nfreeman

I’m not sure whether to lock this or just throw my iPad off a bridge.

All of this is reasonable. I would just point out though that the Sabres are a team very much trying to claw themselves out of a deep dark hole, and as such have very little margin for error/injury. They needed a lot of things to go right for them this year to make the playoffs. One of them was good health. If you want to say their health has been average, I’ll take your word for it without checking, but average isn’t what they needed. As for your broader point — that if you want to have a roster that is a high-likelihood playoff team or better, you need a deeper D group than the Sabres have, so you can withstand some injuries — I don’t disagree there either. But I also think it’s not as simple as picking up 2 more quality D in aisle 4 at Wegmans. I don’t think there were many, if any, good Dmen who wanted to join this team last summer who represented clear upgrades over the guys they have.

TT is by far the Sabres' most consistent and dangerous forward. He brings it almost every night and almost every shift. I wish I could say the same for some of his teammates. Last night, for example, they would've been lost without him.

Well, I like Tuch back with TT. I was pretty disappointed in Tuch's game last night and haven't really liked his last few games. For that matter, Skinner had a crappy game last night too IMHO. This will be a good opportunity to see if Quinn is ready for prime time. I've liked the Cozens-JJP forecheck and possession, but they haven't had enough finish. Maybe Quinn will help there. Krebs-Mitts-VO just seems very likely to have zero forecheck or possession time, but maybe they'll benefit from favorable matchups. Pairing Power with Dahlin is intriguing but also smacks of desperation.

The sky isn't falling just yet. They've lost 4 in a row, which stinks, but 3 of those were to legit cup contenders, and each game was close and competitive. The loss to AZ was pretty disappointing, as they just didn't play hard enough. They aren't getting what they need from Mitts, Cozens, Skinner and Tuch right now. Those are 4 mainstays and all have been pretty up-and-down. Even so, each has shown stretches of very good play. They need to get healthy on D, and more than anything IMHO, they need to develop mental toughness. They don't quit, but they don't quite bear down and execute in crunch time either I think it will come.

So the Devils have won 8 in a row, and Lindy has them at 11-3.

Well said. I actually think both items are true here -- DG thinks Mitts has a lot to give, AND the franchise wants to figure out, this season, whether Mitts is a long-term piece. I also think it's worth noting that playing him isn't blocking anyone else out of the rotation -- it's not like Savoie or Kulich or anyone else is ready I'm a longtime Mitts skeptic, and I can see coming to this conclusion at the end of this season, but IMHO it's too soon. He's 23 and this is his first healthy season in a non-dysfunctional environment. I've seen more from him this year than I've ever seen previously. He hasn't been consistent, and his line still isn't nearly good enough at O-zone possession, but he's shown better speed and awareness of his spacing on the ice than he has previously, and he's made a number of nice plays.

I think most people are OK with Tremaine, and I think he's a good player, but the idea of paying him something like $18MM per year on his next contract -- which is market for a top LB -- is kinda hard to swallow given how few big plays he makes.

Ugh. Freaking Kotkiniemi and the freaking sucker punch.

Well, it's been a classic 0-for-3 Buffalo sports weekend. Good times!

Tuch actually gave Kucherov a pretty big shot after that hit. I get the skepticism, but this team is different. Separately -- my game notes: - That was a really good, entertaining wire-to-wire hockey game. - After the Sabres took the lead in the 3rd period I thought to myself that they came out and played with heart and determination, notwithstanding the back-to-backs on the road against strong opponents and the last-minute scratching of their leader and best player, and whether they would win would come down to mental toughness and execution -- and then Loobie had an awful turnover in the D zone that created the GTG, and Comrie, after saving their bacon all night, let in probably his worst goal as a Sabre on the GWG. So they still need to learn how to win tight games against good teams. - That was Skinner's best game of the season. - If Cozens and JJP each had about 10% more finish, they could both score 25+ this season. - TT was better than he was vs Carolina, but they still could've used a bit more from him. - Bryson had 26 minutes and Power had 28, and both held up reasonably well IMHO. Fitzie only had 6 minutes and Pilut only 10, so DM must not be happy with them. - Although Power did play well, there was still a pretty noticeable dropoff on PP1 -- he's not yet as good as Dahlin in that role (understandably -- no shame there). - DM shook up the lines again in the 3rd period -- Skinner was on with Cozens and JJP I think, while TT was on with Zemgus and KO. It sure would be nice to beat at least 1 of Boston or Vegas.

They are skating well, creating chances and playing respectably in the D zone. Need to cash in.

This is a great hockey game though.

That is a kick in the nuts. Maybe a concussion from Kotkie's sucker punch? If so, get ready for bloodlust the next time the Sabres play Carolina.

Perhaps, but they weren't the problem tonight. The problem was that Dahlin was the only Sabre who was able to create any offense. They didn't get anything out of TT, Skinner, KO, Mitts, Quinn, Cozens, Tuch or JJP.

It needs to be said: the Canes have controlled TT and made him ineffective tonight.

Good call. Carolina is playing great team D and is creating a ton of clean high-danger chances on O. The Sabres can beat them but they need to turn up the intensity on the forecheck and realize how little room the Canes are giving them to stickhandle and pass.

Good stuff here, especially the point about the expected growth in the cap. I don't think the Sabres will, or should, give VO a 7-year deal. But if they offer him the 4-extension I proposed next summer, from VO's perspective, that would give him 5 more years under contract (from the time he signs the extension) at a pretty rich salary, with the opportunity to sign one more deal at age 33 -- which will be there for him if he scores, say, 27 goals in his age-32 season -- which is quite plausible given his skill set as you point out. Would he turn that down in favor of playing out his deal and hoping to cash in on UFA? Maybe. Or maybe this season will be so much GD fun that he can't imagine walking away from $25MM or so guaranteed to stay with this team. From the Sabres' perspective, next summer, they will absolutely need to sign Cozens. But will they prioritize Asplund over VO? And would they prioritize saving cash for Mitts, Krebs, Joki, etc. over the rich, juicy bird in the hand that VO represents? It's a tricky one. Very possible.

This is indeed the issue. There is a lot of talent coming up in the system. However, that talent is on paper, and VO is a consistent goal-scorer IRL -- and he gets a bit better every year. He turns 28 next July. I think the following results are highly plausible for this season: VO -- 38 goals (although as I've said, I think he will get 40 if he stays healthy) Quinn -- 13 goals JJP -- 15 goals If their actual results end up looking like that, are they really going to not try to keep him and just assume that Quinn, JJP, Kulich is going to turn into that kind of goal-scorer? Or are they going to offer, say, a 4-year extension at $6MM per year, which would cover his age 29 through 32 seasons?

Well, the 8 other wise men of the board and me are looking pretty good on this right now. In all seriousness: I think VO has a good shot to score 40 this year if he stays healthy. He’ll have 1 more year under contract next summer and be eligible for an extension. At what point do the Sabres have to seriously try to keep him?

Well, I’d say I believe already that he has tools till Tuesday, and a great attitude, but I still need to see more before I know whether he can bring it when it counts and against the best competition. Last year‘s garbage-time performance, which was definitely impressive, plus 6 really good games this year, doesn’t quite do it for me yet when it comes to the latter. I think he has the right stuff and I’m glad we gave him that contract. I just want to see more before I’m all in.

I like TT a lot, but let's see how he does against the stepped-up competition the Sabres are about to encounter.

I agree with most of this, but violence and intimidation are still part of the game. I'm not saying we need a fighter or a goon, but a guy like Tom Wilson or prime Milan Lucic would be a huge addition to the top 6, as would a Pronger or Kronwall type in the top 4 (as they would for any team). I'd guess that KA knows this and isn't opposed to drafting one if he's the right guy.

Well, here's a pin for the schadenfreude balloon: Vegas is 9-2 and Eichel leads them in points and goals and is 3rd among VGK forwards in ice time. They're coming to Buffalo one week from tonight. Mama, I'm scared!

Edwards was one of my all-time favorite Sabres. I was pretty unhappy when they let him go and went with Sauve as the #1, although to be fair, Sauve was really good too and did well as the #1 IIRC. (SabreSpacers of a certain age will remember that Sauve’s brother, JF Sauve, played a bit for the Sabres as a nifty but undersized PP specialist.). Certainly they were a great tandem and I’m sure the internal competition was good for both of them.