>*“If we don’t make another big move and use the remaining cap space for Skinner’s cap space, the Sabres will be one of only two teams in the league that have had at least 7 percent or more of their salary cap unused in each of the last four years. They also have refused to weaponize the cap space to add assets. That’s not a team doing anything they can to win the Cup.”*
> *”Adams and Co. have done a fantastic job drafting and developing players, but the roster has been ready to make a big step forward and contend for a playoff spot, and for the second offseason in a row they have failed to make a significant addition (top-six forward or top-four defenseman).”*
>After looking like one of the most exciting teams in the league during the 2022-23 season, there was a lot of hope that the Sabres were on the precipice of being the league’s next big thing — or just making the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. That would be good, too.
>Instead, the Sabres lit all that goodwill on fire over the last year and are seemingly back at square one with an increasingly impatient fan base.
>Buffalo fans deserve better and that starts with a front office that actually spends what it takes to win. That the Sabres bought out Jeff Skinner for immediate cap gain only to not use that money feels like a massive misstep for a team that could use one or two impact players to put them over the top. Buffalo’s unwillingness to loosen up the purse strings has had a profound negative effect on how confident the team’s fans currently feel, putting the Sabres’ vision rightfully in question. In that vein, Buffalo getting a D-grade in both roster building and free agency feels apt.
>The Sabres have a strong group of prospects ready to deliver and are rewarded for their pipeline and development as a result — it’s just not enough to overcome the problems everywhere else.
Not using the cap space would be more of an indictment of Terry Pegula than the front office (which I take to mean GM and staff). For all we know they did use the cap space skinner freed up signing Zucker and all the other free agents lol
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>26th. Buffalo Sabres
> https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/08/05110327/Screenshot-2024-08-05-at-10.56.07%E2%80%AFAM.png
> Last year: 8th
>*“If we don’t make another big move and use the remaining cap space for Skinner’s cap space, the Sabres will be one of only two teams in the league that have had at least 7 percent or more of their salary cap unused in each of the last four years. They also have refused to weaponize the cap space to add assets. That’s not a team doing anything they can to win the Cup.”*
> *”Adams and Co. have done a fantastic job drafting and developing players, but the roster has been ready to make a big step forward and contend for a playoff spot, and for the second offseason in a row they have failed to make a significant addition (top-six forward or top-four defenseman).”*
>After looking like one of the most exciting teams in the league during the 2022-23 season, there was a lot of hope that the Sabres were on the precipice of being the league’s next big thing — or just making the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. That would be good, too.
>Instead, the Sabres lit all that goodwill on fire over the last year and are seemingly back at square one with an increasingly impatient fan base.
>Buffalo fans deserve better and that starts with a front office that actually spends what it takes to win. That the Sabres bought out Jeff Skinner for immediate cap gain only to not use that money feels like a massive misstep for a team that could use one or two impact players to put them over the top. Buffalo’s unwillingness to loosen up the purse strings has had a profound negative effect on how confident the team’s fans currently feel, putting the Sabres’ vision rightfully in question. In that vein, Buffalo getting a D-grade in both roster building and free agency feels apt.
>The Sabres have a strong group of prospects ready to deliver and are rewarded for their pipeline and development as a result — it’s just not enough to overcome the problems everywhere else.
Not using the cap space would be more of an indictment of Terry Pegula than the front office (which I take to mean GM and staff). For all we know they did use the cap space skinner freed up signing Zucker and all the other free agents lol