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I think a reasonable, if very unexciting, option to pair with Power is a guy who we had recently for a year and probably should have kept: Lyubushkin. I've long thought Dallas was the team we should emulate. Dallas's top 4-D this year, up until the Heiskanen injury, was Heiskanen, Harley, Lindell, and Lyubushkin. Except for Lyubushkin, all are lefties. I think that Harley is a close comp to Power. Harley is 23, had 50 points this year, with 33 hits and 110 blocked shots. Power is 22, had 40 points, 26 hits and 109 blocked shots. Harley played mostly with Lyubushkin 5v5, but Dallas would mix-up their top 4 based on game situation. Also, isn't Lindell a facsimile of what we want Samuelsson to be? And every Sabre fan knows that Dahlin is better than Heiskanen. Lyubushkin has 2 years left on his deal at $3.25. The Athletic ran an article today on 9 overpaid players who could be traded (OK, this is perhaps working against my argument). Here is what they wrote on Lyubushkin: "Ilya Lyubushkin was competent for the Stars this past season — he was nowhere near the liability that Matt Dumba was — but his $3.25 million cap hit is a tad pricey for what he offers. Lyubushkin is a steady stay-at-home defenseman with limited puck skills. He’d be solid on any team’s bottom pair, but clearly isn’t the answer for the Stars in the top four." Now, Lyubushkin was good enough to play in Dallas's top 4 all year, and not prevent Dallas from being a top regular season NHL team. Do you want him in your top 4 when you are contending for the Cup? No, but we can worry about that when we get there. My argument is basically this: I know we want a couple of new D-men, preferably R shot, to play with Dahlin and Power. And we want them to fit the billing (hey, I would like Dobson and Weegar too). But I look at the conference final teams this year and I see the following d-men in the top 4 for minutes played in the regular season (pre-trade deadline): Mikkola, Kulikov, Kulak, Gotsebehere, Lyubushkin. These are mostly guys who have been available for peanuts in recent years. Lyubushkin would not be my first choice, but we could and have done worse. And we could get him for next to nothing probably. Maybe even as an add-in that slightly lowers the cost on Robertson.

When it comes to music I'm a dullard. The era I'm still musically attached to is MoTown. Don't mock me because I deserve empathy for being so far out of touch.

I thought Mattias played his way off th stop two pairs? How much ice time did he get with Rasmus last season? If Samuelsson is on the top pair to start the 2025-2026 season, the Sabres will be vying for the top pick once again.

I agree with this. Maybe I'm missing something about Dobson's game, but isn't he a right-shot hybrid of Byram and Power? Or is he closer to a Bouchard level talent? In a perfect world, at least one of Dahlin, Byram, or Power would be a right shot. But all of them can play the right side. Of all the redundancies in their games, handedness seems like the least of them. At this point I'm 95% certain that Byram is gone. I would bet (not a lot) that we open the season with Samuelsson and Dahlin as pair #1 and that a new veteran is brought in to play with Power. Rasmus Andersson makes sense, if the Sabres aren't on his no-trade list, which is only 6 teams; maybe he hates palm-trees. The 3rd pair will be a combo of Clifton, B-Docker, Bryson, and Johnson, and it would not shock me if we re-signed Gilbert.

I would still find it hard to believe. Two things. One. He wasn’t traded from a Cup winning team. He was traded from a team that went on to win the Cup. There is a difference. Two. Internal Disgruntlement. Love that band. Their third album was a masterpiece.

His contract year is coming up next year. Another season of team failure will get him into thinking of his options. I'm not saying that I have inside information but what I do know is that the level of internal disgruntlement will increase if this team doesn't get on a better track. This topic about Tuch's not too distant options that related to his expiring contract (next year) was discussed on WGR by Paul Hamiliton. It should be remembered that Tuch was traded from a Cup winning team to a team that hasn't even sniffed the playoffs since he arrived at his new destination. There is no question that losing is demoralizing to the competitive spirit in players.

In war, yes. In professional sports? It’s the goal but clearly not the only thing that matters. It may be what matters to you personally. To the league, the teams, the players? It’s a job. A great job. Earn enough for generational wealth. Winning is fun, it makes everything better. It’s also not always easy to do. The Sabres being example A. Leagues set up their pay scale to promote parity and give seemingly everyone, a perceived equal chance of success. No one team can hoard all the best players in a salary cap system. The Sabres have found a loophole for continued failure. Put people in change with no reprecussions for job performance. The players and GM have no recourse for poor performance.

I think there has been an obvious concerted effort by most pro-sports teams to homogenize the game-day experience so that a typical fan can say they had a good time, regardless of the outcome. Teams want you buying merch and $12 popcorn and $14 beers. And at the last TV timeout they want to run a promotion and to then play the latest pop-hit and show people in the crowd smiling and dancing, regardless of the score. I don’t live near an NHL city. In the last couple of years I saw a game in Edmonton and in Calgary. Night and day experiences (in part because of the actual teams on the ice). The Oiler game was a complete and non-stop assault on one’s senses. Not a moment of time between whistles that was not filled with a fan promotion or loud music and shots of happy fans on the video screens. You could not have a meaningful discussion with the person beside you. The Flames game was more sedate. Still a lot of promotions and music, but toned down a bit. The crowd seemed a little older. For a single game experience, the Oiler game was a ton of fun, but I don’t think I would enjoy it 40 times a year. The Flames game was more to my liking and seemed like fan engagement in the game would be a bit more organic, if the team was actually good. Anyway, back to the initial post. The Oilers are certainly committed to winning. No team does up the game day stuff more than Vegas. If there is a connection between the game day experience and a commitment to winning, then I think that the more a franchise commits to the game day experience probably also reflects a greater commitment to the on ice product, rather than the other way around. If they are cheaping-out on one, they are more likely to be cheaping-out on the other.

Don't tempt me, I do love me some bread

Thank you.

I would find that really hard to believe.

That’s not a rumor. That’s just two guys talking about his situation.

I totally agree. Who cares if winning matters to the tourist or visiting fan. I'm a Yankees fan, if I visit Fenway should they worry about entertaining me? The only main focus in any arena, for that arena, should be winning for the people that are fans of the team playing in said arena. Yeah I'm good with making it fun for the kids and different "levels" of food options, rich people/poor people, everyone in between. But asking if winning matters to a person not a fan of the two teams playing? Who cares! One they're already there, so you already got 'em and two they'll enjoy it more if the home team goes bananas. How could any organization spend time caring if that person or people come back, next time they're in the area?

Also guys coming off of long term injuries. He checks all the boxes.

Maybe woody can get one too so he can make some bread while he’s having soup and a sandwich all while driving.

Got a bread maker the other day and it's amazing!

If anything I’d lay it on a scale by banning it up to Juniors then just tweak stuff to give a 10 min misconduct in Juniors to Fighting Majors. I don’t want kids fighting but once you reach pro hockey it should be enshrined as a part of the sport.

Just traded in my GMC sierra elevation for a new Sierra Denali; loaded up to the max. The super cruise is really cool to use, definitley helps with highway driving, hands free. Drove the 86 last week and ate a soup and sandwich on the ride and didn't have to touch the wheel at all. Little akward getting used to it at first lol. Expensive truck, but one of the smoothest I've ever driven. Now I get to work more shifts to pay for it 😂

This is a very bad question

The Bills kind of were too for a little bit, especially for the Pats. If they can graduate to the champions league, so can the Sabres one day.

I think thats it for me. I have real cognitive dissonance over fighting in the pros. It certainly entertains me, but the CTE and concussion issues are real, and should make us all feel icky for enjoying those fights. You are entertaining yourself watching men do lasting harm to each other. but I have no dissonance regarding junior players fighting. There is nothing entertaining about kids fighting.

Oh ok, so spell check got ya. I thought you kept typing allowed.

This entire board is entertainment since 2 months for me, every piece of media , youtuber that said stuff about the sabres been responded by (I get its hard 15yr playoff dirt) 1. No one wants to play in buffalo 2. Pegula don't care and should sell the team 3. Houston Sabres 4. .... Any past GM/Coach in last 15 years 5 ... list is long and distinguished

Gently pumping the tires on 'Muel.

Come on gents. This is crunch time. I need both of your input during this week. Let’s stay cool.