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The top line with Tage at center with two experienced and rugged wingers should be able to win their matchups.

I've been getting such spotty information this preseason. Are there players in the WR corps that are giving the team concern? I've heard several times that the team would likely move on from Curtis Samuel if the finances worked (which apparently they don't). I also saw a couple of "woof" Tweets from the Chicago practice/game re: Elijah Moore's drops. Davis doesn't make sense, I don't think. No special teams role. And the team seems to like Coleman and Shavers as "X" style WRs.

yo whodat, though?

I don’t really care about top-loading a 1st line, or a traditional hierarchy, just give me lines that can win their matchups.

I don’t think there’s any way to argue the Sabres didn’t look like a poorly coached team last year. It’s the thing most likely to hold them back this year and the reason I think the most likely outcome of the season is a mid-season bloodletting of the brain trust. The decision not to do it in April will likely not only cost the team this season, but also the next few as the new regime restarts the painful (and what should have been unnecessary) process of rebooting the core.

How about moving Tage back to the 1C and Norris to the 2C? A Zucker/Tage/Tuch would make for an experienced and sizeable top line. Or a Benson/Tage/Tuch on the top line? My hope is that Quinn makes the leap forward and earns a role on the second line with Norris centering it. This is going to be an interesting camp to see how the lines get formed. I prefer to see McCleod as a 3C and with the ability to move up the lines when needed. I think most people agree with you that UPL's play is the most important issue entering the season.

Gabe Davis will be visiting the Bills this week

I agree here, I was at least grateful that KA acknowledged that play between the dots and the crease were actually a part of the game... failure yes... wrong idea no.

I trust Zach Benson in a top 6 role a hell of lot more than Casey Mittelstadt.

Most ppl have focused on losing Peterka's offense. The Sabres need to reduce their goals against by 17% to sniff the playoffs, that's not a small feat. They also need to have more types of offense than simply RUSH. That's why Granato crashed and burned, once teams started to deny rush chances, there was nothing else. Florida is a good example of different types of offense. They can use the rush but they can also cycle and reload in the neutral zone. Since the playoffs sees tighter checking, this works great. Clog the neutral zone, reload, chip it in, recover, reload in zone up high and then work the cycle. Now whether or not adding Timmins, Kesselring, Doan, Danforth to the mix is enough to vary how the offense can play remains to be seen. It also remains to be seen if Buffalo can actually play any type of strong checking game in their own end. They sucked at board battles, they give up the blue line ALWAYS under Wilford because they are afraid of everyone being McDavid, they allow cross ice passes because they puck watch and lose positioning. The wingers have a bad habit of not sealing walls and helping with breakouts and the Sabres don't win battle in front of their own net. Wilford should be fired. I personally expect a lot of struggling by Kesselring and Timmins because they will be like Byram at first, coming from a sound system to whatever the hell this monstrosity is.

Haha. We had NLL in Fort Worth (Panther City Lacrosse Club). In their last year they drew 2700 per game. When they left the league no one even tried to buy the team; they folded.

Me!

Dahlin, TT, Tuch, and Byram need to have good seasons or there’s nobody at the helm. Benson and Quinn need to produce consistently throughout the season….for once. Kesserling and Norris have to be what we hope they will or we are in trouble at the 1C and 4D positions. Not ideal. Krebs and Greenway just need to keep doing what the have been doing. Zucker and McLeod need to produce like they did last year. So most important IMO: Dahlin, TT, Tuch, Quinn, Kesserling, Greenway.

Well they aren't going to make the playoffs but for me, to improve, the 3 would be: 1) Power developing into what he's paid to be 2) Norris being healthy and playing most of the season (and contributing at his healthy NHL rate) 3) Lindy Ruff actually getting this team to play a hard to play against defensive structure. I do not expect any of these 3 things to happen.

Exactly. It's not that we "don't want Benson" in the top 6, we just don't think we should keep playing kids in top 6 roles. Benson may very well become a true top 6 player but he really is just a kid.

How is there internal competition? We already know the 6 D, and the only real question is where Doan fits in. I guess we also have Tage as wing or center but almost everything is already set. I see very little competition for spots at all.

Well solid is arguable but he is a veteran. Anyway, I'm laughing a fair bit at how Sabres fans here have turned on him so quickly. I still remember the conversations of "how are we going to pay him in a few years" from way way back. Now watch him and Cozens have career years lol.

We want the team to be better defensively and harder to play against, right? Here are some statistical comparisons (all #s 5-on-5, green=Sabres got better, red=Sabres got worse) Cozens/Norris TOI: 17:04/18:21 DZone starts 10.8% /15.4% Shot attempts against per 60: 60.56/60.94 xGA per 60: 2.89/2.63 Hits: 187/124 Blocked shots: 35/34 Takeaways 12/9 Faceoffs 52.1%/54.6% Peterka/Doan TOI: 18:11/13:31 DZone starts: 10%/8.7% Shot attempts against per 60: 61.53/47.66 xGA per 60: 3.0/2.0 Hits: 27/45 Blocked shots: 14/14 Takeaways: 18/10 Lafferty/Danforth TOI: 9:53/14:23 DZone starts 11.4%/13.8% Shot attempts against per 60: 57.82/60.44 xGA per 60: 2.55/2.64 Hits 84/125 Blocked shots: 16/31 Takeaways 5/7 Faceoffs 50.4%/50.5% Jokiharju/Kesselring TOI: 17:50/17:41 DZone starts 10.7/9.06 Shot attempts against per 60: 54.79/55:07 xGA per 60: 2.54/2.35 Hits 44/82 Blocked shots: 44/65 Takeaways 12/20 Clifton/Timmins TOI: 16:03/16:55 DZone starts: 11.9%/9.2% Shot attempts against per 60: 63.39/56.56 xGA per 60: 2.79/2.5 Hits: 180/55 Blocked shots: 81/79 Takeaways: 23/11

Albany FireWolves are relocating to Ontario for upcoming season https://share.google/IVRO1Yigvutm765cQ That's a shame but it's not like Albany showed up in big numbers. I drove from NH two years ago when the Bandits had a playoff game there and they barely had 4,500, and maybe 1,000 were Bandits fans.

I haven't played fantasy football in years. Might be interested if you need another.

I'm very much in favour of adding a reliable veteran top six forward. I was just replying to @Archie Lee's hypothetical. That said, like @Weave I'm not sure Mittelstadt fits that profile. And I think you are missing out on the reality that there is internal competition. Of course I'd rather have another Norris-level player in that 4th forward spot and push somebody into the press box with Malenstyn. But look at what they do have. Everyone acknowledges Norris, Tuch and Thompson as top 6 forwards, but they forget that Jason Zucker and Ryan McLeod were both reliable plus players who each played 16 minutes a game and topped 20 goals and 50 points. I know you disagree, but by objective statistical measures, they were legitimate 2nd liners. There is one spot up for grabs in the top six and at least three high-pedigree young players — Kulich, Benson, Quinn — competing for it. Maybe Doan makes four. You do only "need" one of the group to break out. If two of them bust out, you are pushing a legitimate 2nd-liner on to your 3rd line. And McLeod and Zucker aren't just going to hand over their ice time. To me, that looks like the definition of internal competition. Taking it a step further: Danforth, Krebs, Greenway and Doan are 2-way players who all played 3rd line minutes last year. Add in two of Kulich, Quinn and Benson and you get 6 players fighting for 3rd-line minutes and three guys capable of 3rd line minutes on your 4th line. Again, that looks to me like more internal competition. And it also looks like depth. I'm not saying this group is good, or even good enough. I am saying there is enough depth and internal competition to give the coach options. The fact of the matter is, you don't even need any of these players to break out statistically. Their production from last year adds up to a playoff-calibre offence. You need them to take care of their own zone. Let's hope the coaching staff gives the ice time to the ones that do.

I’d play if you need a replacement.

I don’t value Casey Mittlestadt. I don’t see him as a “solid” veteran. Very unsolid in my eyes.

Do you honestly think this roster will stay healthy all year? Your playoff reliance is all on 3 youngsters stepping up all at once (Benson, Kulich, Quinn). If they don't, or only one does, it's nowhere near enough. Do you not value depth and internal competition? If you don't add one more solid veteran (be it Mitts or whoever) how do you sit underperformers without depleting the line up? Isn't that an ongoing issue with this team?

There’s little doubt Mitts is the most proven player, but it would be very hard for me to predict which one would help the Sabres most this year. As bad as Jack Quinn was last year, he probably had a better season than Casey and I think he’s got a higher ceiling. What’s more likely: Kulich taking a step offensively or Casey defensively? Because there is no doubt the Sabres need the more reliable player. Not sure what happened to Casey this year because he’s better than what he showed. But how does a player go from +12 in 60ish games in Buffalo to -12 in 60ish games in Denver to -17 in 18 games in Boston? I mean he’s certain to bounce back with a career year with the Bruins because Boston, but in Buffalo?