Broken Ankles

Me after watching the Sabres get owned by Seattle, then on a back-to-back beat a better team.

Fun fact. Natalie Schaefer was 64 years old when Gilligan’s Island premiered in ‘64. Jim Backus was only 51. How many 51 one year old millionaires (Billionaires in 2025 dollars) are married to a senior citizen? More probable than not a 2025 Thurston Howell III has a child bride younger than Mary Ann. I’m older than Jim circa 1964 and it just crushes my ego, bc like you, I thought those two were ancient. No comment on the game itself, other than 3-6 in their last nine. They are who we thought there were.

It goes back to 2018, where the AFC championship game has been 5 teams each represented by superlative QB’ing. Brady, Mahomes, Allen, Jackson and Burrows. Cincinnati snuck in to one superbowl when Burrows and Chase were on rookie deals. The NFC Championship game has seen some of the same teams represent multiple times (Philly, San Fran, and Green Bay) but 10 different teams have played in the game since 2018. Twice as many. Very good, but not elite QB’s.

Flyers 49 points under 23, Sabres 48. Michkov has 32. If you change to 23 and under, Sabres 143 PHILLY 89. It’s Sabres with 305 Games played for those 23 and under vs. Flyers 211. Even if Quinn or Benson produced more it’s the shear volume of players/GP by the youth killing this season.

Don’t worry. I switched over the Sabres broadcast to listen to Marty in between periods and left it on….back to the Pittsburgh broadcast. Positive mojo coming.

Coyle, Karlsson, Compher, Pageau, Danault (originally brought in as #2, dropped to 3C), Mittlestadt, Lundell all 3Cs making around $5M and over. If he signs for 5 at $4.5 it will be one hell of a 3C AAV in 2030. I know, Karlsson and Lundell are more than 40 pt players. What about Lars Eller? He’s in the dictionary under 3C. He signed a 6 year deal in 2018 for $3.5m. Roughly 4.5% of cap. A $4- 4.5M deal would be about the same in 2025-26 cap. And Lars never achieved a 40 point season with the Caps in those six years. I hope KA is fired as well, but I would bet dollars to donuts the new GM offers McCloud a multi year extension if he continues to play well and doesn’t disappear for weeks at a time.

One of the most frequently used (and appropriate) gifs in my time here at SS. And it shall be until this misery ends.

or is it very Believable?

I agree with the fact you have to change the channel (sports or politics) to hear the other side….but Bizz is just annoying. With too much bias. I enjoy when King Henrik joins. So much more insight.

FWIW - from natural stat trick https://www.naturalstattrick.com/linestats.php?fromseason=20242025&thruseason=20242025&stype=2&sit=pp&score=all&rate=n&team=BUF&vteam=ALL&view=wowy&loc=B&gpfilt=none&fd=2024-10-04&td=2025-04-17&tgp=2000&strict=incl&p1=8479420&p2=8481528&p3=0&p4=0&p5=0 In 24/25 - 66 minutes together, 40 Dylan no Tage, 50 Tage no Dylan and 50 neither. As you expected, Tage w/out Dylan is much better in actual goals as well as xG%.

Agreed.

LGR and Perreault agree. I have a dream that one day down in Buffalo with its vicious fans, with its GM having his lips dripping with the words of taxes and palm trees, one day right down in Buffalo little Canadian boys and American boys will be able to raise hands, during the wave, and boo this team soundly. I have a dream today.

Edvinsson? Big, left handed defenseman. Can never have too many. And, they get younger. Keeps the average age of the blue line below 25. Still on his ELC. Saves T Pegs $3.5M this season. Checks all the boxes.

Nice callback. I remember that post…chill bros. Definitely something there. The quotes from Shorsey, “They don’t hate to lose”. And of course “sniper”. Good stuff. One of these days I will have to find this show on a streaming platform and binge watch it.

If I recall, you wanted to wait until December before you would consider the team a viable playoff candidate and whether or not Ruff would be able to covert/improve the squad. That time has come and gone and halfway through they are close to DFL and regressing. What say you now on the Ruff hiring and state of the union?

Power has shown offensive prowess in the O-zone, which I agree, considering his age gives him a longer leash. But both have huge cap hits making their existence unacceptable. Both have been putrid in their own end. If either of these two were bridged, Cozens with a Samson like 2 year deal and Power with a Dahlin $6m AAV it might mitigate my frustrations.

People “blame him” because he has allowed a significant number of goals this season while on the ice. Like directly responsible. His +\- of negative 9 is an accurate reflection of his play. Below average. Does he contribute on offense, sure. That only makes his -9 even more concerning. At the end of the day, the pitchforks seem to be sharper for Power and Cozens because of their AAV. You just can’t have your 2nd and 4th highest paid players as liabilities. Power may develop into an all star, but how long can you tolerate his play at $8m/year?

Blasphemy!

MGM rewards had multiple comps this weekend and tick pick prices seemed reasonable for tonight’s game. Still can’t justify a last minute drive through the desert to see this team. Probably will watch the last two periods after the Bengals/Steelers game.

He clearly aged out of Adams archetype for a Sabre skater. #Blueprint.

I hope adjunct teaching is not in your future. For the kids sake. Harsh criticism. Zucker A-. Record precludes any A+ moves. McCloud - C+. Moves to a B if Savoie doesn’t crack roster next year either. Beck - B-. He is who he is. 4th line grinder who doesn’t cost $3-5m (which is what they were doing in previous seasons). Lafferty and A-K - C+. Again, 4th liners. Reimer-Incomplete Gilbert - C; Your Expectations are high for an 8th D man making close to the league minimum. More hits per minute of ice time than any Sabre. Corsi and possession numbers not great but limited use. Ruff and Appert - agree with F’s based on regression and minimal roster improvement (can I say this without laughing-no). We could consider Skinners buyout as an acquisition - addition by subtraction was supposed to occur. If the kids he was blocking were contributing it might be a B+ ; based on what’s happening in EDM could also be considered a net positive but they are not and he failed to use the cap space so he gets a D.

Trade Dahlin. Two reasons. Frees up most cap space and flexibility for a new GM. Second, his NMC kicks in July 1st and we can’t have this sitting over our head. Then trade any one of Cozens, JJP, QUINN and Benson. Whatever gets you the biggest return. Trade Levi to Montreal. Get a solid return while you still can. Trade Joki, Krebs, and Bryson for whatever to free up space and roster spots. Keep Tage, UPL and Kulich. Resign Zucker and Greenway. Hold on Tuch and see how he does next year. Bridge Quinn or JJP (whoever stays). Muel will only cost you to move based on his ridiculous AAV (thanks Kevyn). So,unfortunately Mr. Glass has to stay another year.