DarthEbriate

Benning built a mess contracts (4th line of Eriksson, Beagle, some other guy) that made our LOG line look like a powerhouse in the midst of KO's injury-seasons, then went about extending Myers to a 5x$6M with no movement. Then traded those expiring 4th line contracts for OEL's contract. It was madness. Throw in an ownership group that doesn't have a clue... They want to be a playoff team when they should be unloading for Bedard. Horvat should want out. Pettersson should want out.

Under double Tuch's deal by cap hit, sure. If GM Sheevyn offers Cozens a 7x$4.75M, then Cozens' agent should immediately counter with a 2-year bridge and a trade demand to a team willing sign an extension 8x $8.5M+. GMs would line up for it. And if the Sabres play hardball, then look to sign an RFA offer sheet ASAP.

For those of you who are Bills fans -- good luck today! Home game, banged up Bengals o-line... go get 'em!

Throw in home v. Carolina before the All-Star break and anything 3-2 or better is a good run through a tough gauntlet. The good news this last week is that the main competition is scuffling. PIT and NYI are treading water the past couple weeks and WSH got blasted in Vegas with Ovechkin out of the lineup (it didn't matter that Tom Wilson and Nickulas Backstrom had returned to the lineup). The hot teams right now are Florida and Philadelphia and the hope is that they revert to their inconsistencies while the Sabres win their games-in-hand over them.

I've tried to keep it mostly to centers (I threw in Tkachuk because of play-style and captain-potential). I thought Thomas and Kyrou but they're both on 2-year bridges already and are a few years older. I added Tage, but he falls into that same (STL-based) bridge bucket. I also left out Elias Pettersson because he was offered a 3-year bridge deal because Benning wanted to pay multiple 4th liners $3M instead of locking up his nearly ppg center. Some more comparisons to consider (with an extra-fun one!): $10.0M cap. 8yr/$80M - 57 pts in 61 gms in the season before signing (1 year remaining on rookie deal) -- Jack Eichel BUF $8M cap. 8yr/$64M - 31 pts in 56 gms in the season before signing (1 year remaining on rookie deal) -- Jack Hughes NJ $7.142 cap 7/$50M - 68 pts in 78 gms in the season before signing (1 year remaining on bridge deal) -- Tage Thompson BUF Cozens is matching or exceeding the production of all of these players listed except Aho and Eichel and he's going to start getting Selke votes soon as well. And he's doing it with 20 year-old wingers and 2nd line minutes.

There is a ton of time before we really need to think about this, but the front office should be thinking about it everyday. Our imperial officer is growing up fast! Cozens is showing enough (the offense is catching up, the PP work is there, the feistiness and grit, guiding 2 rookies much of the season) for quite the contract. He has the all-around skill set to become a 1A to Tage's 1B. Tage gets the easier matchups, Cozens handles the opposition's top line in playoff series. But how much cash are the Sabres willing to show him? How much cash do you show him? Cozens is currently 41 pts/44 gms, with PP1 time and 2 rookies on his line. Points per season: 13, 38, 41 (in half a season). Good news from a team perspective, you have to sign him this year (before the cap potentially jumps a bunch, because you'll need that space for Rasmus). Comparisons to consider: $8.4.54M cap. 5yr/$42.295M - 83 pts in 82 gms in the season before signing the deal -- Sebastian Aho CAR $8.350M cap. 8yr/$66.8M - 58 pts in 79 gms in season before signing (1 year remaining on rookie deal) -- Tim Stutzle OTT $8.205M cap. 7yr/$57.5M - 36 pts in 56 gms in season before signing -- Brady Tkachuk OTT $7.95M cap. 8yr/$63.6M - 55 pts in 65 gms in season before signing -- Josh Norris OTT $7.875M cap. 8yr/$63M - 41 pts in 56 gms in season before signing (1 year remaining on rookie deal) -- Nick Suzuki MTL

Stupid NHL Network. I'm hit. I can't stay with you (except with a bit of audio in the background). Go Sabres! Central is the best. Football starts at noon. For kids, the night games end before bedtime (in non-OT/extra innings cases). The Midwest is like a good porridge: it's just right. Here on the West coast though, you can watch sports all day and still do things or eat dinner in the evening. It's pretty convenient. Just have to get used to cracking open the first beer at 10 AM.

Hockey? At 930 in the morning? General, count me in.

It's still important to follow Eichel and Vegas because the Sabres still have the 2023 2nd round pick. The worse Vegas does, the more options Sabres have to choose from in the draft. Balanced by the under-hyped Samuelsson and Tager.

He's more machine now than man. Buses can't hurt him.

Agreed on Hino getting to choose what to do. And if he does report to Rochester, he automatically becomes the first callup for any forward injury that lasts more than a couple weeks. (And...his high speed forechecking would really help teach the kids in Rochester, too.)

Ideally, yes. But I kept it at 2-1 because the Sabres would still mathematically be within striking distance of the Isles with the 3 games in hand if they won all of those games in hand. The Sabres already need help from someone (say PIT since they're already flagging) faltering down the stretch. And of the 6 remaining games amongst their chief competition for the final wild card, they must go 4-2 or better and really cannot even afford to go to OT in any of those wins (vs 3NYI, 2WSH, 0PIT, FLA1). Now... if a goalie gets hot and the top line reignites and the defense/PK tighten up and the Sabres go on a 15-3-2 bender in their next 20 games (December on repeat)... well then, they're right back in it.

Absolute must-win for playoff hopes. 3 games against the Isles and need to take 2-of-3 without the third going to OT to make up ground, otherwise the games in hand become meaningless. Same with PIT, WSH, and FLA. The team has risen up for every big/event game since the outdoor game. Let's hope it continues.

The Sabres have played no defense against Toews-Raddysh-Kurashev tonight all night. This is a game that should've been over after 2 periods, but so little energy and attack in the third.

Joker needs to wait for traffic to get to the crease before his point shots.

Annnnd... once the top PP unit was out, it was dreadful. The Hawks controlled the puck once PP2 came off.

Their only line going is the Toews line and they're matching them up against the 7s line as much as possible, as they should. But overall, the Sabres have responded to losing Dahlin for 10. No Dahlin on the PP. Let's see how they operate.

He skated to complain to the ref after the goal, but went through the Hawks' gathering goal celebration huddle to do it.

The shots were 20-5 with about 6 minutes left in the period and the Sabres started coughing up every puck to close the period.

Gotta wake back up for the third. Don't let the tankers hang around.

Decent. Trying to give the Blackhawks a chance to get back into the game with the giveaway. But otherwise, this is period is a domination except for the score.

This team has had reason to believe when they've had a goalie worthy of it. Completely different play when they had Ullmark vs. Hutton. Last season, Anderson calmed them all down and they rallied around Houser, but Toker, UPL, Dell last season all resulted in lesser team play. This season, UPL has gotten the team's rallies and confidence (and Anderson to an extent, too). Unfortunately, Comrie hasn't yet earned their trust and it shows (and the D-corps injuries hurt for few starts there before he was injured). The best thing that can happen to the Sabres is Comrie getting back to game speed and getting hot. It would chase UPL back to the AHL where he can get reps and continue to work on rebound control and quicker setting on long-range shots, remove the logjam of healthy forwards, and hopefully lead to lots of wins.

The 7s line has been their best all-around line the last week or so. The Kids needed a reset, the Tage line has struggled against good defensive pressure, and the Krebs and the vets line has been dismantled by roster moves/injuries. If the 7s continue to provide good forechecking, continued competence in their own zone, and a goal every other game at even strength, then that RFA deal for Jost could get pricey (and also worth it).

The lack of NHL-contract/prospect controlled D is systemic of drafting and not hitting on some AHL-level guys, and started back with JBott and Housley. The first JBott draft got Laaksonen (moved for AHL-equivalent but defensive in Ceccione) and Bryson (7/8). Only 6 picks, though. Second JBott draft Dahlin (obvious pick and a 1D) and Samuelsson (2/3). Then the 3 guys who never crossed the pond (Kronholm, Kukkonen, Worge Kreu). So far, great for the NHL. 2 drafts and a future top-pair and a depth guy. But no AHLers except Ceccione via trade. JBott's third and final draft is where it went awry: only 1 D in only 6 picks. Ryan Johnson, still in college and may not sign. That is the draft we'd expect to have folks in the AHL (as Rousek and Cederqvist are), but there are 3 players still in college. Finally, GM Sheevyn's 1st draft only 1 D chosen in Lyckasen. The next draft was Power who skipped the AHL entirely, but there's only 1 other D chosen (Novikov) and he's still too young. Not enough picks devoted to the position. The positive side: Pilut returned from the KHL. The negative: Fitz got claimed off waivers otherwise that Amerks D lineup would be pretty solid. Karmanos made a very shrewd move to get Bartkowski when the injuries hit earlier this season and Laaksonen was still on his way out. And Clague is good enough to be a 7/8 and would get claimed if waived. One more UFA NHL D signed this past summer might have flipped the balance though -- a 3rd pair of UFA + Boushh, Bryson as the 7. Then AHL top 4 of: Pilut-Fitz, Prow-Clague (and could still get Bartkowski when the injuries hit). It still wouldn't address the lack of rookie contracts in the pipeline though. I do expect to see at 2 of the Sabres top 4 picks go toward the blue line this summer.

That's the question. There aren't many Tim Murrays in this world.