msw2112

That's probably true. He was pretty solid in Buffalo on some bad teams, when healthy, but not Vezina material. No question that the Boston system was a huge boon to his career. Same for Swayman and probably Rask too. None of these guys are bad goalies - they are all fine/good NHL goalies, but no question that the other players and system in Boston helped them all rise to the top of the league statistically.

Obviously the reference was to Lindy. The reference in question is in a sentence that reads: "Maybe Lindy can work with the guy to overcome his deficiencies. He'll likely have more influence than a Krueger or Granato did, as he's a proven winner in the league." The sentence about being a proven winner discussed his influence relative to that of Krueger or Granato, the previous two coaches, so it was clearly a reference to Ruff, the current coach. Also, Skinner has never made the playoffs, whereas Ruff made it plenty of times as a player and a coach, has won a number of playoff series as a coach, and is 5th all-time in the NHL in coaching wins. So, Ruff is the proven winner, not Skinner. As to the rumors, the buyout of Skinner was talked about long before Ruff became coach. He's got a huge contract and struggles defensively and struggles with structure. He was benched by one coach (Kreuger) and moved from the first line to the third line by the next one (Granato). I don't know whether a final decision has been made, but Adams did say that "everything is on the table," so clearly a buyout is one of the avenues they are considering. I assume they're looking at trade options first, and if those fail, then the buyout comes into play. If the Sabres retain salary, I could see a team having interested in a guy with Skinner's offensive skills and production. My understanding is that the buyout window is a fairly small one that starts 48 hours after the finals end and only runs through June 30, so we'll all soon find out.

I understand the animosity towards Skinner, but he does have some plusses as a player: He's a very productive goal scorer (which every team needs) He's a scrappy guy who gets under opponents' skin (which the Sabres need in abundance) There's no indication that he's not a team player or a negative presence in the locker room Chances are that he's on the way out as he's not helpful in the defensive zone and doesn't appear to play well in a structure, but the guy is not a terrible hockey player. He's clearly overpaid, but if he is bought out, there's a financial loss, plus, there will be significant cost to replace his offensive production. Maybe Lindy can work with the guy to overcome his deficiencies. He'll likely have more influence than a Krueger or Granato did, as he's a proven winner in the league. I'll leave that up to Lindy (and Adams) to decide.

I'd definitely like to see Edmonton force a Game 7. The NBA finals were a dud and there's not a lot of drama and excitement to mid-season baseball, so a game 7 would be the best sports viewing (for me) until the fall. Assuming a Game 7 happens, I'm torn as to who to root for. It would be amazing to see the Oilers complete the rare comeback from down 3-0 and maybe see Connor McDavid cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats. On the other hand, Edmonton has 5 Cups, so it's sometimes nice to see a team that doesn't have a championship get one. Also, they're never going to have a problem promoting hockey in Western Canada, but it's good for the game to promote it in areas where it's less popular, so Florida winning a Cup would really be a plus for hockey in that part of the country. It's already very popular in Tampa, and they have 3 Cups to go with that.

Yes. From what I can tell, the original Pink Flamingo in Allentown ("old Pink") was the one that was in the fire. At some point in the late 80's/early 90's a newer, larger Pink Flamingo location opened in a big warehouse type of space off of Main Street ("new Pink"). I have no idea if the new Pink is still open. I don't live in Buffalo and haven't for some time, and when I'm in town, I'm not typically visiting those types of bars. If I'm in a bar, it's usually a bar and grill where I can watch a game or have lunch/dinner with my family and/or friends I am visiting. In any event, as I said upthread, the old Pink was a Buffalo institution and it's sad to see it go.

I was never a regular, but I definitely went there from time to time in my late high school/early college years. It was a Buffalo institution. Sad to see it go this way.

The traded some very talented players, several of them who have had/are having great success elsewhere (O'Reilly, Kane, Eichel, Reinhart, Montour, etc.) That said, Buffalo was a mess and these trades needed to be made in order to rebuild. Time had run out in Buffalo for these players and it was better to start over with a clean slate than to continue on with a group that wasn't working, despite several coaches and GMs. It's unfortunate, as that's quite a collection of outgoing talent, but it had to be done. Time will tell whether new core will be successful, but Granato got them to the middle of the pack (which is better than they were back with all of those guys) and Ruff may be able to get them over the hump. The current group is young and talented and there's a lot of talent in the pipeline. They now have an experienced NHL coach who has done well with several teams over the years. All is not lost. I'm looking forward to next season.

When he first started calling games, I could not stand Dunleavy. He seemed to be at about ECHL level. He's improved and has grown on me a little bit. I'd say he's now tolerable and average. I might prefer someone else, but I don't think that's going to happen, so I can live with Dunleavy. My opinion has nothing to do with following RJ. RJ was an all-time great and a true unicorn and it would not be fair to Dunleavy to compare him. To his credit, Dunleavy comes across as genuine and a good guy. I'd guess that most of the fanbase sees it like I do: good guy, OK broadcaster, probably not "popular."

Crazy to think that PIerre Turgeon is in the NHL Hall of Fame!

I don't care whether the guy has US National Development Team connections or Granato/Appert connections. Was he a successful coach where he last was? And for what it's worth Appert did a pretty good job in Rochester and Granato had a couple of good years in Buffalo and developed a lot of young players, so these connections are not necessarily bad. I do understand the concept that the Sabres seem to over-focus on who they already know versus doing comprehensive searches, but I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt.

This is in reference to Dakota Joshua on the Canucks. I don't follow the NHL a ton outside of the Sabres, but I do enjoy having playoff games on while I am doing stuff around the house in the evenings. I saw parts of several Vancouver games in the first couple of rounds and this guy Joshua definitely stood out. He's an aggressive forward who plays a gritty, physical game and he scored some key goals in the playoffs. He seems like the exact type of player the Sabres lack and need more of in the middle-to-bottom-6. Prior to this year's playoffs, I was not familiar with this player at all.

Does anyone know if any of the guys on the list have previously played for Ruff in Dallas, NYR (where he was an assistant), or NJD and might want to play for him again? If a guy likes playing for Lindy or had a lot of success playing for Lindy, it might overcome the desire to avoid the Sabres organization. Also, we often fail to forget that, despite the extended playoff drought, the Sabres have been a reasonably competitive team in the last 2 seasons and do have a lot of young talent, so it may not be quite as unattractive as some may think. The team is not a cellar dweller fighting their way to the bottom (although there were not too long ago). Furthermore, a lot of guys are from Southern Ontario or the NE United States, so Buffalo is close to home, which can be a draw. Just trying to find some of the positives here....

I think the hope is that with a couple of years beside Lindy, combined with his relatively successful run as a professional hockey coach in Rochester, that Appert will be ready. It's anybody's guess whether it will work. Many/most successful NHL coaches were either successful AHL coaches and/or NHL assistant coaches first. Personally, I'm pretty shocked to see Ellis and Wilford still on the Sabres' coaching staff. When they were retained I expected them to be reassigned to other roles within the organization, but not as close to the day-to-day on-ice operations as they were this past season. I guess Appert coming in and being the top/primary assistant is a significant change, but I'm still scratching my head. Every time I think this organization has started to go down a better path, they do something that makes me question things. While I don't think hiring Lindy Ruff was a terrible choice, it certainly didn't look like they did much diligence in the head coaching search, and the new coaching staff looks like they put even less diligence into the assistant coaching search.

It's great to see such excitement and enthusiasm for professional hockey in Western New York and for (a part of) the Sabres organization. Hope they can bring some of that excitement about 60 miles to the west next season.

I don't follow Matthews that much. Obviously, the guy is a premier goal scorer. My concern about him is that he lacks the qualities that the Sabres roster is so badly in need of - grit and toughness. The Sabres already have guys who can score (although none who have scored as much as Matthews) and play a finesse game, so I don't think that the assets required to acquire a guy like Matthews would be worth it. If the Sabres were to send out a lot of assets for at top NHL player, they'd be much better served acquiring a guy with the skillset of a Matthew Tkachuk. He's not going to put up as many goals or points as Matthews, but he brings all of the intangibles that the Sabres need - grit, toughness, leadership, etc. I fully understand that Tkachuk is not available and isn't going to be. I think the Sabres were/are hoping that Dylan Cozens will be that type of player and he still might.

I'm not passionate about the Leafs losing, but given how their fans like to come into Buffalo and take over with a degree of arrogance, I can't lie and say I don't enjoy it a little bit. Of course, the Leafs losing means that Boston is advancing, and it's hard to take a lot of pleasure in that....I'd like to see Boston go out this round. I'm also not a fan of the Dallas sports scene, but I still was happy to see them oust Vegas. Vegas has had a great run the last few years, so I enjoy seeing new/different teams in the mix.

This is the regime that drafted Peterka by, as mentioned, a smart trade to move up the draft board. This regime also drafted Quinn, who outside of injuries, has been a very good offensive player (he did have a horrible outing in Detroit....) They also drafted Benson and a number of other guys who appear to have bright futures. I don't see the Adams administration as the total fail that many on this board do. They've put together a talented team that's in the middle of the pack and should, with the right coach (Lindy?) make the leap to the upper half of the league. I think that they will pick up some grit in the offseason by acquiring a couple of new players and I think that Lindy will help inject some grit into some of the existing players. I don't think a complete overhaul is needed. They are moving in the right direction and with good NHL coaching (Lindy?) and a few roster tweaks, I think that we Sabres fans will be happy next year when the team ends the playoff drought. And that's probably without significant contributions from future players such as Savoie, Kulich, Rosen, Neuchev, Wahlberg, Östlund, etc. who are further down the line. I will fully admit that I said the same thing last year, but I really believed in Granato, and as much as I like him and supported him, he lost me with the 2 late Detroit losses and the Ottawa embarrassment. I just don't see those types of performances in critical games happening with Lindy behind the bench. The team will, at a minimum, be ready to play both in a) the October-November-December portion of the season; and b) the first period of games. I've made these same comments in other threads.

Very simply, I believe that Lindy will most impact the team by them being READY. Ready to start the season in October (and not January) and ready to start games when the puck drops to start the 1st period (and not after they've given up 2-4 goals). Guys who are not ready will not play and there will be bag skates if necessary. As someone said above, if Lindy does his job well, there won't need to be a lot of benchings or bag skates. This alone would easily elevate the current roster to a playoff team from one that just misses it by a little bit, plus there will be roster changes (improvements) too.

Hasn't Ovechkin played in that same spot his entire career, and nobody has every been able to stop it? I'm fine with the Tage one-timer threat from the left wall, but the other guys can move around more and create some activity. I'm in agreement that more activity in the "Hyman-area" is always a good thing.

I'm a huge fan of Ruff and always have been since his playing days, but he wasn't my first choice for this hire. That said, it's not a terrible hire. Maybe a bit uninspired, but Lindy is likely on any team's short list that would be looking at veteran coaches (Gallant, Berube, Boudreau, etc.). He's been successful at every stop and helped turn around young, struggling teams in Dallas and NJ. He hasn't been able to sustain it beyond about 3 years, but if he can get the Sabres over the hump in a couple of years, change the culture, make the playoffs, etc., he'll have done his job and they can then move on to someone else. The shelf life of a NHL coach is not very long and Lindy is getting up there in years anyway.

I love a 2-year deal. If things go well, they can always extend. If they don't, the Sabres can get out without paying a king's ransom. Most coaches in the prime of their careers wouldn't agree to such a short deal, but Lindy is older, he's made plenty of money, he lives in Buffalo, and maybe he wants to be a "bridge" coach to a younger assistant and only wants to commit to 2 years and then maybe retire. Or, he's just betting on himself - he could do really well and command a big extension/payday to continue. If Lindy can change the culture and break the playoff drought in 2 years, then move upstairs into the front office, or retire, I'd be OK with that. I believe they'll make the playoffs next season. With Granato, they were not that far off and Lindy is not going to let this team sleepwalk through October, November, and December and the first period of every game. Even with no roster changes, I think Lindy gets them in as a wild card. Plus, there will be roster changes....

Don't read too much into the post-season locker room interviews. These guys are hockey players and kids in their 20's. They're not polished public speakers. They're shooting from the hip, trying to answer difficult questions when they're a) embarrassed that they failed to make the playoffs and b) don't want to totally throw their former coach, who they like, under the bus.

They are both young goalies with high end potential. Right now, UPL is better. He's older and has a lot more NHL experience. He was also a starting goalie for 2/3 of a NHL season with excellent numbers. UPL also has size that Levi, unfortunately, will never have. One goal that Levi gave up occurred when the offensive player pushed his pad into the net and the puck along with it. With UPL's greater size (and presumably strength), I don't think his leg would have been pushed in and the goal would not have been scored. All this said, I think Levi is a very talented goalie with great quickness and reflexes and he seems to have the right mental makeup, which is critical for a goalie. He was great in college, great in international tournaments, and has shown flashes in the NHL on multiple occasions. He's played well in Rochester. He will graduate to full-time in the NHL soon and will be a very good goaltender and will be part of one of the better tandems in the league. While it's possible he becomes better than UPL, I think that his size may be a factor and as such, UPL may be the slightly more successful goalie in the long run. As a Sabres fan, I'm very happy to have them both. As I've stated elsewhere, I really believe that with the right coaching, this is a pretty good team and easily a playoff team. If this season's team played to their potential in 3/4 of their games, they would be in the playoffs. As I see it, they played to their potential in 50-60% of their games, tops, and that falls on coaching. I've been a Granato fan the last few seasons, but I had to get off the train sometime in mid-March. The two bad losses to Detroit when they were in striking distance of a playoff spot, plus an embarrassing loss to Ottawa on home ice during that stretch, did me in.

I don't think Pegula wants to sell. I also think that the team is going to achieve success in the upcoming seasons. Pegula endured the lean years (and may well have contributed to those years being lean), and he wants to enjoy the emergence from darkness. Thanks to Donnie Granato for developing many of the young guys and getting the team to the middle of the pack. Now the next coach can take them to the playoffs where they should be for a number of years. The current talent, with proper coaching (which was clearly lacking this season), is already (entry) playoff-level, and that talent will continue to mature and improve, with lots of young and upcoming talent in the pipeline. Meanwhile, some of the older teams will eventually fade, like Pittsburgh and others.

1980 was a long time ago, but I do remember this. Bowman was a great coach but wanted to show the hockey world he could be a great GM (which, unfortunately, he wasn't). His desire to become a GM is what allowed this to happen. I don't necessarily see a guy like Ruff interested in this type of arrangement, plus Adams is entrenched as GM (at least for now). But if Ruff was appointed head coach for 1-2 years with Peca as an assistant/heir-apparent/promise of the job when Ruff was done, with Ruff moving into some type of front office position when Peca took over, I could see it working. Ruff would change the culture in a hurry and get these guys moving, but I think his message might grow stale after a couple of years (as it did in Dallas and NJ) and Peca would be ready to take over. It's a nice concept, but I don't think it will happen.