Taro T

The Sabres definitely could keep Girgensons and kind of expect that to happen too. But the dream of the vet 4C PK specialist is pretty much gone at this point. Am expecting with at least 1 more (and ideally 2 more) actual USEFUL D brought in that the team will be running 8D for the most part which only puts 13 Fs on the roster. Even with Hinostroza walking and Olofsson traded if Z comes back there is room for 1 of Savoie or Rousek to make the roster if Jost is the regular 13th F. And if Z is gone, then there's room for both Savoie and Rousek (provided they both earn it) but very little room for any other changes.

Savoie didn't really seem to do much, but he did play some in the 3rd with Rousek and Kulich. Will be interesting to see if he stays with them on Saturday or if Weisback takes that slot back.

Well, the game was disappointing, but at least on MSG they fixed the picture issues they had Tuesday night. It was an actual HD broadcast unlike whatever that was during game 1.

IF Okposo were to truly get platooned, am much more on board with this move. Just don't expect to see that and expect him to play great out of the gate this year (expect this team is already ready for it to be October and will come out of the gate flying like they normally do; the difference being they won't have a November or December with so few W's an old time retired rail worker can count them on 1 hand) and those that are thrilled that Kyle is back will be crowing from every roof, but also expect his to run out of gas sometime in November and he'll be a liability after that. Hoping that's an overly pessimistic take. Really like Okposo as a person and like what he's brought to the team in terms of culture change the past 2 seasons. IF they keep him fresh all year, fine put him back in his role. But still would've preferred they bring back Girgensons and also bring in a vet 4C PK specialist. And Kyle didn't get much PK time at all last year; he got some, but not much. That 4C would be replacing his 5v5 play (Krebs or Jost could easily slide to wing at 5v5 should they be on the 4th line this coming season) but would definitely be upgrading the PK.

Like Krebs. Really like Peterka. But if one of them and UPL could bring Hellebucyk to Buffalo, pull the trigger Mr. Adams. UPL MIGHT become a good NHLer, but he has very little trade value and his leaving does little to deplete the team's assets. Losing Krebs hurts. He could become a Gilmour-lite player (expect he can bring the 200' game and edge that Doug brought, but will score only about 75% of what Doug did (even prorated for differences in eras). Peterka could really become a great goal scorer for this team but offense is what the Sabres have in Spades. Losing ONE piece of that to lock down the goaltending this season and POSSIBLY into the future is worth it. Especially when Adams team seems to be finally getting the draft right in a way the Sabres have not been able to do in 40 or so years, you can give up A piece that hurts to fill a hole that needs to be filled.

Really thought that when he signed Hall indicated that he would've been good with a longer term contract but that Adams only offered the 1 year deal. (Which fit in very well with the notion that the Pegulas didn't want to have any LT contracts handed out coming out of Covid due to so much uncertainty with revenues (not just with the Sabres but also the crowdless Bills and their other holdings). It also fit in well with the idea that Adams believed keeping the band together and taking 1 more kick at the can was the wrong way to proceed; but except for not upgrading the goaltending, he did make what seemed to be a very good faith effort to give that a chance to succeed if it were going to do so.)

We REALLY need to get that 'huh' reaction brought back. None of the others seems to fit for this one.

Belfour was 'meh' the 1st 3-1/2 games. After Zhow-ey Zhou-no wasted a glorious near open net 1 timer chance by firing it into the desperate Belfour rather than the 60% open net he only gave up 1 more goal in the next 9 or so periods. IIRC Satan just getting back from being out several games after getting hit in the ankle by a Zhitnik slapper also helped build Ol' Bats in His Belfour's confidence to all world proportions shortly after Zhou-no's wasted opportunity by not finishing on an A-1 opportunity (though not nearly as glorious as Zhow-ey's had been).

Absolutely. And it's why these guys that were such a part of the "losing culture" in Buffalo can now be successful in their next stop. There's a reason these guys were 2nd overall draft picks. They're really good hockey players. But this sport isn't like basketball where a single stud player can turn the tide seemingly on his own. (Though Hasek sure did come close. Maybe someday they'll finish game 6 and if somebody scores again for him we can find out if he can get them that last game they need beyond that one. 😉)

They really did try to take their role as the "neutral" broadcasters of that game very seriously. Jack Edwards could've learned a thing or 2 from them the handful of times heard him doing a national broadcast rather than that abomination of a broadcast NESN puts out. Not to turn this into a bash Jack Edwards thread, but at least Brickley could adjust when he was doing national games and was actually pretty good in that role. Edwards, not so much.

Yes, he did. He's a very good player. But he isn't going to take a team and put it on his back. He can just play his role and be very successful at it in the South Florida Swamps.

Would actually say the in-game footage was of comparable quality. The production beyond in-game footage was significantly better than that of the typical AHL.tv broadcast. And not just because we didn't hear Don Stevens yacking away with some intern when we can only hear Don's side of the exchange.

Genny.

Realize they likely will expand. REALLY hate the idea of expanding beyond 32 teams. Hate the idea of seeing another fanbase lose its team; but don't really see how they keep up the charade there more than 1 or 2 seasons tops. Unless they figure out a realistic plan to give the team a home in the desert this year, can't see it going on any longer. And hopefully this is used as a case study for future teams considering building a rink away from the local major population center to see just how horribly bad a decision that is. Yes, the land is cheap. There is a reason for that. Toronto could get away with moving to the far outskirts of Missisaugua; Chicago could probably move to Naperville; Detroit could probably move as far as East Lansing and still fill the barn. But a team with no established roots and playing a niche sport in the city its ostentibly based out of shouldn't be making it hard for the majority of its local fan base to actually travel to see the team play in person.

Disappointing news. Was hoping that only 1 of Okposo and Girgensons would be back and it would be Z coming back as he has more left in the tank IMHO. Have wanted a strong PKing 4C brought in. With Savoie's limitation of not having Ra-cha-cha as an option and Rousek having earned a legit shot at making the big club, don't see that vet 4C being brought in. Expect Okposo will be fine (maybe even good) into November, but don't see it lasting the whole season. Afraid he will be the defensive forward version of the Corpse of Pominville that last year. Maybe that's all Okposo plans on being around for, but just can't see him going for a Perreault-esque walking away mid-season.

Let's add Karmanos and Ventura to that "out" list ASAP. Botterill would be a great fit for that job.

And expecting all the games this series will be on MSG as they said during the broadcast that Hershey's Fox 43 (the TV channel showing the game in Hershey) will be showing all the games this series.

Can't see DTv bothering to put the games on the Channel Guide if they aren't going to be shown, but stranger things have happened. Game 5 is not showing on DTv's channel guide yet. Should the team losing tonight get a W will recheck the Channel Guide to see if it gets added. Based on the attendance last round, even with weeknight games can't see the games not selling out even if they are available on local cable/satellite TV. So, the Amerks shouldn't have the old Bill Wirtz 'No Home Games on TV" disease.

Actually, according to DTv, the 1st 4 games will ALL be on MSG (the regular MSG 634, not the Buffalo version 635-1). Presumably only those in the Sabres regular broadcast area will get the games, but the schedule does show the 1st 4 games all being on MSG proper. Thanks for the heads up.

And it's highly likely they would've just grabbed a guy that would never make it had they kept the pick. Aka as you imply they saw 0 value in the original pick. They managed to use the new pick to move up and THAT was value to them. Still mildly unhappy they couldn't convert some cap space from last year & this into picks in this year's draft or next year's. THOSE would also have value. But that cap space is gone, just like Johnson likely will be in 3 months.

There's a reason that baseball stayed out of the south except for spring training for 70-80 years and then almost immediately moved into a dome on its 1st foray down there. Sitting in the sun for 3-1/2 hours when it's over 95°F really us not pleasant. It's not about an advantage for the players (most of whom play college ball in the south anyhow so they're kind of used to it); it's about getting people to actually pay to sweat away a few pounds while watching paint attempt to dry.

Well, on the plus side, doesn't seem like you'll have to keep this tool for long w/ the current policy in place.

Isn't the 1st goalie that GMs & coaches couldn't see results when evaluating but rather only size/style. He has some pretty good company in Hasek in that club.

Absolutely. And this tool should expect to have a long talk w/ you or other management explaining that the next time he "gets" Covid he's bringing the results of his saliva test showing he won't be smelling anything for the next 3 months or he isn't getting back in the building. The 11 "legit" sick days in 11 months have to count for something towards finding a way to can him for cause, right?

Don't have a link to it, but heard the NFL WILL start flexing Thursday night games this season. Can only happen twice in 1 season & there needs to be at least 28 day's notice. But once again the league proves it doesn't care a rat's bippy for the fans that actually show up in the overly lavish mausoleums the owners build as tributes to themselves on the tax payers' dime.