dudacek

Novikov looked solid, Komarov was very much in command, although he was the weak link on the PP. Very impressed with Mrtka: assertive at both ends.

Östlund frequently has the puck, or is always around it. He was the team’s best two-way forward. Wahlberg was a bit in and out, but there were some puck protections, takeaways and board work that looked very good.

Rosen made one terrific goalmouth play that should have been buried but just didn’t have the puck much, or much impact on the game. Helenius was better, and more involved, but again not much in the way of playmaking.

From the lesser lights: Bedkowski and Brunet were each directly responsible for goals against and were the weak links back there. Laberge is a terrific skater, kinda like a bigger Bryson. Kopf, Savage and Fiddler-Schultz lack skill. Kucharcik looked big and smart

First time, I’d ever watched Leinonen play a full game. He sure looks the part. Marty picked apart a few details, but to my less-educated eye he looked athletic controlled and massive. The goals werent his fault and he made some big saves. It was a good first impression.

The place to talk about Terry Pegula, Kevyn Adams, droughts, ***** announcers, ***** players, ***** coaches, ***** prospects and how ***** the Sabres are in general.

This has no place in the hopium thread. Plenty of of other places to talk about this.

Nothing would be better for the Sabres than Levi making his Ryan Miller move.

Well that makes this signing a lot easier to understand.

I did not know his nickname was Four-giev 😁 Best goalie name since Warren Scoragainstme

See this thread works! Even @PerreaultForever is talking about possible success! 🎇

I suspect the market showed no one else was signing Georgiev to an NHL contract to be a backup, so chances are good he will clear.

Doesn’t change the fact that Georgiev isn’t good and doesn’t really have the temperament of an AHL backup. I also kinda wonder why he signed here to be a #4? Best contract offer? Thinks the other 3 don’t offer much competition? This was definitely the last news I thought I’d be reading today.

I mean, I guess it makes sense from the perspective of we now have 4 “NHL” goalies, which can’t be a bad thing in terms of depth. It gives us the flexibility to trade somebody if need be, and less concern in Rochester if someone gets hurt. And the depth chart works the way @Brawndo spells it out.

Hart's going to Edmonton. It's inevitable, right?

Annual tiers ranking is out, with Ras landing in a group of 7 (with Crosby, Eichel, Heiskanen, Hellebuyck, Jack Hughes and Matthew Tkachuk) at the top of the 2nd tier. Tier one: McDavid, Draisaitl, McKinnon, Makar, Barkov, Kucherov, Quinn Hughes, Matthews, Kaprizov and Pastrnak https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6594913/2025/09/11/nhl-best-players-list-2025-2026-season/ Why he’s here We have been waiting for Dahlin to fully embrace his top-five potential. Our parting words last year were that he had to show the full picture across a full season to return to Tier 2, and that’s exactly what he did in 2024-25. While he started in 2B this year, the insiders rightfully gassed him up to 2A. As one analyst put it, he is an “all-situations, everything player.” Dahlin drives play from the back end. He’s an elite puck retriever who helps shift play from defense to offense. Despite a heavy workload, he makes the Sabres a better team on both ends of the ice. What holds him back most years? His surroundings. “The team he’s on is such a downer, man. They’re so bad,” a coach said. The key is looking through the chaos in Buffalo to see the palm trees. “Dahlin is unbelievably good,” an executive said. “If he wasn’t playing for the Buffalo Sabres, he would be so much more appreciated around the league.” “He shows up, he plays gritty, he lugs the mail, he defends well, he’s mobile, he’s a great skater,” a former player added. “Everything Makar does, this kid does. He just can’t put up 90 points because they f—in’ suck.”

Almost certainly, IMO

Dahlin is a very good defensive defenceman, among the top 10 percent in the league by most analytical measures.

Rivet and Peters sure leaning hard lately into the reasons Tuch shouldn’t be signing in Buffalo. A lot of waffling going on there, but they are hugely pro-Tuch and generally seem skeptical about the report in the OP. Their talk all seems pretty calculated to me. I’m just not sure if it’s driven by an agenda of pushing up Tuch’s value before he signs, or setting the stage for his departure. Peters connections to Tuch and more specifically his agent are strong

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/leone-after-practice-6379066697112

Mrtka boring, Rosen notably thicker and feeling the pressure, Helenius notably cocky in a good way and Leone continues to be one of the most impressive Sabres staffers. All videos from Day 1 https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/mrtka-after-practice-6379065045112 https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/rosen-after-practice-6379071644112 https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/helnius-after-practice-6379073446112

More Hopium in terms of this team outperforming projections, from Dom, the numbers guy at the Athletic. Context is betting odds. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6616541/2025/09/11/nhl-futures-best-bets-win-totals-why-the-sabres-deserve-more-love/ Point Totals and Playoffs Buffalo Sabres OVER 82.5 Points YES Playoffs (+300) There’s no team I like more in this market than Buffalo. While I completely understand the capitulation around the Sabres going into the year, there’s no way I can even get close to these numbers. After 15 years of stink, it may be hard to see, but I think the Sabres will be closer to the playoff race than the bottom five. I have them around 90 points, which puts their odds of hitting the over at 75 percent. It also makes that +300 to make the playoffs extremely juicy. Buffalo isn’t likely to be the Atlantic’s sixth-best team, but I have them closer to 45 percent. ADVERTISEMENT There are two things that the Sabres have going for them this season compared to last year: youth and improved depth. There should be a fair bit of internal improvement forecasted, given how many players are in their prime or entering it, with Zach Benson being especially intriguing going into the year. On the depth front, the loss of JJ Peterka hurts, but his role can be filled internally via growth and is made up for by the holes that Josh Doan and especially Michael Kesselring fill. On the latter front, it feels like the Sabres’ defensive unit — led by a top-five guy in Rasmus Dahlin — is severely underrated. Ideally, Owen Power takes a big step to become a no-doubt No. 2, but beyond him, Kesselring is a huge improvement over what the team was getting out of Connor Clifton and Jacob Bryson. Combine that with an offense that’s first in goals-per-60 at five-on-five over the last three years, and the Sabres could be legit. If they ever figure out how to turn all of that into a decent power play, look out. Just when everyone has given up on Buffalo, it feels like the team has what it takes to really surprise this year. It’s the classic post-hype breakthrough

I think Luukkonen is the most important piece in terms of stepping up, but Power and Quinn are neck-and-neck for number 2

Says he’s spent a lot of time in the weight room, and with the new strength coach. Feels confident in his body and focused on being better defensively. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-owen-power-injury-rehab-partner-michael-kesselring-conor-timmins-brian-galivan-2025-26-season

Oh, I agree. I was not so much commenting on your post itself, it just made me think of how much the personalities of individual fans colour their acknowledgement of this.