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The last 5 teams remaining are the last 5 stanley cup champions

I still forget that we started (and ended) this season with two centres. The 23 year old sophomore and the 18 year old rookie. Sure we had Ennis, Hecht, Ott, Gerbe and Leino etc. but we only had 2 real centres. In other words, the Sabres centres had a combined 91 games of NHL experience Yet we didn't finish in the bottom 4

I think Ott prefers playing wing. He prefers getting into the corners at both ends of the rink and grinding along the wall more than playing in the centre of the ice. Ideally you'd have him on the third line with him taking the draws then moving to wing and let Darren Helm take over. Man I so want Helm here. I'd give up the 16th pick for him

Foligno isn't a top 6 forward but tries to play like one. Stafford is a top 6 forward (he has had back to back 50 point seasons for this year and has had 5/7 seasons where he has played around the 0.63ppg mark- that is a top 6) but tries to not play like one Myers is not a shut down d-man. But he has shown in the past that he can shut down the other teams top players. Stafford was on track for 32 points this year, that is his lowest since his rookie year when he put up 27 points (in 41 games). DR should not have foreseen that. Foligno played 30 games this season in a bottom 6 role and still tried to dangle - there is just no excuse for it. I think he will be s frustrating player for a few years until he accepts his role and stops trying be able to do everything on the ice Myers...well who knows about this basket case. I don't buy the narrative that he has been regressing every year, but he was definitely awful this year. I'm hoping it was because of the surprise start and so he was always playing catch-up in terms of conditioning and focus on the ice

I agree. But I think the players are also partly to blame. Stafford is/should be a top 6 - he has proved he can play at that level in the past. Foligno has proved he can use his body to get through defence but would try and dangle 90% of the time. Myers has proved he can skate the puck into the zone and use his size to shut the opposition down.

This is one of the worst articles I have read. I don't understand how people seem to be confused why people aren't lining up to come here and want to leave? It has nothing to do with being a bad organisation. It is because we are not winning. It is that simple. Why would a UFA in the prime of his life or near the end want to play for the Sabres who are not a contending team? Boyes - article forgets to mention he is on a line with Tavares, which is literally the only reason he has had a good season Tallinder - helped the Devils to the SCF by sitting in the press box Campbell - was traded for Bernier and a pick that turned into Ennis, it deliberately leaves out the Ennis part to mislead its reader Lydman - Anaheim has finished 6th, 13th and 2nd since acquiring him. I think their rise to 8th has more to do with their coach Regehr - Why would any impending UFA not waive their NMC to go join the current champs? He had roots in Calgary, hence needing to be convinced. He hasn't lived in Buffalo nearly as long. Such a weak argument Gionta/Conacher - Honestly, people need to be consistent. If we had these guys people would be yelling DR was a moron for getting too small a team. Canadiens fans were yelling it after they got eliminated. Gerbe, Roy, Ennis, Conacher, Gionta all on one team... Orpik - Would be nice to have him, I wasn't aware the Sabres refused to talk to him - is this true? Pyatt - The guy was lost in the shuffle, same as Paille. We still have that problem now, too many meh guys with no defined role. That is on DR. However, if we have too many of them then some need to go. Pyatt got traded for two 5ths basically. It is not a shocker that two 5th rounders never made it to the NHL (C.F. Campbell and Ennis). Pyatt is a good 4th liner, but 4th line players are replaceable. Bottom 6 players are replaceable. Pyatt is not Helm, he does not dominate in the bottom 6, he is just a upper 4th line player Paille - I liked Paille, it is a shame he was traded. I think we chose Kennedy in part because he was a local boy and Paille was not. I don't have a problem with what the Sabres did to Kennedy, to me it was cocky of him to refuse the initial offer and try and squeeze 200k more out the Sabres with one season on his resume. Boston's 4th line is probably the best in the NHL. The other reason Paille struggled here is that he was a 1st rounder, and as a result, I think everyone (management, coaches and fans) expected him to become a Toews and so he was put in the wrong positions Either way this article is horrendous, it excludes details that don't fit its argument, it has an inconsistent logic within its argument and it vastly over represents the impact Sabres players have made on other teams

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/22/holmgren-no-plans-to-buy-out-bryzgalov/

They said they weren't going to buy Bryz out I think

It was his 100th playoff point - that's why he took it. Just so happens he scored it 14 seconds before the end

"It's a frustrating night," Alfredsson said. "But we've never quit, and we're not going to stop now. The odds are against us in every way. I don't think there's much going for us. Maybe that's the way we like it."

That's what i have always read into his comments. I also think he might have an underground layer, perhaps with henchmen

I wanted him at the deadline - nice defensive centre with some speed and he can chip in points

Home ice last change and the fact that there is not a huge difference between teams anyway. Also some teams (LA, Wings for example) are built for the playoffs, which means they are closer in ability to their opponents than might be apparent (if they are a lower seeded team)

Colorado fans are unhappy, Buffalo fans are unhappy... I bet the teams think fans are the most pathetic people on earth. It must be hard not laughing at people when they profess to know the inner workings of a team despite not personally knowing a single member of it But yeah, DR definitely chose not to hire Roy because of his personality...it almost certainly had nothing to do with the fact he has never coached anything more than kids - but he will make a good NHL coach Oh also Rolston is a bad choice because up until a year ago he had only taught kids DR said the fans were going to suffer. So it begins. On a less snarky note - i wonder if Roy's style will he clash with some vets. He can yell and bully kids, harder to do that to a 30 year old

Do we know what the benefits were? So this is basically MC or bust for the nest 5 years. Do people think this was too harsh or justified?

What happened?

This is just Iggy's second trip to the second round of the playoffs. He has scored 10 points in 7 games, which is his second best total for a playoffs. Good for him

In case people haven't realised. The home ice teams are the last 4 stanley cup champions

I missed the first round predictions but i thought Blackhawks (5), Wings (7), Sharks (6) and Blues (5) would go through along with Pens (6), Sens (6), Caps (7) and Bruins (6) As for this round: Bruins in 6 Pens in 5 Hawks in 5 Kings in 7

They shut Perry down. The $8 million dollar man had 2 points in the series - Kronwall just turned him into a goon storming round the ice trying to hurt Wings players. I'm glad that the wings one - now there is one more Chi-Det series before they move to the east

Tavares was called "The next one" in reference to his skill and the Gretzky to Sid, Sid to Tavares link. MacKinnon is more often compared to Stamkos it seems

What are you talking about? He had 4 points in 5 games in 11 and 4 points in 6 games in 10. How many points do you expect him to have? He played injured and got 0 points in 2 games this year. This is hardly like he has choked? If he had like 3 points in his last 15 playoff games then i would see your point You know the Sabres haven;t made it to the playoffs in 4/5 seasons? That's why he doesn't have many playoff points. I literally don't have a clue what you are trying to say

Year - Season PPG - Playoff PPG - +/- 06 - 0.52 - 0.56 - 0 07 - 0.83 - 0.63 - 2 10 - 0.76 - 0.67 - -1 11 - 0.71 - 0.80 - 0 It isn't that bad/noticeable? I'm not too sure what you point is

I'm not so sure they can be used to drive the price down. Most teams cannot afford/do not need Luongo. Kipper is retiring so is basically another Thomas - i.e. he will be traded for his contract and nothing more. The biggest issue would be Luongo being bought out - hence why it is important to trade Miller at the deadline (if we are going to trade him) My list of potential goalie buyers: 1) Edmonton 2) New Jersey 3) New York Islanders 4) Tampa 5) Minnesota 6) Colorado 7) Winnipeg