msw2112

I have zero inside information, but I don't think the Sabres made a big push for Kane. They may have kicked the tires a bit, but he's really not what they need right now. He's an undersized skill player on the downside of his career. No doubt he's a first ballot Hall of Famer, but he didn't do much in Chicago or New York last season. Despite his track record of playoff success, he didn't help the Rangers, who got bounced in the first round. The Sabres have lots of undersized skill players who are emerging young guys. The Sabres need a big, gritty, sandpaper veteran forward. If Kane was not from the Buffalo area, I really don't think he'd even be in the conversation. A much better "get" for the Sabres would be Kane's former running-mate in Chicago, Jonathan Toews. He's a great faceoff guy (a huge need for the Sabres) and a great leader/character guy with a Stanley Cup pedigree that might really help Okposo mentor the young guys. From an article in The Athletic: The Athletic’s instant analysis: Can Toews still play in the NHL? Absolutely. Even at age 35, even with his two-way game in steep decline, and even with all his health issues, he’d be a pretty darn good bottom-six center for a contending team, a guy who could play 15 minutes a night and either kill penalties or play down low on the power play (likely not both anymore, though). Yes, he’s a shell of the player he once was, but he still had a respectable 15 goals and 31 points in 53 games last season, often playing alongside AHL-level talent. And regardless of how much he can produce, you can be sure there are general managers and coaches around the league that would love to have Toews’ leadership and experience in their locker rooms. Few players carry as much respect within the league as Toews does. Another statistic I found: Jonathan Toews had the highest faceoff win percentage with more than 75 faceoffs in 2022-23, at 63.1 percent won.

I think you mean Rousek, not Rosen, but I agree with you on why the Sabres promoted the guys they did. That said, Thompson and Quinn are top-6 type of scorers, so their absence is impacting offensive production, which is why Benson/Kulich/Rosen are the guys on the radar now. As a side note, I'm concerned about how effective Quinn will be this season, even after he comes back. That was a pretty major injury and surgery, so I could see him not being back to 100% for a year or more - perhaps not being 100% until sometime next season. It's certainly not a knock on Quinn, it's just the reality of the situation. Had he not been injured, I was expecting a big season from him, with the kind of jump that Peterka has made. Hopefully, my concerns are unfounded and we see it this year, but my hunch is that we'll have to wait until next season to see him at his best.

I'd have to agree with the others that I could go either way on this one. Benson's play has been good enough for him to stay, but he could also benefit from another year of development. For what it's worth, he does seem to be more ready than Savoie. I can't compare to Rosen and Kulich, because I have not seen them play in the NHL (or at all, for that matter). I suppose that if the Sabres feel that Rosen or Kulich can contribute as much or more than Benson, then they should send him down.

I was born and raised in Buffalo and followed the Sabres and Bills throughout my childhood. Hockey came first, having played the sport at the "mite" level (age 4-5, I think - it was a long time ago) and sitting on my parents' lap at the Aud for Sabres games. Started following the Bills as a kid in the Joe Ferguson era, although in the days of NFL blackouts, we only got to see 8 games per year. On Sunday afternoons when the Bills were at home, I'd play football in the street with my brothers and friends while listening to Van Miller call the game on a portable radio. In high school and college (Super Bowl era for me), my best friend's dad had 4 Bills seats on the 45 yard line and was very generous with them. Went to tons of games and really learned how to tailgate as a teenager! (The same dad had 2 Sabres seats that he was also always generous with). Went to a major Big 10 school and that has been my college team ever since. I have lived in two major markets with teams in all of the professional sports leagues, but have never adopted the teams in the cities in which I live. It's always been the Sabres and Bills for me! My dad grew up in Rochester as a Yankees fan, so that's my MLB team, although I typically don't like big spending/major market/front runner types of teams. NBA is one where I don't have a consistent team. I went to a few Braves games as a kid, liked the Larry Bird Celtics, then liked the Miami Heat (pre-Lebron James) and now I typically root for teams from smaller markets like Cleveland and Milwaukee. I tend to prefer teams that draft and develop their own over teams like the Lakers who buy up all the high-priced free agents and create superteams (which is at odds with being a Yankee fan, but I was born into it). I have no connection to those cities, but think it would be fun to see the Sacramento Kings or the OKC Thunder win a championship. If a team in my current city makes a deep playoff run, I'll get on the bandwagon a little bit. It's not a deep love for those teams, but I like to watch sports, go out, have a few cold ones, and have fun, so it's a great excuse to join the party. My wife thinks I watch too much sports (and she's right), but if the local team is doing well and everyone else is into it, I get a free pass. In those situations, I can have a few drinks, socialize and focus on key points in the game. If a Buffalo team is on, I'm not social at all. I'm totally focused, watch every play, every player, etc. I might be known to drop a few f-bombs here and there. My kid keeps telling me "Dad, do you know they can't hear you?" It's just a different level.

I wasn't a big fan of the pick of Rosen, at the time. He was very small and you never know how guys will grow. He had shown out at one international tournament, but his day-to-day numbers weren't that great. That said, the Sabres picked him right around where the experts had ranked him, so it wasn't one of those reach picks where the Sabres were trying to outsmart everyone, or one of those picks where a guy dropped way down and the Sabres swooped in the for the "steal" (like Grigerenko). It looks like the kid has grown physically and mentally and he's been well-served with development time in the AHL, so I'll just give credit to the Sabres on this one. Of course, he hasn't made it to the NHL yet, but he appears to be on track to be a successful draft and develop type of player that has been properly managed. I suspect he'll get a few games in Buffalo this year and make the team next year.

I was watching on TV and thought I heard something unusual with O Canada. Then the anthem singer's poor performance was dwarfed by the Sabres' poor performance in the first period that followed.

Good to see Benson and Tuch in there.

Granato publicly stated in the past that given the makeup of the roster (lots of youth, speed, and offensive talent), the team was going to focus on offensive play. It is easier to teach, easier to get guys to buy in, and would help the team win some games and get the young guys some confidence while they adjusted to the league. It worked. He said that more defensive concepts would follow in the future and I believe that this season, it's happening. The defensive play and penalty kill has improved, but the offense has been sporadic. They need to find the right balance. There's another active thread about the Sabres power play and that truly may be the difference maker. If the team can score 1 more PP goal every game (or even every other game), they're probably winning some of the close games. Thompson's defensive play (and the team's) has not yet resulted in a better record (they're hovering right around .500, which is where they were last season), but better defensive play should ultimately result in a better record. The Sabres have more offensive skill than most teams and eventually, the math says that the PP will produce more goals, and that should result in more wins. If both teams play good defense, and one team has more talented scorers, the team with more offensive talent should win most of the games over the course of a long season. That extra goal or two that goes in because of pure offensive talent (overcoming good defense) will make the difference in most games. Whether it plays out that way is anybody's guess, but Granato and Adams have been consistent with their messaging and, as a fan, I'm willing to give it a chance to see how it turns out.

I have not seen the last 3 games, but it sounds like the PP hasn't gotten any better from the games before then. From what I've seen, they don't get enough shots on goal and when they do, there's no traffic in front and the goalie make the easy save. They need to get some shots on goal with the goalie being screened. That should lead to some shots getting through the goalie and other shots creating rebounds, that lead to high-percentage chances. The Sabres have more than enough offensive skill to have a PP that's in the top third of the league.

I'm in the same boat as you. Was hoping to watch tonight, but it won't happen. I think ESPN+ gets more than 70 out of the 82 games, so I can't complain too much. Maybe I'll spend some time with my wife and kids on a Friday night (while listening to the game on my phone through the WGR or some other app with the radio broadcast). Losing NHL Network is one of the few downgrades I've experienced when moving from Directv to YouTubeTV. On the flip side, there are many benefits, which outweigh these downgrades and I'm saving a good chunk of change every month.

No doubt that for players well into their 30's, one-year deals are the way to go. Even guys you like and respect. Fortunately for the Sabres, Okposo is on a 1-year deal right now.

Before becoming a Sabre, Okposo was able to effectively keep up with a young John Tavares with the Islanders, and had the speed and hands to become a very effective scoring winger. It landed him a big free agent contract (at the time) with the Sabres. As he aged and played on some lesser Sabres teams, Okposo morphed into a great bottom-six forward, checking, cycling the puck, playing sound defensive hockey, etc. and he became a great glue guy and leader too. Unfortunately, he has lost a step to the point where he can't even do the bottom-six stuff as effectively as he used to. I agree that he's not a huge detriment to the team at this point, but he's also not much of a benefit on the ice. A younger, hungry player might bring more. So, in a long-winded fashion, I'm agreeing with what you are saying.

I'm a big fan of Okposo and was in favor of re-signing him for his veteran leadership, but I have to agree. Age appears to have caught up with him and he just can't do it anymore. A couple of anecdotes come to mind: I played a lot of youth hockey, but stopped playing in my teens, as I was playing too many other sports. Around age 30, some friends got me into a rec league. It was like riding a bike, I got right in there and was a really good player right off the bat. I played all the time and loved it. I scored a bunch of goals and was one of the best players in the league for several years. Around age 35, I just lost it. I tried changing sticks and a few other things and NOTHING would work. I was in great physical shape (better at 35 than I was at 30), but my hands were just gone. I couldn't maintain possession, I couldn't score, etc. I was moving in quicksand....I just couldn't do what I used to do. I was no longer fun. So, I just stopped playing. I took up other sports and physical activities to keep in shape (like running, yoga, and hiking), which I do to this day. When I see Okposo this year, I think of my own experience. I realize it's a bit of a stretch to compare a rec league weekend warrior to a professional athlete, but that's what I see. A great example of a pro athlete is Lindy Ruff. As a kid, he was my favorite Sabre. He was tough and aggressive on the ice and not a guy to mess with. He could also score a little bit, scoring around 20 goals at his peak. I just loved the way he played and carried himself. He was a great leader and became the team captain. By the end of his career, however, before he was traded to the Rangers, it seemed like he could barely move. I have memories of watching him falter all over the ice and being completely ineffective. With him being my favorite player, it was hard to watch. Fortunately for Lindy, he was able to retire and establish a great career as a coach. He was arguably the best coach in Sabres franchise history and is now having great success with a young New Jersey team. Another example is from football - Jim Kelly. An all-time great Buffalo Bill and NFL Hall-of-Famer. I recall his last game in the NFL, a playoff game against Jacksonville that the Bills lost. Kelly was old and slow and beaten up badly by the Jags defense and the Bills lost the game. It was pretty clear that Kelly was done. Age had caught up to him. Kelly retired shortly after that game. So to sum up my long post, Okposo looks like he's done. Great guy, great leader, great influence on the team, but he just can't keep up on the ice anymore. I'd love to see him stay with the team in a coaching/advisory/mentoring role.

Good to see Rousek up for another shot, but hopefully Tuch is nothing serious (and hopefully nothing at all). If Biro took Benson's spot, does Rousek take Comrie's spot? I'm not sure how all of the injury designations have been handled.

It's early in the season and he's only played a few games, so we're dealing with a small sample size, but I've liked what I've seen over the course of the last week or 2 and it couldn't have been more timely with the Levi and Comrie injuries. I was always in favor of keeping UPL and giving him time to develop, so I'm happy to see it paying off, at least for now. Whether he can maintain it, we'll see.

Eric Johnson and Jordan Greenway have proven to be great additions for overall team defense and penalty killing. Credit to the "pro personnel" scouting and analytics folks who identified quality players to fill very specific needs. And neither guy costs a fortune to have on the roster.

I was concerned about the slow start, but I agree that they are starting to figure it out and rounding into form with more than enough time left to move up into playoff position. The play of UPL and Comrie (pre-injury) have been good - better than expected - and the the PK has been a revelation. There's too much talent on the PP for it to stay as poor as it's been. There's still too much running around in their own end in the 3rd period of games, but they are keeping more of the chances on the perimeter and the goaltending has been better. With expectations so high coming in, I expected them to come bursting out of the gate and they certainly didn't, but they were not having much "puck luck" in the first few games (due to hot goalies, or simply hitting posts and cross bars, pucks jumping off sticks, etc.), but the scoring is starting to come around, while the overall defense/PK/goaltending is better, so they should be fine.

Biro earned his shot. He was a captain of his college team (so presumably has good leadership and character), is putting up more than point per game in the AHL this season and is just under a point per game in his entire AHL career, plus, according to Sabrespace, he had a good training camp this season. All that said, his callup surprises me a little bit, given how much more highly touted some of the other prospects are. I assume that Biro has, at present, a higher floor, but a much lower ceiling.

I was thinking the same thing as the earlier post saying they were not ready to throw in the towel yet on Krebs, and compared him to Casey Mittelstadt. Krebs is only 22, and I think Casey was in a similar spot at age 22 (2 years ago). First round draft pick who has played in the AHL and NHL, has shown out in spurts, but has not played at a consistent high level. Casey has developed into a very good NHL player and Krebs could follow a similar development plan. He has the skillset and he has the effort (I like his grit - a smaller guy, but not afraid to mix it up and drop the gloves), but he just hasn't put it all together on a regular basis. That said, I do agree with what's been said earlier in the thread - the Sabres have several strong forward prospects in the system, so if another one is developing at a faster pace than Krebs and is ready, it wouldn't be the worst thing to move on from Krebs in favor of the other prospect. When he came to Buffalo, things were still pretty bleak, but Krebs (and Tuch) embraced the move and have been part of the turnaround. He seems like a good kid, so I would like to see him become a consistently good NHL player in Buffalo or elsewhere.

I can't say I disagree with you. Mighty Taco is a part of my teenage years and somewhat of a cultural icon for me and my peers. It's part of the local fabric. I know people that love it and go out of their way for it. Objectively, the food is pretty bad.

After the Ottawa game, I was going to start a Greenway thread. I've been really impressed with his play this season. He's been great on the PK, great defensively in 5 on 5 situations and has chipped in enough on the offensive side to be an effective contributor there too. In the Ottawa game, the Sens had an odd man rush (2 on 1, I think) and Greenway hustled back to break it up. We have not seen that type of play from a Sabres forward in a long time. Kudos to Granato who allegedly pounded the table at the deadline to get this guy, and to Adams for making it happen. Johnson is also looking like a very smart acquisition. At his age, he's not as fast as he once was, but he clearly has a veteran savvy about him on the ice (and off) and you can see some of the physical traits that made him a #1 overall draft pick. He could also be a mentor to Power, who has some similar traits (big-bodied #1 overall draft pick defenseman). I have not seen enough out of Clifton to make much of an assessment, but he brings a much-needed physical element to the team and he's a veteran defenseman that is a clear upgrade over the guys we were running in the 5 and 6 slots last season. Although I'm not thrilled with a 3-4 record, there is plenty of time to climb the standings and get back in the race, and the team has made some improvements that should prove beneficial in the long run.

I think it had been predictable with Thompson on the left side for one-timers and Olofsson on the right. It appears that they've tried to mix this up and it hasn't been wildly successful, although they had at least one PP goal last night, so maybe things are starting to change. They definitely need to get more shots on goal from the point, with traffic in front, to generate rebounds or deflections. They had a couple of deflection goals last night, although I can't recall how many were on the PP.

I agree with this 100%, but UPL must clear waivers, so if they send him down, he is exposed to being claimed by any team. He would absolutely be claimed by another team who know that he has potential and wants to take a chance on that potential. That's why they can't and aren't sending him down. I also agree with you about not rushing the other young players, although they have a conundrum with both Benson and Savoie in that neither is eligible to play in Rochester (except for a conditioning stint, as Savoie is getting now). It's NHL for 9 games, then stay up, or go back to juniors. My guess is that Benson will stick, based on how he has performed, and Savoie will go back to juniors. Benson seems to be the more NHL-ready of the 2 and before he got injured, he was holding his own.

It's far from the only basis. Allowing young players to develop is not bucking the trend, it's sound management. Some guys develop and some don't. It's pretty well-known that taller players often take more time to develop (UPL is tall) and that goalies often take more time to develop (UPL is a goalie). UPL was a talented guy when he was drafted and expectations were high, and the Sabres have invested a lot in his development, so I think they want to see where it goes rather than selling him off low for a bag of pucks. Maybe he'll develop into a reliable NHL goalie and maybe he won't, but in the relatively small sample size they have with him, he's flashed at times. He won a lot of games last season playing behind a horrible defense. He also looked like crap a number of times, including the pre-season this year. At this point in time, they are not desperate to fill his roster spot, so the correct play is to hang onto the young goalie and see if he develops.

Neither were Tage Thompson and Casey Mittlestadt, until they were.