DarthEbriate

Turnover is expected. And given the constantly changing GMs, the turnover should be much higher than league average. The issue is the turnover of legitimate building-block players in their prime -- the top-6 and top-4 and starting caliber G types -- and replacing them with lesser players or futures picks that have yet to appear. You can definitely lose one or two of them because they've outplayed their previous contracts and you simply can't afford to keep them with your core and under the cap. I'm going to go back to the 2018 trade deadline just to add a couple more, but in the last 3 seasons here are players in their prime we've simply moved on from: Kane (on-ice 20G+/season Kane, not off-ice Kane); O'Reilly; Reinhart; Eichel; Scandella, Ristolainen, (arguably McCabe as a 4D); Lehner, Ullmark The total "acquired" talent for this group of players so far that's currently on the roster (they're all still active in the league): Tage Thompson, Robert Hagg.

Announcing is fine. Game presentation is fine. Overhead cam is fine. ESPN will be fine. Better than NBC/NBCSN. Oh... but the NHL on ESPN theme music coming back? All the feels. Love that.

When you have a top-flight goalie you can lean toward offense and trust him to play to his best level, too.

Good. There's no need to name a Captain. For the past 25 years, every time we get one they get injured or disconnected and get run out of town Force-choked out of command of their Star Destroyer. Let's have some fun for a bit before we get into our weird Capticidal promotion strategies again. And... have someone earn it this time.

No, no. Not a story. It's a joke for anyone who gets cut, traded, waived, left behind on a road trip, etc. in the next year or so while GM Sheevyn is in charge on account of how often he's stated that. You blocked a shot, broke your foot, and will miss 6-8 weeks? Don't want to be here!

In summation, the Sabres sent JJP down (the right move) and let Jonsson-Fjallby go (apparently because he didn't want to be here). But no one on waivers was better than Butcher? Than Eakin? Than Hayden or Bjork or Hayden? Than current-day Cozens (who probably could really use time as a 1C in the AHL)? Barre-Boulet was less talented than all of them, excluding Butcher? Heck, even Ruotsalainen is still waivers-exempt according to Capfriendly if they were worried about getting too small in stature. The thing is --- no waiver claim was going to improve this team by 10+ points in the standings. Collect more talent! And I say that all with the caveat that Eakin had his best game in years between Okposo and Girgs in the preseason against fellow bottom-dweller Detroit. His ability to win a faceoff is insignificant next to the power of a team deficient of scoring.

This is the right move for JJP and his development. Let him get PP1 and also PK time and fully acclimate to the speed on the smaller surface. And let him enjoy some wins, too. He'll be back in Buffalo soon enough.

Tanking is a point of view, Anakin. The Sabres brass? Absolutely not. To them it's a rebuild with a first-time GM/coach combination focusing on the young core. Blank slate. Me? Also. They were in last place and have been a bottom-feeder for 7 years and running. They're the Oilers pre-McDavid. Just because they sold off some veterans (Reino, Risto) and their best goalie left in free agency and made no splashy move to get better in free agency doesn't mean they are tanking. They're budget-cutting and expecting to lose. But tanking requires a downward trajectory compared to your competition, selling off a core that already has you competitive, and being a team with expectations. We already did all that for Reinhart and Eichel.

Catching the 1st/2nd that I missed yesterday: I really, really, hope Okposo stays healthy all season. Girgs, too. Thompson at center and looking OK at it. His move off the wall, ripping a shot, was Jack-ish minus the display of power to shrug someone away. JJP's deflection was what made the difference, however. JJP has earned a spot, but I'd still send him down to Rochester to form a Qui-(go)nn Jack and Jar Jar.... (It really should be R2 to become our Phantom Menace line wandering the streets of Mos Espa. I can work with that.) Hayden will skate regularly, even if it means sending a talented player (JJP) down. Is he a JAG? Yes. But he brings something no one else on the roster does. The roster needs just a bit more tenacity/grit for balance. Bryson/Miller is a pairing too high, but they did play pretty well. This team needs Samuelsson, but I'd still send him to Rochester to play a bunch.

Can Girgs and Old Ben Okposo make Eakin into an NHL center? (I’d rather it be Asplund or R2 or Cozens.) but maybe that’s what they’re thinking.

If this minimum limit is truly a rule, then Carolina must be punished for it -- whether they thought COVID would prevent games or not. Just compare this to the NFL. Goddell and the owners/players would be upset if one team had a) the opportunity to generate additional revenue and DIDN'T and b) had their players subjected to additional risk of injury while Carolina did not. If you want to circumvent the injury risk, just ice an AHL squad all preseason (see half the NFL teams). But to purposefully play fewer the mandated games? That's absurd and should never happen. Take their 2022 1st round pick. They'll schedule their preseasons out a decade in advance.

And competing GMs are doing their jobs. I hope Sheevyn doesn't cave too much. But as another GM I wouldn't meet the 4-firsts equivalent asking price for an injured and disconnected/discontent player who makes a boatload of cash and will soon be more difficult to move. If I get this trade wrong as a GM, I might find myself fired.

ESPN+ is fun. Watching 10/6's CSKA vs. Dynamo game. Sergei Fedorov is coaching CSKA and one Mikhail Grigorenko. Pertinent to our prospects: Novikov is skating as the 7th D for the big Dynamo club. Per the stats page he had 7 shifts. The only time I noticed him was late in the 2nd period. It could have been his first shift of the game. Unfortunately, when he got the puck he turned into a big ol' deer frozen in the headlights. Finally passed back around the boards to where his partner had been 2 seconds ago. Then he overskated to overcompensate on his turnover and left his goalie alone for a walk-in... the goalie made a great save. Sometimes a shift just doesn't work out.

^This. Two alternate ways to spin this: 1. Good on GM Sheevyn to sign Dell to a deal commensurate with his value. Prior GMs would've brought in Dell on $1.5M/2 year deal because they liked him from when drafted or was in their system, etc. 2. Dell showed by his play that he didn't want to be here in Hockey Heaven.

Listening to Kraken hockey for the first time. I like the radio announcer Fitzhugh. He's got an inflection that might take a little getting used to -- he accents the last syllable often "VancouVER". Like always building to a crescendo. But he does a good job describing the game thus far. I also like that he had to explain the double minor penalty to the hockey newbies. Fitzhugh was technically in our system as the voice of the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones... could've recognized the talent and had him groomed to be a Sabres guy.

Preseason almost wrapped up... almost time to invest in ESPN+ and... well, join the fun that this season will bring.

It wasn't so much a trade as a Butcher giveaway. NJ sent a 5th with Butcher just to unload his salary (and NJ retained too). It's fine to get a 5th when the plan is to be slight for Wright. Yup. It's fine to have a Joker with the right partner. And on the third pairing: It's fine to have a Butcher, a Bryson, or a Pysyk. You absolutely cannot dress all 3. All another team needs to do is go to the front of the net and hunt for rebounds. The goalies will provide the pucks and the Sabres D will fold under the pressure and be unable to box or push anyone clear.

It is one of the best synth film songs of the '80s. And it had better play when he scores a goal. Execute Order 67!

There's an appearance of the Thompson drag.

This level of talent is easily negated by the aggressive defense. There isn't anyone who slows the game down and backs the defenders off, that's for sure.

You're saying Eakin's shot is in midseason form? 🍺 (But I don't think he'll make the big squad. Other players can win faceoffs and kill penalties.)

Laaksonen needs to get stronger on his passes/wraps around the boards in his own zone. J-JP and Quinn are going to be dynamite this year if Appert keeps them on a line together. No one looked great, no line was dominant. Lots of first period first scrimmage jitters. Everyone should settle down.

Nifty o-zone work for Dahlin, then helps slow down a 3-on-1 and only a weak shot.

Well, yes. But it just shows that the Sabres didn't do a weight on Marjala for the dev camp since it was 154. And they didn't look at the Quebec Remparts 2020 roster because it had Marjala at 6-0 179. So what was our staff doing giving him #154? It's just my amusement for the dev camp and training camp rosters and their differences over the years.

Shane Wright. The Pegulas don't like to learn from the past. 🍺