Trettioåtta

I mean that makes it worse right? Sheltered minutes against weaker opposition etc. However, I agree he will be fine. Everyone expects a first overall to be a McDavid or Crosby or Ovechkin. But they are all generational players. Look at how Stamkos started his career vs how he plays (when not injured)

I don't know why this was so controversial? Coaches lie all the time about injuries. 'Yeah Jack's got a bad neck, so if the opposition move the puck laterally he'll have a hard time tracking it'

Have we also reported the changes to the scouting department? With the new head of amateur scouting an head of pro scouting (rather than just scouting) - means different person running our draft board this year. Also rumours of more scouts being recruited

Clock struck midnight and our pumpkin team returned

I think Ulmark might need to score a goal too He has basically disappeared off the face of the world. No news about him in any capacity. Does he still intend to play hockey?

Does Dahlin still get the penalty minutes even though they scored?

Sabres don't look that bad...

No it’s not. Let’s not continue this false narrative. Sabres fans are practically equally to blame for the state of this franchise as we insist on driving away talented players with this logic.

They’re not cutting it until they win another game. I think Dahlin started with a buzz cut

22. It sounds like the Sabres are making some scouting changes. At the very least a shuffling, and then we see about external additions. Could be news on the assistant-GM front (Jason Karmanos very much a contender) this week. From Friedman

I think this also comes down to Eichel ultimately - does he want to stay here and push through? It is risk / reward. Risk is that nothing gets better and he wastes even more time. Reward is that if the Sabres win a cup with Eichel, he legacy is even deeper than it would be. The narrative writes itself and he likely goes down as the greatest Sabre to ever live. Whereas, if he is traded, perhaps he goes down as more of a great supporting piece to winning a cup, rather than a the cornerstone. Personally, If I am Eichel I told off for a year if only to get my NTC in place, so I can somewhat control it, rather than end up traded to Arizona for the remaining years of my contract.

We gutted out scouting department to save a few hundred thousand a year. I am not optimistic we will do well with this draft. I think we would be better trading picks for young players.

PLD has even less leverage in Columbus and got traded very quickly. Secondly, ROR was traded for saying endlessly losing eroded his love for the game. If Eichel came out and said I hate losing and I don't want to be a Buffalo Sabre anymore, do you really think the response is 'tough you signed a contract'?

I think Eichel forces managements hand and we get a middling return - e.g. Fox, 2021 1st, 2023 1st and Pajuniemi

Bryson got a lot of praise after the first. He responded by being responsible for three straight goals against. The lesson? Don't praise a Sabre - they don't know how to handle it.

Nice hit by the Dahlin

Dahlin is showing signs of life

Poor Skinner. Can't buy a goal

Dahlin is looking better

Tokarski has looked calm so far - what the Sabres need. He feels reliable. Maybe he will get lit up, but maybe he'll be a decent enough backup to hold us in this game

This could be good for them - few days to articulate visions etc. explain new style of coaching (all assuming they want to implement changes). Some time for reflection and rebuilding

I've never seen a trade so public be so drawn out. Normally news drops minutes not hours before it is announced

Dahlin had a few nice moments

Out of interest, given the assistant coach has been made the head coach - how much real change are we expecting? I would imagine Don had an input on the style of the Sabres play and therefore I expect them to broadly play the same way - e.g. Dahlin passing to wingers and not skating with the puck.

I don't see the Sabres keeping Eichel into next season. Dude is already checked out. What is sad, is if he actually tried this season i think we would have had a shot. He had 6 points in his first 3 games. We lost and that broke his spirit - when we needed our captain to step up and lead this team, I think he just broke and quit. Since then he has 9 points in 15 games. 8 of his 15 points are secondary assists - he is often not the one creating the chances. As for the point about a player of Jack's calibre not making the playoffs for so long - Jack is less than a point per game player across his career and plays mediocre (at best) defence. Crosby can pretty much play with two mops on his wing and he'll make them seem like serviceable NHL players. I am not fully blaming Jack - it is unfortunate that Sam and Skinner seem to be unable to drive lines themselves. But I don't see how you really recover from this.