Digger

I saw that this was posted yesterday. I did not see an English translation. I'm hoping there's no drama from the Dahlin camp or anything taken out of context. If anyone has anything further on the translated interview then please post.

Now that they have Fiala signed and most likely know where they stand with Kaprizov will they make another run at getting Eichel? I think they really needed to understand their salary cap before making another pitch.

Less than I thought he would sign for. I figured he would get $6M in arbitration.

I'm not sure I see Calgary as a viable trade partner but there was a name that stood out to me when I looked at their draft history and prospects in Adam Fox. I found it interesting history. Calgary drafted Adam Fox in the 3rd round in 2016 (66th overall). He developed well and looked like a great prospect for the Flames. However, he was traded in June 2018 along with Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferlund to Carolina for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. Unfortunately he did not want to sign with Carolina (he grew up in New York) so they traded his rights to the NY Rangers for a 2019 2nd round pick and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2020 (that became a 2nd round pick). He goes on to win the Norris Trophy in 2021. You can look at this scenario in a few ways. Carolina got an A+ prospect with their trade package but then the player decided he wasn't going to sign with them, potentially play out his time and become a UFA. Carolina would have looked better with Fox on their team. I do wish they would fix this NCAA issue. And it sucks that the Rangers got him at a bargain because he wanted to play for the Rags. There is a lesson for the Sabres to try and get players that will sign here in this potential trade.

I love seeing these wall murals get created. There was one that went up near where I worked at the time and it was really cool to see the picture develop over a period of weeks. It's also amazing to see the improvement to the drab building if it's done well. Thanks for posting.

Interesting listen for those that like listening to "The Hockey Guy". Hopefully it helps the Eichel trade now that he has completed a preview with Eichel in the lineup. I think The Hockey Guy does a nice job on his videos trying to stay neutral and giving an honest opinion.

Yes it could be. We also had the option of using Risto in front to screen hot goalies so that they could not see the puck. He was another option that's gone to give the powerplay a different look.

One of the truths in life for everyone is that we cannot change the past. The only thing we can do is learn from the past and implement changes to not repeat mistakes. Businesses do this with "lessons learned exercises" and reviewing "lessons learned" are very important to not repeat mistakes and to implement improvements. What could we have done better is the question to be asked and how can we do it better next time? Lehner's comments are old. They may be valid from the time period but we are only getting one side of the story. Did the Sabres learn from the supposed mistakes and implement changes to be improved? Perhaps and let's hope so, but I wouldn't expect the Sabres management come out and respond to Lehner's comments from an event in 2017-18. The Eichel scenario will get played out and we will need to wait to see if he gets surgery and how he recovers with whatever team he ends up with. Time to move forward.

I think Sam Reinhart is a player with a very high hockey sense and it will continue into the playoffs where he will be very good for the Panthers. I had previously said in other threads that I thought Reinhart had the most hockey sense of any Sabre on last season's roster. Good luck to him but it's time for Sabres fans to move on.

Yes and he takes too long to get the shot off. I'm hoping he can finally get enough strength on that huge frame and that coach DG can get him to put in a solid effort every shift. Hopefully he plays hard and stays healthy.

Except ice-fishing. 😃

It's kind of depressing to me. We traded Reinhart who led our team in scoring last season and replaced him with a top 10 protected 1st for next year and a goalie prospect in Levi. Sam signs a deal for 3 years. It's quite conceivable that the Sabres will not have a player on their roster from this trade deal until Reinhart signs his next contract.

My point was that this is only "news" today because of Jack Eichel and a desire to s**T on the Sabres organization. Lehner has played for 3 other teams since his time in Buffalo. It seemed pretty odd to me to have this come up. I never had anything against Eichel but I do think his comments and his agents actions are not helping the situation at all.

Lehner hasn't played for the team since 2018. Seems like the media is really digging to keep the negative narrative going against the Sabres. What's the real point? All about poor Eichel? They should focus on getting some NHL team(s) to step up with a fair trade offer so that poor Jack can get his desired medical procedure.

We should remember that we had no idea what we traded for when we got Hasek. Everyone thought he had no style because he was flopping all over the ice and dropping his stick. Otherwise we wouldn't have wasted a trade getting a worn out Grant Fuhr. We should have left Hasek in net for the next series after the Mayday goal and win over the Bruins (but I digress). Closest young goalie today might be Spencer Knight as the next one. It will be interesting to see him develop this season with Florida. I would love to find another Hasek. Another interesting thought might have come from the Ryan O'Reilly trade. What if we had got Jordan Binnington in the trade? He hadn't had much impact with the Blues before that year and was an older prospect. I'm not sure it would have been hard to get him.

No it's a good deal for Sam Reinhart and shows that he is committing to the Panthers. 3 years also allows him to try for a contract with Vancouver in the future should he want the chance to play in his home town with the Canucks. I wish we would have or could have kept him with the Sabres but it is what it is at this point.

He will sign with the Sabres. His only alternative is to wait it out at college which is ridiculous for a high quality player like himself. He needs to move to the next level to keep developing if he wants to succeed in the NHL. If the Eichel situation does anything it should demonstrate that it's important to develop as a player and get to that big contract as soon as possible and take the 8 year deal at big money. I'm sure that's the advice he will get from his advisors. The Sabres also offer a great opportunity because we don't have a crowded established blue line. Personally I think that he will be happy to be a Sabre.

Don't get me wrong. I am optimistic about the young players we have and I hope they can stand up to the pressure that will be applied this year. I absolutely agree that that they need the proper support. Over the past two seasons I talked myself into thinking that we would be okay with Hutton as the backup to Ullmark. He clearly wasn't good enough even though he played a couple of good games each season. And the sad situation is that Hutton may be better than what we have right now.

Sadly I agree on the goalie situation. I can talk myself into being somewhat optimistic (might be something in that Kool-Aid) with seeing how the forwards and defense come together and play but I cannot see anything positive about the goal situation. Anderson, sure he's okay for a mentor but he can't carry the load. Dell? Tokarski?

I assume the goalie being discussed last year might have been Daniel Vladar. He was moved to Calgary after they signed Ullmark. I can't envision them having enough top end A+ prospects to make the trade. They also don't have much room salary wise so would expect lots of money coming back in the deal.

Another thing to consider with 3 way deals is that they generally would involve only one team that really wants Eichel, otherwise the other team is settling and helping the other team to get the player they really want. Vegas, Ducks, Wild all would like Eichel. So why would they instead help the Rangers to get Eichel? A Zibanejad extension won't be cheap. I could see a 3 way deal with Minnesota getting some extra assets if they decide they need to move Fiala and/or Kaprizov because of high salary demands and the inability to sign both long term.

Frank Seravalli Twitter Update: Hearing Kirill Kaprizov has a tentative agreement in place with CSKA Moscow on a one-year, 8-figure deal ($USD) to begin on Sept. 1 - should a new contract not materialize with #mnwild. However, the Wild appear ready and willing to talk a medium-term length deal. Initial hang-up was MIN was only interested in a 7 or 8-year deal for the Calder Trophy winner. That’s not the case. Bunch of options in term. But the Kaprizov camp contends there has been no offer made since April. We’ll see where this goes, two sides remain in communication.

It is a great question. I'm 53 and have been a Sabres fan my whole life. Last year during the losing streak was the first time that I had to turn it off (everything) and ignore the team. I questioned the character and leadership on the team because they were playing so badly. Slowly I came back to watch after Krueger was fired, Eichel shut it down for the year and Hall was traded. I did see some promise and glimmer of hope at the end of the season. I'm optimistic right now hoping for the best but it can really be hard to continue waiting for the turn around. I'm not convinced that this is the best way to rebuild a team but I am willing to go with the team for the journey once again.

I agree and that's generally why we are talking multiple players and picks for a potential Eichel trade. My point on Krebs was that he should be included in the potential trade with Vegas and that Vegas should have very few reservations in including him when getting back a player like Eichel in the deal. They will get the best player in the deal. I don't view this as a win scenario but more of a fair trade given the difficult scenario we are in with Eichel.

At least this poll has driven some interesting discussion for a quiet Sunday evening in August. 😏