Taro T

The guy that really shined was Peterka. Not sure that it can be said that it carried over to this year.

It's definitely a possibility that he does just go with the goaltending he has. But it just makes so much sense to bring in a Varlamov and it sets the Sabres up with an amped up version of the '06 Canes goaltending. And to those that say the plan for the future is Levi and UPL, believe you're right that was the plan. Not sure, the way the season played out that it necessarily still is the plan. It could be, and having Varlomov doesn't change that if it is (provided UPL clears waivers) but getting Varlamov could restore the even earlier plan of Ullmark and UPL just with different goalies in the Ullmark and UPL roles.

What are you talking about the place not being full? There were maybe 200 empty seats in the whole building.

And for those that were wondering what @dudacek and this kid have seen from the kid, today's game is a great example of what we've expected from Levi. There is no way this team wins today with any of the other 3 goalies in house between the pipes. He makes the big save when the team needs it and just doesn't give up that bad momentum killing goal. He gives the team a chance to win every game. He's not perfect, but he's the best they've had in a decade.

And nearly forgot, Jokiharju had his best game as a Sabre in a LONG time. He really played well today.

Not sure how Levi wasn't the 2nd star tonight. Yes, Dahlin was the MAN today, but with any of the other 3 goalies in net we're wondering if Comrie's record would be broken. Really liked the effort today. They battled all game. Threw more big hits today than any 2 other games. When they get used to having a quality NHL net minder behind them, they should get better in their own end as they'll focus on taking away the options rather than the initial shot. Had said in other threads, thought Mitts was only a W. Maybe was wrong about being wrong about him being a C. He's been good in that role the past 3 times he's been there. Could see his versatility and hopefully Greenway meshing with a full training camp here giving Granato a lot of flexibility in how to deploy the troops. 78 games in and they're still alive. Been a long time since we've seen that. Probably won't get there. But until they're out, it's possible.

Fair enough.

Not quite. Pretty sure they saw the ice after the 3rd Canes goal. (Not entirely positive there, but thought they got one more shift after that.) They and the Jost line got benched after the Sabres scored the 4th goal. Only Quinn saw the ice at the end of the PK and that nearly backfired as he led to the turnover to give the Canes 1 last chance on that sequence. Edit: actually am sure the 3rd pair was out after that 3rd Cane goal. Stillman's accidental "throwing" of his stick at Levi happened in the 3rd. (Also, weren't Henri and Owen on the ice for the 3rd goal against?)

Anybody know why the ref (27) won't let Levi have a water bottle on his net? He's taken it from him at least twice.

If he's obviously not ready at any point after the Sabres have played 10 games he'll eventually work his way back to Winnipeg. Really doubt they'd keep him in the pressbox all year getting into 2-4 games per month when he can go back to the WHL and play every night with a plan to work on any aspects of his game that an offensive guru needs working on. Losing out on a year of the ELC would have been happening at the point he's been in 10 games regardless of whether he plays in Buffalo or Winnipeg after that point and if he clearly isn't ready for the NHL there's no benefit to keeping him there not playing at all for the entire rest of the season. (He or the Sabres can hire him a trainer in Winnipeg and he can Zoom into meetings.) As long as he isn't on the roster for more than 40 games, he doesn't earn a year of service towards FA. That's the truly important threshold in the grand scheme of things. But expect that he'll either be ready enough after 9 games or obviously not ready (and expecting the former) so that the question becomes moot. And back to the original OP's Q, yes, except for a conditioning stint or an international tournament the only 2 options for him to be playing next year are the Sabres or the Winnipeg Ice (or whomever they might trade his rights to in the CHL).

Umm, Dryden?

Didn't follow that one that closely, but always thought it was the Signature Bridge affecionados that torpedoed the Peace Bridge upgrade.

Well, they're only going to charge the credit card when games are officially going to be played. Which is good. Tix for unplayed playoff games used to be the down payment on the next season's tix.

Well, for the 1st time in 9 or 10 years, the Sabres sent out playoff invoices today. No data on other locales, but for ours the price is ~50% over regular season in the 1st round and more than 2.5x the price of regular season for the 2nd round. The times they are a changin'.

The camera work there was horrible. Never saw a clear picture of how Wallman was disrobing Mittelstadt. Expecting the Sabres will remember.

Which is what both governments approved to pay for. But the local idiots ran out the clock on making anything happen.

4 year deal seems likely if he's in their future. Buys 2 UFA years and leaves flexibility for both sides when the plethora of young forwards in the pipeline are ready to start making their marks. And could see all 4 of Mittelstadt, Krebs, Dahlin, and Power getting deals this summer. Jokiharju too on a short deal just buying 1 or 2 years of UFA. Expect UPL won't get signed until the following summer.

Expect he'll be a 60 point guy and that when healthy we won't see him under 50 points again. Also expect for him to be a longer term fixture on the team he'll take low end 2nd line W (or top end 3rd line) money. Which works when your top 2 centers are making 2nd line money and your soon to be starting goalie (if not next year, the year after) is on an ELC.

Mittelstadt is their 5th best forward at present. Quinn MIGHT pass him next year but it isn't a given. Don't expect anybody else on the team or the pipeline currently passing him next year. His versatility and contract make him quite valuable. He's pretty much turning into a Hecht for them (with better offense and lesser defense. Like Jochen, Mitts likely will struggle to get into the 20's on goal scoring, but that part of his game could still come around if he gets the Cozens like epiphany that he has a reasonable shot and doesn't need to wait for either the perfect chance or the there's no other option but shooting chance). It'll be interesting to see if they extend him this off-season and for how much & for how long if they do. If he doesn't have a need to break the bank, he could be here a long time in a bunch of different roles. If he wants to be paid like a high end 2nd liner he could be gone in 2-3 seasons, but if he's reasonable on what he's asking he could stay a Sabre into his late 20's. He's a 2nd line talent driving the 3rd line primarily. And agree that unless he's part of a package for a stud D-man or a Selke candidate, he doesn't get moved.

Levi was fruit of the Reinhart trade, not the Ristolainen trade.

6-2. Without all the deflected goals, the Wings aren't pressing to get that faceoff and shot at the end. Score effects.

The D will learn to take the passes away and let Levi take the shooter. Just like the Sabres D used to play when Miller was here. It's a tough mental change to go from, we must try to block every high danger chance or it'll be in the net to we must take away the shooter's options because the goalie has this.

Barasso would've had that record had he not been 25 years too young for the shootout to be a thing.

Realize Granato is going to put UPL or possibly Comrie in net Saturday afternoon. He needs to go back to Levi for them to have a chance.

And the winner for Levi.