Taro T

Good point. And even if ROR were playing, doubt there's as much emotion for him with it being the NEXT game against his old squad rather than the very 1st one with his new team. But really expect getting Tuch into the lineup is going to give the Sabres a lift. Play like they did against the Rags and good things can happen.

Yes. Expect they also expected at least 1 of Fitzgerald, Pilut, and Clague to be able to be a legit 6 as well. No way they thought all 3 would be top 6 material, but at least 1 of them panning out was likely expected. And one of them being legit top 6 material is why it would be really good to get one more guy they expect to be a 6 to be in the mix with Lyubushkin, Johnson, and Stillman for the bottom pairing with Jokiharju should a 4 be brought in.

And Dahlin could write heartfelt ghostwritten letters to the fans without wearing the C as well. He'll also be fine. ;)

It probably will be. But that doesn't mean that it's the right decision. IMHO Tuch should be the captain. But he doesn't need a letter to be a leader of this team. Adams and Granato will do what they want on this one.

No, that puck absolutely hit him in the head. Went back and rewatched it. And believe @brawndo is right that it hit him in the cheek. Originally thought it hit him in the ear, but there was no blood and it looked like it just missed the ear.

Realistically, Sunday or Monday. Maybe he could catch a ride on the Bruins charter? ;)

Maybe those photos aren't as incriminating / embarrassing as we'd suspected. ;)

In regular practice sweater, not the no contact version presumably?

He definitely wasn't plan A. But after Murray nixed the trade and Gibson did likewise (if he even got to the point of having worked out a deal with Anaheim), Comrie sure seems to have been next on their list. The question is, would he still have been on the list had the Murray trade happened? Am hoping he would've been and they've brought both in house (which would've left Anderson on the outside), but am guessing that they would've just brought Murray in and either Anderson or somebody left on the market 4 or so days into FA.

Could see that as it does seem to be their primary modus operandi. Regardless of whether they bring in a name guy or an under the radar one for the 4, expect he'll have a bit of a learning curve getting used to the way that Granato has them play. Which is another part of what was frustrating about them not landing the guy they'd hoped to pencil into the top 4 at the deadline. Not just the lack of a boost this season, but had they landed Chychrun he'd've had 20+ games in this system (even more if they sneak into the playoffs) before we get to October. He'd've been ready to hit the ground running. The question though for figuring out who they do go after this summer is who has played for Granato before? They seem to have an attraction to guys that they know can play in Donnie's system because they have in the past. Figure out who those guys are and that's likely where the smart money will be betting. The guy you mentioned, Borgen, played a few games for Granato here. They'd know what they're getting. Not sure he's a 4, but if he were playing with Power he could probably fake it well enough. (Kind of like Samuelsson fakes being a 2 well enough playing with Dahlin.)

Get Tuch back and treat this game like the Heritage Classic last year. It's not a TNT game, but that shouldn't keep them from setting up another classic Bissonette meltdown. Let him go home tonight and cry in his Loaf jammies.

He did. But, in addition what is here (which is 6 NHLers deep with 2 tweeners and Johnson likely on the way) he should bring in that 4 and 1 more Lyubushkin / Stillman level guy. That would have the top 8 all NHL caliber with Johnson, Clague, and Bryson in Ra-cha-cha. We KNOW they'll be down 2 D-men at some point and being short 3 wouldn't be unrealistic. The team can handle having any of those bottom 3 in the lineup if the other 5 guys are all NHLers and it's just for a handful of games. It also would benefit the farm as those Forwards we're looking to bring in as cheap reinforcements and push guys like Olofsson out of the lineup in the near future will have the top 1/2 of the D-corps behind them being guys that have been in the NHL or will soon be there which will help their odds for success tremendously. Am sure another NHL D-man will be brought in this summer. Hoping he's that 4 they need. Also hoping we see 1 more NHL quality guy brought in. If they do, then D is set for the short term and probably until the Russians or other prospects are ready to step in.

The slump is one thing. The thing that seals that he should be the captain is that the team has quit in exactly 2 games in the past 2 seasons. Both came 1 week apart while he was out of the lineup. And he just does all of the other little things right. When he became a Sabre, he took the entire team out to dinner. On RJ night, he was the one that went and grabbed him and brought him out onto the ice. Little things, but they add up and become the root of bigger things.

You seem to be splitting hairs there. They definitely are going to switch the goal to winning in October (if it isn't already the goal for the next 17 games). That said, they aren't trading Savoie away for a guy who's a UFA in a year to improve the chances of winning JUST next year.

Not so sure. He wanted to finally get a chance to start. Buffalo gave him the best opportunity at that. At least until Dahlin drove the forward onto him. (Pretty sure it was the time Dahlin did it to him that he got injured. It might've been the other one that broke him.)

Want a 5 brought in as well. But what the team needs is a 4. Maybe Jokiharju becomes that guy next year. Or even Lyubushkin. But rather than expect an internal candidate will advance (Joker by getting to his prime, Bousch by having another year in this significantly different system than he'd been in back in Arizona or even TO) would really like to have an external candidate brought in house. Doesn't just increase the chances of getting that 4 they need; it also makes it easier to handle injuries.

We're generally in agreement on the rookies. But the question was who might make the opening day roster. And Savoie, due to circumstances beyond his playing abilities, will have a real chance to play a handful of games starting opening night. But to stay, he's going to have to actually beat somebody out of a roster spot. They have 14 NHLers at F right now. 12 of them will be back next year, and wouldn't be surprised if another Hinostroza and Sheahan type get brought in too to play in Ra-cha-cha but also to be in Buffalo should a kid or 2 falter. Next year winning is the priority (but not at the sacrifice of LT winning). As for Levi, the expectation is though he gets some games this year, that he starts in Ra-cha-cha. But it isn't a given. If he outplays UPL and whomever else gets brought in to partner with UPL then he gets the net. It really is that simple, as next year winning becomes the focus. Heck, winning is the focus today (recall Granato's statement earlier this past week that lineups are being crafted to give the team the best opportunity to win now. They haven't moved on from development but at this point winning will breed development.

Savoie has a real chance to start the year in Buffalo, but would be mildly surprised if he plays beyond that 9th game. (And actually could see him sent packing after 6 or so games to get a look see at the end of the year without burning a year of the ELC.) If no goalie is brought in from the outside this summer, Levi has a small chance of starting the year in Buffalo. Those are the 2 rookies IMHO that have the best chance of starting the year in Buffalo. Would be surprised if Rousek doesn't get an injury callup next year. Kulich will likely get a short look too. (But expect they want that ELC to slide another year too. So, if he makes the team, he's going to be taking Olofsson's spot, not bumping Greenway for Okposo's slot.)

Comrie? Yes, he signed a 2 year deal last summer. No, Levi has not signed yet. Not expecting him to do so until it is official that NU won't make the dance. Hopefully he watches that selection show from the Anchor Bar or Duffs.

And if that's the case, then so be it. But the Sabres shouldn't have to give up Jokiharju to get a legit 4. That's pretty much shuffling deck chairs.

Agree they need more diversity on the roster; not sure how important that is for the pipeline if they can trade some of the surplus of what they seem to be good a drafting (scoring forwards with a very high pace of play) for someone a bit more established in an area that they aren't good (or at least don't seem to be good) at drafting. Scorers are harder to find. Sandpaper guys should be easier to get. And C's should be tradable for D if we really need more of those as prospects. (Again, given the top 3 on the team and the age of the 5, not sure that the D they REALLY need right now are of the prospect variety. They need 2 more NHLers today.

The plan should be to add 2 more bodies (ideally a 4 and another 5/6) so the team has 8 REAL defensemen (or minimum 7 with either Clague or Bryson as the 8) and the other the 9/10 while Johnson cooks in Ra-cha-cha. Ideally Clague and Bryson both are back and in Ra-cha-cha ready to come up if we see another injury plague like from November. The forward ranks are in pretty good shape. Those additions would put the D onto that same footing. Find a 1 for the net and they're cooking with gas. And, don't really see jettisoning Jokiharju as being a thing just on an "if" and a "may." They have no true 4 on the roster (unless you're counting Samuelsson who currently is a 4 and might be (and likely will grow into) a 3 which is good enough when his partner is a Norris caliber guy.) Getting that AND adding depth should be the priority, not going for incremental improvement by upgrading the 5 to a 4. The goal should be to make Henri a 5 and pair him with either Lyubushkin or Stillman depending upon opponent. Bousch has looked good (except for the 1 game that nobody but Peterka showed up in) with getting to play 3rd line and not with Bryson or Clague weighing him down. He can play on the left side, so either of the current 3rd pairing guys could play with Joker or the 2nd new guy could play with him. They're still high on Joker and expect gettting to play 3rd pairing would make him appear to be a stud. They have plenty of cap space at present and have no need to jettison a good/reasonable D-man at this time. Especially considering what the learning curve likely is for learning what Granato wants the D to be doing, really don't see a reason to get rid of him.

10. So teams slotted 1-11 have an opportunity to draft 1st overall.

You seem to be forgetting the 2nd adage. You don't deplete what you're weak in to shore that area up. Trade what you have a surplus of to shore up weaknesses.

So Greenway to the Jost line or is he the 2nd F rotating through the lines with Hinostroza?