All Activity

Yes Benson didn’t play in the NHL all year at 18 because of his offensive production. He is just so smart all over the ice that he can be effective defensively in the NHL until the offence kicks in. It looked at the end of last year that it was starting to pop.

Lol - the Broncos' former safety's name is Justin. Hence the brain cramp. This is becoming (has been?) a thing in the NFL: Take a no risk flyer on a physical freak.

OK -- how about these: - Sabres trade Jiri Kulich and Ryan Johnson (or Matt Savoie and #11, or some other combination of those 4 assets) to FLA for Sam Bennett -- contingent on Bennett signing an extension for 6 years @ $7MM per year. It's too much money and too much term for Bennett, who turns 28 in June, but he's not coming to Buffalo without getting that type of contract. - Sabres trade Jiri Kulich and a 2024 2nd-rounder to Vegas for Nicolas Roy. Vegas is close to capped out. Roy is a 6'4", 202-lb C who is a 35- to 40-pt guy, turned 27 in February and makes $3MM per year. - Sabres trade a 2024 2nd-rounder to the Islanders for Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri, a 5'11", 198-lb RW who had 54 pts this season, will be 34 in February and has one more year on his contract at $5MM -- and the Isles are capped out.

McD loves him some wrestlers. He’d sign him just to have somebody to spar with.

Benson was perhaps our most structurally sound player on the team, so I think he would embrace whatever structured style Lindy wishes to employ.

Neither of us know whether Benson is going to take a quantum leap forward next season. But for a player who was so young, I didn't witness him last season fading as the season grinded on. In fact, it was the opposite. I thought he played better at the end of the season than the beginning of the season because he seemed to comfortably adapt to the tougher NHL game. I'm not predicting a quantum leap forward in his play, but he should be better with a season experience and an offseason to prepare for this upcoming season. As far as his ability to adjust to a tougher style of play that Lindy will require compared to what Granato tolerated, I would say that he was one of our more responsible players from a checking standpoint in both zones and from a willingness to have a net presence in our offensive zone. My point is that maybe some other players will have trouble adjusting to a Lindy coached team, but he shouldn't have any problem adapting to the new coach.

Apparently the Bills met with former NCAA heavyweight champion wrestler, Olympic gold medalist and former WWE prospect, Gable Steveson. IDK what the outcome would be as Steveson didn’t even play high school football let alone college.

Will be interesting to see how this one plays out. Just like the Bandits are Hamilton's kryptonite, the Firewolves have given the Bandits fits this year and last. (Bandits only win of the 4 came last year in the weird game where both teams only scored at the end where the Bandits' bench is and the Bandits scored more in the 2nd and 4th Q's than Albany had scored in the 1st & 3rd Q's. BUT, Albany hasn't faced Buffalo since they signed Ferrell which means Albany won't win pretty much every single faceoff. And the Bandits D and Vinc himself have been significantly improved this season since trading for Dawson and getting Weiss and the Robinson brothers back healthy. Expecting (hoping?) the experience of the Bandits is enough to overcome the Albany firepower and goaltending. But wouldn't have any money riding on this one. It should be a great series.

So many guys that can fill needs. I don't want to get caught up in too much wishing cause that'll lead to too much disappointment. KA should be active, simple as that, and he should be looking at guys who aren't over the hill yet and are good in the playoffs, not necessarily the regular season.

Some people did. Some people were really anti Tochet, almost like the anti Torts crowd. I wonder if the Flyers (who tend to be a little incestuous) wish they'd hired him. Coaching makes a huge difference (look how Cassidy somehow got Eichel to play 2 way hockey!) but Vancouver also made huge roster additions. Their big Swedish star has actually been pretty crap in the playoffs. Hopefully KA realizes this and isn't just going to think hiring Ruff was enough.

I think Benson's "jump" will be in year 3 or 4. Likely when he's around 21. I will not be surprised if he takes a backwards step next year and it won't worry me as I see a bright future. He might not. We shall see how he adjusts to what Ruff brings, but I am expecting a more structured style of play and young guys usually have some issues with that initially.

I think that’s exactly what he’s claiming. He also managed to indict “Bills mafia” in the process. Just an absolutely clueless take lacking in context.

well idk. I'd actually like to see multiple deals to change this roster. My mindset is in terms of restructuring the roster and getting players that play differently from what we have. Our roster imo is too slanted in one direction and it doesn't have the various parts that a winning NHL roster requires. We need to move pieces where we have surpluses and get pieces where we have deficiencies. The value and the winning the trade doesn't concern me much. I'd like to hear actual trade ideas from people. Who do they want or think we could get and what would they give? It's easy to say "I want Skinner gone" (as I've said myself) but it's harder to make it happen. It's easy to say "we need" or "I want" but how and for who? What is everyone willing to actually do in concrete terms rather than vague wishes.

Actually he didn’t. Buffalo was always his priority based on his relationship with Nathan Paetsch. He wanted to enjoy his college graduation and spend some time with family and friends that was the delay in his signing. The addition of Byram changes the dynamic of the defense corps as that is another left handed puck moving defender. RJ might like an another opportunity where there is clearer pathway to a regular NHL job. For the right deal, Adams does not hesitate to move him

Okay, I will believe this. He looked decent in the Philly games I saw, but I didn't see that many. Perhaps you're still left with the question though of did he get along with Torts or did he quit on him? What I don't see on this site though is actual viable trade proposals. Everyone is just saying KA needs to make moves but what moves? That's the harder question.

They should swing and miss/hit for Elias Lindholm. He creates so much position flexibility. Top 6 six center - allowing Cozens to slide into a 3C or top 6W. He can play your tough assignments against teams top scoring lines. While also giving you some production offensively. He is no Chris Drury - but he could be our theoretical Chris Drury. If we could get this guy to bite on a 5 x 8.5 contract...it would be gold for this team. That said - it may cost the Sabres 9+ to get him.....but...he changes the dynamic of this team.

There goes my enthusiasm! Thanks!

Jordan Poyer? Or does he have a younger brother I don't know about 😉

Not to put too much of a damper on your enthusiasm for possible UFA upgrades, but if the Sabres just give conservative extensions to their RFA's and promote Levi, Johnson and Rousek to back-up roles, they are left with under $10 million to fill out three bottom-6 forward positions. If the plan is to "up" spending on the bottom-6 (ie: spend more than the $8.6 million paid last year to Girgs, Okposo, Jost and Robinson), then the cap is nearly gone. That assumes the Sabres are even considering spending something close to the cap. I'm not trying to be pessimistic as I do think there are meaningful changes that can be made. But, unless they are willing to spend to the cap and/or trade a vet (Joker $$$ or higher) and/or buyout Skinner, they will just be playing with the edges of the roster.

You missed my point regarding Benson's play in his rookie season. As a full-time player his offensive stats were not impressive. That's a fact. I wasn't factoring in his age because that wasn't the issue. My central point was that despite his production I still felt that he played well and never was a liability. Hopefully, you are now unbaffled.

Does anyone know if any of the guys on the list have previously played for Ruff in Dallas, NYR (where he was an assistant), or NJD and might want to play for him again? If a guy likes playing for Lindy or had a lot of success playing for Lindy, it might overcome the desire to avoid the Sabres organization. Also, we often fail to forget that, despite the extended playoff drought, the Sabres have been a reasonably competitive team in the last 2 seasons and do have a lot of young talent, so it may not be quite as unattractive as some may think. The team is not a cellar dweller fighting their way to the bottom (although there were not too long ago). Furthermore, a lot of guys are from Southern Ontario or the NE United States, so Buffalo is close to home, which can be a draw. Just trying to find some of the positives here....

***** the Rangers, that loss by the Canes is going to sting this whole offseason for them. They had game 6 and blew it and a couple of those games in New York they had a chance to get the win. Sorry folks, never been a Rangers fan ever.

That Broncos safety (Simmons) is still out there. 2nd team all pro last season. 30 years old. Seems like he's getting a bit of the Justin [EDIT: JORDAN] Poyer treatment. Didn't Poyer test free agency last offseason - after being named an all pro? - before returning to the Bills for the 2023 season?

Interesting. I'm kinda skeptical that they'll trade any D prospects though, and that they'll trade Johnson in particular. I doubt they will trade a D prospect because Johnson is the one who would fetch the best return, and even then I don't think the return would be sufficient. Also, I think KA had to make a pretty compelling sale to Johnson, who was only weeks away from being a UFA. I don't think it would look good to trade him one year later. IMHO if they trade a prospect, it will be one of the forwards -- probably Kulich or Savoie, as those are the 2 that I'd guess will return the most value in trade. I agree -- I think the most likely outcome is that Johnson is #8 after camp, with Bryson #7, and that Johnson spends most of the year playing in Rochester, which is what he should be doing unless there are a few injuries on D in Buffalo.

He is on top of my list too. I think he will ask for a five year contract with NMC. The big question is if we are willing to give him that and 6-7mil/year. If he is even interested in coming here.