Rasmus Dahlin is the player the Sabres can least afford to lose,
## 2.
Because the Sabres don’t have a lot of time before they travel to Europe to finish training camp, Ruff and Adams decided they wanted to get to their NHL roster quickly.
## 3.
It’s still early to determine line combinations and defensive pairs, especially on defense because Dahlin was absent.
## 4.
It’s notable to see Kulich not just with this practice group but getting mixed into the top six. It’s clear if he’s going to have a spot on this team, that’s the role the Sabres envision. Ruff doesn’t seem like he’ll be as quick to hand out public praise as Don Granato was, but he was gushing about Kulich after practice.
“He had a real impressive prospect tournament, first from just work ethic alone,” Ruff said. “I thought it was really good. He’s got a good shot, skates well. I thought his compete inside the game was good. He did a lot of good things. He was the guy you noticed the most, not even looking at the offensive side of it. He’s got a bullet of a shot. You can’t teach that. You have it or you don’t. He’s got it. To play at this level, can you play away from the puck? His skating has impressed me and I’m impressed with his level of strength in one-on-one battles and keeping guys at bay. He’s a very impressive young man.”
Adams said Kulich was the best player on the ice at the prospect tournament and said if he’s ready to help the team win, he’ll be on the roster.
“If he’s not right in the beginning, it’s just a matter of time until he is,” Adams said. “And we’ll just let that sort itself out.”
For a team that didn’t add a scoring threat in the offseason, maybe Kulich can provide some of that. Peterka and Benson are also both still young players, so having Kulich nipping at their heels could serve as added motivation.
## 5.
Dennis Gilbert skating with the first group shouldn’t be a surprise. I think he’s clearly ahead of Ryan Johnson in the pecking order because of the specific role he can play as a physical defenseman. Ruff will value that experience and the lineup options it gives him. The defensive pairs are going to be interesting with this group, but here’s an early guess at how it could play out when everyone is healthy.
In that scenario, you could also play Samuelsson with Power and put Gilbert with either Jokiharju or Clifton. That creates a similar competition to one the team will have at forward. There was a lot of mixing and matching between defensive pairs at practice, especially once Dahlin was out. But we also saw Byram with Jokiharju, which opens up the possibility of Power playing with Dahlin. There’s a lot of talent on Buffalo’s blue line. Ruff just has to figure out how it all fits together.
## 6.
The Sabres are sitting on nearly $7 million in salary cap space, which has raised fair questions about the team’s willingness to spend.
## 7.
On the topic of cap space, most of that $7 million the Sabres have is from the savings generated by the Jeff Skinner buyout. If not to spend that money, why did the Sabres opt to get rid of Skinner now rather than wait another year to buy out his contract?
“It’s a tricky question because I have a lot of respect for Jeff and I’m certainly not going to say anything other than positive about who he is as a player and person,” Adams said. “We made a really tough decision because we thought we could be in a position to win more hockey games. Those aren’t easy but that was the decision we made. I think when you look at did we fill the spot or not in terms of goals, I think part of that goes to the young core and the players we have we believe will take steps. For me the talent is there and now it’s how do we make sure we’re playing the right way and doing all of those little things that help our team improve and players improve individually. We feel confident that they will.”
## 8.
The Sabres will name a captain, but Ruff wants to spend some time with the group on the ice before making the final decision.
## 9.
Adams said he didn’t think Krebs’ contract negotiation needed to take as long as it did and “you would have to ask his guys” why it did. Krebs signed a two-year contract worth $1.45 million per season the day before camp started. When asked why an extra year and more money for Krebs than his qualifying offer, Adams said it gives Krebs time to develop and establish his role in the lineup and it was a number the Sabres are comfortable with. He also stressed Krebs will need to earn his spot given the offseason additions.
## 10.
One thing that was apparent with the Sabres’ new additions is the speed they bring. Malenstyn, Zucker, Lafferty, Aube-Kubel and McLeod can all fly. Tage Thompson noted that those guys are strong on pucks, too, and it really limited the time and space he had to work during some of the battle drills in practice. Ruff wants the Sabres to be quicker to kill plays in their defensive zone and better about breaking the puck out in a hurry. Some of that will come from systems and mentality, but a lot of it will be about the personnel Buffalo added, too.
“I didn’t think we were a slow team by any means, but we’re definitely harping on the idea of playing faster,” Tuch said.
wetnap00
I’m getting excited, but should I be? I don’t know!
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## 1.
Rasmus Dahlin is the player the Sabres can least afford to lose,
## 2.
Because the Sabres don’t have a lot of time before they travel to Europe to finish training camp, Ruff and Adams decided they wanted to get to their NHL roster quickly.
## 3.
It’s still early to determine line combinations and defensive pairs, especially on defense because Dahlin was absent.
## 4.
It’s notable to see Kulich not just with this practice group but getting mixed into the top six. It’s clear if he’s going to have a spot on this team, that’s the role the Sabres envision. Ruff doesn’t seem like he’ll be as quick to hand out public praise as Don Granato was, but he was gushing about Kulich after practice.
“He had a real impressive prospect tournament, first from just work ethic alone,” Ruff said. “I thought it was really good. He’s got a good shot, skates well. I thought his compete inside the game was good. He did a lot of good things. He was the guy you noticed the most, not even looking at the offensive side of it. He’s got a bullet of a shot. You can’t teach that. You have it or you don’t. He’s got it. To play at this level, can you play away from the puck? His skating has impressed me and I’m impressed with his level of strength in one-on-one battles and keeping guys at bay. He’s a very impressive young man.”
Adams said Kulich was the best player on the ice at the prospect tournament and said if he’s ready to help the team win, he’ll be on the roster.
“If he’s not right in the beginning, it’s just a matter of time until he is,” Adams said. “And we’ll just let that sort itself out.”
For a team that didn’t add a scoring threat in the offseason, maybe Kulich can provide some of that. Peterka and Benson are also both still young players, so having Kulich nipping at their heels could serve as added motivation.
## 5.
Dennis Gilbert skating with the first group shouldn’t be a surprise. I think he’s clearly ahead of Ryan Johnson in the pecking order because of the specific role he can play as a physical defenseman. Ruff will value that experience and the lineup options it gives him. The defensive pairs are going to be interesting with this group, but here’s an early guess at how it could play out when everyone is healthy.
– Bowen Byram – Rasmus Dahlin
– Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju
– Mattias Samuelsson – Connor Clifton
– Extra: Gilbert
In that scenario, you could also play Samuelsson with Power and put Gilbert with either Jokiharju or Clifton. That creates a similar competition to one the team will have at forward. There was a lot of mixing and matching between defensive pairs at practice, especially once Dahlin was out. But we also saw Byram with Jokiharju, which opens up the possibility of Power playing with Dahlin. There’s a lot of talent on Buffalo’s blue line. Ruff just has to figure out how it all fits together.
## 6.
The Sabres are sitting on nearly $7 million in salary cap space, which has raised fair questions about the team’s willingness to spend.
## 7.
On the topic of cap space, most of that $7 million the Sabres have is from the savings generated by the Jeff Skinner buyout. If not to spend that money, why did the Sabres opt to get rid of Skinner now rather than wait another year to buy out his contract?
“It’s a tricky question because I have a lot of respect for Jeff and I’m certainly not going to say anything other than positive about who he is as a player and person,” Adams said. “We made a really tough decision because we thought we could be in a position to win more hockey games. Those aren’t easy but that was the decision we made. I think when you look at did we fill the spot or not in terms of goals, I think part of that goes to the young core and the players we have we believe will take steps. For me the talent is there and now it’s how do we make sure we’re playing the right way and doing all of those little things that help our team improve and players improve individually. We feel confident that they will.”
## 8.
The Sabres will name a captain, but Ruff wants to spend some time with the group on the ice before making the final decision.
## 9.
Adams said he didn’t think Krebs’ contract negotiation needed to take as long as it did and “you would have to ask his guys” why it did. Krebs signed a two-year contract worth $1.45 million per season the day before camp started. When asked why an extra year and more money for Krebs than his qualifying offer, Adams said it gives Krebs time to develop and establish his role in the lineup and it was a number the Sabres are comfortable with. He also stressed Krebs will need to earn his spot given the offseason additions.
## 10.
One thing that was apparent with the Sabres’ new additions is the speed they bring. Malenstyn, Zucker, Lafferty, Aube-Kubel and McLeod can all fly. Tage Thompson noted that those guys are strong on pucks, too, and it really limited the time and space he had to work during some of the battle drills in practice. Ruff wants the Sabres to be quicker to kill plays in their defensive zone and better about breaking the puck out in a hurry. Some of that will come from systems and mentality, but a lot of it will be about the personnel Buffalo added, too.
“I didn’t think we were a slow team by any means, but we’re definitely harping on the idea of playing faster,” Tuch said.
I’m getting excited, but should I be? I don’t know!
Captain of the month going to make a comeback?