Marions Piazza

1. I get that, new coach new system, but, the Leafs got through all that pretty quickly and really turned it around fast, they went from last place to playoffs in one off-season. Granted they had some luck, no big injuries for example, but there's no reason we can't do the same this year. 2. We shall see about Lehner, you could be very right, but still, I can't accept that we won't get any luck whatsoever like some posts, wide shots and whiffs, or Lehner making some stops. 3. Any improvement will help and I believe that Housley is the man for that. I am a little worried about October though, having a west coast trip that early is rough. Although, if you assume we arent going to play well early on while they learn the new system, then maybe it's good to get a west coast trip out of the way early.

Ummm no. What team is going to want him? High cap hit vs lack of production...the only way the Sabres rid themselves of Moulson is a buyout or simply the end of the contract. I guess the league is turning into, "hey, let's pay him for what we think he's going to do" His rookie season was fine, and last year he was pretty darn good despite the high ankle sprain which probably nagged him all year. He was almost a PPG player and we don't know if he was even 100% coming back from the injury. He's going to be under the microscope for years, and the bar is now set very high, we will all accept nothing less than 80 point seasons and perennial playoff births. I sure hope he has it in him.

Pumped for tonight and so is a friend of mine from Texas that wanted to start watching hockey and i got him into the Sabres! i am already dreading the narratives of how Jack needs to come out flying like his peers McDavid and Mathews last night, or he isnt "in the same league as those guys" if he doesnt have 3 points

I am hoping they don't announce anything until right before the Sabres skate onto the ice and the Buffalo announcer calls out the lineup "...and number 15, your Captain, Jaaaaaaaaaaack Eichel!"

Depth signing for the defense, helps out Rochester. Need to keep Rochester stocked, try to build a winning culture there as well I highly doubt we see him on the ice for the Habs much

Performance bonuses? do those count against the cap?

My bad, I didnt realize the date of that, i think we were all hoping to see more improvement from guys like Bailey, Baptiste, Fasching etc. too bad it didnt happen, yet i suppose. I am of the opinion that the Sabres will be on the playoff bubble all season, it'll be a tough pill to swallow considering trading your top LW at the deadline when you are 'in the hunt' or in a playoff position.

In fairness, I did say "Bogosian-whatever" and he's day to day anyway, and Scandella, not playing in the pre-season was likely pre-cautionary, everyone knows he can play and I saw he will be ready for action Thursday...so, not like last season at all

I think that's a bit of a stretch, Bailey has showed virtually nothing to prove he belongs in the NHL for anything more than the 3rd line. I'm not saying that it can't happen, but, chances are he's not coming close to Kane's output at the NHL level. I do hope i am wrong on that though, I'll gladly eat crow.

It's not like the Sabres had 54 points last year and need a 20 game swing in the win-loss category this year to make the playoffs. There's no reason we can't make the playoffs barring any catastrophic injuries again. I just can't believe that Eichel will miss another 21 games, Okposo 17, RoR 10, Kane 12 and numerous others like Ennis, Bogosian, Larrson etc that also missed significant time. 4 of our top 6 forwards all missed a lot of time, that is no small thing. If the top four stay healthy, how can you not think that we can win 7-9 more games and be in playoff contention? Also, there's just no way that we are going to lose every shootout again, Lehner wasn't good for sure, but, he also got no luck, not one opposing player shot it wide, hit a post, or whiffed, which happens all the time in SO's. I would be willing to bet that Lehner worked incredibly hard on SO's this offseason. Then there is the defense, I have to believe that Scandella, Beaulieueueaueauiui, Antipin is going to be better than Franson, Kulikov, Gorges (I know he's still here but he will be in the press box a bunch i bet) McCabe was a stud under Housley in the WJC's, he is going to be better and keep getting better. Risto=Beast, then there's Bogosian, whatever Maybe I am the eternal optimist but, I think we win 10 more games than last year, without question.

Let's keep that to the Eichel contract thread, thanks +sarcasm+ I'll have to take a look, pre-season time is the worst time of year for me with the fiscal year ending, too busy to keep track of that stuff, now that October is here, i have wayyy more time. I'll be watching video's of Antipin and the pre-season leading up to Thursday.

I did not get to see any pre-season games or much as far as video from games, i read that Antipin looked good towards the end of the pre-season, is that about right? Could he be 3-4 material later in the season? I am guessing that Housley likes what he sees by putting him on a PP

How about you just get the NHL app for your IPAD like i do. $111.96 for single team season, averages out to $1.36/game, obviously there will be a few MSNBCSN games, so maybe you end up paying $1.50/game. Beats the hell out of crappy websites with pop-ups, illegal crap or legal stuff that just sucks and freezes.

Not to mention he says they would want Moulson to replace Duchene on the wing when he's a center. I'd like to have Duchene, but certainly not for the price the Avs are reportedly asking

First off, that's not getting you Duchene. Bob Mackenzie said about a month ago that the asking price top 2 D-man, high end D prospect, NHL forward and 1st rd pick. I like McCabe but i don't think he qualifies as top 2 on many teams in the league, hes a solid 3-4. If the Avs were willing, it would be McCabe, Guhle, Reinhart and a 1st maybe 2nd and that is just way to much for Duchene, who is a center by the way not a winger. We dont even know Reinhart's ceiling yet and his floor is likely 50 points, he's practically equaling Duchene's output.

i am happy to be eating crow, i had the Bills at 1-3 at this point. I am not really familiar with Powell, i didn't really see any pre-season games. It's a shame, Taylor and Mathews seemed to finally get some chemistry over the last two games and now this. Bills should look to teams like the Giants and Colts, throw a 2nd and 5th at the Giants for Brandon Marshall maybe, could work.

Whelp, Matthews out for at least a month with thumb surgery...need to make some kind of move here right?

So what you're saying is, you want a whole team of complete players with an all around perfect game? Sign me up!

I don't think that RoR is over paid. He signed around the same time as Tarasenko signed with SL for about the same contract. People who look only at points can't understand why he's paid what Tarasenko is paid, I would argue that is because it goes beyond points. RoR is one of the best in the league in faceoff wins, took almost 1800 last year and averaged more than any other center in the league per game and was 5th overall last year in winnning %. He can play in every situation, PP-PK you name it, he does it. He's quite the leader too, the O'Reilly practices after regular practice. He does all this and still hits over 50pts a year and that would've been better last year if it weren't for injuries. I think RoR is paid perfectly to be honest. As far as Okposo, he got market average for his output (and Buffalo may have gotten a slight discount on the cap hit because it was reported that he really wanted to come to Buffalo), unfortunately we didn't get to see his best because of his injury/illness whatever it was, a full season healthy, no reason he can't hit 60pts. The only thing about Okposo's contract is the length, someone on the board mentioned this and i couldn't agree more, 4 years would've been ideal based on his age, but whatever.

How's he going to disrespect Linus Omark like that?

you have no idea the hot-takes i have read recently. "Eichel wouldve been a 4th liner behind Drury-Briere-Roy", "Reinhardt (amazing how so many fans get that wrong) is a complete bust","Risto is a big slow oaf that wouldnt be top pairing on a real contender" blah blah blah, i read #sabres for the entertainment and when i want a good laugh, I read Garth from hockeybuzz.

as in, they will have less than 78 points than they did last year, or do you mean they will start off god awful and then make an heroic run to 9th? maybe its because i am an optimist when it comes to the Sabres, but, i think they come out flying right out of the gate. Eichel will have a huge chip on his shoulder and is going to want to prove he's worth the contract he wants. Barring any catastrophic injuries like last year, I don't see why we can't win 8-10 more games than last year and push for the playoffs

No one on this board, but i have seen it on Twitter a lot actually

You're absolutely right, it's a way of the past and players seem to have more respect for each other than they did back then, not to say there aren't dirty hits, we just don't see them as much. I highly doubt we ever see a Dale Hunter creaming Turgeon or McSorley trying to actually kill Brashear etc.

I have seen some Bills fans comparing this defense to the 85 Bears and 00 Ravens defenses, and I'm like hold the phone people, we've played Josh McCown who career win % is something like .300, an injured Newton who had shoulder surgery in the off-season and has looked like garbage through 3 games, and a rookie 6th rd pick I believe. Let's see what they do against the Falcons juggernaut. If the Bills keep the Falcons under 24, I will start drinking the Kool-aide and call them elite, still wont compare them to the above named defenses however.