PerreaultForever

This is it. I don't really care about anything else but every year my playoff pleasure comes with annual Leaf whining and I want that to continue.

It's impossible to say though. Sometimes these (for lack of a better word) poor kids have a great work ethic and they are grateful and maybe have a chip on their shoulder but sometimes the bright lights big city also goes to their heads. You see this with some of the Russians for example. It's really impossible to say how it goes. Character is character and that's why you need scouts to go see them and talk with them and people around them and not just rely on video and analytics.

Don't think so. Not at 7. There will be better talent for them there. I'd place Martin around 12 but if the Sabres want to take him at 9 I'd not have any problem with that.

Didn't want to suggest it was "neat and tidy", just an overall trend. There's no question there's a lot of talent on that roster but that's also the case with the Sabres. Lots of high end talent on the big club too. No not at all. What I am saying is the roster isn't balanced. Just like the big club.

Rossi's interesting and if we are moving Quinn out and Rossi in I'm all for it (adjust it with whatever picks it takes to make it a trade) but otherwise I don't know how he fits or what the plan is. We need some bottom end depth, grinders and D, not scoring forwards. Cuylle definitely interests me. Demko? idk. Injury history again but adding a goalie I wouldn't complain. I'm not getting overly invested in these RFA UFA ideas because (as every year) we don't do much as a team and almost never do anything substantial. I doubt Adams does much this year either. He'll sign someone like Ceci or some other mid to low level guy(s) and that's it.

Exactly. I don't even want to think about McKenna for the Sabres. Bruins might be smart to tank for another year but I don't think they are going to do that. They think they can pull a Washington and turn it around in a year. Let Nashville have him. If we are end of the draft we might as well start over completely and well, that just sucks as you said.

I don't know the Laval roster well enough to say. I just know that Rochester runs in to this every year. They score a lot and start the playoffs well but then they run into the bigger, tougher and more veteran teams and they get bounced in a boys vs. men way.

This would be poetic fun. Best of all if Marchand scores the game winner to haunt them forever.

You don't have to get like that but if you enjoy it carry on. When I see the kind of players the Sabres need graduating from Rochester into the NHL I will know we have the right mix and type. As is we get a lot of the same.

I couldn't care less about any of our 2026 picks.

Remember when Adams said he interviewed lots of people and then chose Ruff? I'm reading today that the Bruins have actually interviewed 16 different people and are waiting (likely) to also talk to Donskov (in Dallas). Just a comment to consider the differences between how franchises are run.

This is my point. It's the same with the Sabres. Both teams should be a veteran/prospect mix. Veterans to teach and mentor the kids. It should start there. That's me Mr. Silly, and yet every year I am right about this and every year it continues cause the Sabres are the dumbest franchise in hockey. But whatever.

That's a lot for Knies but I'm not opposed to it. Some sort of bold moves need to be made.

There's a constant critique in Philly land over there being an "old boys club" and all this sort of thing. I'd suggest there is always a disagreement with fans over driving a team's culture forward and giving meaning to the crest vs. stuck in hiring their own in a nepotism sort of way. You know, Bruins give Chara a job. Neely is president. Flyers hire Jones and Briere and now Tocchet. Clarke and Holmgren are still in the structure. So is this good or bad? idk, but I do know that hiring Ruff here seemed right and maybe Sabres haven't had enough of this sort of thing and thus have little to no pride in the jersey. It's a forever argument I think, but in Buffalo's case I'd be happier if our senior advisor was Rick Dudley or if Pat LaFontaine was still here all along and I am sure if people like that were, this would have all gone different. maybe he is lying, but Briere has said he's already gotten calls from agents suggesting there are free agents interested in playing for Tocchet. Maybe that's a thing to consider to. We shall see how it goes, but I wanted Tocchet hired by the Sabres when Vancouver hired him.

Going to be the same if the Sabres ever get into the playoffs. It's the type of players Sabres have and want and draft. They don't know how to construct winning rosters at either level.

Brad Shaw is indeed not returning to the Flyers after being passed over for head coach. Sabres should snap him up and offer him whatever to work with our D. Unless they bring in McKee as another option. Either could be an associate coach who could take over from Ruff if he fails again or wants out or even gets elevated out. But the D is the priority. Sabres of course will do neither and the heir will be Appert and I will just hate this team more.

So if Edmonton does go all the way this year and wins it, Jeff Skinner will in fact continue the legacy of leaving the Sabres and winning the cup even though (barring injuries) he will have only played in one playoff game in his entire career and I believe only for a few minutes. Wouldn't that be something.

What would you offer him to be a Sabre? Everybody on every team is talking about Knies. I suspect if Leafs do let Marner walk then Knies will be paid to stay.

"assuming Norris is healthy". Well that's just it isn't it? He's never played a full season. If he did, he's potentially a 50-60 pt. player I'd guess but the odds of him playing a full season seems small to me. I'm pretty sure Ottawa moved on from him for that very reason.

Looks like Tocchet is in fact going to Philly as well. Obvious fit there and kind of expected. Right man at the right time. He will look like a softy compared to Torts so it could work well. Foote in Vancouver surprises me. Is he a cheap sacrificial lamb like Granato was? Rebuild tear down coming? Hughes to NJ? Petersson to ??? (Buffalo?) . Hard to say. Does Adam Foote do "party tricks" too or did his son learn that on his own? (too soon?) Seems like an odd hire regardless. One guy Sabres should look at if possible (but they won't) is Brad Shaw as a new assistant. If he's pissed that Philly passed him over for Tocchet he'd be a great guy to bring onto the staff. He's the guy credited by Philly fans with fixing Risto and improving Drysdale. He'd be a really good hire to work with Power and maybe even fix Samuelsson. Maybe he's fine to stay in Philly though. No idea. Just a thought. We need a good assistant to work closely with the D regardless. Sturm looking like a leading candidate in Boston. No idea what Seattle's doing. Woodcroft? Or is JBot talking to Kreuger about a comeback?

That's fair and that's a huge difference between Avs and Sabres. You can argue about their mistakes but they do not sit pat and hope for the future. They constantly make moves and try to get better. I think they balance the future view with the present so I disagree a little with @Jorcus but they definitely don't wait for prospects to develop. If something isn't working they make a move and they move fast and aggressive. They gave Mitts a shot but their patience wore thin quickly. Goaltending with the Sabres has been a joke for years and now we wait on Levi. Hope that an AHL star goalie will carry us next year. Maybe, maybe not. Obviously Adams is banking on Levi being as impactful as Wolf in Calgary. Without a solid plan B it's a fool's gamble.

Lou certainly fits the "senior" part of the equation. I'm actually all for that. Why not have a cranky old man in there to not take any crap and tell Kevyn when he's being an idiot (so like, every day). We need a contrarian and Lou could be that.

Everybody wants a pay day and everybody has a price.

Thing about the Avs (and maybe this keeps them from getting over the top again) is they are clearly a forward projecting team with the idea of staying competitive long term. Hence they move people out that they think will give them cap issues down the road. I'd guess they already knew Byram would exceed their payroll and since they already have Makar they chose a different direction. Mitts was a gamble (like Ottawa with Cozens) on the idea that players will be better when they escape Buffalo. He didn't fit and they swapped him out for what they saw as a better playoff 3rd line fit in Coyle. Coyle disappointed too so I guess that's failure. Adams? He just doesn't seem to have a clue one way or the other.

Biron in for Ray. He's already shown he can be really good at that when he filled in before. Then create a larger panel for the intermissions with a little dissent and argument even. It's past time to step up everything and call this team out when they suck, not just praise them. You can still be home biased, but also more real.