DarthEbriate

Nicely walked in from Dahlin.

JJ! Meesa snipin’ !

Buffalo needs an Olivier. And it’s not Benson. Benson needs to be scoring more. The Sabres need a bottom 6 punk (who most players are unwilling to fight).

Josh Norris is... Missing in Action. And... I can't find an unaltered gif of Chuck Norris rising out of the water in MIA, M60 panning and firing. So instead, I offer you another, more appropriate Norris. But seriously, he's gonna recover from the abdominal strain or groin tear or hernia or whatever and wreak havoc on his enemies. That's you... Game 82 Flyers. Havoc.

I think the only person you're missing who is poor defensively is Quinn. But, if he's scoring points, especially on the PP, then it can work. Every team can afford to have that one guy who might be a bit of an unplugged controller from time-to-time in their d-zone if they're constantly menacing the opposition team in the o-zone.

Yes, I know this. But based on their operations of the Sabres and the dual-ownership with the Bills which could cause confusion, it's not clear that the ownership does.

And I can intervene in a game after the 2nd period, score three times for the win, and ensure I make the playoffs. Then, I'll sim all the road games and intervene at home as necessary. Jump in in the final 5 minutes to see who gets to carry the Cup this season. Win the Cup each season with all the coolest last names while making incredible bottom-6 GM contract decisions (Justin Bailey and Marcus Foligno to 8x$1.2M) and watch Ristolainen become a 1000 career point defenseman. It's easy!

The only reason would be $$$$$$$$$. Which is too bad, because as a hockey market it's good and as the beginnings of a team (Dahlin, TNT, Tuch, Benson, and even Power with the right partner)... it's also good. The potential is still here.

Does that factor in the first season was only 56 games? Not that it matters, because they finished dead last and had a .330 Pts % that season. He's been such a bad GM. Especially, especially since he claims it's his decision to spend as he sees fit and they're under no financial restrictions. If that's true -- he's not trying to win. Fire him. They've left approximately $58M in cap space available across his 5 seasons as GM. Do or do not and he chooses not.

The entire idea is, "when Power is 25, look out!" Which could work. But by the time you have that, then that version of the team needs to learn how to win in the playoffs, and that's where it falls apart because this roster is in no way, shape, or form, set up to win in the playoffs. So then, you need to wait 2 more years while Adams figures that aspect of it out, by which time Dahlin is a UFA. It's not missing the forest for the trees, it's missing the forest for the continent.

Columbus is (if wikipedia is correct) the #35 sized media market in the US. That's surrounded by cities with NFL/MLB/NBA teams (KC, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Las Vegas, Jacksonville). It's also headquarters for several companies (Nationwide Insurance being the most prominent). There is plenty of corporate sponsorship money available.

Absolutely they should upgrade. But this is GM Sheevyn and goaltending we're talking about. It'll be all about if Reimer wants to be here or retire. ----------- However, Reimer played well all season. His worst month statistically was March, followed by a tiny sample size in December when he lost a 5-5 SO to Detroit. Otherwise, he's been a steady slightly-above-average goalie and an excellent backup. Their failure was waiving him in the first place and then not trusting him with a 60-40 workload all season. It sounds silly, but if UPL starts 47 games, Reimer 33, and Levi 2... this team is very likely in the playoffs -- admittedly as 7-8 by the skin of their teeth, but still in. If Reimer can give you one more season of .900 backup work (25-30 games), he's still a valid and inexpensive option, at least until Levi reaches the games played limit to be subject to waivers.

You also want injury replacements available who have experience with their linemates -- if Kulich were to miss a game, Östlund steps right into the 1C role. Other AHL teams are going to get their reinforcements, too. This entire franchise should be making all efforts to win. (I realize the whole win thing goes counter to EEE.)

Another win tonight for the Sabres and they reach that magical milestone of NHL .500. Which paces for 82 points. Which is bad.

And Sabres fans complain about Luukkonen's goaltending.

Right now, the 2026 UFA list of forwards has big names on it (McDavid, Eichel, Kaprizov). But there's a high likelihood none of them reach UFA -- they'll extend or manage a sign-and-trade. Of the next tier: Kyle Connor, Panarin, Kempe, Necas, Tuch... One more all-around good season, maybe "lead" the Sabres to a playoff berth... Tuch would be one of the top UFAs out there because a few of those guys get extended, too. Guentzel just signed for $9M. The projected cap in 2026 is $104M. Live view of Tuch's agent...

Per the OP: Tuch is a 1W or 2W on just about every roster in the league (FLA being the notable exception with Reinhart/Tkachuk). He will get Selke votes this year. He's streaky, but much more consistent than a Stafford-type with "2 great weeks each season". Now... are you ready to make him the another $7-$8M forward on the team for 7 years? Because if he gets to UFA, he could get significant interest from contenders and an escalated cap. $8M would be possible, depending on if the suitor team has a 1W or not. ---- Per win/lost trades. Eichel is a loss because the goals of VGK was met short- and long-term; likewise FLA with Reinhart. The ROR trade... the long-term and "best" player could quite easily still be won by the Sabres when Thompson's career ends. The short-term (next season Cup/Smythe) was clearly a STL victory.

Bernard-Docker is a pretty good shot blocker, as advertised pre-trade. What he does do better than Jokiharju is a bit of stick 'um. He holds with the opponent longer and ties them up just a fraction longer on dump-ins. That's important for a bottom pair guy who isn't going to get PP time. The issue with Joki is that he was good-not-great defensively, and his "puck-moving" side was exceeded by three top-4 picks on the team so he wouldn't be able to showcase that with any partner. He wasn't the right fit and that's on Adams for not trading him as soon as Byram was acquired. But is JBD all-around more physical? No. This season, JBD has fewer hits per 60 minutes than Joker. Joki throws 3.072 hits/60 minutes to JBD's 2.1. And JBD hasn't registered a hit in the last 6 games. He does have the one sturdy hit/tackle that resulted in a fight --- but 9 times out of ten there's no fight there. Dewar was a recently-acquired-via-trade energy 4th liner getting hit in a 7-2 game and trying to make something happen. (For their careers Joki is 3.462 hits/60 to JBD's 3.386 hits/60 -- so it's closer, but the edge is still to Joker.)

This season's Luukkonen was not last season's Luukkonen. Last year, he was much more positionally sound and let the puck find his massive frame. This year, he was constantly overcommitting and sliding himself out of position. His skaters didn't do him any favors, but he was a significant contributor to their failed season. Speaking of failed seasons, Adams managed all this with $8.246 million to spare under the cap in an "all-in" season. Hope they can roll those savings over to next season like in the NFL and don't have issues getting all those RFAs re-signed.

If McDavid doesn't immediately sign an extension this summer, then NYR might be a fun new location. However, I don't think Edmonton could fathom losing McDavid only to completely replace his current salary with a goalie making $11.5M AAV. Their roster has several other holes to fill, not including an extension for Bouchard. McDavid and Draisaitl together allows you to fill many more roster holes on the cheap because they make everyone around them better.

He stole games 1 and 3. I'd bold Neuchev, too. He's only 21 and is still under 100 AHL GP.

Robinson's goal totals in his NHL seasons: 7, 8, 10, 12, 3, 14. Guess which one was his season with the Sabres. And in that season, 1 of those goals was scored while he was with CBJ.

Here's a fun one. Current contract vs. final contract AAV while with the Sabres Hall $6M ; $8M with BUF (Adams) Jankowski $775k ; $750k with BUF (Adams 750-special) Robinson $950k ; $1.6M with BUF (Kekalainen with CBJ) Jost $775k ; $2M with BUF (Adams) Carrier $2M ; N/A with BUF (traded rights, but would have been an ELC). $2M equivalent to Lafferty's salary this season

William Carrier is out, but the Sabres can welcome back a bunch of ex-forwards: Taylor Hall, Eric Robinson, Mark Jankowski, and Tyson Jost. The Canes 4th line might be entirely former Sabres.

CHL Playoff Goalies The WHL #1 seed Tips woke up after Game 3 and won three in a row to close out Ratzlaff's season. Game 4 he had 38 saves, but the T-Birds were broken early in the third with 3 goals in just over 2 minutes. Game 5 was a parade to the penalty box including a double high-sticking minor by the Other Matej Pekar and a 5-on-3. The Tips scored 5 PPG in a rout. Game 6, Ratzlaff was back on his game to make 47 saves in a 2OT 93-minute contest that the Silvertips won 1-0. Ratzlaff is now eligible for the AHL. In the OHL, Leenders moves on as Brantford closed out North Bay in 5 games. A blip in Game 4 with five goals allowed and 27 saves. Then, 23 saves and only one goal allowed in the clinching Game 5. Leenders and the Bulldogs will face 4-seed Oshawa in the semis.