Taro T

After he got the puck to the face, Tokarski actually played like he did prior to contracting COVID. Would still like to see a better option than him. UPL SEEMS to be a better option, but he's down in Ra-cha-cha. Which just reinforces the impression that the Sabres brass really don't want to win many games this year. They want to be competitive in them. And they want the kids to develop & lines to gain chemistry, should the team ever get healthy again. But really don't believe they want to win games this year. (Gee, thanks, that took some SERIOUS sleuthing to come to THAT conclusion, 😉 ) And again, the concern is we end up in this same place next year w/ lousy goaltending hoping to land one of the "big 3" 2023 draftable kids due in part to the mistaken belief that a 40 or so point turnaround will be possible the following year once honest to goodness NHK caliber goaltending is in place that following year & 14 of the 18 healthy skater roles have been cemented during the '22-'23 season. So, yes, giving UPL another shot makes sense (they're only scratching 2 skaters per night so there's room on the roster for him) if winning games now is a goal. But really not sure it is. Not until there's a lot less of this season left at least. And maybe there's hope that Tokarski might draw interest at the deadline? If he & Anderson are both gone, they can look at all 3 prospects after the deadline is past & the NCAA season is a memory.

Agreed. Which is why, as stated, IMHO it's worth the risk. Who knew that when the Sabres were rolling through a rookie Mittelstadt, Sobokta, Johansson, Staal, & the closest to actually playing as a 2C Rodrigues in an attempt to find a 2C to play behind Eichel that the Sabres had 2 internal candidates that might have gotten the job done filling that 2C role but never got a look in both Reinhart & Thompson?

There's a slight chance that he won't be able to replicate what he's doing in the future, but IMHO it's worth the risk giving an extension like that based off only 1 (very) good year. He's doing way more than this kid thought he was capable of. Cripes, he's killing penalties for crying out loud and generating honest to goodness scoring chances while doing so.

Yep & yep.

Hoping he does go top 3. Increases the chance Nemec or (more likely) Jiricek slides to the Sabres. Would be nice if somebody underweighs Lambert's seemingly being a primadonna as well.

Would add Murray to that list.

No, the MOU did not change draft eligibility. If a player playing in Juniors is drafted but goes unsigned for 2 years, he reenters the draft. Pretty sure a 21 yo reentering the draft needs to be signed in that next year or he becomes a UFA, but 18 your don't become FA's by simply avoiding signing a contract for 2 years. And, yes, Hagel went undrafted before Chicago signed him.

That's not a compelling argument against the practice. 😉

What do you have against Let's Go Buffalo?

2nd most at a game that this kid has attended. Probably over 6,000 in the barn.

The Sabres still got ripped off. They gave a Selke level player away for pieces that were 3+ years out (which were extremely, and a couple of pieces still are, hit or miss) and was a substantial component of the "necessitation" of getting rid of the tank fruit. That trade added years to the "suffering" we were promised by Regier.

And O'Reilly's Blues were dead last in that 1st January (mainly due to a fluke of scheduling having played fewer games than anybody else but supplanted by poor coaching & poor goaltending) but pretty sure it worked out OK for them. Be careful taking too much schadenfreude from the start of the Vegas Eichel era.

No doubt Tuch has been special since arriving and he has very good chemistry w/ Skinner (did not see that coming). Pretty sure the chemistry will stay good. The question is what is Tuch's actual ceiling when he comes off the high of playing for the team he dreamed about as a kid. The Sabres knew they were getting a 50 point player. But it looks like he'll be at least a 60 point player and we can dream he'll be even closer to a PPG player. Having a line with a player putting up those kinds of numbers will likely make Olofsson more valuable as he won't be facing other teams' top pairing so he should be able to find the space for that one timer.

Interesting. Watched on ESPN+ & never twigged onto them being on ESPN2 (or whichever ESPN version they were on). Explains them constantly hyping college basketball when returning from every commercial break.

And the Bandits return the favor in the 4th going 7-0. Final Bandits 13 - Firewolves 8. Have never seen a game where 1 net never had the twine touched. Fun game. Lots of scrums & a good fight at the end. Bandits in Ra-cha-cha next Saturday. Can't wait.

And the Firewolves score the only goals in the 3rd. Firewolves 8 Bandits 6 through 3.

Firewolves in Banditland tonight. Albany up 1-0 at the end of 1. Bandits up 6-1 at the 1/2. Took almost 20 minutes to break the ice but they dominated the last 10 minutes.

FYI, almost positive that they said starting w/ the next home Amerks game that there will be no more special protocols to be allowed to enter the building. Verify this before coming down, but it looks like they're letting everyone in for the Amerks w/out any masking, testing, or vax requirements. Per an interview w/ an Amerks VP.

To the bolded, honestly not sure if it's better if you're right or wrong. But, based on Granato's comments, player usage, & generally what we see on the ice, expecting it's more you're wrong than right. (And don't believe it's exclusively development over winning, but do believe it's prioritized enough as to have cost at minimum 6 points in the standings & likely 10-12.)

They should have 2 good lines (though no put fear into other teams lines) next year & a line that can be good given the right matchups. The kids grow as we hope & it should be 3 good lines & a quality 4th line that following year.

Yes & no. If it really is from some teaching moment that Granato never adjusts his in game planning (well, ridiculously seldom) and when development is no longer the only goal but winning not only becomes a co-primary goal but THE primary goal that he will actually make situational adjusted decisions, it could be w/in the next 2-3 seasons. (Playoffs w/in the next 2, competitive to the top of the division in the next 3.) But, if adjustments aren't getting made simply due to some stubborness which won't subside w/ a focus on winning, then yes, a truly competitive team can't arrive until Granato is gone. Right now am giving him the benefit of the doubt that he knows the team would be better in the ST if they actually were coached to be situational aware but he believes learning the O system and letting players exceed their limitations to both find what they are and expand them as well is more important in the LT. (That benefit of the doubt goes away in TC this off-season.)

Absolutely. Bjork is IMHO their MOST frustrating F. (Expecting most votes would go to Eakin, but for this kid ...)

True, but neither he nor Quinn is available NOW, so...

Eichel did have a lot of time at ES w/ Reinhart (after O'Reilly was punted), Kane (NOT a good fit), Skinner (a very good fit for Jeff under Housley, not so much for Jack, & not so much for either in limited time under Krueger), & Okposo (when Reinhart was w/ ROR). Was his ice time actually mostly w/ any of those other guys? Staal & Rodrigues rarely, if ever, were out w/ Jack. Don't recall the others getting much time w/ him post-rookie year either. And that rookie year it was Kane & RW du jour often. Post ROR's departure, Eichel's normal linemates were Skinner & Pominville/ Reinhart & Olofsson & Reinhart. So, how does that jibe with Eichel "mostly" spending his time w/ those listed originally? And after O'Reilly left, the team had a 4th line & Eichel's line. Lines 2 & 3 were almost always hot garbage.

Could be. Just stating this kid's preference. Though should Mittelstadt & Olofsson EVER return to close to 100%, those 2 plus Okposo could be the core of a strong 2nd unit. (Especially if Dahlin works both units.)