I think rieder is in. He is here to help the pk. I could be wrong, but it wouldn't shock me if it cost Thompson or okposo. Remember our pk was historically bad. Also, ruotsalainen is gonna make a push for Thompsons spot.

I could definitely see Rieder cracking the lineup for exactly that reason. If Thompson comes into camp looking flat, I think that's what happens, but I think Thompson comes in and impresses. The team has confidence in him, he looked good before injury last year, and he's done all the right things in the off-season.

I think Ruuts can definitely make a push, but the fact that he's waivers exempt and Thompson isn't really works against him. And I think with him coming from Liiga, they'll see the AHL as a natural development step rather than just jumping straight to the NHL. But I could be wrong.

I could see these players in the line up.
Good job.

Some random thoughts, facts and opinions.
Arttu could fit nearly anywhere in the line up:
https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-prospect-rewind-arttu-ruotsalainen/c-317003272
He can win faceoff, as well as PK and PP.

Outside of the 2018-'19 season Eakin's stats over the last four years are not much different than Larsson, If he is the third line center Buffalo will not be a playoff contender.

Rieder had a record tying playoff, but other than that his last 3 years are much below Zemgus and Kyle who he would need to better than to be in the line up.

Thompson bulked up and he was the Amerks best player in the 2019 playoffs, the best young Sabre in the prospect challenge and the best Amerk during his stint last year.
Big players take longer to develop, few players are bigger than he.

Finally, the players were not the problem with the PK, it was the system.
Just as the players stood around on the PP, the players were too passive killing penalties.
They let the other teams set up without challenging the puck carrier.
If that continues this year, new personnel will not change the results.

Agree with much of this. PK is definitely system driven, but Rieder is known for being a fantastic attacking penalty killer. He'd definitely be a valuable addition there, and would be a focal point of the structure change.

And I just think we need to temper expectations a little with Ruutsolainen. I like him, but the gap in play between Liiga and the NHL is massive. Olofsson was an older prospect coming from a much better league in the SHL, and he still spent a season in Rochester before breaking the roster. I don't see any reason why Arttu wouldn't follow the same path unless he comes into camp and absolutely dominates.

Good comment!