Elite potential up top + competition at bottom of Sabres blueline

Elite potential up top + competition at bottom of Sabres blueline

after a couple of signings what’s the state of the Sabers Blue Line we’ve had a couple of fans asking this question I think the top four is locked in and I think the next two spots five and six in the Savers lineup on the blue line is completely wide open for opening night we’ll get to the Savers defenseman coming up on the lockdown Sabers podcast [Music] your locked on Sabers your daily podcast on the Buffalo Sabers part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day and thanks for making locked on Sabers your first listen every day we are free and available wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day Joe debiasi here on a very very rainy Thursday so maybe you’re staying in maybe you’re hitting the treadmill maybe you’re just sitting back and relaxing and uh you want some hockey content we got some saber stuff for you today of course and I really want to dive in on the Buffalo Sabers Blue Line the state of it we had a couple of listeners asked about this and I had planned on getting to the Blue Line in general coming up soon anyway so I’m like you know what a couple people want it uh seems like an interesting topic right now that’s on the front of the minds of saber fans that are thinking about maybe what’s left in the offseason or kind of how it stands right now trying to figure out what the depth chart looks like so we’ll dive all the way in on the blue line the Sabers making a couple of moves on that front in the last week but really not a lot of significant change but a little bit of change little bit of some investment made here and there and we’ll get to what is maybe there to do on the blue line between now and the start of the Season we’ll get into all that coming up here in the lock on Sabers podcast really nothing newsworthy uh I think really what we’re waiting for right now for the Sabers barring some big top six trade is that we’re waiting for arbitration dates for Uka Lucan and for Beck melen Stein uh we’ll see what that comes about as also maybe we just don’t get arbitration dates because maybe they just sign a contract uh especially with UPL who is the one that we’re really going to be tracking coming up here um we’ll do a a more expanded thought on him uh coming up soon four and half five million is where I currently stand but I’m wondering if Lucan and the further this goes if he’s going to push for more and more if you want breaking news on any trade any information like the Lucan in arbitration or what the contract is when it comes in and you want an immediate update be sure to sign up for our text Club the locked on Sabers text line join sub tex.com SL lockon Savers to sign up got a couple of people that signed up in the past couple of days and we were going back and forth with them and of course our our normal uh listeners in the group that were talking about the blue line I asked them I’ll have some listener comments on this uh today I asked them what do you want to see for the last two openings on the Sabers blue line if I give you that there are four 100% locks for the Sabers defense Corp this season Ras M Dalene Owen power Bo Byam and Matia Samuelson now I had one listener ask me are you sure Samuelson is a luck and it’s a worthy question I feel comfortable putting him in that category because I just don’t see his contract being all that appetizing to an acquiring team I think he should have value as a player I think he’s a very solid defensive defenseman with the big stick and the big body but that guy’s under contract samelson for 4.28 five million until 2030 and if he had stayed healthy I think you could Overlook the contract and say all right I’m not worried about that it’s not that big a cap head yeah sure it’s long term but he’s 24 years old I think a team could look at that contract say okay not bad at all if he wasn’t so injury-prone right now I would say even Beyond Jack Quinn the player with the most injury question marks on this Sabers team is Samuelson missing 41 games last season missing 37 games the year before that and missing 40 games the year before that we’re talking about over 100 games missed in the last three years for Matia Samuelson that cannot happen he has to be healthier than that it’s just flat out that simple you can’t be worth $4.25 million for seven more years if you can’t play more than 55 games in a year which is currently his high Samson Big season for him and I think he’s really got to show hey I could play 70 plus games even that you know 10 games fine you could Overlook that but you can’t be missing months at a time like Samuelson has been in his saber career and you know I don’t really know if that’s going to happen I hope it does fingers crossed that samelson is going to be able to stay healthy but let’s face it he plays a style that invites injury he’s big he’s physical no he’s not delivering bone crushing hits but he’s definitely involved in contact in front of the net he is somebody that goes into the corners and battles on the wall with opposing four Checkers he is someone that blocks shots um if you look at his numbers on that front in the last four seasons and this is again this is really only 150 games so really it’s not even two full seasons in less than two full seasons of games played samon has 248 block shots that’s a lot for a defenseman so tople that with 333 hits like we’re talking about a player that is very very much going to have to prove he could stay healthy while not changing his style cuz you he can’t change his style you know he’s not Dalene Dalene delivers bone crushing hits he’s been knock on wood able to stay healthy if Dalene ever had that problem though I think you could say Okay dial it back you know let dial back the physicality you’re so good offensively you’re such a good Puck mover that you could take a step back in that department and still be incredibly valuable samelson can’t do that that is the thing Samuelsson is good at he relies on size he relies on physicality um as part of what makes him good so he’s a big question mark just in terms of injury but I do think the injury makes him a lock I don’t think he’s tradable right now at least not tradable to where you would think you’re getting anything of significance back in return so I think he’s on this team I think he’s penil into the top four going into the upcoming season and I think you just got to cross your fingers that he’s going to stay healthy so it’s worthy to ask whether Samson is in fact a lock but I think he is because he’s a good player I don’t think the Sabers want to move on from him and I think the injury risk is going to make it if you wanted to move on from him harder to sell to other teams but Tia samelson contract were good Bo Byron by the way going into the final year of his deal that’ll be something to figure out as well so the Savers made three decisions on their blue line in the last couple of weeks let’s start with their RFA decision with Henry Yoki Haru this is outside that top four we’re really going to look more at like who makes the lineup because actually you know before I get all the way into Yoki Haru let me just kind of Go full circle on the top four they should be the strength of this team there is to me no excuse for this blue line not triggering the jump that the team needs to make from a below average hockey team to great team playoff team all the teams that are legitimate contenders are Elite at something not even just great they are Elite at something often times it is upfront it is star players all littered throughout the forward ranks and like one amazing defenseman and a couple of good other defensemen and that combination usually works the sabes I question whether they’re going to have that Elite Superstar forward but that might be okay if Thompson doesn’t return to Hart Trophy candidate and is just going to settle in as like a 40 goal guy a great forward not like one of the best in hockey though well that’s okay but there’s not many models there’s not many models to be a legit Contender without that level of forward but there are some Carolina is one of them the Carolina blueprint in the last five to seven years of their contention which has been what they’ve made the Conference Finals a couple times they make the playoffs every single year they win rounds but they just haven’t broke through all the way to the cup so use them that team does not have the Superstar forward they have some very very good forwards no doubt like they have they have depth up front and they have guys like Sebastian AO who just had his career high in points last year with 89 89 so actually that’s less by the way than Tage Thompson’s career high and that’s who Carolina is relying upon as their best offensive player behind him you’ve got Terra vinan um 53 points last year although excuse me that’s not don’t use him although that has been the case he just went back to Chicago uh spetch nikov is a little bit below a point per game player so they’ve got some guys but they don’t have the superstars up front they’re great and they also haven’t had the goal tending Frederick Anderson fine but like nothing that’s been Elite they’ve been a great hockey team for years now because they have an amazing blue line and they’ve had one for a long time now I mean Jacob slaven has been a great defenseman for a long time um if you look back at Brett pes’s career Justin Faulk before he moved on to St Louis was this for Carolina they’ve had of course in re more recent times Brady Shay before he left for Nashville the Brent Burns even recently I know he’s more offensive only but he’s been on their blue line they’ve just had these Rock Solid defense cores great defense cores that have really carried them led the way to being a great team year after year and when you have two number one overall picks on your blue line like a Dalene who’s already taken that step Dalene is already good enough to me he’s an amazing hockey player I think a Norris caliber defenseman that is going to win or someday even if he holds at the current level of play behind that you’ve got a number one overall pick and ow and power you’ve got a number four overall pick in BO bym and those two I think are under some pressure to really take step forward steps forward they have crazy good talent power is a number one pick Victor Hedman like comparison Victor headman like style of play but he’s just got to kind of get the nuances of the head style down that’s a what what kind of defenseman is power going to be this is maybe why he hasn’t been that impressive to the naked eye in the first couple of years is his value he’s not a Flash Player he’s not someone you’re ever going to turn the highlight reel on for he’s not going coasta Coast he’s not delivering these bone crushing hits he doesn’t have this giant slapshot he is what made him so great it’s a prospect was his ability to control a game and there’s a lot of mental stuff that comes with that there’s a lot of nuances of the game and understanding of the pro game that comes with that type of defenseman and I think there’s a reason why a Victor Hedman who is often the guy I will compare power to the most as like what he could become and what the blueprint is or what the Yeah the blueprint is for Owen power Hedman also had a really slow start to his career I mean you look at the first four years of his career he was a very good defenseman but the numbers certainly weren’t there he never cracked 26 points in his first full season four seasons before taking off um a little bit more he had never received a Norris vote in his first four seasons did in his fifth season and then has basically received them every year since like Hedman really took off as that Elite level defenseman at 23 years old I mean I hope power is able to do it a little sooner than that right because if Hedman took off at 23 I mean that’s two more years years from now for Owen power and I don’t know how much patience saber fans are going to have for Owen power on that front I mean they might not matter he’s under contract he’s not going anywhere um but Power taking a step forward at some point and then Byam I mean byram’s had an age where that should happen you know full off season with a new team he’s got all that offensive ability he appears to have um at least settled in post concussion here he had that those concussion issues in Colorado he was able to play 73 games last year um full offseason I I don’t know what’s going on in his personal life I don’t know what he’s dealing like with headache wise um athletes are not going to tell you a lot of that stuff until they’re done playing so my hope in Byrum’s case is that he hasn’t been dealing with those post conc concussion syndrome stuff um he’s doesn’t give any indication that he is but beyond that he’s someone you want to see that your big step from big step from can you be I mean when the Avalanche went to the finals he was stud defenseman like he was big part of their team 21 22 minutes a night um playoff performer sure kale M was a lot better than him but he was still a very very good offensive defenseman for Colorado and in on this team I mean I don’t need him to be the number one defenseman I don’t need him to be the number two defenseman if Owen power were to take a step forward at some point I mean just got to be a very good number three and if you get power and bym to take big steps forward with Dalene as the number number one and if samelson could stay healthy like that top four has the potential I know it’s that scary p word that nobody wants to hear anymore I don’t want to hear it either um but I gotta sell my optimism on something and for that blue line I think they have the potential to be a def a blue line like Carolina’s had that is the that is the thing that carries the hockey team to the playoffs it is the thing that allows them to be a Stanley Cup Contender but they’re going to need again bym to take that big step forward power to take that big step forward and Samson to stay healthy to get that now what about for this year because those three are locked in samelson as I told you I think is locked in what about the other two guys what they’ve done with Yoki Haru what they’ve done with Dennis Gilbert what they’ve done with Jacob Bryson and what about Ryan Johnson The Forgotten man in all of this we’ll get to the other two spots and what that should look like when we come back here on the locked on Sabers podcast we are presented here on the show by eBay Motors passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors is everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your 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the bottom pair those last two spots who’s going to win those last two spots between now and opening night and this is the question I asked our texter today join sub tex.com loock ons saers if you want to sign up to become a texter all right four locks who gets the other two spots who would you give the other two spots to right now in your best case scenario who would get it and your options I think are most definitely Henry oi Haru Connor Clifton Dennis Gilbert Jacob Bryson and Ryan Johnson Five Guys for two spots now let me start though with Yoki Haru if Yoki Haru is on the team come October I think he’s in it I think he’s almost undoubtedly in it I mean I guess he could be a scratch guy but I don’t think so there were a few times last year uh even in the past couple years where he was a healthy scratch but it was pretty rare like he’s almost always in the lineup when he’s healthy the question for me about Yoki Haru isn’t about does he win a job on a training camp it’s if he’s even on the roster oneyear deal the Sabers brought him in on $3.1 million as a restricted free agent which means at his age 25 the games he’s played that next season he will be an unrestricted free agent now on our last show at the end where we were talking about pton Krebs and trade ideas that I have for pton Krebs the idea I gave you was Krebs and Yoki Haru to Philadelphia for Joel farby now Yoki Haru to me is a fine player it depends where you look my eyes last year I liked his game I thought that he was pretty stable I thought that he did some nice things I thought he was put in a lot of defensive situations that might have impacted his numbers but his Advanced numbers were really bad like one of the worst defenseman on the team last season for Henry Yoki Haru if you look at uh evolving hockey and I was looking today at goals above replacement which is one metric that they use over there at evolving hockey and I’ll show that to you on our YouTube channel if you’re watching along if you look at the Sabers goals above replacement numbers on the whole team last year you see Dalene way up there at the top all like look at that chart all the way to the right the blue bar uh that’s that’s goals above replacement for offense the orange bar for defense um Power Play is pink and then blue is short-handed and I’m going down there’s Dalene at the top right and then hey oh look there’s Jacob Bry by the way we’ll get to that uh number two for defenseman really high up there again we’ll get to that there Samson looking pretty good Powers looking pretty good power interestingly though like a lot of good and a lot of bad but that brings him about to the middle Ryan Johnson in the middle kind of a low event player and then still scrolling down still scrolling down and they’re way at the bottom even below Conor Clifton is Henry Yoki Haru interesting like not a guy I thought in really evolving hockey has him offense his offensive goals above replacement as the thing that kills him the most just not providing much at all offensively defense you know it’s not that bad but it’s not also good so what am I to make of that I mean there situational stuff there but I I’m someone that likes to trust the numbers especially when there’s a player like a Yoki Haru who is not someone you’re gonna notice a lot right like I where use the word nuance for POW game someday like that to me is Yoki Haru also to understand his game you got to really dig in on the film you got to really dig in on what his role is and I trust the numbers on players like that uh defenseman like that and Yoki Haru does not grade out well at the same time I also think he is a player because he’s a right shot defenseman and he’s only 25 years old would carry value in the league and you have contract control right one-year deal you might think you get an extension done with him and kind of bring him in on your terms if you’re another team and again right shot defenseman are getting rare I don’t know why that’s happening but it’s happening rarer and rarer is the right shot defenseman especially the top four guy I bet for sure I could find a team that I can sell on Henry okaru being a top four a second pair right shot defenseman and let me go send him to that team before I lose him for nothing in a year so for me I think the best thing to do with Yoki Haru is to trade him that’s what I would do especially when there are other options on on the team right now we’ll get to the guys that they brought back Bryson or signed Denis Gilbert coming up in the third segment of today’s show but one other name that kind of goes under the radar that I’m not going to lie I did an exercise with s capacho in wgr earlier in the week where we filled out our opening night lineups and we did our forwards then we got to our defenseman we’re going through our defenseman and we talked about Yoki Haru and we talked about Gilbert we talked about Bryson we talked about Clifton and we did the whole thing the whole segment we debated different ideas and not one time did we even say the name Ryan Johnson that’s my fault right like I just didn’t have I guess the depth chart far enough in front of me uh or scroll down enough we didn’t even mention Ryan Johnson and a listener immediately like hey do you got what about Ryan Johnson for this and I thought like oh yeah wait a minute I guess he’s number nine on the depth chart right now but what are we doing with him because Johnson was getting rave reviews in Rochester and before last year and he kind of played a weird role for the sabes where he was in the lineup kind of every other night um by the way the AMS reviews were last year right because he was still he was still in Minnesota the year before that so I’m thinking of last year the Rochester reviews um but there were a lot of numbers guys that liked him last year I mentioned he was kind of middle of the pack and those goals above replacement numbers um he wasn’t great he wasn’t terrible either kind of in the middle like not a very high event player um only played 1351 a night like he didn’t play a lot also um protected minutes a little bit on Ryan Johnson’s front but I don’t know like I like the pro I like the player I like what I see in terms of his ability as a passer I think he sees the ice well I think he has good Vision um there’s just not a lot of Pop there you know what I mean like he I think will be a good third pair defenseman in this league and maybe even like a good second power play defenseman not on this team because they don’t need that um but he could have that ability too he’s at a point though now where you’re you’re July 24th is his birthday so at the start of the year he’ll be 23 years old this is his age 23 season man it’s go time man like if you’re not making the league at 23 like I got to start question whether you’re ever going to be a regular in the NHL and if I’ve seen steps from him last year which I think I did he got a taste of the NHL he looked pretty good he went down to Rochester and was pretty good all right now’s the time you make the NHL team Now’s the Time when Ryan Johnson of the world show up to training camp and win a spot sure it’s crowded but it’s Dennis Gilbert Jacob Bryson Conor Clifton if you’re a firstr defenseman like Ryan Johnson was and you’ve got good ability and you’ve done all your development you’ve you went through college four years and you got a year where you played half in the NHL half in the AHL and did pretty well at both then the next year after that the natural progression is you make the NHL you beat out those seventh defenseman types and you’re in the lineup that’s what I’m gonna want to see from Ryan Johnson in training camp because if he doesn’t do that then I’m gonna start questioning whether he’s ever going to be a regular NHL Es at least on this team um so Johnson’s interesting but I can’t pencil him in right now I mean theyve they’ve treated the depth chart like he’s going to be in Rochester again um but we’ll see he’s a big big we’ll see on this front because I feel like he for him it’s up the camp in preseason like it’s completely up to what kind of camp in preseason he has and if he has know so so one then maybe they send him back to Rochester if he looks awesome then I bet he should I’d say he should beat out all those other guys what about all those other guys Clifton Gilbert Bryson very different situations to me on all three we’ll get to that when we come back here on the locked on Sabers podcast and we try to figure out the totality of the Sabers Blue Line the state of their defense Corp that’s coming back here on the lockdown Sabers podcast we’re brought to you here on the show by game time so I’m actually going to a concert tonight Chris stapledon at Darien Lake and if I’m not doing this because I already have tickets but uh when I was looking for tickets where was I looking game time and if you want to look last minute still tickets available and you 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baseball tickets and all other tickets with Game Time download the game time app create account use the code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase hey you want to go to that concert you never use game time today you get $20 off uh for tonight’s gig terms apply again cre account redeem code locked on NHL for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed final segment here in the locked on Sabers podcast all right let’s we’re figuring out the Sabers blue line to the top four Ryan Johnson who I would not pencil into the the top six right now but I think is very interesting uh as a kind of a wild card for the top six going into opening night how about the other veteran guys so let’s start with Connor Clifton Connor Clifton is under contract the Sab signed him last year to a three-year deal 3.33 million per year so he’s got this year and next year remaining at that capit it’s a bad contract now that Jeff Skinner is off their books Clifton at $3.33 million I think I I would want to say is their worst contract he’s the worst contract on the team how is he a horrible player I don’t think he’s a horrible player I just don’t think he helps you all that much I don’t really think he does a lot for you I mean he is a decent penalty killer um he is a shot blocker he’s a physical guy he’s not all that big but he’s gonna throw his body around he’s gonna throw his weight around but I think the concerns that we saw or heard from Boston two years ago or last year when they signed him was well this guy was a healthy scratch in Boston sometimes this guy was a third pair defenseman that they really didn’t want ever playing in the top four and then the saber signed Clifton with the idea that he could maybe step into the top four and that just definitely was not happening definitely definitely definitely was not happening so what’ you get last year you got a player that by evolving hockey numbers uh his overall percentile as an offensive defenseman was the 39th percentile and defensively was the 18th percentile and short-handed defense he didn’t give you the impact that you might have been hoping hoping for so Clifton to me if it was based on Merit I’d like to see him beaten out for the top six if I were putting together my lineup and I were taking politics out of it which in this case would be the contract right you might feel a little beholden to make it work or to try it again at least like hey let’s at least try it again you know let’s see if we can get something out of this before we call it a complete failure and complete loss if it was just on potential if it’s just on playing and give me the best results possible I I would not have Clifton in my top six I think I’d predict right now he will be in their top six but I would not have Clifton in my top six I might have Johnson over him just see what I got there I might have Jacob Bryson above him so the Savers doing two things in free agency they signed Dennis Gilbert to a one-year deal for less than a million bucks and they also signed uh Bryson to a one-year deal for 900,000 which was less than he was going to be 10 year tendered for an being an RFA Bryson I was kind of out on him I I liked him at the start of his saber career because I thought he’s a fun little player he skates well you know good Puck mover he’s really Dynamic uh the way he moves and okay there could be a real exciting player here and then he kind of played and it was like there nothing really exciting happening he’s not really that bad though it’s just I don’t know what I’m really getting here he’s not that physical he’s not big he’s not making these wild plays I mean in 206 games for the Sabers he has four goals I know being a defenseman is not about scoring goals but I mean come on we’re talking about Matias samelson level goal production uh from Jacob Bryson he’s never had more than 10 points in a season that includes Seasons where he’s played 73 games and 59 games so I’m not getting that pop from him but the numbers love him I don’t know what it is it’s possession I guess it’s he he’s very cool on in his own Zone you know like and that’s that’s that’s impressive for a player that’s only five foot uh what’s his listed size I’m surprised hockey reference actually doesn’t I have his hockey reference page open and they they don’t have it listed very strange um but what is he 510 at best H uh there is 59 for a 59 player I think he’s very calm cool and collected in his own Zone I think he’s a good Zone exit player I think he’s kind always got his head up uh he seems to be under control most of the time and man you better be able to do that with the size disadvantage he has and not putting up a lot of offensive production so the numbers love him I I again I kind of want to trust in that I kind of want to believe that he’s a player that’s deserving of being in their top six playing even if it’s only 14 15 minutes a night I I kind of like that idea for Jacob Bryson um if you look at the threeyear sample size of Bryson uh as a buffalo saber I was looking for the percentile on his stuff over at evolving hockey Bryson is a nine this is he’s almost like Payton Krebs I guess for a for a defenseman um in this in this area only ninth percentile offensively 61st percentile defensively that’s pretty good PR he’s not very good short-handed but even strength defense I mean we’re talking like a really good defenseman here very surprising because again not the player I would have predicted when he entered the league at his size so I think I’d have him in the lineup now he shoots left and they have a lot of left shot defenseman and that matters too it’s why guys like Yoki Haru and Clifton will get chances over him uh as well but I kind of like Jacob Bryson being in my personal top six at the start of the season over Conor Clifton um and you didn’t really have to invest anything to bring him back and by the way they might like the idea of giving him a chance because he’s like best friends with everyone on the team I don’t really know if that should matter at this point really probably shouldn’t right like you’ve you’re past that you know you’ve the the group has failed as a core so far you don’t get your buddies playing in the lineup just because you’re your buddies they got to perform but I think Bryson has performed uh especially at the end of last season so that’s Bryson and then Dennis Gilbert local kid Williamsville native um from Buffalo played for the junior Sabers and he has been bouncing around the league a little bit uh Chicago got to Calgary and never really was a full-time regular in the NHL uh never has played more than 34 games and that was last year where he played his most amount of minutes 34 games uh for Calgary uh kind of like Bryson doesn’t put up a lot of numbers uh Gilbert’s physical that that’s a there’s a little bit of a bite with Gilbert that you don’t have a lot of else in your lineup like Clifton gives you a little bit of that Dalene gives you that and then Gilbert gives you that Gilbert has in his whole NHL career and I and this includes preseason because that’s how hockey fights.com Tom does it Gilbert has 33 fights in his NHL career I I I could look this up I’m sure probably take a lot of work I think I want to predict that the rest of the Sabers combined don’t have 33 fights uh to their name so Gilbert’s a physical player I watched a couple of his fights on YouTube and like they all kind of started with him delivering a bone crushing hit so big hitter uh will drop the gloves will defend teammates if you need him to and again when we go to the numbers like the not bad not as bad as you might think uh he’s not going to wow you he’s not going to be the difference between whether you win or lose but as long as he doesn’t kill you then that’s all you could ask for um good defensive defenseman not going to give you anything offensively that’s what we’re talking about when it comes to Dennis Gilbert he I would give a puncher chance no pun intendent because he’s a fighter too uh I I would give him a puncher’s chance to be in the top six I think he would have a shot I really think they all have a shot I think Ryan John ‘s got the lowest amount of chance I think Gilbert Bryson and Clifton are all equal to me like I might give him each 20 you know 30% each 30% for Gilbert 30% for Bryson 30% for Clifton and then 10% for Ryan Johnson might be uh how I would handicap their odds of being that six defenseman if Yoki Haru is still here by the way and it might depend on what kind of style they want what kind of style does Lindy want it could be dependent on who they play if you are playing a faster team that you’re going to need more skating ability against then maybe you go with a Jacob Bryson if you’re playing a bigger team a more physical team that you’re worried might push you around a little bit then you go Dennis Gilbert get Dennis Gilbert or Connor Clifton uh and if Ryan Johnson’s great right away then it’s just Ryan Johnson because he has you know he’s got the youth and he’s got the high upside that’s kind of how I see the bottom end of their depth chart right now and of course if they traded henok Haru it would be two spots for those guys instead of one spot so interesting decisions to be had by the Sabers on the blue line especially in the depths of their blue line coming up this season I don’t expect any more moves uh other than maybe oyoki how are you trade but I don’t expect an addition I don’t know where that addition would go their top four is locked in and their bottom two is got five guys already competing for it to do for us today here on the lockdown Savers podcast oh I I me to read some texts real quick let me do that um looking at some of our text messages a lot of votes for Yoki Haru of course if they’re if you’re not voting for Yoki Haru almost everybody has said well that’s because I want to trade him uh I got a lot of um Johnson also as the idea for that uh looking at one comment here from one of our listeners uh here it is Clifton Gilbert bottom pair could be switched out with Bryson depending on the team you’re playing I just kind of said that actually love Johnson but no sense of starting him here if he’s not going to play if he’s he’d be my first call up especially when Samuelson goes down that would I assume mean because of injury okay lot of things that I said on the show that that text just kind of had but I did not mention the idea of Johnson being the seventh defenseman this I agree with don’t have Ryan Johnson here as your seventh I don’t know what the point of that is if you think he needs more development a little bit more time in Rochester and that’s why he’s not in your top six then put him in Rochester it was a weird amount of games the Sabres had him in Buffalo last year as a healthy scratch uh so I wouldn’t want to see them do that coming up this season uh another text I like Yoki har you would prefer a top six forward if it meant he was a part of the trade um not one of the smart nerd guys this texter says but Bryson impressed me last year just hate seeing Clifton salary for a number seven yeah I think they just have to eat the Clifton another texer Clifton you’re sort of stuck with him nobody would claim him off waivers I’m guessing the Savers don’t want to trade an asset um to move him Gilbert was brought in to make them harder to play against so makes sense for him to have a spot send Ryan Johnson AHL Bryson is the seventh trade Yoki Haru I think that might be the most likely outcome but that texture just wrote down Yoki how areu Ryan Johnson um and the in Rochester and Bryson as your seventh defenseman and I could totally see that being the case let me know what you think you want to keep uh you want to let me know what you think text line is the good way to do that Twitter as well at locked on Sabres on what you would do with the Sabers blue line going into this season thanks for listening today to locked on Sabers podcast we will what are we going to get into our next show maybe some trade ideas uh that might be left over around the league see if we get any juicy rumors around hockey as well we’ll um get some Prospect talk in along the way this summer and yeah we we’ll oh goenda get to James Rymer signing last week we’ll do a bit of a breakdown because we’ve kind of already done that at forward a lot and we just did this today on defenseman what about goalie we’ll do that Levi and Rhymer and lucin’s contract all three whether there’s going to be a competition to be the backup whether what upl’s contract is going to look like and why I’m starting to mentally prepare for the salary being higher than you might expect with UPL uh and I’ll let you know what number I’ve got in mind for him on our next show so we’ll do some goal tender talk uh coming up next assuming we don’t get a trade between now and then thanks for listening to lock. saers podcast part of lockdown podcast Network your team every day

The Sabres did not do much on defense this offseason, but they did enough that it’s a crowded field to make the opening night lineup. From elite talent up top with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Bowen Byram, how much pressure is on those three to carry the team?

Plus, who gets the last two spots between Henri Jokiharju, Connor Clifton, Ryan Johnson, Jacob Bryson, and Dennis Gilbert?

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