FrenchConnection44

So many fans have trashed Luukko … just don’t get the lack of patience. I’d still try to get Anderson back again and then use next year to develop Levi. Luukko and Levi could become a solid combo in two years.

Unreal. What a penalty kill and great to see Cousins get the tying goal.

Jost should have carried it into the zone then dropped it to Tage rather than dump it. Still got a chance but …

Welp. That’s gonna be it.

Great toughness by Krebs. Bruins showing how good they are. We are giving up a lot of chances and are fortunate we haven't given up more goals. But, hey, the Bruins are arguably the peak team in the NHL. Keep fighting. 60 minutes, baby.

Agreed completely. Just want them to focus on that in the off-season. That can really change the equation as the raw talents are there, imo

So, we have a chance? When not playing the Sabres I tend to root for the original 6 in the playoffs. Except Boston. I hate the Bruins. First Sabres game I ever watched was December 1970. Vs Bruins. Total domination. 72 shots on goal. 8-2 loss. Have hated them since (Though watching Orr and Espo was was always amazing). Let’s go! Big test. Play great!! And get a W! (Tho I’d take a tie).

Good observations. Middlestadt played well last night. He’s been up and down. What I’d like to see from him, Cousins, Power … really many of our young guys … is to get physically stronger. When we go up against better, stronger teams who play hard nosed D, we struggle. With our speed and skating ability - adding more physical strength and power to these players’ game would really benefit the team. They already battle well. Power should look to a Victor Hedman. Continue to improve his skating. Add 15 lbs of muscle over the next 3-4 yrs (which will help his balance and skating). He has the potential to be great. The other challenge for Casey has been his shot. Would like to see him improve that in terms of accuracy and speed. The potential is there for several of these players. Gotta stay confident and keep improving this year and beyond.

Kulich crushing it for the Czechs vs Austria. https://twitter.com/sabresprospects/status/1607891033827807232?s=46&t=uXwHIxt1pC4QAqgTsTX5PQ https://twitter.com/sabresprospects/status/1607902273832632321?s=46&t=uXwHIxt1pC4QAqgTsTX5PQ https://twitter.com/sabresprospects/status/1607911257981460481?s=46&t=uXwHIxt1pC4QAqgTsTX5PQ How does one embed tweets? Can’t figure that out.

That’s amazing.I no longer live in Buffalo but I lived through 77. The most incredible experience of nature in my life. Just astounding. If this is similar, wow. And crazy after what has already come that way this year.

How is it he’s put all our eggs in one basket? He has UPL, Leinonen, Portillo, and Levi. UPL has played really well lately showed a lot of poise and confidence. I don’t want them to trade Levi (and that he is down a bit this year isn’t a big negative it’s all about the kinds of goals he would be giving up.

So many have been trashing Luukko for some time. And he has struggled. But plenty of goalies take time to develop. He’s only 23. Plenty of goalies have taken longer to come into their own. I disagree with the harping on needing a goalie in a trade. And with sending UPL down. We have a couple of young ones with potential coming up (Levi, etc) and Luukko has begin to show potential. Keep him up The real problem with team is the team defense. They’ve given up 40+ shots 3 out of the last 4 games. Part of that is injuries. Part youth. But if all the defensemen are healthy, we have only five starting caliber imo (Dahlin; Samuelsson; Power; Joki; Lyub). I’d say the last two are 3rd line defenders. Power has to get stronger but potential for greatness is there. We need a good young defender. (Or two, eventually). Joki has potential to work alongside Power. And another good two-way center/forward. We have plenty of cap space. I’m not Uber thrilled with the defenders out there. Maybe there is one to bridge to a younger player. I’d look to D in the draft. But would love to go in on a top two way C / PF. We have to sign our own but that can still be done as well as land one.

25 goals and 46 points in his last 24 games. 👀 Only a 24 game stretch. But that’s Gretzky-like.

Great fighting for the puck and not giving up on it. And then the pass and shot. That’s a spirit that we need for the final half of the season.

Fascinating that even though they dropped to a capacity of some 5000 fans, by raising ticket prices their ticket revenue is actually up 50% over what it was last season! But sad to read that Buffalo was last in attendance. How much our culture has changed. When I was a young teenager in the early to mid 70s, being able to attend a Sabres game was like winning a lottery. Every game was a standing room only sell out! I remember the first game I attended vs the Broad Street bullies, and getting to watch the French Connection. Martin scored a great goal right in front of our seats. We won and Schoenfeld totally roughed up Schultz that game. I also remember the Sabres had an open practice every year over the holidays and we would attend those. And it was thrilling. Filled the arena!

If Skinner is back, that’s a big boost! But we also really need Power to be back, given how thin we are defensively right now. And given that defense is one of our prime achilles heels.

Totally. It’s not like it’s some huge expense, especially given that hockey teams are not as expensive as, say, NFL teams. And it’s not like the Pegula’s don’t have any money. Plus, we are not even approaching the top tier for salary cap expenditures, so they are also saving money there.

I know this has already taken place and is not about Adams, per se, but I thought this was an interesting pre draft scouting report on Jost. Jost was simply fantastic this season, putting up huge numbers for a 17-year-old in the BCHL, even when you adjust for its lesser league quality. He is a dynamic, athletic center with decent off-the-puck skills as well. Jost is one of the better skaters in his draft class, with an easy, explosive stride whose first few steps will be able to evade NHL checkers. He's a highly-skilled puck handler who can execute high-difficulty plays in tight spaces, as well as make above-average passes. Jost's defensive play has shown significant improvement during this season. I didn't love his defensive positioning last year, but by the world under-18 championship in the spring, he was arguably Canada's best defensive forward. Bigger players can muscle him off pucks too easily at times. However, Jost does work his tail off, often being one of the hardest working players on the ice on top of being one of the most skilled.

Difficult to say. I went with Tage. His shot and scoring prowess is impressive. Dahlin brings much to the table in scoring and passing. They are the two best for us for sure, imo. But it takes a team for a player to be good.

I am not giving up a first for Demko. I want a shot at Cam Allen. We aren’t going to win the Cup this year. I think we have enough in the pipeline at goalie. A kid like Cam Allen would really be one of those pain in the a** players. He reminds me a bit of Bergeron but plays D. Talented and pesteringly physical.

That’s an excessive penalty. Two would be better. No blood I’d say 1. What I didn’t like about that video is the guy says Skinner initiated it. No, Guentzel did!

I think what confused the response to your prior post is the wording “Schenn has ‘no trade protection’” which makes it sound like he has a “no trade clause protection” as that is the common wording. Schenn doesn’t have a ‘no trade clause’ in his contract is what you’re saying. As to whether we want to make that deal … Schenn is 33 and a UFA next year. No one is going to give up much for him. Unless they see themselves as a legit Cup contender. I can’t see anyone giving up a first for him. Especially in this next draft. But who knows … He is definitely a target but esp in the off season. But the guy I really want off Vancouver is Bo Horvat. I’d go all in for him in free agency absolutely the kind of player we need. 27. A captain. An excellent two way center with size and an edge. We add Horvat, a strong defensive defenseman and that’s a team that has firepower to contend. And with our youth we have the money to spend - we are $17 million below the cap this year and expected to be $32 million below the cap next year. While we will have to lock up some young players the next 2-3 years, we still have plenty of spending power.

I'd say the top 4 are solid for the future. Lyubushkin has a two year deal and needs to get healthy. But we have nothing at 6 and beyond. L has to get healthy - he is on IR. When he gets back that could really help some. But Bryson is a liability. We need more upgrades there (two). But do have 1 or 2 players in the pipeline down the road (like, Komarov).

It is looking bright, imo. No idea what we will do for free agency. But if we can get Levi in here - he will still need some time to develop but within 2 years he could be huge. Kind of our Grant Fuhr. 😉 Goaltending is something one can never predict for sure. It's often a confidence issue. And Luukkonen could still get better. And needs to. Two areas I think we need to upgrade. 1. Center: I think Middlestadt needs to be traded for whatever we can get. He has the tools but he just seems to play soft and then disappear on some shifts. We need to add a two-way center in his place. One that can get face-offs in our zone on key situations, and be a great back checker. Dylan is that already, and he needs to get stronger. But I think we need another strong center with good size. Bo Horvat, if he makes it to free agency, is a player I'd love to have. Physical I've seen him twice this year and he's looked really solid. Good defensive center and also wins face-offs. Add a player of this calibre and our team changes. His scouting report from one site (just the guy to replace Middlestadt): Has grown into a shutdown center capable of making big contributions even when he is not generating a lot of offense. In addition, he has gotten much better at driving play--even when starting shifts in the defensive zone. He skates well and is among the NHL's best face-off men, meaning his team ends up with the puck more often than not. Is also a team leader who can play a lot of minutes at a high level. Quality two-way center and leader. We have a ton of small guys coming up in the ranks that are high draft picks and surely one will emerge. But they all are at least a year if not two away and none are heavy on the defensive end. 2. Defenseman: Basically we have Dahlin, Samuelsson, and Power as mainstays. Jokiharu is good with more upside. That's 4. Lyubushkin could still be good if he gets healthy and be a mainstay next year. But I see Joki as more of a #5-6 defenseman overall unless he improves. We have to develop some solid defense. I think 1-2 more defensive defensemen could really shore things up the next few years. As far as free agents, this year is not great for defensemen. Had Weegar not gotten an extension he might have been a great addition (one of the best defenders in blocking passes). Klingberg is a very good offensive defenseman. Average defensively. We are 32nd in the league in giving up "high danger chances." Matt Dumba will arguably be the best free agent defenseman on the market. He's a good two way player and physical which we could use. I'd really try to go after him if he reaches free agency. Other than Power, we haven't spent a lot of draft capital on defensemen in the past few drafts. Ryan Johnson (Minnesota Gophers) - I assume we still have his rights? Seems to be a good player but not producing a lot offensively. His plus minus is solid, though. Also not a big player for a defenseman. No idea what's going on there. Vsevolod Komarov is a young player with a lot of upside, imo. Good size (6'3, 188 and will probably get to 200 in a couple of years). Only 18. I like the potential there but, again, he's two years away though (hopefully we will get him on the Amerks next year). But he's coached by Patrick Roy so that's a positive. Here's a nice report on him before this past draft when the Sabres selected him: On the ice, there are a lot of things to like about Komarov’s game according to Remparts head coach, Patrick Roy. “Hockey wise, I really love his poise with the puck. He’s very patient, doesn’t get rid of it, moves it very well, rarely makes mistakes on his first pass and defends really well,” Roy explained. “He’s a big, strong kid and I feel like he has a good mix of offense and defense because he’s got those skills with the puck.” Roy is no stranger to coaching talented Russians and overcoming a language barrier after being behind the bench when Alexander Radulov, now a nine-year NHL veteran, played for Quebec from 2004-2006. Although the Remparts have several highly touted draft eligible players on the roster this season, Komarov is making sure that he doesn’t fly under the radar and the hockey world is certainly taking notice. With six points in his first 23 games, he has been given a “B” rating in the NHL Central Scouting’s latest rankings and Roy is confident his 6’3’’ blueliner has what it takes to succeed at the next level. “He needs to get stronger, and his skating has to improve, but he’s got all of the tools,” Roy said. “I think he just needs to keep working on his game. He has a great mindset and I see good things coming for him.” Roy’s endorsement isn’t surprising considering that Komarov’s style of play and his abilities with the puck are well-suited for today’s NHL. Puck-moving defensemen are a hot commodity these days, which means that Komarov could be a popular name on the draft floor this summer.

Surely Levi will see the value of coming to a team like Buffalo with all the youth and potential. And the high scoring.