mjd1001

I'm beginning to think that O'Reilly and Okposo were fast enough to be good in the NHL of 2015....but they aren't fast enough to be good in the NHL of 2017-2018. The league is changing fast (literally).

I think it is the talent.

I have been somewhat critical of ROR since last year...and the 2 games this year...while only 2 games..have only reinforced that view. Your point about last year him wearing down..that is a good point. If he had 2-3 minutes of less ice time per game I think it would have helped him greatly. I want him to be better. When he ended up playing for team Canada last year in the World cup he looked great..one of the top performers on that team. I just want to see him be a legit top 100 player in the NHL this year. My only other thought (and this is going back to the new system), maybe the game is changing more than we even think? The game might be moving to needing speedy forwards as almost mandatory. Basically, if you aren't a fast skater...you might as well be really slow? We'll see how the season progresses.

I don't know much about the very technical parts of the NHL game...like football, I can say if a good game was played or not but I do not have any idea the responsibilities of each player are at any given moment. But, I do think that if everyone is saying the new 'system' is totally different, that it will take some time to get the players used to it. What I am starting to watch closely is the performance of Ryan O'Rielly. Last year I thought he didn't have a good year (a decent year but certainly not getting $ worth for $7.5 million) Whether Bylsma's system was good for him or not I'm not sure, but seeing how he made a lot of mistakes last year, I was hoping a DIFFERENT system would be good for him. Through the limited action I have seen in the preseason and 2 games of the regular season, I am a little more worried. I'm not saying he is a bad player...he is above average, but not more than that. When he had bad stretches...it was said to maybe be linemates...or the overall talent of the team...or the coaching...the system........but other than very brief stretches in his time here, I'm seeing an average at best 2nd or 3rd line center. I need more from him.

The game was fun to watch. It wasn't boring, but I still want more goals overall. I thought Lehner played a decent game. No matter how bad he looked, if 2 out of 3 shooters miss in a shootout, I'm OK with that from the goalies point of view...then it is on the Sabres shooters. Antipin looked like he played nervous, not a great game...but I expect it might take him 5-10 games at least to get used to the NHL (maybe more). ROR needs to be better. If Bogo plays as good as he did in the preseason, it will be a big plus when they get him back.

If you are paying ROR $7.5 million per year...and he is not going to score you 30 goals...then he has to stop making mistakes. He can't be just 'good', he has to be better than that.

I agree 100%. I love speed guys..pure blazing speed...it is what I enjoy watching. Most of my favorite players of all time were in this category....Bure....Federov....Karlsson, Peter Bondra.

Gouda is my favorite. Various Cheddar cheeses are second only to Gouda, but I have them more often. Gorgonzola. Its a better version of Blue Cheese to me, and the most fun of all cheeses to say its name.

I watched about half, maybe a little more of the game online. Of all the players there, I was hoping for a bit more form Baptiste last night, but it only was one game. Of all the Sabres forwards/prospects, I really think he has the best chance of being a very good NHL player (not just a 3rd or 4th liner). If everyone met their potential, I think his upside is better than Nylander or Bailey. But, at least for last night, Baptiste was kinda quiet.

Its only about half way through the first period, but the Devils prospects are skating circles around the Sabres...with Bailey, Baptiste, Guhle and others....this team still looks SLOW! Once again, I know its early in the game and it is the prospects, but the Sabres look like they are almost standing still. I think part of the problem is there is only one camera and not that good of angles...and the lighting isn't quite the same as at an NHL arena.

More goals. I just want more goals. Goals for (hopefully) I'll even take it with some goals against. I just don't want to sit in front of a TV watching a Sabres game and go 1+ hours and not seeing a puck in the net.

I'm pretty sure everyone agrees he is awful in shootouts, but costing a team 8-15 points a year is not even close. The Sabres were in 8 shootouts last year...so I GUESS you can say he could cost the Sabres 8 points if he lost every one of them, and if he was in net for all 8. If you are in 8 shootouts a year, and 'average' goalie will win 4 and lose 4.....so if Lehner were in all 8, he would cost the Sabres 4 points vs an average goalie. In a typical season, odds would have him in 5 or 6 of the 8 shootouts. Lets say 6. If an average goalie splits those, and Lehner loses all 6, he would cost you 3 points. Last year, he actually was in 4 shootouts and lost all 4. If the average goalies wins 2 and loses 2, the lost you a total of 2 points last year by being awful in shootouts instead of average. Some teams don't even get in 8 shootouts. Last year, Montreal only was in 5, Winnipeg was in 4, San Jose and Colorado only had 3 the entire year. But even assuming he loses everyone he is in....that would on average cost you 3 points year vs a typical goalie...assuming 8 shootouts a year and Lehner in net for 6 of those. Him costing you 15 points a year would be almost impossible. You have to go back 4 seasons to even find a team that had 15 shootouts or more (and that was before the 4 on 4 OT which reduces shootouts) and you would have to assume he loses every single one and compare him to a goalie that wins just about every one.

I would have liked to keep Briere, but I had the thought that Drury was going to be close to being on the downside of his career and if Buffalo had resigned him, in a year or two the contract wouldn't look that good. Even with saying that, the nhl was already on the verge of changing back to a 'clutch and grab, don't call penalties' league the next year....and that exact Sabres team with both of them may not have been good enough to win the cup. The biggest problem with not being a serious contender was NOT that you lost both of them...it was what you did (or didn't do) after that.

I'm OK with the D-corps now...I don't think they need to force another move. To me, you can go into the season (at least training camp) with that group.

I think Drouin is still a tad bit overrated, but this does seem like a trade that is going to work out for both teams. Hopefully the Sabres can make a deal or two that looks this good for them soon.

He might be good as a coach, just I'm not that excited. And it isn't because of Housley....Its that there have been SO many changes the since Pegula took over the Sabres (on both the Bills and the Sabres), each bringing new hope but no results...I just can't get excited about this as much as I should. I'm worn out by all that has happened in the past.

Reinhart doesn't 'look' like the most dominant player out there, he isn't that big, not the best skater...but he does produce pretty well for a top 5 pick. He has 40 goals in his first 2 years in the NHL. That is very close to, or better production than these other recent top 5 forward picks in their first 2 years: Evander Kane (33) Nathan McKinnon (38) Jonathan Drouin (29 total goals in 164 NHL games over 4 years..but he LOOKS good doing it) Aleksander Barkov (24) Alex Galchenyuk (42 in his first 3 seasons, one being a short season) Ryan Nugent Hopkins (47 in his first 3 seasons, one being a short season) Jonathan Huberdeau (only scored exactly 20 goals once in his career, averages about 15 per year) Sure, there are also players who did better (McDavid, Seguin) and also some I wouldn't take at all (Yakupov), but Reinhart I think is doing what you would expect him to do, maybe even slightly better. His biggest problem might be he just doesn't look 'dominant' in the way he produces.

I really would like to see the Sabres sign Kane to an extension, that is my first choice. But I'd rather they trade him instead of having him play out this year on the last year of his contract.

I haven't changed my thoughts on Kane: -If you can get him to sign an extension for decent market value (what you would pay a 25-30 goal winger), then I'd love to have him here and not trade him. However, if he is going to want 7 years at $48 million or more...then you have to try to trade him. Its that simple for me.

Home whites and away darks I'll go for 100%. How about letting teams, when they build new rinks....not have to conform to a certain ice size? I'm not saying to let them go wild, but I liked the baseball-like 'home ice advantage' that Buffalo, Boston, Chicago could have with their smaller rinks....I'm pretty sure Montreal had one of the larger ones too. Adds a tad bit of strategy to the game.

I think it is realistic to hope for the playoffs and to flirt with a 100 point season. Things to have to go pretty well for that to happen, but it is not a far-fetched possibility.

I like Larsson....49% is at the point where with a little work, he can get over 50% and take some wear-and-tear off of ORielly. Faceoffs are something you can work on to get better I'm pretty sure. I also know a lot of people go back and forth on Baptiste and how good he is now or can be. I am on that thinks of all of the guy who played in Rochester last year, he is the one most likely to score at the NHL level consistently next year and beyond. Is he a better overall player than Bailey? Maybe not....but I think he would probably score more goal than Bailey next year on a top line (if it comes to that.) I also think that because Bailey is more versatile, Baily would fit better on a 3rd or 4th line than Baptiste would.

I'd try to re-sign Lehner just because I think he is above average and I like him as a player. Not that I think he is great, but I think it is good enough. If they don't resign him, I'll be OK with it, just I'd rather have him back. Ideally, Lenhner plays 55 games next year...Ullmark is his backup and gets about 30. Peterson gets signed and gets the bulk of games in Rochester...then you re-evaluate after the end of next year.

I read an article talking about ESPN needing to cut costs due to decling revenues, it was about a month ago..the article was from a financial publication (Forbes, WSJ, Marketwatch..one of the big ones) The main point they had is that, as 'younger' people subscribe to cable less and less, they are getting less revenue. I don't remember the exact numbers, but for every subscriber Cable TV has, they pay ESPN something like $25....whether that person wants ESPN or not...so of course the Cable companies force everyone with an kind of extended channel package to get ESPN. Well, less of a percentage of people under 30 years of age have cable now than any time in the future, so their revenue isn't growing. Now, a rep from ESPN said they aren't worried, as the 'younger people' are going to things like Sling TV, Playstations TV service, or other streaming packages....where ESPN is often included so they are still getting there $25 a month per subscriber. HOWEVER, the write of the article went on to say there are a lot of those younger people who say they would subscribe to those packages instead of cable...but they aren't doing that BECAUSE they do not want to be foced to pay for ANYTHING they don't use. A lot more people under 35 are refusing to even buy a bundle of channels (Cable or streaming) unless they can pick and choose each channel and ONLY pay for them.....Yet ESPN is holding on with a deathgrip to ensuring the get their fees from EVERYONE who subscribes to ANY package whether they want ESPN or not. It looks like ESPN is losing that battle slightly right now...and may lose it a lot more clearly in the next few years.

He is worth what he is getting paid most of the time, but he certainly isn't a bargain, so the question is valid. On second thought, I think the question is VERY valid to ask. As far as scoring goes, he is not getting paid for just his salary (he would be making a couple million less if it were just on his production). Superior defensive play is what gets him his salary.....but when I actually WATCH him play, I don't see a Selke winner there, he has made a lot of mistakes this year...and more than a couple times I have seen a goal scored against the sabres where he wasn't exactly busting his butt to backcheck. That MAY be a product of his overuse/ice time though. Bottom line for me, I HEAR from others how good he is in the D-Zone, but I don't see it myself.