PerreaultForever

Against popular views by some I still think he's a good coach. Can he coach today's pampered star players? idk, but if he'd learned to adapt like Tortorella seems to have (a little) he could be very successful. Mind you, it's a crap team so it won't be easy.

No, to the bold. If you look over the whole season, the teams that play better D are the teams that gave us the most trouble. Regardless of how good they were. Otherwise I agree, but would also add bad D makes goalies look bad and then people say "our goaltending sucks" and good team D makes average goalies look good. For example Hill, playing for Vegas right now. He's no better than Comrie as a goalie, but you wouldn't know it behind that team's defensive system. Put Hill on Buffalo and he'd look like a sieve.

We have the wrong Stillman

So brighter than ours? Look, I know defensive shut down hockey can be less exciting than fast open offensive hockey (both terms used loosely for the sake of discussion but you know what I mean) but it wins. Reading about Savoie being invisible is part of that. He's never faced D at a higher level and it'll be even harder in the NHL with D oriented teams. Part of the learning curve is learning how to fight through that and adapt your game to face it. It's also about learning to play it, although I'm not sure the Sabres think you need to at this point. Anyway, it's how Vegas got to the final. It's how Dallas got as far as they did and it's partly how Florida got there as well. More often than not, defense still wins championships. Jersey raised the cup in the 90s after all. We never have. Remember this year how a total garbage team like Philly shut our high powered offense down and then realize we have a dimension of our game missing.

Yup, until we are winners we are losers. The air will only be cleansed of the stink when we make the playoffs and even then we have to keep rising. Like many people here, I was not anti-tank, but I was against Murray trading away all those picks and making the (in his mind) quick fixes he made after gutting the thing. Total disaster.

I think it's probably Spezza. He resigned right after Dubas was out. He's obviously loyal to Dubas and I suspect Dubas will want "his people" under him. If Pittsburgh does hire JBot, it probably means Dubas has not got as much free reign and as long a leash as it appears. JBot, or any other old regime guy would be a spy or fly in the ointment ready to take over as an interim should Dubas get booted down the road. I was listening to Kypreos talking to MacLean on his podcast today and their view was that anything over 34 million for your top 4 puts you in a tough spot for building a team around them. If that's a valid number, it's easy to see why Toronto has a problem that can't be fixed without trading one of their big 4 away. Pittsburgh has 20 million in cap space but only 15 players signed. Sabres top line costs them 21 million and then Cozens adds another 7. Dahlin adds a wrinkle soon but at the moment, the top end is very affordable by NHL standards.

Regarding both of these ideas, that the expansion teams had an unfair advantage, I've said it before and will say it again, they didn't. They had a better deal than the old expansion teams got, but it was far from guaranteed success. They are both simply managed better than teams like the Sabres have been in the past. Think about this, would you as Sabres GM have traded the ENTIRE Sabres roster and prospect pool, everything and everyone, for the expansion draft Kraken roster? Would you? That's everybody. Thompson, Reinhart, Eichel, Ullmark, Dahlin, Cozens, etc etc etc. All of ours for all of theirs. That's the starting point. Look at those rosters. You wouldn't would you. Not even close. But in 2 years they traded and signed and drafted and retooled and flipped some 2/3 of that roster and are an exciting playoff team. That's simply good management. Vegas had a bit of an easier start with all the dumb side deals GMs made but again, that's good management on their part. I forget their whole initial roster but I don't think it was better than what the Sabres had at that time. Better goaltending with Fleury but not much star power and pretty much a lunch bucket crew. In hindsight maybe you'd swap all for all but at the time I don't think you would. With all the high picks we've had and plenty of cap space, we should have been a competitive team a LONG TIME AGO, but we've botched and bungled it despite plenty of opportunity. That's all on management and the owner who hires them. Adams rebuild version whatever seems to be building a talented young core, but he (imo) is still botching it by moving too slowly. We could and should have made the playoffs this year. It could have been a huge moment for the franchise. So we can argue that and if we need to add or should have added or how much to rely on our own draft picks and so on but if we don't get it together this year coming up it can all fall apart yet again so easily. It's time, over due, and I hope Adams knows it and doesn't keep think years down the road.

My point is if he took an assistant GM job why wouldn't he take a GM job under someone as in both cases he has few or no independent decisions. Current job, X dollars pay, reports to Francis his boss. Hypothetical new job, X Plus dollars pay raise, reports to Dubas his boss. Different title, same thing, more pay. That's all. I don't think he'd leave Seattle for that myself, unless it was a HUGE pay raise and a term contract, but the idea he wouldn't work under a boss is what I still call nonsense.

Rubbish. He's working under Francis right now.

Brothers in hip replacements.

I'd assume Dubas gets to hire his own underling? Spezza? Dubas apparently didn't like the power structure in Toronto. How each decision went up the food chain and then back down, so I think his new title will create something different to that and give him more control. He has the same problem in Pittsburgh as Toronto, only with an older star group and still a lack of money for the bottom along with iffy goaltending. Good luck with all that.

Hard to say. He may have learned from past mistakes. See if he is allowed to make big changes or not. Shanahan said the big 4 are staying, but he might have been lying. I'm going to love it if the Leafs get screwed by Matthews the same way Tavares screwed the Islanders.

I guess for some, but not from me. imo he focused too much on offense and not enough on defense and handicapped that team forever (unless they trade away some of the big 4) by overpaying the big 4 and leaving not nearly enough to build a team. Leafs will never win with that structure and that's his team. So I guess if you want to make the playoffs every year and lose early every year it's success but I'd call it failure.

Confusing and conflicting reports on Dubas. Signing in Pittsburgh, rejecting Pittsburg, whatever it is the drama seems fitting. I really have no idea why some people think he's a good GM at all.

It's definitely going to get mentioned. I don't know about the rest of you but as a Sabres fan it bugs the heck out of me that after ROR leaving and winning a cup and mvp, we see the 2 big tear down pieces going head to head for the cup so soon after they were dealt. Carrier, McNabb, even Montour doesn't really matter, players move around on all teams, but the big guns that didn't do it here doing this well is hard to take. At least Risto is garbage on a garbage team, but if Lehner was the star goalie for Vegas as well I'd probably end up breaking my tv. We better make the playoffs next year.

Soccer is rising because of immigration and ethnic diversity. It is the biggest sport in the world, and people from other countries bring that love with them. Hockey has always been a niche and always will be. It's an expensive sport to get your kids into and it's really only most suitable to colder climates where it's played outdoors still as well as in the numerous rinks where people go to (believe it or not) escape the even colder weather outside. It's only for the rich in the south. It won't die though. It's a niche, but it's a big niche.

So the opening of game one goes something like this? Hey Sam, how ya been man? Pretty damn good Jack, yourself? Hit the jackpot my friend, hit the jackpot. Is that a pun? What's a pun? Nevermind. So can you believe how great things are for us after getting out of you know where? No where? You know, that place where people lose their love for hockey. Oh there. Damn, I already forgot all about it. Seems like a long time ago. (Montour skates by..........."heehaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!" keeps skating) You know that guy? Ya man, we played with him there. I've really blotted it all out I guess. Anyway, good luck man, but I hope you lose. Same to you. Winner gets the cup, so what do you say loser gets the tandem bike? Sounds fair. (I think it'll go something like that)

Carolina has 2 veteran FA goalies (Raanta and Anderson). Both are still capable and they aren't re-signing both as they have a younger cheaper option who's time is now. There's your goalie. Just pay one of them and we're all set.

He competes, and there's no question he can be effective at that level, but there's still a question as to his ceiling at the NHL level. Maybe next year is his breakout, fingers crossed.

That's what they'll probably agree to, shortening the pre-season. It'll end up meaning some teams will still be getting it together first few weeks of the season (those with new players and/or coaches) so fast starts will be even more beneficial for making the playoffs.

Well I'm glad we signed him. Hate to see picks walk away and be wasted. One more D prospect. Whatever he ends up being, it's a positive.

Peterka with a bunch of personal awards but man the kid looked heart broken at the end of that game. I felt for him. Heart on his sleeve guy though, hope he brings that same level of passion back to Buffalo. Krebs did have a good game. We will see which of them brings what back to Buffalo for next season. Hopefully all . Tuch gets nada, that has to sting. Feel good for the Latvians though. Likeable team. Loved their reaction. Meant way more to them.

Vegas blew that one. Goaltending iffy as well this time. This could still go either way.

USA choked on the "hold a lead" strategy for a fast team with lots of young talent. I'd blame the coaching for playing the safe game and not keeping their foot on the gas for 60 minutes . Team USA just can't get through semi finals. Peterka vs. Quinn. Both get medals, somebody gets bragging rights.

But they lost 🙂