jsb

Well I'm still optimistic that we're really not that far off from being a playoff contender even with this disastrous season still staring us in the face. The team was 9-6-3 when Ullmark started. The magical Deluca line. It's imperative he stay healthy and they get a GOOD GK to start or back him up The team this year never had a healthy Eichel even though he played 20 games and McCabe their best defensive D-man gave them 13. Including Okposo's recent injury, they lost all of their lettered leaders (C-A-A) for basically 2/3rds of this season. An under the radar loss is Girgensons who if nothing else would have been our most physical forward by far this year They are 7-5-3 in their last 15 games playing all the young guys and supposed busts and they're all exceeding past performances They fired RK The young D averaging under 23 years of age actually look pretty dang competent and if they can move Risto for some forward addition, I don't think they'll miss him much on the back end and hopefully they will improve the top 9, I would have said 6 but unless they move on from someone there, I'm not sure there's an opening there besides Bjork and Olofsson may move into that spot if needed. If Mitts and Tage keep improving and I'm more and more optimistic on these guys heading in the right direction, that's a pretty good start of a line 3 because if needed Asplund becomes the line 4 Center.

You aren't getting Tuch for Risto but if you really want to shake up the team and try and win starting next year you do our 1st and Okposo for Fleury, Tuck, their 1st and NJ #2. Trade Boston's #2 for Miles Wood and you have a lineup of Skinner-Jack-Samson Tuch-Cozens-R2 Wood-Mitts-Tage Girgs-Asplund-Olofsson Dahlin-Joker McCabe-Risto Bryson-Borgen Fleury & Ullmark

If you're watching the Sabres for the remainder of this year for wins, you're missing the revamp Making Whoopee LETS GO BUFFALO

7 years at $6.50M At some point if you’re going to keep him, you have to reward him.

No he didn't, he dug a hole in the asteroid and then fixed the switch and then blew the ICBM up to save Sabres hockey. Geez some guys just get the story wrong all the time. 😁

I'm too lazy and it's too late for me to look up who could be available and who isn't. We have the worst record in the league, we can only lose one guy, besides Jack, Samson, Mitts and Dahlin plus maybe Risto, Tage and Olofsson, who cares who they take, they're all replaceable with someone else. It'll be interesting after the way Vegas swindled most of the league how the GMs learned what to do and what not to do. I think there will be a major strategy change with most teams. I also think how the new management team wants to build the team will be the biggest factor on who they protect and who they don't.

@Doohickie says hold my beer!!!

Massive Wookiee LETS GO BUFFALO

My observations of the game and this thread: RJ was brought up a radio guy, he sees and calls a game via that, Dan D. was brought up a TV guy, he's not going to call it the same way As for Matt S the new LD, after playing college and this years AHL and then you get Crosby and the Pens, who wouldn't have his head in a spin once in awhile, sometimes size matters he just a different cat that we've seen around here in some time. I'd rather have him than Irwin The epitome of XHCRK incompetence isn't just that the younger guys are playing freer than before it's Dahlin. You don't take a thoroughbred and teach him how to run. You just tell him where to start. Examples McDavid, Jack, MacKinnon, Crosby you don't tell these guys how to play just where to line up. Same with Dahlin, go to LD and go play, that kid is nothing short of spectacular, I hear how good Makar is or Heiskanen, yes they're good at what they do but Dahlin sees and plays like no D-man since Orr. You don't over coach this kid, you just throw him out there and let him figure it out. Stick handling and passing that only comes from being touched by the gods. Some guys are good interviews some guys just aren't. Some guys do well pre-game some guys do better post-game, Sam never was a good interview, who really cares if he is or isn't. Interview someone else. Plus most of those questions you could get from a grammar school kid instead of a professional sports writer/ newsman. DG is growing on me, it's his job to lose at this point I keep hearing from some that there's major changes coming with the roster, who you going to get rid of now that they're playing really well and the 18 game winless streak is in the rearview mirror??

Skinner-Jack-Reinhart R2-Cozens-Olofsson XXX-Mitts-Tage Girgensons-Asplund-Bjork And I'm sticking to it until Monday, xxx could be Beniers, Eklund or Guenther if one of them is ready. Spend your spare cash on GKs

Actually the Bruins brought their A game also and we held up, Caps paid the price for underestimating the young guys and Pittsburgh brought their A game as well. I'm getting more and more confident these kids will hold up. 3 playoff teams fighting for points and we ended up with 3 points. Miller and especially Irwin gotta go though. They hustled, I'll give them that but they add nothing. I have to give it to DG and the team, they have me pumped up for Sabres hockey again and it's been quite awhile too. Even when they were getting outplayed in the 1st period, they didn't just lie there they were fighting and it wasn't the first time the Penguins outplayed someone. I usually don't really blame the refs but that was to me a one sided called game also.

Must Whack

You're right but they've played everyone except the Penguins & Islanders in these past 10 and they'll get the Pens and Bruins in the next 5. It's been fun watching them again and you're not trying to ruin this for me are you?? 😀😀

I will ask you again but for the last 10 games the ATM line has 14 goals total and is a collective +16 in +/- in those same 10 games. It hasn't been a mirage so far. As for the ABC line, when was the last time you seen the speed these guys have shown in the past 2 games. It's been so long I seriously don't remember.

I can't agree with you more, Mitts and Cozens are 2 different players and see the game differently. The best thing for both those guys turned out to be to get the vets off their lines. Let them control things. Cozens is an attacker and plays with his pants on fire and DG put 2 guys on his line that'll follow his lead and can keep up with him. Mitts on the other hand is more of a to put it in basketball terms a point guard who'll slow it down or speed it up depending on the play and can get you the puck if you're open but has the hands and wrist shot to boot. He also has Rasmus A to forecheck for him which is where the chemistry on that line comes in and is an under rated factor on why they're doing so well IMO

After yesterday's game that line 2 is packed with speed that the Caps couldn't handle and the ATM line appears to have so much chemistry together that the only difference I'd make is Girgensons-xxx-Olofsson. Victor has embraced this style of play IHCDG has instilled and he looks faster and more engaged lately also. Throwing a possible 4 line scoring and speed machine out there would be pretty amazing after watching the snooze fest team we saw to open the season. If Okposo is possibly going thru concussion protocols again, I'm not sure he comes back and I hope for his sake that's not true.

That Cozens-Rusto-Bjork line is SPEEEEEDY, wow Power play and GK hurts these guys otherwise they clearly outplayed the Caps

I'm sure he will but this is my bad, as I told @SDS I should have added one of these for you... 😀😁🤣😂😆 👍👊👍

First @pi2000 and @LGR4GM agree, then @Thorny and @dudacek agree and now somebody beats @Brawndo in tweeterville, I'm going to have to throw out my Colorado stash because I'm really getting confused right about now.

Plus @Thorny & @dudacek were agreeing in another thread, is this a fake Sabrespace site or are dogs and cats getting along now too.

I'm going to jump on the @Doohickie bandwagon, these fancy stats make no sense without adding in the style of play. Being an old guy maybe my eye test isn't as good as it used to be but no-one is going to convince me that the team isn't faster, more cohesive and the players aren't playing for each other much much better that they did under Ralph. We've gone from an older, slower and plodding team to an aggressive and fast paced style. We seemed to only score on the PP and almost never 5v5 to now our PP sucks (albeit with out Jack who only played for RK) and we only score on 5v5. Someone with a brain please explain to me that Dahlin, Joker, Mitts, Asplund aren't playing vastly better now than under Ralph. Fancy stats BS stats.

Well this appears to be some positive moves concerning the front office. Hopefully Karmanos will be a positive add. Next, hire some scouts

If I've learned anything from this site, always put an emoji on your jokes because the Thorny's of the world don't have your same sense of humor. 😀 I wouldn't put all the blame on Adams' offseason moves without the caveat that Jack was biotching because he was sick of losing and they needed to add vets to the lineup. Then Jack coming up less than the guy we expected to start the season and never really getting better before his latest injury. So they added a temp 2nd line C in Stall and what they expected to be a still very good player in Hall, most of the other adds were to correct what was a historically bad PK from the year before and if nothing else they are better this year in that area. Covid and the other injuries just decimated the team who's biggest faults was a lack of depth on the team. As for him keeping RK, you had Jack and Risto both proclaiming him to be the best coach they ever had. What new GM is going to fire him after that?? I think they expected the Jack line to provide most of the scoring and the PP to not evaporate in nothingness and the rest of the team to improve. Overall the best thing that might have happened to this team is all of that snowballing into this season's disaster and giving all the kids free reign to show what they actually have to offer, which would never have happened which needed additional patience on the team that Jack wasn't willing to live thru again. So with all of that said we'll see what he does from now on in that he'll have some rope to play with especially if the good play by the team continues to the end of the season.

I find it interesting that the biggest Hall detractors are now the most vociferous posters on only getting a #2 draft pick for him. He wasn't earning that 8M dollar contract. Bjork is a younger, faster, bigger and with more offensive upside than Lazar. He's not going to be a star but I think if you liked Lazar you'll like Bjork. Upside of this trading season is we just dumped 14.5M in salary. We now have a #1, (2) #2's, (2) #3s draft picks in the upcoming draft. I don't think we're going to miss any of the players traded so far. Judge this trade season as giving the Sabres more assets to work with and more money under the cap for an add and pay whatever salary upgrades that'll be due this year. The other thing is Boston isn't a lock for a playoff birth this year. They're struggling and the Rangers are getting better and may leap frog them by the end of the year. Boston wasn't going to give up their #1 pick. On the other hand Toronto and the Islanders have expectations to go far in the playoffs this year, that's the biggest difference in what was given up by those teams.

Mustardy Weenies LETS GO BUFFALO