Two in the Box

It’s been a while since I ran a mailbag post. So here’s a smattering of questions from the Twitterverse on the Sabres roster, their outlook as contenders and arcade game preferences.

@jsymon86: Realistically, how do you see us creating 2-3 spots in the forward ranks to bring up a couple of the kids or bring someone in via trade/signings? Olofsson is low hanging fruit, but after that how would you rank candidates to be replaced in terms of likelihood / possibility?

The trade market has already gotten fired up and the draft is less than 20 days away, so I would expect to see something from the Sabres sooner rather than late. You’re right that Olofsson is low hanging fruit. He was replaced on the top powerplay, will be playing on an expiring deal, was a regular healthy scratch in a playoff push and there are at least two prospects with the type of shooting talent to further supplant Olofsson.

I expect to see Zemgus Girgensons move on, and there’s been speculation that Tyson Jost may not be qualified. Assuming Olofsson is moved, that’s three roster spots and only one would require a move. I’m not sure if there’s anyone else in the forward group who could possibly be moved, barring a blockbuster acquisition. But those three spots would leave two openings in the forward ranks, at minimum.

Jordan Greenway will likely step into Girgensons’ spot on the fourth line, with the opportunity for the team to provide a path to the likes of Jiri Kulich or Matthew Savoie in training camp. That still provides an opportunity for at least one outside acquisition either at center or on the wing, depending what route Adams takes. A rough look at the lines with Olofsson, Girgensons and Jost shows where those opportunities may lie.

Skinner-Thompson-Tuch

Peterka-Cozens-Quinn

Mittelstadt-Krebs-[Open]

Greenway-[Open]-Okposo

Samuelsson-Dahlin

Power-Jokiharju

Stillman-Lyubushkin

A slightly more aggressive take on this would see the Sabres adding a top-four talent on defense, bumping Henri Jokihaju to the third pair and creating a rotation with him, Riley Stillman and Ilya Lyubushkin. Additionally, pushing someone like Casey Mittelstadt, JJ Peterka or Jack Quinn into a trade to bring in higher end talent. But that’s very much a pipe dream situation. The more realistic option, to me, is the attrition of Girgensons and Jost combined with trading Olofsson to create the space you’re asking about.

@Pmunny59: What would you like to see done outside of Levi? And what would you hope GMKA does not do with the goalie situation?

I know there is a lot of excitement about Levi’s potential but I really think we collectively need to pump the breaks a bit. He’s only played seven NHL games and it would be foolish to think he is ready to play upwards of 45 games next season. He may not be ready for that in two years. So the focus for Kevyn Adams should be to find a veteran who the Sabres can take on for the next two-to-four seasons. Two years probably sets up the Sabres perfectly for Levi’s ascendance to a starter’s workload. Three or four years hedges against growing pains and would provide a security blanket in the event Levi needs more time to blossom.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many goalies available who fit that timeline. Carter Hart has been mentioned a fair bit and he’d give the Sabres at least two years of duty before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. His no movement clause could make this difficult, but I think Jacob Markstrom would be a curious candidate to pursue. His contract – three years remaining at $6m – fits Buffalo’s ideal timeline and if he’s dialed in, he could be the x-factor to breaking the team’s playoff drought. But his NMC could make this all moot. The other situation that bears watching is Vegas. Should the Golden Knights win the Cup, could Adin Hill supplant Logan Thompson on their depth chart? If so, would Vegas entertain moving Thompson? He’d immediately jump to the top of my list if so.

What I can say is that the UFA crop does not impress me. Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta have both battled injuries in recent years and I worry about how they would fare outside a system that is as goalie-friendly as Carolina’s. Similarly, Tristan Jarry’s injury struggles the last two seasons have to be concerning to any team considering taking him on. There isn’t another goalie hitting free agency this summer who I would have any confidence in should the Sabres sign them.

@Sabers_chatter Did the Sabres overpay for Hart?

I know this was sent somewhat tongue in cheek when the Carter Hart rumors first hit Twitter earlier in the week, but it’s a worthwhile topic to consider. Paying a premium for a goaltender doesn’t tend to pay off in today’s NHL. The Sabres need to be wise with how they spend their assets this summer and getting roped into a goaltender trade that includes a first and a high-end prospect would be counter to a cautious approach. If the report that the Flyers want two firsts for Hart is true, I would hope the Sabres take him out of consideration. Even if the asking price were to drop, I don’t believe Hart is worth one first, let alone two. So, if the Sabres acquire Hart, and there’s any sniff of a first round pick or prospect included, I would say they did indeed overpay for him.

@Kozyshank You’ve been transported back in time to Aladdin’s Castle. Which machine(s) are you spending the most time at?

When it came to arcades, I spent the most time over at Boardwalk Blvd. Shout out to all the McKinley Mall kids. I was never much for the ticket-based games and typically opted for racing games or Area 51. Daytona USA was a mainstay, as was Out Run and Super Hang-On, but I probably dumped the most quarters into the Super Off Road cabinet.

@Gasparlamarc Do they lose Karamanos back to PIT?

Jason Karmanos is going to continue to get attention in GM searches. Same goes for Sam Ventura. At some point the Sabres will either need to reward one (or both) of them with a promotion or accept that they will eventually move on.  

What may protect the Sabres this summer, specifically with respect to the Penguins job, is that Kyle Dubas’ hiring appears to be different when compared to others around the league. While his title is President of Hockey Operations, there have been some suggestions that he will retain many of the duties a GM would typically handle. If that is the case, anyone being hired as GM in Pittsburgh would have a far lesser role than they normally would. I could even see a scenario where Dubas doesn’t hire a true GM and goes forward with a unique front office structure with different lieutenants reporting up to him. Any sort of change in the usual reporting structure could raise some caution with candidates who already hold the same position. The bottom line for me is that it doesn’t seem like Dubas plans to sit by while someone underneath him does the heavy lifting. With that in mind, I don’t expect any of Buffalo’s top front office candidates to be poached.

@Kopyj: Do you think the Sabres and wings can both become legitimate playoff contenders next year? Do you think anyone will trade up in the top 10 of the draft and if so who?

Two questions from Kopy to tackle. First, the easy one. If anyone is jumping up into the top 10 of the draft it will be because Matvei Michkov is sliding or a team badly covets David Reinbacher. Though the former is probably the most likely scenario. Maybe a team or two tries to jump to seven if he makes it that far. Or if the Capitals pass on him at eight, the calls could really heat up.

As for the Sabres and Wings, the easy answer is goaltending. If either team gets competent goaltending all year, they ought to contend for a wild card slot. But anyone could tell you that. Detroit simply didn’t drive play nearly well enough last year and I worry if their blueline is deep enough to bring about the sort of turnaround they need. Like the Sabres, they’ll need to rely on their young talent to turn the corner. Raymond, Seider, Edvinsson, Walman (not so young) and Kasper will all be worth watching this coming season. And if the Wings are to turn it around, that group will need to drive the bus.

Goaltending may be the long and the short of it for the Sabres. League average goaltending would have given them the points necessary to make the playoffs last season. An upgrade in net may be all that’s needed, though I would argue their special teams are substandard for a club with their aspirations. I’ll be very surprised to see Adams run back the same roster and if a goaltender and two new faces at forward are part of the equation for 2023-24, the expectations for the Sabres will be sky high.