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No. Metsa wouldn't be happy in a press box. UPL initially had no timetable on his injury. But if it wasn't substantial (because about 2 days later it was only day-to-day), why offer Georgiev a 1-year deal? Just give him a PTO for camp. If he doesn't take it, big deal. You had 5 goalies on the ice, even with Ratzlaff out with illness and Lukkonen on the mend for the couple weeks of camp. Give Houser a call.

Novikov needs to make his NHL debut this season, even if only a 2-game stint at the end (and the only reason for just 2 games would be if they're in a playoff spot and all the defenders are healthy and playing consistently). Otherwise, you bring him up for 5-10 games when Samuelsson is out to see if he can handle that role. Re: rushing players. Their biggest issue is the age and makeup of the roster. A playoff veteran team can easily break in one rookie F every 40 games and one rookie D every season. But this is not a veteran team -- it's already a bunch of young guys still learning the grind/consistency and now you throw in another rookie with folks who aren't even 24 yet, all expected to play prominent roles. They may finally be starting to exit that phase simply because enough guys are under contract for long enough term to hold it together.

If you got 3 goalies, you don't have any goalies.

My TV says the game is on MSG tonight

That last part isn't snark, I truly do concede the point.

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/how-to-watch-buffalo-sabres-pittsburgh-penguins-roster How to watch Streaming: MSG Radio: WGR 550 Tonight’s roster Forwards Josh Doan Justin Danforth Mason Geertsen Peyton Krebs Jiri Kulich Beck Malenstyn Ryan McLeod Josh Norris Jack Quinn Tage Thompson Alex Tuch Jason Zucker Defensemen Jacob Bryson Rasmus Dahlin Ryan Johnson Michael Kesselring Radim Mrtka Conor Timmins Goalies Alexandar Georgiev Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Luukkonen making preseason debut Luukkonen made his return to practice on Sept. 25 after a late offseason lower-body injury held him out the first eight days of training camp. Ruff said he's yet to make a decision on whether Luukkonen will play the entire game or just the opening two periods. Alex Lyon and Alexandar Georgiev – the other two remaining goalies on Buffalo’s roster – both played two periods in their first preseason starts. Ruff was asked what he hopes to see from Luukkonen. “Just health and feeling good in net,” Ruff said. “Like I said, we've changed some things with the way we're playing. We're trying to really tighten up defensively and at the same time, not have that hurt us offensively. So just to get him in between the pipes and have him feel good, so it'll be great to see him in net tomorrow night.” Kulich returning to the lineup Kulich was back on the ice for practice on Tuesday after missing time with what Ruff described as a tweaked muscle. The 21-year-old has missed the last three games since recording an assist in the preseason opener. Kulich was paired alongside Josh Doan and Jack Quinn in practice, a line that was used in the opener. Johnson cultivating his role Ryan Johnson – a former first-round pick – has played in a pair of preseason games and logged over 18 minutes of ice time on Saturday. Ruff said the defenseman made his presence felt with a level of physicality and intensity that pairs well with his smooth skating ability. Johnson was with Conor Timmins in practice on Tuesday and is in line to play Wednesday with injuries to fellow left-shot defensemen Owen Power (day to day), Bowen Byram (who skated on his own Tuesday), and Mattias Samuelsson (week to week). “He gave us a good game the other night,” Ruff said. “Probably one of the better games. He needs to be noticed. He needs to be hard to play against, use the legs, be physical, I thought he answered the call on all of those. I think he can kill penalties with those legs. He can play against the top players if he stays under control. I think he understands there's a way to get there and to be a regular player.”

Idk why they picked up Georgiev. They had enough goalies even with UPL injured. You just run Lyon and Levi and let whoever hold down Rochester. Now they're backed into the standard Kevyn Adams 3 goalie corner like short sighted bumpkins

Don't know, but now you have to find and get said player in a world where everyone had cap space.

I quoted him. Feel free to read it. You've screwed up at least 2 other conversations in the last week claiming I couldn't read or follow or however you worded. Except the issue is you didn't follow and you dived into it missing the point. Guess I've earned 1 of those. Still, "don't rush" is a nonsense argument no matter how you slice it. Especially in regards to Novikov. But you two are right. You win. I concede.

Here is a one point lesson https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPEn0GoAW6y/?igsh=aHRncWZreXIxdXgx

I caught a partial segment last night on WGR with PH saying that, despite Ruff not liking it, and despite Adam's acknowledging it doesn't work, they're going to be running back the 3 goalie rotation. Absolutely mind boggling. You picked Georgiov up off the street 2 weeks ago, you can waive him.

Exactly. Who? And for how much? Assets(via trade) and/or $$ ( via FA).

And those comments I made about Mrtka? What was I thinking. I need to go back and find those.

I suggest a contest. Make PH pronounce the word acetaminophen.

Well, it's your fault the argument started. You said explicitly and clearly that every single prospect the Sabres have ever had in the Pegula era has been rushed to the big team. Wait, that's NOT what you said? Well, gosh durn it, we'll still have to run with that being what you said because otherwise this might get silly. 😜

I can’t remember if this was a sarcastic conversation but AHL time would probably have been great for him. He falls dead center of the couple draft classes that lost significant development time to COVID.

I just wish you'd use a better argument than "don't rush players! We always rush players!" When it's not actually a thing.

I just wish I had made that exact point about Novikov getting some time in the NHL this year. Oh right, I did. Arguing just for the sake of argument sure is fun. I love the internet.

I don't think Mrtka "must" go to Seattle. I think he should but I'm not gonna lose sleep over him in Rochester.

Upl is playing, rest of lineup will come around 10am this morning. I expect Pittsburgh to play bubble guys.

I was dying in my car over it. The one wasn't even close.

I think just about everyone did. I didn’t figure that out until Matias showed up in the NCAA.

Scary. He needs to go back down and get his trial run next year. I’ve seen this before.

I keep on going back and forth whether or not I want him extended at a high dollar. It seems like each day I wake up. I'm thinking the other side of things. But to answer your question directly... You have him this year. Is he going to be a consistent 65 point winger if you sign him to a big deal the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that? As he approaches his mid-thirties? The more direct answer is, with the money that you would not pay him, you hope that one of your up-and-coming youngsters fills that role and you pay them, or you go out on the free agent or trademark it and pay money that you have available. If they announce they signed him to an 8-Year extension at $75 million tomorrow, I won't be too upset. On the other hand, if they decide to let him play the year out and see how things go, I'm not going to be upset about that either. I think losing him next year would be a tiny step back compared to what you could do with that $8 to $10 million... And that is not the biggest problem this team has starting next year.