Pimlach

I heard that there were Bison roaming around in downtown Buffalo, and that they were wearing goat heads.

I selected Tage to rebound as a #1 center and a PPG guy. I selected UPL to be a solid #1. That’s it. I sure hope Cozens and Mule can have their best season ever under Ruff. Cozens and Mule are key players if this team goes anywhere. If every player performed to your description then this takes a big leap in the standings.

I hear those tall comments a lot - there are also tall players that develop quickly or on a "normal" time frame. Including star players. Power's issues have nothing to do with height and a lot to do with his age, experience, his playing style, and probably even the level of coaching he has received thus far. His size and skill made him a dominant player prior to the NHL. Now he has to do it in the best hockey league in the world.

Dahlin is a star player. Power looks promising but still very young, and he needs to use the body more as has been stated here a lot. Byram? I’m not sure yet. Joker is meh, ok. Clifton adds some much needed muscle back there. Samuelsson may be the key. The team lacks the physical and defensively strong stay at home guy(s), unless Samuelsson can play that game and be available more (injured less). He very well may be the key to a stout defense. Watching the playoffs and seeing the intense battles in front of the net, I’m not sure we have enough physicality to get the job done in a deep playoff run. In summary, I think they have well above average talent on defense, but the top talent is not diversely skilled. The addition of Byram brought in more of the same skills that he have. They are young but very experienced for their age. This crew should be good enough to get us to the playoffs. People here talk about the puck moving aspects of Dahlin, Byram, and Power - can’t wait to see what they do this season under Ruff. Ryan Johnson, our most ready prospect on defense, can also move the puck and pass.

I’m still thinking about this the next day. Tragic.

I think DG lost them because of their comments we heard after his firing. They knew they we not rady to start the season. They want harder practices for one thing. They seem to want more accountability. Lets face it DG got no help from Adams, and whatever system DG was using (offense first, defense next, etc.) was a failure too. Some of the young players have had huge minutes and big responsibilities at a very young age. I don't think they are baby soft, but they have lacked leadership and mental toughness and they need more leaders to emerge from within. Who wears the A's and the C are not as important as everyone being on the same page and backing up their teammates. I don't think we have yet seen the best of what this core group can do. I cannot be convinced that Quinn, JJP, Benson, Power, and even Tage and Dahlin have reached their peaks yet.

Great info here. I think there was a sophomore slump, and there were many players on this team that never really got going last season. I point my finger at the coaches for that. I just think that Power must get more involved in the game physically, and become more invested in the games outcome, and then points and the rest will take care of itself. Experience should help him and hopefully he meshes well with Ruff.

OR - Ruff will have them chomping at the bit to beat NJ, and they do it, and they get off to a good start. Then the key will be adjustments as the season wears on.

To play GM.

Nothing about the Sabres, or the NHL, should make you feel dread about life in general. This is a game, and we are spectators and fans.

Just wait for Byram to go out and win the Norris this year. Did you know he was drafted 4OA?

Yes, its crazy isn't it? It is just too painful to go over how poor his leadership has been. The record speaks for itself.

They really did not ever use Tage as a net front guy. Granato never saw TNT as an Andreychuk type of player. He had Benson in front of the net more than Thompson. Hoping Ruff can run more than one PP formation because Granato and his staff did the same thing for two years.

My point.

Good question. We don’t. But here we are sitting well below the cap.

It says more of what we already knew about KA, and mostly Pegula, and the state of the franchise. I am going to root for a Triple Lindy and hope for the best.

Even more impressively than this man did.

I wish I could say you are wrong. I really am hopeful that this is the year they snap the non-playoff streak. They will really need the stars to all align for it to happen. Pretty soon the franchise could reach a value of 1 billion, maybe Terry cashes out then?

At first read this reminded me of the Jacques Richard reclamation project attempt in 1976.

This is very interesting. I just had my second full knee replacement in January 2024 (the first knee was in Jan 2018). It was almost 100% bone on bone. I was surviving on gel shots for the past two years. The recovery has been good. I was putting weight on it immediately and walking without help of a walker or a cane in about 2 weeks. I golfed 18 holes after the 8th week of PT. I still do some PT on it at home, lots of stretching (bending and straightening of leg to get range of motion), plus working all the leg muscles with weight training. Never heard of Conformis and I doubt I was a candidate. I have the full replacement, they kept the original patella and all the ACL, MCL, stuff. No more hockey for me. Too risky. I could hockey skate ever since I was kid. Was pretty good too, for learning on my own, no money to take lessons or go to hockey camps. Learned on ponds and local rinks and from playing (coaches and other players taught me the techniques and drills). Not gonna risk these knees playing hockey which is a shame because I am in good physical shape to play non check men's league hockey.

Could be a late bloomer if he reacts positively to Ruff. There are lots of prospects in the organization, he could be packaged in a trade and bloom somewhere else.

Very old thread. Did @PASabreFan ever learn to skate and master the hockey stop (both directions)? Is he now a men's league enforcer down in Erie, Pa?

This about sums it up. And a great coach will put that balanced and talented team in a position to best utilize their skills. That is real coaching, not copy the style of the latest Cup winner with the wrong horses to do it.

Yeah, kind of all of it. Seems very subjective to collect meaningful data for one. Some of this depends to some extent by how a player is used and who they play with. But thanks for providing, it is something else to ponder until we get the season started.

meh