JohnC

Does he live in the Vegas area or just made a gambling excursion?

If one used the 15,000 season ticket as a baseline number for a team to qualify as a NHL worthy franchise, Buffalo wouldn't qualify.

Ray does not have a habit of criticizing calls. But the officiating was so terrible/erratic in the Tampa game that he would derelict as a commentator if he didn't call it out after the replays demonstrated how egregiously bad many calls were. My sense of Ray as a commentator is that he enters the game with little preparation and quickly scoots out after the game to beat the traffic. Ray is Ray. I prefer a minimalist broadcast to a verbose broadcast. I prefer watching more than listening to a game. I'm fine with the pair who call the games.

Owners are more interested in the TV market and TV revenue than they are in the fanbase. Houston is a big market that can become a rival to another Texas city that is already in the NHL i.e. Dallas.

The Sabres have a number of quality prospects in the pipeline. So when the time comes when a tough cap decision has to be made, the Sabres will have cheaper young players to replace some of the more expensive roll players. Like you, the cap issue is something I'm not overly worried about. The Sabres are close to the point where this team is ready up to the next rung. Making smart moves in the near term to push the process forward is my major concern.

As you know very well the NHL season is such a grind and punishing endeavor. Especially on the blue line having plenty of depth is not a luxury as it is a necessity. Including Johnson to the Lyubushkin and Stillman additions gives the Sabres not only depth but flexibility when putting together the lower pairings. I'm more of a Joki supporter than most here. If an upgrade is brought in, I'm not going to complain if he drops to a lower line. The positive result of additions is that the playing minutes would be a little more balanced and less depleting for the top two pairings. From the little I have seen of Stillman I thought he looked good. He added an element of ruggedness and mobility. We don't need him to fight. (I'm against fighting in general!) He provides an element of toughness and he is mobile.

Skinner is a more likeable chirper and irritant than Barnaby every was.

You and I are riding the same bus and going to the same destination on this issue. Give me a version of Lyubushkin and I would be happy. Where I slightly vary from your position is that I don't see the Sabres making a trade for an authentic top two pairing player because I don't see our GM willing to include in a trade one of his top tier prospects. It is very likely that the trade partner would want that type of asset coming their way. (Consider what KA was not willing to give up to acquire Chycrun.) Another consideration is that Don G thinks more highly of Joki than many here. As you well know I talk him up more than most here.

Let me add to my original post that if there are quality blue liner prospects whose rating are equal or in the same range as forward prospects in this draft, there is a need to add defensemen to our prospect pool which is very small, if not existent.

The GM saw an opportunity to acquire a second pairing caliber player who still had term and a very reasonable contract. So he seriously pursued a deal. He had a quality offer, if not better offer, but the dealer went somewhere else. I don't think that it is likely that a second pairing type of defenseman will be on the market who has that term and salary reasonableness. And if there is a trade possibility at the draft and offseason, I believe that a high-end prospect will be required to consummate such a deal. Based on his history I don't see our GM willing to include that type of prospect in a proposed deal. You have made the same observation that I have on Lyubushkin's recent play. Recently, it has been solid or better. If the Sabres added another blueliner who is similar in performance, it would thicken up the lower half of our blue line unit. Limiting minutes to players such as Bryson and Clague is addition by subtraction. And it would give the unit more depth with players who are merely depth players.

Even if the Sabres draft a defenseman early on in the draft it is unlikely that the player will be on the roster for at least another two years. If the Sabres add a defenseman in the offseason, odds are that it will be a Lyubushkin third-pairing caliber of player who will bulk up the lower pairing group. There's nothing wrong with that approach. As it stands Power is thriving while paired with Joki.

I like listening to the Hockey Guy. However, I'm not in the mood to listen to 37 minutes of his rankings. Where does he have Buffalo ranked? And who are the three lowest ranked teams?

What your post demonstrates is that there are a number of considerations to factor in DG's decision. I agree with you that Greenway has to be in the lineup very soon. Isn't having difficult choices to make for game day lineups a refreshing problem to have? It wasn't that long ago where AHL caliber of players were the replacements. No. That Girgs/Yost/Okposo line is playing well and has an important role.

I thought the Samuelsson penalty when he went down to block a shot was the worst call or at least one of the worst calls in this game.

Now, the Hinostroza issue also becomes tricky. Since his call-up he has been playing well on a line with Cozens and Mitts. There are a number of considerations to juggle here regarding who sits or plays. I have confidence in Don G making the right choices when juggling players.

I thought Peterka played well in this game. And very recently he has worked to put himself in position to have scoring opportunities, something he didn't have for an extended period of time. The issue of sitting JJ is a tricky issue.

It's funny how two people can watch the same event and come away with very different views. I thought Comrie played well. I would have given him the first star of the game. In the first period, he was superb. I wouldn't rate his performance as being exceptional, but from my perspective he played consistently well throughout the game. The one goal in the third period when Tampa was shorthanded, he was left naked on the doorstep of the crease with no support. If this caliber of goaltending was consistently evident this season, the Sabres would be a team that would be chased for a playoff spot.

There was nothing perplexing about the acquisition. He was a third or fourth pairing type of player who was going to take minutes away from Clague and Bryson. That's exactly what many here were clamoring for, and doing so for a long time. Many here wanted to acquire Chycrun. As it turned out so did our GM. When, after the fact, it was explained that the Sabres made a legitimate offer to Arizona that may have surpassed Ottawa's offer then that issue was put aside.

I was going to make a comment about penalizing you for improper usage but I won't.

Attached in a link from NHL.com showing the playoff standings. https://www.nhl.com/standings/2022/wildcard

What he helllll are you talking about? Are you now the gestapo police for emojiis!

Perception for some people is their reality. That doesn't mean that they aren't spacemen crazy.

Stillman used his head in this game. 🤡

That fellow on the chair is tall enough not to need a chair for the work you are not paying him for. 🤡

It's part of the fun but not the reality. 🤡