In The Buff

i feel like ive been reading posts about Adam Henrique being 1 of the answers to our struggles for the past 7-10 years now. Idk what that says about the Sabres, for how long we've needed the same things. Or what it says about Henrique or our posters, but i wish i didnt have to read it anymore lol. Its just evidence of how nothing has really changed from the 2015 years. Would he help? Maybe. I dont think he'd hurt unless we're looking at the financials. He has a 10 team no trade list, are we on it? Probably. Would he be the solution for what ails us? I doubt it. But hey it is 1 thing we havent tried yet so maybe he is the answer haha. On a general level, we just need some veteran players to go with our youth. We dont need to be the absolute youngest team in the NHL. Its not brain science in that regard. But we need vets who can skate & produce still. Doesnt have to be Henrique but just some experienced guys who dont suck to pair with our younginz who will. Eventually you can phase out the vets as your core takes over. The Sabres song remains the same... forever needing a few more acquisitions (including a goalie)

Ullmark is so Buffalo. The Sabres, with a need for solid goaltending that extends back many years, they continue to have the same issues with goaltending, all while they face their former one who has been quite successful on his new team. It must sting that Ullmark has done so well in Boston while our goaltending woes continue. But what can we learn from this? Surely theres something? Ullmark was Linus here as he is Linus there. What is the difference between the 2 teams that contributes to his success (or lack of it with us)? We all know the answer to this question. Problem is that evidently our coach & GM dont. Until we play within a disciplined defensive system, no goalie aside from Hasek will have any chance out there. On this front its hard to see much progress at all.

it'll be a big challenge & i hope they step up, but its hard for me to expect them to. Tbh if i had to bet its probably more likely 1 of them gets injured than turning the teams fortune around. As our issues with size just got worse. I truly hope im wrong of course. As an aside am i wrong for hoping this Tage injury doesnt bring about a Kane acquisition? You can see the storyline playing out for it. Disappointed fanbase, lost its premiere offensive threat. Kane seems like the lowhanging fruit a GM with no ideas would look to.

reading your posts about the fans being at fault for their expectations is ironically the same topic i just responded to in the BILLS forum. Idk how anyone who has lived thru the decades of being a Buffalo sports fan & is still here, how they can be accused of being "entitled" is beyond me lol. I just want to see the team that represents us & our city, play with some passion & work hard & dont make stupid mistakes that fans sitting a mile away can see on a nightly/seasonal basis. We should be seeing improvement as our core guys have played with each other for awhile now. Those excuses of "well theyre young" or "still learning", those dont work as well as time goes on. If that improvement doesnt come, then its the players that need to change or the coaching. As fans tho, entitled as we may be or not, we are simply just witnesses to what the team does. And from time to time, what we witness is well, horrifying haha.

The goalie debate is a lot like the running back debate for the BILLS. If we could just sign a top 3 guy, maybe then we'd be set. Problem is theres not many of those top guys around. So how do the teams with non-elite goaltending manage to be average to good? Play better team defense for starters. Minimize the turnovers, play within a system where everyone knows their role & is disciplined. I think we'd see our goaltending stats improve, just with better play in front of the net. Only goaltender that could bail out this team with all the giveaways & uncovered forwards is Hasek & even then he'd be challenged unlike ever before. Hasek's teams played within a system that suited the roster & all components played their part, and when all were working together, it was a tough machine to play against. This team isnt tough to play against. Might be tough to skate with at times but we need to score 5 goals every night to have a chance at a W it seems.

i remember & i think we could use some of that for sure. However the issue is that you could bench 1/4 of the team most nights. DG has taken the path that mistakes are part of the development process & he's given them a long leash. But at some point this has to change, our mentality, from developing for the future to winning now.

I imagine this wont be too popular but on one hand these deals make total sense, we have our 'core'. On the other our defense is absolutely terrible & now we're rewarding the 2 main guys of our D with elite level deals for about a decade. Its just an interesting paradox i guess. And we're all banking on these later years where these players will eventually be worth their deals, as obviously they are not worth them now. Next we'll hear how teaching defense takes a long time for players to acclimate to the NHL! No argument there but I hope one day to see it i really do because our team could use some elite defensive play. Even average would be nice, but thats not exactly what we're paying for is it? These contracts would feel better to me if our defense wasnt near the bottom of every major category. Thats really all im saying.

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. Its not literally how big our guys are, its how big do our guys play? Size helps & can be a bonus, but things like heart & passion you just cant teach.

i used to think Kane coming here made sense, it'd even be a good story, but we really simply dont need what he gives. The veteran leadership would be nice, but is Kane really the best choice to provide that, if thats what we're looking for? His defensive play is a liability & the offense he can provide isn't that different from what we currently have. I could be wrong but at this stage in his career i view Kane as a more talented Oloffson, but thats likely where i stand. For the cost benefit of what adding Kane would bring, i think we'd get more value signing to strengthen an area of weakness instead.

i voted Dahlin to win because he will score the most points & points historically has been 1 of the easiest ways to differentiate peers, rightly or wrongly. So with that thinking i picked Razzle Rasmus

saw this on twitter fwiw:

ha, edited it 30 seconds after i wrote it. Just saw. Maybe in a couple years we'll revisit Schenn 😛

Schenn was a player i thought KA might sign last year, as a much needed boost for our defensive corp to get us into the playoffs. It didnt happen. Maybe this year? Guess not. Signed 3 years 8.25m to Nashville haha

All good points by you guys, but with the breakdown of our roster is anyone concerned with these contracts we'll become the reverse Leafs? They have their top end contracts weighing them down with their forwards. We may have ours with our defense. Inverted Leafs? Tough decisions to be made. I'd think KA takes a lesson from how he handled Dahlin & tries to lock up Power for longer now. I cant see how his decision making with Power isn't influenced by what he learned with Dahlin's negotiations. What that means in terms of specifics, i'll leave that up to you guys 😛

Is this the 1st time Jack's been part of a team that has won something? Wait i believe he was part of the US Junior squad that took gold some 10 years ago. You'd think a player as great as Jack would've had more team success to speak of in his career. The fact that he hasn't is a story in itself i suppose. I'm sure he's ecstatic, but Vegas winning the Cup seems less to do about Jack & more to do with the rest of the Vegas squad. In fact, Vegas had they not made the trade very likely couldve won the Cup anyways with Tuch & Krebs on their roster. Did Jack really provide Vegas with more than what Tuch would've? But yes i was one of those rooting against him & Vegas. Im just glad he didn't win the Conn Smythe like ROR because that mightve been too much for me lol. But I dont hate that he won & i wish him no ill will. I do wonder what to do with my Eichel jerseys tho. Figured keep 1 for posterity & maybe add a letter in front of his name? F might work. No ill will i swear haha

Polls are great mechanisms to gauge fan's opinions fwiw! Taro hit it on the head imho. We could've used Kane's offense years ago, not so much anymore. Now we could use a player with other traits. Power 2 way forward, PK specialist, vet D etc. If Kane wants to come here for vet minimum sure. Thats really the only way it makes sense at this point & thats not gonna happen.

anyone needs a link for the game send me a dm GO AMERKS!

Anyone who needs to can watch the AHL playoffs on 1 of the hockey stream sites i use. If anyone needs a link, dm me & i'll check back before gametime. GO AMERKS!

Levi's height or lack-thereof doesn't seem to be an issue because he's so quick & agile & technically sound, he can make up for it or diminish its negative impact. The real test will be when players start scouting him for weaknesses & they start going up high on him. Will he be able to adapt & take it away? So far in his career it hasn't been an issue. It makes sense why teams would love a 6'7" guy in net, but truth is most of those guys can't bend their bodies like a Devon Levi can. This game is fast & you need to react fast. UPL sleeps thru a goal once a night, wrist shot past his glove hand, every single game it seems. Yet he'll make the difficult save when u need it. If he could clean up the soft goals, he might be a decent NHL goalie. Anyways Levi it is in a landslide!

yeah he did: https://www.yahoo.com/now/nhll-sabres-craig-anderson-41-years-old-53-save-win-vs-former-team-panthers-053449056.html I've been leaning Levi or Comrie but you've given a compelling reason for Craig.

i wasnt sure where to post this so i made this thread, but who does Meatballs start vs Florida? Levi or Comrie? UPL hasnt been terrible vs Florida with a GAA of 3.04 and a save percentage of .909 versus the Panthers last time out, but he just played so if you're DG who do you start?

Joki just got tossed aside

great win!