Pimlach

Nice tribute to Demar Hamlin in his recovery. Big game. Time to gain ground in the standings boys. One Buffalo Muscle Weight

Who is Reavo and why would he commit murder during a hockey game? Why, did Dahin steal his girlfriend or something?

And Quinn with 3.

You don't like Comrie. Fine. He did not impress in his 11 games, I agree, but I do not think 11 games is enough to make a complete evaluation. Especially with all the injuries on defense and the Sabres poor overall team play in the defensive zone. Good luck signing another goalie next off season (when Anderson retires) if this is what you call giving a player a shot. It isn't a legit shot and players see what's happening and they talk. You probably would have traded Tage a few years back because his stats were not good either. Look deeper. In addition, you might need to re-read my post. There is no "hate" for Anderson from me. In fact, just the opposite. Read Paragraph 3 again, your comprehension is way off.

Sure, we need to get more balanced scoring. We have 14 forwards on the roster and we dress 12. I would rather drop or trade a forward than send UPL down or trade Comrie. We have forward help in Rochester and we have a bunch of forward prospects coming. If a goalie gets hurt, even for a few weeks, having 3 would be very helpful.

Nothing wrong with prayer. It is a common thread to mankind all over this planet, in many cultures, and in many forms. The skill, training, bravery, and expertise of the first responders and the medical professionals should not be overlooked either. There is often a link between the two.

I think we talked about this in the Comrie conditioning thread. I will summarize my thoughts: 1. UPL deserves to stay up and play. His play has earned NHL ice and if I were coach, I would ride a hot hand. Play him. Do not send a hot goalie down to the AHL. 2. Comrie deserves a chance to play once his rehab in Roch is finished. His record may be artificially down due to injuries on defense and forwards still figuring out the 200-foot game. We signed him to a cap friendly contract with the understanding he would get a shot - I don't think he got the full look. People are talking about trading him, but he has way more value to us in a three-man rotation. Injuries are very possible with UPL and a 41-year-old backup. Next year we will have to replace Andy. Keep Comrie and UPL and then we do not have that problem and we do not have to rush Levi or Portillo (if either decide to sign). 3. Anderson is part of our team leadership glue, and he can also still play effectively in a limited roll. We need guys like him to help settle this team down. We are in the playoff hunt. Carrying three goalies is a luxury, one that we might need down the road. If a trade looks like a good thing at least wait until the deadline. We may have to take a forward off of the roster to carry another goalie, but you have to look at value to the team right now. We want to win now. Finally saying it - WE WANT TO WIN NOW.

Still a kid then.

I probably qualify as old, but not tired.

You mean scalpers?

We don't need to know any more about our coach. His record speaks for itself, this is the reason that players play for him. ^

The Bills have access to lots of smart people that assist players in financial and personal matters. That is a lot to manage, he can get good help if he wants it.

None. I very rarely play a podcasts of any kind. I don't need the opinions of others that often. When I do I seek them out myself.

I like Robertson. He is big like Tage ("only" 6'3" and 200 lb) and also somewhat of a late bloomer in Juniors in that he stayed in Juniors for a full 4 years and then he had a full year in the AHL before becoming a regular player in the NHL. He went to a decent team that made the playoffs in his second season. The Stars took a smart and patient approach to developing him. Tage's path was much more disjointed. He dressed for 41 games his first year in St Louis but he didn't play that much on a loaded team. He went to Buffalo and played on a bad team; he looked like he needed time in the AHL but they kept him up for 65 games because the roster was thin. The next season he got hurt in the first game and was out all year (played only 16 games in the AHL). The next year he made the Sabres again and he endured Ralph, Covid, the start of the Eichel injury circus, and DG's interim term where he experimented with switching Tage to center. Tage's first 140 games took 4 seasons. Looking back, it was an impossibly hard way for him to develop given that he played on two teams, was injured for a season, played under four NHL coaches (Yeo, Housley, RK, and DG as interim) and three GMs (Armstrong, Bots, Adams), and he switched positions moving to the more challenging center position - all in his first 4 years. No wonder people in the organization talk about his will, effort, and work ethic. Until Adams and DG came in and really settled things down no player could be their best playing for the Sabres. Including many former Sabres, Dahlin, and pretty much everyone else. Robertson looks like a great player and a star for a long time coming. So does Tage. They could not have had more different paths, so it is hard to evaluate their numbers unless you look at the last 2 years.

The Gumper.

Like Marner. He is overrated in my view.

Yes, easy top 10 based on your trade criteria. This year will be top 5 if he keep on his pace. Look at it this way. How many guys would you trade him for in the list?

Pictures or it didn't happen.

Nice. In past decades you also credited the invention of the mask for helping your game, no?

He has a great shot at the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals. Nothing subjective about that one. He has an outside chance at the Ross for most points. If he gets either one he would get a bunch of Hart votes too, especially if we make the playoffs. More intriguing is the Norris. Karlsson has 13 goals, 53 points in 39 games - the best offensively and the worst defensively. Morrisey has 7, 43 in 38 Dahlin has 10, 39 in 35 Fox has 7, 38 in 39 Makar has 9, 34 in 36 The Norris is decided by vote, although high point totals almost always matter. Right now I take Dahlin over any of those 5. He is the youngest by 2 years and he plays the most minutes. He is absolutely vital to his team's success. If we make the playoffs and he stays in the top group in scoring then he should get a lot of votes. Tough competition and a lot of great talent here.

Agree, it is rare. Before he broke out under DG I has hearing from Sabres insiders about his incredible work ethic and his skills. They expected him to break out and be a good player. In 2019-20 he played just one game for Buffalo and got hurt, and then Covid it. In 2020-21 he was restricted by Covid and by RK's system. Thankfully DG took over. DG and KA knew he was a good player, maybe not to the level we are now seeing, but they knew he had something.

The transition started last year. We are witnessing the progression of a team and an entire organization. I think our teams ceiling is way up there.

Mitts is just not consistent and he seems to have low hockey IQ at times. VO can shoot but there is not much else to the game. Still, in crunch time DG prefers these two guys over Quinn and Peterka. At some point he will stop sheltering the rookies but he is trying to get everything he can out of 37 and 71. This at least helps their trade value. If we trade one or both they cannot say they didn't get a fair look.

Always interesting to hear the opposing announcer's comments on the Sabres. No doubt Thompson is getting a lot of attention around the league. We were talking about faceoffs last night. Lots of people think they are not that important. They are. The Sabres gave up goals #2 and #4 because of poor play on the faceoffs. On goal 2 they lost the faceoff cleanly and two guys failed to cover OV and his shot - the goalie had no chance. On the fourth goal they were very aware of the problem on the second goal. You saw them talking before the faceoff. They put so much focus on covering the shot from OV that they did not retrieve the puck. They actually won that faceoff cleanly and no one made a play for the puck, when they did finally go for the puck both 26 and 23 failed to get possession. Call it flukey but these are the mistakes we cant afford to make. Faceoffs are important. Especially in your defensive zone. We don't need to trade for a faceoff specialist, we just need to be better with the players we have. This can be taught and it can be practiced. This is an area of the game that needs more attention. Now that we are challenging for a playoff spot it is time to clean up the fine details.

Well they were 8-1-1 in the last ten, make that 7-1-2 now. That is a pretty good clip. Do they have another level beyond what we saw last night? I do not see enough of them to know. They used to have it. As long as our goaltending and team defense holds up we should challenge for wild card.