thewookie1

Depends on if I want to sound like an old Canadian broadcaster or how I want to put the inflexion on it.

I honestly don't see it. How i see it is Okposo saying they practice a bit different and that in Florida they want him to tap into some different skillsets than he did in Buffalo. Florida plays more physical than us so that would be an obvious difference in tactics. My only worry is he'll get another head injury in Florida because our staff would of very likely, if not at least unconsciously, looked to protect him from another head injury via tell him to less physical.

I have always pronounced it Stan lee Cup, is that wrong?

Your time has come

Why does this playoff race feel like less of a Nascar race and more of a collection of geriatrics trying to get to the bingo table.

For having been out there as long as they were at the end they certainly battled and crashed the net which is good to see. Sabres seemed to get slowly worked off their game, in part thanks to the refs just letting a lot go after the halfway mark of the game. Detroit has far more dirty players that took advantage of that. Benson literally got cross checked into the net for instance.

Learning how to play defense in theory is the coach’s responsibility. Learning how to actually carry out defensive play on a game to game basis falls on the vets as well as the coaches. A coach can’t go out on the ice and get 1st person information during the game; the vets on the other hand do. You could have a staff of hall of fame coaches and still would need experienced players to help with in game adjustments as well deciphering the coach’s strategy to those finding it difficult to translate to the actual game. Effectively, no matter the coach, a player is more likely to trust his teammate’s judgement than his coach. It’s plainly how our brains work. If your Dad tells you something you should do and your friend tells you something to do whose opinion are you more likely to actually carry out? Logically it should be your Dad, but more often than not children and young adults aren’t going to connect their parents experiences as being valuable. It’s as you grow up where it slowly dawns on you that Mom and Dad actually know stuff (usually)

I also believe the players do want to win and thus would also be good with Levi spot filling the back to back with UPL before going back to Rochester.

I think what he was saying implied he wasn't planning to sign any babysitter vets anymore. He wants vets still but only if they can still play at a beneficial level.

Awesome win and UPL shutout! Cozens played great

Tuch was off and on Tage was both good and made some terribly lazy passes, but he certainly was hustling which is good to see.

Granato was telling someone vehemently that he better protect the ***** puck

Honestly I think our only chance of seeing him again in the 23-24 season is if we make the playoffs or at very least a have a play in game against Tampa in #82

For me its the only way to get rid of Skinner because otherwise we are likely either stuck with him until the end of next year or worse.

https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/4993214 My newest random proposals

SJ Sharks we’re very much akin to 30mil for 3 D in a comparison on percentage of cap. When they lost to St. L in the Conference Finals they had Vlasic, Burns and Karlsson all under contract.

Sanderson on Ottawa got a similar contract with similar results/time in the league

The Berggren one had probably the least physically aggressive line possible. Skinner-Krebs-Olofsson Bryson-Byram Krebs was over with the refs but the culprit was protected by the refs. Byram has concussion history so I'd rather him not fight. The other three are far from physical players. The Fischer one had Skinner-Krebs-Peterka Jokijarju-Power Again, not exactly a group of players who impose their will on anyone. Plus I honestly think some of the players were confused due to how odd it looked.

I too want to make the playoffs desperately but not to a point of being willing cut off my arm for a chance.

So where are you getting the cap and roster spots from? Im not trading the big 4 and Skinner is an anchor barring him wanting to go to SJ to lay on the beaches. Quinn and Peterka are the most cost effective players your going to find since they are on ELCs

All that matters at this time is winning the next 3 games in regulation. You do that and with a bit of realistic help we can be breathing down their necks. Also I feel Washington will drop off some

We already have spent most of our core money on Power, Dahlin, Cozens and Thompson plus Skinner and the first 4 aren’t being dealt for any quick fix to hope we squeak into the playoffs. After that it turns into an ugly mess of multiple younger players who could very well be better than most potential replacements in the case of Quinn and Peterka, and can Benson or could he go to Rochester next year? Trading any of those 3 for minimally better older replacements is just a short sighted decision that will not work out for you. Also, I’m not even saying distant future; I’m referring to the following season. If we can find a great piece for our 1st this year, go get him since we have a backlog of players. But don’t rob from Peter to pay Paul. Don’t spend everything for 24-25 at the cost of the next three seasons through short sighted desperation moves. As for signing mercenaries, when the last time that actually worked for us? Teams with a solid core and culture can support and fit mercenaries into the periphery; here they are more likely to just be Taylor Hall looking for a payday and an easy escape to a different team when the deadline roles around. For mercenary players to work, you need them to buy in to playing here for the entire year, not at their leisure.

2 fold, he might play which would be a solid pick up or if he can’t play we have gotten out of Skinner’s deal and will have plenty of cap space due to LTIR

I doubt it, Couture may not even play much less be able to play at a reasonable level to be bestowed the C.

Frankly I'm only patient because I fear the alternatives but even then my patience is running incredibly thin at this point. It feels as if we are literally trapped in a vicious cycle we cant break; we need great players to have success, to sign great players you need to have had success, and thus we are left with the development only model at this point thanks to over a decade of failures. We have no option to bring in past successful Sabres players since the vast majority are retired. (Our last chance was with Pominville and Vanek during the 19-20 season) Our only link to our past is a player who happened to be a die-hard fan during the years of successful seasons. Tuch brings pride in playing for the Sabres but like all of us here, we have zero clue how that locker room worked besides via stories and occasional player references. Adams statements about wanting players who want to be here isn't a weird slogan or cop-out but his attempt at forging an identity out of basically nothing since the tank years saw to that. Paying any random guy a ton of money to play here won't create a culture since they won't give a damn about creating a team; they'd be mercenaries primarily. The other factor is multiple acquisition methods being somewhat tied to this in a more literal sense. Any NTC/NMC would need to want to be here to actually come here. UFAs have to be at least interested in being here or they'll either ignore us or ask for insane compensation. Most of all however is the primary issue with the trading of prospects; most top level players have protection and those that don't are typically either very old, will be very disgruntled coming here, have a very short term remaining or a combination of all three. Trading a top level prospect also comes with the added issues of losing a future star or even worse, the new player acquired being a complete bust/headcase a la Slava Koslov. No one wants to be Washington trading Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat.