NAF

Definitely. Zemgus will probably get another two years. Okposo will probably get one year deals until he retires.

I think this is really what I've noticed out of Krebs these last few weeks. His motor is unrelenting. I think this has combined nicely with the checking/offensive zone possession capabilities of Okposo and Girgensons. I don't know what caused him to turn it up like that but I'm eager to see more. Even if Krebs ends up just being a bottom six 30-40 point player I consider that a positive in looking at the return for Eichel.

I thought Östlund looked just okay. Some flashes of skill and speed but still a very raw prospect. I don't think there's any cause for concern -- he was always viewed as a bit of a developmental project. I wouldn't expect to see him in the AHL until 2 years from now.

Jost continues to impress me. I feel bad that he's stuck with 71 and 37. I wouldn't mind seeing Jost centering Asplund and Hinnostroza. Krebs had a great first period but struggled in the latter two. Luukkonnen needs to work on rebound control and getting his glove hand up higher, but other than that he was good last night.

***** awesome from Krebs.

Kulich made a nice play to draw a penalty. Hasn't done much other than that though.

One thing I will also add about Skinner is that I think he'll still be a pretty decent player when he gets older and into the latter years of the contract. His game isn't really about speed so he won't really be "losing a step" when he gets older as he never really had that step to begin with. The differentiating factor in his skating is his edgework and smoothness, both of which are more about technique rather than leg speed.

Mittelstadt has the longest leash I’ve ever seen. Dude must be the greatest locker room guy of all time.

What veterans do you propose bringing in and for what price? I'll agree with you that a solid veteran addition in the middle 6 would probably do wonders for the team, but those players aren't generally available at this point in the season. Additionally, to get a player that fits that bill would probably cost a decent sum.

Sucks that they lost but they hung in there with the defending cup champs the whole game. My only real notes are: - Mittelstadt needs to be fired into the sun - UPL not good - Penalties are killing them

At the beginning of the season I was all for giving Mittelstadt a shot in what was his make or break year. Now he is (and maybe it isn't just him, maybe it's the combo of him and Olofsson) actively costing the team games. Thankfully they didn't lose tonight, but they came about as close as possible. Is there any way he could be packaged for Chychrun? I get we'd be selling low, but at this point I don't really care. Maybe Mittelstadt, Östlund/Rosen, and our first top 15 protected this year? WTF was up with the penalty calls tonight (and vs. Tampa for that reason)? I get they had to call the obvious ones -- the high sticking on Dahlin, etc., but I refuse to believe that the Sabres committed 7 penalties tonight and the Wings committed 2. ***** the refs. I really like Jost so far.

In the salary cap era it's important to have guys that are earning less than market value. Rarely do teams with multiple bank-breaking players compete consistently (see: Toronto Maple Leafs). Conversely, teams like the Avs that had MacKinnon for like 6.5 Mil (I don't know the actual number) and Pittsburgh where Sid took less than market value were able to afford difference making depth pieces. So far Adams is looking good with the Thompson and Samuelsson contracts.

I see a lot of people in this thread writing the Sabres off for the year. Do what you want, but I'll keep watching. I get it. Losing to Eichel like that sucked. If you take a step back however, did you really expect the Sabres to win that game? Vegas is one of the best teams in the league and is on a 9 game win streak. Frankly I thought the Sabres didn't look too bad considering. They certainly didn't play the uninspired brand of hockey they've shown over the past 10 years. This year isn't about winning the cup, it's about the development of the youngest roster in the league. If you'd told me before the season that they'd be 7-7 through the first 14 I'd have probably been happy. People expecting playoffs are bound to be disappointed, but those who temper expectations will most likely enjoy the ups and downs of the season. Quinn should be playing though.

That was a tough game to watch. I will say I thought the effort was there, and that the Sabres probably deserved to win from an advanced stats perspective (don't know the actual numbers, just guessing). Regardless, past a certain point they looked pretty dull. I don't think they battled hard enough in the slot to screen/tip and make long point shots a viable means to score. They had better come out a bit hungrier against Vegas. I'll also add that Power is looking really good these days. Very sound positional play. He also looks like he knows when to jump up into the offense. I wish he was a bit more physical, but perhaps he'll add that later down the road. The Mittelstadt experiment has been pretty crappy so far. He'll make one nice play and then three terrible ones. If he doesn't improve by the end of this year I'm comfortable moving on from him. Krebs has also been kinda meh, but the jury is still very much out on him.

Skinner was pretty bad last night. I watched him skate the puck into the offensive zone and then lose it immediately about 5 times. He needs to pick it up and tonight would be a good time to do so.

Dahlin is an animal

Sabres are competing hard but Carolina is a very complete team. Would be nice to get a comeback here but I’m not expecting it.

Power looks better and better every game so I'll go with him. He still makes mistakes, but it seems like his positional play is very sound. Could also see this going to Quinn, but not necessarily fair to compare him and JJP since Quinn is getting PP time.

Yeah but what team is giving that up 8 games into that season? Also what are we willing to trade here? I’m not going higher than Bjork and like a third round pick here if I’m Adams.

Great win. Excellent effort. Domi can go jump off a bridge with that dive

I don’t doubt that Mittelstadt works hard, but I have a hard time ignoring the many issues with his game.

Sabres were the better team that period.

Didn’t get a chance to watch — how was Quinn? I saw he had a goal disallowed, but other than that?

Ehhhh idk. Quinn has no more to learn/gain from playing in the AHL. He'll also be taking minutes from the other prospects in Rochester if he's sent down. I'll agree that I don't think it's good for Quinn to sit out for too many consecutive games, but we aren't at that point yet. He can also probably learn a lot from stepping back and watching for a few games.

Not a good sign for Jokiharju...