Will Jack wait until they are ready?
- Gr8daygo

They're both not the answer for this or next year. Long term additions will be a pleasure to watch. I'd imagine Pekar is maybe here a year before Peterka.

Ralph is an over hyped loser coach that has a losing record everywhere in hockey

no wonder the other 30 teams wanted nothing to do with him when the oilers canned him
- homiedclown

This I don’t agree with but to each their own.

This team played with the best structure I’ve seen in many years under Ralph.

Now he needs to improve the special teams and let Dahlin run free this season but there are far bigger issues on this team then the coach that everyone likes

i wouldnt have wanted Kahun as 3C anyway that was more about our 3C position. i want to make sure we have a 3C option outside of Cozens going into the season
- SabresFaninIndiana

I know it doesn't need to be said, but losing Kahun hurts next year, unless you're finding a better gadget player for moderately more money. So we'll see how this unfolds.

31
- Buff36

In 56 games, and he produced at a top 25 forward rate.

Let's see how it plays out, including whatever moves the rest of FA brings.

The Sabres wanted cost certainty to plan the rest of their moves. 6 RFAs means plenty of uncertainty in their cap number. They took the risk to cut down on that uncertainty.

We'll see how it all plays out. I get why they did what they did. They certainly can use Kahun. Maybe they'll keep him or maybe they'll replace him. We'll see
- jcragcrumple

Dont have to.

The new GM has already talked out of his ass about the draft and about making sure they improve the roster.

They’re using data!! To keep the bad defensemen qualified and the good forwards not qualified.

Everything they say, they do the opposite. Murray, Botterill, and now the assistant to the regional ice manager

so...................

we qualify him, and worst case we over pay 500 k and have a chance to lock him up before arbitration


or we can roll the dice, have 24 hours to try to work out a deal and if not he can go play anywhere and we get nothing for him


f@ck the damn yacht
- homiedclown

if i am Kahun's agent i am probably making them overpay that 500k to sign him before UFA..

31
- Buff36

Kahun was on pace for 45 points over 82 games.

Pretty impressive third line numbers if you ask me.

Yes. Regardless if they sign him they made the choice that $ was the primary factor over making sure no matter what they kept the rights to a good player
- sbroads24

Isn't money the prime factor when signing any player, even when we're not in the middle of a pandemic?

Maybe they feel they can get him for less. They're they ones in talks with the agent. Maybe there's a good rapport there. None of us are privy to that.

Another positive test for the Titans

2yrs 5.4 or 5.5mill

I know it doesn't need to be said, but losing Kahun hurts next year, unless you're finding a better gadget player for moderately more money. So we'll see how this unfolds.
- TheSabresTaco

he was a huge upgrade of the turds he was traded for and at 2.75 is a quality signing. i am so confused

if i am Kahun's agent i am probably making them overpay that 500k to sign him before UFA..
- SabresFaninIndiana

If I’m Kahun’s agent I tell him you’re going to have a lot of fun on either McDavid or Driastails wing.

Dont have to.

The new GM has already talked out of his ass about the draft and about making sure they improve the roster.

They’re using data!! To keep the bad defensemen qualified and the good forwards not qualified.

Everything they say, they do the opposite. Murray, Botterill, and now the assistant to the regional ice manager
- sbroads24

At this point I have to sadly agree.

Hypothetical questions:

If TM did not give Okposo that crappy contract, and Kyle himself was not bent on playing until his brain turns to mush (and would simply retire), are we knashing teeth and hand-wringing over the signing of Kahun?

If it were not for the prospect of no fans buying tickets, would the team be as bent on saving money right now? How many teams have spent to the cap only to be bounced after one round in the playoffs?

The team has not been good, but previous decisions and present circumstances got us by the balls in a lot of ways. C'est la vie. Work through the pain. Dig in. Man up.

Dont have to.

The new GM has already talked out of his ass about the draft and about making sure they improve the roster.

They’re using data!! To keep the bad defensemen qualified and the good forwards not qualified.

Everything they say, they do the opposite. Murray, Botterill, and now the assistant to the regional ice manager
- sbroads24

You can do whatever you want. Ill wait and see how the weekend plays out

Hypothetical questions:

If TM did not give Okposo that crappy contract, and Kyle himself was not bent on playing until his brain turns to mush (and would simply retire), are we knashing teeth and hand-wringing over the signing of Kahun?

If it were not for the prospect of no fans buying tickets, would the team be as bent on saving money right now? How many teams have spent to the cap only to be bounced after one round in the playoffs?

The team has not been good, but previous decisions and present circumstances got us by the balls in a lot of ways. C'est la vie. Work through the pain. Dig in. Man up.
- LandlordTom

IMO small market teams need to have lots of value contracts for overpaying their top end talent

when you have an okposo buried on your third or 4th line, it magnifies your need to have a value guy or 2 like kahun in your middle 6

esp when you decide to have an internal cap 15 percent below the actual cap

This part of your statement is incorrect:

what he would have asked for (and probably would have gotten

The majority of the time, the arbitrator splits the difference between what the player files for and what the team files for.

He was never getting his full request.

He was likely getting under $3M.

There was never a concern about a bloated ARB award.
- kingcong39

The concern is 100% the arb award. We know this from the other 6 QOs. According to Kahun's agent, the Sabres have already offered him a contract above the QO. It was rejected as not good enough. What the Sabres already have offered is a worst-case scenario or possibly less than the worst-case scenario at arbitration.

My point is the arb-eligibility gives Kahun the leverage in negotiations. Adams removed that leverage by not qualifying.* He won't get worse than the deal he was already offered, but he could get more than the team would ever be willing to pay him. This is magnified by the unusual economic climate that the arbitrator will not consider. And the team can't walk away from a bad award because Kahun is not going to get $4.6M. Add in the fact that a player who goes to arb likely walks in FA after getting shat on by the team, and this decision could make sense.

*I've already qualified this in past posts. It only makes sense under certain circumstances to which none of us are privy.

You can do whatever you want. Ill wait and see how the weekend plays out
- jcragcrumple

TJ Brennan is a free agent

They still have that opportunity. They're meeting today for further contract discussion. Both parties actually sound interested in working something out.

Unless Adams is a moron, and I'm pretty sure he isn't (this is unrelated to his ability as a GM, btw), the reason the Sabres would decline the QO is because they think he probably wouldn't be a value contract after arbitration, especially in a post-covid economy. Plus, you likely lose the player to UFA after his arb deal ends.

Anyway, even if he's unsigned on Friday, Kahun isn't going to get what he would have asked for (and probably would have gotten) in arbitration given the current circumstances. Unlike pretty much every year before this one, players likely aren't going to get paid more than their comps who signed deals before them on the open market.

Adams also said part of the calculus is leaving the door open for taking the money they would set aside for paying Kahun as an arb-eligible RFA and spending it on a better player if one is available once FA opens. I don't want to lose Kahun for nothing, but I would not complain if the team brought in a better player than him.

IF Kahun is legit interested in extending with the Sabres, and IF the team is willing to pay FMV, not qualifying him is a great way to get a deal done because the market will actually set the deal. I mean, there's a risk he takes less money to play elsewhere like you proposed in the post I responded to before, but if that's the case then the Sabres were going to lose no matter what with respect to Kahun.

My main point in my posts tonight is to respond to the seeming general consensus that there are no circumstances where it makes sense not to qualify Kahun. In fact, there are as many good reasons not to do it as there are good ones to do it. But it all depends on circumstances to which none of us are privy.
- JetpackJesus

I'm just glad you spent the time and effort to craft this, because this is a post I would have made today or tomorrow sometime. But it's all correct.

You can do whatever you want. Ill wait and see how the weekend plays out
- jcragcrumple

That's it, the fun has just started, it's hard with the Sabres but patience.

The concern is 100% the arb award. We know this from the other 6 QOs. According to Kahun's agent, the Sabres have already offered him a contract above the QO. It was rejected as not good enough. What the Sabres already have offered is a worst-case scenario or possibly less than the worst-case scenario at arbitration.

My point is the arb-eligibility gives Kahun the leverage in negotiations. Adams removed that leverage by not qualifying.* He won't get worse than the deal he was already offered, but he could get a lot more than the team would ever be willing to pay him. This is magnified by the unusual economic climate that the arbitrator will not consider. And the team can't walk away from a bad award because Kahun is not going to get $4.6M. Add in the fact that a player who goes to arb likely walks in FA after getting shat on by the team, and this decision could make sense.

*I've already qualified this in past posts. It only makes sense under certain circumstances to which none of us are privy.
- JetpackJesus

And all I am saying is the ARB award concern is a total myth as there was no concern with what he was going to get awarded. It's concerning that Adams and company believe that was a real issue.

I'm just glad you spent the time and effort to craft this, because this is a post I would have made today or tomorrow sometime. But it's all correct.
- TheSabresTaco

It is not all correct, as I have already outlined.

Anyone know if there's a legal tampering period this year? I assume it happens anyway. Just curious.

I thought they started doing that a couple years ago

Anyone know if there's a legal tampering period this year? I assume it happens anyway. Just curious
- jcragcrumple

Not this year by the looks of it.