DarthEbriate

Yes. I think if JJP-Krebs-Quinn becomes a full-time thing in the AHL this year, then next year they could be a kid 3rd line ala Vanek-Roy-Afinogenov. Heavy on the o-zone starts. If they lose the draw, they go get it back; if they win the draw, they have some fun. But in order to bring them up en masse, we need the top 6 solidified with advancements by Mitts/Tage or Cozens. Tuch adding the size and maturity. And either a Skinner resurgence (or Asplund sticking in the top 6). Olofsson TBD depending on the contract situation. Whatever the outcome, I hope we don't rush any of them. Cups of coffee this year are welcome, but promote each player individually at their right pace. A good lineup can account for maybe 2 rookie forwards a year and 1 rookie D. We don't want to see all the rookies at once, even if they're all almost ready, because the established vets on this roster aren't able to carry the team on their backs for any extended length of time while rookies go through their rougher patches.

Don't change GMs every 3 years. To rehash memory lane: DR's major failing at the end was drafting and keeping a pipeline going; it basically emptied with the comeback from the lockout. So when you buy the team you either can DR and get a GM to fix the drafting, or you give DR resources to resolve the drafting. Instead, GMDR got Ehrhoff (good) and Leino (bad) to keep the team afloat with little to no up-and-comers to support it. They built on a bad foundation. So then... then they opted to collapse it all. And they let GMDR start that process, too. Then, they started swapping out GMs and haven't stopped (maybe?). Every time you switch GMs you assume 3 years minimum to get things in order because they're going to build their version of a farm system and team. So next time you buy a team... bring in the new GM that shares your vision of the team right then and there. And then stick with the GM for 5-7 years.

Good, goooooooood. But what else is there to do while we're slowly digested by this franchise for a thousand years?

Probably getting too far afield for this thread, but: If you're asking AaRod about anything other than football, prepare to be unamazed. TLJ was great. Probably tried too hard to do too much, but it was a breath of fresh air and it will likely age like ESB (underappreciated at its time, much better after a few years of distance and rewatching). TROS... yeah... it was incoherent. GM Sheevyn has to be taken care of (in whatever way), then make a sinister cameo? I'm not sure how that'll work. But that's why they play the games. Edit: Sinister cameo as the GM of an expansion team? Maybe someday.

That's skipping ahead, though. There's a trilogy in between where Eichwalker is redeemed, the Sabre Alliance still blows up two Cups, and we meet Ewoks. The final trilogy is the dismantling of the next core from old age and cap attrition, bringing in new kids, and the eventual demise of GM Sheevyn.

GM Sheevyn knew, as I did, if Jackikin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him. That is why your savior (and the draft picks gained from the Eichel/Reinhart deals) remains safely anonymous. TBD: Levi! Levi is my goalie! Your insight serves you well. Bury your prospects deep down, TBD. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve GM Sheevyn. ------ Tuch, Krebs, Levi, 2 firsts, and a second are the redemption of Jackikin Eichwalker. And someone throws GM Sheevyn into the bowl of the Stanley Cup at some point. Ahhh... but is that toss into the bowl in celebration? Or does Jack do the tossing when VGK defeats BUF in the Final in four years? The next trilogy remains to be written. This is where the fun begins.

I learned a lot from this saga. <Defeated and broken, needing medical assistance, Jackikin Eichwalker slides down the hot sands on the moon of Vegas.> Oki-pos-obi: You were the Chosen...er... the One Immediately After the Chosen One! It was said you would destroy the rebuild, not continue it. It was you who would bring playoffs to the Buffalo, not leave it with a record drought. <Oki picks up Eichwalker's jersey, dusting off the C, and carefully folds it up. He will hold it for a future skater.> Jackikin Eichwalker: I hate you! Oki-pos-obi: You were my Captain, Jackikin! I loved you. <Jackikin slides further into the burning desert sands of Vegas. Oki-pos-obi walks away to face the rebuild.> <Later... GM Sheevyn arrives, saddened by what has transpired. He directs the league to put Jackikin into a trading capsule, immediately. They race him away to the Vegas medical center for surgery. When surgery ends, Eichwalker is encased in a GOLDEN SUIT of armor. He wakes to find GM Sheevyn is there.> Eichwalker: Where is Reino? Is he safe? GM Sheevyn: I'm afraid, for your anger at the rebuild... I traded Reino. Eichwalker: You shouldn't have. He was fine. Noooooo! <GM Sheevyn smiles.> End credits.

Dang. That was ugly and then really pretty. Toker hung out to dry.

They keep on Bjorkin' but they can't come in / Keep a Bjorkin', but they can't come in.... wait another rebound and try it again. Wooooooo!

We're so slow and indecisive on the PP.

So... every point shot is just going to deflect on in then, eh?

All the other garbage aside, Wilson is a darn good hockey player and forechecker. The slash to keep the puck in the zone. The burst while two Sabres hesitated and another keep of possession. I hope Tuch looks like that when he's healthy.

With his... style... he could be a fan-favorite. You know, if he were an awesome player.

Stop freakin', call Eakin!

Only been watching a few minutes... but we've been outworked, out-hustled, and out-supported by teammates in every loose puck. That is a really bad combination of achievements.

Agreed. And it might have to be for more than a single season (i.e., after one year we jettisoned Hank the Tank because clearly Myers was ready to be on his own, except he wasn't). And while we want the stud defensive/all-around D to be the young guy (the Leddy), it could be OK for next season for it to be an older retread who was a key cog on a contender's blue line but has been chased out by finances. The analytics folks will cry foul, but sometimes the Tallinder is the right play. Or, recently Hjalmarsson or Stralman. Not them now, obviously, as they're going into their later 30s. But you're looking for the guy who's just past 30 who won't break the bank because he's not a playoff hero or an offensive D, but he's got plenty of playoff experience. The Brayden McNabb type (edit: as a UFA), if you will. (Edit: and maybe then Hagg re-signs as a 3rd pairing guy.)

Going into the wayback machine... During the 2019 predraft and I was identifying player names vs. the characters of the galaxy, I noted that "Krebs sounds like an Ewok." I stand by this. So Paploo, Krebs, and Chief Chirpa swing onto an AT-ST....

My preseason prediction of Dell being the first call-up... incorrect. We lost Mitts and Joker in game 1 and called up Murray. I've got to work on my visions of the future!

The odds of successfully attacking a Star Destroyer the Sabres scoring on a goalie making their NHL debut are approximately 65 to 1. The odds of a skater scoring twice against the Sabres in their NHL debut are approximately 3... to 1. But R2 has been known to score goals, too. From time to time.

Per Butcher -- there had to be better options, but we did get a 5th to take him for a season and he's only playing because Joker is hurt. In house, the alternative would be Brandon Davidson. Or maybe give Casey Fitzgerald a look, but I think that he's not as good as Butcher yet. I'm leaning toward a Cozens/Jankowski swap as well once Mitts returns. Get Cozens-Krebs together with a vet who'll work the boards/net front (Mersch, or Murray if he can keep up with their speed) and keep JJP-Malone-Quinn together running amok. When he strengthens up in his later 20s and learns that he doesn't have to just dangle but can go through people, he'll be a Brian Boyle with a lethal wrister and greater offensive prowess. As a 3C that's not a bad thing. I would like to see him with Girgs-Okposo a bit this season, just to see what that combination might look like against some top lines.

I'm not as worried as his points as about what were listed as his flaws at draft day and is he improving on them. Is he standing up rushes at the blue line better or still giving too much space? Is he poking or does he use his size and positioning to separate attackers from the puck? Is he keeping folks away from Portillo? Having just watched Seider neatly take the puck along the boards by using his size/positioning and look pretty impressive in all zones (yes, and also offensively get a game-winning goal) ... I want Power to look like that, and better, in 18 months (when Power is Seider's current age).

Piett's dives last eternally...

If Bloom makes it, I'll have to reread Ulysses and post in a wild assortment of styles and stream of conscious treatments. As opposed to quotes from some sort of moving pictures series.

Every year we ask the same question. Every year, it's the same answer from me: When Kane's contract expires and he wants to be a 2nd/3rd liner PP specialist at a hometown discount in his effort to bring a Cup to Buffalo, sure. If we can't extend Olofsson, then Kane would fill a need in 2023-24... maybe he'd be good with a $2.5-$3M deal for a few years. But you don't even consider this move now. The new core isn't established and Kane is not a hustle/forecheck kind of guy. Now --- IF Kane waives Buffalo on his NMC, and IF Chicago were to give us a 2022 and 2023 unprotected 1st to take his contract... maybe. But then I might look to retain salary and flip him if he's willing to trade a NMC again. But it would make no sense for Chicago to do such a thing (unless they were going to have their 1st forfeited by the league as additional punishment in the scandal and by trading it they were able to help alleviate cap crunches). None of this IF scenario makes logical sense though.

If JJP - Krebs - Quinn can keep together and find continuous chemistry and excellence this season... we can slip them in as Line3 to the Sabres next year. A kid line like Vanek-Roy-Afinogenov (although better defensively) would be incredibly good for this Sabres team.