Roster Thread XI -- The End is Here -- Commence the offseason!

[Chainshot]

Mark Jankowski could move to Avangard

Surprising.

FORMER FIRST-ROUND PICK MARK JANKOWSKI REPORTEDLY LEAVING NHL - NewsBreak

27-year-old Canadian forward Mark Jankowski is reportedly getting set to play overseas in 2022-23. Sport-express.ru is reporting that the former 21st overall pick of the Calgary...

www.newsbreak.com

I suspect it has something to do with GMKA meeting with the Pegulas, evaluating the past season, and setting a budget. They probably have fixed yacht visitation dates that aren't conducive to operating an NHL team. Anyone remember Rigas time?

I remember Rigas time. It cost them Peca and then the domino that fell next was Hasek.

 

[Buffaloed]

Surprising.

FORMER FIRST-ROUND PICK MARK JANKOWSKI REPORTEDLY LEAVING NHL - NewsBreak

27-year-old Canadian forward Mark Jankowski is reportedly getting set to play overseas in 2022-23. Sport-express.ru is reporting that the former 21st overall pick of the Calgary...

www.newsbreak.com

I remember Rigas time. It cost them Peca and then the domino that fell next was Hasek.

I think Adams knows what he wants to do but his hands are tied until he has an open and honest conversation with Terry and Kim.

 

[Djp]

I think Adams knows what he wants to do but his hands are tied until he has an open and honest conversation with Terry and Kim.

Aren’t they in Paris currently?

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Interesting Botts note here

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I wish Pekar worked out. We need that chippy shit disturber that drives people nuts.

Think a Skinner, but way less goal scoring ability and way more ability to stop punches with his face.

 

[joshjull]

The only spot I really see them addressing in any meaningful way that isn’t goalie (which I pray they address in a meaningful way but fear they will not) is partner for Power. Could be a trade. I feel like rumors thats what interested them at the deadline were true enough and they probably worked on some stuff.

They have to feel like they’re a good rhd away from being able to Nashville this top 4 for years to come.

they’re hard to get right now but we have all the cap and a ton of assets. So if not now…when?

They already have a fanastic young top 4 they can lean on for years to come.

Sammy/Dahlin
Power/Joker

And another youngster who can play both sides in Bryson.


Things looked a lot different at the end of the season than they did at the deadline. RHD is hardly a need at this point. Adams/Granto’s comments at the end of the season indicate their not exactly worried about handiness either. Just add some inexpensive vets to round out the group.

 

[joshjull]

Surprising.

FORMER FIRST-ROUND PICK MARK JANKOWSKI REPORTEDLY LEAVING NHL - NewsBreak

27-year-old Canadian forward Mark Jankowski is reportedly getting set to play overseas in 2022-23. Sport-express.ru is reporting that the former 21st overall pick of the Calgary...

www.newsbreak.com

Not that surprising if true.

I don‘t see where he fits on the NHL roster. He’s not a faceoff specialist/defensive center and is going to be beat out for other spots by young talent coming up. His most likely role next year would have been depth in the AHL. Which would be nice to have him here for but that means mostly earning an AHL salary for him.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Not that surprising.

I don‘t see where he fits on the NHL roster. He’s not a faceoff specialist/defensive center and is going to be beat out for other spots by young talent coming up. His most likely role next year would have been depth in the AHL. Which would be nice to have him here for but that means mostly earning an AHL salary for him.

A candidate for the old IHL. I wish that league was still around.

 

[Chainshot]

Not that surprising if true.

I don‘t see where he fits on the NHL roster. He’s not a faceoff specialist/defensive center and is going to be beat out for other spots by young talent coming up. His most likely role next year would have been depth in the AHL. Which would be nice to have him here for but that means mostly earning an AHL salary for him.

I'm surprised that he doesn't think he can get a gig in the NHL doing that.

 

[Jacob582]

And another youngster w Adams/Granto’s comments at the end of the season indicate their not exactly worried about handiness either. Just add some inexpensive vets to round out the group.

I agree. Dahlin, Power and Bryson show above average to elite handiness. Even Jokiharju is pretty decent in that area.

 

[Chainshot]

I wish Pekar worked out. We need that chippy shit disturber that drives people nuts.

Think a Skinner, but way less goal scoring ability and way more ability to stop punches with his face.

He's been a disappointment and then hurt his shoulder. I don't think he's ever going to amount to much beyond a momentary fan favorite and of course the first person Dahlin ever ran over while a Sabre.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

He's been a disappointment and then hurt his shoulder. I don't think he's ever going to amount to much beyond a momentary fan favorite and of course the first person Dahlin ever ran over while a Sabre.

I wish there was a GIF of that

 

[Chainshot]

For those who think they know all on Twitter about the Sabres -

 

[Ace]

They already have a fanastic young top 4 they can lean on for years to come.

Sammy/Dahlin
Power/Joker

And another youngster who can play both sides in Bryson.


Things looked a lot different at the end of the season than they did at the deadline. RHD is hardly a need at this point. Adams/Granto’s comments at the end of the season indicate their not exactly worried about handiness either. Just add some inexpensive vets to round out the group.

I’m not as high on Jokiharju. He had some nice games with Power. I want a better person with Power and he wasnt that great with anyone else.

 

[joshjull]

I’m not as high on Jokiharju. He had some nice games with Power. I want a better person with Power and he wasnt that great with anyone else.

Fair enough.

He was playing very well in the last month or so with Dahlin before sliding down with Power.


Its worth remembering this entire roster needed to de-Krugerize. It took Dahlin about 3- 4 months to finally flip a switch and become the stud we saw in the back half of the year. Before that he was still having a lot ups and down. Joker took about the same amount of time but he got a much later start due to injury. If I recall correctly he missed about 40% of the season.

 

[TehDoak]

Just to take a timeout from any discussion going on- a couple exciting things for us:
-Cap space
-Assets
-Young promising core

Adams has to be licking his lips. This is every GMs dream. What does he do with it I guess we'll find out. Fun time for us fans.

What good is all the cap space in the world if you aren't allowed to spend it?

I suspect it has something to do with GMKA meeting with the Pegulas, evaluating the past season, and setting a budget. They probably have fixed yacht visitation dates that aren't conducive to operating an NHL team. Anyone remember Rigas time?

I think Adams knows what he wants to do but his hands are tied until he has an open and honest conversation with Terry and Kim.

I would hope the front office brain trust is well into advanced planning stages at this point. Let's hope my rantings about an inexperienced yes man GM and miserly owners are far overblown and this is a functional, well funded front office this summer.

They already have a fanastic young top 4 they can lean on for years to come.

Sammy/Dahlin
Power/Joker

And another youngster who can play both sides in Bryson.


Things looked a lot different at the end of the season than they did at the deadline. RHD is hardly a need at this point. Adams/Granto’s comments at the end of the season indicate their not exactly worried about handiness either. Just add some inexpensive vets to round out the group.

I'm not sure Joker is a top 4 at this point, though it's obviously far too early to write off a 22 year old d-man. I'd love to get a RHD to round out the top 4 and a steady vet LHD to play with Joker on the bottom pair. I also think its a bit early to be crowning Samuelsson top pair status. We have the cap space and assets, we should invest in find good support for the kids, not saddling them with more castoffs.

 

[joshjull]

Cozens is a winger. I’ve been saying that for a long time.

Value is based not on position solely. If Cozens is a good center but a better winger, you play him at wing.

His best hockey to date has been the WJCs and the Worlds. He’s been a wi get both times.

Those tournaments don't mean anything in relation to what position someone should play in the NHL. Especially for players on Team Canada who usually have an embarrassment of riches at every position. That allows them to focus on chemistry and role/usage when putting lines together because they will always have more than enough center options.

I don’t see how thats his best hcokey either. Or more accurately how you could even compare those tournaments to NHL hockey. The sample size is ridiculously small . But just as important, these tournaments are full of teams completely overmatched by Canada when wins just by stepping on the ice 1/2 the time.

The task Cozens had before him as a 20yr old in his first NHL season at center was light years harder than what was asked of him in these tournaments. Its not even close. I think the 38 pts and highlights like shutting down McDavid dwarf anything he did in those tournaments.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Those tournaments don't mean anything in relation to what position someone should play in the NHL. Especially for players on Team Canada who usually have an embarrassment of riches at every position. That allows them to focus on chemistry and role/usage when putting lines together because they will always have more than enough center options.

I don’t see how thats his best hcokey either. Or more accurately how you could even compare those tournaments to NHL hockey. The sample size is ridiculously small . But just as important, these tournaments are full of teams completely overmatched by Canada when wins just by stepping on the ice 1/2 the time.

The task Cozens had before him as a 20yr old in his first NHL season at center was light years harder than what was asked of him in these tournaments. Its not even close. I think the 38 pts and highlights like shutting down McDavid dwarf anything he did in those tournaments.

Good points, but you made my point at the end of your first paragraph. Cozens’ strengths are his speed, forechecking, ability to force the play in the opposition’s zone, and his transition ability. He’s also sound defensively.

Is he playing center poorly? No. Would his strengths be used better on the wing? I think so. His best role, IMO, is as a power winger forechecking and driving play.

 

[joshjull]

Good points, but you made my point at the end of your first paragraph. Cozens’ strengths are his speed, forechecking, ability to force the play in the opposition’s zone, and his transition ability. He’s also sound defensively.

Is he playing center poorly? No. Would his strengths be used better on the wing? I think so. His best role, IMO, is as a power winger forechecking and driving play.

No I didn’t make your point. Listing attributes that would do a player well at either position is not an argument for them needing to play one of them.

I don’t know where he will ultimate end up because it won’t just be about him. But he's already a transition monster and above average play driver as a center. I have no idea why you think he needs to play wing to do these things.

The part of the ice he struggled with was the offensive zone for two reasons. One he can control and one he can’t.

1) He struggled to finish the chances he created. That had nothing to do with his position
2) He played with bottom 6 or lower wingers for chunks of the season. Also not due to his position.

You have this odd tunnel vision when it comes to Cozens playing wing. You seem to block out anything good for him at center and go looking for things at wing. Even if they are irrelevant like those international tournaments.

The few times he played wing in the NHL this year he looked lost and didn’t play well. That can be easily remedied by repetition/practice at the position and is not in anyway an indication he wouldn’t succeed there (IMO he will likely be someone who is effective at either position) But there is no stretch of play on the wing in the NHL to support your argument yet. Right now we have a young guy with an impressive first year at center who might be able to build on it.

 

[Fjordy]

Samuelsson - Dahlin
Power - Subban
Cole/Bryson - Jokiharju

 

[Der Jaeger]

No I didn’t make your point. Listing attributes that would do a player well at either position is not an argument for them needing to play one of them.

I don’t know where he will ultimate end up because it won’t just be about him. But he's already a transition monster and above average play driver as a center. I have no idea why you think he needs to play wing to do these things.

The part of the ice he struggled with was the offensive zone for two reasons. One he can control and one he can’t.

1) He struggled to finish the chances he created. That had nothing to do with his position
2) He played with bottom 6 or lower wingers for chunks of the season. Also not due to his position.

You have this odd tunnel vision when it comes to Cozens playing wing. You seem to block out anything good for him at center and go looking for things at wing. Even if they are irrelevant like those international tournaments.

The few times he played wing in the NHL this year he looked lost and didn’t play well. That can be easily remedied by repetition/practice at the position and is not in anyway an indication he wouldn’t succeed there (IMO he will likely be someone who is effective at either position) But there is no stretch of play on the wing in the NHL to support your argument yet. Right now we have a young guy with an impressive first year at center who might be able to build on it.

So tunnel vision is seeing a set of attributes that lend themselves better to a particular position is tunnel vision?

Cozens attributes: big, strong, fast, funnels pucks to the net, drives hard to the net, good defensively, good forechecking, good shot, position conscious, transitions the puck well on his own stick.

Things Cozens needs work on: not creative, offensive vision.

The two times he’s been at wing, albeit short in duration, he’s looked dynamic. Mostly because his skill set lends itself to being a wing. Some of Cozens best attributes are shackled a little as a center.

Could he be a Brayden Schenn style center? Absolutely. And that’s not a bad thing.

But I think his game is better suited to wing, and he’s got a similar game to Kreider in that respect.

 

[michaelsaas]

Things Cozens needs work on: not creative, offensive vision.

Can these things be taught? Especially creativity, it seems like you either have that trait or you don't?

 

[Der Jaeger]

Can these things be taught? Especially creativity, it seems like you either have that trait or you don't?

Most of it, sure.

But I try to look at where a player would be best. I think Cozens is a good top 6 center. I think he's a top line winger with all-star capability.

 

[TehDoak]

I'm curious what would people think about going hard after Trocheck this summer. A few thoughts:

From Pittsburgh, so would be close (ish) to his home town

Great at faceoffs, plays the PK, pretty even deployments, productive offensively (typically a 50-60 point season)

You are likely looking at declining numbers over the life of the contract (he will be 29 this summer), however, I have to think the immediate impact for the first two seasons would be great.

I am thinking a 4-5 year, 6M per deal is probably market-ish.

 

[Jacob582]

I'm curious what would people think about going hard after Trocheck this summer. A few thoughts:

From Pittsburgh, so would be close (ish) to his home town

Great at faceoffs, plays the PK, pretty even deployments, productive offensively (typically a 50-60 point season)

You are likely looking at declining numbers over the life of the contract (he will be 29 this summer), however, I have to think the immediate impact for the first two seasons would be great.

I am thinking a 4-5 year, 6M per deal is probably market-ish.

I would love Trocheck here.