msw2112

I'm a big Skinner fan and it's a shame that he lost a couple of good years on his career due to Ralph Krueger. He's had a very good career and we'll see where it goes from here, but I don't see him as a HOF player at the stage of the game. It's maybe even a bit of a stretch to see him on the ballot. That said, there are still some chapters to be written in this story. If the Sabres have great success in the next 5-10 years, including winning the Stanley Cup, and Skinner a) continues to put up good numbers and is a big part of their success; and b) scores some clutch playoff goals in helping the Sabres win that elusive Cup, then maybe he gets some consideration.

No question long-term. Dahlin is more "flashy" and has a higher ceiling, but Power is much farther along as a rookie than Dahlin was. Based on his play, and his improvement over the course of the season, he's a can't miss star in the making. Both of them are, although Dahlin is already a star. The Sabres are very fortunate to have both of them. It's a shame that Dahlin took longer to develop and had such poor coaching early in his career (see Kreuger, Ralph, who nearly ruined the kid), because the Sabres missed out on the opportuity to get him signed to a long-term, less expensive deal when they gave him his bridge deal a couple of years ago. And they have Samuelsson too! The Sabres have arguably the best young trio of defensemen in the NHL and just need a couple of defensive-minded veterans to complement them.

Toews is a pretty humble guy for the career that he's had. If he was healthy and had some gas left in the tank, he'd be a great add to the Sabres and would be a fantastic presence in the locker room. Unfortunately, I think that, given his health issues, he's probably done hockey-wise.

I'd take the Kane equivalent (veteran player on the downside of a HOF career) on defense, but the Sabres don't need another small, skilled, scoring forward who will command a decent-sized contract. I also don't know much about Kane as a leader. He was immature as a younger player and I think he's matured in general, but I don't know how much his presence would add to the locker room. If we wasn't a Buffalo native, I doubt he'd be too high on the radar.

I don't remember the Granato quotes exactly, but my interpretation was that offense is easier to learn, and is also more fun to play, so that's why he wanted to start there. Let the young guys focus on that, allowing them to gain confidence, become competitive, win some games, and have fun doing it. Once that baseline has been established, you can shift the focus more to defense. Because of the successes you've had, the guys have bought in, and are more receptive to learning defense (or whatever else the coach is preaching). Krueger's system was the exact opposite. It was very rigid and defense-focused. So much so, that guys couldn't flash their natural talents and couldn't be creative. The style of play was boring and nobody was "padding their stats" or having career years (maybe Eichel did have one good year statistically....). After losing a few games, the guys lost interest, no longer bought in, and the team spiraled downward. A top-flight offensive NHL forward, Jeff Skinner, was in the press box, super-talented Dahlin was a mess, and Thompson was on the road to nowhere, just to name a few.

For me, the #1 priority is to acquire 2 veteran defensive defensemen with some grit and playoff experience. I'm not against acquiring a veteran goaltender, but I do not think they should get rid of UPL. Many NHL players and most goalies take a long time to develop and don't peak until their late 20's. UPL is what, 24? He can still get better. Levi is a unicorn - next level talent at a young age - he's the exception, not the rule. I'm OK with moving on from Comrie and/or having him play in Rochester. If he has to clear waivers and someone else picks him up, so be it. Acquiring an additional veteran foward with some grit and playoff experience will also be valuable. If this team can improve the defense in their own end, the sky is the limit. And to add, take care of Dahlin and Power's contracts.

Until very recently, the ENTIRE TEAM was playing that way. I've noticed a much greater willingness to shoot the puck at the net in the last couple of weeks, rather than waiting for the perfect pass or the perfect shot. Taking these shots, as well as crashing the net for rebounds, will result in more scoring opportunities. Most of the time, the goalie makes the save, but some sneak through for goals and some create rebounds and second chances. It's simple, basic hockey, and I think that the Sabres forwards are so fast and skilled that they've had a hard time making the good play in favor of the (potentially) great play. It's taken nearly the entire season, but it looks like Granato has gotten finally gotten through to them. Also, at this time of the year, opponents that are playing for playoff spots/seeding often tighten up the defense, and the fancy tic-tac-toe and cross-ice passing plays are not available, so getting pucks to the net is even more important. Don't get me wrong, those fancy goals are fun and awesome to see, but I'd rather see them do what is necessary to win games. Arguably, this could tie in a bit to their lack of success at home. Perhaps at home, they are thinking about putting on a show for the fans by trying to score highlight-reel goals, whereas on the road, they're more willing to take the simple, straightforward play.

I have no idea what's going on, what Johnson is thinking, etc., but the fact that he has not signed yet indicates to me that he's not likely to sign. It's a pretty straightforward transaction governed by a defined set of rules, so if no decision has been made by now, that would suggest that Johnson has doubts about signing. Either that, or Johnson and his agents don't understand the defined set of rules, so the Sabres were educating them so that they can make an informed decision. I'm on record as being in favor of the team signing him, but wouldn't lose sleep if he didn't and the Sabres received a compensatory draft pick.

This clip brings back great memories! A good friend of mine at the time (who is still a good friend today) had an extra ticket to this game and I was the lucky recipient. We sat in the first row of the blues on the corner behind this net. We saw the whole thing very clearly.

The Sabres have plenty of draft picks, and NHL draft pick hit rate is not very high, particularly after the first round. The Sabres also have an abundance of forward prospects and a shortage of defensive prospects. Johnson will never be mistaken for Owen Power or Rasmus Dahlin, but he's a good college defenseman who has a chance to be 3rd pairing NHL defenseman (at best) or a good AHL player who could provide organizational depth (at worst). He may or may not turn out to be better than Bryson, but the only way to find out is to sign him and let him play. I think the Sabres will try to sign him, but if he is not interested, it's not the end of the world and they can move on with the draft pick. Unless Adams is lying, he said that the team was interested in signing Johnson and the ball is in Johnson's court. I don't see any reason not to believe Adams in this situation.

I will be watching tonight, although on my DVR about 4-5 hours after the actual puck drop. I'm out of market and on Pacific time, so by the time I get home from work, get the kids settled and family obligations completed, it's around 9 PM Pacific (midnight back in Buffalo). I'll have to make sure to NOT look at texts and other media all evening - a challenge, but one I face routinely. Although this may make me sound antiquated, I have the NHL Center Ice package through Directv. They made me a very attractive pricing offer that I couldn't refuse. I get all NHL games through this package, except those that are: On TNT (which I get anyway) On NHLN (which I get anyway) Are exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu (about 8 of them for the Sabres during the course of the season and which I DO NOT get) Next year, I will likely be moving on from Directv due to their loss of the NFL ticket, so it will be ESPN+ for me. My kids will be happy, as I'll probably spring for the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle. For now, Center Ice still works well for me, as I got a great price and I like the ability to save the games on my DVR and not have to mess around with streaming, particularly when I'm trying to avoid spoilers that tell me the score. Go Sabres!

I'm a big supporter of the players wearing the pride jerseys, but I also have an appreciation for Russian players who choose not to. Might not sound like a big deal to us, but if they have family living back home in Russia, any type of "dissent" from the party line could put their families at risk.

Is Levi really 6'? I know that in other sports (basketball and football in particular), players' reported heights and weights are often inaccurate and intentionally so. I don't know if that's a thing in hockey. Levi definitely looks small in the net and looks smaller than 6', but it certainly does not appear to deter him from being an effective goalie. He appears to read the play very well and to be extremely quick. That said, I've only seen him play once. Obviously, his height and stature have not deterred the Sabres from moving forward with him, presumably ahead of 6'6" Erik Portillo. The Sabres would have welcomed Portillo into the organization if he had been willing to sign, but I believe that Portillo knew that the Sabres preferred Levi and that's why he shied away from signing with the organization, leading to the Sabres (wisely) trading his rights to LA for a 3rd round pick. And back to the original question, I'm comfortable with the coach's decision, but I'd play Levi against Florida if he's looking sharp in practice. He looked the part against the Rangers, particularly in the 3rd period and OT when the game was on the line. UPL may develop into a solid NHL goalie, but he's highly inconsistent and Comrie is unreliable at best, playing well in stretches, but not trustworthy in a low-scoring game. Anderson appears to be injured, so out of the mix.

In watching the game, I was not in favor of the choices that Granato made. I wanted Quinn first. I didn't want to see Peterka. Despite banking in a nice goal off the back of the goalie earlier in the game, he has not shown as a finisher in games. I wanted to see Dahlin too. That said, I do have to believe and trust that Granato knows more than I (and we on this board) do about which guys to go with. Frankly, other than Quinn, who scored when he lost control of the puck, none of the guys could score. And the same goes for their last shootout too.

Rousek played well last night. I definitely see him as a future bottom 6 winger for the Sabres and a fan favorite. A nice mix of skill and determination. Obviously, given that it was his first NHL opportunity, he played hard, but the book seems to be the he always plays that way. He certainly did not look out of place last night.

I have not seen this guy play, but, based on this thread, took a peek at his stats and they look good. 6'3", 205 lbs, 35 points and +10 in 39 games at the Divison 1 level. Looks like pretty good numbers for a defenseman. His stats have also improved from one season to the next in each of his 3 seasons in college at Minnesota State.

While I think that some of the attempts at "inclusivity" go a little bit too far to the point of silliness, I think that this initiative is a good one. If sports stars, who many look up to (young and old) are supportive of inclusion, it might sway some of the fans who may be on the fence about it. Plus, it's good economically for the sport. If 10% of the population is gay, wouldn't you want to connect with that portion of the population so that they are buying tickets, jerseys, watching on TV (and thus viewing advertisers ads), etc.? You'd think that professional athletes would be comfortable enough in their own skin to be able to wear a colored jersey for a few minutes that might be meaningful to others (and beneficial to the league), even if it doesn't align with their own preferences. I'm not sure I buy the religious excuse. I'd guess if you asked the current Pope or whether he would support wearing the jerseys, he'd say yes. I would also say that if one or two guys don't want to wear the jerseys, let them take a pass, but the other guys who either support the cause, or are neutral about it, should wear them. There may be upside to doing so, and for those guys, there's not much downside.

I'd rather the Sabres win all of their remaining games and fall one point short of the playoffs than continue to circle the drain at a fast pace like they are doing now. It would show heart, desire, an ability to get off the canvas, and set the right tone for the future. That said, if Bedard is a Connor McDavid type, I'm in. If he's Jack Eichel or even Alex LaFreniere, no thanks. I don't follow hockey prospects that closely, so I honestly don't know.

I grew up a big George Carlin fan and still am, despite his passing. I only saw him live once, at Melody Fair, back in the late 80s/early 90s. I don't live in Buffalo anymore and have no idea if the place still exists. My current favorite is Sebastian Maniscalco. I saw his special "Aren't You Embarrassed" back in 2014 on HBO or Showtime and have been a huge fan since. I saw him at a comedy festival in Arizona a few years ago. If you have not seen his stuff, I highly recommend it. A link to "Aren't You Embarrassed" is below. https://www.amazon.com/Sebastian-Maniscalco-Arent-You-Embarrassed/dp/B07Y8S58HF I don't see the play of the Sabres in the 2 weeks to be comedic. I see it more along the lines of sorry and disappointing, but not funny.

I'm not a "jersey guy" but this doesn't sound like a good move for the league. The people who do buy a lot of jerseys and sports merchandise are not high on the move. I suppose Fanatics has enough cash that they can hire the right design and development people and use the right fabrics to make this work and it may end up being a non-issue in time. They're saying 2024, so they also have some time to figure it out.

I listened to a few minutes of this. He seems like a well-spoken kid with a good head on his shoulders. If his talent can equal his ability to communicate, the Sabres may have a good one on their hands.

I like the concept, but I think they need to at least see him practice a couple of times to make sure he's ready. Even though it's a bit of a longshot, if the Sabres get hot and string together 2 or 3 straight wins (which they've done several times this season), they're right back in the thick of the wild card race. It would be a pretty big gamble to insert a rookie goalie who hasn't faced an NHL shot in a very important game.

Adams: "You're a good guy, but it's not working out here. We're willing to trade you back to Winnipeg for a 7th round draft pick, a bag of pucks, or future considerations, if they are willing to take on your contract next season. You did well there. If they won't take you, we'll look at other teams too. If that doesn't work out, Rochester is a nice city."

I agree that we need to temper our expectations. Levi is a talented young goalie and likely has the best future of any G in the system. He still might need some time to develop in the AHL, as did another top goalie coming from the NCAA, Ryan Miller, and others. Trading Portillo now looks like the right move for everyone involved. I'm still very excited that they have signed Levi and have him in the system. They still need a veteran to pair with UPL for next season, when Anderson is retired and they've presumably found a way to move on from Comrie. As I've stated elsewhere, Comrie is a good guy, hard worker, and a solid backup on a defensive-minded team, but he's not a good fit for the Sabres style of play.

For next year: 1. NHL Vet under the age of 40 not named Comrie - 1 (perhaps a high annual, shorter term deal) 2. UPL - 1A/2 3. Levi - Rochester It's too bad Comrie isn't working out, because he seems like a team player, good guy, and hard worker, but it's pretty clear he's not a reliable NHL goaltender. He may be fine as a backup on a team with great defense, but that's not the Sabres. Not sure what they do with the year remaining on his contract, but I guess they'll figure it out.