All Activity

I was being sarcastic. I’ll believe that they will use extra money in an attempt to win when they actually do it. Until then, it’s all lip service. Remember when we needed all that money to sign JJP,… and then let him walk.

You make an excellent presentation on the relativity of the cap now and in the near future as it relates to Tuch's contract. However, in my view, the bigger issue is the implications of not getting a deal done for this particular faltering franchise compared to other more normal franchises that are in a better position to absorb a loss of such a player. The Sabres are a franchise that has less credibility than most other franchises with the fans, its own players and around the league. Not getting a deal done, even when the player has a lot of leverage, would be devastating. The organization needs to get a deal done sooner rather than later because having this issue linger throughout the season will cause more distractions when it needs more focus on the season on hand.

Sending him back to Seattle does him little good and yes, Ra-cha-cha would be better for his development. But, until the NHL & CHL rework their transfer agreement then 18 yo's like Mrtka & 19 yo's too will have 2 options - stay in the NHL or play in the CHL. The AHL isn't an option, though with the most recent MOU to the CBA, the league and players agreed that it's in both their best interests to have the NHL try to get it modified for 19 yo's at least.

Adam’s thought he had a big, rugged,, top 4 and he paid him as such. Based on Muel’s performance the past couple of seasons I have no reason to think he will ever be anything more than a 5/6 defender. He is overpaid for that role, blame that on Adams. His inability to stay in the line up is another negative.

Oops. 3-1 game. My bad.

We disagree on what was expected from Samuelsson associated with his style of play. On the other hand, I agree with you that even if he altered his game to being more physical, it certainly doesn't appear that he could handle the rigors of that style of play. I haven't given up on Samuelsson. But it does seem that he is in the category of a pro athlete whose career is always going to be plagued/marred with injuries. It's a shame.

I understand the basic argument you make, but its not quite that big of a difference. The cap this year is about $95.5 million. In 2027-28 the projection is 113.5. Now, keep in mind that a reason for the big jump is going to be Television/streaming contract based in the next 2-3 years. Its likely the cap will still go up after that, but the rate of increase will slow. So a $10m deal in a cap world of $113.5 is 8.81% of the cap. In todays cap, that is about $8.4m per year. So, Again, I agree with your basic premise that some people might not be looking at an accelerated cap that closely, but the difference is a $10m deal is about $8.4m in todays cap, not $6m or less. Now, he is worth it to the Sabres now, but its might be interesting to look at the 'midway' point of a potential new contract. lets say he signs an 8 year extention. After year 4, going into year 5, he will be 34 years old (turning 35). With 4 years left on that potential 8 year extension at that point, what kind of player will Tuch be with still half the contract left at that age? And you have to think of next season with Skinner's buyount number going up by $2m to $6.4m for next year. If no other changes are made to the roster (trades), the team already has about $80m of cap space accounted for in 2026-27, and that is without contracts for Tuch, Krebs, Benson, Doan, and Kesserling. If next years cap DOES go up to $104m as projected, you have $24m to fit in new deals for Tuch, Kesserling, Doan, Benson and Krebs (or a Krebs replacement) before you make ANY other changes or additions.

I disagree on Samuelsson. He was expected to play a more physical game. Unfortunately he can’t hold up and is injury prone.

I don’t think his game was ever predicated on being hard-nosed and rugged, either. Imo, his game was predicated on making smart decisions with the puck and being able to clear the crease and win battles in the corners when necessary. If clearing the crease and winning puck battles in the corners means “hard-nosed” then we can agree on that. In my mind, hard-nosed simply means being hard to play against. As in Benson is far more hard-nosed than Muel.

We have a different perception on Samuelsson's style of play. I never considered his game predicated on a hard-nosed and rugged style of play. However, while acknowledging how I perceive how these two players play, that is not to say that they shouldn't put more effort on the physical side of the game.

Hope not. Let’s not tempt Adams. Save the 9 games for next year.

Greenway and Muel make about $8.3 million between them. Replace them with let’s say Dunne and Johnson and you have significant money freed up for a Tuch extension or something else.

Mrtka should go back to Seattle. More ice time and a chance to build out his offensive game. Mrtka has played 43 total WHL games.

Agree entirely about Power, disagree about Muel. I may be wrong, but I don’t recall anyone ever suggesting Muel’s game is predicated on skating and puck movement. He’s a plow horse out there and he ain’t that good at plowing, either.

I'm not. I'm not.

He’d be far better off in Rochester than in the WHL. Once again illustrating how these CHL rules are often detrimental to a player’s development. He is flourishing against grown men at the moment and imo, going against teenagers won’t do a damn thing for him.

If you are referring to Power and Samuelsson, neither one of them were claimed to be physical presences. Their games were never predicated on ruggedness and physicality. It's just the opposite. Their games were always described in terms associated with skating and puck movement. The type of players that many want these big fellows to be will never materialize because it's not who they are as players now and will ever be. In the spectrum scale with physicality on one end and finesse on the other end, the marker will lean more towards finesse.

Like freed up cap space?

I think Mrtka should be in Rochester over Seattle. I can't see what good sending him back to Juniors is. I always keep in mind young AHL players can often come up and give you 10 good games, then day in day out NHL game wears them down. It's hard to be consistently good.

Lecyshyn, Kozak, Dunn, and Geertsen all have to clear waivers so it would be normal to drop them at the last minute as all the other teams are trying to do the same thing. Less chance of a claim. I think Östlund was just in line for another game. Only claim I worry about is Kozak.

Glad they are to this stage. Curious to see how they run the last 2 preseason games. I'd assume give Mrtka more action. I hope they waive Bryson, he's not been good this preseason in comparison to Novikov, Johnson, or Jones.

Why would they pull the goalie in a tie game? They deserved to lose.😂

Five years should be sufficient to finish the stadium, win a Super Bowl, and use the afterglow to ask for $600M of public funding in a massive arena renovation in the KBC structure. The Sabres can play at.... Penn St., an outdoor home game in Boston, etc., for the season while KBC in its biggest construction throes.

Gravediggsaz

It blows my mind that he still has an A on his jersey? captains don't need to be skill players, but I expect these guys to lead with their effort on the ice and I've never seen it from Mule.