Pimlach

This defense could be very good with Dahlin continuing to be a star. Power hopefully taking a step forward. Byram - I am not sure about yet, need to see more but what I saw was a hot start followed by inconsistent defensive play. I still don't know what Byram really is yet but Adams thinks he can pair with Dahlin, so pencil that in for now. For the second pair it's Power and who? I prefer they bring in a solid veteran, a strong and more defensive minded type of RHD for the top 4, and not count on a healthy Samuelsson. We need a guy that hits people and has a physical aspect to his game back there. Muel has never done this consistently, and if Muel can ever give us 70 games that is a bonus. We should not count on Muel though, he is likely a very solid third pair guy. Clifton should be perfect for the 3rd pair. The only physical guy back there, but he is a middle weight. Watch the playoffs, we need more strength and toughness on the backline. We have to add another vet. We have lots of candidate for spot #7, plus we can use Rochester to give us the 8th D with Johnson a likely candidate. I am very ready to move on from Joker and Bryson - neither brings the complimentary skills that are lacking on our defense.

Korab played both wing and defense with Chicago, before he came to Buffalo. He was a good defenseman with a good offensive game too, and he also played point on the PP. Thommy Abrahamsson? what a memory! He was signed from the Swedish league but was never a Sabre. Played in the WHA, had one partial season in the NHL. I just looked at his stats. He is the opposite of a Korab. 15 PIM in his entire professional career. He would have been very soft to play against in that era, and Imlach did not like soft.

Mike Foligno was a top 6 player for Buffalo. Seventh all time in points, while second all time in penalty minutes. Most if those penalties are majors for fighting. He seemed to enjoy it. Fun fact - Foligno is third all time in game winning goals.

Nice job. I would move Foligno into a top 4 line, and certainly would move him ahead of Eichel based on his time and his output with the Sabres. Foligno has more goals, more points, more seasons, and was a better captain and a better Sabre. He fought for what was on the crest. Next, I would move either Pominville or Don Luce (others might say Satan) ahead of Eichel. Again citing more seasons, more goals, more points, and they were just better Sabres. Base on pure talent you could argue a slot a Eichel. Looking at his production as a Sabre he falls short, and everything else about about him - no way.

Different era's but Marcus Foligno and Vaclav Varada could not carry Craig Ramsay's jock strap and neither should be mention in the same conversation for all time Sabres. Craig Ramsay won a Selke Trophy and he really should have won more than the one, but the league was so enamored with Bob Gainey and Montreal, making Gainey the perennial winner and Ramsay the perennial runner up way too many times. They didn't have a Selke Trophy for most of Ramsay's prime years or he would have had a bunch of them. Ramsey had 8 straight 20+ goals season. Marcus has 1 in his entire career and none for the Sabres, and Varada never scored more than 10. Ramsay played 1070 games for the Sabres, second all time. Ramsay did not miss a game for 8 straight seasons, and played and 776 straight games spanning 10 seasons. Ramsay never had a minus year in plus minus rating in his entire 13+ years. Ramsay was selected to play in an NHL All Star Game. On to Larry Playfair. Great guy, and a super nice guy, and a very tough hockey player. I saw him last summer at a Jr Sabres game and he is still extremely popular in Buffalo. Larry would be the first to laugh at any suggestion that he is a top 10 all time Sabres defensemen. Mike Foligno is not mentioned when your team wants to stress tough players? Mike Foligno, along with Danny Gare, are the best examples of toughness and skill.

Maybe so, but I cannot give him top 6 status for being great for one-half of a season and very good for 2 season. Injuries happen unfortunately.

Gare gets my vote for #1 RW. Then Foligno at #2. Robert was a much better two way player than Moligny. He is my 3rd "as a Sabre" although Mogilny has a better career overall. I could go either way on 3/4. Pommer is probably 5.

I can get on board with this, but there are guys, Drury included, that are clutch in the playoffs. I can think of Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard as a guy that elevated his normal high level to and even higher one come playoff time. Butch Goring for the Islanders has good in the regular season and even better in the playoffs. Guy Carbonneau also comes to mind.

People coming up with Power, Lydman, even Talinder. This is crazy. Bill Hajt is not mentioned., or ever mentioned, and he played great defense for 12+ years. He is 5th all time in games played. No GM or coach thought to trade him. He was really good and deserves to be mentioned. Jerry Korab was just as good as Schoenfeld defensively, and he was better offensively. Plus he wore a big fur coat.

Feels like summer and my golf game is coming around.

Every player does not elevate for the playoffs. Some wither and fade, and some find another level and elevate. We don't really know which Sabres will elevate, or if we have enough of them that will. They still need to add the proven veteran know how.

Panthers win pivotal game 5 in the Octopuses Garden, in the shade.

Panthers huge goal. Lundell.

Byram - Ask any GM or scout that knows how to spell his name. Pegula downsized PSG, which was a good thing, and he is raising cash. That could be to stay better focused on the teams, the new stadium, and the arena improvements - as of now that is all that is out there.

Oh, so now you want us to believe that all sports writers lied and made stories up with impunity, but it is better now because of the internet and social media? And Kelley made the HoF solely on popularity and longevity (even though he died at 61).

This is a take I would expect from you. Should he removed from the Hockey HoF and the Buffalo Sports HoF based on your insider information? If only we had the internet to police Jim Kelley. Troll on.

White home Uni's and a loud home crowd. Can we go back to White's at home? Is this a league rule to wear whites on the road? It stinks. Yes, it happened quick. They kept blowing the lead at home. The best of 3 opening round was very dangerous, no room for error.

Yup. Billy did a nice job until the playoffs. That was also the year that Schoeny, Guevremont, and Hajt all missed about half of the games with injuries. Hajt and Guevremont missed the playoffs too. This kid learned that year that Billy Hajt was really pretty dam good back there. That Sabres team just never got going and lost in the best of 3 first round playoffs 2 games to 1. They blew leads and lost both of their home games, losing to a very mediocre powder blue Penguin squad. The Sabres looked like they were playing with 20 pound weights on their legs that series. They were terrible in that playoff. The Imlach era was over. The next season started the Bowman era, with Scotty as both Coach and GM, something he had not done before. Next season also brought in the WHA franchises and the game started to change.

Pegula mandated this, along with a below cap salary roster, and along with the firing of many of the scouts and the FO rank and file. In the case of Reinhart, I believe they had a chance to extend him before the Covid rules - but that could have been JBot? Win now? Ok. I want to see that. It was not really there last season. Ruff has to influence this "win now" mandate and put his stamp on the roster. Again, I would love a tough player like Bennett. Just beware that we could give up a a good player for what could be a one year rental. Yes!

I would have fired him by now, but I also would not have had him operate with such heavy restrictions either. I think the Covid restrictions cost us Reinhart, Montour and Ullmark. I think Risto needed to go, and Eichel wanted out with his injury the key to accommodate that.

Bennett would be a great addition but I just don’t see it. It’s weird to think that Adams didn’t extend Reinhart, but then he later trades for and extends Bennett. If the Sabres fail again next season I am still not sure Adams gets fired. Pegula doesn’t trust anyone else, or so it seems.

Subban is obnoxious and a punk. Acts like he was a big tough guy, all his commentary is the same. Meanwhile, he is getting side eye from Messier, the ultimate warrior.

Trocheck gets another one. Former Panther is a really good player.

The problem is that Bennet could end up doing what other KA vets have done. If we have yet another bad season then Bennett will ride it out for awhile and then march into KA's office prior to the trade deadline and request to be moved by telling KA he wants out. If Adams trades for a 1, 2 or 3C then he needs to have term left on a contract that we can handle. Cirelli's contract will end up being a problem. Bennett's term could end being a problem. What else you got? And no, Benson is not a center. I think you know that.

One year is the problem and that is all he has on his contract. If we got Bennett, and he left in a year it would be complete waste and right back to square one. I would bet he would never want to come to Buffalo anyway.