DarthEbriate

Levi-percentage + Muel-pace = good

The Rangers are 14-4-4 since the end of February. They're one of the hottest teams in the league recently, playing with one of the top goalies in the league, at home, without resting anybody for the playoffs. If they were in the Western Conference they'd be one of the favorites to get to the Cup --- and they won't be a surprise to make it to the ECF with Shesterkin (and Carolina missing Svechnikov and the Devils being new to the playoffs and unknown how they'll respond).

RJ yells again, "Not out!"

It's a little too soon to go full Alamo Death Star mode, gents.

Kids.

Once Power builds up his shot strength, the 2nd PP will start to come alive.

He went the NCAA route so he has the right to go UFA and sign anywhere and more power to him for that. But... there really isn't a better situation for a young defenseman next year than the Sabres/Amerks. At best, you're skating alongside Dahlin or Power who will make you look very good. At worst, you're honing your game on the top pair in Rochester.

It's only a hoop until next weekend. Then, everyone will magically be healthy enough to play again, including VGK's Mark Stone who does have a legitimate back injury, but certainly wasn't able to play in the regular season once it was apparent they were good enough this season to make the playoffs without him. It's why LTIR should mean until the start of the next season 7/1 or similar date. The GMs won't ever do it because it hampers their own flexibility, but the cap limit should extend for the entire season.

It's not just having Brysons, it's having Brysons on waivers-exempt ELCs. That's what Johnson is for the next two seasons. They need folks in Rochester who can be good-to-great in the AHL and get their callup for injuries, and then get right back down once the crisis is past. The Sabres had no one this season and possibly only Komarov next year if Johnson doesn't sign. That's his biggest value. (And the possibility that just maybe he gels with Power in some weird mind-meld like McKee and Warrener and voila you're set for 4 seasons.) Once the Sabres decided not to send UPL down, the chain reaction was losing Fitz for nothing, only to have to expend an asset (Bloom/3rd equivalent) to regain Fitz(Stillman) again. Clague, Bryson, Fitz, Stillman --- every team can use 7th/8th depth throughout the season with injuries and each of those guys could get claimed if waived depending on who is hurt and when. The pipeline needs to have stages of assets to stay healthy.

Unpopular opinion, but if the Sabres don't make the playoffs, from a 2023-24 competition perspective, the best thing for Buffalo and the rest of the Atlantic is for the Bruins to win the Stanley Cup to almost guarantee Bergeron and Krejci retire. The Bruins will have a tiny bit of cap space but no one on the market will replicate what those 2 centers do in all zones (and certainly not at the cap hit they made this season). The Bruins withstood injuries to Marchand and McAvoy handily, but they aren't the machines that make the entire team go 5-on-5, PP, and SH (along with Pastrnak).

And by golly, he'd better put the entire name on the nameplate: William "von Barnekow-Løfberg".

Yup. He knows wherever he goes he'll play (at least start) in the AHL next season and then who knows. With the Sabres he knows he can get games this year to knock the year off the ELC and even if he'll start in the AHL next season his prime contenders are Bryson, Clague, and Stillman. And he has to believe in himself that he can supplant Joker within a couple seasons. Playing alongside Power or Dahlin would look really good on that resume for a 2nd contract. Edit: Especially since he's not an offensive defenseman and won't ever have the PP point totals to generate big $. Edit addendum: Reading this thread: Ohhhhh. I get it. You're all making allusions to the moisture farmer family on Tatooine with a similar last name.

The Amerks are quietly 7-0-2-1 in their last 10 and have jumped into 2nd place in the North. Everyone could still shuffle around, and the Amerks need at least one more win to avoid 4th place and the best-of-3 play-in round, but they've played great (with Kulich and Rosen scoring key goals) to jump to the front of the pack. Their likeliest first round matchup will be with either Syracuse or Utica. The Crunch and Comets face each other in 2 of the final 3 games of the season so they'll be motivated to avoid the best-of-3 play-in round.

Brock Faber just signed with the Wild, so the au revoir to Gophers is on.

He definitely needed time to adjust to the Sabres' speed and what was being asked of him. He also needs time to rest his shoulder so he isn't tentative for contact as he was with Minnesota all season. I don't know that he'll ever break out as a top 6 but he looks like he could easily take over for KO on a defensive line next season. (Girgs-Krebs-Greenway with some Savoie in the middle to help the rookie learn responsible side of the grinding game as Krebs is.) But a 3rd line of Mitts-Krebs/Savoie-Greenway where Greenway is both his defensively responsible self and driving the net offensively then 15 goals could definitely happen. Mitts' growing all-around game and the feistiness of Krebs or the slashing of Savoie. Greenway isn't replacing VO's total goals, but would also remove many of those goals against. And... there's always the possibility (however unlikely) that Granato unlocks Greenway's offense in ways undreamed (hopefully without completely sacrificing his defensive chops) and you get a Tuch 2.0 instead of simply a Tuch-lite. Greenway becomes a top-6 force with Quinn-Cozens and the Sabres roll all comers.

Even Quinn gained further development as the result of last season's playoff run. He'd probably be the first to tell you it gave him motivation for this season and learning further what adjustments his game needed when he was the main focus of the opposition's attention shift-in and -out.

Fun fact on yesterday's game: Antti Raanta had been 15-0-1 dating back to 11/26/2022 (with 2 more team wins for which he wasn't credited, but wasn't shelled in either... looks like injury withdrawn or he came in off the bench). More fun facts: Antti Raanta is only 6'0" (1.83 m) tall and has a career .918 sv% which would be #2 all-time with the Sabres if you excluded Houser and the other folks with fewer than 3 GP.

Also Huglen. He's only a sophomore on account of missing the season+ with the back injury, but he's already 22 and could likely aid the Amerks as a bottom 6 nicely next season.

It's good to see him fully functional again.

Wait, wait, wait. You're saying you had already entirely written off the possibility of a playoff berth back when the Sabres had 3-4 games in hand on NYI, WSH, and PIT, the best points percentage of all the competitors for 7th-8th, before Tuch was injured, before Dahlin was injured, and before Thompson was injured, back well before the Panthers had gotten healthy and started their run, when none of the teams (BUF, DET, OTT, FLA, NYI, WSH, PIT were able to play consistently for more than a week and everyone was slogging along because of their inconsistencies and middling status. You didn't ever believe in your preferred team?

No Kulich yet, let him mature so when he joins he contributes without sheltering. Because if he replaces someone at this point it's JJP which isn't necessary. (Not to say Kulich doesn't get a short callup next year, but don't rush him.) Savoie as the 12/13 simply because of the rules. Rousek as the other 12/13 in the Hino/VO role. Then, the other new F is a Zemgus/KO replacement but only if they don't move on. The improvement of this roster's forward comes from learned experience and being more aware, exact, and stronger defensively in their end. And add a top-4 capable D-man, of course.

Where is VO when I need him? He would know what to do with an empty net.

Dangnabbit, where was my ENG? Greenway, Skinner, go for it!

Good kill.