mjd1001

The last 2 years...I can't figure out who I think is making dumber moves...Vegas or Philly. I'm still going with Philadelphia. Its not even a matter of not agreeing with their direction...I have NO IDEA what their direction is.

On paper, it appears Buffalo fell behind both Ottawa and Detroit. On paper. I think you can flip a coin (or two or 3, have a coin flipping tournament to see what order these teams will finish in). But I'll make the case for Buffalo: -Sabres don't really have any key pieces that are aging and can have that 'fall off the cliff' year. Neither do the Red Wings. Ottawa, I really don't like the Giroux signing, I think he won't add as much to that team as others thing. The Sabres have Okposo, but you could also say Perron is in the same situation (but any falloffin Perron is more important because if his expected production) -All 3 teams have some young prospects in their lineup, but the Sabres have the most that played for them last year that will this year. Why is that a plus for the Sabres? USUALLY those guys progress year to year at this age. Stats may or may not show it, but it is reasonable to expect that Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson will all be better plays this year than they were last year, and that also goes for a few guys up front. All of these teams SHOULD be better because younger players get better as time goes on, but that applies to the Sabres with more guys than the other teams.

Vegas had to know when they were dealing for Eichel what it might cost them going forward in terms of cap compliance. They surely had to know this coming season they were going to take a step back. If that is the case you would think the deal was done primarily for last year....but I don't think anyone had full confidence they would be getting 'fully healthy' Eichel back right away. It is puzzling why they made that deal.

I'm think the only way VO gets moved is if Peterka and/or Quinn are having seasons at the high end of expectations, along with few injuries up front. As far as Comrie, what are we all expecting, and what do you want to happen with him 'coming through'. If he can provide you a save percentage of about .910 and play 50 games, I think a good expectation is this team is right around where you think (87-90 points), plus or minus a few from that range.

Would put my money on team Blue for sure if they played against each other. Too much experience vs team gold.

6 feet tall, listed as either 185 or 190. 2nd round draft pick so at some point he was viewed with a lot of talent. His scouting report from his draft year I just read said he is a great skater with outstanding top end speed for a blueliner.

After seeing the small sample size the last year or two, I feel more confident with Houser in a Sabres uniform rather than Subban.

Comrie is not the prototype of the modern NHL goalie who is 6'3 or more and 200+ lbs. He comes in listed at 6'1 and 175.....More of a Ryan Miller/Devon Levi type frame.

So Anderson, Subban, Comrie, UPL, MAYBE Tokarski or one nother guy...bring them to camp and let them battle it out in camp and in preseason. It might be UPL, it might be Comrie..whoever comes out on top is with the big club. I'm fine with that.

Don't know much about him. Read a little in the past couple minutes. Fine with the signing as a bottom 2 guy or 7th-8th guy.

I think you are only looking to move him at the deadline IF Mitts takes that long-awaited big step AND Quinn and/or Peterka look like they are legit NHL scorers. And if those things happen you might want to move Olofsson in that case.

I don't think any of the moves they made lately make them much better or much worse than they were last year. I think in Toronto, they think the team is good enough to 'compete' for a cup if they can past the first round....but their moves so far are not much more than replacing non-core pieces from last year with different non-core pieces.

Low cost training camp competition.

Trochek, 7 years is way too much I agree. BUT, if they think the team is a cup contender for the next couple years and he will be a piece to help them stay in that contender status, I guess you do the move now and deal with the back half of that contract later.

I see a reason for them not doing that....who is the goalie upgrade that is available now?

Good deal for Toronto. SOME NHL experience, young, still some potential. Hes not going to carry them this year, but a good guy for a backup.

6.5 per year? WAY too much for what he will bring at this point in his career.

I think people expect a bit too much from Samsonov, but that deal and how it fits under Toronto's cap...it is a good deal for them.

I think he is done. Not DONE done, but he certainly is done being an impact player. 34 years old, 1000+ games played. Lots of wear and tear and several injuries. He had that one 100 point season, but for his career he is a 20-25 goal, 65-70 point guy. He's had a great career, but I'm interested in the terms because I just don't think he has much left.

Also, I like him as a player, I am not looking to unload him in any way, but this is a lower cost deal. If Peterka AND Quinn make the team and emerge as good scorers, that Olofsson deal might be easy to trade at the deadline (this year or next) for something else of good value.

I would have rather seen 3 years, but that is nitpicking. Glad its done. The deal is fair to him and will not impact the Sabres long term spending at all.

You always want more options than the Sabres have now, but honestly I'd much rather have UPL with the Sabres than Martin Jones. OK, if stuff like this is true, this is where the fun starts. Signing Free agents? mild interest from me because they will almost always be overpaid for what you get, but if we get some big trades..that is another story.

Samsonov hasn't been great in net, but he had some NHL experience with most thinking he still has potential. Not broken up by it but it would have been nice to have someone like him in the mix for this year. Will be interested in the terms he agreed to.

Some people are patient. Some are not. Some people are so tired of seeing losing that they want to see winning now, even if that means you are taking something away from the long term to make things better now. Others, like myself, are more than willing to sit back and take time to 'get things right' no matter how long that takes. We all have preferences, that is what makes the fanbase diverse. Related to that there are some fans that only care about the product on the ice now. Win every game. Do what you need to do to win every game. There is nothing wrong with that, those are the majority of the fans in the building rooting on the team each night. I'm not like that though. As a fan of the Sabres and the NHL, I get as much enjoyment following the 'team building', the 'roster development' and 'player development'...anticipating what players might be like in the future....as I do about watching the the actual game on a nightly basis.

Agree. Going forward, he has the potential to be one of the better 3rd/4th liners in the league. And of course I don't simply mean he'd be one of the better 'bottom 8 forwards' but rather his role. He as the chance (not for sure but hes part of the way there) to be an elite Defender from the forward ranks while also contributing some offense AND making his linemates better.