darksabre

I like erod but I don't think plugging him in there gets Sobotka off the team. He should be able to take a spot on the bottom two lines and hopefully that will happen. But there's really no point subbing erod for Sobotka right now. There's no evaluation to be made from doing that. Sobotka has to wash out in that role.

Okay, but who are you plugging in there today?

I don't think Erod slots on the second line, so it's basically Okposo who is at risk for that. Sobotka's future depends on what we can get to fit in that spot. You pretty much need to trade Risto to get enough salary freed up to waive Okposo, Sobotka, and add a RW. It should go down that way if Botterill knows what he's doing. I will be ready to complain with gusto in a few weeks if we're sitting here watching them suck because the right side is still a mess.

Here's hoping. The 27th is the most insane district in the state.

That whole right side is such a mess. Sobotka might actually be the second best RW on this team at the moment. Fans aren't going to like it, but we're going to have to sit here and watch this for a least 3 games.

I didn't quite hit my stat targets in my spreadsheet but I opted to roll the dice on projections rather than historical stats this year so we'll see what happens. I like my defense and goalies. My method seems to work a lot better in Gold where our rosters aren't as deep.

Man, that's not something you see every day

Who knows. The point is that things are on a longer timeline than fans like and it's always been and will be that way.

I'm really not worried at all

Lots of auto drafters in here...

If there's anyone the Sabres should claim on waivers it's Casey DeSmith

This is where I think things are heading, it just needs to shake out.

It'll be interesting to see if Bogo even has a spot on this roster when he gets healthy.

It would be something to note if he isn't wearing an A on opening night.

Even later: December 4th.

I wouldn't read too much into this right now. My gut feeling is that things could look different in a few weeks.

Looks like it.

Probably. But he needs to produce on PP2 or he's done. I don't think he did much there last year compared to the year before.

I mean, he's an Assistant Captain, right? That probably counts for something in the room. I think a "players coach" like Krueger might see some value in letting Kyle have 5-6 games of regular season before making the final call.

They get like, 1.125mil in cap or something like that. It's not much, but it might be helpful. I think the reason he hasn't been waived is that they want to let him lose his job in the regular season. There might be some veteran respect stuff going on there. Perhaps they're holding out to see if he'll retire voluntarily.

I think they're waiting to see what their cap situation ends up being if some trades get made over the next week or so. If they need to waive Okposo to fit a new player in his spot and free up a small amount of cap then they might do it. But maybe they want to try to move him instead of waive him?

Does the AHL not do IR?

Yup. They gotta put Bogo and Pilut on IR.

I have a feeling the Thompson thing is mostly just a compliance move for the start of the regular season. I kinda expect him back here by the end of October once Botterill makes some other moves after the season starts. I thought he looked good so I guess I'm not too surprised.

Someone on D needed to go. Nelson is the obvious choice.