Pimlach

Peterka woke me up.

The healthcare companies are tough to work for. My wife was an RN. I’ve heard a lot about it.

How many times can I say I am just having fun picking on Columbus? Are you going to take the bait all day? Yes, the NHL was at least smart enough to pick a market were they are the only professional team in town, and likely to stay that way. They could survive a playoff drought for awhile. Which is exactly what hurt the Cleveland Barrons. They were a bad team and could not compete with the other 3 major sports franchises. Because hockey in Ohio is not as important as football and baseball and basketball are. But in the long run, and to my real point, all of these teams are going to hurt the product, and its already happened. And you are right, Buffalo is in danger of losing its franchise to bigger markets. Especially since they have such poor ownership that their attendance is now way down to unthinkable levels. When the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs start and the Buffalo/WNY TV viewership ranks near the top, while many of the big markets watch baseball and NBA playoffs, will the league care? Probably not. Bring on the Houston Aero's and and the Atlanta Threesomes!

Pull the team from Dallas too.

It seems odd because you miss the point. I am not wondering anything, I flat out think that putting a team there was not necessary. Especially if Seattle, Vegas, Houston, and maybe Atlanta (yet again) were in the NHL's long term plan. I think expansion has gone to far. But, happy they are drawing and I hope they can avoid a prolonged playoff drought.

I am just picking on Columbus for fun. I like Columbus as a place, but it is Ohio State University for sports. It is not really a hockey town, just as Cleveland was not. Sure the city has a lot of square miles and they can pull people from lots of places, and they can sell 18,000 tickets for their only professional sports team. If that is the criteria then we will have 40 teams soon enough. The NHL is ruining the league for greed, they are already expanded past the NBA. Soon they will have have a team in Houston (7 million people), then another attempt at Atlanta (6 Million people), and on and on.

I would like to cut a 8 teams out of the NHL. Too many teams and not enough star players. Season too long. Columbus would be the first one to go. So would Salt Lake Utes and the Ducks of Orange County ...

I actually go there and to Dayton a lot, at least 6 times a year I would guess. It feels like a small town to me. I like the town too, but even with a huge university isolated out in the suburbs (outside of Dublin, OH), and even with a downtown state capital - it just lacks a city vibe. Square miles are not the best and only way to measure a city. Jacksonville, FL is huge in square miles and so it Sitka, Alaska. Should the NHL move there too? It not an odd question. I go to Dayton and to Columbus all the time and I don't know any real dedicated hockey fans there. None. OSU football, OSU basketball, OSU baseball. Then arguments over the Bengal or Brown, Reds or Indians (Guardians). BTW - Buffalo's fan base is the most incorrectly calculated fan base in sports. So why does Rob Ray not like going there?

Interesting comments and interesting dilemma for Tuch. I suspect he will want to extend and continue to try to "fix" his team. A long term is his best financial move, but if he is realistic a long term deal could seriously limit his chances to ever compete for a Cup.

Big city - not. Middle of Ohio - so. No other pro teams - ok, but none needed with The Ohio State University there. Why doesn't Rob Ray like going there?

Why did the NHL put a team in Columbus?

I don’t mean that because goalies take time and prior to this season his NHL experience was about 90 games and he was good in almost half of them and looked like he was steadily improving last season. I do mean his performance degradation, especially since November. He was playing good for a time. Then he started mixing bad games with good, to now which has been consistently bad.

Dear Kevyn Adams, You go get a starting goalie that can play the bulk of a season, more than 38 year old Reimer can. You can offer Reimer something for #2 or #3 duty. Maybe UPL is in the deal for that goalie? Maybe not. We don't have the inside scoop on the UPL performance degrade, but you do. So maybe he gets another shot? If he does you need an NHL goalie challenging him that can get us to the playoffs, you need insurance on next season. You cannot fail again. You assume that Levi needs another year in Rochester, you plan on that, and if he really doesn't you have a good problem. You do not count on Levi to be ready just yet.

Exactly. Keep JBD but go out and get a significant upgrade at RHD. A defensive minded player with a physical presence. Muel tends to shrink, or get hurt, when the season matters. Upgrade that spot with steady play and more reliability.

Looking forward to the playoffs. Maybe next year for the Sabres. Three or four players could get us a dangerous team.

Your comments make no sense at all. Why all the negative emojis related to pretty much any comment on Cozens comments? Rather than denigrating or laughing at other people comments, what is your opinion of Cozens? Tell us what you think.

Classic addition by subtraction. McLeod, Kulich, and Krebs are all performing better with the minutes that Cozens was getting.

Agree that the Sabres defense needs more physical play and he is helping a bit in that area. I am watching closely and right now he looks like he will be a good 3rd pair guy. Is his ceiling that of a solid second pair guy? Maybe. He is a first rounder after all. He is young enough to earn the opportunity. If he someday becomes a stud top 4 then we win the Cozens trades no matter what Norris does. I am not ready to anoint him that just yet.

I don't get the complaints on Tuch or the demands to trade him. Every player misses shots and misses passes. He shoots the puck wide and he gets called out. He misses a pass and he gets called out. He fights Brady Tkachuk and he gets called out. He has size and speed and a physical side to his game. He has developed into a Selke type of winger and he can score 35 goals. He is there for teammates. He is one of the 3 players on this roster that you can build around.

More often than not KA does absolutely nothing and he lets the team wallow. Three years ago there was a surprising "almost" and Adams has now botched two consecutive off seasons in a row since that time. Adams did not draft Dahlin and he did not trade for Thompson. Getting Tuch in the Eichel deal was indeed a nice piece to add but the Knights won a cup and Eichel was the missing piece for them, and Eichel is an elite player. Florida won a a cup and Reinhart emerged as an All Star. He let Ulmark go and we still have issues at goaltender. Last year there was going to be an "exhaustive coach search for a veteran NHL coach", followed up by the embarrassing "taxes and Palm Trees presser". Lets not forget the inaction during the massive losing streak that killed the season - "the solution was in the room". He gets the credit he deserves.

I like Bernard Docker but a revelation at defense? Just what they needed? Your standards are pretty low. He has been solid and steady so far. Has a more physical game than Jokiharju and Bryson, but that is not saying much He projects as a 5/6/7 type of defenseman, but on this team he can break top 4.

UPL was not the whole problem, but he has completely melted down during this late season stretch. Right now his game is in shambles and he has no confidence. His positioning is bad, he looks lost. He had a great November. He was less consistent in December/January and he couldn’t carry them with Dahlin out. Neither could Reimer for that matter. Currently he looks like the old UPL, the pre 2024 guy. They need to sign a goalie but I expect we see the same two goalies back plus Levi making another push. It’s Adams after all.