Broken Ankles

Not in the barn, but kind of loudly blowing them off from what I see.

First time since 2018 I’ll be local for the home opener. Win or lose, I’m grateful to watch the game tonight with family. Expectations are low, with the absence of Kesselring, the addition of Bryson and question marks in goal, again. For the sake of the psyche of the team and fan base I hope for a fast start. As long as Igor doesn’t have a shut down performance, they have a good chance. Vegas has the Rags as a slight favorite (-115). Must Win!

Who are the seven? You have UPL, Lyon, Georgiev, Levi (who signed a one way but we knew was earmarked for Roch) and now Ellis. Although Puckpedia has the Ellis contract as a two way. And they have Ratzlaff and Leinonen as two way.

I think his chemistry with Tage is above average. The slash lines are crazy and I hope a harbinger of things to follow. I think I’ve seen 3 games he’s played in and he and Tage were dominant. Let’s see if he can breathe some life into an ineffectual PP.

I think Pierre took the call from the bathroom with a soup-can and string.

Thanks for the additional insight using future cap numbers. Here’s my question. If he walks away from Buffalo’s offer of $9m * 8 years (big assumption) what is his value in the open market where there is a restriction to six years max term? Is it $9m *6 ? Is it $10m * 6? Is it $11m *6? Ultimately he has to find a path to $72m right? Sure you can argue money isn’t everything in the equation. Just know that an offer like that is coming from a team with cap space and it’s not the Stanley Cup Champion's. If he manages a new deal of $60m at 6 years, he needs to sign a new deal after that one expires for ~$12m in a new contract at age 36. This year Jamie Benn signed a one year deal for $1m (plus incentives). Is Benn at age 36 a comp? If yes, what does that contract look like in 6 years? What is Ben’s value on the open market, if it’s just about the money? I get it that Alex and his camp have confidence in his abilities and are trying to maximize his value, but some of the CBA changes are countering the benefits that the Salary Cap expansion brings.

Sabre Space Management has informed me that you are sitting out the preseason games against Pittsburgh. We are looking to see if any of our recent draft picks have your skill set. Clearly your offseason regimen allows you to continue to live 3 seconds in the future.

Bravo!

… You start a conversation you can't even finish it You're talkin' a lot, but you're not sayin' anything When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed Say something once, why say it again? … Psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est?

The dejection on their fans faces looks familiar. I just can’t place it. 😏

Even though the move was validated by news of a potential injury to UPL - he's still a Lou-who-Zer-her. The Loser - Sabres style In the time of J BriseBois He was donkey, Analytics on my brains, and I'm out to sign a goalie With season ticket calls, suck down the edibles Old Fashioned brawls with the cheesecake embryos. Kill the PK and put it in the neutral zone Francise is flamin with a loser in the GM suite Eichel in Vegas with a name on the cup, Got a couple of draft picks, still off the hot seat. Someone came, saying I'm insane to complain About, New York State taxes and the lack of a palm tree. Don't believe everything that you read You get a play-off hibernation and a fanbase left to grieve So ask us to brace, with some grace and a snark Saving all your Sabres cheques and hoping just to catch a spark Yo, quit it.(please) eres un perdedor You’re a loser baby, so why don't we fire you! eres un perdedor You’re a loser baby, so why don't we fire you!

We can only hope.

As someone who has/had a problem (I hit 20 years sober in January) I would never tell anyone directly they have a problem. Comes off preachy. I can offer insight and observations if asked, but have rarely been. Reality is, people who have a problem don't want others, especially those who have been there, to confirm their suspicions. I gave up the sauce years before settling down and having kids, but I did drive drunk, and it is without question that which I regret most in life. I'm lucky I never injured anyone, including myself, or had to deal with the Police/Insurance/Lawyers. Already been said, but if you are this wasted - ear-lie in the morn, you done got problems, my man. Seek help immediately. If you get clean, maybe you get a second chance with the Sabres.

OK papa Smurf. Don’t you have some smurfing to do for your big date with Smurfette tonight?

Saw this as the play unfolded and thought for sure it would be blocked. Deone Walker should count his blessings. He completely missed his blocking assignment. It was unabated. The Henry/Jackson tandem is unicorn like so not too worried about the D. The play where Rousseau and Bosa are about the crush Jackson, there is exactly one QB who could have escaped. And he did. Those two, plus Oliver and Jones will fare much better against pocket passers than other D linesmen. I still think they could be elite. The safeties…not so much.

‘Who will save you goals’ by Jewel People living their lives watching you on TV, They say Bostons better than you, and you agree. He says we’ve got a center spine, defense too, but between the pipes we havent got a clue Another penalty, a tap in rebound, another failure to clear, You know you love them, if you watch them this year. .. who will save your goals, when your netminder folds? And who will save your goals, when the defense can’t hold? Now Who will save your goals… If you won’t save your own … We try to check 'em, try to hack 'em, try to snipe 'em The fans want someone to cheer down on Seymour Knox avenue Another draft, another miss, another cheap UFA, another banner Went up where the uneducated have their homes So we pray that Uppie can steal the show But we call religion our friend, We're so worried about savin' our goals Afraid that an injury will take its toll and the doubt creeps back in, but But.. who will save your goals, when your netminder folds? And who will save your goals, when the defense can’t hold? Now Who will save your goals… If you won’t save your own

Interesting hypothesis. Where does goaltending acquisition fit? Really it’s just Levi, right? And if he thought that was sufficient then he must have had supreme confidence is in tenure as a GM, because that was over 4 years ago. And, there was no path to Devon being a 60 game starter by now. Did he lose focus too quickly?

In his first two full years in the NHL Marchand averaged 80 hits (bias stat -maybe), 24 goals and a shooting percentage of almost 16. But Benson has a three year head start on these numbers, so 25/26 wouldn’t even factor in based on age. So from a development perspective, it’s about getting physically stronger, and executing offense at a higher level. * adding an asterisk to my comments as the OP question was how good will he be this year. I am fully on board Benson meeting these numbers 3 years from now. Also, did the PC police vet your question using Brad as a comparable…..based on what, his size? Because I never mentioned height or weight in my posts. Benson towers over Marchand by 1 inch, so why would you not use a 5’11’ forward to compare?

Tage and Tuch are bonefide top line players. Zuck and Norris are legit top 6. Zucker is an option on #1 based on available choices. Quinn, Kulich and Benson are not legit top 6 but I rank them in that order as options based on arguments provided before. Quinn and Kulich have shown better acumen at scoring. We all can be wrong about our projections. Kevyn was wrong keeping him as a top 13 player two years ago, and that’s his f$&king job. I’m using history to determine where he is slotted.

…..With better players - throughout the season, which you fail to acknowledge. Your take that his points will increase by playing on the first line is based on nothing. It’s a fallacy and wishful thinking. Could they increase? Maybe? But it’s more probable than not Zucker is a better option to start the season. Please don’t force us to create a Concept of Benson.