DarthEbriate

Not in my 1-0-0-4-1 five goalie defensive mastermind system. We call it the ultimate Alamo Death Star II mode.

And Moulson and Cody McCormick did.

The beauty of this is that Portillo will sign elsewhere and in a few years, LAK will trade a 3rd for him again just to make him their backup for a year before he walks in UFA again.

I know he's rumored because he's on an expiring contract, but the Kraken are in a great spot to make the playoffs and take their chances. I think they keep him and just let him walk. Otherwise they've got to go find someone to take his place.

We didn't have the 3rd until trading Portillo. That said, Gostisbehere is all offense and almost no defense. He's not what the Sabres need on the blueline.

2024 begins the Ontario Reign of NCAA Sabres-picked UFA Goalies!

D'oh. There goes my Portillo and Levi both sign and we dress 5 goalies dream. Good trade though if he's going to UFA. Heck, we could still sign him in the offseason. Now that we've got the 3rd we can trade it for Schenn. D'oh, again!

Too busy protecting this year's 1st and 2nds, likely.

Huh. Seems like the Sabres easily could've swung that and included Bryson.

If I'm ARZ, I'm getting Edvinsson in the deal. Or Yzerman can ask again in the summer or add in a few more 1sts.

++There's a big difference between mostly week-to-week and ALL week-to-week. Mostly week-to-week is slightly 8 days. All week-to-week? Well, there's only one thing you can do with all week-to-week. --What's that? ++Put him on LTIR and trade for a player with an equal cap hit for the playoffs.

They had to replace Stillman. 😇 Hronek is a very good upgrade for them. He's top-4 capable with the right partner, but would be an excellent 5/6. It's Detroit I'm a bit surprised by. Two losses to Ottawa shouldn't have caused them to abort their run, but perhaps it did. Edvinsson is LHD and needs a spot next year, but Hronek's been very steady for them. He still has a year left on his deal and is RFA at the end.

It's the Vegas model. He's a big name they've heard of. Also, they've got 3 goalies on IR or LTIR so they're rolling Hill and Hutchinson. They can keep him as a backup or waive him once Thompson is healthy again.

Your eyesight will return in time. You have... hibernation sickness. = Retro All-Whites I mean... Meeeeoooowrrrrr. All Crazy! = Miro Satanic Black Goatheads

As to will they make it or not, I believe in a few things: We'll know on March 19th -- that's 10 games from today bookended by the 2 remaining Bruins games. It includes a 3-game road trip near the end (@ TOR, WSH, PHI) that will basically lock them in or end them. When the forwards backcheck and skate the puck out of their own zone rather than waiting for a big pass, this team looks like it can play with anyone. If the forwards skate like they did in the first 2 periods against CBJ -- they'll go 3-7 or worse in the next 10 and all the games in hand will be useless. They should abandon the all-whites and play more games in the goatheads. It's mental. The players believe in the goathead and so should we all. VO has one more hot streak in him this season (possibly his last streak as a Sabre) and if it starts within the next 10 games, then they'll make the playoffs. They will come out flat in a game, like CBJ, and they will feed off Stillman making a big hit or starting a fight. They'll win that game. I believe that if you don't believe, then you've already failed. Their home fans need to start believing and not waiting for the team to show them. Drop prices, attend the games, and get that party started before opening faceoff.

In my experience there's no such thing as luck.

I'm putting words in Adams' mouth, but I think he'd tell us it's about building the culture and who wants to be here. He's secured the base, but he didn't want to strip away the supporting folks and replace them all at once (which he could've done). The Mitts, Asplund, VO, Jokers, and even Girgs or JJP to an extent (is JJP expendable for an upgrade?) of the team -- they're the ones he's deciding on this season. They appear committed to keeping all of their top assets (1st/2nd prospects and picks) regardless of any situation. And... it's just conjecture and the front office would deny it, but they certainly didn't disprove it -- they appear to have an internal cap at least for this season; or rather, a don't spend it because we're saving it for our own extensions. Why spend a ton when it's a development season and the building is only half full? They made the Bishop trade so they could move pieces if needed and still be at the floor, and they stayed away from any big free agents --- you throw enough money & term at a goalie and say you're our #1 and one of them will sell out to join you. But we are still operating on the Pegula-mandated Effective, Efficient, and Economical model until told otherwise (maybe when Dahlin is due up for his next contract we'll find out).

Nice. Cozens will be better than him. Thompson will be better than him. I like it! In the short term, it does mean that Detroit will stay competitive next year and likely improve (as the Sabres do) as their young guys improve and both teams keep closing the gap with the top-3 if not reach them.

And I think almost everyone, myself included, is in agreement that they needed 2 defensemen this past offseason (Boushh + someone who made Bryson/Fitz/Pilut/Clague the battle for 7-8 where they belong) and a good goalie. Comrie had great save above expected last year behind Hellebuyck, but got hurt early and hasn't been able to supplant UPL since. It appears Adams doesn't want to go and get the Teppo until he's made his decisions on the homegrown to keep and he's using all of this season as the decision on that core and he's not going to break anything up with the chemistry or locker room until the offseason. He's a Fitz replacement with experience in the Granato-style (from his time in CHI/FLA) that we lost because we had a hot goalie and an injury-returning goalie and chose to keep both of them. If he does... just make sure he's a 4W and not The Solution at 2C. 🍺

I had forgotten about this. But I still remember that the screen won't go that way. The main question remains: Do I look good?

To be fair, I don't think Clague or Bryson will get much better. 😇 I do think Joker will; I see the flashes of a very solid player for several seasons. I think Muel will get better, Dahlin will get quite a bit stronger, and Power is going to blow our minds when he makes the leaps defensively that Dahlin has since last year's ASG. As to the Devils I have to flip that on you just a touch. This year's Sabres are where last year's Devils were. The Devils last season were analytics darlings, just as we are this year -- our possession numbers are great this year. But last year, the Devils were sunk by atrocious goaltending. The Sabres have merely been bad as a team the last two seasons (26th last year, 22nd this year). You're right about one thing -- the right goalie and picking up a Marino-caliber player in the preseason might've done it. Team save % Last season: NJD .886 ; BUF .899 This season: NJD .911 ; BUF .899 GM Sheevyn just isn't going to try to accelerate it for this season, which has been the stated case all year.

On the bright side, there's still time to do something about it via trade. Not to replace Dahlin, but to shore up the left side with a capable player until he's back so that Boston and TB don't have free rein to pummel Power into dust for 28 minutes each game. Few good options remain, but something can be attempted.

We shall soon find out. Typically a top team brings in that 1 player to put them over the edge as well as something for more depth. Shuffling the entire lineup is pretty wild. But these are veteran professionals who will have 20 games to gel. They should be fine. ROR, Tavares, and Nylander took all of 1.5 games to gel. The goaltending may be unproven in the playoffs, but the overall defense is already there. Toronto is 4th in the NHL in goals allowed/game. They're really strong all around now and have been for a few years.

Every season is an "if they get in" season until they're in for a few seasons in a row. They could get catastrophic injuries and miss or it could depend a bunch on Boston this next season. TBL and TOR will still be very, very good next season (depending on Matthews, I suppose). BOS is the x-factor on if they are an all-in one-and-done, or do they go for another year next season because they flame out this playoff? We'll have all offseason to wonder on this. While I think Dahlin is deserving of top Norris votes, I think it's going to be entirely dependent on the finish down the stretch. If the Sabres make the playoffs (and he's healthy and contributing) he's 1-2, yes. If they miss, then he's probably looking at 4-5, because nationally they'll see the Karlsson statistical anomaly, Morrissey's excellent year, Hamilton leading NJ to the playoffs where Dahlin couldn't, and Fox being the straw that stirs the NYR drink.

1) I find it kind of exciting, although I also find 1-0 goaltender duels to be exciting. I do like that at least this Granato-led squad is capable of getting 6 to win. 2) Yes, yes, and yes. Goaltending aside, one of the biggest problems is the forwards flying the zone for the breakaway pass instead of staying back to secure possession first. That's the biggest difference between the Sabres and "good" defensive teams. It's great for 6 goals for, but it's very bad against well-structured and good forechecking opponents. 3) I think the year-to-year improvement on D is in their experience. Joker is the oldest of the top 4 and he's 23. I still think he's a potential Lydman, but the Sabres didn't get Lydman until he was 28 and through his growing pains. The same goes for all of the top 4. Adams is looking at the window opening in 2024-25. I think this team would benefit greatly from a taste of the playoffs, but even next year I'm not sure the new core will be ready for the playoffs even if they get in. They have tried different approaches that also failed: Murray set up a very veteran defensive-D minded group with Bogosian, Gorges, Kulikov, and had kids like Risto and McCabe. And then the team couldn't score. Whether it's unfortunate or fortunate remains to be seen, but we're on Adams' timeline and not our own. Really -- we're on Dahlin's timeline, and no longer Eichel's. And thankfully, Dahlin's window is looking to be very high-ceilinged and lengthy, and it really isn't even open yet.