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The is a difference between franchise values and operating in the red. Does $180MM/yr pay the bills? I don't know all the Sabres expenses.

It’s only shocking if people have believed the long held myth that these franchises lose money.

Don't let Adams hear that. I still thought for sure that the Rosén pick was going to be Wallstedt (and Cossa available, too), so as to land high pick to pair with Levi's recent Canada junior heroics. But general consensus is he's still a legitimate goalie prospect, just maybe not as good as Wolf.

On the one hand: This is one scout's opinion. There were likely other scouts in that organization (or any organization) who would go to bat for Levi. On the other hand: The Sabres dealt with the Panthers in acquiring Levi. One of the worst-run franchises in the league dealing with one of the best-run franchises in the league. The Panthers had whoever the f**k they had on their side of the deal -- seasoned, competent people working with a cohesive vision of the team they wanted to create. The Sabres had Kevyn Adams and f**king Jerry Forton as their chief scout of amateur players. Karmanos would have been there in the mix but I can't imagine him having much of a voice in that deal. I can't adequately explain how much I dislike the JerryFortonication of Sabres hockey. That dude is straight up cosplaying as an NHL executive. Michael Scott from The Office type sh1t. Or maybe Adams is Michael Scott and Jerry Forton is Dwight Schrute? Idk.

Re: Levi. I know a guy who was a Florida scout and he has since moved on to Washington. We were having a beer in Kelowna and I mentioned Levi. He told me, don’t get your hopes up on him.

The way preseason is structured with incomplete rosters it is a challenge to make judgments on players. I'm going to be cautious in making player judgments before the season even starts. My preliminary disappointment is that I expected him after being plagued with injuries the past couple of seasons to show more spark even in the preseason. The real season starts soon so we should have a better grasp of what the real state of affairs is for this team. The unanswered question is whether the Sabres have reached the upswing stage yet. I simply don't know? That in itself is troubling.

We stay in these preseason games any longer and we're going to get pulverized. (no reason to suspect that Byram and Power are anything but cautionary rest days to give the AHLers more looks) but if they and Kesselring are dinged up, Greenway is already shouldered, Luukkonen has a lingering strain or something that won't be right... that's a good start to the excuse.

I think Levi has to be the only hope. At this point, I don’t even care if they ruin him by bringing him up starting game one. i have no interest in another wasted season…

(and maybe he's only a Rochester call away.)

Buffalo is reportedly worth 1.36 billion. That's 29th in the league. They also managed to generate 174-183 million in revenue last yr which is shocking considering how awful they've become and how run down the arena is. "next six lowest revenue-generating clubs — Buffalo, Utah, Ottawa, San Jose, Anaheim and Winnipeg — still made between $174 million and $183 million last season." https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6680260/2025/10/01/nhl-franchise-valuations-team-worth-sportico/

Believe it or not Quinn was actually a bit more active than the last time he played. That is not saying much, he is just a high ice drifter waiting for someone to give him the puck. At one point last night, I'm not sure who it was but they were streaking down the wing Quinn was at center ice doing his tap tap tap on the ice for a pass and the skater just kept going into the zone because he had a clear path. I have seen this before where Quinn raps his stick on the ice and players ignore him. The only thing we would miss if he goes is that he is really good in shootouts. I think we all expect growth in players when they come back from off season. What bothers me is that sometimes players are who they are and if they don't improve you just have to unload them for something different. For the most part our returning players are exactly the same as they were when they skated off the ice last year.

Total seriousness here, who the hell is going to be their goaltender this year and how can this be such a gigantic question mark 14 years into the drought? The only thing that could possibly save this team is elite goaltending, so how the hell are they going to get above 80 points this year?

And it begins...

I’m going to have a ridiculous draft. It’s my daughter’s birthday, family are over during the day and I’m prob gunna be a couple bottles of wine deep by the time it starts!!!

The game was the first time I was able to watch the Sabres. You can’t take too much from a preseason game . However, what bothered me about it was a general flatness. I have been an advocate for Quinn for a while. What I found disturbing about his game last night was the lack of spark in his play. He’s one player that needs to play with desperation. He just seemed to be so pedestrian on the ice. I’m also bothered by UPL’s lack of durability. I’m aware that in the preseason you have to be cautious with players who are nicked up. But his ability to be available is ridiculously low. Assuming that Norris stays healthy, the trade for him was a good deal.

The players that I thought looked bad, were bad. Mrtka was dragged into the abyss by Bryson. Ryan Johnson is straight up better. I actually agree that Zucker McLeod Tuch looked like poo last night. Zucker turned a bunch of pucks over and they didn't seem to have legs as a line. Jack Quinn is catching fire up thread, he was mediocre but so was Kulich. Doan was the only one who had a few moments on that line. It was obvious that the AHL Pens wanted it more but it all game down to gt and special teams. Buffalo's were trash yet again. Passing around the perimeter on the pp so you can pass to Tage for a shot is stupid and rarely works. The PK looked like a disjointed mess but that's partially because most of the pk defense was gone. It's preseason, but warning signs are flashing. Bringing back the same coaches was stupid. Also Georgiev... not impressed.

To answer a question from upthread, yes Brian Duff has tattoos on his knuckles. They are names which could be his children

I didn’t think about the bold until i read this. You’re right, it’s disappointing.

In fairness to Hamilton his mouth was probably half full with his breakfast. Kidding. Not really.

Yeah I’m saying Korab in his age 70s today is better than Bryson. Tongue in cheek yes, definitely went over some peoples heads. It’s actually the complete opposite of an insult to Korab. That’s why I mentioned it.

This game featured every fear I had for this team: bad goaltending, bad defense and bad special teams. Not much looks to have changed in Sabreland.

Wasn't Korab playing as a forward when we got him from Chicago? Big heavy player really came into his own as a Sabre. Mean too. In more recent times Dustin Byfuglien reminded me of King Kong Korab. And wasn't it Rick Dudley that wanted him back on defense for Winnipeg? I think so but I might be remembering it wrong. If it was, maybe he was thinking of Korab as well. We don't need a Bryson. We could really use a Korab.

I'm waiting for the regular season for that but yes, so far he is near invisible much like last year.

He did stay at Michigan for a year after being drafted.