[yse325]

The Sabres look nearly complete for next season.

They have added more grit and sandpaper - Weber, Niedermayer and McCormick
They lost some vet D presence in Lydman and Tallinder
They added a little O on D, Leopold without sacrificing to much actual D.

They also saved some considerable money. They dumped Tallinder and Lydman (Cost 6 mill) for Leopold and Weber (cost 4 mill). They replace Lalime with Lalime saving 400K and 300K over Enroth. Ennis replacing MacArthur/Torres is also a considerable savings; 1.5 mill saved over Torres and 500K saved over MacArthur. He should also be an upgrade in performance as well.

The only real addition cost so far are the replacement of Ellis and Mair with McCormick and Niedermayer for a payroll increase of about 200K and the raises received by Grier and soon for Kennedy and Kaleta.

Currently that Sabres have 11 forwards for approx 32.5 in cap plus the K's for Kennedy and Kaleta (my guess is 2 mill for both), 7 D for 11.8, and 2 goalies for 6.9 for a total of 51.2. (total cap with Kennedy and Kaleta around 53.2)

Based on the players Natural position the roster looks like this:
Vanek Roy Pominville
Ennis Connolly Stafford
Hecht Gaustad Grier
Kennedy Niedermayer Kaleta
McCormick (C/w)

Leopold Myers
Rivet Butler
Montador Weber
Gragnani(?) Sekera
(I placed the left shots on the left and right shots on the right)

Miller
Lalime


Overall this roster looks a little tougher and more experienced but more like a cheaper status quo then anything else. I don't like the idea of Kennedy being our 4th line LW, but unless one of the LW moves to RW, he is 4th on the LW depth chart. He simply isn't good enough at the draw to be a center, especially with 5 natural centers on the roster (although admittedly all 5 can and have played wing successfully).

Frankly the roster doesn't feel right. I think more moves are coming. I'll be surprised if both Sekera and Butler are on the roster opening day. I think Regier wants Gragnani's skill on the opening day roster as at least the 7th D not 8th. I also think he doesn't want Kennedy as his 4th line wing. Still a 4th line of Niedermayer Kennedy and Kaleta could collect 45-50 goals this season. I also still think Regier wants to upgrade the O besides adding Ennis to the mix.

[weave]

I don't like Kennedy on th 4th line either. IMO he is at a point where he should be getting groomed for a top 6 role. If he doesn't have the intangibles to fill that, then move him on.

And I really dislike that Stafford likely still has a top 6 spot. If Darcy made one more move that resulted in upgrading Stafford's position I could be satisified.

[Awiniganov1271]

There will be one more move. And i dont want to insinuate that it will happen, but things are looking better and better for a Kaberle to Buffalo deal (as unlikely as it is)

We signed a forward, which we really didnt need. Maybe a forward is traded?

Toronto just signed Brett Lebda for 1.5M a year for 2 years. Doubtful hes a 7th D. They have an extra D now. Who goes? Kaberle

Toronto is in need of forwards. We need a D-man. Whether we like them or not we make good trading partners, and everything seems to be falling in line for a deal


Let it be known that im still really doubtful it happens, but i think our situation sets us up for a move like that very well

[kamikaze63_99]

Awiniganov1271, on 08 July 2010 - 08:58 AM, said:

There will be one more move. And i dont want to insinuate that it will happen, but things are looking better and better for a Kaberle to Buffalo deal (as unlikely as it is)

We signed a forward, which we really didnt need. Maybe a forward is traded?

Toronto just signed Brett Lebda for 1.5M a year for 2 years. Doubtful hes a 7th D. They have an extra D now. Who goes? Kaberle

Toronto is in need of forwards. We need a D-man. Whether we like them or not we make good trading partners, and everything seems to be falling in line for a deal


Let it be known that im still really doubtful it happens, but i think our situation sets us up for a move like that very well

You are wise beyond your years, young padawan. I agree with this (or a similar scenario).

[carpandean]

More will happen. The question is - and Darcy doesn't even know the answer yet - what will that "more" be? If you listen to what Darcy is and isn't saying, it's clear that he'd like to make some trades, but he's not 100% confident that he will be able to (since it takes two to tango, he can't be until a deal is done.)

In the worst case, we'll see a Paille-esque player dump for picks. They've got enough players, and then some, to create a functional lineup. It would be a little different than last year, but it would be a stretch to say better at this point. The player going out would probably be a left winger, but could be Stafford if they really liked what they saw with Vanek on the right (Kennedy-Roy-Vanek and Ennis-Roy-Vanek to end the season) or if they feel someone else can shift sides. This would work, but would do little to inspire fan confidence. Darcy would talk about how the trade market never really materialized, but also how he is confident that the tweaks around their core will be good enough to be a contender.

In the best case, we'll see a couple of trades. The most likely, as Awin says, would be a forward for a puck-moving defenseman (e.g., Kaberle). After that, I suspect that they'd like someone better on the right side in the top six. While we and Darcy might like to see a new center in there, I'm not seeing that happen, but never say never.

Darcy just seems to be wavering between "we like what we have and what we've done" in case he can't do something else and "I wouldn't rule out a trade to improve the roster" in case he can. The trade market hasn't really started and, unlike free agency, you never know who will be available. I really get the feeling that he'd like to do more - though, not likely as much as the rest of us would - but just doesn't know what will be possible yet.

[jwallinator10]

Sabres are not done yet looking at that roster and the available cap still it seems very hard for me to think that were not gonna make a trade. I mean we have 14 possible forwards and 8 possible Dmen i think something is going to happen. I like the idea putting Ennis with Stafford because Ennis can spark him hopefully and get Stafford moving so he can start showing up every game.

[TheChimp]

http://www.buffalone...experience.html

This pretty much answered your question for me.

"The objective here wasn't to bring a forward in and move one out [via trade]. The objective here is to improve the hockey club, and we think we've addressed that," Regier said. "We're looking for fit. We have offense. We can generate the offense, and we think we will be able to continue to generate the offense. I think that the experience of knowing how to win, the experience of knowing how to play in critical situations defensively is really what Rob can bring."

[weave]

TheChimp, on 08 July 2010 - 01:36 PM, said:

http://www.buffalone...experience.html

This pretty much answered your question for me.

That sounds an awful lot like, "we've dome what we wanted to do", now doesn't it?

[carpandean]

weave, on 08 July 2010 - 01:51 PM, said:

That sounds an awful lot like, "we've done what we wanted to do", now doesn't it?n

Well, it's a safe statement. If he can't get anything else done, then he hasn't said the roster they're stuck with isn't capable. If he does get something done, then he can say that the statement was about this trade only: the objective of this trade wasn't to bring a forward in or move one out ... Darcy will never say that they are going to do anything, because he knows nothing is guaranteed. At most, he'll say that he will try to do something, and even saying that much is out of character. What he has is always good enough, until he does something, then he'll say they had a need that they had to address.

[Steve]

I was just thinking, remember the end of the year when they told Ennis he wasn't guaranteed a spot? Looks to me like he's pretty much guaranteed a spot if this roster stays the way it is.

[jwallinator10]

Ennis should be guranteed a spot after what he did in the playoffs. He was one of our best players by far.

[Palladius]

yse325, on 08 July 2010 - 07:42 AM, said:

Overall this roster looks a little tougher and more experienced but more like a cheaper status quo then anything else.

Frankly the roster doesn't feel right.

While I agree that it looks like a "cheaper status quo," it also looks much closer to what they had in the 05-06 and 06-07 campaigns. Four lines who can all get the job done, instead of 2.5 lines and some filler like the last couple years felt like.

I think you're correct about the roster not feeling quite right, too. Regardless of what Darcy's saying publicly, there's too much wasted manpower on both offense and defense with the current roster. Now whether that is resolved by a "Paille" trade or a multiple-player roster move is up in the air, but I do believe one or the other will happen before the roster has to be finalized.

[Skibum]

Well, to their credit the FO usually spends right about to the cap (even if it's somewhat misguided), so I'm sure they're working on getting something done. After Kennedy and Kaleta sign, that should leave about $8MM to play with. It's kind of exciting to think about who could be acquired with that kind of money. Throw in the surplus of forwards on the roster and there's potential for a big move to be made. Technically, all it would take would be trading away one of our top six forwards to make room for Kovalchuk or someone of that stature. While that will probably never happen, I don't think a $5-$6 million player like Elias is out of the question. I'm cautiously optimistic.

[WozSabres]

I think outside of Myers our defense looks freakin horrible. Leopold IMO isn't going to add much to the mix unless Myers elevates his game like he did Tallinders. Sometimes those Sophmore slumps happen though. Rivet is possible on the shelf for the first month or two of the season. Sekera and Butler both took turns going through the revolving door to the press box last season and they pretty much have guaranteed spots on the roster right now. I just think the D is way worse right now and that the forwards really haven't been improved whatsoever. Just seems that Darcy is making lateral moves that aren't getting us anywhere.

[sabresfan10]

All I can say is that I HOPE we aren't done with the roster.

[TheChimp]

sabresfan10, on 08 July 2010 - 03:47 PM, said:

All I can say is that I HOPE we aren't done with the roster.

With what Regier says in that interview, I retain the right to abandon such hope. I don't buy the "he won't show his cards" stuff. He spelled it out pretty clearly with the comments on how good our offense is. IS, as in, right now. With Roy and Connolly continuing to pretend they can play top line minutes.

[htsportplaya]

WozSabres, on 08 July 2010 - 05:41 PM, said:

I think outside of Myers our defense looks freakin horrible. Leopold IMO isn't going to add much to the mix unless Myers elevates his game like he did Tallinders. Sometimes those Sophmore slumps happen though. Rivet is possible on the shelf for the first month or two of the season. Sekera and Butler both took turns going through the revolving door to the press box last season and they pretty much have guaranteed spots on the roster right now. I just think the D is way worse right now and that the forwards really haven't been improved whatsoever. Just seems that Darcy is making lateral moves that aren't getting us anywhere.

Butler looked great at the camp today. Extremely aggressive and confident. I know it's easier to do that when you're one of the few guys with NHL experience in a scrimmage, but if he can carry that into the regular season he could bounce back.

[yse325]

I don't know how anyone can say that this D group is horrible.

Myers is a star who should only get better. He'll soon be the best D ever to wear blue and gold.
Rivet when healthy is a solid player at both ends and an excellent leader. He should be healthy this coming season, which he wasn't last year.
Butler had a sophmore slump, but is to smart and talented not to rebound and return to his rookie form, especially with the pressure elsewhere.
Montador was very good last year. In fact he was better then advertised. He can play both ends well, adds some phyiscal play and was one of the best FA bargains last year.
Leopold is a solid two way top 4 defenseman, who brings significantly more O then Tallinder and Lydman.
Weber is a physical beast, who can actually skate. He was one of the top couple D in the AHL last season and has shown that his game can translate to the NHL level. Frankly I think he'll contribute more the Lydman did last year.

I think it's a solid group. Perfect? No. Best in the NHL? No. Solid enough to help the team make the playoffs? Absolutely! Can it be improved? Of Course! How? We need a PP QB and some who cab play top 2 minutes. Myers is our only guy like that and he needs a good partner. I really don't see anyone on the roster that looks like that kind of player, although Weber or Butler might eventually be that guy.

Where I think Regier really blew it this off-season so far was not signing Kubina. The guy signed with TB for 2 years 7.7mill. A bargain. He is 6'4" 250 and logs 22 minutes a night. He can power a PP, and knows the division. Obviously Regier low balled him or didn't even make an offer. Dumb.

[SabreRock]

Anyone who brings up the name Kovalchuk needs to be excused from posting here, even if you bring it up in context of players of his stature. He'll never play for Buffalo. And you know what? GREAT! There is no place on this team that I cheer for for that man's me-first ego. He thinks he's god's gift to hockey. He's never won a playoff series and he's never once thought of his teammates first.

Wow, look at him. He scores goals and points. Kovalchuk is Stafford squared. Maybe even to the fourth power. He's done nothing of significance with his talent. Good riddance to him. I just hope he doesn't sign with LA, because I like LA almost as much as I like the Sabres, and I'd have to find a new team if he signs there.

But seriously, no to Kovalchuk. And no, the Sabres aren't finished. But the player they acquire will be a shock to everyone. Just like the Craig Rivet deal, no one saw that coming. No one. And Niedermayer. No one saw that one coming. They need one more piece. I hope they can get it.

[oh.now.do.you.believe]

If they are to make another move, I hope it is one that improves the D, without taking a blow to our offense. ie someone to play with Myers or a PP QB without giving up Roy or Connolly