Porous Five Hole

I’m not calling you out in any way, but I am quoting you because you’ve basically described the Coyotes franchise. It would take epic levels of failure from here for the Buffalo franchise to come close to the level of Arizona.

JP Dumont was a guest on the ATW pod last week. It was a nice run down memory lane and good hockey stories.

For me, it’s Helle and it isn’t close. A couple problems…there is no market value with Vezina level goalies being traded. It doesn’t happen. Related to that, a second problem is that Winnipeg wants a return as if a contract extension is part of the equation. That’s not a good fit for Buffalo. Helle hurt his value in floating his contract extension demands. If the Jets ask was reasonable, Helle would have been traded by now. The Jets want an overpayment and KA isn’t going to do that.

You may be right on this. I have to remind myself that scoring across the league is up and I need to set my expectations accordingly. My thinking is that I want Cozey to be a 30 goal guy, but prevent 10+ less goals than he did last year. I agree he can be better than Peca and I realize he is a top six forward that the Sabres will rely upon for offense…but he is more equipped to be a defensive hound dog than Tage and this team will need that.

Diverting from the recent comments and beingtotally honest…I’m drinking Tito’s on ice. Yum. I apologize if my posts after this aren’t coherent.

25-30 goals with a highly responsible role in defensive zone starts. He might look underpaid given that production, but smart fans will realize the role and love the guy. Think Peca with more playmaking and more oomph. That’s Cozens.

I don’t look at it that way. Boosh was not better than Stillman. They’re the same player except that Stillman had positive advanced metrics with us last season and makes less…while Boosh has the worst impacts on the team. Yes, worse then Bryson. Plus that cap space could still come in handy.

I am in.

I wouldn’t be moving the equivalent of two first round picks (plus more in some cases) for any of that. It’s all an overpay. I guess I could shuffle the deck chairs with the Edmonton deal.

https://www.diebytheblade.com/where-are-they-now-buffalo-sabres-nhl-alumni/ A fun look at the sprouting tree Of Sabres alumni. (yes I know KA never played for the Sabres)

I am in no way making any excuses for that pathetic perspective in 2020, but we are a long way from that. Terry’s wealth has continued to increase in spite of 2020 events. Also, I know I’m spending someone else’s money when I say this and I’m sure their perspective is different than mine…but given the health of Kim, does the importance of money matter as much as it did back then? Terry is in his 70’s and lot has changed in three years. I’m not saying cash flow isn’t a potential issue, but the guy is on the back nine of life and maybe he’s just gonna YOLO from here on out. It might not happen, but it’s possible.

Carolina haters unite 👊

Suggested by @RochesterExpat, you’re a free agent and 31 teams (Buffalo is the only one missing) have made you identical offers. Which 5 teams do you want your agent to negotiate with? For me: 1) Tampa (I used to live there and liked it. Ownership commitment is off the charts) 2) Vegas (I like warm temps and I love the city because I’m a degenerate) 3) Colorado (Denver is a cool town and they’re good) 4) Anaheim (California dreamin’ for young athletes seems fun) 5) Washington (committed ownership and DC region is decent winter climate) And you?

Why would St. Louis not work for you? Chicago due to the bad citizen they have been in the past as an organization?

Start a thread! 😀

Figure you’re a middle of the road player and it’s a long term deal. What franchises are on your no move list? For me: 1) Toronto (toxic fanbase and overwhelming media) 2) Dallas (I just don’t want to live in the state of Texas. Not my style) 3) Winnipeg (brutal winter and heading into a rebuild) 4) Arizona (ownership/arena challenges and perpetual loser) 5) Carolina (irrational dislike given my Sabres fandom) What about you?

https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/jessica-pegula-races-past-liudmila-samsonova-less-than-an-hour-to-win-montreal This one was a big deal because she beat world number one and previous nemesis Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. She also beat her doubles partner, Coco Gauff, in the quarterfinals. This might be thr biggest prep tourney for the US Open next month. Jessie is world number three and has earned almost four million in prize money in her career. She’s made the quarters in all four of the majors at least once in her career. I’ll be watching the US Open and hope she breaks through in a major. She’s also a lock for the US Olympic Team in Paris 2024. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Once he filed for arbitration, he wasn’t eligible for an offer sheet.

I agree with you. But even with hindsight, what was the move Adams should have made to solidify the position? I’m not jealous of a single goaltending transaction this offseason. In the previous off-season, I lobbied for Jack Campbell. My assessment of him was wrong based on his 22-23 results. Maybe there was an obvious move last off-season that he should have made and I don’t recall. But it isn’t like a bunch of teams fixed their goaltending with a trade or free agency signing where a goalie changed teams over the last two years. I previously suggested a Helle overpay for a one year rental, and you replied that my suggestion was bad asset management. You weren’t wrong. So the question remains…What was the big whiff on the GM’s part over the last 24 months that wouldn’t have us concerned with the crease going into this year?

Levi walked in and immediately was the best the Sabres had in the crease. He got every important game he could possibly play. And I think the players recognize that. I’m concerned about the position as well. But I’m not questioning the franchises “commitment to winning this season” because I’m not jealous of any off-season goaltending transaction across the league. No signing or trade was made where I thought, “the Sabres should have done that.”

Do you ever get tired of posting stuff like this? We get it. The goal is to win the Stanley Cup and the Sabres failed. Again. Burnt toast. But there’s a clear plan from the Sabres leadership and the building blocks are in place. Are we really going to shout down every poster with an eye toward the groundwork put in place right now?

I got lazy and didn’t read every post in this thread, but it’s time to accept that hockey is a regional sport and not one of the “big four.” The NFL & NBA have national appeal. MLB might still have national appeal, but baseball is dying a slow death (kids are on their iPads and not the Diamond…and the attention spans of today are not cut out for the limited action that baseball provides). The NHL provides a captive and passionate audience in limited numbers compared to NFL & NBA. But it is still captive and passionate. There’s value in advertising to our group of fans and it might be more valuable than the general consumption of a national audience. I could be wrong, but I would rather advertise with a less expensive and more passionate sport and locality. Long story short, the NHL will be fine without cable subscriptions…even if that’s their current revenue model. Not NFL or NBA revenue levels, but fine nonetheless.

I will plug all of the finger lakes towns as well. Geneva, Watkins Glen, Canandaigua, Ithaca, and Sylvan Beach on Oneida. All of the above are enhanced by the local wine and beer options. If that’s not your thing, you can still wake up to sunrises or enjoy sunsets to the sound of water. Very relaxing. All of these places you can accidentally go to bed with your shoes on because you’ve been over served…if you’re into that sort of thing (which I am).

Peters and Rivet had a pod interviewing Scottie Bowman yesterday. He pointed out that Buffalo is set up very well because of both Dahlin & Power. He said that offensive ability is more easily found at the top of a draft and teams lean toward offense (pointing out that Heiskanen & Makar were taken third and fourth respectively behind the likes of Nolan Patrick…oof). Teams would kill for Heiskanen & Makar today. He insinuated that defense is harder to find, so it was good fortune that Dahlin & Power were the consensus choices. I am not saying it’s easy to find 40 goal guys, but it’s easier to find 40 goal guys than it is to find guys like Heiskanen/Makar/Power/Dahlin. No comment to who will be better between our two, but I agree with Bowman that D is more of a unicorn and we are lucky to have both.

Toga party time!!!!!!