DarthEbriate
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Posts posted by DarthEbriate
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3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:
I'm not convinced Eichel signs there just like Kane never signed here.
Me either. I think he'll extend in Vegas as one of the guys going after a Cup rather than try to go home and have to be the savior (granted, with Pasta) on a rebuild on the fly. I'm just saying I can envision a path where Boston could flip it around fast, as the Kings and ... even the Habs...??? have.
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3 hours ago, dudacek said:
I have no idea what the Sabres think of McQueen’s health, but if this is the way the top 8 drops, McQueen at 9 makes a mountain of sense in terms of upside and need.
Like most of you, I think Martin would be ideal, but I would be good with this.
If the Sabres were a good playoff team that held the 9th overall by trade/happenstance, yup, go for it.
But they are not. He had the back fracture injury, then returned this season only to have a separate lower-body injury which he suffered an additional setback. Norris is already going to miss at least 20 games per season; the Sabres can't afford to have this pick turn into only a "what if".
https://rg.org/news/hockey/how-roger-mcqueen-could-be-a-steal-at-the-2025-nhl-draft
Personally, I skip him in the first round.
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Bud Light got hosed in Bud Bowl II.
Budweiser fumbled the snap forward into the end zone as time expired and then recovered it for a game-winning TD. The Holy Roller rule in 1979 would've called that an incomplete pass in as would have applied in the 1989-1990 seasons when the game was produced, and today it could have been recovered, but not advanced beyond the spot of the fumble itself. Bud Light won that game.
Am I the only one who gives a #### about the rules?
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17 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:
They won't. That team is a patchwork of players. They'll need 3-4yrs to fix it.
It is, and I hope it takes them 20 years to get back. But, they also don't have Adams as their GM nor are they EEE, and they have $34M to fill a couple of the major holes in their lineup this offseason while still being a lottery team.
I can see a path for them to revive quickly, depending on a handful of key things:
- McAvoy/Lindholm return as 1st-pair capable D-men
- Swayman regains himself
- Buyout or trade/retain on Korpisalo and Mittelstadt
- Hit on their first this year (and 2 firsts next)
- Then, add an Eichel.
I admit, that's a ton -- but it's no more far-fetched than any rebuild on the fly. Pastrnak gives them a legitimate point-per-game guy with seemingly any linemates and a one-line team can do damage in the regular season. The D-corps returning and Swayman returning to his potential track is the key.
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1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:
9. McQueen
Unlikely impo. I think McQueen makes a ton of sense because they are very aware of the guys they have.
This draft selection has the scent of, "Buffalo has TNT, so of course they'd go for another super-tall shooting center -- imagine if they had two of them" and not the realization that the Sabres have already moved TNT to the wing.
I'm thinking the Sabres are scared by the back injury (Eichel Redux!) and it's a different team that looks at McQueen and says to themselves, "There's an injury risk, but maybe we can have our own TNT."
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58 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
One big lesson in the Sabres failed rebuilds is the loss of the players (leaders) that had success wearing the Sabres sweater. Watch Boston rebuild with Pastrnak and McAvoy. They will build around them, they won't tear it down to studs.
Not only success... as it could be argued Eichel/Reinhart/ROR had no success with the Sabres. But, they were far and away the best forward talents on the team and in the two #2s, getting better year-after-year as well. Boston won't make that mistake with McA/Pasta, and they won't move Swayman except to go get a #1 goalie immediately thereafter.
I do think Boston would happily have one more down year, get a lottery pick which they'll miraculously win up to get #2 overall (Pitt is in full tank mode and is going 1st with McKenna). And then, maaaaybe, they add Eichel to pair with 2026 #2, 2025 #7, and they're right back into 3rd in the division.
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On 5/7/2025 at 6:06 AM, Drag0nDan said:
My thing with Mittelstadt is, if you keep him you don't trade for Mcleod. Who would you rather have?
They could easily have afforded Mitts and McLeod’s salary this season if Byram isn’t on the team. If they wanted to stay lean, then don’t sign Lafferty. McLeod still would’ve been the 3C/PK specialist of the bunch.
edit: It would have meant Joker was a top-4 D man all year though or another guy would’ve need to be brought in aside from Gilbert.
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16 minutes ago, inkman said:
I’m leery of Brady Martin still being there at 9. If I was drafting 5-8, he’d be my target.
It all depends on McQueen and whether a team really likes a defenseman not named Schaefer.
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The Kings bottomed out but they kept Kopitar. And Quick. The Sabres had ROR but never let him play a game with Dahlin. They had Eichel. And they jettisoned Miller way back when (granted, he alone probably keeps them out of the McDavid sweepstakes, but still) and Ullmark later. The Kings were smart about keeping top end players to show the way.
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27 minutes ago, WhenWillItEnd66 said:
Ok, so i am going to be the unpopular opinion. I am going to ignore WHO HE IS and WHERE HE CAME FROM!!! Bare with me here.....
He was an exceptional player that played a brand of hockey that this team desperately needs. He is widely respected league wide (With the exception of Buffalo). He is someone OUTSIDE the organization that a lot of folks have been screaming that we need to add without recycling same people. He is and was a WINNER in every league and tournament he has been in. His knowledge of the game is also highly respected.
I get his Buffalo tied past. I am sure he knows it as well. How much does that say for an individual that knows he is going to treated like a second class citizen by many fans of the team he joined. I honestly believe this could be a good thing for the organization and for himself.
I also understand the bias against him. I am a day 1 fan and hate the Lames as well, but he could bring an outsider insight that is highly needed for this team. I am sure i will be lambasted for my thoughts, but does it really hurt? If he can guide our GM to make 10% better decisions to help this team, then it is a win.
There are potential positives that he can bring. The main problem is that the role he's hired for is for players to learn the front office/hockey ops. It's an apprentice. He's there to learn from Adams.
In Colorado, it's Andrew Cogliano (retired just last year) -- but Sakic and MacFarland are well-established and have loads of success. But that's a top team.
So, let's do a rebuild team: San Jose. The closest is Patrick Marleau in a "Player Dev and Hockey Ops Advisor" title. But Marleau can learn from a pretty qualified group. Grier has 3 assistant GMs, a Hockey Ops Advisor in Doug Weight who has been a head coach in the NHL and been in front office activities for 6-7ish years already. And then, Grier has 3 senior advisors (Tim Burke who's been around forever and built the excellent Marleau/Pavelski teams; Todd Marchant who had 10 years in the Ducks front office before joining the Sharks in the last couple years; and Ryan Stewart who went from scout to Dir. of Pro Personnel with the Chicago Blackhawks over the course of 15 years).
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They’re keeping the Utah on the road whites, eh? Not a fan of that. Embrace your logo. It’s good. Flipping shoulder patches feels busy.
They need a 4th color for accents and for the alternate jersey when they’re compelled to make one. It’s drab right now.
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2 minutes ago, Berg said:
They did everything to destroy the team...
They haven't traded Dahlin for futures yet.
In theory, it could all stick work out. Levi could come up and be a .917+ guy, UPL could bounce back to be .910, Power could settle into the game in his own zone and be back to a + player. The PP could go from awful to just below average. And they could do all this without sacrificing their own offensive prowess 5-on-5. But contrast that with, the Sabres are neck-and-neck with the 3rd/4th teams in the Atlantic and suddenly their opponents dress the starting goalie, ratchet up the intensity, match lines, and target Dahlin and TNT repeatedly leading to "get them off their game". This perennial youngest team in the league doesn't handle those situations well.
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6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:
Analytics added McLeod.
If analytics were the addition of McLeod and Karmanos and Ventura both exit, it would be safe to assume he'd be a lower priority extension amongst the RFAs.
He'd be easy to snare away by a GM with a top 1C, a hole in the 2C/3C role, and a late first round pick to make an offer sheet. For example, his speed would look really good for Carolina -- who already have an extra late 1st in 2026 because of Dallas/Rantanen deal so they can move their own.
Norris, Kulich, Krebs, Kozak worries me. I like them each individually in some capacity. I think all can be elements of the same lineup. I would despise it as the center spine for next season's opener.
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40 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
Please tell me that the Special Assistant is not the Advisor that is mentioned in the other thread.
Rick Dudley is an executive level Advisor. Eric Staal is the new guy that is learning and should handle things for Adams but not have a big impact on strategy and planning.
Following the Florida hierarchy:
Staal is the Special Advisor (Assistant) = Roberto Luongo (who has been in the role since 2019 - Panthers legend, retired jersey #, etc.)
Sabres TBD is a Senior Advisor = Rick Dudley and Paul Fenton with Florida
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With the lottery results known, the Athletic NHL writers collaborated to do a draft in Pronman's new piece.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6335303/2025/05/05/nhl-mock-draft-2025-schaefer-islanders/
At 9, Matthew Fairburn selected C Brady Martin for the Sabres.
Others still on the board: McQueen, Smith, Nesbitt, and Eklund. Bear slid to 17 and the Habs with the Achilles injury.
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4 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
Most teams have Hockey Operations that consist of combinations of POHO, GM, and executive level Sr Advisors, Advisors, etc. The Sabres run and austere organization in comparison.
For Example: Last season Rick Dudley was an advisor to Bill Zito in Florida. He is still there I believe and he has served in executive roles on 7 other NHL teams as well over the years.
Beat me to the point. The Florida front office has multiple advisors to GM Zito. He doesn't operate in a vacuum.
Kevyn has been operating in an EEE vacuum, to the detriment of all of us and to himself. He was a first-time GM and he had no one and he started with a coach named Krueger. I don't pity him because he's not shown well of himself, but he has been at a disadvantage compared to real Hockey Ops departments around the league.
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10 minutes ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:
I do hope that Dahlin asks out, the draft picks don't sign and we legit have 13 fans in the arena on game nights for the foreseeable future.
This is the most unorganized Cluster of an organization I've seen in a professional sense.
Wonder if anything would be different if Kim didn't have her health issues.
If I'm an RFA, I'm signing a 1-year offer sheet or going to arbitration. I try to get to UFA as quickly as possible or show through my signings that I should be traded, because I don't want to wait until Power is 26 years old. My career could be crushed by injuries and over by then.
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I can honestly say that my retooling plans did not have Eric Staal in them.
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5 minutes ago, Taro T said:
Mmm, lemonade. But why does it have a nutty aftertaste?
I really hope this question has a palm tree joke punchline (edit:) for an answer.
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16 minutes ago, Thorny said:
As far as I’m concerned Dahlin looks like a moron
Depends on the depths of their conversation. If Adams told him: I'll get a goalie, a RHD for Power, and a top-6 forward with experience and Dahlin says, "Yup, that's what we need," then I don't worry about it.
The problem is that when Adams sells that as Levi, JBD, and Norris come September, while playing the Palm Tree & Taxes card, does Dahlin finally say, "Trade me." like the many captains before him?
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I wonder if all this was part of Adams' talk with Dahlin on the direction of the team at thend of the season. I wonder what Dahlin will think when these moves come to pass and it's just Adams and a cadre of friends and USNTDP guys. I wonder what Dahlin thought of Staal's efforts as a teammate.
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1 hour ago, Weave said:
Like I said, this is the hockey equivalent of a performance improvement plan. One missed goal and he’s gone.
I doubt it, because the issue remains that Adams is the person who listens to Pegula. He's still involved even if he's inept, unless the new person can somehow build up that rapport that Adams nurtured with Pegula over the course of 15 years now.
1 minute ago, That Aud Smell said:Lance says Karmanos is a goner.
"The Sabres have needed experienced advisers around Adams since he started, and associate general manager Jason Karmanos may not return to the organization in 2025-26, sources also told The Buffalo News. He wasn't involved in exit interviews or owner Terry Pegula's end-of-season discussion with Adams and Ruff. Jerry Forton, previously the amateur scouting director, added pro scouting duties last summer with his promotion to assistant general manager. "
Talk about burying the lede.
Uffda
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I think I have my nicknames for the Special Advisor and the Senior Adviser.
And I apologize for taking the Muppets names' in vain.
Staaltler and (TBD: Waldorf).
They're in the theater, right close to the action, interacting but not exactly helpful to the act on stage.
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8 minutes ago, inkman said:
He never bothered to show up for an entire season in Buffalo. Feels like that should have been enough to eliminate him as a candidate.
And Adams had to convince Staal to get traded to Buffalo in the first place, so clearly the motivation was there right from the get-go.
The only silver linings I have are: 1) Staal only just left the ice so he can provide a bit of pro scouting, which is something Adams' regime has been pretty poor with (see Staal as player), and 2) a seemingly-useless role being added indicates that money is available to spend. Maybe it's the beginning of the end of EEE.
Those both feel like pretty big reaches for silver linings to me. It's just hiring a friend.
2025 NHL Entry Draft Thread, Sabres Draft 9th
in The Aud Club
Posted
No one seems to be stating whether the injuries are related. Lower body could also be related to the back.
I'm just risk-averse with the injury history for a team that employs Norris, Greenway, and Samuelsson, and doesn't use LTIR or spend to the cap.