Porous Five Hole

I went full-on fire McDermott when he made the Peterman decision. It’s been a long road, but he has earned his stripes. Game management is so much better than the early days. It’s hard to rail on Beane. With a game day roster of 53, you’re not going to get every decision correct (Star contract, Wyatt Teller, the Kelvin Benjamin trade, etc). The good far outweighs the bad.

You and I agree that this Sabres team needs to add to be a playoff team. Your comments that I agree with include another D and a goaltending upgrade. The Sabres aren’t on the cusp of a playoff run today. They just aren’t. Also, as you know, team building is a lot different in hockey than in football.

The Bills are in a Super Bowl window. It’s a lot different than the current Sabres.

They’re missing Morse and Dawkins right now. This isn’t who they normally are on the O Line.

Savoie will be in Rochester next season.

He’s a -4, so let’s not act like he’s Chris Stewart during the tank year. I know Krebs hasn’t played a ton in the AHL (20 pts in 20 games), but I guess I’m in the minority here. I don’t think playing in the AHL is going to make him a better player long term. I see hustle in his game. I see a weak shot. I see vision and playmaking upside, and I see him struggling. But the AHL game isn’t fast enough for AHL reps to be meaningful. At least to me. I think he needs to acclimate his game to the NHL tempo rather than using a slower AHL game to translate to being a better long term player. If it was a matter of confidence, then yes the AHL would be beneficial. But I don’t think that’s his problem. I think his problem is he’s a young player and needs the best competition to grow and figure it out.

LOL I had to go back and watch it again. McDavid’s reaction near the six minute mark of the video.

I will defer to you because I’ve only been to three games so far, but he’s jumped out each game. He leads the team in points and is a -4. It isn’t like he’s Keith Yandle out there. Also, on the After The Whistle podcast before opening night, Kyle Okposo specially called out Linus as the guy who had the best training camp in the organization.

Tre White is active today!

Linus needs to be the next recall because he deserves the opportunity.

In hindsight, that roster was pretty loaded with veteran talent. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0009792006.html I still think the Sabres were better and 100% agree with @Taro T that injuries played a huge role in how that series ended up.

Mule & Joki filling out the top four made a huge difference tonight. Also the forward play defensively was much better. I don’t remember a high danger fast break for the Habs all night. The one or two I recall were stuffed by a defender.

TNT now tied for eighth in points league-wide with some dude named MacKinnon.

Well I feel like I just didn’t have a chance at this lol Jost.

I see a healthy defensive depth chart. So I’m optimistic.

Chad Kelly lol He was money when it counted.

I know Krebs hasn’t played a ton in the AHL (20 pts in 20 games), but I guess I’m in the minority here. I don’t think playing in the AHL is going to make him a better player long term. I see hustle in his game. I see a weak shot. I see vision and playmaking upside, and I see him struggling. But the AHL game isn’t fast enough for AHL reps to be meaningful. At least to me. I think he needs to acclimate his game to the NHL tempo rather than using a slower AHL game to translate to being a better long term player. If it was a matter of confidence, then yes the AHL would be beneficial. But I don’t think that’s his problem. I think his problem is he’s a young player and needs the best competition to grow and figure it out.

Made it back to ROC from Detroit today. I understand it isn’t practical to spend an extra half a billion dollars to put a roof on the new digs for approx eight winter events per year, but that’s exactly what I want. 27 degrees outside and 70 inside. It was just perfect. Detroit was a great host, both the local sports fans and hospitality/venue staff.

Only thing is Pysyk was hurt during the off-season and will be lost until December at the earliest (Achilles injury).

The tickets were heavily discounted for this event. $30 is what they cost for the lower bowl. That’s the face value.

Not sure if you caught it, but I gave my logic on another post. But is it really an overpay? It’s kind of like…you’re getting the guarantee of a fully-developed/an all grown up and ready to play version of your prospect at or near his prime. So for that privilege, you’re definitely paying the prospect back, a premium first round pick, a later round pick, and a roster player. The closer to the deadline we get, the weaker the deal becomes. 60 games this year instead of 18 is a big difference in my mind.

Are you trying to tell me what you think it’ll take? Or what you would be willing to offer?