mjd1001

I think Levi is ready for a role with UPL in Buffalo. He had his taste of the NHL AND a heavy workload in Rochester that he has responded well to.

Possibly. But the other side of it is, if he has another season of playing only half a season (or less) what will his value be? And who is going to want a guy signed to a long term deal that every single year can't play half the season. The same reason Buffalo might want to get rid of him would be the same reason another team won't want that long term deal on a guy who is injured just about EVERY year. Maybe if the Sabres retained some salary, but if you are retaining salary, you might as well just keep him here as a guy with potential you HOPE gets healthier.

He is getting older. He COULD get 35 next year, but I think we are starting to see his decline in production. However, I am with you that I don't see a reason to just jettison him, I think he has value. First, he is not an asset defensively, He doesn't like to go to the boards in the Dzone and win battles, and sometimes he won't even think of going into the D-zone deep. But he's also not a liability as much as many others on this team. Rarely do I see him make a costly turnover in his own zone or be out of position leaving his side of the ice totally open. He is not an asset for sure, but he doesn't cost you goals with obvious mistakes. Next, he does one thing better than anyone else on this team, a thing this team sorely needs. He goes to the front of the net, right in front. No one on this team has more shots from the 'high danger' spots in front of the goalie as Skinner over the past couple seasons. Not Thompson. Not Tuch, Not Cozens. Not Peterka. I think Skinner has one more year left of being an asset to this team. Talk to me at the end of next season. But if/when he is gone, you need a new coach to force the other guys to go to the front of the net more, or you need to bring in a skilled forward to do that.

I remember this last year. I looked at the first round matchups, I picked the 8 teams I thought would win, I was very confident in those picks, and then it turned out I was WAY off. This years round one looks a light tighter/closer to me, and to be honest, the most fun/interesting first round I can remember. I'm really looking forward to watching the next 2 weeks of hockey more than almost anytime I can remember in recent history.

I think UPL now, he has done it for longer stretches in the NHL. Longevity matters to me. That doesn't mean he WILL be better than Levi in the future. Just right now, If I have to pick one of the to start 60 games in a season for me, I go with UPL.

I'm not so sure. In most cases the GM would be probably on his last chance. In most cases, fans, owners, even players would understand he is next. But, there is a good chance things are different here. Pegula is still the owner. He has shown (to me) over and over he is more concerned with having people in power around him that he is comfortable with. People who massage his ego, people who defend him, speak highly of him, people who will 'take the bullet' for him when things are rough while he hides in Florida or on his yacht. Pegula to me will take a 'lesser' GM and give him more time if it is someone who tells him what he wants to hear. Adams is that guy. If Pegula makes a change, he may not get that. I think that is why a coach will be let go before Adams. Pegula seemingly hand-picked Adams because he probably is a nice guy, a 'yes man'. Pegula probably spends a LOT more time in contact with the GM (A GM he likes personally) so its harder to let that GM go than a coach, or even players. Again, maybe if the Sabres don't make the playoffs Adams will be let go. But I think it is far more likely that more trades would happen, more 'housecleaning' under the GM would occur, because Pegula simply will not hire a GM that will give him any kind of 'pushback' on making him feel good about himself. Adams doesn't seem to do that.

For many, its hard to root against Boston when they are playing the Leafs...I think there are just as many people that dislike Toronto as Boston. Plus there is one bonus for Boston winning....Even if you don't hate Toronto, lets say you are indifferent to them....having the Leafs lose in the first round....the drama, the stories, the reaction coming out of Toronto would be more than enough to entertain for the entire offseason.

Unless he gets another injury, and it becomes even more clear that is health/durability means he just won't have much of a career...unless that happens, I don't see why he wouldn't be here.

Yeah, I guess it can be either. A guy who is a top guy, or maybe a few guys who are at least not bottom of the roster guys.

I go back and forth on how important leadership and 'knowing how to win' actually are. Something I think it doesn't matter, others I think it does. For the, this team has brought in veteran 'leaders' throughout the drought, but none of them were really the 'best' player (or even close to it) in the team. The young guys with 'all the talent' who are told they are the 'future of the organization' aren't likely to listen to someone who they think isn't as important as they are, or isn't as good, or isn't likely to be around for a while. For veteran leadership to work, I think you need a guy that is at least in the same neighborhood in talent as those around him (someone who will be a top 5-6 guy on your team) AND he needs to be someone who is here on more than just a 1 or 2 year deal...in order for the 'young guys' to actually lead and follow him.

Agree with all of the above. I hate when teams get moved. Ultimately we know its many times more important what the owners want, what the league wants, what 'dollars can be made' to make billionaires even bigger billionaires. If there ever was a 'fans bill of rights', one of the top things on it should be that no fanbase ever loses a team, no team is moved.

I could be ok with Lindy, still not a fan of Kane. The head coach is important. Yes, of course its important. But who is he bringing in with him as assistants may be just as important, or more important. What many are saying here, you want a head coach who is going to set a standard, make a decision to run more up tempo practices. Be a little harder on some guys. Have respect from the guys in the room. I think Ruff does all that, as well as some other coaches. Ultimately I know the head coach is responsible for things, but i also think the power play is run more by the assistant coaches than the head coach (unless the head coach CHOOSES to step in). How the D-man play positionally is more the assistant coaches working with the players, while the head coach oversees everything. The assistant coaches are breaking down video late at night while the head coach is doing the post game press conferences or having one-on-one conversations with the guys. Again, Yes, the head coach does those things too, but I think a great head coach can fail if he doesn't bring in good assistants. I want my head coach to be 'good' in all those things, but I would almost rather he just competent at them, but for him to set the direction for the team, set the tempo, set the expectations, and have good-to-great assistants working on the X's and O's.

I think he took a step back overall this year. I also thin he played better the last 30 games than he did the first half+ of the season. I think he'll be fine, actually I think he'll be really good, just its going to be a gradual, slow grind to get there over the next couple of years.

Maybe someone who is really REALLY into analytics can analyze Cozens a bit more, but to me everything I see comes down to last year him having a higher shooting percentage, this year it reverted to mean (his career average) His ice time, his shots per game....similar. When you look at the NHL edge metrics over the last 3 years...His top skating speed, speed bursts and average skating distance are his strengths and the pretty much the same each year. His offensive zone time is below average and the same each year. Even where he TAKES his shots from is the same each year (compared to the rest of the league he REALLY likes shooting between the faceoff dots and over to the right boards 10-15 feet out), One of the biggest differences in their metrics is shooting percentage. THAT is the one thing that is different. My worry, and my continued worry with him is he really IS playing the same game he always has. This year. Last year, The year before. There is really only one thing that was different than stands out...his shooting percentage JUST last year. When he has ONE very good year, but that one year he has a shooting percentage of almost 15.....while his rookie year was about 7, his 2nd year about 8, this year 9...its hard for me to not think that maybe the 6-9% range is the type of player he really is...and he is a guy that consistently looks to get 200 shots a year for his ice time....200 shots times even 9% gives you 18 goals. He is still young. He can get better in other areas of his game. But every year (including this year and last year) he looks to be a 200 shot guy, EVERY year he takes shots from the same spots on the ice. Unless he goes back to that nearly 15% shooting percentage, hes not going to be a consistent 30 goal guy for you. The only SMALL thing supporting the concussion idea is his shooting percentage was 14.3% (in a small sample size), continuing last years trend, leading up to his concussion. It was after the concussion that it went down to 8.4% for the rest of the year.

Maybe the new owner will move the Sabres to Arizona...

still think that is way too high. As others have said, it should be at, or close to his qualifying offer. 1 year for a bout $1m. That would be about a 20% raise for him, and he hasn't even earned that yet.

I agree for the most part, except for the bolded above. Vegas made good expansion draft picks, they made trades that helped, but they have been pretty awful at drafting young guys. The other than one guy (Nick Suzki who they traded), the most CAREER goals anyone has scored that they drafted is 29 by Cody Glass (and he pretty much is now a bust, or at least 'just another guy'. Of their first and early 2nd round picks you have Glass (borderline bust), Suzuki (the one guy that is ok), Brannstrom (traded to Ottawa, maybe a #7 level D-man), Hague (decent 3rd pair D-man, below average 2nd pair guy), Morozov (couldn't cut it in the AHL so he's back in the AHL), Krebs (who we are talking about now), Korczak (2nd round D-man can't break into NHL going into 5th year), and then none of the guys drafted in the last 4 drafts have any significant NHL time but none of them look like top legit prospects. Yes, Vegas has traded away some picks and has been drafting lower in the first round most of the time, but besides Arizona (who is the worst drafting team by far in the modern era), Vegas might actually be near the top at drafting poorly. The thing they might be good at is sending away those guys they drafted to other teams for stuff of value before the rest of the league knows there isn't much too them.

I'm most of the way there with you. If, IF you got an offer for him or he was requested by another team in a package for something of value, by all means trade him. But if not (and I personally think its likely he won't have too much value to anyone else at this point), might as well just sign him to a low cost deal and let him try to show you something (maybe a summer of training and some new line-mates help). If he doesn't show you any improvement, waive him and off to Rochester he goes. No real harm.

I didn't mind 'better days' or anything about it at Sabres games....But...I think "Sabre Dance" should be, always played when the team is introduced and takes the ice, as well as it should have at least a small part on every Sabres broadcast.

I haven't found the betting odds for who is the next Sabres coach, but I did find the site from when Kreueger was fired in 2022, and the list of the betting odds back then. The moral....don't trust the betting odds: Full article here: https://www.oddsshark.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres-next-head-coach-odds#:~:text=In looking to project what the Sabres will,Rick Tocchet (%2B600) next up on the oddsboard. some highlights from the 2022 article just before Granato was hired: On March 17, the Buffalo Sabres announced that head coach Ralph Krueger had been relieved of his duties. Assistant coach Don Granato will take over on an interim basis for the Sabres, but the chances of him becoming the next permanent coach appear to be slim. Buffalo Sabres Next Head Coach Odds Who Will Be The Next Head Coach Of The Buffalo Sabres? TeamOdds John Tortorella+300 Bruce Boudreau +350 Guy Boucher+400 Gerard Gallant+500 Rick Tocchet+600 Scott Arniel+700 Mike Yeo+800 Claude Julien+900 Mike Babcock+1000 John Stevens+1200 Rod Brind’Amour+1400 Travis Green+1600 Marc Crawford+1800 Steve Ott+2000 Jeff Blashill+2200 Jacques Martin+2500 Glen Gulutzan+2800

I expect them to make the playoffs next year. The D will be one year older/more experienced, and that is important for the youngest D in the league. I've convinced myself Tage's drop off was mostly due to his injury and I expect him to play like the 50 goal scorer he was last season. Hopefully, a new coach will evaluate Krebs, Cousins, Skinner for what they are, not for what the team WANTS them to be and adjust their playing time/position/attitude accordingly. So, does the new Coach get a little bit more out of this team than Granato did? Do they have a slight bit more 'injury luck' than last year? and do they get UPL for the whole year the way he played for the 2nd half of last year? With the D-corp slightly more experienced, and a healthy Tage, You get 2 of those other 3 things I just listed above, they are in the playoffs.

My wife is from NY city with her whole family fans of NY teams.... I lived a few years in Boston and work for a company based there.... and living a lot of years RIGHT on the border with Canada (working with Canadians in our Canadian division), I can say, having probably been forced to talk/hear about teams OTHER than Buffalo teams for a good portion of my life, ONE fanbase is the most intolerable. Yankee fans? They are close but no. Bruins/Red Sox/Patriots fans? Not as bad to me as many make them out to be. Maple Leaf fans? There you go! and for ONE primary reason....They are always the victim. Talk to a Leafs fan vs fans of any other team, and over the long term they will blame the refs for anything that goes wrong for them a LOT more often than any other fanbase. "You know, the league doesn't want the leafs to win, so they make sure the refs are against us" and "We never get any calls you have to know going into the game its the leafs vs the refs and any team they play". "Everyone hates Toronto because they are jealous of us and our history, including the league so we never get the calls." Or, then there is the fans saying "we will get any free agent we want because we are the Toronto Maple leafs, EVERYONE wants to play here". I also liked the "the Sabres deserve what they got for tanking, that was terrible what Buffalo did they don't deserve to win" vs when the leafs obviously tanked for Austin Matthews "Thats just us being smarter than everyone else, it was a good move" Finally, the best one (related to the above...and yes, all fanbases do this but I hear it more from leaf fans)...We should trade a bag of pucks, our 4th rounder in 2026 and our 5th rated prospect for McDavid (or any other Canadian born star in the league)...because you KNOW any players want to play for Toronto, it's their dream! The other team would be smart just to take anything we offer right now, instead of losing them to us for nothing as a free agent". I grew up watching the Leafs on Hockey Night in canada like many others...I liked them. Its hard for me to like a team and for that to change...it is the behavior of Leaf fans that did that for me. I have to admit I still follow them as much as any team other than the Sabres. Part of me deep down still likes them from my childhood, but their hardcore fans...unbearable.

I don't know if its available, but I'd like to see what the Sabres spend on assistant coaches and development coaches compared to the rest of the league as well. I don't know but I'm guessing that is something they rank very low in also. I can ALMOST excuse the lack of roster spending, seeing where they are in their development and how young the team is. But, when you have a young/rebuilding roster, that is the EXACT time it makes sense to bump up your scouting/develpment staff. Pegula doesn't seem to want to do that.

Guys drafted in his range in the first round 15th-20th overall....tend to be busts, or at most marginal NHL players at close to a rate of 50%. It wouldn't be a surprise if he was just that. Now, there are some cases where guys take a while to develop..they get to a certain age and all of a sudden, seemingly out of no-where, it all clicks. But usually you would see signs of that. 20 career goals in 215 career games, and 46 assists....its a little bit worrysome. That is 7.5 goals and 17.5 assists, 25 points over 82 games. Almost 3 full years in the NHL, a cup of coffee in the 4th year. I don't know, it COULD still happen for him but right now I'm not hopeful. Here is the bottom line for me. If it DOES click for him, I don't want it to happen while continuing to give him time on this roster. I think whatever ice time he would get here, its time to give it to someone 'better' right now. Now, I'll contradict most of what I said and say you sigh him. Why? I highly doubt you get anything of value for him in a trade. So you sign him, let him try to blow you away in camp. If he does and EARNS a spot on the roster, great! if he doesn't down to Rochester he goes. If he gets picked up on waivers on the way to Roch, well, you didn't want him up here anyway.

Agree. And as I mentioned in a different post, having a choice of goalies including Schmid, Allen, Vanecek, and Daws. All 4 of them with a save percentage below .900 and GAA above 3.00 this year. Oh, and your top D-man and your top 3 forwards all missing significant time with injuries this year. Everyone wants to say he's bad because the team did bad this year without Brunette. To me...No Brunette on one hand...or the other hand being your top D-man missing almost the entire year, Jack Hughes missing 20 games, and Timo Meier and Hischier missing time also, PLUS no decent goatending.