Digger

I just re-watched the highlights. The look on Lindy's face after each of the first 3 goals is priceless. I almost felt sorry for him.

I've enjoyed reading the posts (catching up from last night). Here's one positive from the O'Reilly trade that we should all be able to agree on. Having the deadline in place for the trade (O'Reilly's bonus pay out) killed JBot's negotiation strength in getting the return that he wanted. That was (I believe anyway) the lesson learned for ownership and Adams when they were trading Eichel. No deadline and we won't make the trade until we feel comfortable with the return.

To your bolded text In what world would you do it again? I guess that if you had perfect foresight to see how Tage would develop years after the trade (this season). Of course if you had perfect foresight then you would have seen that St. Louis would win the cup with O'Reilly and that he would win the Conn Smyth and most likely insisted on getting a better return that would help the team immediately that year. Perfect Foresight would ensure that we did not take back Berglund who did not want to be a Sabre to the point where he voided his contract which was quite the negative headline at the time towards the Sabres. Perfect foresight would have allowed our GM to realize that while Mittelstadt was a top prospect he wasn't going to be able to handle the 2nd line center duty..............and that Sobotka and Berglund wouldn't either and that we would not have a viable option for 2nd line center until ?? (last season, this season). Perfect foresight to see that Eichel would eventually want off the team too and perhaps seeing O'Reilly get traded and win the cup elsewhere looked pretty appealing. Speculation and no I don't miss Eichel. At least that trade has had a positive impact the year of the trade with the added bonus of future upside and picks to be made.

How about Slava Kozlov in the Hasek trade to Detroit. Talk about a player that didn't want to be here.

I mentioned this in the comparison thread with Eichel. He has one year left at $1.4M and then is a RFA with arbitration rights. Is it better to sign him this off season or wait and to see if he can repeat again next year? I'm not sure, but for the right amount I'd sign him, $5M x 5 great, $6M x 5 years good, $6.5M x 5 years okay but if he wants more than that? (then let's wait and see if he can repeat his performance.............remember the Skinner contract (not the same I know but still a contract that is difficult to trade). I would also add the Adams has to predict the full core players salaries as they get good and need bigger contracts to see how they may project. Fun job. I'd love to listen in to those conversations.

I guess that I can't get past the salary. With the salaries they both make Tage Thompson is the clear winner for value. Will we be trying to sign Tage to an early extension this off season? He has one year left at $1.4M and then is a RFA with arbitration rights. Is it better to sign him this off season or wait and to see if he can repeat again next year? What's he worth to sign this off season for a 5 year extension?

I listened to the Adams interview and didn't feel that he shared anything new (at least from what I had been hearing). This has been debated pretty well now. It is what it is, and hopefully next year we have them all signed and ready to start playing in Rochester in hopes that they'll be Sabres someday. I would like to hear an honest interview with all 3 (Portillo, Levi, Johnson) but I know most of what is said is pretty guarded and most likely coached by their advisors. In contrast, if you look at the prospects playing in the CHL you don't see many of them turning down NHL contracts for that last chance to win the Memorial Cup as an over-age player. They take the opportunity when it comes. That can be a good thing and a bad thing of course. Good for the NHL team if they develop and make the NHL but maybe not so much for the player if they don't make the NHL (but they still get the life experience).

Maybe you're right. My point was that this was really a season of opportunity for many players to step up and Tage has made the most of it (Eichel, Reinhart moved, Mittelstadt hurt). You might recall that even Hasek needed to get his chance as a number 1 before he cemented the spot. Yes I agree on the "thought experiment" comment.......typical Sabres fan always wondering what could have happened.

I'll give Granato the credit for moving Tage to center but I do wonder if the move would have happened if Mittelstadt had stayed healthy and if Reinhart had stayed with the team this season and playing center as he had at the end of last season. Cozens also. The conditions were right. It just goes to show that all players have to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes up. Granato looks brilliant on the move regardless and we are much deeper at center than we thought at the beginning of the 2021-22 season.

In other news the Jack Eichel Voodoo dolls are selling quickly to former Eichel fans..................

Dahlin interview, he's changed his go to statement from "super excited" to "super happy".

Great game, nice to get the win.

Oilers take them out today.

it's been an entertaining second period

I can see that maybe there's no spot for him next season on the Sabres barring injury call up but I do wonder if he couldn't find a spot on another NHL roster. I think that it would be a smart move to stay for another season to see if he gets a chance. Otherwise Rochester could really use him.

Okay I'll bite, but what changes would you make? I think we all agree that upgrading the goaltender position is priority #1 going into this off-season. This is followed by getting 1 or 2 RHD that can play, and most likely top 4 minutes (unless Dahlin can settle in on the right side). Do they need to be tough (sure if available and they still have the skill to play top minutes). I would say that what we need to ensure additions are good team players that will jump in and defend their teammates when needed. This season the Sabres have been better than quite some time with players willing to jump in a to defend and support each other. I like Olofsson and Asplund but we know that they won't do much or anything in a scrum. But I don't see us upgrading to the tougher version of either. I would love to have Marcus Foligno back on the team but I find it highly unlikely they will get him back. Cozens taking boxing lessons and fighting more? I hope not and I hope that he's getting better advice than that. He'll make a bigger impact using his skill rather than becoming a tough guy.

Here's a thought. The NHL goes back to having a draft combine again this year after cancelling 2020 and 2021 for Covid. Did the lack of combine results make much a difference to the 2021 draft and is this something that can be evaluated now? I suppose one of the big hits last season was to have CHL shut down and reduced playing times for many draft prospects so maybe that will always be hard to evaluate.

I know it's a long shot but are there any European goaltenders that might be worth offering a contract coming over to North America?

Did anyone else look at Power coming out and think we need a taller tunnel cover? We need something adequate for Tage and Power now. Poor guys are hunched over walking to the ice.

I don't think anyone forgot about him. To a certain extent it's difficult to gauge where he is at the end of the season (with respect to the Sabres and playing consistent at an NHL level). Is he ready to take the step or does he still need to keep developing defensively a bit more before making the Sabres full time? As I recall, we have very limited call-ups allowed from Rochester after the trade deadline because we used 3 (on paper) for Samuelson, Krebs, and Fitzgerald. Ideally we would have both JJP and Quinn up for a few games to see if they where they are but we also need them playing well for Rochester to see if we can get into the playoffs. May still be the plan.

This interview is from March and he mentions that school is very important to him and to have 2 potential paths (education and professional hockey). Maybe some insight to his decision to stay in school.

Good point, yes I agree that may be the case just prepping the Sabre fan base to not panic (apparently the message didn't take).

Don't worry I read somewhere that Kevin Adams said there was no downside to Portillo returning to school for another year. 😏

Great post. Thanks very much for articulating your thoughts on this. For me I believe that it's just impatience on my part. I want these guys to develop and start contributing to the Sabres success as soon as possible and I want the next layer of talent ready to step in and be available when we need it. How can we forget the 2006 playoffs when Jay McKee was lost to injury for game 7..............opportunity for a player to step in. I would love to understand how players really think when considering signing their first NHL contract. To me, it's logical for a player to believe that he will make the team either right away or after some time in the AHL but it seems wrong for a player like Johnson to not agree to sign a contract because we can't guarantee him a spot on the Sabres. I don't mean to disrespect his talent or potential but it is still rare for a player to not need any time in the AHL before playing full time in the NHL. I would think that he wouldn't immediately crack the lineup on most NHL teams (but he would still be a top prospect). I would hope that he would (will) sign a contract with the Sabres and come to the team and work hard, develop, and force his way onto the Sabres when he proves ready. A spot and opportunity always opens for a talented player.

Sorry if I missed it in the thread but is there an interview link where he said this? I do hope that Adams has something positive to say on him staying in school for another year. I guess I'm just disappointed, knowing that development takes time (for all of our prospects) and it was my belief that getting him some time in the AHL next season would have him ready to play for the Sabres sooner than waiting.