Confirmed with Link: Sabres sign Marcus Johansson 2yrs 9mil (4.5 AAV)

[Chainshot]

How solid and competant would a
Johansson-Boyle-Vesey/Sheary/Smith/Rodrigues 3rd line look ? I know, I know Mojo needs to be on L2. Keep upgrading that depth Botts.

The question is how effective Boyle is at this point in his career. Liking the idea of him in a 12/13 role, being the 'room guy purported to be, generally be big and maybe win some draws. But beyond 4th line stuff seems like a stretch.

 

[Husko]

The question is how effective Boyle is at this point in his career. Liking the idea of him in a 12/13 role, being the 'room guy purported to be, generally be big and maybe win some draws. But beyond 4th line stuff seems like a stretch.

Coming off an 18 goal season, I doubt he has much interest in a role that doesn't seem him getting regular ice time.

 

[Zman5778]

The question is how effective Boyle is at this point in his career. Liking the idea of him in a 12/13 role, being the 'room guy purported to be, generally be big and maybe win some draws. But beyond 4th line stuff seems like a stretch.

I think he can be an effective 4th line center that can play PP2. He was more or less that last year, averaging 12/13 min and snagging 8 PPG.

Sign Boyle as our 4th line center, kick Larsson up to the 3rd line with MoJo and someone? That could be very, very interesting.

 

[Gabrielor]

I think he can be an effective 4th line center that can play PP2. He was more or less that last year, averaging 12/13 min and snagging 8 PPG.

Sign Boyle as our 4th line center, kick Larsson up to the 3rd line with MoJo and someone? That could be very, very interesting.

Yeah, everyday I look at the remaining UFA list, and Boyle is still a name I really like, for multiple reasons. Vet. Locker room guy. Big. Tough. Old school. He checks a lot of boxes on what we lack.

 

[Chainshot]

Coming off an 18 goal season, I doubt he has much interest in a role that doesn't seem him getting regular ice time.

Eh, he was being used mostly in a LW role with both the Preds and the Devils and he was right around Gus in terms of total minutes there (so right at the fringe between 9th and 10th overall in total ToI among forwards), with a relative defensive bend to him (57.4% DZS in Jersey, 64.6% in Nashville). He seemed to get enough use on the PP to make it worthwhile scoring-wise, though his faceoff use was down to just over 330 total.

Again, depth seems like a better fit, with some specialty teams work mixed in.

 

[valet]

This is a huge signing if he stays healthy. He adds a lot to the lineup immediately

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

He is immediately our 4th best forward. He has scored or been at a 40+ point pace every season besides his rookie year. That is literally 8 straight seasons of 2nd line production.

This is a great signing. Not big $ at all and only 2 years. Compared to Leino (4.5), Moulson (5) and Okposo (6) this is likely the best free agent big money forward we have added in recent history. I expect him to total ~90-100 points over his contract.

The best part is we now have 6 forwards who we can rely on getting 15+ goals each in Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart, Johansson, Sheary and Vesey. Add in a possible 20+ scorer in Olofsson and the wildcard that is Mitts and this team as is could have enough offense to make a wild card spot.

 

[Chainshot]

 

[Chainshot]

 

[Dirty Dog]

What did everyone think of him playing center yesterday? I thought he looked pretty decent, though it was my least favorite of the lines (still good though).

If him and Mitts can play as legit middle six centers, that would be huge.

 

[Der Jaeger]

He looked good and comfortable.

 

[Team Cozens]

Fantastic possession player. Controlled the tempo of the game and didn't give the puck away or dump.

 

[Dirty Dog]

It’s funny because a lot of us were annoyed the second line center wasn’t addressed this offseason (me included), but it appears it was sneakily. Nice job botts if it works out

 

[Buffaloed]

I think we should go full Terrell Owens and give him the key to city

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

Vaive had a better debut.... Not impressed

 

[Dirty Dog]

Vaive had a better debut.... Not impressed

vaive is a legend

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

vaive is a legend

As Toronto's only bright spot for a 15 year span

 

[sabrebuild]

It’s funny because a lot of us were annoyed the second line center wasn’t addressed this offseason (me included), but it appears it was sneakily. Nice job botts if it works out

Super happy how he looked. Makes you wonder how much better they look last year if he who shall not be named was in that spot instead of...

Bright side, maybe Housley stays in that situation.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

Can we please give Botts some credit on this one? We screamed and yelled for a 2C all summer when we had one the entire time.Mojo is exactly what this team has been missing...a secondary scoring option who can score 50 points, skate with the puck, set up goals, score them and just click with his linemates.

3 of his 4(Mojo,Miller,Joki) main additions this summer have been AWESOME. And I will give Vesey more then 4 games to settle in and start producing.

Mojo is literally the perfect 2C for this and next season. If Mitts cant take over the 2C role after Mojos deal expires then Cozens most certainly will. And Mojo will only be 31 when he plays under a new deal. Would love to keep him as he switches back to wing to get centered by Mitts/Cozens.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Can we please give Botts some credit on this one? We screamed and yelled for a 2C all summer when we had one the entire time.Mojo is exactly what this team has been missing...a secondary scoring option who can score 50 points, skate with the puck, set up goals, score them and just click with his linemates.

3 of his 4(Mojo,Miller,Joki) main additions this summer have been AWESOME. And I will give Vesey more then 4 games to settle in and start producing.

Mojo is literally the perfect 2C for this and next season. If Mitts cant take over the 2C role after Mojos deal expires then Cozens most certainly will. And Mojo will only be 31 when he plays under a new deal. Would love to keep him as he switches back to wing to get centered by Mitts/Cozens.

To be fair, I think "2C" was just shorthand for "2nd line player" for a lot of posters- I thought Reinhart or Johansson could manage it, but any way you slice it we're still 5/6ths of the way towards having a real solid top 6.

Agreed on everything else, though, I was high as hell on this signing and obviously still am. The "injury prone" label is used too liberally- he's had issues in the past, it's a long season and we could see those concerns any time, but I also think guys have a string of bad luck and suddenly they have a reputation of being made of glass- Skinner has missed 3 games total in the past 4 years yet half the league still thinks he's easily broken.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Best UFA signing by the Sabres since...? Guy is just what this team needed.

 

[debaser66]

This guy is gold

 

[Gabrielor]

Best UFA signing by the Sabres since...? Guy is just what this team needed.

Probably Spacek

 

[UnleashRasmus]

Best UFA signing by the Sabres since...? Guy is just what this team needed.

To me it's the best UFA addition since one of Teppo/Leopold/Spacek. The Sabres have never been big in the UFA market at least not successfully!

 

[Snippit]

Zone entries are sublime