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I don't think it was about the money.

I’ve watched Kesselring play for a couple years now. He is a good Dman and more of what the Sabres need. Watching Doan in preseason and regular season he plays very much like Benson with more size.

Hopefully Ellis gets some playing time soon. Lyon has been solid which is a big step up from a lot of the goaltending the team has received the last number of years. Let’s see what Ellis has to offer before UPL comes back and they have to make a decision.

Per Tuch’s Agent “The communication, as you mentioned, has been good, been consistent throughout the summer,” Bartlett said. “You know, we had some good conversations, got kind of the parameters of whatever everyone was thinking. It’s very clear to us that the Buffalo Sabres would like Alex Tuch to re-sign long term. That’s been communicated very well, very clearly, very effectively by (Sabres GM) Kevyn Adams and the staff there. And I think hopefully we’ve communicated back to them that Alex would be very happy to stay in Buffalo, as well. “We weren’t able to kind of get to what made a deal before the season. And then at this point, we’ve just put it on the backburner.” This is as on the DFO Podcast

Just saw that Kulich is "leading" the team with a minus 6 on the plus/minus after this game. What is up with that? Tage and Rasmus aren't great either.

The players need to realize that in order to get energy from the crowd they need to feed them first. Then the fans can reciprocate into an upward climb where both reinforce each other. The in arena experience will only go so far, especially when most people who show up are rooting for the other team or expecting a loss.

There's only one answer to this and it applies to everyone, regardless of playing hockey or not. We are only accountable to ourselves. We cannot control the actions of others. As far as hockey goes, any player who decides they don't want to play at their best cannot point the finger at anyone else. At the very best that player becomes equally as culpable as all the others who have "given up". Not trying because the team "sucks" and has "sucked" is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Only by actually putting in the effort could anything change. if I am a GM on another team do I want to trade for a player who is willing to "give up" because of the situation? I'm not saying players don't do it. I just won't ever excuse it and I wouldn't want those players on my team or coming to my team.

All the players interviewed as well as Lindy mentioned how they fed off the crowd’s energy. Just need them to harness it, recall it and use it at their will in the future. The in arena experience should also be focused on getting the crowd amped at home games. If Lindy isn’t feeling it, dress Geertsen to eat a few fists and get the crowd amped. This isn’t that hard.

True but I guess we’ll never know 🤷‍♂️

Here in NC that's every day that ends in the letter Y.

That one is a team choice, not the league.

Done

Working and not getting paid suuuuuuuux.

It was a fun game 1000% and that jolt of energy from the crowd, man it was palpable... This team should realize what this city can be, it doesn't take that much. With that being said... We didn't look "good" Ottawa just looked that bad, so I'm very cautious

Yes, the bar is "solid but unspectacular." With the Sabres' goal scoring last season, solid but unspectacular goaltending all season long would have resulted in a playoff berth. Terrible goaltending doomed the season. For the stretch near the end when Reimer played reasonably well, the team won a lot of games. A young Dominick Hasek or Ryan Miller are not walking through that door. There were not any great goalies on the free agent market this summer and teams are not looking to deal top-flight goalies. Plus, with free agent choices and no-trade clauses, it's highly unlikely a top-flight veteran goalie is going to sign with the Sabres. As such, they have to rely on "solid" veteran goalies while drafting and developing younger ones, hoping to eventually groom one into a star. UPL was looking like that guy a couple of seasons ago, and was paid accordingly, but fell off a cliff last season. Can Levi be that guy? The jury is still out. They've drafted 5 others (Leinonen, Ratzlaff, Leenders, Meloche, Prokhorov) (yes, Google is my friend) and brought in Ellis, in hopes of one or more of them becoming that guy. Lyon has played well. He has not "stood on his head" or made highlight-reel saves, but he's in the right place at the right time to make the necessary saves, and from what I've seen, he has not given up any soft goals that cost the team a game. Although he gave up 4 goals last night, the defensive play was horrific, and, fortunately, there was enough offense to overcome the 4 goals. I watched the TSN broadcast (nice relief and diversion from Dunleavy and Ray) and they commented several times on how Lyon's play kept the team in the game until they figured out they needed to put forth some effort (which they did). I know very little about Ellis, except that he was very good in the AHL last season, but I'd like to see, at some point, what he can do. I assume he'll get a start the next time they play a lower-tier team. Last night would have been such an opportunity, but given the 0-3 start, they HAD TO go with Lyon, who has been playing well. To risk a loss on an unproven rookie and falling to 0-4 would not have been a wise decision.

I cannot find an interview with Lyon and Hammy.

Remember, Ottawa is bad and Buffalo got some luck. The way they generate pp chances is the issue. That said Jack Quinn suddenly remembered that there was indeed a center to the ice surface and he could go there, was fun.

Yeah, MN gets WAY colder than it does here...would have to go to Watertown/Adirondack/Lake Placid region for similar temps in NY...but we get way more snow than MN which is mostly land and on the wrong side of the lake for LES even in areas near Superior. Watertown/Lake Placid are essentially a blend of both where they get buried with multiple feet of lake snows AND temps that can get to -20 or -30 (or colder at times) before the windchills...

Believe it or not, as of now, the Sabres have the 13th power play in the league. 21.4%. Penalty kill is #3 at 93.8%. Keep in mind a 25% PP% would put you at 7th best last season. Scoring on 1 out 4 is all it takes.

Lyon's home town is Baudette, MN. Just down the road from the famous Warroad, MN. They are right on the Canadian border, close to the Northeast Angle, and closer to Winnipeg than Duluth. WNY winter temps and winds won't faze him but lake effect snows might. But there's always a team that thinks a change of scenery will solve it all. How about a forward?

It's spiders in the house season

That "best in the league" PP had Peterka and Quinn blowing through the AHL with nearly unprecedented for teens stats. When those 2 moved up, the PP regressed SIGNIFICANTLY. And that's even with adding Kulich to the mix. And, btw, until that last year in Ra-cha-cha, he had this guy, you might've heard of, named Peca who was helping him. He MIGHT've made a bit of a difference there.

"The team sucked tonight, right?"

NHL gonna NHL