast and on Twitter, he doesn't believe them because they didn't even dress UPL as a backup in the final 3 games.

Your reference to them being interested in Chychrun to the final hour - which Adams more or less confirmed after the TDL - further shows that, while they may really like Jokiharju and want to keep him, they also saw a need and were pursuing an upgrade. Had they landed Chychrun, he would have no doubt supplanted Jokiharju in the top 4.

Also, as was reported by several media and implied by Adams without naming specific players, they weren't interested in trading either of their top 2 prospects (Savoie and Kulich) in order to add Chychrun - that refusal only proves that they weren't going to pay a ransom for the upgrade but it doesn't diminish their understanding and desire to look for an upgrade. Just like may be the case this summer, they weren't desperate for an upgrade at any cost at the TDL if it meant robbing Peter to pay Paul.

he was also interested in jason robertson for 5 mins as an rfa. ditto timo meier. Thats nothing more than phone calls, not a pressing need to address any issues. they dont see any need for an upgrade unless its basically handed to them on a silver platter.

The reports after were total bs. The final deal was a pick that involved top 5 protection, and a future first. Thats all adams had to beat. Two unprotected firsts and chychrun is a sabre. Really all that worried about the team not being able to make sure that those arent top 10 picks? Especially after adding chychrun? Theyre not interested in making major additions at any point.

Drafting is the single most efficient way to keep people buying tickets without spending big money. This isnt a team thats going to move top prospects from nhl ready talent. Nor are they the team thats going to manipulate LTIR to get their spending into the top third of the nhl. They dont need to do that to get fans to keep watching the games. Its the one benefit to being as bad as they have been. Pegula can ice a 72 mil dollar team and make money from it.

Again, making a phone call is only proof that hes alive and doing the bear minimum. Doesn't indicate that they are committed to making necessary upgrades. Of course hes going to call, it's free!

So, Kevyn told you otherwise, huh? He admitted in his post-TDL press conference that what Ottawa asked from Buffalo was one of their top 2 prospects not on the roster. He also said that the package Arizona asked for from Ottawa (draft picks based on forecasted draft position) was different from what they asked from Buffalo.

This isnt even insider stuff this was all over twitter after the presser. Ask the reporters if you want. Thats where I got it from lol. ARZ has nothing to gain by asking for two different things.

It's just logic my guy. If the best offer on the table is two firsts, then if someone gives you that plus something else (less protection or another asset), you are 100% going to take the better deal, right?

There's no way the Sabres dont get chychrun if they offer the exact same picks OTT did, plus a guy like kisakov. OTT and BUF were basically in the same spot at the time of the deal and in fact, this was happening when Tuch was hurt, right? so if anything less protection on the Sabres pick would be a more enticing offer. Armstrong has nothing to gain by asking for two different deals, he wants the best return.

I genuinely dont get how we can say that Kevyn Adams' presser at the end of the season was just "GM speak" but everything he said after the TDL was totally accurate and that we were going to get chychrun but ARZ lost their mind? Really?