Taro T

They've had them at least the last 2 if not the last 3 or 4 seasons. Just like they have Hockey Fights Cancer night every year and Military Appreciation night every year.

Then shouldn't they be playing great this past week or so as they are chasing again?

So 3 barely watchable seasons never happened? They aren't included on the ledger? Maybe they can get that Dahlin deal for Thompson as well. Just 1 decade more to wait to see the fruits of those deals.

In general, this is true. But the reason the Sabres let Miro Satan walk after the lockout was Drury went to Ruff and Regier and told them he was a cancer and was holding the team back. Addition by substraction. How much would having had Miro on that team that came out of the lockout messed up the team chemistry.

With all due respect, by that logic, a trade of Dahlin for another team's 1st and 2nd round draft picks for 6 consecutive years starting 10 years from now will be an overwhelming win for the Sabres. Because with a competent GM, about 4 years into that run the Sabres should start having an overwhelming amount of talent coming on board and Dahlin will be in his early 30's and coming back down to the pack. The time value of when things are useful CAN'T be neglected in an evaluation of a trade. How much good will and money was lost to the team by fans not showing up & was hemorrhaged over the 3 seasons where the Sabres were trash and the closest thing to a valuable on-ice asset was the Tage Thompson that tore up his shoulder taking a routine check into the boards? This wasn't even a Niewendyk for Iginla trade where it was obvious to all that Joe was a star in his prime and Jerome was going to be a star and both would fit the timeline of the team they were getting traded to better than they fit with their old team's timeline. There was no indication that Thompson was going to grow from a baby giraffe into a serious badass unicorn. If there was, he wouldn't have lasted to the end of the 1st in the year he was drafted and he would've been the guy that St. Louis absolutely refused to part with.

That would've been under the previous CBA. A player on an ATO would be eligible for the Calder Playoffs. But don't see how a guy signs an ATO (amateur tryout agreement/contract) when he has a professional contract. Clearly must be missing something if that happens.

Agreed. And as one of the people that wanted the Sabres to find a way to keep him was very disappointed that they couldn't even get what Moe-ray-all got for Scandella.

Plus he'd been playing on a 1 year deal that walked him to UFA status that season. If they didn't trade him, they'd've had absolutely nothing but cap space after he walked.

Not if they're going to play in the Calder Playoffs they don't. And, if they're on an ELC, then there is no ATO available. The ATO is to let a team see a player in action before signing him to a real deal. An ELC is a real contract.

Saw where the league is considering havnig the Thursday night games at the end of the season to be flexible. They'd move a scheduled Sunday afternoon game during weeks 14-17 onto Thursday and presumably bump the original bad Thursday night game over to Sunday. There would be 15 day notice of the change in dates/ times. Does anything say they don't care 1 lick for the people attending games more than making that change? Sure, you've had flights and hotels booked for 4 months. Too bad, so sad. Nobody wants to watch the Jest play the Lions on Thursday night in December. They want Denver KC for some reason nobody outside the NFL headquarters can comprehend. So those of you travelling to Detroit and KC, tough noogies.

They're going to start him on the Island, aren't they? If he isn't getting tonight's start, he should get the Moe-ray-all game as his 1st NHL game. (That way more Sabres fans can say they were there the night it all started.) Hopefully they win tonight. Not holding my breath. But, they have to win again SOMETIME. Why not tonight?

And to get playoff time in the AHL he needed to be on an AHL deal rather than an NHL deal. Wouldn't read more than that into this deal.

It might be true for Kulich but not be in the best interest of the team. Had Quinn and Peterka been in the AHL this year, Bjork would've been a spare forward and Sheahan is getting into some games. Asplund is a regular fixture in the top 12. While there were moments that those 2 and Krebs as well weren't better than those guys and Hinostroza too, there was enough times that they were better than them so the team was better off with them in the lineup. They also were in their D+3 seasons and their contracts wouldn't slide any further. Contracts for 20 year olds in NA don't slide. Kulich is only going to be 19 next year and his contract can slide again if he plays less than 10 games as a Sabre. He'll have tougher competition to beat out to be 1 of the 12 best F's on a consistent basis. If he flat out makes the team better, then bring him up. But if he doesn't, having him on a cost controlled deal from 20-22 is better for the Sabres than having him cost controlled from 19-21. Regardless of whether he'll be a slightly better player as a 20 year old playing against NHLers as a 19 yo or not. Sliding that contract a year gets him locked in as a Sabre through 1 more year of his early peak than if he shows up on the roster come October.

In case Bryson was wondering who would be taking his job in a year or 2.

Saw them on the Smash tour at a little outdoor place over on/just off Aero Dr. Really good show.

Except he was a ROOKIE. Hellllllooooo Devin Levi. That's the durn fly in the ointment. He got by with a rookie playing by far his best hockey and a friggin' journeyman. That coupled with only 1 injury the entire playoff run and that happening when a 1st liner was ready to come back from a regular season injury and take his place with no bumps in performance.

The only screw up, and it's a minor one, was in waiting until Friday to sign him. And that would've been on Levi's timeline, not theirs. So even that's hard to fault them too much over. Presuming they actually had the paperwork ready to file and filed it promptly after the ink was dry on the paper.

You may be correct but he still might finally realize that he needs to actually bring in a legit goalie until Levi is ready for the full workload. Really hoping for that. Because have been saying for a long time as well that Adams' experiences in Carolina have significantly shaped his views and that team won it all with a rookie playing the best hockey of his career and a journeyman spelling him when necessary. He definitely doesn't value GT the way some of us here do. But even with that, he has to see how much further this team could be with a legit honest to goodness NHL caliber netminder. And if bringing in another goalie gives him an excess of riches there because 1 or 3 of the guys in house figured it out, well right after buying a lottery ticket for that night's powerball, he can worry about that good problem to have and use that to fix another hole or extend out the team's window. Not going to worry abot it as it in all likelihood isn't happening. But he can and should bring in that extra goalie that is actually established.

Dont believe anybody expected him to win the Calder. But there were a few (yours truly included) that believe(d) he could be a finalist. The team play and his recently may have doomed that possibility.

Lost power last night for about 1-1/2 hours. Which, courtesy of all the back up power supplies/surge protectors chirping the whole time, didn't get a good night's sleep and apparently shut off the alarm after the wife got up. Fortunately didn't have any morning meetings, but will be playing catch up well into the evening tonight.

He definitely gets next season. And that year the goal has to be playoffs. And winning can no longer be subservient to "development." It really is hard to evaluate Granato because the goal wasn't the one that it normally is with professional sports teams. And both the coach and GM were on record as saying they weren't going to "sacrifice the future for short term gains." So, with them both being consistent (to be generous) or stubborn (to be less generous) it's hard to evaluate how they'd've done with winning now being a top line goal. And there are indications that he can be a good coach when winning is THE goal. The way how they've actually played defensively sound hockey on occassion shows that they can actually do it. And there are indications that he's in way over his head. Their inability to play defensively sound on more than just a 1-2 game stretch here or there. His saying that lineup decisions would be based on trying to win the games these last couple of weeks but them not winning. (Which might simply be doomed regardless of the lineups with the injuries and the goaltending quality dropping precipitously over that same time period.) Leaving Comrie in the net to become the only goalie in Sabres history to give up 10 goals in a single game. Am still hopeful he can step up next year. Making a change to his assistants would be an indication that he will. The special teams are attrocious. (And don't care that the PP is ranked highly. They rode a 5-6 week hot streak to that ranking and have been hot garbage before and since.) Sometimes you have to make the tough choices when you're the HC. That would be one of them that shouldn't actually be a tough choice.

Believe it was more kissing Portillo's bippy to convince him that things weren't too crowded to work both him and Levi into the mix. Levi has clearly been annointed ever since Reinhart became a Swamp Cat. Not making a significant push for a Saros at the deadline could very well have had a component of "we can't scare Devin off too" to it along with the "any good goalie will be crazy expensive at this time of the season." He should be in the AHL right now and probably next year too. Only way that happens realistically is if Levi forces his way into the starter's role next year. And, though fully believe that Adams doesn't value goalies enough, really expect him to actually finally bite the bullet and get a good vet to team up with one of the 2 younger guys this year. He has to see how with even average goaltending this season the team was going to be in the dance. The skaters will be better next year just by so many of them being a year closer to their primes. (Really doubt Okposo comes back, leaving only Girgensons in the we're at the age where play slides off part of his career.) But goaltending could sabotage next year just like it did this year.

Blame the CBA for that. Players have to get a day off every so often.

The concensus seemed to be high 80's. Personally said 91-92 and until the past couple of games thought that was still very doable. C'mon Devin, they can still get there. ;)

The idiot in "in game set up" or whatever the #### it's called who keeps setting the garbage cans in the 300 level out at the end of the stanchions under the seating bowl. It makes it really difficult to walk around up there. They don't always do it, but when they do it yutzes things up something fierce.