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The only eastern team we care about who is above on this list is Montreal. Carolina is also a smidgen above but the rest is western teams.

Another negative to the "stream" is the artist payout It cascades into many branches of ssssshaving cream (sorry, I couldn't resist a lil' Demento humor), all of which = lower quality output (in general) IMO I'm 100% anti-streaming I do pay for mp3/4 files (singles/albums/etc) and I'm still out here, purchasing physical media (I picked up used a copy of Big Babú, and the giant rolling paper was still in the insert, and in pristine condition 😃). I do enjoy the advantage of culling the unnecessary fluff that comes on certain albums (I give every track a fair shake) The major advantage to internet-driven media IMO, is the speed rate of deep diving. Between YouTube, Amazon, and record label websites, I can put in some VERY satisfactory research netting me artist discoveries at an alarming rate. Because of the advantages that the digital age provides, I'm discovering quality bands/projects/etc on a daily basis!!! The internet really IS for the older millennials, and generations back IMO Those of us who built our filters, properly. Those of us who built our brains to do our own research IMO The perversion of it comes from those without a reference point, which turns the tech into mushy pea melted ice cream IMO Streaming makes music into a commodity for the newer generations vs something sacred IMO Example of the advantages brought by the www This song lived in my subconscious for decades, as I was very young when it was popular. The gorgeous hook in its chorus would bubble up every so often, and I never knew where it came from, until I very accidentally hit on the link, one day on YouTube! Not only did hearing it inspire me to buy the mp3/album, it sprung forth a wave of early childhood memories that I swam in, for hours!!! THAT, in my opinion, is one of the beautiful aspects of the modern age https://youtu.be/lBlx1JffMQ4?si=MyfcSFsx72_vkZDx

I'm not saying I agree, I just find an outside take interesting. Which teams are the most improved. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6496153/2025/07/16/nhl-most-improved-2025/ "7. Buffalo Sabres Net Rating added: +9 In: Josh Doan, Justin Danforth, Michael Kesselring, Conor Timmins, Alex Lyon Out: JJ Peterka, Sam Lafferty, Connor Clifton, Jacob Bernard-Docker There are a lot of folks who haven’t been thrilled with Buffalo’s offseason and that’s understandable. For the third straight year, it feels like it’s been time to push the chips in, spend some money and gun for a playoff spot. Instead, the Sabres made depth moves and shipped off a true top-six scorer without addressing the void afterward. It feels like a wasted opportunity, which probably makes Buffalo’s placement here seem out of touch with reality. Maybe it is — betting on the Sabres has been a terrible idea for over a decade. But maybe this is the year Buffalo does turn the corner, thanks to internal jumps buoyed by cleaned-up depth. Josh Doan is not as good as JJ Peterka. That’s a downgrade without question. But his underrated defensive game compared to Peterka’s issues without the puck does mean the gap might not be as large as their point totals suggest. Add more Justin Danforth and less Beck Malenstyn on the fourth line and it’s possible the Sabres can cover up the loss in the aggregate. There is arguably enough young, developing forward depth to sustain a Peterka-sized loss. The more important factor, though, is that the jump from Connor Clifton to Michael Kesselring is substantially larger than the drop from Peterka to Doan. Buffalo’s defense corps was a major weakness last season, one that Kesselring’s presence can help fix. He did well in a top-pair role when Utah ran into injuries last season, enough to believe he’s a true top-four defenseman. Pair him with Owen Power and Buffalo’s top four looks genuinely decent for the first time in a long time. The addition of Conor Timmins should help with things as well. He showed some promise in an elevated role with Pittsburgh, enough to believe he can form an actually good third pair with the defensively stout Mattias Samuelsson. Timmins isn’t much, but he’s probably a better option than what Buffalo was toiling with last year in the same role. Defensive depth is something this team has been missing for a while. If everything goes according to plan after this offseason, it’ll finally be a source of strength for Buffalo. And that could be what changes everything for this team. The Sabres have gone from one good pair led by Rasmus Dahlin to potentially three." - Dom Luszczyszyn *Note that Norris for Cozens isn't a part of this because it happened at the deadline.

It must be brutal to be Sabres market team.

Not only that, but the amounts that can be in signing/reporting bonuses drops to 60% of the total contract value on September 16, 2026 too. The tweaks to the system are all fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, but for individual players whose contract status hits just right those are much more than just tweaks.

I don't stream. I try like hell to avoid taste-predictive algorithms. I still look for new music (in an ad hoc, hunt and peck sort of way). And I enjoy listening to familiar material. I find that bringing intention as the listener is essential to appreciating music. And I find that buying the music that I want to listen to helps me have that intention.

Not saying that this was a consideration with Byram, but it applies. Was listening to the PDOcast talk with Barkov's agent and they brought up how next summer is serving up a unique circumstance in terms of contract extensions due to the new CBA. Basically, there will be a window between July 1 and Sept. 15 2026, where anyone with one year left on their deal is eligible to sign an 8-year contract with their current team. After Sept. 15, it drops to 7 with their current team, 6 with anyone else. After July 1 2027, when they hit free agency, the longest deal those players can sign anywhere is 6 years. Byram could have millions of dollars in incentives to negotiate an extension, or a sign-and trade next summer.

PLEASE let the home home opener be against one of the 4-5 teams with a worse roster than Buffalo. I want to be able to enjoy 1 game this year with the kids. Forgot they open with the Rangers...oh well.

I'm borrowing a vehicle, while the deer dance damage to my car is being (haggling/approving game, between the shop and my insurance provider) repaired Said borrowed car HAS a built in CD player!!! I had NIN's Pretty Hate Machine on for yesterday's commute Today, it's Dr Demento's, Covered in Punk compilation (Brak does a wonderful rendition of Suicidal Tendencies' "Institutionalized") 😃 It's absolutely BONKERS, in the best possible way 👌🏻 While I appreciate the conveniences associated with digital tech, IMO there's no beating physical media, ESPECIALLY when it comes to music. ¡Viva nostalgia!

Cool, at least one person actually reads these. 😉 Gave serious consideration to dropping him from the list, but left him because he was pretty much the 1st big 1 for 1 hockey trade of the Pegula era.

schedule's out? not yet - but apparently sabres open against the rangers at home 10/9.

Like I said.

I think Utah reminds JJ of the Bavarian alps of home. He can sing ‘Edelweiss’ and frolic in his lederhosen all along the Wasatch range.

I guess there should be a level of naivety there. He played there last season, but they had another game in Minnesota two days later, so they were out of there right away. He didn't have any time to experience it.

He liked Buffalo too before he lived there 😈

But he did choose to sign that multi-year contract there.

That's not exactly how it works though. Alex Nylander was a CHL guy too, but since he was "on loan" (I forget if that's the proper language) from his Swedish team, he wound up in the AHL immediately after being drafted. Mrtka was with a pro Czech team last year too.

There’s an evil part of me that wants the Sabres to be cutthroat enough that this played a role

All the clauses really muck it up. On the oldest teams in the league, everyone has clauses or is like 25 and under and is viewed as part of the future.

Ok, going to try and use a bit of optimism. Dahls and Byram were one of the top 10 defensive pairings when they were together last year 5 on 5. They were top 5 in most advanced statistics! If Timmons and Kesselring improve over their replacements, our defense could be a plus for this team. We know the Sabres can score. Even with JJ gone, those goals could be made up with the current team as is. I think we are sneakily a better team based on the moves that were made and KEEPING Byram. The question is can they keep up with the rest and make the playoffs with what they have. I truly believe they can if the defense plays to its potential. Dahlin and Byram make the goalie play a lot better when they are on the ice. If the other 2 pairings can do that i think our netminding is better this year!

I don’t know that it’s McKenna behind the cap space The Ducks roster moves don’t look like tanking, neither do the Sharks or the Jackets. Certainly not the Jets. Pittsburgh and Calgary still have assets to sell if they’re resetting. Maybe Chicago? I think it’s mostly math: the system hasn’t reset yet to the extra money available. The teams with space are the ones who weren’t able to exercise their plans. The players teams would have spent big on signed early and or left money on the table like Marner and Ehlers. nobody is giving McTavish or Byram contracts out of line with their comps just because they can. And there are only so many Jeannots and Dvoraks out there to overpay

He's a CHL player, so age 20 -- until the new CBA kicks in and then he could be assigned at age 19 with an exemption. He joined Seattle in the middle of the 2024-25 season.

There are a bunch of bottom-third teams with a suspicious amount of cap unspent... and only a scattered RFA here or there. If the cards fall right, they'll stay within striking distance of San Jose/Chicago for the McKenna fest. In 2014-15, five teams completely bottomed out for McDavid. As a result, good teams scored more points. The playoff line was high: 97 points was the #16 playoff seed. The Sabres need almost everything to go right to get to 90 points. How do we feel about 97 if a half dozen team are obviously in on the tank? It'd be very on brand to have their "best season ever" under Pegula and still miss out on the playoffs by 5 points because a bunch of common opponents weren't trying. It would please and justify Adams/Pegula as incredible progress and we're on the right track. That is, until the following season has snap-back regression (in 2015-16 - 93 pts in the east and a silly 87 pts in the west to get in) with all teams trying again -- and the Sabres back to the mid 80s to fall a few points short.