Simple Jack

Greenway is going to be in the top 6.

I hope not, that Line doesn't score outside of Cozens. We probably don't make the Playoffs.

They didn’t trade a 2nd for him to be a bottom 6 player or healthy scratch.

We'll see. Greenway may see time on any of the 4 lines during the season - it's pretty clear in everything Granato has said that he intends to give ample opportunities in different situations / combinations to try and "unlock" that potential he thinks Greenway has. Considering the up and down performances Greenway gave, it seems likely that he may be inconsistent and force Granato to shift him up and down the lines and ice time allotments.

In the same vein, they didn't push hard to insist on Krebs as the key piece of the Eichel trade just to keep him perpetually on the 4th line. Last season's time there was clearly with the intent of developing Krebs' defensive awareness and consistency of effort - but his potential as an offensive catalyst is only going to be reached with at least consistent time in the top 9, likely centering the 3rd line rather than Jost.

We'll see whether or not Olofsson sticks around beyond training camp - he may likely be the insurance policy / fallback option and stay only if all of the prospects (Kulich, Savoie, Rousek or another Amerk) show they're not ready for full-time duty in Quinn's spot. Odds are that at least one of them have a strong camp and make a case for deserving an NHL spot, which would then make Olofsson expendable.

Although the pairings could vary in any combination (including 2 LHD or 2 RHD as partners), I think the top 6 defensemen you have listed in the top 3 pairings are the ones they'll go with. I expect they'll keep 8 defensemen with Stillman and Lyubushkin as the extras.

Bryson is clearly a spare part - whether he has any trade value whatsoever or would be claimed on waivers if demoted is anyone's guess. I don't think it's an automatic that, if he clears waivers, the Sabres would want him to take a roster spot in Rochester at the expense of either Johnson or Novikov not getting top 4 ice time. His cap hit is small enough that a buyout isn't much worse other than its multi-year impact than the buried amount they'd pay.

In the last 21GP (when Greenway started playing with BUF), at 5v5, TOI and G A Pts went like this:

Skinner 291 TOI 6G 7A 13 Pts
Mitts 285 4 10 14
Ox 273 4 2 6
Coz 258 6 5 11
Krebs 258 1 5 6
Zemgus 246 2 1 3
Quinn 244 2 5 7
Tuch 238 5 6 11
Tage 234 3 5 8
JJP 226 3 7 10
Greenway 216 4 0 4
Jost 181 1 3 4
Olofsson 150 3 1 4

People get wayyyyy too carried away with the numbering of lines and "top-6" and line combos.

And for more clarity, on a per game basis:

Tuch 14:01
Skinner 13:52
Tage 13:49

Mitts 13:35
Ox 13:00
Greenway 12:44

Cozens 12:19
Krebs 12:18
JJP 11:54

Zemgus 11:43
Quinn 11:39
Jost 11:19

Olofsson 10:44

I just find it hilarious when people call Cozens a 2C and Krebs a 4C, the #2 and the #4 have no real significance...they play the same amount of 5v5 minutes

And then people talk about losing Quinn as some huge loss...it is not.

Player GF/60 GA/60 GF% (last 21 GP):

Tuch 4.28 3.02 58.62
Skinner 3.91 3.29 54.29
Mitts 3.78 3.36 52.94

Krebs 2.32 2.32 50.00
Greenway 3.05 3.60 45.83
Olofsson 3.19 4.39 42.11

Jost 2.32 3.31 41.18
Tage 2.30 3.58 39.13
Cozens 2.78 4.40 38.71

Zemgus 1.46 2.44 37.50
Ox 1.76 3.08 36.36
JJP 3.18 5.57 36.36
Quinn 1.96 5.15 27.59

I dont think GF and GA are the best measures here given that its largely a team statistic and also heavily influenced by goaltending. I dont think his loss is irreplaceable (assuming they dont shut him down the full year) but its not insignificant. He was a play driver and his RAPM chart reflects that. Pretty solid numbers in his own end too for a rookie.

I guess mostly he was everyones big breakout candidate so its kind of a bummer to see him get shelved at this stage of his career.

It's def a loss, as a top 6 F, and the expectations on his likely improved 2nd year. Others will have to pick up the slack or stay status quo. I mean, is Tage going to have 44 g again? What if he has 38, still a good year, but... A lot of guys, although young, had career years. That's where I think Kulich helps. Also. I think just getting pts in games where they're not totally on, loser pts, like the none we got during the 8 game losing streak. I think they can with better D and Goaltending, win some more 3-2 games instead of 5-3 games.

When you are the worst on the team, it says something...

Don't get me wrong, I am as disappointed in his injury as anyone and was expecting a 25-30 goal breakout campaign. Quinn has injury issues, until he doesn't. He keeps missing time. Dude has tons of talent and I like his 2-way play...especially as a rookie.

But let's not pretend the Sabres are worse. Quinn scored 14 goals and we finished 1 point out of the playoffs. He was playing losing hockey down the stretch. 2-5 doesn't win you any games. It just doesn't.

The team, and its depth, is better today than it was at any point last season.

Why people call Quinn top-6 is beyond me. He played the 11th most minutes, 5v5.

I think this is just based on talent/skill set rather than TOI. Like "hey hes one of our top six fwds" as in scorers or playmakers whereas you might call okposo/girgensons a bottom six guy in spite of his ice time not reflecting that because those guys are more defensive, checking etc.

Well running 8 d-man should help with that as it was a sore spot during the losing streak lol. Ideally youd like your goalie to bail you out more often (or ever).

You need both offense and defense, eh? So what exactly is Quinn a top-6 guy in? Not points nor ice time nor defense....so what is he top-6 in?

And don't get me wrong, his talent level is 1st line winger...when he gets there...This past season he scored 4 more goals than Zemgus and 3 more than Ox. Not a big deal.

If Ox is logging the 3rd-5th most minutes....he is top-6. There is just no other way to put it.

Quinn was 7th in goals, 6th in assists, and 7th in points. I guess you could call him top 6 or 7 (more appropiate) that way. But to me it's about ice time. If your number is getting called 11th...you are the 11th F...

@CB37
@worldwidesensei
@Stadel

Let's agree to disagree.
Will Quinn's be missed this season? Of course he will!
Can most of his production be compensated by other players? Most likely as he only scored 3 more goals than Okposo and 4 more than Girgensons!
Was he a primary candidate to have breakout season? Absolutely as his 14 g and 37 pts was nearly identical to Cozen's first full year 13 g and 38 pts.
TBH IMO Peterka, Power, Jokiharju and Levi will also significantly up grade their game.
Injuries greatly impacted Dahlin, Jokiharju and Thompson and we have not seen the best of them either.
Currently most sport pundits put them as a bubble playoff team.
They will reach 100 pts and easily make the playoffs.

I’m not sure, I hope you’re right? I could easily see a step back, and the East is loaded.

I wish we would’ve added a veteran goalie like Halak, but I guess they really want to see what they really have in UPL?

Are you talking about a step back from goaltending?

Andy was 11-11-2

I'm holding my hope on Levi. I think he is gonna be a good goalie, but will it be this year? He's gonna need time I think....but still will he be worse than 11-11-2? Cuz that is the goalie he is replacing.

So who is taking a step back? sure the sophomore slump is real and can happen....but BUF is loaded with players on the rise...

UPL went 17-11-4....what is your problem with him?

That is .594 win %.Way better than Halak.... and did it as a rookie...

I meant as a whole. Already Quinn is down, say what you want in net, but if there's struggles, what vet do they lean on?