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I understand your post. In the end, being a sabres fan has become silliness.

This is exactly it. At my peak when the exchange was good, I was crossing the border at least once a week... usually more. I still go across once a month or so. The ratio of jerk border guards to nice border guards pretty much matches the a-hole to non-a-hole ratio you see in the general public. Some are extremely nice. Some take their bad days out on you. Most are indifferent. The Canadian border guards are no different... But if I had to pick I'd say US are friendlier, probably because they're not worried about me smuggling booze or smokes. I've heard so many "non-crossers" talk about how bad the US border guards are. These people might cross once every 5 years and have the fear of God anytime they do so. They dutifully soak up all the horror stories they hear on the CBC and social media though and somehow believe they're entering the Wild West on the other side of the river. As a die-hard "Niagaran", I feel much more at home in the Buffalo area than I do in the GTA. People are friendlier, traffic is sane, and of course I like the hockey team better!

Or it could be that $.62 is the reason the Canadians are not coming.

I’ve been vacationing on the south Jersey shore, and it historically has attracted many Canadians, especially from Quebec. So far I’ve only seen one Canadian license plate. 🤷‍♂️

Naples doesn't turn all its grapes into pies? Who knew? 😉

Well, if they do need one more legit 1st liner, they appear to have a plethora of D to use as a centerpiece of a trade and though Adams doesn't seem able to really get into that pool too well, there is FA as well. And if you really do have an excess of 2nd liners (enough to pretty much have 3 lines worth of 2nd liners) only having 1 or 2 true 1st liners is a surmountable issue. Again, am pretty happy with the roster 2 years out. Not exactly thrilled with it at present (at least under current direction). But we're getting to the point in the program where this kid is getting mildly optimistic even though they still need at least 1 and likely 2 more good Fs and the GT is still significant Q, and will likely have a pathetic PP.

If the report is correct, at least Jones as well. And, hadn't seen Franklin on the roster before, but he might've been. The rest of them look like they were Bills earlier this summer. EDIT: Franklin was waived by Denver.

Who knows? Maybe Canadians who come across for something as simple as dinner or outlet shopping decided it’s not worth it.

Other than Phillips and Poyer, how many of these guys weren’t with the Bills during training camp?

If you're headed to Naples, may I suggest stopping in at Inspire Moore Winery. My wife and I have been wine club members there for the past 4-5 years or so. It's a very friendly place with a relaxed atmosphere and very good wines. We enjoy going there so much, that we've opted to pick up our quarterly wine club package as opposed to having it delivered and we live in the Buffalo area. We prefer dry whites and reds, but they have something for most palates. You can do a tasting and/or enjoy a glass of on the adjacent porch/deck with a view overlooking the vineyard. You can also head down to an area directly behind the tasting area and get a great view of the vineyard from ground level. The Roots Café on the same property, but with different owners, has really nice food if you're looking for some place to eat.

I see In Benson, Quinn, Kulich, Helenius and Östlund, (outside chance Doan and Rosen) potential top six players, which is probably more than most teams. The issue is more about whether any of those guys can be legitimate first-liners, because I think they're going to need at least one to make that jump.

Missing the playoffs for 15 years plays a big part. Why put up with the BS at the border when the product on the ice isn’t worth watching.

This won't help either. National exposure ! https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2025/08/27/buffalo-sabres-to-appear-7-times-on-national-broadcasts-this-season

But IF this team stays together, they have Dahlin, Thompson, Tuch as true 1st liners/pairing players. And they have Byram, Power, and Kesselring as possible 1st pairing and at least 2nd pairing guys along with Norris should he actually finally become healthy. They also have Benson and Kulich who by the time the prospects are coming up should be top 6 as well. Quinn and Doan might become top 6 guys as well. They have plenty of D prospects to be rounding out the 3rd pairing in the near future and at least one of Helenius or Östlund should be top 6 as well. So rounding out the rest with 3rd and 4th liners, while not ideal, isn't horrible. Provided, they finally figure out who's capable of being a stud in net and find a crew that can actually coach the whole bunch, am actually pretty high on where they can be 2 years from now. The fear is that this season goes sideways so thoroughly, that they don't have all 3 of those top end guys when all is said and done.

I agree with you. It puzzles me that so many people are so adamant are adamant about removing Trump by any means necessary, making Vance president. I think just as devious as Trump, but smarter. Careful what you wish for...

I'm not a Canadian, but I live right near the border (less than 5 minutes from the River), and we have some Canadian friends that we got to know over the years from visiting for a day or weekend at the cottage. This is strictly my experience and certainaly anecdotal, but I agree with your comments above. No serious conversations specifically about this topic, but over the last 6 months or so having a casual call or message with them, I didn't hear any stories about any of them having a problem crossing the border. What they have said, however, is they don't like/appreciate the way Canada is talked about by the USA now and they just don't care to come across the border and 'support' the US businesses like they did before this started. If there is a specific reason to cross the border, I get the impression they will, but the casual trips, the vacations, I think those have been put on hold by most of them. (again, I'm talking about only a handful of couples/familes from Canada that I am friends with)

Officer on primary determines whether someone should be referred for further questions.

I have read that more then a few Canadians haven’t been allowed to enter the US with having anti trump comments on the social media accounts, plus another wasn’t allowed in with anti Israel comments specifically of the Israel prime minister

And apparently the 17th spot will be filled as well. (Never heard of the guy making the tweet, but apparently he's ESPN's Washington Commies beat reporter, so take it for what it's worth. It's likely legit.)

Based on how the team fared in its own end this past season with Granato's chosen D coach leading the efforts there, have no reason to believe the results would have been any better last season had Donny been retained. And Cozens and Quinn would've still been making the same idiotic clearing passes from just above the opponent's goal line to neither point man in particular had Donny been running the show as well.

Granato had an openly stated development plan of teaching offence first defence second. I think with the offence in place, he made clear progress on improving the defence in his 3rd full year but took a modest step back overall in the process and was not given a chance to see his plan through. I think there were a lot of players firmly on board with Granato who struggled transitioning to Ruff (Cozens, Power, Quinn, Peterka, Samuelsson, Clifton). I’ve seen little to suggest that either coach is/was on the right track.

After reading your intriguing observation, a question can be asked whether the Sabres would have had a better record with Granato than with Ruff taking over? With both Granato and Ruff, the bigger problem related to the composition of the roster than with the coaching. It just seems that there were roster and structural deficiencies that hindered each coach.

Thanks for the correction, it was Christmas.

Practice squad https://www.buffalobills.com/news/bills-sign-16-players-to-practice-squad