All Activity

I thought his contract ran out and they didn’t re-sign him. That’s not quitting.

No, the CBA actually isn't clear on what happens when a player would be eligible to be returned to the active lineup from IR and another player goes out sick at the same time. The situation isn't particularly addressed there. The team WOULD be allowed to bring up an AHLer under emergency conditions should 1 of the 6 D-men on the active roster be unable to play on a particular night. (Teams with less than 2 healthy goalies, 6 healthy D-men, and 12 healthy F's can make emergency substitutions of them provided the move keeps them cap compliant; they can also replace them if it makes them cap uncompliant but there are extra hoops they have to jump through.) They would not have to send a player down to Ra-cha-cha to get back under the 23 man limit while they only have 5 healthy D available (even if the 6th one has a 24 hour bug, or a very minor injury that would only keep him out of the lineup briefly). Again, the situation isn't directly addressed, but just like the AHLer called up in the emergency would have to be returned when the emergency is over, should they be able to activate Kesselring to fill the emergency, once that other player were able to play again, the Sabres would have to waive someone else to get to the 23 man limit. And it seems that the rule of thumb for whether something is possible that hasn't been specifically addressed by the CBA is yes, it is possible because it isn't specifically prohibitied.

Sometimes the eye test is more informative than the analytics. And sometimes who you are playing with influences the analytics ascribed to you. Stats can be useful and also not reflective of actual performance.

I mixed up the games. It was 5-0 home loss to Jersey I should have referred to. I thought the Sabres actually played well in the loss.

The Sabres have a 23 man roster right now with Kesselring, Kulich and Danforth on IR. I doesn't look like Danforth and Kulich are coming off IR any time soon. If they take another D (Johnson?) on the WC swing the choices to create a roster spot are 1) Do nothing if there is another injury against the Flyers or 2) Send Östlund down. This is the simplest move and we know how much Adams likes simple. If they like what Östlund brings then they move on to one of options 3-5. or 3) Waive Dunne - He is 26 year old journeyman. I doubt he gets claimed if waived and if he does such is life. or 4) Waive a skater not named Dunne - guys like Krebs, Kozak, Bryson all fit the bill of "replaceable" depth players. I doubt any are on KA's list. Bryson because he must have some incriminating photos of Adams (no other reason he is still a Sabres or in the NHL for that matter). Kozak because he can play anywhere and is an absolute effort forward that even Adams wouldn't be stupid enough to part with. Krebs because he can play anywhere in the bottom 9 and Adams would never admit he screwed up in acquiring him. or 5) Move on from one of Lyon, Ellis or UPL - If we move on from one of the goalies, odds favor Lyon. He's on a two year contract and might clear. If not, not. Adams again won't move on from his guy UPL and Ellis is cheaper and has more upside than Lyon.

hindsight is 20/20

I'm not seeing that.

Interesting. Finland doesn’t have a lot in the crease right now. Juuse Saros has looked bad on a bad team, Joonas Korpisalo’s numbers are even worse and he’s clearly just a backup in the NHL these days, and Kevin Lankinen’s numbers are even worse than Korpi’s as an NHL backup. I think Luukkonen is a lock and might even play 🤢 Good thought on the “why” question I had. Thank you.

Agree but why does national media know about it?

I don’t agree and I think this is recency bias. Kulich was centering a top six line as a rookie and in 62 games, he put up 15G, 9A and was only a -4. I think what it boils down to is usage. Östlund is centering a bottom six line with absolute dawgs on each side (Doan & Tuch yesterday, before that Benson & Kozak). He’s been good but there’s no pressure for production. Kulich had that pressure to produce and was on a 20 goal pace as a rookie…and was not a dud defensively. I’m not down on Östlund at all. He’s a smart hockey player and the points will come. But their usage is completely different and it’s important to consider.

Great Keegan-Michael Key skit! 👍

This was brough up a few places before...I think he is pushing really hard becaue he is worried about his place/spot on the Olympic roster. If he isn't starting over a journeyman and a guy who just broke into the NHL after playing in the AHL and ECHL, it doesn't look good for him.

i'd be concerned if he didn't want to play more

No, I think they'd have to fill from the active roster. I wonder if Kozak has ever played D.

I thought a few times last night that he made some good plays but didn't post about it. Offensively he was very good and defensively he didn't make glaring errors.

I think Norris has already established himself in terms of skill. Let’s not pretend we still need to worry that about compared to the elephant in the room.

Something I find interesting. From Elliotte Friedman on Friday: “Luukkonen has asked to play more.” “You know, Luukkonen wanted to play more.” While I don’t have a problem with a guy wanting the crease, it’s weird to me that Friedman reported this while talking about the Sabres. Why is the player’s agent squawking to the media about playing time? What’s the motive? It’s just weird to me.

Greenway has a stupid contract for what he provides and on top of that they need to manage his playing time because of injury risks related to a hernia. Dump Greenway or figure out the tenders. Östlund has earned his playing time, as has Kozak. Waiving Dunne is fine, but I don’t see the benefit of Greenway over him.

0-0-6

He better watch himself around Lindy

Let’s not forget, UPL fighting for his job > UPL who is named starter.

This isn’t directed at you, but there’s a whole lot more Tim Connolly supporters now than he ever had when he was playing here. Kyle Connor called him a power forward last night and I couldn’t square that with the fact he’s a bean pole. Maybe he’s got the jam, but he definitely looks thin out there.

Something something west coast road trips something something bonding. Was it last season or the year before that we were great on the road but couldn’t win at home? Give me a 3-1-2 record or better. I want to believe!

Was it last year we swept a western Canada road trip?

That’s what I would do. I’m not sure why Pi used Nov 1 for his analysis since both UPL & Ellis had their first starts of the season a week prior. Taking out that week prior conveniently wipes out a UPL loss in Toronto and Ellis’s first win against Detroit. Just use the season: UPL has seven starts, 4-3-1, 178 saves and .899% Ellis has six starts, 4-2-0, 168 saves and .898% So I disagree with the OP’s assertion that it’s clearly UPL’s crease. However, it is best case scenario for the Sabres that UPL figures it out (my opinion is he won’t). Ellis is an unknown commodity and I want to find out more. He should continue to get starts as frequently as UPL does.