GASabresIUFAN

he should have re-signed Ullmark long before things went the way they did. That said, I agree with you there was no reason to protect an UFA goalie just to keep a very short exclusive negotiating period. It was unlikely Sea would have picked and signed him because his agents would have told them he wanted to go to a playoff team.

This is great to hear. He was the prospect I was most down on given his performance last year. Maybe he just needed a stable environment and not being shuttled league to league. If he can emerge as a top prospect, he and Savoie could force KA to make some really hard decisions next off-season. Long way to go, but what a nice problem to have. It wasn’t that long ago we couldn’t even field a legit NHL team.

It could have been worse. You could have said “Your best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with a girl who saw Hickey at 31 Flavors last night wearing an Amerks hat.”

Nothing KA has done in the last two season implies that is even a possibility. If he makes a deal, I think you’ll see something like Schenn for a 2nd or less. One interesting note is that Thomas Hickey is still un-signed. The 33 year old LHD has been a very good player in this league and plays the type of game which would compliment our other guys. Probably couldn’t hurt to bring him in for a look see. (Please note he was released from a PTO this camp by the Devils I think).

Sabres win 4-3 in a tight game. Goal scores Dahlin, Asplund, Skinner and Vinnie (who is owed a goal by the hockey gods). We also survive the game with 6 healthy D.

I made a similar comment to my wife on Sunday as we had no choice but to watch the Falcons (and Red Zone). So many lousy teams in the NFL right now. Even “good” teams like the NYG (NJG actually) and Dallas are un-watchable. KC, Buffalo and even Philly are playing a better brand of football right now. I hate to give props to Philly, as I loath all Philly teams, but I saw Hurts a ton in college and I’m not surprised he is succeeding in the NFL.

I'm sure Power has one he can borrow! Even the colors are close.

As to Mule, him being out a month is bad, but considering the way the injury looked he, the team and the fans, should be very relieved that he is only out a month. He's had pretty rotten luck on the injury front the last two seasons. As to Joki, hope he take his time and allows those bones to heal and set properly.

and so the wait continues.

I left the word “seriously” off my post. Sue me! I don’t feel finishing 7th or worse in the Norris voting being seriously considered for the award.

Actually he received votes 4 times and finished 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th. Not exactly in contention for the award. He out-pointed Langway in 1983 (38 to 32) and didn’t receive a single Norris vote.

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-defenseman-rasmus-dahlin-named-nhl-1st-star-of-week-october-24-2022-goal-streak/c-336740150

Well here is the Norris history post Bobby Orr. (Orr won 8 straight and finished 1st in scoring the last 7, he missed half the season with injury the 1st time he won). 46 times the award has been given out (2005 no award) since Orr last won in 1975. In 32 seasons the winner was 1st (20) or 2nd (12) in D scoring. 8 more times the player finished in the top 5 in D scoring. The 6 times the winner finished outside the top 5: 2016 - Doughty finished 10th (51pts), 2009 - Chara finished 12th (50 pts), 1998 - Blake finished 8th (50 pts), 1993 - Chelios finished 9th (73pts). Only Rod Langway won without scoring 50 or more points in a full season. In 1984 he has 33 pts (44th) and in 1983 he had 32 pts (46th). The last 4 years the guy who finished 2nd in points won the award. Lidstrom won the award 6 times and finished 1 (3), 2, 3, & 5th in D scoring the years he won. Bottomline to win this award you need to be in the top 2 in D scoring and it helps to be on a top Cup contender.

But both were among the top scoring D. Guys like Pronger, Carlyle, Wilson etc all won the year they were near or at the top of the of the D scoring. I don’t remember stellar D oriented D like Mike Ramsey ever being considered for the Norris. My guess is Rod Langway is the only Norris winner since expansion to win without putting up at least 40 points.

I agree and that should scare the crap out of our opponents. We are rolling 4 lines right now, but really only 3 have made much of a scoring impact. I think once Quinn and or Krebs figure it out, we could be seeing a very similar team to that great 05/06 team where we sent wave after wave against our opponents with stunning results.

Never. Only non-hi-scoring D that I can remember winning the thing was Rod Langway.

When I say injury fill in I mean a few games here and there. If he has to be in the lineup for 20 straight we will regret it. Schenn certainly wanted a “guaranteed” roster spot. Who doesn’t. However he signed an 850K contract, which implies to me there wasn’t exactly a bidding war for his services. Might he have signed here on a two year $1 mill per season deal to be the 7th guy and mentor to the young guys? I think he might have, but we’ll never know if KA even made an offer. He targeted Lyubushkin and seems content with Fitz in the 7/8 spot. That said I thought and still think we need a upgrade over Fitz. Now if Mule is our for a very extended period, I believe he needs to start working the phones to see what’s available and at what price.

This thread deteriorated fast.

What patience with prospects? Perish the thought. Who are you and what have you done with @Buffalonill.

If Mogilny made the cut, how far behind can Andreychuk be? Hawerchuk is now certainly on the list soon. What about Housley? Isn’t he the early prototype for this era’s offensive defensemen? He’s 2nd behind Modano in points by a US born player. (Brett Hull saw born in Belleville Ont). He is also 4th all-time for D in points and goals behind only Bourque, Coffey and Macinnis. That’s pretty elite company.

I went back to last season to see if we could see this breakout by Dahlin coming and the answer is kinda of. Dahlin really had a pretty balanced season last year. He scored at least one point in 37 games and that was pretty evenly divided in each quarter of the season, 9, 10, 9 and 9 games respectively. His points were also pretty evenly divided by quarter 12, 14, 11, & 16. Where the starkest contrast came is Dahlin’s influence on team’s ability to win games. In games Dahlin scored during the entire season the team was a sparkling 18-12-7 (a 95 pt pace), but most of that success came in the second half of the season. In the first half, the Sabres went 7-12-2 (.76 pts per game) in games without Dahlin scoring and 5-9-5 (.79) in games he did. A difference, but only a very slight one. However, in the second half, the Sabres were a terrible 6-14-2 (.64) in games without a Dahlin point but an amazing 13-3-2 (1.6) in games Dahlin had a least one point. This trend exploded in the last quarter when the Sabres went 8-0-1 (1.9) in games Dahlin posted at least a point but only 3-6-2 (.73) in games he didn’t. Obviously the Sabres as a team were better in the second half, but the win/loss stats seem to confirm the eye test that Dahlin’s all around game and his influence on the Sabres ability to win took off in the second half of the season and that he has carried that influence into the new season.

Any news on the extent of the injury?

I have no Italian grandparents, but I’ve known the Billittier family all my life.

RedZone It's been a long weekend. No Bulldawgs No Bills. I've had to decorate for Halloween

Also he was eligible to be sent down without clearing waivers.