Pimlach

The jumping the gun is your last two sentences that I bolded. Karmanos won't get the Pittsburgh job because the Sabres rebuild is a success. It is too soon to conclude that. He might get the job for many reasons, some of which includes his work in Buffalo, but the Sabres rebuild is still a work in progress.

Not expendable, but less of a problem in the near term if they can get Novikov in Rochester next season. They really need a defenseman that they call up without having to deal with waivers. I think the 2024 late 2nd rounder is a safety net as well. The ROR trade was to include the St Louis #1, which unfortunately turned out to be the last pick of round 1. Now it could be the last pick of round 2, but 5 years after the fact. Ryan Johnson has never felt like a good pick to me. I am not surprised he is apprehensive about signing. There can't be too many teams that need defensemen as badly as the Sabres do but possibly the presence of Dahlin, Power, and Samuelsson make him feel like the top 4 is not a possibility. If that is the case, good riddance.

I always enjoy your perspectuve @PASabreFan so I decided to replay the interview. I am not sure that Warrow tried to troll anyone or anything. Adams might think otherwise. Warrow is just a clumsy guy that asked a legitimate question in a clumsy way. Asking this particular GM to "guarantee" the payoffs next year was not a smart question. He should know by now who he is interviewing. The very first question (maybe by Benini) stated that upon talking to the players the universal theme is playoffs next year, and the bar should now be higher in the future - and Adams agreed with it and enthusiastically provided commentary on it. Done. Along comes Warrow. He means to ask a legitimate question, something like "what is the next step for this team and how do you take it" would have been good. Instead he throws in words like guarantee and assurance. Adams got a bit defensive and he lost some composure, so he asked for a re-do on the question. Warrow comes back even worse, asking if the season was a "lost opportunity", and Adams comes back with "I cannot disagree with you more". Adams then completely turns it around, and his response is basically more time to foot stomp his opening message - which ends with long term sustained success as the goal. Classic maneuver by Adams, in public speaking whenever a question gets uncomfortable you take things back to the key messages that you want out there, and you reinforce those key messages and end the question positively. What I saw and heard is a really smart guy (Adams) that knows how to speak publicly and is confident in what he says. In contrast, Warrow is mediocre in his role. I don't think Warrow was trolling. His coverage of the Buffalo Sports teams and his writing is for The AP and mostly ok. He certainly lacks polish and after that presser we can question his preparation too.

You are really jumping the gun here. Karmanos is well known in Pittsburgh for his 6 years in the their organization, 3 as AGM. He has been a key part of a Sabres rebuild but if he gets the Pittsburgh GM job his prior work there will also be a big factor. His home is still there too. Sure, we can feel good about the direction of the Sabres rebuild, but it’s still a work in progress with the biggest challenges still ahead.

Switched to Kracken vs Avalanche Seattle continues their tradition of silly colors in their uniforms. Blah.

Toronto fans acting poorly. Leave the players in the box alone.

McCabe finally makes the playoffs. That’s good.

Holy smoke Jeannot and Schenn in a 70’s style fight. Old man Schenn did a great job against a monster.

Watching Leaves and Bolts and thinking about how we would measure up. Can’t wait until next year when we get in the playoffs. We look so young compared to these two teams. If Levi becomes a star the Sabres will be a force once again.

Just put on the Leaves game. Ugh. Boo. Yuck. They have Bogo.

Bold prediction. I sure hope your wrong about the next step. Assuming the moves you outline are true, if everyone just stays reasonably healthy, and if growth in the core and in the youth continues, and if Levi plays at the level we saw at the end of the season, and if UPL is a decent backup, then I think we finish with 100+ points and make the playoffs. Most of the and if's are still there even if make a few more trades as.

I finally got to listen to Adams Presser. My thoughts are below: Lots of discussions here at SabresSpace about Adams (and Donny) not talking about playoffs next year. The clumsy way that Warrow asked that question, using the word "guarantee", sent Adams into a defensive posture. He is not going to guarantee that and he should not. Warrow once again shows his mediocrity as a journalist with the way he posed that question, even though he later tried to soften it with other words like assurance and confidence, Adams was already into spinning the question to avoid making life hard on everyone (including the players) with such a guarantee. The next biggest discussion was the multiple conversations on bringing in outside help via trade. Adams did not rule it out but he did stress growth from within, player development, trust and confidence in his core, yada yada. Will he bring in at least one defensive player for the top 4? I think he may, but no commitment to that. He took time to single out Joki in a positive manner, so he may be reading too much SabreSpace. (humor intended) Ryan Johnson - Adams is not stressing on him. Whatever his position is, he is not wavering and he seems ok with getting a 2024 late 2nd pick in place of Johnson as a prospect. He really wants players that want to be here, and that show it. Goaltending - He made a big vote of confidence for Bales and positive comments for UPL. There was a good question on committing to Levi and then maybe finding out during the season that they need another veteran goalie after the fact. Adams said that every player is different, implying that Levi may not need AHL games, it makes me think he is going with Levi and UPL (or Comrie) next season. Kyle and Zemgus - if they want to stay here they can. I do not know where the room for Savioe, Kulich and Rousek is coming from unless other forwards are moved in trades. Kulich's age may keep him in AHL unless his play makes it impossible to do so. Glad he mentioned the Russian prospects and getting them into the program. Dahlin is obsessed (at times) with being the best. I like that. Adams is going to be the same Adams next year as this year. I see very few moves in the off-season, hopefully the few moves he does make are truly impactful and the right ones. I see a guy with a long term plan that will not react to short term issues. I think he really wants the playoffs next season, he just won't guarantee it.

Could it be he didn't do much to display his talent. He played for a sinking Phil Housley, and then for an incompetent Ralph Krueger. He sure did not play with passion for Buffalo, but he was ok. He is 29 now and in his prime for a defenseman. Montour is another in a long line of players that benefited from getting out of Buffalo. That is finally changing.

is this true? Who did he bring?

Had to look that one up - Crawling in the dark? Electronic and heavy stuff there @inkman

Am I good? That is a hard question to answer. I can play, and some people considered it "good" at one time, but I took off several decades off while forging a career and raising three kids - I put the guitar away for too long (a minor regret for me). Since my retirement in June of 2021 I have been playing a lot. I have a friend that sings and plays which helps get me going. I think I can get a lot better now that I have more time. I am learning faster and I am more confident than ever to just let it rip. There are way more and much better learning tools today than when I started in the late 70's. It sounds like you are at the point where you need to play with other people, in a band if possible, to get to another level. I am guessing you can learn the chords and play the rhythm parts, and eventually play some of the leads, but you are not comfortable with soloing or improvising - correct? Play with other people and that step will gradually come. If you think you can, then you will. Youtube has a ton of stuff to help you, I am just scratching the surface of what is there.

Again, no booze either. Just an old guy typing in the dark. I was playing my guitar, watching hockey with the sound off, and posting on occasion -

Love it. Tampa scores with 0.1 seconds left. time of goal 19:59.9. 😂

Bunting with a cheap and illegal hit. Tampa needs to score a few more.

McCabe with a huge hit. Toronto gets a dumb penalty anyway. Score on PP for Point

Just switched on ESPN, Tampa up 3-0 after 1 period. Blow Leaves Blow

He knows his stature in the room and on the team, and he is not at Tage or Cozens or Mitts level. Men learn and develop stature when we join a group/club/organization or a team. Some of it comes from title, experience, and some is sensed .... similar to dogs in a pack knowing their roles. He knows that right now any ice that the coach offers is what he has, and he must work very hard to keep. If it means doing a different role he will do it. He is very dedicated, he seems to genuinely love the team culture and the city too. I want him to survive the off season so we get another year to evaluate him.

He means top 18 player on in HIS team, not in the league, just like you mean top 22 player (i.e. a starter) on the football team, not in the league. There is no way NHL scouting of 18 year old players can be as accurate as NFL scouting drafting ~22 year old players from college. Age means a lot but is not the only factor. Also consider the the disparity in the competition across the USA, Canada, Europe, and Russia versus College NCAA Division 1.

It was shoulder to shoulder but maybe a bit late and certainly not needed since the shot was off and Hartman had Pavelski covered. Dumba could have got 2 for INT. Can't blame Domi for being Domi either. I noticed no one dropped gloves except for Domi. Playoffs are here. The games get way more intense and emotional.

Interestingly enough, both were drafted 17th overall. In one full NHL season Krebs has already passed Lazar's most productive seasons for goals and points. Krebs will likely score even more next season. He has far better playmaking ability and on ice vision. Lazar is a good faceoff guy and a stout player on his skates. His hands are below average. Lazar is a minus player his entire career, even when he was on the mighty Boston Bruins. If Krebs improves his shot (will take work) and gets stronger (will most certainly happen), he will become a good NHL player somewhere in this league, and not a fringe 4th liner like Lazar is.