GASabresIUFAN

50 games to go. Sabres are 7-2-1 in their last 10, getting their record to 16-14-2 despite an 8 game losing streak. Maybe questions 1. Will the Sabres make the playoffs? 2. How high will the first half stars reach in the remainder of the season. Can TnT score 50? Will Dahlin score 20+? Where will Skinner, Tuch, and Cozens finish pts wise? 3. The rookies have slowed in recent games, can they pick it back up? How will they finish? 4. Will the defense ever get healthy? Will KA get them some help? 5. Who has struggled in the first 40% of the season, but will be a star in the second half? 6. Will KA make any acquisitions before the deadline? 7. Does KA acquire anyone at the deadline or will he again trade vets for other assets? Who does he trade away, if anyone? 8. Will the goaltending hold up? 9. Any other thoughts or predictions?

The temp was nearly the same here. We just didn’t have any rain or snow. It was 16 most of the day today and got down to 8 overnight.

No, but it’s Christmas and Hanukkah. Peace on Earth and all that. Honestly I’m worried about friends and family back home and truly hope everyone stays safe. Once a Buffalonian always a Buffalonian.

On this Xmas eve and the 7th night of Hanukkah my thoughts and prayers are with all my Sabrespace cohorts and their families. My family has been watching the news reports and hope everyone is doing ok. Please stay safe and warm.

I was thinking the same thing. They do an excellent job of running the football. The blocking up front may have been the best it’s been all season. They remind me so much of Georgia. They seem to start slow and then just west down the other team as the game goes. By the 4th QTR the opponents have almost nothing left to give.

Your assuming KA inquired about both and there is zero evidence he called on either player. I believe it’s more likely than not that he didn’t even inquire about either because he is loath to part with any assets.

The OSU fans said the same thing about the last two Michigan games. How did that work out? This year’s beatdown was at Columbus. This reminds me of all the trash Tenn fans were throwing around before their game against GA. The problem for the OSU fans is that they have never seen a defense this fast and physical. They play in the Big 10 and no one has interior defensive lineman who can stuff the run and who have the speed to chase down a QB (see Jalen Carter). The key to this game is the ability of GA’s pass rush to get home. UGA gets pressure on Stroud like they did on Hooker, GA will dominate, if they don’t the game could be a track meet between to QB’s picking on the secondaries. This type of game also favors GA because OSU's secondary is awful. The second key to the game is the turnover battle. OSU will capitalize on short fields. GA fans are worried about the secondary because it’s been the one area on defense where there have had lapses. Mostly in games where the entire team took the night off (Mizz, and Kent St) and the 2nd half of the SEC championship where the game was over at half and the coaches substituted liberally and played prevent nearly the entire 2nd half. That said GA still dominated Kent St on the scoreboard and basically shutdown Mizz in the second half of that game allowing the Dawgs to win. The best part of the 2nd half against LSU is it gave the GA coaching staff something to work on for the last month. GA fans also worry because they have plenty of scar tissue in the Big Game. Losses to Alabama in the Natty and SEC championship will do that to you and they tend to be a little pessimistic with 40 years between National Championships. As a group they haven’t yet moved to the Alabama style “expect to win” mentality. Stats wise the last two GA teams are very similar. The Defense isn’t quite as good. The D gives up more yards per game (292 vs 268) and more slightly TDs (1.2 vs .9). Yes GA gave up less then a TD per game last season. The offense is even more explosive. The offense this year averages significantly more yards (492 vs 443) with about the same TD rate(4.7 vs 4.8), but a few more field goals. GA has about the same number of turnovers as last year, but the Ints have dropped from 12 to 6.

Actually in his entire tenure he has only made 1 “hockey” trade (Staal for Johansson) and has never traded a pick(s) or prospect(s) or mix to assets to acquire an NHL player. He has also yet to sign a player to a contract longer than 2 years. While I agree with many of these moves, it’s hard to bring talent in known areas on need without using all the arrows in the quiver. These areas have been obvious (goaltending and defense) for 2 offseasons, 2 deadlines and 1 1/2 seasons.

Is Clague good? No. Is he better than Pliut or Fitz? Almost certainly. Is he better than Bryson? Debatable, but I'll go with the eye test and say yes. Is he good enough to play in the top 6 on a playoff caliber team. No.

Gibson was not cheap in $ from a cap standpoint, but was cheap to acquire asset wise and that is KA's primary concern. Remember he had to get cap floor complaint. Murray, a 3rd and a 7th went to Toronto with only future considerations going back to Ottawa in the Murray deal. This is why KA was interested in adding guys like Murray and Gibson. They would help him get cap complaint, add additional assets and if Bales could fix them, solid goaltending. If KA would have had to give up a draft pick or even a hockey puck to acquire either goaltender he would have been out. Don't forget that KA has yet to trade an asset for a player once the teardown began. Acquired players like Hagg, Tuch, Levi and Krebs were pieces of a teardown deal. Other acquired players like Bishop, Boychuk and Butcher, KA was paid to take them (or their contract) from the other team. All other new players were draft picks or UFAs. He has yet to acquire a player using players, prospects or picks since the teardown where we acquire the "better" player.

Look where the two teams that added them are in the standings. Colo is doing it with significant injuries and NJ has with us in the standings last year. There are no sure things, but at some point this going for the cheapest opinion is simply is the wrong plan.

Then we have to question his talent evaluation skills.

....and he would have been wrong. Both had better pedigrees quicker ascents to the NHL. I viewed both as a significant upgrade over Subban, Dell, Tokarski, Anderson combo from last year. KA instead choose the cheaper opinion. Yes, Comrie might not have come, but he was re-signing Anderson as the backup anyway.

Considering Vanecek and Georgiev were younger and cheaper, maybe he should have taken a chance on them instead of Murray and Gibson. They also didn't have NMC/NTC and would have had no choice but to come here. All this team needs is consistent average NHL goaltending to succeed, much like the Devils. I honestly don't see why KA has such trouble even acquiring an average goaltender who can suit up 40-50 games.

Hell this past off-season, he could have traded for Georgiev and Vanacek who were available RFAs and instead he went the cheaper route and signed Comrie. Had I been in charge I might have taken a flier on Vanacek and Comrie and let them battle it out for the No. 1 job. Both guys were mentioned in last off-season's thread as available. Both have proven to be substantial upgrades over what we have. The price for Georgiev was a 2nd, a 6th both in 2022 and a 3rd in 2023. Not exactly a huge sum. Vanecek went for a similar price, a 2nd and a 3rd in 2022. We could have easily afforded these prices and it wouldn't have affected our pipeline much as all. We basically would have parted with the pick we used on Leinonen (who won't help us for at least 5 years) and other even less valuable pieces.

Sadly, I think the plan right now is Comrie/UPL. I hope and pray that he prioritizes the defense depth and goaltending. Until he does, I can honestly say I don't think he is committed to winning. Not my job. It's KAs and he so far has given us Anderson, Dell, Subban and Comrie. That said, I've mentioned Adin HIll before. I also mentioned Casey DeSmith as a bridge starter. I'm still interested in seeing if we can get Binnington cheap. I still like the Demko idea. There are many more. KA may have to overpay. The good news is that we have to cap space, picks and prospects to get it done. He is just going to have to bite the bullet. Trying is no longer enough. As some point he is going to have to succeed in getting legit goaltending.

Exactly. I don't care where the snow came from. It wasn't on my parents house and then it was over the 2 story house. If the wind picked up off the lake and dropped it on my neighborhood, it still fell.

that looks like about 8 feet + of snow.

https://nbc-2.com/features/commentary/2022/11/19/commentary-shovel-off-to-buffalo-the-blizzard-of-1977/amp/ The blizzard of 1977 hit Western New York and Southern Ontario from January 28 to February 1. Daily peak wind gusts ranging from 46 to 69 mph (74 to 111 km/h) were recorded by the National Weather Service in Buffalo, with snowfall as high as 100 in (254 cm) recorded in areas,[1] and the high winds blew this into drifts of 30 to 40 ft (9 to 12 m).[2] There were 23 total storm-related deaths in Western New York, with five more in northern New York.[3]

77 had 100” of snow in 4 days.

I was wrong about the "Waiting on Levi" strategy. The truth is as of right now KA doesn't have a cohesive goaltending strategy and hasn't for 2 years. He has no goaltenders signed beyond next season. Comrie is an experiment that may or may not (probably not) bare fruit. Anderson is 41 and likely to retire. UPL, despite a recent spell of excellent play, is much more likely a bust than a franchise goaltender. Both Levi and Portillo have back tracked this season in the NCAA. Assuming both sign, it's likely a minimum of 2 more years before either makes the NHL and the recently drafted goalie has a .841 save % this season in Finland. Based on contract status, Comrie and UPL are Buffalo's goaltenders next season. Can anyone honestly say you're confident they can give us playoff caliber goaltending? Combined they have 61 games of NHL experience. Stats YTD - Comrie 3.62 .887 & UPL 3.44 .891. The wait and see if any of the spaghetti strands will stick to the wall will continue for the rest of this season and maybe next. Don't give me he tried to acquire Gibson and Murray bs. There are 79 goalies who have suited up this season in the NHL this season, only 19 have trade protection (and some of those are Cal Petersen, Halak, Grubauer, Binnington, and M Jones who we probably don't want) There are other options. He just has to be willing to take a risk and spend some assets to get the team adequate goaltending. Until he makes a real move to to fix the goaltending, goaltending will continue to be this team's Achilles Heal.

It's actually 19 degrees in Atlanta. (8 Celsius) No snow sadly.

I hate to beat the horse, but how much damage did he do to all offensive players, not just Skinner. How much did he set back the development of TnT, Dahlin and Mitts? Look how Sheary, Montour and Rodrigues have done since they left. Sheary had 19 goals last year and has 19 pts in 34 game this year. ERod had 43 pts last year with 19 goals and has 11 pts in 22 games this year. Montour's career nearly died here under RK, last season he had 37 pts for Fla and has 26 in 32 games this season. Clearly RK had no idea how to utilize the talent he was given on the roster.

Thank you! If Montreal really wants him, make KA an offer he can't refuse. Obviously, not happening. KA has bet his entire rebuild on the "waiting for Levi" strategy.

I'll trade them Levi for their 1st in 2023 and 2024.