oddoublee

couldnt agree with you more...our first line is probably best served as a second line on a contending team. as of now, this is what the team realistically looks like from a 'holes' perspective (imo): 1st Line: Peterka ? ? 2nd Line: ? Tage Tuch 3rd Line: Benson Cozens Quinn 4th Line: Greenway Krebs Skinner (i know, i know - prefer he is gone outright, but he wont be) 1st Pair: ? Dahlin 2nd Pair: Clifton Bryam 3rd Pair: Joker Power Bench: RJ and Rousek Now sure, we can plug Skinner into the first line, Rosen, Savoie or Kulich into this line or that line and move Tuch up to this line or that and this and that. On D, move RJ up to 3rd pairing and blah blah. Problem is, that is not a winning team under this current coaching staff - or possibly most coaching staffs. It is a middling .500 club.

I'd love to hear why it's a massive overpayment. Muel, Savoie and a protected first round pick could all be a hill of beans compared to RH top 4 damn that is parayko. The promise of the future is what is massively overvalued.

I would. Parayko aged 30-36 vs Muel over the next 6 years, at 2 million more, right hand shot, plays D, transitions the puck and is a league veteran..... St Louis would be stupid to make the trade. Thus, the sabres should jump all over it if that is all it takes. You can win in the NHL with 30+ year old dmen

To be fair to Byram...he needed at least two weeks of DG coaching and the Pegula CC to ruin him

i remember discussing this with you on another thread - and you are dead on. BUT.... I think most fans need to brace themselves for a 4+ million average on his next deal. if the organization wants any of his UFA years - you are looking at 5+ million. Cap going up + organizational desperation + organization overzealous past signings = bigger contract for UPL. At least that is how his agent is going to approach it.

slightly off topic - but i just saw the current sabres is only one year younger on average than our beloved 05-06 sabres team. either that means by that by the end march of 2025 - we have either witnessed a big jump in the standing - or we are no longer allowed to use that stat to be hopeful about things to come...

I answered yes - but timing is everything. at the moment - i am an anarchist sabres fan and i love good questions. that said, if i was the decider of all things sabres - i would say no. the kids have talent - the parents are the trainwreck. so im just going to hope child services comes in and puts the parents in jail for excessive abuse and neglect.

He might break it next year. His shooting percentage is lower than normal - but he is still getting that shot off. I personally won't be shocked if he racks 45 next year.

Wow....nice post. I always saw him smaller than many of the guys you listed. Maybe part of that is his tendency to play in the tougher places...making his size stick out a little more. Either way, thanks for posting this!

well sure - if there are enough solid veterans and leaders around him and the culture is pre built - he is a nice 3rd line winger that gets additional minutes when the team is down multiple goals going into the 3rd period. the sabres are not that team. also - he is probably not a 25-30 goal scorer in that scenario - probably a 15-20 goal scorer if he maintains interest levels.

i wouldnt say he is the sole reason. there are always multiple puzzle pieces that create the nightmare scenario the organization finds its self in. he is most likely one of the many pieces that has attributed to this spectacular implosion of a franchise. he is a really likeable vet making him impressionable on a young team. that is a franchise building no no. if want things to get better; start removing as many bad pieces as you can. skinner is one of them.

To be fair, how do you know he was hurt? It's all speculation either direction. Tage has been average this year. That's a fact. All else is 'whatever'

His upside is a point a game player. Good to have. His size makes the odds of it happening less favorable. Not impossible...and worst case, a top 9 forward....but he will have a tough battle towards 75-85 points a year. Fwiw....I like the kid quite a bit...just not a building block you build your franchise around.

Girgs is fine. He is definitely not the teams problem. Lock him up for 2-3 years imo

I always saw the Skinner contract as reactionary to the ROR debacle. Pegula and Bortteril panicked. Plain and simple.

If I knew going in this team would be an 80 point, .500 stagnating club...give me the gritty bruisers. At least then I have a chance to like the effort behind the losing. This teams currently makeup is simply immature and hard to get behind.

Yes...this is where I am at. The kids are kids. I blame the parents.

I have always been an optimistic fan. Sometimes overtly apologetic. I dislike this team immensely.

Let me just go ahead and burst everyone's easter bubble....the sabres suck. They are not going to the playoffs this year or next. Our beloved team.........sucks

This topic post is aging surprisingly well!

Interesting article on average tenure of NHL coaches since 2000 https://thewincolumn.ca/2023/03/30/assessing-nhl-coaching-tenures-and-the-tendencies-for-teams-to-hire-new-coaches/ Based on the average tenure length being less than 3 years - what makes DG so special that he gets more than 3.5? And no one can make the argument that Pegula simply knows better than the rest of the NHL...13 years doesn't support that.

well, to be fair to adams - i believe the Pegula's created this atmosphere a decade go -

i am boohooing no one. but i will never begrudge a person to hold onto as much money as possible - we are all keen to do so no matter how much we make. regardless, this is a hockey forum and would hate for us to go further down the political side of things.

After last night's game, I suspect Quinn wished his injury wasn't fully healed....

They are not paying less taxes than 'ordinary' people. They are paying a lower rate. But they are paying more actual taxes (money). Regarding Tavares - he has every right to be upset. He signed a contract based on current tax law - and the government not only changed the law (which they can do) - but then went retroactive. Dangerous precedent. Getting top tier players was already difficult for Canadian teams - this will make it even tougher...which I didn't think was possible. That said, the allure of playing for Toronto will never go away....