I expect the cap to go up again by a few million, but that won't allow Buffalo to make more than one significant UFA signing. Without Hecht and Boyes they'll still be at about 64 million with 23 players signed (estimating Ennis' new deal at about a 2.6 mil cap hit). So in any order...

1- Trade up and draft one of the top centers to replace Roy either this year or next.
2- Sign a UFA winger to play with Vanek and Hodgson or...
3- Sign a UFA top four d-man

If any of those moves are made someone will have to be traded or Tropp or McNabb will have to sit in Rochester. Otherwise this is the roster...

Foligno-Ennis-Stafford
Vanek-Hodgson-Tropp (rather see Parise or Brown here)
Leino-Roy-Pominville (if a drafted C is good enough then put him here instead of Roy)
Gerbe-McCormick-Kaleta (it would be nice to see Gaustad or Moen here, but I doubt it)
Ellis

Leopold-Myers
Ehrhoff-Sulzer
Sekera-Regehr
Weber, McNabb
(rather see Suter in there somewhere and trade Sekera, Weber, or keep McNabb down until replacing Regehr)

Miller, Enroth

Shooting and passing drills until we do both like a competent NHL franchise.

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If your having goal problems, I feel bad for ya son....we got 99 problems but Vanek ain't one!

you forgot the part about finding a new coach.

Well I've been critical of Ruff this season, but it's a moot point so why bother with it.

He had nothing to do with the run they went on?

1. There is some Sabres fan who's still blaming Kotalik.

2. Its always Vanek's fault.

3. Its always the Lindy's fault.

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If your having goal problems, I feel bad for ya son....we got 99 problems but Vanek ain't one!

It is Lindy. He cannot motivate this team for an entire season and year in and year out, it's a dash for the cash Mentality after the All Star break.
He never found a way to inspire Leino. CoHo was less than impressive. Those guys came from big, successful programs. Tells me something right there.

Regardless, I don't see him going anywhere

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Sabres Fan since Day One!!!

14 seasons as head coach of this team. 8 playoff appearances. 2 eastern conference finals. 1 stanley cup final. 0 stanley cups. not good enough. enoughs enough.

maybe it's not entirely lindy's fault, but just how many chances should a coach get? better coaches have gotten far less time.

Any ideas about the draft and free agency before this gets to be all about Ruff?

jarett stoll .

i want a physical big center.

Me too, but that could be Gaustad at a lower price, or Travis Moen. What if Regier moves up and lands a blue chip C at the draft? Stoll moving via FA may actually open up a trade with LA - Roy (to replace Stoll) for Brown (to play wing with Vanek-Hodgson).

1. Golf
2. Golf
3. Golf

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Did someone say golf????

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What I want to see is Roy gone this offseason and the lines to be more like this. Keep in mind The first two lines can be interchangeable.
Vanek-Hodgson-Pominville
Foligno-Ennis-Stafford
Gerbe-Leino-Kaleta
Ellis-McCormick-Tropp

Myers-Regher
Ehrhoff-Sulzer
Sekera-Weber
Leopold

Miller

Mostly I want Roy gone and I want Pominville back with Vanek. I think Coho, Van, and Pom would be a very deadly line combo. If Adam is ready, bring him back up to center Gerbe and Leino on the third line then. On D I want McNabb here though. I'm not sure how to get it going, but I want to see the two big guys together. And Maybe whenever Finley or if Finley gets to the point, put him with Sekera or Ehrhoff. Then three of our 6 D-men are 6'4" and up.

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Even though there isn't much room for big UFA signings, they can still do better than simply returning the same roster for next season. If they want more consistent (and simply more) goals scoring, they really need to add to the forward lines until they have three lines that are a threat. I don't mind putting Pominville back with Vanek, but those bottom two lines might score 20 goals combined all season long. Pitiful considering the disappointment of Leino and Gerbe.

They need to either draft a top center, trade for one, or keep Roy and make do. Then find a winger if at all possible.

Who knows how Leino and Gerbe will play next season. It's never a definite thing. We all thought Boyes was gonna have a good year, look at how that ended up. Leino was thrown into everything and just never could find the right players to play with and with injuries to everyone this year it sucked.

I'd be ok with returning with essentially the same roster next year, maybe a few depth guys added. We would then have a full year with two top lines with our team. And honestly, what other teams are out there that have three lines that are very dangerous to score all the time?

I think Nashville, Pittsburgh and maybe Boston has that ability, and the only reason Pitt has it is because you have Crosby, Malkin, and Staal as centers.

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Well, one thing that's certain is that nobody can predict how some players like the ones you mentioned are going to produce. A magic eight ball would be the best bet.

I think with our roster we can't have three "dangerous" lines no matter who is acquired this summer. All we can hope for is three lines that are at least capable of scoring 60 goals. If we can't have a bona fide "top" line, we may as well have balanced scoring.

Why didn't el stubborno play the lines that all the fans clamor for, YET AGAIN!

Makes sense:

Vanek-Coho-Pommers
Foligno-Ennis-Stafford

Seriously guys, it seems every year it's, "wait until next year when these are the lines". These SHOULD have been the lines to finish the year. FFS, the guy loves to roll 4, then 3, then 2 every year, sop why wasn't these lines this year's 'desperation line'???

That's why Lindy has to go.

...and also why Derek Roy has to go, because we ran out of top 6 spots. If ya can trade Leino(ya rite), then do it. 3rd line skates hard and plays hard. Kaleta-Goose-Gerbe was a solid line when we started our run. Something like that, but definitely not talented players who can't score with limited minutes. The 4th line should be something to be reckoned. Perhaps a Konopka(wins draws), so you're not mismatched all the time on the road, and never get to give them minutes.

Goners:
Ruff, Roy, Leino, McCormick, Ellis, Sekera, Weber( I like some of these guys, just no place for them)

Keepers: Regier(as long as TP let's him bury salaries), Gerbe, Kaleta, Regehr, Leopold, Sulzer
-I think Leopold is an expert at when to pinch, which is essential now. Will benefit from a new coach. Regeher, too. Sulzer is better than Grag, Weber, or Sekera. Gerbe and Kaleta remain for 3rd and 4th lines.

If we had a very solid defense corps I'd be ok with two scoring lines, a checking line, and a goon line. But since the defense isn't that good, the forwards we have can be salvaged into three balanced scoring lines and a checking line. Not that it's ideal, but if Roy stays we're only a winger away from that set up, and having Leino-Roy-Pominville isn't so bad considering how well they played the last six weeks...good puck possession with few mistakes, just not the hot production of Foligno-Ennis-Stafford. Find a scoring winger for Vanek-Hodgson and it's not so bad (as long as they play a whole damn season for once). This of course, assumes that Ruff won't blow everything up again during next camp.

Yeah, but you're not going to get much for Roy considering how bad he did this year. It's a contract year, so we'll see what happens

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"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

trading Roy for anything short of a top ten pick is goddamn stupid. that's all there is to it. there is nothing available or could be available that would get us more for less.