PerreaultForever

cause we like Michael Peca.

What are ANY assistant coach's strengths? One presumes he brings (and teaches) some of what he was. Physical 2 way player that did things the right way. If some of our young guys become more Peca-like we'd be in great shape.

I'm CAUTIOUSLY optimistic. It depends what they do in this off season. I still firmly believe when this season started management had zero thoughts about making the playoffs. Good draft coming up, development year, not a "tank" but also no real ambition to make the playoffs (yet). A few things went right and maybe better than expected so near the end when they found themselves close maybe they shifted their focus a bit but it was too late and they didn't get the addition(s) done so it is what it was. Now I truly hope they will set their sights on playoffs. I've heard a number of "experts" and "insiders" saying they think Buffalo will make some big moves this off season. I'm hoping they're not just pulling that out of their butts for summer chatter. If we make the necessary moves then we should contend. As for Granato, he hasn't done a good job on the defensive side so far. What I don't know is if he's not good at designing and implementing that OR was it just an offense first then we do defense philosophy. I know that's been said, but it still remains to be seen. The biggest question for me will be IF we do employ a good defensive system next year, how much will the offense suffer? Balancing that is Granato's job and we will see how he does or doesn't do it.

It seems too early to give him this much but then again, having him locked up long term also feels right.

No reason not to have another Sabres assistant. Teach some of these guys how to win a face off for one.

Bryson might be generous but the point is well made. Buffalo is not a horrible city by any means, but ranking it far ahead of Vancouver for lifestyle is just silly.

Oh ya, I'm sure Trevor Linden worries a lot about Fentanyl when he walks out the front door of this place:

I've seen real estate related sites list Raleigh as #1 a few times and I'd wondered about that but they factor in cost of living and crime rates and stuff and none of that applies to ultra rich people like hockey players who live in the "good" part of town. Buffalo's not a horrible city (aside from the snow) but anybody who says it's a better place to live than say Vancouver (among others on the list) is smoking crack (while eating wings in Buffalo's case).

He's great, but his price will be at an all time over inflated high. That might be pushing it, but I don't want him either.

This is Vancouver's Karmic payback for this: https://www.capfriendly.com/players/christian-ehrhoff

Maybe. They don't actually have that many forwards signed though. I think it more likely they let Dumba walk. In a heartbeat, but you won't get anywhere near that much imo.

OEL as a top pairing D man? Oh no I don't think so. That wouldn't be good. You've also got 2 lefties playing right now. That part MIGHT work, but I'd rather not. I think Muel-Dahlin should stay together and Power gets a new best friend. I'd overpay Gudas for 3 years over this idea.

and his leadership. He's always played hard and played the right way. He'd be a great influence on some of the young guys. I don't think Minnesota has any desire to move him out though, even if we were interested (which I doubt).

Goals that could just as easily have been scored by someone else. Olofsson's a bit like Sprong in Seattle (who Seattle doesn't want to pay). One dimensional guys who popped in some goals so they seem valuable. In the right situation they can pop in some more but they are liabilities in other facets of the game. I suspect we get very little for him even if we retain salary. And we won't miss him or his goals at all as they'll be popped in by someone else in his spot. Is there anybody on this board that WOULDN'T take Foligno back in a heartbeat?

An upgrade but not the best plan. This one should be a plan B or even plan C if other better deals don't happen. Soucy is inconsistent and ended up 3rd pairing at the end of the year. Borgen outplayed him (just for a point of reference).

I wouldn't be surprised if Carolina wants a first. They dumped DeAngelo for a 2nd a third and a 4th so they'll want more for Pesce and if Edmonton is also bidding the final price will be high. We have the draft capital to do it though and assuming it involves a long term signing it locks up a solid top 4 (assuming Dahlin signs). When we look back on that top 4 grouping years from now nobody's going to care how many or which picks we gave away.

Oilers also want him so I suspect the price will be fairly high. https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/analysis/oilers-pursing-shut-down-defender-pesce He is the type of player we need though and would be top 4 and be a shutdown guy. Decent transition player too. Stylistically I think Adams wants us to be Carolina so it's definitely a fit. Trade and sign deal, do it.

Taxes was just one part of it, but it was a part of it. I do remember this article vaguely. If it's the same one I think it focused on Florida specifically and the contracts some of Tampa's big names took to keep playing there. I think there's merit to it. One side note that might benefit the Sabres. Usually free agents getting a little older want term above all else and that might not fit in with Sabres plans to develop their own over time but this year they figure some might prefer 2 year deals so that they can hit free agency again when the cap shoots up (or so they predict). might be an opportunity to overpay a few guys to fill those holes and then not have to worry about blocking prospects down the road. Just a thought.

idk, you have to learn to play a certain way and it becomes instinctive for them. Players definitely can give it more in the playoffs but to some extent you either are a shot blocker or you're not. Injuries happen on D, that's why you need depth. I personally think you should play the right way (and block shots) all year.

I don't disagree with this, but I heard an interesting talk on the 32 thoughts podcast pointing out that Vegas only had ONE draft pick in their line up that won the cup. The gist of the talk was that the most important thing in this era is having a place where "players want to play" and the southern teams in the U.S. all have a huge advantage being in states with no state tax. So they were wondering if more teams were going to try to follow their model and move away from the old draft your own idea. In that sense, Pittsburgh may be a candidate to try that even without the state tax advantages. Personally I do think the "place you want to play" idea is very important in this free agent and salary cap era with more mobility than ever before, but I don't think it is possible for all teams. Canadian teams are only desirable for hometown players and loser teams like Buffalo have to become winner teams mostly by drafting before they can become "places you want to play" so maybe there's more than one pathway/model for success now. We shall see if drafting well can take us over the top on it's own or not. Personally I think it moves too slowly and you might not get good enough fast enough before your window already starts to close (as rookie contracts turn to higher longer deals and add cap pressure). It's a balancing act no matter what the case and windows open and close again quickly.

It was obvious Spezza was going to wherever Dubas ended up. I don't see any way he can make Pittsburgh into a genuine cup contender with that roster so good luck to them both, they will need it.

Ya, the Bruins made a few big mistakes. Ultimately we see that despite the league being faster, more skilled, up tempo, cleaner and all that in the playoffs it still becomes a war of attrition and you need a lot of depth for a solid run. Bruins got the depth part right, but I think they were a little over confidant and forgot the "war" part. They damaged Ekblad first, but didn't continue pounding that thin D. First game of the final Vegas went at them relentlessly and damaged what was left. Bruins brought in Hathaway and Tkachuk took him out with a vicious cross check early on. Hathaway became a non factor and nobody returned the favor on Tkachuk or Bennett. Bruins forgot the Big Bad part of their game and so they got beat by poor coaching choices, over confidence, and a lack of physicality. Cassidy on the other hand remembered what happened with his Bruins against St. Louis and this time he flipped the script. Good coaching. Solid deep team. Lots of plumbers. Right, the entire hockey world says it was Vegas's depth and defense but you know better, that's why Edmonton's hoisting the cup after beating Toronto in the final. You are always SO right.

As a final comment I think ultimately Florida was worn down. They lacked the depth Vegas had and are pretty banged up. It's hard to sustain the style of physical play they had for this many rounds without depth. Tkachuk is banged up. Their D is banged up. They didn't hit in this round the way they did earlier in the playoffs. Bobrovsky got them part way as well, but in the end, they had nothing left. Vegas had a deep, and relatively healthy, line up (aside from the banged up goalies but they had depth there too). That, imo, was the biggest difference.

I thought the HNIC reporters tried to lead him into a comment about the past (the Sabres) but he was lost for words at first and then just said the "hard to put into words" stuff so he stayed away from it. His Vegas "changed my outlook" and it was fun to come to the rink again bit was a bit like regaining his love so you know what he thinks, but he was diplomatic, I give him that.

maybe even MORE ANNOYING than Eichel winning the cup is Phil Kessel gets another one. That just seems wrong.