Yay! I did it right this time. I voted for Whitmore and Leggio only. I could see arguments for Sulzer and Stuart, but they are replaceable in my opinion.
Ryan is done. He should hang them up after this season -- too many injuries over the last few seasons to warrant even a glance from the Sabres organization at this point.
Stuart isn't dynamic enough as an AHL scorer IMO. Upgrading him with a good skating AHL vet who can score at that level would be preferable.
Leggio and Whitmore for Amerks depth; Sulzer as our 6/7 defenseman in Buffalo.
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Originally Posted by Chainshot
Ryan is done. He should hang them up after this season -- too many injuries over the last few seasons to warrant even a glance from the Sabres organization at this point.
Stuart isn't dynamic enough as an AHL scorer IMO. Upgrading him with a good skating AHL vet who can score at that level would be preferable.
hecht coming back in a cheap, late-summer one-year deal wouldnt be terrible after all of our other moves are complete
Unreliable, oft-concussed, versatile veteran? There is a great deal of risk there, even on a cheap, cap-friendly deal. It's time to let Jochen ride off into the sunset.
I'd love to bring Jochen back on a one-year deal where he's not relied on for anything but definitely gives the team a boost when he's in the lineup. His multi-faceted abilities just make the team that much deeper. Also, he bolsters our bottom 6 a ton. Him, with the likes of Gerbe, Kaleta, McCormick, Tropp and we're just one or two players away from a very good bottom 6. Remember when we had a really good bottom 6 a couple years ago with Hecht, Kennedy, Grier, Gaustad, Kaleta, and McCormick/Ellis. They were lights up until Hecht had to center the top line. That's the type of bottom half I'd love to have again. Hell, call me crazy, I'd even be in favor of bringing back Gaustad to round it out.
I assume Rankin will be back on an AHL deal, seems like a no-brainer. I have him and Voakes penciled in temporarily. Keeping Voakes with another AHL deal brings their number of contracts to one less and he can somewhat contribute at the AHL level unlike Szydlowski and Boychuk (at this point). In siding with Amerks fans here, with the 50 contract limit not being a factor, I'd take a vet scorer over Voakes any day of the week.
I'd love to bring Jochen back on a one-year deal where he's not relied on for anything but definitely gives the team a boost when he's in the lineup. His multi-faceted abilities just make the team that much deeper. Also, he bolsters our bottom 6 a ton. Him, with the likes of Gerbe, Kaleta, McCormick, Tropp and we're just one or two players away from a very good bottom 6. Remember when we had a really good bottom 6 a couple years ago with Hecht, Kennedy, Grier, Gaustad, Kaleta, and McCormick/Ellis. They were lights up until Hecht had to center the top line. That's the type of bottom half I'd love to have again. Hell, call me crazy, I'd even be in favor of bringing back Gaustad to round it out.
Gerbe-Gaustad-Kaleta
Hecht-McCormick-Tropp
We don't need a Peters-style goon, but I've felt for a few years that we need a bigger physical presence in our bottom 6 to compete with Boston and Philly in a playoff series.
Now I suppose we can change the last 2 lines to:
Hecht-Hodgson-Vanek (which now that I think about it...Hecht is basically a better version of Tropp offensively, defensively, and along the boards, even if he won't initiate as much contact)
Gerbe-McCormick-Kaleta
Tropp, Ellis
But his health has to be a major concern...the price would have to be right. It would have to be a 1 year deal obviously, especially factoring the 35+ clause. However, this also allows for performance incentives:
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Performance bonuses will only be permissible for the following types of players: (1) players on entry-level contracts; (2) players signing one-year contracts after returning from long-term injuries (players with 400 or more games who spent 100 or more days on injured reserve in the last year of their most recent contract); and senior veteran players who sign a one-year contract after the age of 35.
I'm not sure if Hecht meets the second criterion, but he certainly meets the third if they sign him to a 1 year deal.
So pretty much the way I'd keep him is on a one-year deal with bonuses, and there needs to be a bonus cushion in place after the new CBA takes effect.
