thewookie1

Hmm, would anyone trade Olofsson for Garland (3x4.95) the issue is he's another small guy

Again, yelling about it is all well and good but there's evidence he has attempted to acquire pieces like Chychrun and potentially Pesce. Matt Murray was also targeted and declined; Gibson and Swayman were targets before in previous trades. There is a major difference between sitting on your hands and doing nothing versus trying but failing. They don't amount to much in differing results but it does matter in terms of arguments. He isn't blissfully ignoring issues; he's just conservative with his assets and is likely getting skewered by teams in trade offers since they would know what we need as much as we fans do. Well there's a major difference between trading A tier prospects and/or picks for high end players and teams asking for top tier returns on marginal players. Top 4 RDs aren't exactly easy to acquire from other teams. They either are old, often injured, or covered in warts if not all of the above. Goalies are literally a roulette table outside the few elites that aren't for sale anyway. Our best hope would be for Nashville to fall apart and be open to moving Saros whom would give a legitimate target worth higher level assets as he under contract for an additional year. As for forward, the only interesting name floating around on the trade market is Garland from Vancouver but he's a bit overpaid and would be yet another small speedy guy. Good for him? He's scored on Jake Allen and an old Fleury. We've played two Vezina candidates/winners.

2 apples for Benson and he's the 2nd youngest Sabre to ever get a point. Off by 5 days from being 1st

It is on the depth chart, but on paper it hasn’t. That is correct

I’m guessing no one wanted to take Olofsson for anything and it would be hard to justify to the players trading a friend who scored 28 last year for pucks.

It aggravates me to no end losing games where we had better chances and yet a questionable goal and the refs lack of calls seems to help bury us. Skinner needs to get going. Tage looked better by the end. Tuch was spotty. Olofsson must hold an idiot ball for whomever centers him. Mitts last year and Cozens this year looks inept. 3rd line played great, Benson certainly showing why he’s here. 4th line was Krebs and old guys. Clifton looks shaky and Jokiharju is just unpredictable. The rest played fine. Levi let in the 1st which wasn’t great but played great the rest of the game.

BS from the NHL

Sabres have definitely been the better team this period

Clifton has disappointed so far but Johnson has been very much the bottom pair vet savvy we were hoping for

I’m just tired of hearing it everyday, everywhere any circumstance.

It’s not that I don’t want it fixed but I just don’t see reasonable options to fix it. Not to mention the likelihood of finding a good one at fair value is almost impossible. Plus if we took Campbell for instance, all we’d hear here is we overpaid for garbage. Greenway!

They have two forwards who have led the league in points the past 5 years.

The Oilers have more or less had the same issue while doing the opposite. They have signed, traded and acquired at least 9 goalies and are exactly where we are but with a 6mil anchor goalie.

Is there any more common occurrence than Buffalo teams getting ***** by refs? I do wish half of you guys would stop it with the endless complaints. Guess what, goalies that are considered good don’t get traded. Your three options are draft and develop, trade mass assets for a question mark or sign a question mark for way more than he’ll likely be worth.

We get chances, they are either blocked or miraculously stopped. They get a goal on a non called trip and a own goal.

I certainly understand but I can't actively ridicule them if there wasn't an option this year

I'm so sick of the endless complaint about vet goalies; there are none available worth the price. I refuse to trade multiple top assets for some mediocre goaltender who may or may not actually be better than our present group. I had never any interest in paying Hellebuyck 7x8.5mil and Saros wasn't exactly available for any degree of a fair offer.

Was at the game, great opening with Cupcake and good feelings. Then the game started and things began to unravel. What seemed to originally break the team was the terrible call by the ref to penalize Greenway after he came to Joki’s relief after a blatant board. Frankly it should have been reviewed as a major as it was a full on dirty hit. While the Rangers controlled much of the 1st, the dagger of the period was the miscall by the refs on Benson in which they scored a deflection on. From there we had to deal with a 1-3-1 and get bored to tears. The second was much like the first but we did have some chances but yet again the refs seemed content to let the Rangers do what they wanted to our players like Benson. Bounces didn’t go our way whatsoever besides Peterka’s goal. The 3rd reminded me of the 90’s Devils or most Torts coached teams with players sprawling out like bearskin rugs to block shots and we just could not find a way to get it past them. Kreider’s 2nd goal was a combo of Dahlin having been on the ice almost 2 minutes and a puck hitting Benson just right to go to Kreider. That seemed to end it Top line wasn’t crisp at all, everyone’s timing was off by a half second and Tage’s targeting computer was broken. Cozens line was a hot mess and I’m starting to think Olofsson curses his line mates. Cozens couldn’t puck handle out of a paper bag half the time and Olofsson was his usual perimeter player. JJ played well though. Mitts and his duo were arguably the best line and seemed to generate some offense. Benson probably needs to go back to the WHL to bulk up but his IQ and talent is definitely ready. (Give him 20lbs and 2 inches and he’d be perfect already) Greenway playing with grit and determination is a fun and different type of hockey than usual. I like it Krebs and Girgensons brought energy and Okposo was an old guy. They weren’t bad but also weren’t good. The defensive players were individually ok besides Jokiharju and Power’s sporadic mishaps. Levi let in a bad rebound goal but can be excused on the rest for the most part. The team physicality was certainly more robust with a number of hits but I want a bit more than even that. However that was a step in the right direction. Sorely disappointed but was more aggravated by the idiot Rangers fan behind me being an ass than anything else. It’s one game, an arguably bad matchup for our style and I’ll expect better from them Saturday and next time we see the Rangers.

I honestly remember plenty of Crosby being a crybaby in his early years. Guy would complain to refs constantly about everything he perceived as a penalty. Sometime between his 1st Cup and 2013 he seemed to mature and behave less whiny. He’d look angry about non-calls instead of that more whiny “attitude” face kids make when having a tantrum.

Ok that makes more sense with the clarification

1. Sabres win and point totals 102 points 48 wins + 6 OTLs 2. Do the Sabres make the playoffs and if so how far do they go? Yes, I see either a long 1st round or 2nd round exit 3. Team MVP Dahlin (20g 65a 85pts) 4. Team ROY Levi (.910 Save Percentage and 30 Wins) 5. Most Improved player Power (10 goals) 6. Team leader in goals, assists and points Thompson 53 goals, Dahlin 65 assists, Thompson 106 points 7. NHL Award candidates (Norris, Vezina, Selke, Calder, Richard, MVP etc)? Any winners? Dahlin is a Norris Finalist, Thompson is talked about for MVP but snubbed, Levi and Benson end up 2nd & 4th respectively in the Calder 8. How many players score 10 or more goals? Who? Okposo 13, Power 10, Mitts 18, Kane 12, Greenway 15, Peterka 19, Olofsson (while a Sabre) 15 9. How many players score 20 or more goals? Who? Dahlin 20, Thompson 53, Skinner 33, Tuch 31, Cozens 30 10. Does anyone from Rochester get callup and stay with the Sabres (such as Pominville back in the day)? Kulich plays 6 games and Rosek plays 13. 11. Which Eastern playoffs team (s) miss the playoffs and who replaces them? 1. Toronto 2. Tampa 3. Buffalo 1. Carolina 2. Devils 3. Rangers WC1. Florida WC2. Pittsburgh Boston and Ottawa finish within 2 points of Pittsburgh, Isles 5 points out 12. Stanley Cup champions 2023-24? NJ Devils, Ruff finally gets one. 13. Other predictions you'd like to share? Buffalo trades Olofsson in January out West for a couple conditional picks Buffalo signs Pat Kane 1x2mil, to many's chagrin, and he plays solid for 30 games (12 goals, 15 assists) Retires at years end due to continued hip pain but imparts stickhandling techniques and scores a playoff OT winner Quinn takes until March to get back into an NHL game after a conditioning stint in Rochester UPL is dealt out West for a mid round pick

That would be a tad overkill for 1.5 years of a goalie. Though depending on the circumstances I may feel differently in December

The idea of Okposo stepping away after this year is probably likely. At most he’d have one year left and that’s only if he keeps being a solid 4th liner. Girgensons still will be a great energy guy. Depending on E. Johnson’s year, I could see him sticking around as a 7th defenseman that is used sparingly in certain situations. I think a lot of next year’s roster will be decided by both our finish, playoffs or not, and how many fence sitters fall into re-sign territory versus bye-bye Jokiharju is likely the biggest question mark since he’s literally at the point of stand up or shut up. With guys like Johnson and the Russian kid working their way up, he either needs to prove he’s a perfect partner for Power or be used to get a different one. Olofsson is almost assuredly a goner and could even be dealt mid season if we sign Kane on a 1 year deal. He’d have to practically reinvent himself to stick around. Jost is just a guy, a good person but not much else. His future will be decided by our need for a 13th/14th F or AHL call up. Of all of them Mitts has the most likely case for a return. It all depends on his health and which Mitts shows up during the season. Will he be the Mitts who pushes play, plays with some moxie and puts up 2nd line points. Or will he shrink back into the background character or IR laden guy he was for most of his career aside a couple spurts. Krebs has a destiny that is tied to both Mitts and his continued growth. If Krebs grows into a solid energy center who is still a high end playmaker and doesn’t ask for the moon; he’ll at least get a short extension. If Mitts falls apart and Krebs seizes the opportunity, he might get a slightly longer extension. If he fades into nothingness, he might get a one year deal but will likely lose his place within the team’s future plans. My honest hope is that he can turn into a solid defensive center, face off winner that with his passing aptitude and high motor can make any 4th line a threat while also being capable of sliding up in emergencies

Lol

nope, just a QR code that says voucher