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Metsa: captain of NCAA champion winning team, Amerks assistant captain, and likely Amerks captain this year (it's either him or Dunne) Bryson: bench captain

Nope. Only starts if he plays his 9 games in the NHL.

If Mrtka plays in Rochester does It start the3 year entry level deal? I thought it did. Thanks

There is another piece to this with Tuch on top of exactly what you said... its the human piece... this is the one guy who wants to be here more than anything, home town, live and die etc... he was your real return for giving up Eichel... you have failed for 14 years, your core players are less than content with golfing every April and you have an effective leader, scorer and pretty good two way hockey player that you let walk.... that to me would be a final straw concern for some of these players... like how can you not pay this guy... how committed are you to winning.... dont exetend him, miss the playoffs again... and I can pretty much promise you some folks are gonna want to be traded...

Novikov and Komarov might be the slowest skaters in the organization.

If Geertsen really is a Ruff beloved and automatically has a roster spot and playing time, Krebs had better have a good showing with the top line today.

Agreed. Giving him a few NHL games this year is a show of good will which, at this point, is deserved. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he is the total +/- leader for the AHL over the last 2 seasons (note: I didn't actually check this). And I know someone is going to complain about using +/-, but how else would you measure success for a defensive defenseman in the AHL (that's actually a serious question, I don't think there are advanced stats tracked for the AHL?) From Lindy's perspective though, you really don't want to be rolling the dice with inserting rookies into the lineup this year. He's on the last year of what may potentially be last his contract and if he returns the Sabres to the playoffs, he'll be a hero again.

Yep. Somebody posted the team has no depth at the same time people are arguing about how their #10(!) needs to be playing. Questionable as he may be, not many teams missing their #2, #3, and #5 are dressing 6 players better than Bryson

kinda crazy how Kesselring, Timmins, and Mrtka really add depth to this team. Is this defense good? No but it's easily comparable to previous Sabres teams.

Factor in the palm trees and tax rates to attract new guys. He’s already here and wants to be here. I agree that he will not be a great player in 5+ years but they should keep him because their two best players are locked in at lower rates for a long time. The over payment can be absorbed. Heck, Tuch might even transform his game to become a bottom six PK and defensively responsible checker in his mid thirties just to remain a contributing Sabre.

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.