tom webster

Despite my disappointment with lack of goalie upgrade, I still believe Buffalo is the better team and will make a playoff push.

I’m pretty sure Martin wore 7 first and then him, Robert and Norm Gratton like to switch occasionally

People forget he was so homesick he briefly thought of retiring in his first or second year.

I thought he did reconnect after Pegula bought the team before fading away. He always did prefer staying close to home so maybe that’s all it is. Like I said, I’ve always stayed away from the things that I consider private matters.

I’ve shied away from this subject but it seems Gilbert has been distanced from the franchise for last couple years.

Friday night news dump.

FWIW, I still stand by the belief that this is done. They have no reason to announce till all parties want to. I’m surprised it hasn’t been announced yet but I can understand, as well, that there is an optimum time to make the announcement. I am glad that it has given some of you reason to post. It’s all about the traffic, right Scott?

I’m not sure if you are calling Tatar “soft as a puppy,” but he’s not. He has a little bit of bite to his game and is sound defensively besides being a pretty good scoring winger. I like Rousek and see him contributing but Tater is a pretty big upgrade.

In case you include me with those who think he can be easily traded, I understand how good he and Rosen could end up being which is why I compared trading them to Dallas sacrificing Iginla in their pursuit of the Cup.

Rosen & Östlund. You went from saying two of the top five to one of six and seven.

I don’t think Quinn and Benson are even in the discussion and I do not think it would require 2 of the other 3. I’m not sure it would require any of the five.

All you have to do is read countless stories about how players appreciated when their general manager made that move to put them over the top to understand how frustrated players will be if their season goes south because of lack of upgrade. Not one player that worked their ass off to get to the NHL wants to hear about how it’s all for the greater good.

I think you can include Demko, Saros and Markstrom as guys they got to the outline of an offer stage. It really comes down to one question. At what point do you give away more then you want because you need one piece. I understand the hesitancy to part with a top prospect but is it fair to your team and fans for you to hold onto a guy who might not be a significant contributor for three years rather then acquire that last piece. I’m sure Dallas did not want to give up Iginla but do they win the cup without that trade!

Their internal numbers show that Comrie was actually better. They also confirm that UPL has been in the bottom tier of goaltenders in whatever league he’s been in for most of his career. I understand that some are skeptical and I can’t provide any substantive proof. It also doesn’t mean he can’t beat the odds and prove me wrong. This isn’t an exact science which is one of the main reasons sports can be fun. It’s also one of the worst parts of the internet. When I was wrong before, the only proof was a bunch of drunk and/or high friends and strangers in bars. Now my mistakes are saved for eternity. And yes, it’s exactly why I’m disappointed they haven’t been more aggressive. My concern with Adams is two fold. He seems to be too enamored with his prospects and he did so well waiting out Vegas he thinks he will have the same success acquiring a goaltender.

I like Adams. I think he’s done terrific things and I’m more optimistic about the Sabres then I’ve been in a long time. I’m also very disappointed in his failure to address the goaltending situation and I believe a veteran center to play between KO and Z is called for. I also believe he still may do something and that there are people he relies on who believe the same thing. I am 100% sure that their private assessment of UPL is considerably lower then their public posture and that gives me hope that something will happen before camp, I also believe he failed to weaponize cap space when he had the opportunity and he misread the Ullmark situation. Ultimately though, the good far outweigh the bad, at least in my opinion.

Like most things in life, things are rarely black and white.

Yes, franchise values are skyrocketing because business is so bad. It amazes me how people buy into the doom and gloom. The cap will be mid 90’s if not higher within five years.

About two years before they moved to Dallas, but technically same franchise I guess.

Yes Larson spent most of his career with Detroit. He did plsy for the Minnesota North Stars, not Dallas.

It’s too bad that Malone’s body never held up. I think he could have been a decent bottom six forward.

Robert

I still don’t like Jost being a top 12. He was great considering he was free last year but I would be more comfortable if he was just depth and insurance in case Krebs doesn’t develop.

There is one major need(goalie) and a couple of important (in my mind) pieces.

There is a large gap between repricating what Murray did and doing what Adams appears to be content with doing.

Most people agree that signing expensive, older free agents isn’t the way to go. What I’m advocating is trading some of these prospects to fill holes to speed up the process. To be clear, I’m talking about two or three piece’s depending on how some of the players develop. Their cap space advantage will go away after this year as the cap corrects itself. This off-season was the time to be aggressive.