DarthEbriate

Oh. I thought that was a MoJo pass. But instead it was a clear assist by the D to Samson. I'll take it. Edit: I was thinking "good sacrifice of the body to make the pass Mojo" and now I'm thinking "you've gotta protect yourself and the puck better Mojo"

Let's just say that he once ran Kessel in less than 12 parsecs, never mind that a parsec is a unit of distance and not a unit of time. And I see what you did there. Before he was cut in half and made up of more surgeries than man, Bogo had good straight-line speed. What I've been able to see in an SI article and early write-up is that Bogo was viewed as a smooth skater when younger, but certainly not praised for elite skating or speed.

This is and will be a problem for any Sabres coach with JBot. It's good to have a Woolley and a backup Woolley. But we have Miller (with a heavy shot), Dahlin, and Pilut on the roster and they're all currently a 3D+PP guy. Joker being so steady at the beginning of the year also took Miller out of the equation. And we have Gilmour, Bryson, Laaksonen, and Johnson in the system. Sorry, Miller. The trouble is, you can't dress a D-corp of only Woolleys. And we all wish Bogo was simply better at defense, worth his cap hit offensively, and always healthy, given what he can bring to the table (speed, energy, fisticuffs and a laughing beard -- ala that PHX game a few years back now).

I think Eichel is getting used to his annual All-Star appearances and will look solid if not spectacular tonight (but not tired or unrested). Skinner plays well and gets 2 points.

RALPHO: All right, nine of 10 at home after the All-Star Game. Ready to get back in that playoff race? EICHEL: If your people fixed the powerplay. And the void at 2C, and the injuries, the secondary scoring, the penalty kill, the backup goalie, the poor road record, and the fan malaise of 10 years of suffering. <RALPHO Looks at JBOT.> <Cut to JBOT in box. Lights flash on JBOT's headset.> EICHEL: All the coordinates are set. It's now or never. <CHEWREINO barks in agreement.> RALPHO: Punch it!

They don't need relegation. Instead, every so often when a team is underperforming (and coincidentally needs a stadium upgrade for leaguewide revenue purposes), they just threaten to up-and-move to another similarly sized market that doesn't have a team, or bandy about the word "contraction" for a summer. That said, the Sabres would certainly qualify to be replaced by an AHL squad for a season. (But I think we'd crush the AHL squads and be back in the bigs in no time unless Eichel happened to miss the entire relegated season.)

That's my new band name.

Enough of this. PA, release him! This bickering is pointless. Lord PA will provide us with the metaphor by the time Doohickie believes this is our year. We will then make the playoffs with one swift stroke.

My reasoning was never my strong suit. I think the draft will absolutely influence upcoming trades because GMs need to set themselves up to have their main chips protected without also having to give Seattle additional assets. That could take some ideal trade partners off the table. For Vegas, Buffalo gave up a 6th. Sure, not a big deal. But other teams gave up 1st round picks and high-end prospects last time around. If you're a GM making a trade (for Risto, for example) you'd better love him enough to protect him/extend him, or you will angle to get even more from Buffalo in the package so that you have assets to barter with Seattle or in the event Risto is a rental for you.

This is absolutely what I Hope happens. But the fearful dark side version of me is concerned that all other GMs learned from Vegas and we’re going to get a middling 2C for Risto + Mitts + pick. And really, we need a 2C on a 2-year deal.

Going to the local taproom and being able to let the pup off leash so that she can get crazy with a new friend (a 6 month Burmese-retriever mix that outweighs her by 40 # already). Watching pups get their wiggles out with a good brew.

If the draft was this coming offseason I agree we lose a d-man, but because it's next year (barring moving Risto or Montour in between) we're absorbing a higher risk of losing a piece we value (or adding a draft pick to keep that piece). And it might change whether we protect 7/3 vs 8 skaters. As an example: If this year, protect 7F 3D (Risto, Montour, Miller/McCabe?) and off we go. They take Miller or McCabe. Fine. Or heck, maybe we throw in a 4th and they take Bogo (the wouldn't go for that for a 4th I don't believe). But because it's next year, we might consider protecting 8 skaters to keep 4 D. Risto (unless he's moved), Montour (because why wouldn't we re-sign him), Joker, and Dahlin. To get back to 7F/3D to protect, we might be forced to move Risto for less than we want (or just protected prospects/picks) or hamper our willingness to get a 2C that we then have to protect. Along the lines of forward depth and help isn't coming (staying on thread target) --- if we manage to get a 2C worthy of protecting without moving Risto, then that depth is available for plucking by Seattle. Mitts (still scoring potential), Thompson (still scoring potential), Olofsson. Or at the least, we are getting fleeced for draft assets to take a specific player. A bunch of teams, ourselves included, got set up for expansion this summer of 2020 when it was announced. And then Seattle delayed. Punks.

I'm disappointed that Lethbridge doesn't have a road game at Seattle or Everett this season. (I don't like this whole JBOT-avoids-the-WHL/CHL-in-general as it clamps on my style of going to games to give Sabres prospects the macrobinocular test.)

Asplund and Wilson round out the Amerks lineup? Up 3-0 now.

The one wrench to the short-term plans is that the expansion draft isn't this summer. Seattle's one-year delay to come onboard post-CBA is taking some nice plans (look at all our cap space and short contracts that expire this offseason) and, while not rendering them moot, making them less beautiful. Because the expansion is in 2021, we'll have to protect additional players that wouldn't have needed to be protected this year (Dahlin, Olofsson, Mitts) that would have still been safe this summer. That stinks. But the other end of the wrench (it's a combination wrench, I guess) is this year's UFA. You don't want to sign any player long-term who you aren't willing to protect. It means a lot of 1- and 2-year deals, which is fine if it's a replaceable person (hey Vesey!). But what if it's a good ascending player who has a nice season for you and you want to build around him? Now we might have to lose someone decent or have to give up a draft asset to keep him. Ideally, you go into the expansion season like are set up this year: this year we can protect everyone we like because we barely have any contracts to protect. We were set up for this season with that, but to set ourselves up for that again next season might look like wheel-spinning.

He's the Wedge to our Jack Skyeichel. Or maybe he's Biggs or even Han --- because he gives Jack the time and space to make the shot. But he's a good wingman. It's the remainder of the 2nd line that needs building up and fine-tuning.

I guess this thread is what we're doing in response to that other thread about what we're doing this week. I believe we extend Reino, so I'll go continue with the follow-up. We then still need a 2C and 1 or 2 RW (depending on the chemistry/construction of the lines). And that's where the type of player is important. In the very general sense: Eichel is the puck-mover with the elite shot. Olofsson is the sniper. Reino is the passer. Skinner is the feisty forechecker. We need the complementary pieces. Either of the other 2 in the top 6 needs to be defensively skilled (but unlike Sobotka, capable of playing top 6 and contributing to the scoresheet), and one of them has to be imposing. None of the other top 6 outside of Jack is physically imposing. And really, Jack's strength shines through when he has the puck. This imposing guy (as a winger) is the easier to come by in free agency. Sure, you overpay, but there's a reason Lucic and Maroon and Kassian and Dustin Brown all still have top 6 gigs at 5-on-5. We just have to have avoid paying them top-line dollar. They're important, but can't be paid as all-important or "team-saviour-ing" like Lucic was to Edmonton. The all-around 2C (oh, woe is us ROR) is a little harder to come by in FA. And we can't trust Cozens to this role in his rookie year. It's also an entirely different thread.

If Sam plays 2RW, then naturally he has fewer points so far this season. Likewise, if Skinner plays 1LW with Jack and Sam he has more points than he currently does (injury excluded). But if the 2C is a valid NHL-caliber 2C, then maybe Sam and Skinner on the 2nd line is a top 2nd line in the league... Just like if Olofsson hadn't been with Jack/Sam all season, he wouldn't be in the ROTY conversation. What the GMs see (around the league) is Sam produces like a 1RW, which means he's getting $7.5M+ for 6 years or more, from someone. I suppose we could do a sign-and-trade, but more likely, he signs with a NMC so he's protected from Seattle. Money is not the problem. We have Hunwick and Sobotka off the books (let alone the half dozen other forwards... and Dalton Smith) this offseason. And if he's not part of the future in two years, and either doesn't have it or agrees to waive the NMC, then we make some sort of deal with Seattle to leave Sam unprotected in exchange for picks and a player that Seattle plucks from another team. (He's from Vancouver so he'd be closer to home and could stick it to the Canucks 4x a season).

I've got some old debts I've gotta pay off.

Very professional.

I was hoping the Packers would at least make a game of it in the rematch, what with Bulaga not hurt. But going small up front against the best rushing offense in the league (staying in nickel!) seems like it was not the best of game plans. I mean -- that's garbage planning. I didn't realize Mostert was the second coming of ... name your greatest running back ever. The Packers Viked it, right down to the snap-fumble on the only promising drive of the first half.

The Titans had them in a bind --- about 4 minutes left in the first half and with the lead. But they went 3-and-out including two early runs. And instead of grinding the Chiefs down (and... maybe getting a field goal to close the half), it was a Chiefs TD to close out the half. That was the drive. And... once Henry isn't part of the game plan it's not much of a plan. The one thing about the pass-wacky team, if you can rush with 4 and cover just long enough to create chaos... you can beat them. The Giants beat a 16-0 Pats team and a 15-1 Packers team by just rushing 4 (and the Patriots again). But if you're balanced and wear down their pass-rushers they're not nearly so effective. The 49ers DL is all 1st rounders with pass-rush proficiency. They're designed to beat a team like the Chiefs. That's not to say that's what will happen. But they're at the least designed for it.

It’s a your mileage may scenario. If you can grind them down on defense and close them out, all the better. But if they have time they’re so efficient. (And poor tackling doesn’t help, yikes.)

3 drives and 14 points. So efficiently dangerous. But call me crazy, I don’t know if I’d play much single safety against the Chiefs offense. That TD was too easy.

The 0 playoff games played has to be considered by other GMs looking for playoff depth. The trouble is the same old Bogo (SoBogo) was good for 20 games, messy for 20 games, injured for 20 games, and nondescript in the remaining 20. We haven't seen good Bogo this year -- maybe once. And we're suiting him up over Miller, who has certainly been more physical this season. Admittedly, I was hoping for more goals from Miller by now with his shot, but c'est la vie.