PerreaultForever

It's been a long time since we could say something like this but I agree.

I'm hoping Bryson comes out when Jokiharju is back.

Another fun and entertaining game. Big stops, big plays, no quit, what's not to like? Switch to the goatheads full time, take the hint Sabres. They struggled in front of their own net, as they do, but the skill players came through so they made up for it. It was basically an even game, but considering the Wild have been playing good hockey lately that's a high compliment. The trip called on Clague was suspect to say the least, but again, they overcame it. We need an upgrade on Bryson. That's my only real critique.

Really don't get why people think Savoie is going to be NHL ready next year? Kulich I've felt is the next guy for a while. As a sniper I actually see him on the second line with Cozens and Quinn. Peterka I see with Krebs, not as a demotion but in creating more of a 2 way "fire plug" type line. Possibly with Zemgus, maybe someone else. VO is the guy I see slowly being moved out and eventually gone one way or another. Rosen will get a shot but might be back in Rochester where I would guess Östlund will be and probably Savoie. At least in part. Mitts ? I just don't know.

I think the thing you have to consider is the future over the present, so any player not in the plans for next year can be sent down. This could even include Anderson. The team finally has some continuity and you likely don't want to mess with that. D pairings and lines have been formed and juggling everything at this point to prevent a waiver would seem like a step backwards. Vinnie is your replacement for the wing on one of the top 2 lines because he's the more offensive player and Asplund is the sub on the bottom 2 because he's better defensively. I'd still send Vinnie down because I really don't see him being picked up by anybody for his skill level at his price. You can send both or either it really doesn't matter. Neither is on this team's starting line up in 2 years (maybe even next year). When Jokiharju comes back I personally would take Bryson out as I prefer the current more offensive guy paired with the more defensive guy type thing but they might move Clague instead. Or Fitz. Slightly risky but not a huge gamble. or maybe even keep the extra D and send Asplund and Vinnie down. I really don't think it matters but just don't want to run into D depth problems again. Forwards are more easily subbed imo.

This is an interesting test imo. They can hit and play physical like Washington did but they're faster and might be able to keep up with our speed. We need to play a more complete game here. Might come down to goaltending.

He's just big all over, but the really striking thing to me is the size of his hands. Just huge.

I understand, but he's not that important. Jost took away any shot he had of a full time job. Only chance we need him is if we had multiple long term injuries to top players and if that happened we won't make the playoffs anyway. imo you rotate the various kids you have in Rochester instead of him and you still have Murray and Bjork for bottom end. We still own Bjork right? I think. Oh, and Boston would trade us Craig Smith for a bag of pucks in a heartbeat if we REALLY needed a body. Go with the kids.

imo this is not a hard decision. UPL is our starter at the moment. You waive Vinnie and I doubt he gets picked up but if he does so what?

That was either a scripted replay or he's very zen about it. But damn he makes them look tiny.

They're kind of win one lose one but a little less streaky. It'll be fun to think that when we play them it'll actually be an important meaningful game.

Hey, Pittsburgh seems to be in free fall so we're now only 6 points out with 4 games in hand (on the NYI) for the last wildcard.

Kevin Hayes???

His play during the games was inconsistent. He's a sniper, no question. He can bring some good goal scoring skill to the NHL. No argument. I'm just not sure he has a complete game. Some shifts and parts of shifts he seemed to float. He's a decent sized guy so I'm hoping we can turn him into a solid heavier power forward type and not just a fair weather Afinogenov type sniper.

Östlund was better today. Rosen was the same. There's no question they both have skill and speed, but we knew that when they were drafted. The question is does their game translate and elevate to an NHL game. I'm not sure either has what it takes. To some extent I suppose you could just swap them in for VO and Asplund and reduce your payroll a little and not change things very much at all. I thought the U.S. would lose in the 3rd as the Swedes skate better and the U.S. looked more tired with the back to back game but the Swedish goalie was crap and they found a way. Gauthier and McGroarty both look like guys who have NHL ability, and Hughes will be exactly what people expect. Cooley is a pretty dominant force as well but that's hardly surprising.

You could divide the stadium in half and sell half the tickets in Toronto and half in Buffalo. Games in Buffalo have always been full of Toronto and Montreal fans when those games happen anyway.

Bedard is really good. Everyone knows this. Interestingly Shane Wright has not impressed so I guess maybe Montreal etc. were right about Wright. Rosen was not impressive. Kulich made some good plays, scored the goal, but I thought his play overall was inconsistent. Spacek does look like a promising pick for whoever has him (Wild?) At this point Snuggerud and Gaucher, and maybe Bischel look like better picks than Östlund. (too early to pronounce judgement of course) If it's true that those goalies are free and unattached I'd look at trying to get one if I was KA.

Well I'd say at the moment he's definitely a top 10 player, possibly top 5, and definitely a dominant player that other teams have to worry about and focus on like a McDavid or Crosby and Ovi (in their primes anyway). I'm not sure you can definitely say at this point, as the body of work isn't large enough and he was a late bloomer, but it's also possible he hasn't peaked yet either. If that's the case he might even become Mario Lemieux calibre. he is certainly a player who can at any moment shift a game in the team's favour. I think team's haven't quite figured out how to deal with him yet. He can be fast enough that you have to skate with him, he's big enough that you can't easily hit or intimidate him, and he has that reach so just getting in his way can leave you turned around and looking stupid too. I would suspect that in time lots of teams will decide the best way to defend against him is to try to isolate him and prevent the pass from getting to him by concentrating on his linemates and our D. If that happens he will have to carry the puck more and then, when he's doing that, as the players come to him, make that pass instead of taking that shot, much like he did with the behind the back play to Tuch. He keeps mastering that and adapts his game to the opposition in each case, then yes, he can be Mario. Right now, assuming he accepts that contract and plays to his max with it (as it'll look like a low ball deal at this rate) it'll make him the best player in the league to build around without question in terms of cost vs. production. So at the moment I'd probably put him even or slightly ahead of Pasternak, below McDavid and McKinnon. Ahead of Matthews and Marner, about even with Kucherov, but in time ahead due to age. Crosby and Ovi are too old to equate. Bottom line, despite what we all thought, the ROR trade has turned out pretty good after all.

Well I certainly hope Hamlin doesn't die, and I do remember watching the Malarchuk incident which I think felt scarier at the time due to all the blood. Back in 1975 I was in high school and watched Hamilton Tiger Cat Tom Pate actually die on the field against Calgary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Pate Football has always been a brutal sport of questionable value, but even after that I played on my high school team. When Ryan Shazier was near paralyzed I thought to myself why do I still watch this thing, it's brutal. There were other reasons I stopped watching football as well, but you do have to accept it is a sport of absolute violence all the time. In any event, none of that really matters. Hopefully the guy pulls through. Nope. Totally disagree. What I'm seeing now, last few weeks or so, is different hockey. Very different.

Well I think it's official. Sabres hockey is fun to watch again. Finally. Started okay and then it looked like we might fold under the physicality but we didn't. We bounced back. The Eichel/Reinhart teams would rarely hold up to that sort of play. Some of our guys got hit hard, but some of them also hit back. idk what the final peak of Cozens will be but he is just getting better and better each game, developing confidence, asserting himself, becoming an absolute complete hockey player. Some of his back checking was a delight to see on a Sabres team. Tage was Tage. He moves his feet he's a lethal weapon. Tuch was very good tonight as well. As was UPL aside from some poor rebound control which is still a weakness of his but it should get better over time with coaching. The D pairs are communicating so much better than they used to, and although they did get us running around a few times with their assertiveness for the most part they stayed positionally sound. Power struggled with the physicality but you can't fault that for a young kid. Asking too much of him maybe. The only dumb moment for me, which was like watching old Sabres games, was when the Mitts line ended up matched against Ovi and VO showed how absolutely useless he is on coverage and defending. That line scored a goal late, but overall they are the weak link. The pros outweigh the cons though and that's just pleasurable. Now, how do I make sure I'm not dreaming??????????

So seriously, Mitts can't be our 3C but he can be their2C? You're giving away players of marginal worth, the weakest links on the team, and getting instant impact players back. Spacek also looks potentially very good. and then you want a 2nd on top? I applaud your idea, but it's a fan's wish, not a real possible trade. They like and value Foligno quite a bit. As they should. As we should've.

Well that's fair enough. It's hard to tell if that's Czechia strategy or just how he plays. He does have a good shot that's for sure. Potential sniper. He's a VO upgrade and perhaps more.

Well that's a fun trade but would probably mean the Wild GM was on crack. Why on earth would they make a deal like this so obviously favouring the Sabres? I would do this deal in a second, even if we couldn't sign Dumba.

I find it odd that some of the people here who critique me for being stuck in the 80s and wanting too much violence in hockey (their claims) watch football but that's for them to figure out. Some of us hockey fans don't watch football any more, and while this player's injury is a tragic event, the world doesn't stop for football. Should the Sabres forfeit and not play every time a person in Buffalo gets seriously injured or dies? The idea is simply absurd. Having said that, hope the guy pulls through even though I have absolutely no idea who he is. I stopped watching football years ago. Now as for hockey, big test for the Sabres. Washington plays a style they will not like. Speed and more speed and don't get intimidated or it'll be a hard fall back down to earth.

Move to Canada 🙂