Kind of weird situation, not worth a lot, but worth a lot to Vegas, they like to collect these guys, physical but athletic enough to stay in lineup. Cheap too, so they can give the top of the lineup guys a bigger cut of cap.

Korczak may be made avaiable but I don't think Kolesar will. I think Vegas is significantly more likely to trade Roy

You may be right about that, but I don’t know if he fits Buffalo’s needs as well as others think. Kolesar specifically is exactly the kind of player I think Buffalo needs more. While Vegas is not likely to miss the playoffs next season unless they have to blow up the roster due to the salary cap, they probably don’t have much reason to want to trade him.

Vegas probably has a 3 year run including this year, then I could see some wild moves to try to retool ultra fast, ex junior coach/gm/owner running the team, so I bet he will have some interesting selling coming in a couple seasons to get young again.

He may not but he would probably be a better fit for 3C than Krebs. Roy at 3M is kind of overkill for Vegas' 4th line center. Also wasn't the idea of bringing in Greenway to be that player you are describing for Kolesar?

Yes, but he’s also pretty much the only guy who does. Watching this team, you know very quickly that they need more. Clifton came in and added a lot, but there’s really no one in the forward group that intimidates anyone. The team is too small upfront, and they get pushed around way too easily. Even when they try, they have a hard time pushing back.

There are plenty of options like that out there. I just doubt Vegas trades Kolesar

I understand they probably don’t want to move him. But they may need to add a few young, cheap contracts to fill out the roster once they are cap compliant. Buffalo has a few prospects that will never make this team due to the log jam that can still be contributing players somewhere else.

Their roster is already mostly filled. Assuming Brisson makes their starting roster they currently have 10 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies under contract for next year. Dorofeyev and Korczak are both RFA's so that would put them at 21 players with cap space still to sign a UFA

Think the move here is probably for Nic Roy like others have mentioned. Reasonable contract, good underlying numbers, lacks trade protection.

I see them trading hague more than Roy.

No chance they trade Hague, they'll let Martinez walk

Good call, I've been pushing for stuff like this, and I am against the goon idea. Goons that can't play are a liability and frankly they lack credibility as a deterrent.

I think the funniest part of this is the idea that replacement level Kolesar isn't a goon and can "play" hockey. You know those 18 points a year......

For reference, a goon probably only scores 18-30 points in their career these days. Realistically, if your fourth line guy can put up around 20 points he’s contributing.

who are you kidding, 20 points is replacement level player level play. You can find that level of performance out of many people sitting in the AHL.
Goons score well more than 18-30 points in their career.
Hell even a pure fighter (who oddly can't fight) like Rempe is on an 11 point pace this year.

Hell having a hand full of points more than a 34 year old Matt Martin doesn't mean they're not little more than a goon.

Ok, well the Sabres 4th line this year largely consisted of Robinson, Girgensons, and Jost (once Okposo was gone). They’ve combined for 27 points this season, so if you’re telling me one guy can account for most of that that’s a significant upgrade. At best Girgensons is a veteran grinder, and the other 2 are AHL plugs, none of them would be considered enforcers.

and non of this has anything to do with what the Sabers have on their 4th line.
It doesn't change the fact that the guy is a goon who can't really play hockey. Period.
Which is why he gets the lowest minutes of any VGK forward and has the lowest PPG of any VGK forward.
Hell he's so bad they won't even let him PK regularly. Which is the type of thing you want from your 4th liners.

Honestly, I was more interested in the 250+ hits he’s been credited with this season, which is nearly double what any Sabres forward has this season. But everything you’ve said tells me he’s expendable to them, and if he’s so not useful, why in the hell shouldn’t they send him to us? He would still be an upgrade compared to what we’re currently using there.

you realize he only has 250+ hits because he spends the whole game pinned in his end. His Corsi is like a 45%
He gets all his starts in the d-zone and he's blowing goals -10 in 5v5 play, while he's there.
Not exactly winning teams games.

As for why not send him out, maybe VGK likes having a goon? I don't know.
But the whole point of this conversation.... is that he's not really a hockey player and only a goon.

The point for you is you think he is a goon. To me, he’s not. But what he definitely is is better than Robinson and Jost put together, and he cost less than either one of them. He’s not a perfect player, I’m sure he has his issues. But an upgrade is still an upgrade. Vegas obviously sees something in him too or he wouldn’t be there. I’ll bet you wouldn’t say he’s not a hockey player to his face.

umm i bet I would tell him he's a goon not a hockey player to his face any day.

I also bet he'd not take that any where near as seriously as you do, because he knows that is true too.

If what you want is someone to run around hitting people in the 8-10 minutes of ice time you give them, with no ability to contribute anything else like PK or whatever other than fighting, there are plenty of players capable of doing that looking for a chance.
Just look at NYR they added in Rempe and if one day he learns how to fight they will have a proper goon at 6'7 240+ LBS.

It's not hard, just admit what it is you are looking for and stop making excuses for it.

Obviously they want people who can do more.
As much as you rag on Zemgus Girgensons atleast his corsi is 50% and he's not bleeding goals 5v5.

Jost on the other hand is just a contract waiting to end. But they should have known that before they resigned him, but they needed a center.

As for Robinson, he was a free player. What did you expect. You needed a body you got one.
did you really think you were getting an allstar when BUF got him for a conditional 7th that he can't even fullfill.
Come on.

They could have played Rosen but they rather let him develop.

To be fair, I like Girgensons more than most people here, but of the three I mentioned, he’s the only one I would hang onto for another year. I am more interested in adding someone who can actually work alongside him. A change of scenery could also make a difference for a player like Kolesar. He doesn’t have to be a defensive dynamo, but physicality can make a difference, especially when you’re one of the only ones bringing it. If I had my way, I would also have them bringing in Clutterbuck this off-season and make those three a line. As much as I liked Will Carrier when he was here, he’s lost some of that speed he had when he was younger, and he’s probably not quite the player and linemate Cal Clutterbuck still is. That trio might not score very many goals, but they’re not exactly expected to. My aim is to form a line that can shift the momentum in a game with physicality.