thewookie1

Power needs to go to a shooting school over the summer like Dahlin did after Krueger. Power has zero confidence in his shot and it shows far more this year because teams have figured it out. If he gained some mass and upgrades his shot he’ll look worlds better than he is now since not only will he be better but other teams will have to respect the shot. Power also needs to learn how to use his body more to protect the net but I highly doubt he’ll ever be a physical defender, it’s just not in his personality. There’s a particular quirk with some defensemen where they desire physical play. Dahlin is certainly one of them; he definitely has a dirtiness to his game. He’s not a classic big body in front of the net but he loves to grind people out on the boards with no hesitation.

Kevyn Adams was on WGR at 5pm Sounded disappointed in how this season has gone and did say he’ll be looking for trades that are more helpful for now and the future. So it sounds like he’s done kicking the ball down the road. They asked him about what he think went wrong and while he started with the typical learning curve lingo he said that he’ll put that off to the side and could talk 2 hours about what else went wrong and the good news was he refused to claim injuries ruined them. Outright stated Mitts has 2 years of RFA left as well as isn’t being shopped whatsoever. He’s talked about him as with most players but isn’t seeking out to move him. Also thrashed much of the rumors about the Sabres that are being discussed online. I honestly think Adams has a very similar approach to how I think. We are both very cautious with a fear of outright losing a trade. Additionally we both had hoped the team would keep growing naturally with tweaks around the edges. As such, like me, I’d imagine he’s very discontent over this season and annoyed by the lack of good starts and special teams play. My main theory as to Granato’s retention is more related to a combo of many previous firings as well as Granato’s brother getting cancer near Christmas. Buffalo is already a less than beloved place to go; you have treat your coaches and players well if you want to hire new guys. Teams that win consistently can get away with far more questionable behavior than a team in a 12 year drought. I’d guess next year we’ll have all new assistants and possibly a new head coach if Brind’Amour shakes loose. Adams stated he’s very good friends with Peca which would say his departure wasn’t a dirty one and that it was far more likely that Peca wanted to go learn from an experienced head coach versus a first timer like Granato. That’s what I garnered from the interview as I drove home from work

Not really he'd be more sheltered on the 3rd pair but his 1st Overall status would put him in the NHL rather soon.

Jesus, not only is it a bad look for that guy who said it but how did Laine see it?

Well I wouldn’t trade Dahlin since I doubt we can get a better player. Makar isn’t available for instance. Tuch to me is also untouchable due to a combination of his play style and genuine passion for the team. Obviously I’d trade him for McDavid but you get the idea. Id be very unlikely to trade Cozens, Thompson or Power.

Barring McDavid, I wouldn't trade Tuch so its good to hear that. Kulich is a little interesting but he is a high tier prospect and it'd make sense we wouldn't trade him for futures or lesser presents. GIrgs is one of my favorite players so I don't exactly disagree with Pegula here.

I know its a typo but its too funny not to comment on

Brind’Amour wouldn’t choose to leave Carolina as much as Carolina might lowball him. In that situation we’d have an opportunity to get him.

I just can’t root for Boston; hate their team, their city and their fans

Clifton started looking awful but since about Game 25/30 has been a very solid 3rd pairing guy with some physicality. I'd hope they don't go to Boston as I can't root for Boston.

Well us Buffalo people wouldnt

They'd move them to Hamilton

I wonder if we could retain 3 mil on Skinner and trade him to Vancouver for Garland and DiGuiseppe(just some random guy with at 750k) It would certainly be an all-in move for a Vancouver team on fire and upgrades their offensive output. Garland clean up the cap issues but is at least a bit more 2 way capable

Probably a bit of both. Let’s say 3 or 4 teams call on Mitts with moderately good offers. Adams then decides to see if he can find something more appealing. By Seeing if a team offered a RHD who’d be a legit Top 4 and could complete a pair stylistically with Dahlin or Power. He’d rather keep him in my opinion but there are greater needs and Mitts agent may want far more than we deem fit for him.

For me trading Mitts only makes sense if you are targeting another specific center or defenseman. A good example I had was Eriksson Ek whom would make sense time and salary wise for the team and bring Selke level two-way play. Mitts would get to go home as well. I agree about trading Skinner; the issue being does he even want to leave? Additionally this would be a trade you are almost assured to take hit from both offensively and for at least the remaining years of his contract. Can we move Skinner somewhere besides Toronto and Detroit where he'd torch us like he does to Montreal? If we were to retain 3mil on his contract would more teams be interested in at very least being friendly with the trade return? Effectively in my opinion we cannot afford to pay Mitts 7mil plus for 7 years as it effectively traps us at the end of next season due to Quinn and Peterka

Best available UFA goalie that was still considered young and wasn't going to ask for an absurd contract that year.

While I would rather sign Mitts; what if we trade him and a prospect to Minnesota for JEE. He'd certainly bring the exact type of center we need in being a literal Selke candidate.

The Rochester take actually makes a lot of sense. It should be developing players into better all-around players versus merely setting them up to play call-up for the Sabres. Vet teams need to have the mini-me model as you hilariously nicknamed as it is meant to allow for quick substitutions in case of injury to allow the NHL team to continue plugging away to the playoffs. What we actually need is a literal NHL bootcamp in Rochester to develop the players versus a pool of subs persay.

I do agree with you about needing more balance; I just feel more guys presently can still achieve that here. Finding balance however is very difficult since the players who fit those roles aren’t traded or are rather old by the time they become available. Plus drafting them is a literal crapshoot. For every one good power forward you get a handful of grinders with little other value and a whole lot of outright busts. I think my disdain for Boston is more the reason for my overt disagreements than the actual overall conversation typically. Aside from Dahlin that is.

Well at very least we don’t have that hanging over our heads

How is it that we score maybe one lucky goal a season whereas at least 20+ go in on us? We made Dallas look bad and yet we still lost because of their damn goalie. We should of ran the bastard, play dirty its not like the refs are going to cut you any slack. WTF was both those 5v3 penalties? Felt like the fix was in with that Clifton penalty especially; on the PK how many times have we seen Sabres take blatant crosschecks with no call. Benson got literally dumped twice in the 1sst in front of the net with the puck nowhere near him and they weren't "I'm stronger and taller" falls; they were crosscheck style falls. This year has been a freaking test in anger management; the Sabres have bad games where you're angry and then you have games like these where they play great and yet lose anyway.

Seems more anger directed at himself

Well since Dallas’s goal we’ve been all over them like butter on bread and Oettinger has stood on his head

I've watched a ton of Blackhawks hockey thanks to them being my father's favorite team. They were balanced, certainly with some great two-way players, but they were certainly skewed to being an offensive team. Its the reason why that Chicago vs LAK Conference Finals is still the greatest series I've ever watched even though they lost. It was an equal battle between two incredible teams with differing approaches to the game. Chicago was always more offensive but had two-way players that could clean up the defensive parts of the game. LAK was a more prototypical defense-first/ goalie out team who finished their checks. LAK won in OT on a fluky shot and went on to win the Cup. Chicago then did it again in the following year. You wouldn't like those Chicago teams though, they rarely hit anyone; they were more akin to Granato's approach of pressure and stick check but little in terms of physicality. They were gritty but not tough guys. (2010 was definitely their most physical version) As for that Dahlin statement, its plain BS. Players don't just cease to grow and change. Defenseman especially get better defensively over their careers due to experience. All while they tweak their games to stay in the show as they grow older. Hell, Erik Johnson started his career as an offensive Dman and by the time he won the Cup he was seen as the vet defensive guy. Also why in the world would you choose Boston as a B team? Boston is literally like the Devil to Buffalonians between their different sports teams. If any city deserves a long drought of ineptitude it would be their arrogant *****. I can understand respecting their style and/or loving Bobby Orr, who doesn't, but they aren't exactly a "friendly" B team to Sabres fans

It really depends on the circumstances to be honest. If she legitimately can play with the guys; then she needs to be able to handle the guys. Now if they were throwing out slurs then her teammates should have taken offense and defended her. Or better yet get one of them with a good slash when the ref ain’t looking. Smaller male players also get bullied in some leagues. The story given feels rather hokey to me however. Akin to a cheesy movie with a “lesson.” I’m of two minds here. Trash talking is very much apart of sports and I’d guess plenty of players have been ridiculed by the opposing team after penalties are called. Hiding behind your gender isn’t any way to become better involved with the general group. And crying over it while saying “Hockey is for everyone” isn’t going to fix the problem. If anything you’ll be looked at worse. Especially if there either a co-Ed or women’s league alternative. That being said the lack of push back by her teammates is embarrassing. Stick up for your damn teammates! You don’t need to start a brawl but chirp back. Part of the issues in the culture today falls into this mindset. Get insulted or made fun of, immediately run to a higher authority and whine about it. All she’s accomplished is making a bunch of men respect her even less. All of this is mute in this case however if this was inappropriate behavior and language. If this was general hockey chirping though; it’s on her and her team to put them in their place because chirping is and should be allowed.