The Player, the Fans, The Non-Existent Mystery
This is a FanPost written by OlympusMons VII.
Culture Fit – A Nice Surprise
Well there it is, he finally signed. Plenty of chatter has permeated the Sabresphere over the past 18 months about 2019 1st round pick Ryan Johnson, and lots of folks felt like he was a bit of a cold fish. The lack of “urgency” that many fans have tied to his signing appeared to undermine the confidence people had in Ryan’s desire to be here. Well, I am here to quell and squash any of that. I think Johnson is going to surprise a lot of people with his fit in the locker room and with the culture of this team. Now, I’ll be the first to admit it, I absolutely felt a few fleeting pangs of rejection over the course of 2022-23 when it came to this player; I set that aside because what the **** do I know, right? Like Jon Snow, I know nothing. Here’s what I do know: The player has never said or done anything that resembles rejection, avoidance, or distaste with signing here or playing here. The player has demonstrated that he is patient, thoughtful, and prioritizes what is truly best for him as a player. The player committed to the Gophers and put forth an outstanding performance for them, but also valued his time with the program, his mates, and what it meant for his experience. When it came time to sign, the player took a fair and reasonable approach to make sure he was proceeding down a path that he wanted and could commit to. To me, this type of approach and demeanor is EXACTLY hat GMKA is looking for. The fact that he is a defenseman makes it even better, as it speaks to his temperament. He will benefit from Don Granato’s tutelage, comradery with stars like Dahlin, Power, and Samuelsson, and the absolutely immaculate locker room vibes, courtesy of Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, Casey Mittelstadt, and the like.
Roster Fit – A Nice Addition
The final piece from the Ryan O’Reilly trade is locked in. What a freaking trade. At 21 years old, this left shot defenseman will be a welcome addition to the back end. This most likely signals the end of being a starter for Bryson – a player who still has time and promise, but struggled heavily at times throughout the course of the 22-23 season. I can see Johnson being paired with Power, as the combination of Power’s defensive prowess an skating ability could be an unreal match with Johnson’s smooth, slick approach, offensive abilities, and passing. I am unclear on whether or not RyJo can or prefers to play the right side; currently only Joker and Boosh are right shot defenseman, so that does need to be sorted. The depth chart for starters sits as follows (ignoring right versus left side for now): Dahlin – Sammy Power – Johnson Lyubushkin/Stillman – Joker This brings a very valuable and necessary element to the back end. The Sabres do not need their d-corps to be any more offensively productive than it is, but hey – doesn’t hurt to add to that without sacrificing defensive strength. The best part about this is that RyJo can add to all three zones without compromise. He will report to Rochester, and like Savoie, he will get his chance to acclimate and demonstrate. At 21 years old, I do expect him make the Sabres roster this coming season, and something tells me that he will take his current chance in Rochester very seriously.
Big Picture Look
What to address on this roster?
A lot of us have been ruminating on and rushing to build the 2023-24 roster on paper. Can you blame us? This is the first offseason in 12 years where we fully expect our team to ice a legit Playoff competitor. Pretty friggin’ cool if you ask me, so YAH, we will absolutely be pining and postulating on what Chef Kevyn is going to cook up. The end-of-season post-mortem list this year includes the following: – Need help/answers at Goalie: what do we do?! UPL-Levi tandem? Infuse veteran leadership by signing or trading for a 1-2 year “starter” (I personally feel that Buffalo will endeavor to have Devon Levi play 1/3 of the games this year against high-end teams – a proper dose of conditioning, experience, and high-stakes situations is perfect for this kid to develop) – Need to add depth and top-4 talent on the back end, specifically on the right side – Need to create at least 1 roster spot at forward to make way for either/or Kulich or Savoie (Kulich is far more prepared for NHL level hockey than Savoie, and there is not one iota of shade or disrespect to Matthew there) – A less pressing matter, but still high priority, add size and grit to the lineup How will Buffalo navigate these issues?
Roster Fit – A Nice Addition
Kevyn Adams has some nice cap space, but don’t let that fool you – he is earmarking a significant portion of that to extend Dahlin and Power first, then others such as Casey Mittelstadt. I do not expect Kevyn to trade for a high-dollar contract, especially now that he has a 1st round talent who is moving through his development and will accelerate that learning curve exponentially in the next year. Because of this, I no longer see him trading for a defenseman. Considering the depth at forward, it should be no surprise to hear anyone say that he will also not trade for a forward. I do see him trying to move a player like Olofsson. If you think he is trading Mittelstadt, I’m gonna need you to go ahead and delete your account (I’m just kidding, it’s totally possible and you’re not wrong for thinking that). Casey Mittelstadt is an asset, both on the ice and in the room. He will continue to ascend next year. He is not a “breakout” player; he adds and adds as he goes, a truly consistent developer. He was able to do this through 3 seasons of absolutely poor handling from the previous regime. In new world order Buffalo sports team fashion, i expect Kevyn to stay the course and roll his current goalies with UPL and Levi. Is it ballsy or stupid? There appears to be a paper thin line existing between the two, but UPL is not some washed up bust; he is a solid young goaltender who had an extremely productive year last season, and i expect him to come into camp with a chip on his shoulder ready to work. Yes, the Sabres have been linked to Hellebyuck, but its too far off-brand. GMKA is not willing to pay the most likely high asking price for him. He is an outstanding starter, but its just not a fit with Kevyn’s approach and the overall timeline. Last year would have been perfect for this, but obviously that was never going to happen. I can see Kevyn signing a guy like Freddy Andersen to a 1 year deal though. So no expected trades for D-man, and maybe an Olofsson trade for picks, perhaps a 1-year FA goalie pick up…what’s next? Draft the best player available at 13 (Wood, Sale, Axel, Reinbacher, Moore, etc.), or package picks and prospects to move up for Michkov (speaking of deleting your account, whatever GM trades back while Michkov is available should absolutely delete their account and never log-in again). If you have cap, picks, and a strong pipeline, you should be considering this, and get Mike Grier on the phone. SJ is on the edge of cap hell, getting rid of Meier helped, but they may move Karlsson, as this team will not compete next year. It is not risky to move up for this player if can afford it, and Kevyn can afford it. Adding Kulich up front in place of Olofsson is a big improvement, maybe not immediately, but Kulich is a future star imo, and he already looks prepared for the NHL. Ox has been resigned, and Jost has been a great pickup, so there may only be 1 spot available up front. To me, that sounds great if Kulich is ready. Swap RyJo in for Bryson if the positional combos work. Use whatever goalie tandem you want, based on how they look. Andee-UPL-Levi combo could be the way to go here. We have all been patient and GMKA has stayed the course – there is no reason to think he will be deviating from that now, on the brink of a playoff season. It would be a sin to allow compulsion and impatience to win here, so you will see him be risk-averse.
Thanks for reading, friends! Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and I look forward to some good chatter and elite GIF use in the comments. Cheers!