Digger

Nice goal. It's hard not to notice Nikonov celebrating the goal with him (big boy) beside Kisakov.

and because Marty talks so quickly he'll be able to jam two hours of content into one. 😏

Peters seemed to talk that he was as surprised as we were with the time slot change so I doubt that there was much discussion. I do remember Peters saying that their 11am show was ranked pretty well (which surprised me because it's focused entirely on the Sabres and the team has not done well lately). I think Peters and Rivet were pretty good at being supportive for the Sabres moves. Rivet was actually a bit too much supportive. But all in all they were great ambassadors for the Sabres.

So guessing that it will no longer be called "The Instigators". I'm disappointed because I felt that Peters and Rivet came a long way in this show.

Most people in general can find something nice to say about another especially when it's on record (radio interview or in print). I took my views on Gionta's comments from an Instigators episode (sorry I'm not going to go and find it). They were talking about who should be the next team captain. Gionta did not come out and speak highly of Eichel as a captain and Gionta and Rivet have both been captains in their history so I took the lack of endorsement as a message. But that's just me. None of us really knows because we are not on the team or teammates with him.

Personally I would love to know what other NHL team doctors think about the surgery option. Of course no doctor can make a truly informed decision without assessing his records and seeing him, but I do wonder if many other team doctors would support the Sabres medical opinion.

Yes I agree. Gionta did not say anything specifically bad about Eichel but he did not say anything positive either other than that he was and is a talented player. I think that Gionta not being able to say anything towards Eichel's character or leadership speaks volumes.

I really don't know enough about him yet. It would be nice to have him be a reliable 4th liner but he has not demonstrated that so far in his career. Arizona last season wasn't exactly a great team. Maybe Coach Granato can help him find his way utilizing his strengths. From what I have read and seen so far I would think that he spends some time in Rochester with the potential to get some time with injuries (or if the young team is getting physically outmatched..........which might be the case).

No he only controls the teams that the Sabres can deal with with a NMC. He couldn't force the trade last off season with every team in the league and he has no more power to force a trade next year. Adams will deal him when he gets what he thinks is a fair offer.

I agree that he will be moved once he shows that he's healthy enough to play again and assuming they can get a fair deal in place. I understand the fear of the NMC kicking in but the reality is that he's still under contract for 4 more years after this one. If Adams did not have his hand forced this off season I wouldn't worry about next off season. It would be a concern in the final year of his contract where he could control his destiny in a trade destination but while he is under contract the Sabres still control where he plays. He has no more power next off season of forcing a trade than he did this off season. It's a hypothetical situation anyway.

Sure no argument on his stats. Ullmark played well for the Sabres and will most likely play well for the Bruins. Hopefully he is able to stay healthy this season for the Bruins and really establish himself as a number 1 goalie. My point was that it will hurt Sabres fans when he plays well against us. Other than that we have to move on. He would not resign with us so "it is what it is" (move on).

...................playing the Sabres.

Yes I agree it will help his cause if he can be professional. I think he needs some help in his interview skills since he doesn't really come across very positive (not just talking about his locker clean out one). Maybe his agent will help him with that or at least help his awareness of how he comes across.

Nice to see the guys support each other with some rough stuff.

Jokiharju still has upside. I expect that he will become a dependable top 4 D. This is an important year for his development. He has an opportunity for lots of ice time and responsibility in all areas. I hope that he has a great year.

I thought Murray was good but I think that he still needs to work on being harder to move when in front of the net. Last night I felt he got his chances from his reach and going to the net. He would do well to go and train with Ristolainen's training regime to build up more strength still. I was hoping to see a bit more from Samuelsson. No real complaints other than he seemed to back off a few times and play cautiously. I do think he needs to play better to make the Sabres out of camp. Yes I thought Laaksonen had moments where he looked great and then not so much at times like on the penalty kill. He has the skills that are hard to improve at this stage though with skating and offensive instincts. Another season in Rochester should help him improve his defensive game. It's the first game so I'm sure all will improve.

Go to YouTube, Devils have it live.

Laaksonen too.

the video feed is better (for me) on the Devils channel. Unfortunately it's slightly out of sync with the Sabres feed.

How come Bryson isn't playing? He's only 23. Is there an age limit?

Yes I did not want to wait any longer. The Sabres killed the winning culture and pride in the room the year we tanked for Eichel. There was definitely excitement when we traded for O'Reilly that we would be turning the corner. It was hard to see some of the players go with the trade but drafting Eichel and trading for O'Reilly was great. I just remember being concerned when we traded for Kane about the dressing room concerns with the Jets and the fact that we really seemed to overpay for him (remember he was injured at the time). Who the heck were we bidding against? Those were Murray's moves and his vision for the team. The shine started to come off both players before he was fired. Changing GM's was part of the problem with that vision because we dumped both players for a fraction of the cost to acquire them. I'm okay with being patient this year (because I have no other choice) but I really hope that we can improve the team going into the next off season (by adding more than Owen Power). The good news is that we won't be overly burdened with huge cap hits other than Skinner and Okposo.

Ha Ha, Count Jackula. The most anticipated Halloween costume this season, right next to wearing an Eichel mask in a different team's jersey.

I agree with your take on Murray and Adams. I am not convinced of your take on Botterill's plan though. He had some good ideas from an administrative point in building scouts and management for the Sabres and Rochester (didn't really have time to see if these moves would have panned out). But his player moves were really bad and it seemed like he was just trying to undo everything that Murray did with some of the trades. I still think ownership forced him to make the O'Reilly trade that will hang around his neck like an anchor for years to come. I'm glad Murray and Botterill are gone. As a fan I want to have confidence in my GM that he will make fair trades and signings to improve the team. So far Adams is okay (but the Reinhart trade remains to be seen it it pans out for value).

Depends on what's involved with the physical (I don't know what all they do for an evaluation). But I suspect that Doctors will ask if he still has discomfort or pain and that would be something that only Eichel can answer. So if he's still in discomfort or pain does he fail? (I would think yes).

Seems odd that this was rejected by the other team but..................there may have been another piece or player or prospect involved from the other team that was not mentioned. We are making some assumptions on this trade proposal.