Taro T

Yes. But with the decision to not play Savoie in Carolina and the injuries to Quinn, Cozens, Benson, and Biro; which of the other 3 lines do you mess up to try to make that line not useless?

Or both.

Cozens seems to be a guy that, for goal scoring at least, can get into his own head. But, he has also shown in the past that he can get out of it quickly and can go on a tear once he does. Really am not too worried about his goal scoring. That will click again at some point. Am more interested in how the rest of his game is going. He's still only 22 and far from a finished product.

Yes, that is a given. (One can say it's speculation because it hasn't happened yet, but it's actually a given.) Just don't see 1. any way Mittelstadt gets moved this season unless Adams goes COMPLETELY off the board and goes against his oft-stated plan and makes a blockbuster trade; and 2. don't see any realistic way based upon the way Adams prefers to build a team that a Mittelstadt trade gets made for something that is a true hockey trade of a top 6 C for either a 1G or a top 4D. Though the board is slowly coming around on Mittelstadt, Adams and Granato have been high on him for a long time. He isn't eligible to become a UFA for another 2-1/2 seasons. He doesn't even qualify to become a UFA after next season. It literally is 2-1/2 years away. There is no rush AT ALL to trade him away now 'before he loses value.' Actually, the way he's played the past 2-3 months of RS play, his value is only going to go up or remain constant with time.

Good question. Don't know if it's release point or skates location. Guessing they'd count as above the goal line attempts, but don't know that for certain. But behind the net is at 10% according to their shot map. That can only be flipping the puck over the net, bouncing a puck off a D-man, or the Michigan.

Considering shots from below the goal line have actual success rates (5%-10%), it has to be from where the shot originates.

Personally, don't see a point to trading Bryson at present. With his contract, can't see anybody claiming him should he be waived if they in fact are at a point where they would waive him. He'll bring back nothing in a trade. And, if the Sabres end up having an '06 level injury barrage, he's a better 10th choice than Davies or Prow. (Probably a better 10th choice than Cecconi or the 2 Russians as well at this time.)

When you talk Ken Holland into making that offer, will consider it. Until then, it remains in fantasy hockeyland and the original comment stands.

With the exception of the Otters who just were sold and their value is well established, pretty much all of the valuations are made up. The only exceptions would be for the teams that are held by publicly traded companies like the Rags. And even their valuations are estimates to a degree.

4 years after this current deal expires after next season. He'll be 27 on June 30, 2029 and he'll be eligible for UFA as of July 1, 2029. (Presuming he doesn't have a contract eating some (many?) of those UFA years.)

Per Puckpedia, Johnson's UFA year is 2029. For age related FA, the key date is June 30 of the calendar year (last day of the current league year). Players that are 27 by that date and have no contract are UFAs. Johnson's B-day is in early July.

Will agree to disagree. (Almost) no NHLer is going to pull himself less than 30 seconds into a shift. And no NHLer that is getting top line type minutes will do so. 10 seconds later, you probably have a case. But when it happened, they were going back on the attack. And it nearly worked.

Again, that clear of the zone happened less than 30 seconds into the OT. They don't come off the ice THAT quickly. Don't agree that the team chose differently in the past, not a regular basis at any rate.

Initially it is. But remember, for a movement of the puck to be considered to be a shot it needs to be headed towards the goal with enough force to enter the goal and either actually get into the goal or get stopped by the goalie. A D-man blocking a shot doesn't count as a shot on net. So, a "shot" from below the goal line needs to deflect off someone / something in order to be heading towards the net. So, viewed from that light, it almost seems that a 5% success rate is a bit low because an attempt to bounce it in off the goalie that misses the goalie entirely ISN'T considered to be a shot. And just hitting the goalie or a D-man without the puck changing direction towards the net opening won't be a shot either.

You're probably on the right track with MLB champions. But in the NHL, to actually WIN the SC with multiple teams is very rare. Post expansion, only Bowman immediately springs to mind. In the NFL, can't think of many either. Reid never won a SB until he was in KC. Bellicheat never connived his way to a SB victory as the HC prior to having the deflator pitching for him. The Iggles SB winning also came w/ a 1st timer. Can think of a few HCs that made it to a SB with different teams, but no winners w/ multiple teams immediately come to mind either. Maybe in the NFL the coach you want is the guy that got to the SB before and lost. Reid, Gruden, Shula, surely there's some others, right? When they got there with a different team they got it done.

Krebs is going to be an interesting case. He's only 22, is in his 5th year in the NHL but is still on his ELC and this is truly only his 3rd season in the NHL and only his 2nd as a full timer. Guys that beat him to the Sabres organization by a couple of seasons like Thompson, Mittelstadt, and Cozens were able to get the time to develop into their current roles which are larger and more important than they were initially and more than people were projecting them to (Tage and Casey far more than Dylan) in large part because there weren't enough NHL quality talents on the team and in the organization to keep them from gettting the opportunity to learn the roles by actually doing them. Guys that came into the system at the same time/ after him that were younger got full years of cooking in the AHL before having to do it at the NHL level. Guys like Quinn and Peterka have passed him and guys like Benson and Savoie might have as well. Is he just a slow developer, like Mitts and Tommer, or does he top out as a 4th line W on a good team and a 3C on a mediocre team? If he tops out as a 3C on a good team he could have a future here as the 4C sliding up on occassion. But if he tops out as a 4W we won't see him much past next season. Expect he'll get a bridge deal this summer but he could very easily be traded anytime from now through 2 years from now. Management really has to sharpen their evaluation pencils on this guy because he could very well be the 1st of "Adams' guys" that they have to move on from. (Though he'll be far from the last.)

They could have. And Tuch's shot that glanced off Raantta's shoulder and then the top of the crossbar might have gone in too. And that was after the puck had come out of the zone as it was the Tuch shot that resulted in Carolina gaining possession. If they change prior to that shot, they don't get THAT opportunity. And that was a really high quality opportunity. Personally believe that Biron's suggestion that Tuch should've come off as the puck went back down ice was the correct play. But regardless, UPL made a poor decision (and one that is probably generally coached, the Sabres don't generally want faceoffs in OT because they lose more than they win; but when the other team is fresh and their 3 skaters are gassed, they NEED the faceoff) and one that he'll likely not make again in that same situation. And they most likely pressed on because they were less than 30 seconds into the shift and saw an opportunity for a high danger shot. They don't change after only 20-ish seconds.

Really don't see how they get an offer on Mittelstadt that makes the team better TODAY. Also don't see how his not being extended in the 2nd week of November is indicative of an impasse. (There could be one, but that seems to be more of a case of people still hoping that Mittelstadt goes away even though he's been nearly a PPG player for the last 2 months of RS play and arguably their best 2 way forward for at least that long. 1st impressions are very hard to change. And that isn't saying that YOU are saying this because you don't like him, but it still seems to be a fairly common sentiment generally and that comment was addressing the general audience not you specifically.) Remember, Cozens didn't sign his deal until February of the last year of his ELC. Would be pleasantly surprised should Casey be extended before this February. And will be disappointed if it doesn't happen prior to the summer. And yes, Adams should have ALL the players on the team available for a trade and understanding what their value is around the league. But it's very doubtful that they'll get an offer that makes the team better today by moving Dahlin or Thompson or a few others. Expecting Casey is in that category as well.

Puckpedia says he doesn't become UFA eligible until '26 and that seems to be correct. He burned a year of his ELC during his D+1 season playing with the Sabres after Minny's season ended but that didn't qualify as an accrued season. Also, during the shutdown season, he only played in 31 games. The 40 game threshold for an accrued season was reduced to 34 games. So, he missed getting that year accrued by 3 games. So, in all likelihood, his 7th accrued season will be '25-'26 and he's eligible to become an UFA in the summer of '26. And he's only 24 now, so he doesn't hit 27 until that year too. No, as stated above, this season is only year 5, not year 6 and he has 2 more to go beyond this one to get to 7.

Carolina can be very aggressive on their PK because they trust their goalies implicitly to make the save from the back door or clean from the slot when their press gets beat (well, Andersen and Raantta, how much they trust Halak remains to be seen). That style significantly cuts down on the chances against, but the few chances that the other team gets often will be very high quality. Expecting that as Levi matures, the Sabres will be able to trust him to make those saves too and will be able to amp up the pressure. But, he doesn't seem to be QUITE there yet; and judging from the 2nd and 3rd goals against tonight UPL isn't there either. (Presonally doubt he ever does get there; but hoping that's overly pessimistic.) So, that "passive" PK the Sabres use feels fairly pressured for the other team because the primary PKers are all so long. They can be 3 yards away from the puck carrier and still have their stick 1' away from him. Overall, was very impressed with the Sabres commitment to D. They got caught chasing on the Canes 2nd goal, but actually kept them from making that killer pass through the defenders for nearly a minute. The way they were playing the 1st few games, that puck would've made that trek across on the very 1st cycle through and would almost definitely have ended up behind UPL just like it eventually did. But that was one of only 3-4 really glaring lapses defensively (the breakaway, the puck through the middle of the box on the PK that UPL made his best save ever as a Sabre on, and a partial breakaway from the 1/2 wall late in the 1st); against arguably the best team in the East. They blocked a ton of shots and really only let the puck move across the D zone cleanly and low about 4 times counting the OT winner. They played the game that UPL needs to thrive and he did. They still generated chances; just not as many as they do when they don't bother to play D. Apologies to whomever it was that was saying that Johnson the Lesser will be up with the team from now on prior to this game. Considering he got nearly 20 minutes of ice time, pretty much all with Dahlin and looked good; you might be right. Figured that it will happen this season but that it wouldn't happen this soon, and it still might not. But he is making a case to stay in the lineup. Sweet. Very disappointing that they didn't come away with 2 points tonight. Happy they got 1, but hoping they're upset at leaving a point on the table. It's a big part of maturing to want and expect to get 2 points every game and to be upset when they don't get both of them. But wondering just how much longer Olofsson will be a Sabre. He's clearly at the point where he needs a change of scenery to even get back to his one dimensional self. Will be at the game on Friday and am really looking forward to it.

Mittelstadt got the secondary assist on Dahlin's goal.

There is no need to trade him this season even if they are at a salary impasse. He's an RFA for 2 more years and IF they can't work out a contract, well that's what arbitration is for. Still hoping he ends up with a Cozens-esque deal sometime this season. But, as this season goes on, whereas this off-season Cozens deal was the ceiling, with the cap going up and the Sabres only buying 2 RFA years and the rest of the deal being UFA years that could very well be the floor.

Dan said they gave Thompson an assist on the Dahlin goal.

How did Greenway hit Raantta with that? Fudge!

PP Goal! Dahlin!