Ctaeth

If that's the case (which I hope it is), I wonder how they would adjust the rest of the lines with Jost coming in? Makes it a kind of interesting puzzle with Jost only having played center (as far as I know). I'm assuming they don't want to mess with Greenway/Mitts/Benson or Skinner/Thompson/Tuch (yet). I'm sure there's more, but here's a few possibilities off the top of my head: 1. Move Krebs up to the Cozens line & move Jost to fourth line center? 2. Move Jost in directly for VO to the Cozens line (either Cozens/Jost kicks out to wing) 3. I could even see them moving old man Okposo up there to the Cozens line and keeping Krebs/Jost both on the fourth line with one of them kicking out to wing.

It is kind of a no-win situation. Play him, and your team is likely worse off. Bench him and you kill any trade value he might have. So, to me, it comes down to which of the two situations is worse? IMO, playing him seems like the worse situation because of how important this year is perceived to be by everyone. If he is costing the team on standings, I don't think you can continue to play him.

did i just hear "it feels like rangers-sabres"? 😄

I would in a heartbeat. Sign me up for Savoie, Kulich, Rosen... honestly anyone. I feel like a broken record complaining about Olofsson, but I just don't think he is a good fit on a team that is already defensively challenged. He exacerbates their already bad defensive issues. I suspect this version of the Olofsson experiment is an attempt to jack up his trade value prior to attempting to trade him when Quinn returns. Just like with UPL, I think they might be better off just cutting bait since their value is minimal anyway.

looked engaged finally

Coming into this thread not having seen the game:

Going to miss this one. Really would have been nice to see the opener, but just isn't gonna work out. Let's start it out right boys!!

Thanks for embedding it. I think about this video now every time Joki is mentioned

seems like an appropriate place to put this: https://twitter.com/23sabres/status/1700619582635921762?s=20 since I apparently suck at getting this to embed...the title of the video is "Henri Jokiharju highlights except it’s just him spamming point shots into shin pads"

1. Sabres win and point totals: 97 points, 44 wins 2. Do the Sabres make the playoffs and if so how far do they go? first round exit vs top seeded Devils 3. Team MVP: Dahlin 4. Team ROY: Levi 5. Most Improved player: Comrie 6. Team leader in goals, assists and points Goals: Tage, Assists: Dahlin, Points: Tage 7. NHL Award candidates (Norris, Vezina, Selke, Calder, Richard, MVP etc)? Any winners? candidates: Richard (Tage), Calder (Benson). Finalists: Norris (Dahlin, wins), Calder (Levi) 8. How many players score 10 or more goals? Who? 13 (in order of most to least): Thompson, Skinner, Tuch, Cozens, Peterka, Mittelstadt, Quinn, Dahlin, Olofsson, Benson, Krebs, Okposo, Girgensons 9. How many players score 20 or more goals? Who? Thompson, Skinner, Tuch, Cozens, Peterka, Olofsson (if he isn't benched/traded), Mittelstadt 10. Does anyone from Rochester get callup and stay with the Sabres (such as Pominville back in the day)? Negative 11. Which Eastern playoffs team (s) miss the playoffs and who replaces them? Out: Tampa/Boston. In: Sabres/Ottawa 12. Stanley Cup champions 2023-24? Edmonton 13. Other predictions you'd like to share? #1: Eastern standings: 1. Toronto, 2. Florida 3. Ottawa 4. Buffalo, 5. Boston 6. Tampa 7. Detroit 8. Montreal. Sabres, Tampa, and Boston battle it out for the last playoff spot. #2: Olofsson will be traded when Quinn returns. #3: Benson will stay w/ the Sabres the entire season and be in consideration for the Calder. #4: Comrie makes the team over UPL and both Comrie & Levi are above .900 save. #5 Cozens looks better defensively and becomes our faceoff ace w/ a percentage above 50.

There's zero evidence that savoie is ready to handle the NHL yet. I think the kid is likely to be a solid NHL contributor eventually, but it doesnt have to happen until he forces his way onto the team with his play (much like Benson appears to be doing right now). We have way too much depth to necessitate putting savoie on the team prematurely

If I was a betting man (which I am most certainly not), I would take that under for boston

I'd like to see literally anyone but Olofsson up there on the second line. I am defining "anyone" as anyone from those last 2 lines (Rousek-Jost-Biro/Murray-Kulich-Rosén). I just don't think the guy has it to be honest... but would love to proven wrong.

I think this is why they are showing interest in zegras and Kane. Not because either is a good move for the team, but because the team needs to sell tickets

Didn't get to watch this one, but the reviews of Comrie seem to be good. Sounds like the pieces are falling into place for Comrie to be the second goalie. I would bet they will give UPL another chance this preseason, but at some point I think we will have to cut bait & send him down.

good news, but i really hope that he/they aren't hurrying him back

https://x.com/LLysowski/status/1704865057958457640?s=20 flipping x.com. the long and short of it is this: rasmus initially paired with clifton and benson getting time with tage and skinner

Uh oh, we could be in for more of the dreaded "prospect talk"!

I wouldn't hold his AHL points per game against him just quite yet - he wasn't quite a featured piece of the Amerks last season. That being said, I voted potential depth piece down the road. Comparisons to Peca and/or Gaustad are silly at this point because he hasn't shown that he is anywhere close.

Watched him a bit in the 3v3 tournament and the first two games of the prospect challenge. Was really my first exposure to his game, but his defensive prowess really shone in the prospect challenge. Even in the 3v3 tournament he didn't look out of place, but I do wonder if his offensive upside might have been a bit exaggerated there b/c he was playing with the clear best team (he had benson, neuchev, and a few others on the team if my memory serves me correctly). His game kind of reminded me of muel a bit, felt like he was good at separating the other team's player from the puck and then making the pass. I'm guessing that at a minimum he will be a capable third pair guy, with enough upside to potentially be more. He's definitely an NHL level talent and I expect him to look the part in Rochester.

After hearing him talk, I came away thinking that a goalie styled like Levi might actually be an ideal goalie for the Sabres. With the Sabres playing so open and having a lot of transition into and out of the zone, it allows goalies quicker smaller goalie to have more success. Whereas when you slow things down, he can be screened easier and will have a harder time because of his size seeing the puck/shots.

I skip the episodes featuring JR for obvious reasons. Guy is awful. The one episode that I really enjoyed was the Scotty Bowman interview. Scotty is still super tuned into the NHL and had some really interesting things to say. I don't know when the exact date that the episode aired was.. but it's definitely worth a listen. He had a really interesting take about Devon Levi and seemed to be really familiar with Levi's career to date. I was, honestly, taken aback regarding how much he seemed to know about the situation and the insight he had about Levi

People are always so concerned about the Bills backup QB. The Bills, like any other team with an elite QB, are screwed if the starter QB goes down, regardless of who is the backup QB. Imagine the Chiefs without Mahomes, Bengals without Burrow, etc. Any one of these teams is screwed without the QB. When such a huge percentage of your salary goes towards paying one elite player, if they go down.. things aren't going to go well. The only meaningful contribution the backup QB is going to have is helping prepare Allen. You can find exceptions where backup QBs have stepped in and have been great, but in general.. your QB goes down you are screwed. The Bills season revolves around Josh Allen staying healthy

Murray looked like an NHLer in his 20ish game stint with the Sabres last time he got a call up. His points from last year were about the same as Rousek's in the AHL.. and people believe Rousek to be ready. He had 1 less goal than Kulich. I'm not saying Brett Murray is going to be Quinn's replacement, but it's not super crazy to think he is in the running.