SHAAAUGHT!!!

When and how did you become a fan? It think it was pre-1985 and I was around 5-6 years old at my grandparents house for a family dinner. Everyone was glued to the TV watching a hockey game (I think it was the Sabres, but may have been two other teams in a playoff game) and it was nuts. There was fight after fight, there was hardly anyone left on the bench to finish the game even though they were skating 4-3 or 3-3 due to so many penalties, and the excitement was palpable. Everyone went to the other room to eat but I couldn't stop watching. In the dying minutes of the game someone took a puck to the face and went down hard, making the benches even shorter. The skill, the violence, and the characters - who looked like they were out of a Sergio Leone Western, ready for war, with pure exhaustion but no quit in there eyes. From that moment on I was a hockey fan for life. Who is your all-time favourite Sabre and why? It's hard to pick one so I'll pick 2. I loved watching Geoff Sanderson play even though a lot of people hated it. He was the epitome of the 80's scoring hockey player - fast as lightning and had a HUGE one-timer. Didn't matter if he was on a clean break away - he was going to wind up and let it rip from the hashmarks if you let him. The second was Dom. The guy was a legend and it was like watching poetry in motion. Most exciting moments as a fan? I think it was the first game of the 2005-2006 season when Briere scored a huge goal to either tie it or put them in the lead. It was apparent the Sabres were a totally different team and I was able to get a lot of my friends back into hockey, or interested in it for the first time. I'll also never forget how crazy the building was after winning Game 6 against Carolina. Most frustrating? Patrick Lalime's inability to win a game costing us a playoff berth. Tie Domi not getting suspending for pulling on Miro Satans ankle in the playoffs when they got tangled up and fell near the boards at center ice. Satan had just gotten back from missing a few games due to the ankle. I lost all respect for that man at that exact moment. How would you improve the current team? A legit 2C and some accountability among ALL the players to show up every game.

This. We need to add a top 4 forward without subtracting a top 6 forward. That's why I really like Risto for Boeser - its a good hockey trade and the Sabres instantly get better. There would still be a hole at 2C though... I'm not sure what the complimentary pieces of the trade would be since the contracts are similar in value and both run through 21-22. It wouldn't surprise me if we swapped a 3rd for Vancouver's 4th round pick, or there was a prospects swap, for optics sake

I thought it was appropriate since we are talking about using that 8th round pick to get a 2C and help shape the line-up

Kahun could make it on the top line if he is with Skinner and Eichel (and maybe even Reino and Eichel), but I don't know if he fits with Eichel and Olof yet. Kahuna and Olof and both undersized wingers and I would worry about their effectiveness - on the same line - down low. A "True 2C" would immediately give Kyvyn some credibility, and I think it's doable with the cap crunch a lot of teams are facing and the number of serviceable players and prospects the Sabre's have. More importantly it places less pressure on the 3rd line to do anything more than chip in every other game and get better, properly allowing the younger players develop. I'd be happy if we saw the following and only had to part with Risto, 1 or 2 prospects, and #8 overall: Olof - Eichel - Sam Skinner - True 2C - Johansson/Kahun Tage/Casey - Cozens - Johansson/Kahun Girgs - Larry - Okposo Extra: Lazar & tbd

Great post. The biggest job for GMKPAP (General Manager Kim Pegula-Adams-Pegula) is to get a proper return on any trades for the players you mentioned in paragraph 2 (Reinhart, Montour, Risto, Casey, Tage) so the team is stronger, not just different. With regards to which forwards from the AHL may make sense to bring up, I think that depends on how the first 2 lines look after trades and RFA signings happen. I would be ok with Cozens playing with Kahun and Tage/Casey if we are only looking to fill a third line out. But if any of those players are expected to see time on the 2nd line, I don't know if I bring Cozens, Tage, or Casey up without a crazy good camp. I think the guys that win spots out of camp are guys that will fill a need in Krueger's system, and it's hard to consider who that may be with so many question marks on the roster right now...

I guess but that's semantics to me. If they weren't willing to offer him $ over league minimum they basically opened the door, and shoved him. But technically yes, he walked.

This could be one of the reasons the Sabres let Pilut walked. He is fast and skilled, but not big enough to be "gritty" on the back line.

It's standard to fire your NHL GM and scouting staff 6 hours before firing your AHL HC and front office, have a press conference in between the two events, and then not even have a prepared tweet ready to go to address the future of the organization? This seems lazy and haphazard, not standard. After 9 years of owning and running a team, they should know how to do better.

Why did they have this presser before they fired the entire front office of the Amerks later in the day? Have they announced another PC yet to discuss the CT firing? Wouldn't a cohesive message about the future of the organization be appropriate at a time like this??? Who made (or didn't make) these decisions? It's not a good day to still be associated with the Buffalo Sabres organization (unless you're RaKru)...

I guess my point (and ironically I likely could've done a better job conveying it) is that a good leader would recognize this as an opportunity to address a major issue with this franchise - the lack of a clear message and/or strategy about their future plans. It hurts ticket sales, it hurt TV ratings, and it hurts attracting talent on and off the ice.

What does what mean? The Pegulas just fired their GM after having his back 3 weeks ago, did not perform a GM search to see what other GMs strategies would be for their organization that has missed the playoffs for 9 years, had a press conference and didn't address the direction they wanted to take the team, confirmed they are not in a rebuild - so things must be better than before (so again why was he fired?), etc etc etc. Edit: And the fact they seem tone deaf to this has me thinking they aren't "surrounding themselves with the best people"

My guess is that no one in the organization has the guts to stand up and tell the Pegulas that "press conference" was garbage. If Adams is a man of the people and really out there listening to fans, he would know that is not what anyone wanted to hear. I hope someone in that organization with some brains (hopefully with the initials R.K.) is driving the bus or I have major concerns about the direction of this franchise...

It almost sounded like Terry was going to say what the disconnect between JBotts and him were but then realized it and stopped...

100% agree with this. He may be inexperienced in the GM role, but the key attributes needed for that job are can be broken into 2 segments: critical thinker and effective manager. He should be ok if he's smart enough to properly evaluate personnel (his staff and players), if the Pegulas actually support him as they stated, and if he's not afraid to ask for resources or make bold but thoughtful moves. I'm not sure how smart he is at this point because I haven't listened to him enough, but he most likely has enough contacts throughout the league from his playing, coaching, and FO days to put together a team that knows how to win. Fingers crossed that today is the beginning of the end of having to watch an incomplete product try to win hockey games.

I'm pretty sure narrowly missing (or making) the playoffs is literally the definition of a bubble team. I used the strike-through feature to help with comprehension. ?

Too soon: there are a lot of RFAs and a handful of key UFAs to sign for this upcoming season; Botts finally was out from under the years of crap contracts signed by previous GMs; why wait all this time to fire a GM that had just gotten to the point he was finally able to operate without the fully burdened weight of previous managers Too late: what changed from the beginning of this season until the end? The '19-20 Sabres were always a playoff bubble team, and that's exactly where they finished. Why keep your GM all season when you have several key negotiations coming up? I can be satisfied. It just requires competence, a high level of performance, and critical thinking from team ownership all the way down to equipment managers. Unfortunately that has been in short supply lately...

Interesting move after Kim's comments a few weeks ago. Terrible move from an ownership perspective. It is both too soon and too late to make a move like this. It gives the appearance the Sabres ownership are steering a rudderless ship. Curious if we find out the true story on the O'Reilly trade now. I've always speculated Botts was forced to make the trade before his signing bonus was to be awarded....

I'm struggling to understand why people are valuing 9-13 minutes on a bubble teams 3rd scoring line as a better developmental path than playing in all situations 20+ minutes a night on a good team. Especially when, and please allow me to paraphrase the sentiment of many, run by a front office and coaching staff that has been notoriously bad at at developing high draft picks... And while this borders closer to semantics than I typically like to venture: Cozens was the best player on his team, but he was not the best player in the league or set any records so he does have room to improve in the WHL. To sum up, I think it is rather short sighted to assume Cozens should 100% be in a Sabres uniform next season. Until all the summer signings are complete (notably Kahun, Casey, Tage, because those are the peers he is competing with), and until we get a look at Cozens in camp, he should penciled in for the W.

I've seen the Sabres in person before? Ok this was a lie. There is no difference.

Challenge #1 - Consistency (every game, every shift); shouldn't be a problem if the WHL truly isn't a challenge Challenge #2 - WHL Player of the Year (he didn't win it this year,; he was 7th in scoring) Challenge #3 - don't just elevate your game, but the game of the players around you Challenge #4 - improve scoring and defense by improving play away from the puck Challenge #5 - make the Sabres out of camp in 21-22 in a 2C/3C and PP role I don't see how this hurts his development, or the Sabres, at all. Maybe he comes back in the fall at 205 lbs and looks even faster. Ok, let's talk 9 game tryout then. But nothing he's done in the W at this point shows he is ready for a contributor role in the NHL as a 19 year old, at least in the type of role the Sabres need him to play. If Jack Eichel wasn't the answer as a 18 and 19 year old, Cozens isn't even on the list of wrong multiple choice answers...

I don't think he can as a junior player. I checked the LIGA and SHL and there is only one Canadian teenager between both leagues.

Ideally Cozens should be in the AHL next year, but that isn't an option. So assuming he isn't ready for a 3rd line NHL center role, which almost no 19 year old is, its 1) have him overachieve in WHL and try to set some single season records 2) rush him into the NHL and potentially botch another young players development the same way they've done to Middlestat, TT, and Risto. I pick #1 - unless JBotts makes a move to grab an established 2C. Otherwise there will eventually be a push to play Cozens on line 2, and that isn't good for him or the Sabres. Agreed. I'm still curious to see what their next contracts look like. That should be the first true indication of the Sabres front office expectations for them going forward. I expect them both to be low dollar "prove-it" contracts that look similar to each other.

When he got to Ottawa they had a solid D core in place so he didn't have to be "the guy," even as a mid-20 year old. I remember watching a lot of Ottawa games with the other team celebrating and Chara looking up to the rafters. He figured it out in Ottawa and proved a lot of naysayers wrong when he continued to contribute, and improve, after joining the Bs. So it took him into his late 20s, and 2 teams, before he fully developed. Its not unreasonable to think Risto still has some upside.

Kudos to the league for coming up with a fun, interesting, and only slightly controversial solution. Even if it doesn't happen (which it probably wont) it shows the people running the league do have some legitimately creative ideas.

I have a feeling the league may invoke a special circumstances clause (assuming there is one), or hold a vote, to address some of these cap situations. The double whammy of seeing a salary cap reduction at a time when teams were making deadline moves to position themselves for a run at some expense of the future (trading a high pick away, dumping RFAs due a raise next year to make room for a rental this year). This is just what team managers are dealing with. All FAs right now have to be a little worried because a cap reduction means less free cash flow for teams for new contracts. Since it impacts both the front offices and players I could see a compromise being reached for the 20-21 season. That said, given their current "economic hardships" I bet PSE would welcome a salary cap reduction for next season ?