Drag0nDan
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Posts posted by Drag0nDan
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On 2/14/2025 at 10:05 AM, thewookie1 said:
Mostly I agree with Fairburn here; however I do feel the Eichel (asked out) and Reinhart (1 year RFA) should be in some sort of "effective for the circumstance"
Montour was more a casualty of Krueger's style than anything else.
Adams tenure, thus far and hopefully not much longer, can be summed up by multiple inconsequential trades with a handful of mediocre outcomes and few that in hindsight hurt our souls. A GM that values his players more than his contemporaries and only has an elementary knowledge of team building. He definitely understands "team building" as a concept unlike Tim Murray but has limited skill to pull off his own goals much less ours.
I picture the following
- Pegula isn't cheap as much as frugal (give him a reason to spend money and he would, he just paid Dahlin 11.5 mil a year and Power over 8mil. The traditionally cheap owner lets players walk upon their first large contract which isn't what's happening here)
- Pegula likes to be involved in the information, scouting, etc meetings when possible. (What fan wouldn't?)
- Adams either lacks the confidence or skill to convince Pegula of spending to the cap on players. (Or worse, he himself doesn't feel the need to)
Essentially I think Pegula has his checkbook on the table and Adams for some reason just never asks for its use or else can't give legitimate reasoning for its use.
One theory in regards to staffing would be Adams used inefficiencies and wastefulness as a primary point for why Botts needed to be fired. If you tell someone 10 scouts are inefficient, I can do better with 8 upon hiring; how exactly do you then a couple years later ask for more scouts without effectively undercutting your own perceived competence?
The stink of this franchise is absolutely rancid. I think from top to bottom no one wants to work with us unless they're fleecing us for a future star player. Agents probably hate us because of our inept management. Players don't want to play here because of plenty of reasons - Weather, Taxes, oh and we're always terrible. Stadium is soulless. It's like you will be the worst version of yourself when you play here and no one knows why.
At this point? I think some heads need to roll beyond adams. I'd probably come in with the eye of - if it's challenging to attract players, how do i attract talent outside the players, and how do i improve my sales pitch to players?
- Scouting - Where are we succeeding and failing? Who's doing it better? Do we just poach scouts? Need to make a BIG leap in improvement here.
- Analytics - Big stink was made about this - is further investment needed for this to make an actual tangible on-ice impact?
- Development - Why do highly touted players always seem to fail here?
- Training staff - Youngest team in the NHL. Fast and soft, injured constantly across the board.
- Facilities - look around the league and see what you need to do to get in the top 10 because this is important to players.
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I think they need to really evaluate why a player would want to play here. We are and have been bad for so long that the reputation around the league is incredibly poor, and hard to improve. So many players have clauses in their contract to protect them from essentially being traded... here. NYS income tax definitely doesn't help, even if the cost of living in buffalo essentially counters the tax savings in Florida or Nevada. The stadium's a heartless empty feeling dump. Training facilities are not impressive.
Obviously Josh Allen's a big part of the bills success, i don't think that can be questioned. But pre-Allen, the team spent a lot of money on new training facilities, new recovery tools, and just generally on "the team". It became a destination specifically for "football players". Talking up the nightlife of a city, or weather, or whatever - you're always going to lose that battle in buffalo. But if you say to the players - you're coming here to work, and be a better hockey player - that message can resonate to the right players.
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1 hour ago, Weave said:
Unpopular opinion forthcoming.
The only reason the Mitts trade is a failure is because KA misjudged Cozens.
I believe the plan was set based on the assumption that Cozens would be as effective as Mitts, harder to play against than Mitts, and the team wanted a defense first 3rd line center anyway.
Had Cozens not started the season with a thud, we wouldn’t miss Mitts 5v5 with McLeod changing the role of the 3rd line.
Alas, Mr. Adam’s expectations for Cozens were a just a bit loftier than reality.
I like our defense roster. I am less concerned about it than I am the forward group.
Interesting to think - make the same deal with cozens instead of mittelstadt. Wonder how that would fit with players they have here right now.
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17 minutes ago, zow2 said:
The age old term in hockey is "puck luck". And through 3 games the Sabres are on the polar opposite end of that.
Even watching loose pucks it seems like the pucks bouncing around in our zone directly onto the opponents sticks.
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19 minutes ago, zow2 said:
Again, losing is acceptable here. They try to say and act like it isn't, but it truly is acceptable for this GM and ownership, and these overrated players. The good teams in this league won't have 3 straight regulation losses all season. This organization has let down the great fans of Buffalo in a massive way. I'm not even sure if winning the Stanley Cup someday can offset the misery of 13+ seasons in a league where everyone cycles through the playoffs every season or at worst every few years.
The bruins won 65 games and had a 3 game losing streak at one point in the season. You just can't let this keep going. A win gets the monkey off your back, but they need to play better across the board. Pucks need to start going in the net, the power play needs some urgency, and vets need to step up.
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2 hours ago, dudacek said:
The Sabres have never telegraphed their starting lineup as clearly as they have this season.
Hopefully we can avoid the slow 20-something game start that seems to plague this team in recent seasons.
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Curious to see what the board thinks for this season outside of Buffalo in the playoff picture. Lots of player movement, as well as a number of coaching changes.
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20 hours ago, mjd1001 said:
I thought Thompson did pretty good on the PK. When he was paired with Greenway out there, I thought they were excellent as the 2 forwards. But, as you said, he's your #1 scorer, don't put him out there where he can/will be taking shots into himself.
Which is fine to have it in your back pocket, but getting hurt in like october affected him pretty much the entire season.
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I'd personally like to see him more active between the blue lines in 5x5, and tying up those high slot follow-ups that have given buffalo problems.
The only time i like to attack a PP is if they have a guy like olofsson who can get swallowed up on the wall and doesn't have a ton of confidence. Which... teams did to us pretty consistently last year.
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On 9/21/2024 at 10:30 AM, dudacek said:
Setting aside the top 15 arguments, I will be very surprised if Tage isn’t more productive this year.
I think @mjd1001 put together a pretty compelling statistical argument about how the hand injury affected his shooting percentage and the resulting dip in production.
His scoring trend over the year - putting up a point per game over the final third of the season - supported that as well.
Not sure if it’s chicken or egg, (probably both), but a good chunk of any statistical improvement will be tied to the success of the Sabres power play.
He had 18 fewer points (11 of them goals) on the PP last year than the year before.
Yeah, blocking a shot on a PK IIRC which just seems like not the best use of his abilities.
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On 9/11/2024 at 5:27 PM, mjd1001 said:
If i'm not mistaken (correct me if I am) but he didn't play any ice time in the playoffs last year. He hasn't played a minute of ice time in the playoffs since 2022-23, and he was pretty brutal (he was a -7 in 11 games and he was playing so badly that by the end of the playoffs they were only putting him on the ice for 7-9 minutes per game).
And that was a season and a half ago. Add 1.5-2 years of age to that, and yeah, I'm not interested.
yeah i didn't look so.. i'm good there. Seems like a waste of money.
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He's clearly not completely washed if he's putting up ice time for playoff teams. At the same time... i know the effort level I'm going to get is pretty low so is this just weaponizing a little cap space?
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2 hours ago, Weave said:
I can see this. He’s got more talent than Ellis, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to translate well in the NHL.
He just doesn’t show enough flashes of talent to make me believe he’s got another gear coming. Not fast enough, determined enough, or shifty enough to overcome his faults. Seems like a classic tweener talent.
Maybe he can carve out a career like Lazar did. Im certainly not hoping against it. But my gut says it won’t be in Buffalo unless he really does have another gear he hasn’t shown yet.
Pretty much where I'm at... there shouldn't be much of a priority to keep him, or find him ice time. He can certainly earn it, but much of what i've seen is the same. He's played 200 NHL games, so it's not as if there isn't a sample size. He's not fast or quick, effort is there but he's not particularly effective in a checking role, not particularly effective on draws, doesn't kill penalties, and his shooting and shot selection is pretty terrible. Mittelstadt wasn't a great shooter, but other elements of his game improved, especially his ability to take the puck away and keep puck possession.
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39 minutes ago, Brawndo said:
Fun fact had Pegula been willing to acquire Johansen in the Byram Trade, Colorado would have sent a 1st round pick with Him for the Sabres Trouble
I guess it would have been a better explanation for the skinner buyout?
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3 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:
It is exceedingly rare for an 18 year old kid to jump straight to the NHL, especially when they're not at the top of the draft. Benson was an exception and only because the team had zero depth which made his window of opportunity slightly bigger.
I am hopeful that when call-ups arise, we'll be looking for Kulich, Rosen or hopefully a taste of Helenius and not Lukas Rousek since GMKA spent the off-season filling in those types of roles.
What if Benson hits a sophomore slump this year and struggles in camp? Is there a chance Helenius can take his spot?
Quinn getting hurt opened up a spot for Benson as well.
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11 hours ago, K-9 said:
Yeah, with mononucleosis. Hardly counts as an injury as much as it does just plain bad luck.
Mono was the most annoying illness. You're contagious like the entire time you present symptoms, you're tired the entire time, and food tastes bad.
Even once he's feeling better and well enough to work out and play, you have to keep him away from the locker room even longer.
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1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:
You guys are saying we need Zegras because he's the type of player we need. Why? Because we traded Mittlestadt right? So wouldn't that move signal proof that this organization is entirely clueless?
In broad terms Zegras is Mitts abilities with Skinner's personality. But you want him? Think it over.
Mitts never found the net enough for me to want to put him as a top 6 center (0 20-goal seasons in his career). Good player between the blue lines, i thought he was a proper back checker as a center, quick decisions in traffic. He was also one of the only guys who would skate the puck out of the zone with a level of consistency. But he wasn't particularly fleet of foot, and you don't usually get faster than you are at 25. Decent shooting percentage but 102 shots in 62 games is just... too low for a center in a top 6.
Didn't hate the player, but to pay him 6M or whatever is tough when his points are going to be somewhat line dependent. I don't think McLeod is an upgrade, but I think he's what they're looking for in a 3rd line center - win draws, play in any situation if needed, take pucks away, etc.
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On 7/20/2024 at 7:13 PM, Night Train said:
Agreed and they made that effort to finally change that. I started to worry that KO and Girgs would be here yet another year beyond their usefulness. Nothing personal but they should have been moved out long ago.
Reminds me of the Bills during the drought when I became convinced the Bills would keep signing average Chris Kelsay to 1 year deals for the next 25 years. " We like him ". Great....go adopt a dog...
My issue with KO and Girgs wasn't their defense, it was that they were incapable as a unit of providing any level of real offensive pressure. Chip, chase, change - maybe get a high slot shot off the dump. Being a faster unit can potentially put some more pressure on the defense of teams we play, that can result in neutral zone turnovers, penalties, etc.
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On 7/14/2024 at 1:30 PM, JohnC said:
The roster is better balanced now with the upgrade of the lower two lines. I would love to see another second line forward added before camp opens up but I'm not confident that it will happen. So assuming there will be internal improvement by the young players such as Power, Quinn, JJP, Benson, Byram etc., the issue comes down to the play of our goalies. If UPL can play at the same level as he did last year, then we should have a good opportunity to make the playoffs. If his play regresses without Levi picking up the slack, then I see them again on the outside looking in.
If I had to predict a young player making a quantum leap forward, the player I would pick would be Quinn. I also see Power making the jump. Power is not a flashy player but I do see him being an anchor defenseman this season.
I personally think it's Levi's net by the end of this season for us to make the playoffs. But Quinn and JJP taking a step would be huge. Tage and Cozens getting shots from better areas will help them get some of that scoring touch back.
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1 hour ago, Taro T said:
300 level concourses are insanely tiny, so the events staff place trash cans and recycling bins at the end of the stanchions under the stands to restirct them even further. Genius.
They have been asked to not place them there and on occassion have moved them. But then the ushers complain that people "can't find them and leave their trash everywhere." Bullspit. There is a can or recycle bin literally at every stanchion. It isn't hard to "find" one. And if that really were the reason, they could be placed so that they stick out past the stanchion by 4"-6" so people could "see" them, but it would still free up at least 24" of prime walking space. This stupid can placement makes it very difficult to get around in the 300's at the 1st intermission as the vast majority of the 300's empty into the concourse during that intermission.
Heck of a job, Quinny; heck of a job. (Though he's the idiot that was fine with the stupidly narrow concourses (which are wider than what was there behind the blues in the Aud, which isn't saying much. The hallway in our tiny house is probably larger than they were over near the bathroom by the Aud Club entrance.) at least he isn't the idiot telling them to keep restricting pedestrian flow even further. But still, a chance for a pot shot at that tool, when provided should and must be taken.)
Its way more noticeable when you have like concerts or events that actually fill the 300s too. I find the first stairwell out of there usually just because its insanely crowded on the walk to the escalator.
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These are fine improvements. But they're a long ways away from having a solid arena. In no particular order
- 300 concourses are insanely tiny
- Everything feels really dated
- Uncomfortable seats that rattle and are barely bolted down
- Cupholders that don't fit literally any beverage that you sell
- The bottom bleacher rows aren't even flush with the boards so you could very easily drop a phone under them
- Feels really steep at the top rows for whatever reason
- Food options are... fine?
- Bathrooms need... help.
- The whole place just feels soulless. Paint and new lighting would go a long way to improvement. It just feels sooooo minor league.
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55 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:
Care to say why and who on the roster you do see as captain material and why?
I would say Dahlin would be my choice. He's the best player on the team, when he speaks people listen, and he seems to genuinely care for the team and the entire organization (Taking in an 18 year old benson during his rookie season is a good example). He's worn the A the last two years. Is an all-star. Locked up long-term.
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On 7/13/2024 at 6:38 PM, PerreaultForever said:
No because I think his upside is likely higher than what you're getting back. Everything needs to be staggered and structured properly for long term success and the only guys I see as (almost) untouchable are the guys who have already shown me the character I want for this team going forward.
I mean really, nobody is truly untouchable but the guys I would want an overpay return on are Benson and Peterka.
Dahlin and Cozens would require a solid equal at least return.
Tuch I could trade but I really really don't want to because I want to build that culture and I think him playing for Lindy (and for me becoming captain) is just too vital to that culture building to toss away on a talent oriented trade. It's emotional heart and soul stuff that defies the mathematics and stats of it.
Everyone else is open to discussion on a trade that would make us better.
Just my opinion, but those are the guys I favor at this time.
I don't see Tuch as captain material tbh.
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2 hours ago, French Collection said:
Getting a late 20’s player on an expiring contract is different than getting an overdone Eric Staal or even a Taylor Hall with a full NTC.
This player should be motivated to have a good year and to showcase his skills in order to get one more big deal. Whether he re-signs with Buffalo, leaves at season’s end or is traded at the deadline will be determined over the course of the year. Relationships can be cultivated, team success can change perspectives or another failure can bring prospects.
As discussed once or twice, KA has tons of picks and prospects to get a top seven player, who is preferably a C.
How many teams are willing to move a center - with no trade protection - for futures?
Most contenders aren't moving a player for picks/prospects unless they are against the cap. And even then, they might be looking for a player more than prospects.
Most bad teams are basically trying to do the exact same thing as buffalo.
https://www.capfriendly.com/browse/active/2025/caphit/all/center?stats-season=2024
GDT: Buffalo Sabres @ Carolina Hurricanes, 7 pm ET, 27 February 2025, TV FDSNSO, MSG-B, FDSNSO, Radio WGR AM 55
in The Aud Club
Posted
Watching last night, i tried to really watch cozens when he was on the ice and man... He is really rough. He's sloppy in puck battles. Never has a plan it seems. Consistently trying to pass pucks through the other team. It's a real drag. The entire line he plays with seems to be unable to ever find any space.
Even when he makes a nice play on the backcheck - he turns it over on the breakout. It's just a really chaotic (mostly bad) experience watching him right now.