GASabresIUFAN

Are we speculating that some teams kept a 3rd goalie on the active roster because they feared that the 3rd goalie wouldn't have cleared waivers? I can see that with with both AZ and Tor.

You are correct, although for some of these plumbers 20 points over a full season would be extremely difficult. In addition how many of these guys will suit up every night? Remember these guys are at the bottom of the roster for a reason.

I actually think Housley put Z,KO and Larsson together.

I am optimistic about our Defense group and our top 6 forwards. These are the best 2 forward lines we have fielded in decades and could be two of the best in the NHL. I love the idea of Hall and Eichel together and think Staal will thrive playing with VO and Reinhart. I'm thrilled that RK is playing Montour at RD and that alone will make a major positive impact on the D group. I also think Dahlin is going to become one of the elite all around D in the NHL. I's pessimistic about our bottom 6 and PK. RK's forward line combinations, when not obvious, are appalling. I also worry the Hutton will not be improved and that the PK will still be at the bottom of the league because we didn't upgrade the goaltending. Prediction: I think the Sabres surprise but still fall short because Ullmark and Hutton aren't good enough. They get off to a slow start but rally at the season progresses to finish 5th to the East, ahead of NJ, Pit and the NYI.

I'm kind of surprised that Johansson is on the taxi squad and not in Rochester. I thought they signed Togarski for the taxi squad and to have a goalie available for the expansion draft.

I agree that 2 (Eakin and Rieder) of the 4 should be in the lineup, but that's it. I also agree that we have 3 inept lines last year. You do realize that playing only two of these marginal guys means that their slots have to go to two kids (unless a trade is made). That said, you, me or anyone else on this board could put the 1st two lines together with our eyes closed and two hands tied behind our backs. The talent alone dictated that they belonged together. When they succeed it won't be a reflection on RK, but on KA for getting Hall and Staal here for this season. Also if they give up around 4 goals a night, it probably means that the goaltending, that KA was supposed to upgrade but didn't, isn't off to a good start and or that the PK, he tried to upgrade, also isn't off to a good start.

Dahlin on a slap shot from the point on the first PP of the season.

Here is the problem. They can't and won't put up 20 pts. That's why they are marginal vets. Lazar's best NHL season was 2015-16 where he added 20 pts. Last season he started hot with 8 points in 18 games, then only scored 2 in the next 20. Rieder's last two seasons were 11 pts and 10 pts respectively. Sheahan's were 19 and 15. Eakin had 15 pts last year and has seen his pt fall from 17 minutes to 14 minutes over the last few years. KO has lost all his PP time and added 19 pts for us (down from 44 to 29 to 19) and we were thrilled to get it. These are marginal vets in the NHL and we are likely starting all 5. it's just stupid. Play Eakin, KO and Rieder to get the checking line and toss the other two on the taxi squad where they belong. RK has zero idea on how to coach offense and make the most of his forwards. To put out two lines that can't score every night is incompetent especially when you have talented opinions. Lets face facts. With the marginal goaltending, the black hole bottom 6 and the toughest division in hockey, the Sabres aren't making the playoffs unless the top 6 completely dominate, the special teams improve dramatically and the other teams in the division are beset with major injuries. It's possible all these things happen, but unlikely. I'm sorry but giving the kids 10 minutes a night to try to boost the offense seems like a very reasonable risk to take instead of 2 lines of marginal NHLers who add nothing.

Culture is BS. The Patriots have a winning culture and it didn't do them much good this season without a decent QB and guys who can catch the football. What happened to the winning culture in Edm and Det when the great players got old or left town? The Bills could have easily gone the other way. They traded away the pick used to get Pat Mahomes, and if Allen hadn't developed into a star, we'd probably be worried about the team's future. Instead, McBeane have created a winning culture that seems to have blossomed as their QB did. They however did a great job fixing the O line and getting Allen players to throw the ball to. Fixing an NFL team (despite the experiences in Cleve and Buff) is easier then in the NHL. No guaranteed contracts and drafting more mature players. There is a huge difference in physical and mental maturity in drafting kids 21-23 (NFL) vs drafting kids who are 18-20 (NHL). The Bills seems to have 4-5 players in their lineup from each of the last 4 drafts. In the NHL if you eventually get 3 players from a draft your doing amazingly well. Bottom line get talent and win and the winning culture will follow.

Can't win if you can't score. This rigid coach has taken one of the best 5 on 5 scorers in the NHL and placed him in a position to fail. Not smart. A good coach would use that line I've suggested when the matchups favor the line and to minimize any defensive issues. Also Cozens has shown so far that he is defensively responsible and according to both Taylor and RK, Mitts is substantially improved in that area. Cozens and probably Mitts are the future of this team and Lazar and Sheahan are placeholders until better players come along. I think those players are already here. Sadly RK is very rigid and likely not capable of utilizing them in a way that maximizes their benefit to the team.

How can we find out if someone is ready for the NHL if we don't play them in the NHL? After-all I'm not asking Mitts or Cozens to step in and play 2nd line minutes. Since RK has sent Skinner to 4th purgatory, this is actually the perfect opportunity to create a skill line around him give them 10-12 minutes a night and see what they can do. Low risk, hi reward. If they aren't ready, we can always bring in the marginal vets. Instead RK wants marginal vets in the lineup that we know won't produce. How does that make sense?

I don't mean a look see here and there. I'm mean the starting jobs over Lazar and Sheahan specifically. What is better for the team long-term? Skinner Lazar Sheahan or Skinner Mitts Cozens? My guess is the second version is also better this season. Those guys at least have the skill to get something out of Skinner and Cozens is already a 200ft players and Mitts made great strides in the A in becoming a decent 200 ft player.

With 3 teams not playing, my guess is those 3 teams will loan their prospects and signed AHL vets to other teams to complete their rosters and get their kids PT.

unfortunately, RK seems unwilling to give players we need to find out about for the long-term, like Mitts and R2 a real opportunity. He rather play Sheahan, Lazar and Rieder.

I think everyone agrees that the top 6 looks great and the D group looks solid with upside potential. I'm not worried about Ullmark but he needs to be better on the PK. Unfortunately, while all the above is very positive, there is one huge significant hole in this roster and that is the bottom six forward group. RK has sadly made sure that 20-25 minutes a night we'll have no offense. That's just foolish. We also have a long-term problem. Hall and Staal, two keys pieces in our top 6, are probably only here for this season. If we don't groom guys like Cozens, Mitts, and R2 for those roles now, they won't be ready next year when we need them for a bigger role. That is why Cozens, Mitts or R2 need to be Skinner's center now. We need to them to help make Skinner productive this season and to find out if any will be ready for a bigger role next season.

Obviously not by RK I understand they have to write something quickly, but if I were an NHL beat writer, I think I’d take the time to actually look at the typical and advanced stats before writing my column and keep up with the teams throughout the year. The funny thing is Buffalo’s defense is actually really easy to project this year. We have stability on the backend. Same coaches, and basically the same 6 players. Instead of writing the D is “rough,” all they had to write was the Sabres were solid on the backend 5 on 5 and if Dahlin takes a big step forward so will the D. That’s at least accurate.

What have I been saying for the entire training camp? The vets KA brought it for the bottom six are garbage. It’s ok to have a checking line. It worked great for us last year and Rieder Eakin and KO should be decent in that role. However he needs to build a real scoring line around Skinner and he refuses to do it. As I’ve been saying for weeks, RK seems inflexible when it comes to his system.

My reaction to this is that RK, who can coach D, has no idea how to put a forward line together unless it’s obvious. His plan was to build a solid shutdown line. Throwing Cozens into the role as a rookie in his first game makes no sense. I’d prefer Cozens with Skinner, but in RK’s defense Asplund is a better choice then Sheahan. If he truly hated Skinner putting him with Lazar and Sheahan would basically make Skinner useless. At least Lazar can win a faceoff and Asplund has a history of being a reasonably skilled playmaker. If I were building out this lineup with these player and KO out, I’d have done the following Rieder Eakin Sheahan Skinner Cozens Asplund

Same narrative from USAtoday https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2021/01/11/nhl-point-projections-2021-season/4140218001/ I do agree with the Bottom 6 and goalie issues, but I know the bottom 6 is solvable in house.

Please Balt blitz on every play. Diggs will have 200 yards and 3 TDs

https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/nhl-2021-season-preview-examining-every-team-and-the-new-divisions/ I'm sick of this narrative, because it's simply not true. Buffalo was 10th last year in the NHL in least number of goals allowed 5 on 5 at 135. Where we were terrible is the 5th worst 4 on 5 with 43 GA. The bad PK had more to do with bad goaltending then bad defensemen. This was a huge improvement year over year and RK's D structure has a great deal to do with it plus the growth of Risto, Dahlin and Jokikarju. in 2018-19 we gave up 185 5 on 5 goals, 5th worst in the NHL. I've said this many times, the D is not our problem but one of our strengths. I wish these "journalists" would actually take the time to look at the numbers. I really like our D group except Colin Miller, who I think is defensively challenged. I can't wait to see how Montour rebounds this season. I expect Dahlin and Jokiharju take another step forward and further improve the group.

It’s not judging, but professional experience.

Just finished reading the same thing. I understand what the author wrote, but came away with one question. Who were Staal’s line mates 5 on 5 in Minn? Serious question. How do they compare to Olofsson and Reinhart? One interesting note; according to hockey-reference.com Staal’s shooting % has been very solid the last 4 years at 13.3, 17.4, 10.2 and 16.8. These numbers aren’t showing regression. What looked like regression last year was his shots on goal, which fell from 215 to 113. I agree that his PP points will probably decrease and so might his even strength goals, but considering both Sam’s and VO’s ability to score, could we see an increase in 5 on 5 assists to off-set the fewer goals?

Actually it pretty simple math. Don't spend more then you make. For athletes, eliminate as many hanger-ons as possible and this will limit how much flies out the door. In Evander's case having he lists 7 dependents and 3 homes. Considering he has a wife and a new baby, who are the other 5 people? To much overhead. He also has a gambling issue. Considering that Casino's are designed to take your money, not a great way to stop the bleeding. Evander see your future. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/report-jack-johnson-reaches-bankruptcy-settlement/

I do agree that Dailyfaceoff is just one approach, but if you look at the numbers, I think they are pretty reasonable. Jack is a star. Hall a top 75 NHL player. Reinhart's and VO are legit 2nd line forwards with more upside. KO is a borderline 3rd line/4th line player. Eakin is a 4th line center and Sheahan's and Rieder's production and play last year made them expendable players. The ratings also are similar to what I've seen elsewhere. I also agree to the bolded. Thompson, if he can perform like he did in camp, will have a huge year. Also by adding Cozens with Skinner RK is adding one of the kids I want and subtracting one of the vets I don't want. That is a huge step in the right direction and a compromise between the two approaches. Maybe RK realized (or KA said something) that putting Skinner with both Lazar and Sheahan is a complete waste of Skinner's O talent. Having one of them is bad enough. I hope R2 and Mitts get opportunities this season long before game 28. I also like Asplund and was somewhat disappointed we re-signed Girgensons, and added both Rieder and Sheahan. I think Asplund could have made this team as Girgensons replacement. He may still get that chance, but later. I guess he didn't show enough in his 29 game callup for KA to think he was ready to assume that role. That said, he won't be a better pro then Casey. He doesn't have the hands.