GASabresIUFAN

It’s only preseason but last night’s effort was lousy and DG thought it was as well. The D pairings aren’t working for me and I don’t like that they waited so long to get the new guys on the ice for preseason games.

I think is a ton of flexibility and I expect Tuch to move up when we trial in the 3rd and DG shortens the bench. I don’t like the D pairings. The balance of R and L shot D isn’t not a necessity IMHO. I’d rather focus on player chemistry. I also thought the goal this summer was to find a better partner for Power. I also don’t like the 3 headed goalie monster especially when two or the goalies are Comrie and UPL. FYI Forgetting Stillman was just wishful thinking.

https://theathletic.com/4932149/2023/10/05/buffalo-sabres-depth-projection-zach-benson/ Fairburn's roster Skinner TNT Benson Greenway Mitts Tuch JJP DC VO Z Krebs KO (Jost) Dahlin Clifton Power Joki Mule EJ and All 3 goalies He’s worried that Clague and Biro could be claimed when waived. Also thinks UPL will be claimed if waived. Nothing earth shattering here, but I liked his logic on the forwards line with DG building from what worked last year: Skinner/TNT, Mitts/Tuch, Cozens/JJP and the Krebs line. Most of us had the same thoughts when see these lines in practice.

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/don-granato-postgame-at-cbj-6338417861112 DG was about as happy with the team’s performance as we were. Should be a long day tomorrow boys.

Sounds like a trade worthy of GMTM.

I'm talking about the Edm version of Grant Fuhr. I often forget the Fuhr played for us.

That's why Levi is our Grant Fuhr (hopefully) and UPL should be playing elsewhere. Did Cozens actually play tonight? I don't remember seeing him at all and it's hard for him to be invisible on the ice.

Not to defend UPL, but he had no help.

Piss poor effort overall. They need to pick up the pace and be much much more aggressive on the forecheck and backcheck. They played like rhey were playing pond hockey with the boys back home. Just like the first two.

15 high danger chances allowed through 2 periods is friggin awful. Donnie coach them up please.

Also Elvis is as bad as UPL. Not if you listen to the CBJ broadcasters.

They woke up with 8 minutes left. Benson has been our best forward. Is that a good thing?

He controlled the puck and the blue line and made a really nice pass to Z for the goal.

Benson good. UPL bad.

This is why I have asked why did KA traded his only RHD depth D in Lyubushkin. It's not like we are cap-strapped and need to save cap for the one season left on his deal. The excuse of letting a vet go where he'll play every day doesn't wash. He was one injury from playing every day for a contender.

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.