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He could prolly use some good dope.

Martin getting more love.

This is what I want to see for the Sabres some day. The heroic late goal to tie up the game (and then winning it) A packed house cheering on the home Sabres And I would love if they could get a goal chant as iconic as the one the Stars have. It's hard to understand how loud that's playing from the TV feed. The music is jet engine loud and the crowd drowns it out. It's utterly demoralizing to the other team (and their fans.... I've only been to Stars games in Dallas when they play the Sabres).

The name your horse with a Sabres theme threads back in the day were fun. Was going to restart it this year but Taro is right (write down the date). It's not the same without Drane.

He does drink Ovaltine, though. That's gold!

I agree with you that Zucker put up second line numbers. What did the Sabres give up to get him? If I recall correctly he was a free agent working on a one-year deal to restore his value for his next contract, which he did do with the Sabres. The point I'm making here is that if our GM (whoever it will be) is enterprising and creative enough can find another player who would be considered a second-line talent. I'm not so sure that Norris will be a 1C. If he turns out to be a 1C I'm not going complain. That would make the Cozens's trade even more favorable for us. You listed a number of players who can play on the two top lines. If there is a surplus of second-line players, that is not something to lament as it is something to celebrate. How about putting together a high yield third line? And also having a surplus of second-line players, whether they play on the top two lines or not provides depth. In general, I don't see us disagreeing that much. What's apparent to me is that with some smart maneuvering this team could be better constructed. It would take just a few smart and consequential moves. In my view, a capable GM could accomplish that this offseason.

But you can never leave

When you have zero say and you love the game as much as I do, you enjoy the good moments, even if they are fleeting. Groaning and bitching about something you cannot control does nothing.... tired of being miserable over a sports team.

Say what you want about the penalty, I thought it was legit. The Avs had plenty of chances to take that game. They did not score on the 4 min. advantage in the 1st and messed up the one they got in the third. Blackwood slid too far for the wrap around goal. Otter made key saves. Avs got no one to blame but themselves. The huge amount of roster turnover they had this year had to play a role. You can appreciate the all in attempt to win the cup but it backfired. A lot of the in season pickups, Nelson, Coyle, Lindgren and even Necas did not come through in the playoffs. They could have kept Rantanen and let him walk after the playoffs for nothing. Maybe they would have walked away with the cup. Who knows what would have happened if Dallas did not go get Rantanen. Maybe it would have worked out for the Avs. I read the Avs boards every so often and that fan base is going crazy on management right now even though most of them liked the Rantanen trade. They never thought it would come back to haunt them. I thought we were a harsh bunch but every fan base is demanding

That colorado - Dallas series could not have ended better 😛

Zucker put up 53pts and 21g. That's almost the very definition of a 2nd line forward. Norris is gonna slot in as 1c and doesn't count towards this except to make it less likely they add 2 top 6 forwards. Norris, Thompson, Tuch, Peterka, Zucker are all top 6 guys with Benson, McLeod, Kulich right on the doorstep and we could argue McLeod is a top 6. Unless they move out one of the 8 players above, they aren't adding two top 6 guys. One sure, they need that. If you trade Byram, you need a defender back.

He is a +/- monster on all his teams. I just think the overall package he brings is something the Sabres could really use. Add him to Benson and Helenuis and start to change the culture that has been brutal for 15 years.

You make an interesting and targeted point about Norris and his durability. It was apparent that Ottawa traded him because of his injury history. So our GM trades Cozens and Gilbert for him and Bernard-Docker. After the trade, Norris gets hurt and possibly aggravating a previous lingering injury forcing him out of the lineup. Did this trade help or hurt us? I can't say for sure that it helped us, but I can say that it didn't hurt us. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons trades work in your favor more due to the subtraction than to the addition. Cozens was clearly struggling/pressing here and needed a change of scenery. His departure gave Krebs more playing time and a higher role. I thought he took advantage of that opportunity. I still peg him as a lower line center. I also thought that Bernard-Docker played reasonably well as a lower pairing blueliner. The big question is whether Norris can stay healthy. (You suggest that it is dubious.) If he can, then I would consider the trade a very good deal for the problematic GM. As I stated in a prior post, it is essential that another second-line player be added to the mix this offseason. And considering the assets we have on hand, it should be doable.

Terry was never that cool. He’s a square’s square, man.

Heck of a series I vaguely remember those 20 + years ago.

I had no problem with the penalty. I have always hated the idea of "put the whistles away and let them play." A penalty is a penalty no matter when it happens and it’s not like it was a borderline judgement call. He did tackle the guy.

Haven’t seen helenius play. What type of a player is he?

Damn man I was just thinking Cindi Time after time

I'd toss Zeimer in there as well.

With Benson and Helenius they might already have started changing culture.

I liked the Landeskog fairy tale story better than the Rantanen revenge tour but what can you do. He certainly came alive and stuck it to them. The late penalty was bs though. That was most definitely not a late game tied game 7 playoff call. Hated that. Guess the refs feared a long overtime and wanted to go home.

If Dallas gets Robertson and Miro back they will be the favorites to win the Cup

I'm not doubtful. I'm sure he's not.

Probably but a bit trickier. He is the local boy so he might want to stick it out. Maybe. Likely not though.