matter2003

Calgary is going to be not so great next year I am guessing

I think they gave up a lot and I am not sure it makes them better short term...maybe long term but they are going to be running into cap constraints within a year or two.

Hutton was at the end of his prime when he got here in his mid 30s. There really is no comparison between the 2. We were getting Hutton right as he could have been expected to decline(which he did)

Goaltending may have been addressed by a sneaky good signing at a time when Comrie should be entering his prime(or even maybe a year before it). 2nd in the NHL last year in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes to only Shesterkin. If he even is top 15 or 20 for us this year it's a massive upgrade over anything we had last year, where they were in the 50s-70s

I don't know either...that doesn't even make any sense

Thompson is turning into a beast thanks to Granato switching him to center and letting him be creative and taking some responsibilities away from him defensively. I think he scores 40+ next year, especially with the team that ended last year on a 102 point pace over the last 2 months being the team starting out this year with some key additions like Power who only played a handful of games last season and Quinn and likely Peterka.

I think the Rainbow Bridge is still $4, I saw the sign when we took some family that came to visit up to Niagara Falls...the parking has gotten ridiculous tho...$25 now. I haven't used the Peace Bridge in like 15 years or so...almost always take the Lewiston-Queenston bridge...typically far less busy as it's the least well known of the 3. Used to love the Whirlpool bridge as that was almost empty before they made it a NEXUS only bridge.

Yes, most certainly...they also are being very smart and not committing needless long term contracts right now except for their own players they have developed to give them maximum flexibility.

It's a good effort, I just think with so many young players that are going to be up for contracts in the next few years, they are likely going to have to make decisions on who to let go and who to bring back...likely will not be able to keep everyone...and likely will be adding some key UFA's or trade deadline acquisitions when the time is right to help accelerate the build. As long as they don't gut the prospect pool like GMTM and to a lesser degree Botts did while doing so, I am good with it. The way Adams is doing it reminds me a lot of how Regier accumulated prospects and picks and let them develop. Haven't added our Drury or Briere yet to accelerate things but we aren't quite to that point yet.

We also typically used them to trade for players during those times, so I am not sure how this really relates. Having a deep prospect pool only to turn around and trade the majority for players doesn't really help much in the long term. The worst part about it was they seemed to have no real concept of how to build the team, just acquire players, trade their prospects away and have no real sense of how those players would mesh into a team that would succeed. Kind of reminded me a lot of Whaley. Got good players, but they didn't always fit well within the team. The last time we developed our own picks well and had them help the team might be back when Roy, Pominville and Vanek came up from Rochester.

The Sabres have been so much better at getting out of their own end than they were for the last many years it was a joy to watch most times. Every once in a while they get a little too fancy or don't get the puck out but on balance they are really good at getting it out and getting into transition.

I think Savoie is going to end up being a star and likely battling for the top point getter on this team on a regular basis.

If you watched the last 2 months of the season you started to see it.

They traded most of them away during those years. Definitely not happening under Adams.

It hasn't. Only the last few years once we really started drafting well again and with some of the trades that helped stock it up

His FA signings are very smart like Beane's early FA signings were where he plugged holes with guys on relatively inexpensive deals and got a lot for his money. The big FAs will be in play once they start making the playoffs routinely again. But more often than not you overpay for guys in UFA and don't get a good return on your money, then have a contract that kills you for 2 or 3 years at the end of it.

I'd say they are easily top 5, and a case could certainly be made for them to be #1. Just have loads of talent coming up through the pipeline seemingly in every direction and the draft just added more of it. Thoughts?

Sabres are eliminated from playoff contention in the final week of the season, but finish above 87 points on the year. Skinner and Thompson are twin 40 goal scorers. Dahlin is a Norris finalist. Comrie plays much better in net than most people expect and is above average in goalie metrics. I don't think I like the Hutton comparison...Hutton was at the age where goalies start declining. Comrie is just entering his prime.

I don't trust Miller who performed 27 points better than his previous high to repeat that again. Most likely he just posted his career best stat line, they are going to ask a lot for him...some team is going to be suckered into "buying at the peak"

Sabres...we had AHL or worse level goaltending last year and still finished on a 102 point pace over the last 2 months. Think we have a chance to be a fringe payoff team and I don't think that's realistic for the others.

Really like what Adams is doing...more sneaky good under the radar signings that provide depth and grit without hamstringing the Sabres with big contracts. If Comrie can perform at half his level from last year he will be a steal.

I am talking about in terms of when to expect a statistical drop off and/or his abilities decreasing. Sabres basically got him right in the prime when they could have expected his stats to fall off a cliff and to nobody's surprise they did.

Well I've got news for you, no matter who they signed this year they probably weren't getting there so I guess you'll need to see how he performs as a regular first before you dismiss him out of hand. Wonder if you did the same thing with Hasek when they trade for him. Not comparing him to Hasek at all, but just saying... don't dismiss someone out of hand when they performed well in a more limited role. There is a chance he might not be able to handle a bigger role, but there is also a chance he might be able to. And I don't want to hear the Carter Hutton comparison...Hutton was at the end of his prime when he got here Comrie is 27 and just entering his.

Why? For goalies who played a minimum of 15 games last year, Comrie was 2nd in the NHL to the Rangers Shesterkin at goals saved above expected per 60 minutes. Compared to the trash we had on our team last year ranking 51st for Anderson and 57th for Tokarski out of 67 this is a huge upgrade regardless of small sample size. Do some research before posting nonsensical drivel.

Adams continues to make these sneaky good under the radar signings that are going to pay off in a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" way