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Nope; not from the Sabres at least.

Dahlin IS a lead dog. But you have to start making it work really friggin' soon, because if you don't the only thing he's going to lead is the exodus out of town. Two scary things in that list of yours. Not 1 F that's a lead dog. Krebs wants to be, but he's not a good enough player. Benson might become one, but he's barely out of his teens. And the other scary thing. No goalie on that list. When he's ready to be up; Levi has demonstrated it but right now he's #3 on the dpeth chart. S'pose there's a 3rd scary thing on that list. While Ruff was a lead dog; not sure that he still has it in him and don't see it in ANY of the other bench coaches. Lindy has them ready to play at the start of the game; but it fades. They need somebody to take some of the load from Dahlin's shoulders. It could come from any of those places; but 13 games shows that to date it hasn't come from any of them.

The two arbitration cases and Levi… are there any other RFAs left? Levi definitely isn’t driving up the cap number at all.

I called for it last summer. Old school PP with Bo and Ras cycling in and out of the mid-point and sneaking down low, Tage and Kulich rotating behind them firing from distance, probably Bennie down low going to the net, retrieving pucks and making plays. It will be different than what most PKs are used to.

I have been wondering this for a long time now with mostly the Sabres but across the NHL. Why not use both Dahlin and Byram on the first PP unit with 3 forwards? If they are regular defense partners, they sure would 'know' each others tendencies better than Dahlin with a random winger, and plus Byram could get his PP touches and points also. Some of these D-men are really skilled with the puck (like Byram). This isn't the last 1980s were your defense had one guy (Housley) and a bunch of guys like Joe Reekie, Mike Ramsey, Uwe Krupp, Dean Kennedy, and Bob Halkidas....that I wouldn't want anywhere near a PP.

Yeah, if the idea is to have a 2nd playmaker on the ice for the top PP, Byram has to be on that unit. So, Byram, Dahlin, and Thompson are locks. Zucker isn't ideal down low, but he's the best the Sabres have so the question becomes Benson, Kulich, Norris, or Quinn as the 5th skater on the unit. Counterintuitively, would give Quinn the 1st crack at it. Would show they believe in him and give him an opportunity to make up for last year; PLUS if you don't use him on the 1st unit, you'll be using him on the 2nd unit which will only have Power on it from D. How many mother f'n goals is that 2nd unit going to give up having Power and Quinn both on that unit? Make the 2nd unit Power, Tuch, Benson, Kulich, and Norris. Which SHOULD be a good unit with Benson on the bumper and Tuch down low. Just like with the other unit a strong 1 timer could come from either side.

Your scenario is from this perspective sadly the most likely one.

For me, it’s all about the spend after Byram. Realistically, they are going to have enough money to acquire a player after he’s signed, and probably enough to acquire a good player. It’s going to be closer to $5 or $6M than $2 or $3M. I’m skeptical they are going to use that money. I think they will say the market dried up or the prices were too high, when the fact of the matter is they let the market dry up and they decided the prices were too high. Once again, unrealized opportunity. I hope I’m wrong.

We don't really know if the tank would've worked, because ownership blew up the 1st tank after only 3 years of the rebuild phase. When they punted O'Reilly they blew that plan up. They intentionally took yet another step back. And you can't do that and expect to win the race when you've barely left he paddock. But really wanted to see bigger changes in the FO and coaching staff this off-season because they can't get to the point that Dahlin, Thompson, and Tuch all want out too.

Like Michael Aday used to say "2 out of 3 ain't bad." (But even though it ain't bad; 2 out of three likely ain't good enough either.)

This is a dream that will never happen and you have to know that. You can't create a perennial winner without the leagues top players. So how exactly do you do that first so they'll come here? Build from within? We tried that. Tank for superstars in the draft, then players will want to play with them (Eichel)? Nope I mean it sounds awesome and I wish what you said above was possible, it's not, IMO. I think you're totally and completely wrong about geography, that matters to this generation and some of the one before. I love Buffalo, it will always hold a special place to me, but it's a hard sell. I guess if you're right and just ho hum, become a perennial cup contender is all you have to do, then we'll know.

See, that's one other item we don't agree on. You believe that Byram doesn't want a LT deal and that is why there is no deal yet. IMHO, the 2 sides don't agree on what he is worth and THAT is why there is no deal in place. Byram wants $9MM (that # keeps popping up in "insider" articles about the negotiation; so expect it is the # that Byram and his agent want); the Sabres don't believe he's worth that much. AND would go farther to say that NO team thinks he's worth that much. Why? Because none made him an offer of that. Now, yes, there are some teams that don't have the draft capital to make that offer; but there are several (at least 4 if not 6 or 8) teams that have kicked the tires on Byram. Some of those have had it, and even those that don't could have made the Sabres a roughly equivalent offer to the draft pick compensation. Really, truly believe it is a simple matter of Byram believes strongly in himself and sees himself worth at least $9MM. So far, nobody other than his agent has agreed with him. And that disconnect on what he's worth is a far bigger reason for him not having been signed yet than his wanting out of Buffalo soon. It's not that they haven't had the discussions; it's that they don't agree on what fair value is. And considering what the Sabres have given Power and the since traded Cozens, can see why Byram believes he's worth $9MM. Don't agree with him; but see why he thinks this team should give him that.

The reasons I'm using 5 years is because you made the point that Bryam is willing to sign a long term deal with the Sabres (my point is that he's not willing). Adams said that he's willing to match any offer sheet in term in length or AAV, so I took that they are willing to match the deal even if it comes in at 5 years. So if Byram is willing to sign a long term deal, and Adams is willing to match an offer that COULD be 5 years, that indicates that both sided should be willing to discuss a LT deal starting at 5 years. Since there is no deal yet, my read is that one of the sides is balking, and I think that's Byram's side. He doesn't want to be here long term. I could be wrong, but I don't think Byram is signing anything, offer sheet or long term offer, more than 2 years.

TP hired a GM who was unqualified. That same GM imprudently gave out costly long term contracts to players who didn’t deserve such contracts. A more qualified GM would have been smarter in handling player contracts and would have saved money for the parsimonious owner.

Yeah, I just think that's the wrong reading on the situation. $10m isn't moving a needle for Pegula's lifestyle or portfolio. Pegula's net worth is $7B. $10M is .001% of his net worth. To add perspective, for a guy making 35,000 a year, .001% of his income is $35. It's pocket change. It would take a malicious idiot to deny success for his business, customers, and employees based on the perceived benefits of saving so little money when compared to the overall value of his business and portfolio. For all Terry's faults, I don't believe he's a malicious idiot. So why aren't the Sabres spending to the cap if they aren't pinching pennies? It's because they are run by a guy who doesn't believe he has to spend to the cap to win. Adams had made the case several times that he doesn't believe that success comes from spending to the cap. He's stated several times that there are NO constraints from Terry on spending. He's also claimed he knows how to win the Stanley Cup. Terry's problem isn't he's cash poor, his problem is his indefensible loyalty to Kevyn Adams and his incompetence in hiring a legitimate GM for the Sabres.

I ain’t clicking on it. I refuse to give that website any traffic. ***** them.

Agree. If I'm going after Byrum with an offer sheet, I'm going 2 years. That would put the Sabres in a position of likely losing him in those 2 years.....while if he is singing your offer sheet, he probably wants to be with your team so you are less likely to lose him.

No. You are missing the point. There's no reason for the offer sheeting team to go to 5 years. Go 1 or 2 with a UFA-esque deal forcing the current club to match it and get their cap stretched while losing the guy for nothing in 2 years. So, if the current team doesn't match, you can get the player for 2 years with a tacit contract offer for a LT deal already in mind that can be signed in 1 year. Yeah, you lose your draft picks, but who cares. You wanted the player. And if the current team does match; well you can get the player IN 2 years with a tacit contract offer for a LT deal already in mind that can be signed as soon as he hits FA. Then you don't lose your draft picks; but you don't get his services for those 2 years. But you're in a great position to get him when he's in his prime and you still won't be buying a ton of 30+ years like you'd be doing if you got the guy after the current club matched a 5 year deal. This way, you put the most stress on the current club. Pretty sure Adams would've loved to have seen a 5 year deal. He'd've known how much cap space he'd have and he'd also know if he really was matching any offer. (Expect he'd not have matched any offers above $9MM; but now we'll never know for sure. Unless of course Byram gets a $9MM+ award and then Adams accepts it or doesn't.)

So Adams said that the Sabres would match any offer for Byram, which could easily be $8 or 9M, and had the cap space to back up that claim, but now is trying lowball Byram in negotiations? Big time offer sheets are usually capped at 5 years because the offering team, by rule can only spread the AAV over a max of five years. So if a team offers Byram a 7 year deal at $7m, the cap number is close to 10M instead of 7, because they can only spread the total over 5 years. So any long term offer to Byram would probably be a max of 5 years.

They are worth about 5x what he paid for them, because he has degraded the product. You're right though, he hasn't liquidated the Sabres assets like Harbor Center or the other things attached to the team he controls. To the bold, you are arguing about the total value of the team which is less than if it were a model franchise competing for cups. I think terry believes his investment is rising and that he doesn't have to go more in the red for that to continue. On top of that I think he prefers not to spend to the cap because it eases financial things around his empire. 10million buys a lot of Yacht fuel. Basically, Terry Pegula looks at the Sabres as an asset that will continue to increase in value even if he underfunds them some. It's a win win for an investor. Why put in more money when the product is increasing its value anyways? But again, I also fully believe Terry is so focused on the Bills that that is where he is spending at the expense of the Sabres.

Leafs got worse losing Marner.

Sure it would be good business if you never plan to win again. Outside the Sabres, Terry is a decent businessman who believes that investment drives revenue, so it's hard to believe that he thinks cost cutting will bring him playoff profits. And I find the argument that Terry believes the NHL is a losing proposition in general to be unbelievable, as league revenues continue to increase, as evidenced by the rising salary cap, and the fact that his $189M investment in the Sabres is now valued at $1.15B. And non-controlling doesn't mean percentage. Even minority owners or shareholders have voting rights in a company. These "owners" have no voting or decision making rights for the franchise. That's what makes them "non-controlling." One more point to degrading and liquidating a product. Pegula doesn't have to do that with the Sabres, since they are worth almost 10x more than what he paid for them, especially since the team can be bought and moved.

Looks like McKenna is headed to Penn State. Pegula finally gets his #1 pick forward. It'd be nice if all Penn State upgrade money could get thrown at the Sabres cap the past five years.

All the owner stuff you added. I am perfectly aware that 20% isn't controlling interest... because 20% is about 31% away from that. You give me another reason why Terry has spent under the cap every single year for half a decade, sometimes by almost 10mil. I think it is to balance the books because the Sabres aren't making him money. Wouldn't that be good business? Lots of businesses run that way, they cut costs and degrade their products and then liquidate what's left and move on.

He "sold" 20% of non-controlling interest of the team because the NFL changed its ownership rules to allow it, and it was a smart business decision. It's was a 'money-for-nothing' deal. It creates instant capital in exchange for bringing in new "owners" who have absolutely no say in the running of the team. The new "owners" are basically buying a vanity stock. I can't believe more owners aren't doing this. I fully expect the NFL to increase the percentage of ownership that can be "sold" so that more owners can easily and cheaply create capital from their investment in their team. And I wouldn't be surprised to see other leagues like the NHL introduce similar "ownership" opportunities. The coincidence of the rule change and the new stadium funding makes it look like Pegula needs the ownership sale to fund the stadium, but that assumption is wrong. Any owner would be foolishness not to take advantage of the rule change. Beyond that, there is no report or rumor that Pegula is struggling with the cost overruns at the stadium. The Bills, under competent front office leadership have not suffered in the least from Terry's commitment to the stadium. And the Pegulas, themselves, have not mentioned the burden of the cost at all. Pegula's net worth has almost tripled since 2020. They are not having difficulty funding their lifestyle, despite using that utterly stupid excuse to cold-heartedly lay off workers during covid. Don't confuse a PR f##k up for their actual financial status.