Mango

I know he scored earlier, but he wasn’t good tonight. A lot of head scratchers.

I was not a huge fan of Greenway last year, but I thought he got better as the season progressed and looked good when paired with Cozen and Thompson. Obviously those guys are studs. Theres some rumor that Greenway could have some more juice this year. If he can be a Tuch-lite, I think there is a place for him in the top 6 and can provide some additional balance. Curious to see this one play out

You were fairly close. I’m interested to see the top 3 forward lines.

They were one of the top first lines in the league last year with Tage at C. I totally get not moving it around. But I actually really liked Thompson on the wing with Greenway and Cozens at C. I say that not liking Greenways game last year. If he can be an Alex Tuch lite on the left side this year, that’s a formidable line.

I am not watching this one. It feels like defense and goaltending are still a major issue with an emphasis on goaltending but not in a good way. I was thinking that maybe KA has held out on moving VO to get through the Quinn injury. At that point he may be prepared to package him for a goaltender. Im high on Levi and this roster but if this defense still blows without any systemic adjustments, and UPL/Comrie are still miserable options I’m gonna be pissssed!

Oh, duh… I was only thinking of players that dressed last night.

I feel like an idiot, who is EJ?

I honestly loved our lines to finish the season. I thought our top line with Mitts at center was as good or better as anything they did previously. Tommers made the second line better. Mixing in Greenway, Jost, and Krebs around the line up helped provide some physicality that lets guys like Cozens and Peterka shine a bit brighter. I would like to see more of it, at least situationally. Just my $0.02 carry over from last year.

Last night was exciting. But after a full day I think the kid gets a few call ups, but likely isn't ready for an 82 game season. I am curious how he looks when guys start playing a much more physical game as the preseason progresses. He was good tonight, but it will be different when other full grown men are fighting for the back end of their careers and to stay on a roster to provide for their families. The real bummer is the rules about the AHL, not necessarily whether he makes the Sabres or not. He should be playing in Rochester.

I think maybe he gets a few games early to get a feel for playing with grown men at that size, speed, and intensity. Then sent back to juniors with a check list of things to improve upon and maybe hit the weight room. Then we see him again later in the season.

It’s a preseason game but he isn’t just skilled he’s playing with a lot of confidence. After that breakaway I was like “well, maybe…” It all feels like a risk for a franchise in the middle of a 12 year drought who might be starting a rookie goaltender in 50+ games this year and a million other young players. I think he might make the roster. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about it.

My biggest negative is these terrible Boston announcers. They sound like they pulled them out of the Harp pre game and offered them the mic.

Another plus one for me on the first so far is the PK. But tough to tell, I’ve seen our prospects against some real Boston players and it wasn’t great either. I think I’ve seen Tommers and Skinner on both PK’s so far.

I don’t follow much/any of the juniors. But the kid is always in the right place and/or getting the puck to the right place. I’d be shocked if he didn’t get a few call ups this year for a little spot duty.

I don't know that this is wholly true. Yes it is hockey/sport. But this is also a profession. As a senior at what I do; I understand somebody being hesitant to sign an 8 year deal when executive leadership in my division has seen quarter over quarter loses for nearly a decade. Yes, I would be happy to be apart of a team that had the first ever year of profit (1 winning season out of 4), but I am not sure I would sign away the next 10 years when there has still been speculation that the owner might sell the company off. Or at least I would give it some serious thought. If you look at the Allen game as an individual, sure it is just a thing that happened/happens. But when you look at the history of the Sabres, ... - wait the offense struggled more often than it should last year. - They were fairly flat in the playoffs. Their star WR threw two temper tantrums (playoffs and OTA's). - The expectations around this season. - The verbalization that that the QB was never more locked in than he is this year, only to be....well....not locked in.... - The team president is incapacitated for the foreseeable future and was removed. - The team owner was quoted as saying some not great stuff (albeit allegations) Dahlin may fully buy into Adams and Donnie. He probably does. But the Pegula run Sabres have created a situation where there is a lot more to it than that. I am not saying that Dahlin shouldn't sign. I am not saying he won't. But if it were me I would weigh the entire state of the Pegula Sabres/sports enterprise before I sign on the dotted line.

Some speculation on the inter webs that it’s so Dahlin can maximize his value. I would guess that it’s actually so he has control of his career. The Pegula owned Sabres have put together maybe the worst decade of hockey the league has ever seen. It’s been historically bad. Pegula’s life is a mess at the moment. His wife is….. He’s been alleged to have said some terribly racist stuff. There’s been rumors for years he might sell the team. The Bills have a feeling that they might on ravel. If you’re Rasmus Dahlin, why the fork would you tie yourself to this franchise for a decade right now? Just my $0.02

I don’t think this has anything to do with public figure standard. Not a lawyer. (Unsure if you are either) But it seems like if I were to equate this to normal work it would be me hearing a terrible quote from an executive at work. My colleague says he heard something very similar from another executive. I file an official complaint. And instead of my employer looking into it, they ignore it and lose my job. Which seems to be the essence in this case. I would think I have every right to quote my initial complaint to my employer in a court. EDIT: I think you misread your post and we are saying similar things. There is no possible deflation suit as this is protected language. If that’s what you’re saying then sorry for being a total idiot.

The statement around Pegula is that it was reported to the league and the league didn’t do their due diligence and instead did not extend the employees (Trotter) despite previous promises otherwise. There is no defamation suit to be had because Trotter will say, “I don’t know if he said it. Neither does the league because they swept my official complaint under the rug rather than doing their due diligence. And when I tried to follow up I was blown off and then lost the contract I was promised”.

The pressure chamber for the Bills has been so heavy that one thing I love about the Sabres right now is that there is none. It’s a lot of fun. After the Monday Night game I am really looking forward to hockey.

Just for some clarification, the suit isn’t actually about Terry. There is almost a guarantee that there is no defamation suit coming. Basically Trotter reported what he heard about Pegula through a colleague and what he heard from Jerry Jones first hand to the league. He heard nothing. Nobody every called him or his source on the Pegula quote to verify despite Trotters multiple proactive attempts to follow up on his own. Trotter then started asking Goodell about various DEI initiatives publicly. Trotter then did not have his contract renewed after he was insured it would be. He is asserting that his complaints and follow up to the league are part of why he isn’t employed, and that the league didn’t do their due diligence because they never interviewed anybody about the complaints. Assuming Terry didn’t say this (for the sake of this post) and Trotter is correct here Pegula’s name is being dragged through the mud because of the League’s ineptitude, not Trotter. Whether or not Pegula said it isn’t terribly relevant to the case because the league barely looked into it. But if he did he can GTFO out of my town.

Don't mind me, I will just be over here in the corner being an absolute idiot. Cheesus. hahaha

I actually disagree here. There are two avid memories have around the Pegula's where I in the moment immediately thought "this isn't good". The first is his explanation for circumventing Ted Black and meddling with Regier "Ted Black does not have a monopoly on hockey IQ". The second was at the first game with Terry as owner. Before kickoff they brought him out and the energy was palpable. The first thing he said was something like "please sit/quiet down" and it was fairly quick after taking center field. We had spent a decade or more fearing Ralph's death and the team moving across the country. Give this community a moment to breath in safety on its grounds before you tell us to sit down and shut up. I just remember feeling so punched in the gut. We talked about it in our section with others around us. It just felt like he sucked the energy out of the Ralph. I think some of the energy around both franchises were better once Kim started to take on more control. Unfortunately that has had to change.

I understand the saltiness. Also weird he called in, not even a video. I don't love what it (might) imply about Kim. I don't take that lightly. I almost prefer, for Kim's sake, that Terry dropped the ball by not showing up and Kim's health is actually on the steep upswing.

A couple of things. Terry has been a very bad owner of an NHL team. That isn't koolaide. That is historical fact and not debatable. He bought the team in February 2011, the Sabres last playoff game was April of that year. Since buying the team, Terry has not overseen a single full season where the team made the playoffs. It has been 12 years since the Sabres last playoff game, an NHL record by some margin. The next worst NHL drought is nearly half that (Detroit, 7 years). His NHL ownership has been historically bad. Of course I know Jessica isn't leaving tennis. That was the point. We know Laura has been involved with the Bills for quite some time. There is no real heir apparent for the Sabres which is why I hope he sticks around to see this version of the team through. This is an internet message board not a collection of peer reviewed articles. The entire premise is dialogue and speculation. Until Terry stands in front of a mic and says "The Sabres are for sale" there is no smoking gun, but because there have been rumors and now a restructure, it is a worthy talking point in a (sabre)space like this.

Terry has largely been an abysmal hockey owner. He bought the team under the guise of "If I want more money I will drill another well". Only to consistently meddle. Make terrible decisions. Plus who can forget the infamous "maintain family lifestyle" slide they presented. I have to admit; if he bought the team with that tag line, drove it into the ground by his own doing, only to sell it and create uncertainty around the teams future in Buffalo, I will be pretty salty.* That said I hope he at least sticks around to see this current thing through. It would be nice if one of his kids were competent enough to take it over. I believe Laura is heavily involved in the Bills and maybe the next most competent (Jessica) adult in the family is the third ranked tennis player in the world. I don't get the sense that any of the other children are all that capable of the task. (*, I totally understand their family's current health crisis with Kim. But there has been speculation that he has been trying to sell since before that)