dudacek

In a season full of down notes, stuff like this is fun to see. Östlund has definitely filled out since he got on stage on draft day looking like he was ready to apply for his learner's permit.

I would imagine this is because whatever happened to Kozak last game is still an issue. I would hope he's not plugged in to Kozak's spot in the lineup, but that has been the case with Rosen's callups. Subbing him for Krebs between Tuch and Zucker would be the best thing for him, but I'm not sure that's the best thing for the team, given the way Krebs has played.

That's a bit misleading. 24 is definitely a young goalie. UPL is 26 and he is still a young goalie. There are only 4 goalies 26 and younger to have played 40 NHL games this year: Wolf, Dostal, Kochetkov and Ersson. Wolf is the only one to do so at 24.

My perception of the sabres relative to other teams is that they score a higher percentage of their goals by 'snipes'. They aren't a high-volume 'shoot from everywhere 'team, or a 'crash the net for rebounds and deflections' team. They are a 'find some open space from 30 feet and beat the goalie' team. And because they have guys like Tage and JJ moving and shooting the puck, they're relatively successful at scoring goals that way. I don't know how "attacking styles" affects xgf numbers, but they must.

Sorry for the clickbait thread title, but @Stoner has poked holes in his super fan status several times since he bought the team. According to a new Athletic article, this is why he switched: Tim Graham with an Athletic piece on the song's 50th anniversary: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6243478/2025/04/03/terry-pegula-sabres-bills-song/ Nostalgic read for Sabres history buffs.

Article in the Athletic on how many NHL people are expecting this to be a summer of offer sheets. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6250562/2025/04/03/nhl-free-agency-offer-sheets-offseason/ It contains this snippet: Peterka will draw lots of trade interest this offseason if the Sabres can’t get a new contract finalized. And if he’s not re-signed by July 1, there’s no doubt he would be an enticing offer-sheet candidate. Allan Walsh happens to be his agent, but out of respect for the Sabres, his client and the process, he wouldn’t comment specifically about that situation. “But I have talked to general managers generally about offer sheets this summer, and some general managers have said to me — one in particular (said), ‘My goal this summer is to do an offer sheet,’” Walsh said. The only question to me here is whether JJ is legitimately interested in moving on, or this is just his agent setting the table for Adams to overpay the man.

So much this. What is fundamentally wrong with building a roster next year that should have no room for Jiri Kulich?

Does everyone think we can count on Zucker and McLeod to produce like 2nd-liners next year? On Norris and Greenway to play 70-plus games? On at least 1 of Quinn/Benson/Kulich to graduate to the 50-point-and-a-plus-player plateau? All at the same time? Substitute a 60-point 2C Cozens for Norris and isn’t that pretty much what Adams did this year?

The issue with the forwards is not about the talent, it’s about the composition. It’s not about the ceilings of Kulich, Benson and Quinn, it’s about having all of them in your top 6 at this point in their careers at the same time. Its about applying the same thought process behind the McLeod trade to this roster a few more times. Fingers crossed Norris qualifies. Its the Herb Brooks thing: I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right players.

This is something that the board still hasn’t quite wrapped its collective head around. None of Quinn, Cozens, Benson and Kulich performed like good top 9 performers this year or provided good value for their role. I know I’ll get pushback on this, but generally speaking, their contributions have been roughly on a tier with those of Peyton Krebs. Look at the numbers. We’ve replaced one of them. Sure they’re young enough to get better, but how many of them, and by how much? Are you willing to take that bet? Again? After this year, I can’t fathom the number of Sabrespacers who seem OK with our forwards.

I'm curious where he's going to settle. Hes going to fall back next year; nearly every one does after having this kind of breakout. The question is what will he typically be over the next 5 years? What I've liked most about McLeod is how often I see him covering and supporting on the backcheck: "oh *****, we're going to get caught.. nope, McLeod is there" On this team it's very noticeable. Tuch and Krebs are the only other ones doing that even half as much as McLeod does.

I've come full circle to the point where this is pretty much all I'm invested in. I mean I'm interested in the stuff away from the games, but I'm not letting myself get invested in the big picture until it actually changes. Even things that I want to see happen — Adams fired, winning the draft lottery — there's no point. We've done things like that before. 32 times happy, 42 not this year — one game at a time, that's how I cope.

Goaltending is so weird. As much of a weak link as he's been this season, he was a strong point last year. It's like after the elite guys, you never know what you're going to get from the next tier. I mean look at Blackwood and Gustafsson and Swayman and Saros. True #1s — such as they exist — don't get traded.

Me neither. I think Cozens desperately wanted to fix the Sabres and I’ll always appreciate that about him.

Meanwhile, what the hell has gotten into Alex Tuch? Goals in 4 straight games and 16 in his last 22? Leads the entire NHL over that latter stretch. Since he and Tage came back from the break after being overlooked for the 4 Nations they are tied for 3rd in NHL goals, one out of first.

The difference tonight was pretty clearly which team had Dylan Cozens 😜 In all seriousness, the bloom has started to come off Cozens in Ottawa after his quick start. Last 9 games his stat line looks pretty Sabresy. He’s got 1 goal and 4 assists, and his goals for % is just 33%.

Goalies look better when the D isn’t giving the other guy easy open looks. Defenders look better when the goalie makes saves. Huh. 🤔

“If Kulich and Benson and Samuelsson and Power and UPL are as good as I think they are, this is a playoff lineup” -overheard Adams to Pegula

Because 'little guys get hurt more, big guys are durable' is one of the more overrated tropes in hockey. You twist your knee sharply at 20 miles an hour, take a slash to the wrist or a puck to the jaw, or hit the boards hard, being 180 or 220 is irrelevant. The second most relevant issue to injuries is play style: how reckless are you with your body? The 3rd is responding to them in a way that maximizes recovery and minimizes any long-term effects: if/how you play through them, take time off, treatment, therapy, surgery etc. Genetics and age play a role in some types of injuries: do you break and tear easily? Heal quickly? But the most relevant factor is luck.

Now do Byram.

I can’t get on board an argument that says Josh Norris is going to miss games with injuries other than a shoulder because he missed a lot of games with a bad shoulder. Come on man, there is no logic in that. There is an obvious injury question with Norris: he’s had 3 surgeries on his shoulder. There is no other injury history. It’s like trading for Eichel: are we confident the neck can be fixed?

I remember the angst about Skinner’s concussion issues when we got him. Guy missed what, 25 games in 6 years? Same with Byram. Has played more minutes than any other Sabre this year. Norris has had 3 shoulder surgeries. The Sabres may have gambled on his shoulder, but his shoulder right now is apparently fine. Do you have some knowledge that his current injury is chronic or threatens to be? Otherwise your case here is pretty thin.

Stop using facts. Back to Power, here is a Dahlin thread from early in his 4th season. Sound at all familiar?

Despite who he plays for, Dahlin’s counting stats and his analytics are very much in the same ballpark as the Norris contenders and his physical play is better. The Sabres are 0/8/2 with him out of the lineup and have been completely lit up on the scoresheet. After O’Reilly, Eichel and Reinhart, I can’t believe people are still doing this stuff.

He's got 17 assists in his past 31 games as an AHL rookie. Looks pretty good to me? But this is the 2nd year in a row his goals and assists line up after having a more traditional ratio before that. https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/535699/noah-Östlund He does have a good shot, and apparently has been encouraged to use it more. He's been the playmaker and driver of his line every time I've seen him.