thewookie1

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.

If anything, regardless if we agree or disagree with their moves or plans; I do think both care greatly about the team. So that's a positive I guess

I'd guess to bridge him next year as long as its working well with Dahlin.

I read this as Mouse Wife and became very confused

Chad D mentioned we spoke with CBJ about presumably Jenner and Philly about Noah Cates Another source stated we had talks with Nashville even after the Byram trade in regards to Fabbro and Carrier

A win and we continue our slim hopes of the playoffs A loss and we pack it in Let's win boys!

Here's my most recent idea; I'm hoping I can will Skinner for Couture into existence lol https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/4975565

Everything here I’ll take with a grain of salt seeing as Adams isn’t going to reveal anything regardless. Of course he’ll say they need to grow from within; anything else and he’d be effectively telling his players through Twitter/media that he doesn’t believe in them personally. His proposed acquisitions are both nondescript enough to not single out a player while also not lying to the fans. A top 9 forward is like stating you want a new person over the age of 35 next year; it creates a massive pool to play with without giving any specific player.

That would be my guess; effectively if you have season tickets, live out of state, and resell all 41 you will become a impromptu ticket vendor since the tickets are no longer for personal use but rather products.

It doesn’t make the Sabres better but it does make me feel better that Yzerman’s seemingly over priced moves didn’t punch them a ticket to the postseason immediately. And it gives us another shot next year to beat them to the playoffs.

Mutually Assured Destruction, then they can’t beat us to the playoffs at least lol. Beat all the Eastern teams besides Florida and we’d at least have a tiny chance depending on how the standings fall

Dahlin/Dahlin Tuch and probably Cozens would be A's barring Girgs returning. Dahlin has generally become the heir apparent since Eichel's departure and Okposo's captaincy. He's not only our best player but probably our most willing to do anything to win every game. He will literally play goalie in empty net situations and is far from soft in the physicality attribute.

UPL to me is a 3/4 year contract guy; frankly I feel that way with most solid goalies because of how often they can change. Give him 4x4mil, both sides get some security as well as the cost is neither cheap nor prohibitive. As for Levi, I'd have him penciled in as the starter in Rochester As for backup in the NHL, find the best goalie you can for 2mil or less for 1 year.

I think when Reinhart, Montour and Okposo have said it its legitimate thankfulness. Its when players want to call it a business when you know they aren't exactly happy.

The hate comment was actually about Gfan Yes I was alluding to a 3 tier system Generational Superstar - Legitimate dominant forces that change franchises with their mere existence SuperStar - Elite players whom consistently contribute and at times will dominate Star - Elite Talents whom contribute at a less consistent level and can but occasionally dominate To me an elite player requires you to have the ability to take over a game. Tage and Dahlin have done so would land in the Star Rank for me personally; Dahlin is right on that cusp of superstar seeing as he did that for a good portion of last season until his injury at the All Star break derailed it. Tage is a star but no where near consistent enough to be a superstar. Star and Superstar are possible to migrate between but generational talents are pretty much an exclusive club with tickets given to a few but only cashed in on by the likes of McDavid, Crosby, Ovi, and perhaps Bedard will fully join it.

Does make him a team player however; you can be the most pass happy fiery player imaginable but still be too much of a loose cannon to make work within the lines. His persona is what is wrong in hockey these days, the "look at me" obsession and need to shine the spotlight on himself clashes violently with the general state of hockey which is team first, individual player second. I have no issue with Michigan goals or having fire; I have the issue with his way of displaying his fire by playing hockey in an almost overly "game-like manner" Yes, hockey is just a game but this is also their jobs and it makes it hard to trust his fire to win every game versus personal stats.

Bryson is a true 7D As @Doohickie said, he fills a specific playstyle that works against some teams and doesn't at all against others.

Defense in general no, a defensive low event style hockey yes. There's a difference; and in many cases this is how the Isles accomplish anything; they bore you to tears with nothing happening for 55 minutes and score a goal or two to win.

Yes; maybe not a super star but at least a star.. I get it, you hate Thompson but to say it was an aberration after an injury filled year is asinine. Additionally my comment comparing Thompson to Pasta was in regards to not in a direct 1 to 1 comparison. I was saying that you can't penalize Tage for being a sniper while Pasta gets kudos for it in the same vain. That description summed up Pasta until a couple years ago and he had the great advantage of playing with a skilled anthropomorphic rat and the part time owner of the Selke timeshare. Also Pasta isn't in the Crosby/McDavid tier; so get that notion out of here altogether. He's an elite player but no generational superstar. Tage would slot into the category below him in the "star" area. Also this notion that Tage doesn't battle for the puck is ridiculous and going into heavy traffic areas isn't a fair complaint because a man his size can't exactly skate into a mosh of players without being hooked or grabbed just by size alone. (Makes it rather difficult to grab the puck and get it out of there) Just because he doesn't bowl through players like prime Lindros doesn't make him soft or disinterested. Tage had plenty of assists the last two years and seemed perfectly capable of leading his line when healthy. This is what I have issue with, a player has a bad year in part due to injuries and he is effectively crucified for it whereas last year people proclaimed he was superior to Eichel. Make up your freaking minds.

Is it not possible we just played a very good defensive low event style game and just grinded Edmonton down? We had 40 hits credited to us which seems a tad overzealous but is that not what Boston tends to do on a game to game basis? If they are struggling they'll just throw a wrench into the machine and just play a game of next goal wins. Its a large reason why those dastardly Bruins are successful; they can play different styles depending on the circumstances and presently the Sabres are having a miserable time generating offense but they have certainly embraced low-event hockey in order to have a shot at winning every night. It's been a bad year for most the team but I can't fault them for trying to win by whatever means they can find.

Just last season he did that frequently; he literally looked like a lesser version of Lemieux until he got hurt last year so I'm not sure where this uncreative BS is coming from. The guy has plenty of desire; he's played through injuries both last season near the end and most of this year off and on. He scored a plethora of goals like that EDM one from last year as well as his trademark shot. His biggest issue this year seems to me that his wrist may still have issues or his back potentially and that has made him have great difficulty doing his old rope-a-dope with his reach due to the lack of strength he can put on the puck at distance which would require usage of wrist and lower back muscles. He's a great/elite talent player whose merely good when banged up. That being said most players play worse when dealing with injury issues.

Benson should be in the AHL, but he can’t due to stupid rules