Taro T

They're kind of like the Marty Schottenheimers of international junior hockey.

To the bolded, yes & no. The roster on opening night the year before ON PAPER was better than last year's opening night roster yet that season ended with the Sabres starting with & keeping through the lottery the 1st pick overall. Injuries, poor chemistry, poor leadership, & poor timing/luck caused that to be one of the most miserable seasons the Sabres ever experienced. And though last year's team wasn't as talented on paper performed way better having so much negative energy removed. This team should be better than last year's in part because of Tuch & Krebs but it isn't an absolute given. Last year's team had 2 very good stretches sandwiched around mediocre and bad stretches. And last year's team should've been nearly as bad as the year before, but it wasn't. So, yes, this year's team should be better, but will it actually be? That's why they play & we watch, to find out. The question asked by @LGR4GM in the OP is actually quite interesting as that team on opening night was the 2nd strongest results wise of the entire year. Though a lot of that was due to GTing, of all things which was not expected at the time nor did it prove to be sustainable (which in fact was expected).

You can do it however you'd like & it's @LGR4GM's thread so not sure if it's an unbalanced exercise or not but IMHO it isn't. It's a snapshot in time and none of the Eichel's worth of assets the Sabres came away with were even identified with the Sabres at the time (including Östlund & this coming 2nd rounder). But we KNEW Eichel & the Sabres were as much a thing as Reinhart & the Sabres were. Neither asset the Sabres got for Sam was of any use against the Habs either and also wouldn't have been of any use against them in any circumstance healthy or not. It happens, assets that have current value get traded for future value & vice versa.

Am OK with discounting Eichel from that roster because at that point he was never playing for the Sabres again (or if he does, it'll be years from now under some very strange circumstances) and Tuch & Krebs were merely twinkles in Adams' eye. IF opening night is the demarcation, would only include Olofsson & Samuelsson as they would've been there if available. If Eichel were available, maybe Monahan would've been in the lineup that night. 😉

On paper the anticipated opening night lineup would appear to be better than last year's actual opening night lineup. Two points though to consider in that is: 1 had they been healthy, both Olofsson AND Samuelsson would've been in last year' opening lineup. If every available player on the roster today is considered available, those 2 should be considered to have been on last year' opening night lineup. Which makes last year's lineup much closer to this year's lineup especially when it would likely have bounced Butcher and Hayden. 2. Until the neck injury, Anderson was absolutely on fire. IF Comrie is going to be as good as that all year, this team will be in the playoffs. Doubt he will be and even if he ends up as good as Adams is hoping for, it's doubtful he'll be as good as Anderson was in that small stretch. Which also could skew that question of which of those teams is better? A couple of much lesser points: Hagg was a very good defensive D-man in early October last year. Overall, expect Lyubushkin to be better than what Hagg gave the Sabres but not necessarily right out of the gate. (And realize he's actually the Pysyk replacement by handedness, but Pysyk was more of a solid 2 way guy that didn't have more of a defensive focus but both Hagg & Lyubushkin are defensive 1st guys. And, this roster isn't necessarily set. There may be a move available as camps break & teams have to legitimately be under the cap and that could improve this squad just as a major injury or 2 could significantly weaken this team. All that said, if the team gets goaltending & stays reasonably healthy, fully expect it is better than last year's. Though it might not be better than what we got to watch the last month of last season. They were playing well, fun to watch, & winning in a small sample. Actually, for the full season, this team is likely not as good as what they showed down the stretch. But fully expect a couple of stretches where they are better than that.

Have no doubt he'll be in the top 4 & am hoping he's with Dahlin. Not sure he'll be that Jay McKee shutdown guy but expect he'll have us seeing similarities to him & the Sabres 1 TRUE shutdown D-man from much earlier in their history this year. Hoping for McKee in a year or 2 consistently & then maybe Ramsey soon after? Wouldn't that be something?

------ the joke. ----->>>> Your head. 😉 🍺

You forgot the really big guy, Mr. Party Pooper.

Nah. That's the REALLY tall bald guy. The one that worked with the short old lady that smoked too much.

Glad you got to her in time. Hope she has a full recovery. Scary arse stuff.

Nah, that's Kolchak.

Both times. 😉

Another good Q. IMHO, that's a good part of it but no idea how to quantify it realistically. He checks a few boxes. He's a true power forward in a mold that IMHO the team only had 2 of and 1 was or was essentially a rookie - Okposo & Cozens.Maybe Mitts or Peterka joins that club, and if they do, great; but the team was sorely lacking in that role. He also pays attention to the little things. He took the team to dinner when he arrived, met most everybody working for Sabres and introduced himself, and he was the guy making sure RJ got onto the ice on his special night. That has nothing to do with this being his childhood dream - that's just having been brought up right. And then, he bleeds blue and gold after bleeding red & black as a kid. Wonder how psyched up he'll be when he gets to step onto the ice in those 3rd for the 1st time? He won't be a ppg player, but he'll be around 0.75 ppg which is still something this team needs. Having a guy doing all the little things right is great for the younger players to be around. Imagine what could've been had he been about 6 years older and in that '15-'16 dressing room with Okposo, O'Reilly, Gionta, and Gorges rather than at least 1 of and ideally both Kane & Bogosian. Maybe the "tank fruit" doesn't spoil in that environment. Oh, well. And his enjoyment of his situation seems to be infectious from an outside perspective. That has to help make it easier to come to work on a dreary February morning.

Yep. To the post, not the OP's Q.

Good Q's. IMHO those both factor in, but as stated earlier the bigger factor, again IMHO, is maintaining stability after a season in which expectations were exceeded and management held true to its plan. (Just wish the durn plan included an obvious upgrade to goaltending rather than a possible upgrade to goaltending & bringing in 2-3 additional pieces that the kids need to overcome today to get around to get key playing time. (Which, still would've been stable though not nearly as static.) With the former being a bigger item than the latter in tempering enthusiasm.)

1 year left on his deal. Can't see any downside to having made the deal were he willing to come to Buffalo and were Treliving willing to work w/ Adams.

Expecting he's in the 40 point range but expect most of his time will be on lines 3 or 4 and that he'll be on the 2nd PP. If he ends up in a higher role consistently, nudge the #'s up. Don't expect he'll get true consideration for RotY because of those #'s AND because Power will be sucking all the air out of that discussion for Quinn & Peterka (regardless of when JJ gets his chance) who will also be taking some votes from each other. As he seems to have the polar opposite of the Sophomore slump, really looking forward to his play the following year.

Have to figure middle of the pack is about right for this survey (& 2 slots off from dead center for overall & still in the middle tier for Sabres fans specifically is close enough for government work). Just simply having consistency from 1 year to the next for the 1st time since Botterill foolishly gave Housley a 2nd year was worth a few slots. Not having a circus/ MAJOR drama for the 1st time since heading into Eichel's 2nd year was worth a few more. And the team exceeding most everybody's expectations while following the plan the GM hasn't deviated from was the biggest boost IMHO. Am usually hopeful about this team (last year being a glaring exception) so have been wrong a few slots a lot during this drought. But the lack of drama (not including no definitive upgrades in net) makes it a lot easier to expect to be entertained this year regardless of how they actually perform. And having confidence in that is something IMHO remarkable in itself for this club and what they've done the last decade plus. Adams has set himself up with a ton of potential; is there confidence he'll get this team to fulfill it, in small amount yes. Is there a 'we aren't lying to ourselves' hope that he can, absolutely.

Fair enough.

In his 1st preseason game w/ the Browns opposing fans were chanting "you sick ####." The Browns said he won't be playing in anymore preseason games. Expect that has am much to do with that decision as his additional 5 games. Will be interesting to see how the NFL & the Browns react when that chant is picked up again in Houston. Expecting the strain will be tremendous & in large (full?) part self-inflicted.

You honestly think that my embracing Tuch & what he represents is BECAUSE he was traded for Eichel? We have spoken with each other before, right? 😉

True dat.

Tuch's a 50/60 point guy, but will give absolutely everything for this franchise. It's his & Kyle's team. (Hopefully Dahlin is the 3rd of the "lettermen." Would really like to see him not just the best D-man but also the leader.)

Exactly this. And if things didn't work out in Buffalo with him he either becomes additional assets at some point this season or becomes the Amerks best C in ages.