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It’s all about action, not words. The Sabres decided the fitness department and the lack of management trainees needed to be accountable for the lack of results last year.

Carter Bear is progressing quick enough he may participate in the July World Jr summer showcase. He's already back skating.

Most people agree that altering the mix on the blueline is a priority. In my view, the most impactful thing our GM should do this off-season is bring in a solid goaltender. (As you noted.) If that issue isn’t adequately addressed, little will have changed.

Adams is such a sad sack. Can't even fire ppl cuz they're all his buddies, pals, chums.

That’s truly horrible news.

Marty Wilford was in attendance for the Amerks Game on Friday in Rochester, I do not think he is going anywhere unfortunately

Imo, Zach Benson got drafted because the underlying analytics were absurd.

Shanahan will probably be available. Dudley when the Panthers are done. Might be people they are waiting on

Rotund men who have jingling man boobs and assss and expose them to the public should be criminally charged. If it makes the unsuspecting viewer to vomit, it should rise to a felony charge.

#2 made me lol. Some of them are active in this thread.

Yes, I’ll be starting Thursday.

Except Leino. Leino was a playoff stud. 😇😇😇

So. I guess this search is done?

I bet Florida is fine tonight. They will be running on autopilot and adrenaline. It can be an advantage to not have time off.

None of those guys were as good as Marner though.

But Jeff Skinner, Kyle Okposo, Matt Moulson, Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino all went so well.

Ryan O'Reilly did it a couple years after Bergeron. I may be missing somebody, but I think he, Benson and Cole Sillinger are the only 18-year-olds since Bergeron to play in the NHL full-time in the D+1 year that were not top 10 draft picks. The list of players to score 25 points as an 18-year-old this century doesn't have many players on it who didn't become stars.

Classic episode.

Other teams have a lot of cap space. Part of me also thinks Pegula will not sign a high profile free agent after the Taylor Hall debacle

It’s fun to see it, but I kind of wish it was left private. We’re too spoiled sometimes.

The first name that always pops into my head is Patrice Bergeron, and he made that leap as a second round pick. I wonder if anyone can even find another second rounder doing that. He wound up in the AHL for his second season thanks to the lockout. I don’t mean to suggest that Benson could use that time in the AHL, it’s just a crazy scenario for Bergeron.

My hatred of the Leafs goes to the Sabres first season in 1970. Start Punch Imlach as our GM and coach, add the close proximity, Toronto was an immediate rival. The Sabres won the first ever meeting between the teams, 7-2 in Maple Leaf Garden, and that was the start of it. I went to the first Leafs game ever in the Aud. The Sabres lost and I got my first taste of Leafs fans in our building. The Leafs fans were loud, maybe 20% of the crowd, and that was the start of my anti-Leaf journey. Fortunately the Sabres quickly past the Leafs as an Eastern Conference contender. The league kept expanding and went to 4 divisions. Toronto moved out of our division, putting them into the weaker Norris division to help them. It was a move that the Leafs irrepressible owner Harold Ballard favored as it thought it would help them, but it didn't. That moved failed as Detroit and St Louis and Chicago all got better and Toronto lagged. As a result the Sabre and Leafs have only played ONE playoff series ever. Sabres won that series 4-1 back in 1999. Amazing to think that or closest rival has only played us once in the playoffs. That is Sabrey.

On paper yes, and they have a huge goaltending hole but the comparison still holds until one of the two make the playoffs. Completely antithetical rebuild plans. neither has worked yet. The verdict remains to be seen on which plan is best.

This is pretty much the truth, but all of that is on Adams and yet Adams is still here. Why do we not have more bodies in place? We don't spend to the cap, Adams didn't add players. There were waiver wire players even that could have been added here and there. AJ Greer was a waiver guy playing for Florida and they also got Boquist that way. In terms of roster construction the Florida lines fit the bill better. What they have done is cobbled together a 4th line that has toughness and grit but also doesn't yield too much and so isn't a liability. If the top 2 lines in the playoffs cancel out the game falls on that third line and that's where they killed Toronto. Post deadline they have the best 3rd line in hockey. Sabres 3rd line? Constantly cobbled together leftover pieces that didn't fit elsewhere. This will never happen but if they added Marchand and Bennett and then traded Norris for a top 4 D man to play with Power then they might actually have the basis of a good competitive roster. Byram could also be moved for another D man or solid winger. The "core" of this team just isn't a solid competitive core.

Teams WERE aware of him. But still, he was sliding down the draft board. He went 13th overall. AND he was selected by the team that almost definitely had more interaction with him and watched him more than any other team. And the Sabres didn't just have their scouts watch him. Their development people were watching him too as he was Savoie's linemate. You will be hard pressed to convince me that he still would've been the Sabres selection had they not drafted Savoie one season earlier. This is a kid that did the Ryan O'Reilly and made the NHL straight out of junior in his draft year and WASN'T a top 2 or 3 pick. THAT doesn't happen often. ROR at least is a really big guy. Benson slid because of his physical measurements. The Sabres took the chance on him because they actually knew him.