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Which begs the question why did KA trade our only RHD depth D?

Not much of a surprise. Biro, Rousek, and Benson fighting for the last roster spot with Benson in the lead?

I don't think spending the cap to cap right now is a smart thing to do given all the young talent that needs to be retained. That said, I do think KA has played it cheap the last couple of years and it has hurt the franchise. For example, Replacing Ullmark with Dell and Anderson was a cheap way to add goaltending when we desperately needed it. Following up the next year with Comrie and Lyubushkin to solve the D and goaltending woes was also doing it on the cheap. Now add that he traded away our only RHD depth defenseman in a move that looks to be one to save $ versus doing what is best for this team adds to the perception that KA's frugality might be hurting the franchise. Certainly not bringing in better players than Comrie and Lyubushkin to start last season and then not getting a better D than Stillman at the deadline almost certainly cost this franchise a playoff birth last season. Whether or not getting a 1B to go with the rookie Levi is going to end up costing the team this season is a wait-and-see.

Not one comment by me or anyone else said he has been good all along. All we have said is that he has made significant and nearly constant progress since being sentdown. The numbers bear this out. Also showing point totals without context is also a bit disingenuous. Scoring 22 pts in 41 games is a 44 pt pace. Putting up 19 pts in 40 games (a 39 pt pace) with a hand injury is proper context.

Rousek-Krebs-Benson should be fun to watch. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Mitts' line does.

That's why G-d created Roku and 2nd TVs. Have the Sabres on one TV and Frozen Frenzy (sounds like a cheap cocktail) on the other. During Football weekends we always have the dual TV setup going. On Saturday it's UGA on the big tv and a good matchup (or IU) on the other. On Sunday it's the Bills on the Big TV and the Red Zone on the other.

Please don't lump Stillman in the rest of those acquisitions. At best Stillman is our 7th D and he is a sub-replacement level player. The more games he plays, the worse it is for the team. I have more confidence in Ryan Johnson than in any of Stillman, Bryson, or Clague.

That's completely untrue. He was our best forward after Granato took over (17 pts in the last 22 games that season) and last season he was good all year and had a great in the 2nd half. Last season he scored at a 50 point pace in the 1st half and then at a nearly 70 pt pace in the second half. Here is his approx 40 games splits for his career in pts/gp: .28, .38, .29, .59, .48, .61, and 83. That's a pretty steady improvement, especially given RK's tenure and a hand injury that limited him for an entire season. I expect that progression to continue. Management clearly thinks he is up for the task. Look at the line DG created for him and DG's insistence that Mitts play center. As to his contract, I wrote that it will be a discussion for next off-season.

This is a bit disingenuous. He has played 4 seasons in the NHL and scored 20 or more in 3 of the four. A few of these seasons were also limited by Covid or injury. The first season he scored 20 was in only 54 games. For his career he is scoring at a pace of 26 goals per 82 games played. In fact, last season 21 of his 28 goals were at EV and represented a career high. While I also question his ability to improve defensively, he has made strides as an EV scorer and does have good speed. He is also on the contract year and that often provides huge motivation to get better.

@johnc I applaud your willingness to stand up for VO. I withstood the storm of Mitts critics and was vindicated. Maybe you will be as well. Skinner, Thompson, and Mitts are 3 recent strongly held negative opinions that turned out completely wrong. Now we have VO, Bryson and UPL. None of the early returns for the 3 look all that promising, but there is a long season ahead. PS you were sadly correct on KA’s off-season goalie plan. Hopefully keeping Comrie and/or UPL doesn’t turn out to be the team’s Achille’s Heel.

UPL to start in goal according to Sabres.com

One thing about Mitts is that he has basically improved every 40 or so games he played in the NHL and last year was no exception. I know I maybe in the minority here about this, but I’m expecting him to take another leap in development. I’m looking for 20 to 25g with at least 50 assists. The big off-season question is how much and how long will his new contract be?

If they don’t think he is ready, they’ll send him back. They’ll almost certainly give him the 9 games to see him in the NHL and then evaluate from there. KA has done a good job of not rushing guys. I trust their evaluation of forwards.

In modern hockey a 200 foot game is important but speed and puck possession are more important. Adding Benson to Thompson and Skinner is about driving puck possession. Benson is a wizard with the puck on his stick. The 200 foot game tends to evolve as the player matures. We saw the light bulb go on for Mitts last year. I expect TNT to be more attuned to that aspect of the game this season. Cozens as well, but it takes time for the young guys to get to that point because they have thrived all their lives on offense alone. I think the Sabres finally understand this which is why they added Clifton and Johnson. This gives the Sabres a much more balanced D group with guys who play physical, play defense and block shots. I think the Sabres philosophy about defense is to use puck possession to not only drive offense but to prevent opponent’s offense. When that fails, let the physical d group and Levi prevent goals against. The analogy I’d draw would be the Gretzky/Messier Oilers teams. They came at you wave after wave and when things didn’t work they had Grant Fuhr covering up those mistakes. Hopefully Levi becomes our Grant Fuhr. I’d also point to the 05/06 Sabres that came at you with 4 lines the could score. I’ll admit it’s not perfect, but given the talent we have this philosophy makes sense. I’m also not really to worried about Benson making the team and even playing on the first line. We added rookies JJP and Quinn last year and they helped make the team better. I don’t see why Benson won’t as well despite his age and size. While I agree teams may try to key on TnT’s line, but Sabres forward depth should punish teams that try it. The Cozens line has a 28 goal scorer (VO), a 30+ goal scorer (DC) and a developing talent in JJP who put 28 goals in the A at 19. Mitts’ line also has a 30+ guy in Tuch, a 40+ assist guy who can add 20 in Mitts and Greenway, who can chip in as well (and is a surprisingly good passer).

Me thinks you are taking my post to seriously.

Let’s give Benson 9, then Savoie 9, let Biro, Rousek and Jost play a few here and there. Bring up Kulich for 9, Rosen for 9. By then your at mid season, all your young guns get a good look, and by then Quinn will be ready to return. No Kane required.

McDermott vs Leslie Frazier. Same base defense, but McDermott is willing to be aggressive with stunts and blitzes and Frazier was always bend but don’t break. The Bills defense looks better for the change. Football is won in the trenches. Always has been and always will be. The team that keeps their QB upright and with time to throw nearly always wins. The team that doesn’t losses. See Sea vs NYG last night and the Bills vs Fish for all the proof you need. In the Bills game Allen was hit 3 times (2 sacks) all game. The Bills sacked Tua 4 times and hit him numerous others. it’s a testimony to how much better the Bills O Line is that Josh has only run 10 times in the last 3 weeks.

I don’t think DG/KA think EJ is up to playing 20+ a night. He has averaged 17 minutes a night the last two seasons and hadn’t played over 20 since 2019/20. I think this is why Power/Joki is a pairing so far this camp. Of EJ’s 17 minutes of TOI he averaged 2 minutes of PK. That leaves about 15 minutes 5 on 5. Power averaged almost 21 minutes a night at EV.

Is Dahlin moving back to left defense? If my memory serves, Dahlin played the majority of last season on the right with Mule on the left. With the additions of Johnson and Clifton, the Sabres are actually balanced 3 and 3 between Right shot and left shot D. Is DG going to fully balance his pairings? It seems so. Clifton, very much a right shot and right playing D, being assigned as Dahlin’s partner implies Dahlin is now going to play on the left. This also explains the return of the Power Joki pairing and the Mule EJ pairing we have seen in camp. FYI Stillman, Bryson, Clague and Ryan Johnson are all LHD. If the goal was balance in the D group, why trade away your only RHD depth D in Bush? Yes Clague and Bryson have right side experience, but that doesn’t make them good at it.

@Curt I think your chart is missing Rousek (and possibly Biro).

How much of that was VO and how much was bad D and bad goaltending? The +\- story is never simple. Remember Vanek lead the league in +/- (+47) the year after he was -11. Do I think VO will ever be a good 2-way player? No, but he is committed to improving and coupled with improved D and goaltending his mistakes will end up less frequently in the back of the net.

I think she is 5 inches taller than he is.

So back to the Bills for a second. What do the Bills do if Poyer is out for an extended period and White is done for the season? I can see running with Elam and Hamlin for a week or two, but we need better players to win it all. Is Rapp an upgrade over Hamlin? Will they trade for a CB?

Sorry, I left out the word "also".

Your right. Kelce is just a phase.