JoeSchmoe

Given the talent pool we've accumulated, we have the potential to ice 2nd line calibre guys on our 4th line (of course they would see more minutes than a traditional 4th line). I see Z holding up a lineup spot for some of those truly talented players. I know many here wouldn't want to deviate away from the traditional 4th line formula of crashing, banging, and low event hockey. But if we're ever going to win a cup, it won't be on the back of a high flying 1st line (a la Edmonton, Toronto, Boston, etc)... We just don't have the McDavid's, Matthew's, Marchard's, Kucherov's to do it. Instead, it will be because of our superior depth. Part of that will be our 4th line scoring a lot more than their 4th line. We won't be doing it by icing a line where the mentality is "We might not score a lot, but you're not going to score a lot either".

I like the sentiment, but he's 28. Please tell me the Sabres make the playoffs long before he hits retirement age. 🙈

My best lineup this year has Skinner, TNT, Tuch, Krebs, Cozens, Quinn, JJP, Mitts, Oloffson, Hino, Okposo, and Asplund. Girgs and Sheehan are depth guys. And likely needed in case of injury. Of course we waive Bjork. With more talent likely to emerge next year (Savoie, Kulich(?), and dare I say the "kid" from South Buffalo), I think we will win more without him.

I'd say the latest evidence is that Okposo carried the checking line but if you've got numbers that say otherwise, let's see'em.

I guess I'm in the minority here. I like Z's effort, but I just don't think he's very good. Yes, he got uncharacteristically hot at the beginning of last year, but for the most part, he's been a large part of the umpteen seasons with no playoffs. Let's load up on skill guys and let them kill penalties... Like the Bruins. And then when we're not shorthanded, our 4th line will seriously outscore their 4th line.

With the log jam on forward, I have him as my 13th man with JJP in the starting lineup, Bjork waived, and Sheahan sent down for call up in case of injury. Would he take a 13th man job given his leadership role? We kind of need him for depth until we get a few more of the young prospects ready. I feel he's about the last of the JAGs that have made us suck for so long. It's fun seeing him throw the odd hit, but it's not fun watching him blow the number of scoring chances he blows.

GUARANTEED - If the Sabres do as well as what we're thinking they will, the know-it-alls at the Athletic et al will come up with the numbers to show how they saw this coming all along.

This is how I care about rankings.

Let's make a positive example out of the first national reporter that looks at the team with a similar lens as we do. All these guys are lazy. Going into 2005, there were many positive signs with our depth chart that were missed by everyone (the emergence of Miller, Pommer, Roy, Vanek, etc in the minors) plus an already decent core (Drury, Briere, etc). I feel like this year is similar... Maybe a bit earlier in the process though.

I agree with this. However, most of the rankings have them as being worse.

I heard this on WGR and for the first time was motivated to actually put money down. I looked at 3 different sites and saw a 13 to 15% house take on bets (-113 to -115). Are they all that high? I assumed it would be 5% ballpark. Seeing that makes me not want to bet just out of principle. How does anyone think they can beat the house with that kind of markup?!

I don't think it's possible for him to be anything but a boat anchor at the NHL level. The game just happens too fast for him to figure out what to do. It's too bad because he is a decent skater.

No one has given a bump for Power being in the lineup and even a minimum amount of research should tell you Quinn, the AHL Rookie of the Year should have an impact. That much I'd expect from a legit source. They should have realized we're better in net with Comrie too vs the AHL tending we ahd last year. I'd give them a pass on them not knowing about Samuelsson and the likelihood of Peterka having an impact. I'd also give them a pass on not being aware of Dahlins progression throughout last year. Lastly, I'll give the writers a pass for not seeing what our biggest is overall improvement will be. That is us not icing the flaming puke line of Bjork-Eakin-Hayden for 12 to 15 minutes a game! Heaven help my TV set if I see Bjork anywhere near the ice in opening night.

Pretty much every website that comes up on my Google search has the Sabres as being worse next year than they were this year. There really isn't any explanation for it considering they lost no one of any consequence (only the really bad players), and will have a lot of high end prospects joining the team. Barring injury, they also look to have legit NHL goaltending this year as opposed to the revolving door of AHL and below netminders they had last year. They just didn't make any splashy headline grabbing signings. Expect the same sites to either a) be surprised when the Sabres outperform their low expectations, or b) claim they saw it all along. No one will own up to the fact they just are sloppy/lazy writers and analysts.

I have Quinn ahead of Power on my list. Aside Edit: There needs to be a forum etiquette rule that any paywall links have a warning. I appreciate that key posts of the article were posted, and I should have known because it's the Athletic, but my mind was temporarily elsewhere (on that note, GO BILLS) and I clicked only to be disappointed.

There's a risk for sure. But these guys are all completely uninformed. Maybe they should watch some games instead of baffling us all with bull-💩.

Thompson's unbelievable shot goes completely unmentioned in all of these articles people are posting. The leverage he gets on it due to his size is duplicated by few in the league. This is something the eye test absolutely has to see. The BS stats and comparisons these chumps keep rolling out are absolutely meaningless. Nick Suzuki is 5 fricken 11 and plays a completely different game. Robert Thomas 6 foot nothing. Totally different players. Chumps! Last year, partly from being a center (and often closer to the net) and partly from coaching, he got his shot off a lot quicker than when he'd always go for that extra toe drag. That's it. As long as he's playing with decent linemates that enable him to see enough pucks in high danger areas, I see a low probability of this not panning out. Save us the stupid articles and talking heads and instead, let's just get excited for the season!!!!

OP- sorry for your loss, that is an incredibly sad story. As a public service to anyone who may be faced with the same sad predicament, I too recently lost both my parents. Neither one had much money to their names- and in both cases, they'd rather see my brother and I with what little money they had rather than give it to a rich (and in my opinion- slimy) funeral director. We're Canadian, so maybe the costs may be different in the US. In our case, we had them cremated through a low cost local service instead of a full fledged funeral home. It was about $3000 each. The service is very professional and comprehensive and helped us through the whole process. I would recommend them to everyone. If there's a similar service in your community don't hesitate to seek them out. Instead of having a service in a funeral home, we rented a hall for both parents and had a celebration of life. We catered everything in ourselves. In my mom's case we really dialed it up with the food and had an open bar but still came back under $2000 for the festivities. We also had a church service for her and contributed $500 towards the parish. For my dad, we kept a closed bar as he was a proud recovered alcoholic so it was even cheaper. For my dad, we scattered his ashes. For my mom, we buried them in a cemetery. All in, I'd say that was about $2000 with a simple flat stone. When I go, I want my wife and kids to get the money the funeral industry would otherwise take from them. Throw a big BBQ somewhere in my honour... hopefully outside if the weather is nice. Afterwards, take the savings to go on a a trip of a lifetime somewhere and have fun in my memory.

My daughter plays hockey and I support women's hockey all the way. Just accept it for what it is (entertaining hockey)... but don't try to make comparisons to the men's game. In real terms the Canadian or US women's teams are about on par with a good Midget (17-18 year old) team. In the Midget age group, the top players are already playing junior, so it's good but not great hockey. Last year prior to the Olympics, the Canadian women played against some Jr A teams (1 level below CHL) and they got their butts handed to them. They knew going in they were going struggle, but they used it as a training opportunity. All this with the boys not being able to hit like they're used to. An NCAA college men's team is well ahead of Jr A. They would beat the Canadian and US women's team by a minimum of 15-20 goals. All that said, it doesn't matter. The world needs more girls playing hockey (and other sports) instead of worrying about going to the mall and how their makeup looks. Accept that the top women are the top women, and watch it for that. No one ever complains Serena Williams can't beat Nadal or Federer and she's as famous as any men's player.

True, but if the US had our government and media that number would be 90%+.

Our government and media is hellbent on driving the country into full on Socialism. They've also been driving industries into the ground through various means (regulation, taxation, etc). The way things are going, Toronto/Canada is just as likely to be a Venezuela as it is an economic powerhouse.

The Toronto sportscaster also completely shot down Buffalo as a natural option with the typical Torontonian, "Why would he ever want to go to Buffalo?!" I really hate Toronto... Especially the media (not just the sports media either).

I don't know where a link is, but FAN590 in Toronto was talking about rumours of Leafs GM making inquiries on Patrick Kane. The real story though was that Paul Bissonnette had the analysis that this is a no-brainer deal, and Kane absolutely would want to take a "hometown discount" to play in Toronto. 🤮 Edit: found the quote... ”The rumblings have started and people are going to talk about the cap space as well, you’re gonna see the greatest, as it stands, U.S. hockey player to ever play the game, pass the torch to Auston Matthews in his final couple seasons.” He added, ”He’s going to probably re-sign after the $10 million he’s making and take a hometown discount just like [Mark] Giordano did, just like everybody else.”

IMO Pekar is no longer a prospect.

Given he's now signed in Buffalo, and we could bring him over here at the stroke of a pen, you'd think the SHL org would be willing to work with us.