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I'm not sure how this thread went from a reason to be optimistic about the team and then became the Caggiula thread but here goes. According to CapFriendly we are committed to 41.9M in salary so far for the 22/23 season. This includes Skinner, Okposo, Tuch, Mitts, Girgensons, Bjork, Thompson, Cozens, Krebs, Asplund, Dahlin, Jokiharju, Samuelsson, Power, Fitzgerald and the last year of Cody Hodgson's buyout. That's 10 forwards and 5 defensemen. We have Bryson and Olofsson to be added as RFAs. We have Eeeeking, Hinostroza, Hayden, Miller, Pysyk, Anderson, Tokarski, Caggiula and Subban as UFAs. Olofsson being the only one that can be expected to get around 4M+, take your pick on who else might be back and at what price and you get possibly 10M out of that to be generous with Bryson, Hinostroza and Anderson with raises. You add just under 2-3M for Quinn, UPL and JJP. You are still around 7-8M under the Cap floor for next year and if you add the 2 RFAs, 3 at most UFAs and 3 rookies, you're at 23 players under contract. A trade for salary plus an UFA is a must just to get to the salary floor. I just don't see Caggiula in the mix unless you're sure you can pass him thru waivers to get to Rochester (which is probable after this injury plagued season) is a sure thing no one will pick him up, but will he go for it or try somewhere else and is he really worth it??

My opinions and facts: They have played nearly a quarter of a season in that span to be able to make a valid opinion. The Sabres are 10-6-3 in that time span, a pace of 99 points in 82 games They have played 16 games against playoff teams and 3 against teams, Vancouver, Chicago and Winnipeg that likely won't (Vegas still a maybe) Their play has improved not only because of improved if not great GK but also because of improved health of the team as a whole They now have 4 lines that don't get caved in on a regular basis and can put up points Skinner has 10 goals & 17 points, Olofsson has 11 goals & 15 points, Thompson has 10 goals & 18 points, Casey M. has 13 points, Okposo has 11 points, Tuch has 11 points to lead the team and the 3 guys above pacing for 40 goals in that stretch The emergence of Samuelsson to give the team a legitimate 3rd D man The emergence of Dahlin as a legitimate 1st pairing D What appears to be a real culture shift in a positive direction The confidence level of the young guys, Krebs, Cozens, Samuelsson and Mittelstadt all appearing to be going thru the roof Hinostroza, Asplund and Girgensons all adding depth to the forward ranks in speed and defensive awareness Other things to be positive of: Power and Quinn's arrival on the team next year and possibly JJP & UPL. A ton of Cap Space to be able to make some veteran additions to the team as deemed necessary such as at RHD and GK plus maybe a scoring winger. 4 picks in the top 40 in the upcoming draft with the possibility of having a top 8 and #16. Granato's system being ingrained in the team to start next year. Throw away the chemically induced hopium because real hope is here and on the horizon for this team.

Oh no please don't tell me someone took The Man With the Chicken Head seriously. I'm going to go all pirate here "Arrrrrrrrrrgh".

So did Johnson and Portillo announce they're going back to school or is this just speculation because Levi is going back?? Listening to KA on After the Whistle it sounded to me that he was ok with whatever they decide. (Please don't make me go thru all these posts again 🙏)

I watched the game last night, Demko was on fire and Pettersson had one of his best games. We need Detroit, San Jose and Anaheim to get off tank mode although Detroit did get a couple of wins against the Bruins and Jets.

I think I've just entered the Twilight Zone, Bryson is good and Tuch sucks. 😀😀

My observations on the game: Carolina is probably the best defensive team in the league. Leads the league in GA. What stood out to me unlike the LA Kings game was after the 1st period they figured out how to play against the Hurricanes defensive structure. They improved as the game went on and they weren't stifled getting into the zone. VO and Mitts have found their games again. Hopefully they keep it up. I'm optimistic they will but we'll see. Mitts now plays a completely different game than what I expected out of him 2 years ago. Please find replacements for Bryson, Fitzgerald and Butcher. Power will replace 1 but on the left side. The right side gets caved in to often. It was interesting how a couple of the Carolina players commented on the Sabres speed during interviews. When was the last time we've heard that?? Okposo and Girgensons are just plain and simply warriors To me for Cozens to take the next step he needs to cut back on his turnovers. Otherwise he's slowly but surely becoming a player. Dahlin is just special. No more needs to be said. He seems like a good locker room guy and he leads while on the ice. What may be scary is there is still a lot of room to improve in his game. Vegas currently out of wild card, Detroit won, as much as I'd like to see us continue to win, I still want a top 8 and top 16 draft pick On this current 17 game streak if this was a year long trend we'd be 13th in GF and 20th in GA. Both are trending up.

The boys look like 💩 so far. Lets Go

3rd pairing D with a little overpayment should be doable as an UFA. The 2nd/1st pairing D is going to have to come in a trade. There are guys on Cap strapped teams that will be available in both categories. The better we look for the rest of the season will most likely determine how likely these are.

IMO you need 2 guys who can specialize on the PK, plus 2 guys that can back them up. Besides Samuelsson who are our PK specialists?? Bryson will never be that guy. He's not good enough to be a 2nd pairing guy either, he's a 7-8 guy. Again IMO you can't have Dahlin and Power wear themselves out doing everything on this team. You need the other guys to fill roles including be a mentor for that young backend that we are going to have sooner than later.

Everything you posted is fair but as for the bolded, 3rd pairing guys have to be good on the PK. Bryson is not that guy, depending on the skills of your backend with Dahlin and who we presume to be another #1 D in Power, your 5-6 guys need to be good at that to get TOI. Samuelsson is that, Bryson is not. A vet who understands his role is what's needed IMO.

You do realize that for a full season that's a -56 as a 3rd pairing D. Surely we can do better. They have the cash/cap available to add 9M to next years team and get 2 RHD. 6M for a 2nd pairing guy and 3 for a vet that can outplay what they have and be a good PK guy. It should be easily doable.

Dang that's what happens when you wish upon a star.

😂😂😂 l knew if l brought up your boy you’d reply with something.

4th liner at best in production though. l agree with you on the defensive side. Tough to be a 2nd-3rd liner when you can’t setup or put the puck in the net. A more skilled Eakin if he can win FOs

A quote in there is "Bob Duff provides five takeaways for the Detroit Red Wings’ 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators" Brian's brother??

As for Mitts, his defensive awareness and board work are light years better now than they were 2 years ago. As for his offense, not only is his hands elite IMO but he's also scored 11 points in his last 15 games which is a 60 point pace. He's definitely starting to look like his end of the year self again. Not just from this game but it was obvious to me that there are 5 guys that need to be replaced/upgraded for next year and I don't necessarily hate these guys because they all appear to give their all when on the ice. Tokarski, Pysyk, Bryson, Fitzgerald and Eakin. You can add Asplund to this list but I think he'd be ok on the 4th line centering or playing LW with Okposo and Girgensons. Pysyk, Bryson and Fitzgerald were all overwhelmed at times against the Panthers size and speed. As much as I like Donny G. please don't pair Pysyk and Bryson again. Tokarski gives his all and tries his best but man you never know where he'll be and end up on a play and man he must be a hand ball expert with the rebounds he gives up. To me Fitzgerald gives us some grit on the backend but that's about all he's really good at. Unfortunate loss but I have to admit except for about 10 minutes of the 2nd period, I was entertained. These Sabres battle. I don't want to blame the refs for the game or say they are bad (trying my best not to say suck) but inconsistent with the calls would be the nicest thing I can say about them.

A bit of a revenge game. It seemed to me the Panthers were laughing at the boys in their last 6-1 win against the Sabres. Time to earn some Respect back from these guys. I victory would be awesome but respect is the key word here. With Tokarski most likely in net this afternoon, it will be very important for the boys to get some good will carry over from the Nashville win. We'll also see if there's any carry over effect from the sell out crowd in the last game to today's game. If not a sellout hopefully there's a bigger crowd than usual. LETS GO BUFFALO Mustard Wieners

The Vegas pick probably, the Sabres pick..... Not likely, that pick could land us in the top 2 with luck and most likely top 8. That's a premium pick and we still need depth at forward as we move along. And a 1A GK is not going to come cheap in a trade nomatter2003 says.

Uh-Oh the jsb line is catching on: Burakovsky........ Upgrade 1 RHD for jagapysyk and another GK for oldmanriver and we're rolling

This place is sooooo much friendlier and nicer when we win. What surprised me was that I wanted the team to win for RJ than any other game I can remember even the Eichel return game. I find myself instead of just sitting on the couch watching the game but being more emotionally charged in this latest run of games that started about 5 weeks ago. We now have passed Chicago and have tied Detroit in the standings. Absolutely unthinkable a month ago. Throw the hopium away, REAL HOPE has returned to this franchise. Seeing the packed house and the enthusiasm return to KBC, I was proud to attached to Buffalo again. Only letdown was MSG blacking out the ESPN+ opening ceremony, would have loved to see it live and what made it more disappointing was the Nashville feed being on.

Mitts should have had 4 assists in that game if Asplund and Tuch could have converted both or their open looks.

Get Pysyk and Bryson off the ice.

RJ Day!!! The old man gets his just reward for 51 years of exemplary service to the whole Buffalo & Hockey Community. I couldn't be happier for him. He'll be missed and we'll be able to send him our Goodbyes. Plus a game with a full house. 1st time for that in what seems like forever. Hopefully the team plays up to it's recent standards and the crowd gets into it. It'll be great for the young guys on this team to feel the power of a full house screaming for them. LETS GO BUFFALO!!!

Sorry, I forgot how toxic the word tank is around here. Having said that, 2 rookies are assured spots next year, Quinn and Power. Are they going to be Makar and Jason Robertson like and burst out almost immediately or are they going to be more like Cozens and Dahlin and need some time to acclimate to the league, good players but not star like immediately. IMO if you add anymore rookies to the mix you're making next year another development year which could backfire if UPL doesn't improve and Anderson's age finally catches up with him. Adding JJP as a call up and having Bryson/Fitzgerald as your 7-8th defensemen, they're still going to get PT with the big club when injuries as they always do occur. This year we should know who is definitely in our core group plus add Power & Quinn. Next year get rid of all the JAGs plus you'll have a boatload of Cap space available not to blow it but if played smartly you can add 3-4 vets to the lineup that'll help you take another step in getting to the playoffs. Someone in the top 8 of the Eastern Conference is going to have to finally regress for us to get in IMO but adding 3 rookies, our present GK roster, we're just not going to improve much point wise and do we really want to go another year when 80 points will seem like light years away. I'm tired of the horrible play we've seen recently, the renewed culture that appears to be brewing and the improved play had me hooked on the hopium and I'd rather see another step in the right direction instead of hoping JAGS and an old man in GK is going to save us. Don't be blinded by the 14 game improvement although thank goodness we're finally healthy, we still have a ways to go. Our depth still is not where it needs to be.