nfreeman

I had high hopes for Greenway-Jost-Mitts but didn't really like what I saw last game. For that matter, I haven't liked Mitts' last few games -- he seems to have gotten too comfortable after the recent thread complimenting his improvement. Sabrespace hype will do that to ya.

Portillo.

Based on the limited info the fans have, I'd give the C to Tuch, but I think Dahlin is a very respectable choice as well. I expect it to go to Dahlin. I think it's 50/50 whether KO will return. If KO wants to return, I think the Sabres, out of respect, would probably keep him on as C and give him a 1-year extension for about $2MM, which is more than he'd get anywhere else. I kinda doubt he'd join another team for the vet minimum, which is more or less what he'd get elsewhere.

For those advocating a trade for Saros, Hart or Demko — would you give up any of: - 2023 first-rounder (assuming low to mid teens) - Kulich - Savoie - Östlund - Levi - Quinn - JJP …because if the answer is “no” for all of them, I don’t think you’re getting one of those goalies.

What's Alex Nylander been up to, you ask? He's had a very productive season this year for Pittsburgh's AHL team, with 50 pts in 54 games. He's only had 3 NHL games, and in the most recent of those, this happened:

I want to see tonight what I wanted to see in the Rangers game (which the Sabres delivered): the Sabres come out and play and hard, focused and consistent game -- not fall apart and hide under the bed because things aren't going their way and they lost a tough one the other day. If they can do that, there will be hope and a reason to keep watching. But if they come out listless and watch Toronto blow past them and light up their goalie early and often? It will be hard to take them seriously. I need to see them show some heart every night.

Whoa. You've been around long enough to have seen quite a few Bills coaches that fit this description. McD ain't one of them. Not even close.

Regardless of whether they make the playoffs, I really don't want to see them completely go to pieces mentally, fall off the table and quit on the rest of the season. Yes, they lost to a tougher team on the road on Tuesday and dropped a big, winnable game in the 3rd period. They can't respond to a loss like that by hiding under the bed and getting destroyed at home like they did vs Dallas. I want to see them bear down at home and play hard and consistent.

Now here's a sight for sore eyes! Good to see ya.

Well, they've lost 4 out of 5 at the worst possible time. The lack of mental toughness -- as manifested in a terrible home record and numerous losses to crappy teams in which the Sabres came out flat -- has come home to roost. It's not over yet but you can see it from here. Still, I wouldn't be shocked if they ripped off 4 wins in a row and made it close again.

The Sabres had the better of it and a good number of chances for the 1st 12 min or so of that period, then fell back on their heels after giving up the goal. it’s officially gut-check time. Gimme some TT and Dahlin please.

Not many chances but pretty tight and competitive so far. The arena is pretty nice. Good crowd too. A decent number of Sabres fans but fewer than at other road games I’ve been to at NJ and DC.

Good number of Sabres fans on the train.

My guess is that JJP sits. Runnerup is VO.

Not sure whether you were joking here, but this is a very real possibility. Mitts turns 25 in November, DG speaks highly of him, and it's quite possible that Mitts stays on Cozens' wing and continues to play well and improve through the rest of the season. I can definitely see KA deciding to make a TT-type move and extend Mitts while his value is perhaps a bit discounted -- of course at a lower price than TT got. I don't think I would give him an extension if I were in KA's shoes, but I wouldn't be surprised.

To be clear, my use of “maybe” in “he’s a jerk” was meant to indicate that the criticism he’s been receiving could relate to personal failings that he may have. Certainly he could be free of those failings. Based on the amount and number of sources of the criticism, I would guess that he has those failings in spades, but you are right that it’s just a guess.

Good call. He's an RFA after next season, so they have time to see how he continues to develop before they are forced to make a decision. This certainly could be the outcome, but it's far from certain that any of JJP, Savoie, Kulich, Rosen, Östlund, etc. will be good enough to displace Mitts, especially if he continues to develop. Separately: as to the OP, my view on Mitts, like on most young players, has been that although disappointing, the Sabres shouldn't rush to dump him until they are forced to make a decision due to contract status or roster pinch. Having said that, I have been pretty skeptical that he was going to develop into a viable NHL player -- and in that sense, yes, my mind has changed. He's improved quite a bit in his decisions and his strength on the puck even over the course of this season, to the point where is usually a net positive, and IMHO has played the best hockey of his career since being moved to Cozens' wing. He still frequently makes boneheaded decisions, and his goalscoring needs to improve, but I can see him continuing to improve under DM to the point where I am very happy for him to be Cozens' permanent LW -- and a few months ago I sure didn't think I would ever feel that way about him. I wouldn't expect the Sabres to give him an extension this summer, especially because he's an RFA after next season, but it's quite possible that he'll continue to develop and play well enough next year to earn one. And if that happens, Kulich, Savoie, etc will need to be pretty GD impressive to displace him.

I'll do what I can. And I need to get a Rico jersey. Tonight I'm wearing a white Tyler Myers jersey (a questionable choice, I know, but it was a birthday gift from my family, my son is wearing my Ryan Miller jersey, I can't seem to find my Pominville jersey and my only other one is an alternate red Stu Barnes jersey, which I really like, but I wanted to wear one of the current colors).

Well, I'm attending my first in-person Sabres game tonight since pre-pandemic. It will also be my first visit to the Islanders' new arena (it's much easier to get to the new arena than the old one is, as the new one is a 10-minute walk from an LIRR station, which is about a 30-min train ride from Penn Station in NYC, while the old one had no train accessibility). This is also the first meaningful Sabres game I've attended in who TF knows how long. Go Sabres.

...or maybe it's because MH has, for his entire adult life, been a jerk who treats other people poorly, and when you behave like that, sooner or later some of those people will take the opportunity to roast you. Surely you will admit that the number of people who have publicly criticized MH means something?

Perhaps she shouldn't have been encouraged, and kids certainly are treated with greater deference now than we were at that age, but that still doesn't excuse MH's behavior. Most adults in that situation would either ignore her or be nice. Only a small minority would go out of their way to shoo her away. Of that minority, I think a pretty good percentage are likely to be all-around jerks -- and in MH's case, there is corroboration from his former co-workers, to say nothing of the guy on twitter who was allegedly the girl's dad.

I am enjoying DD and Rayzor much more than in previous years -- no doubt due to the Sabres being a better team, but I also think DD and Rayzor have both improved. I'm at the point where I enjoy their work.

I think this is one of those situations where more than 1 thing can be true: - This, and Harrington's potshot at the kid PA announcer the other day, weren't firing offenses - Cancel culture can, and frequently does, go crazy, with destructive and irrational results - Harrington is an unkind jerk

I take it you didn't watch Game of Thrones? This was an all-timer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQttmDBqf5g

JJP is playing better than Vinnie and VO. It should be one of the latter 2. I'd guess VO sits but it could go either way. A related question is: whom does Greenway play with? I'm guessing he goes with Cozens and Mitts, with Vinnie either sitting out or taking VO's spot with Krebs and JJP. Either way, I'm looking forward to the next couple of games.