Jorcus

Since you brought up Skinner this deal does help the Sabres over next year which is the worst of the buy out at 6.444 Million.

With Lindy those combos could change from shift to shift. Nothing is long term with that guy behind the bench.

Robertson would be an ideal left winger for Thompson.

https://edge.nhl.com/en/skater/8484145 Try to find a 1st line player with worse numbers. I am not saying Benson is trash but promoting him to top line when every other player with Thompsons abilities gets to play with proven better players. Matthews, McDavid, McKinnon, etc. don't have to put up with what we do to Thompson.

No one will shade to Bensons slow slap shot. There are better players available.

No Kulich wit TNT. Put together a legit first line whether its Norris and Thompson plus a vet or Tuch and Thompson plus a vet. No more kids for Thompson. Give him what he deserves if you are serious about having a great line.

If you want Thompson to ask out of Buffalo put Benson on a line with him instead of a proven veteran winger who is a threat to score so the goalie does not always shade to his side. Save TNT please.

This trade would have made a lot more sense if it was Power or Byram going the other way. Now we have a big hole to fill on left wing. I just hope it is not a pipeline player coming up to try and fill it on the top line. The loser in all this might be any team that thought they could offer sheet Peterka. I loved Peterka. I know he is not a perfect player but his endurance on the ice was hard to match. After long shifts players would come back huffing and puffing and he often looked like he could go right back out. It was obvious he was not happy the second half of the season. No joy in his game and Paul Hamilton indicated he did not like Ruff. I would assume Doan is going to help exit Quinn out the door and that will be the end of our brief kids line Cozens, Quinn, and Peterka. If the next move is for a solid playmaking left winger who is a real threat to score then I would think we are going to be a better team. Eventually one of the system kids will probably take that spot over. I just hope that it is not that right now.

Tage reminded us that he has some history with Kyrou from the Saint Louis days. Honestly Tage deserves to play with developed NHL players. Kyrou is that. Benson and Kulich are not.

It's funny that there is an obsession with getting a right shot D man for Power but no one is saying Byram needs one.

Which one? The same week that happened Brady was on the Ice with Stutzule when he got hammered to the ice by Ryan Hartman on the face off dot. Brady was on the ice and did nothing like the rest of the team. https://www.nhl.com/video/hartman-suspended-10-games-6368227578112 That looks just as bad to me.

Given the players you listed as the core 4 that would be starting the year after trading Ryan O'reily trade following the most disappointing season of the whole drought era. The 2 years after that were not much better. Thompson and Dahlin really did not produce at a high level until Granato took over. Think of the patience we would need to have had for that team to come to fruition. Maybe 4 more years. As others have posted most of the upswing was age related. 3 out the 4 of those players started in the NHL very young. If we waited sure we would be a good team, Maybe a great team, but I feel were almost at the same point now as we were then talent wise. I think this can be a very good team with a few up grades.

Paul Hamilton was on WGR this morning speculating that Peterka has more of a problem with Lindy Ruff than he does with Buffalo or the Sabres. He might be careful what he wishes for if that is the case.

They only have 1 veteran forward of note without a NMT or no trade. Brandon Hagel. They can offer the young Conor Geekie. They have no first round draft picks for the next 3 years. Defense seems to be a bigger need. I don't think they are even in the game unless there is some 3 way deal going on.

I like Kyrou and straight up would be a good trade but it would cause some logistic issues or maybe solve a problem. Kyrou is a right shot right wing player. Although Peterka is listed at a right winger he most often plays left and has a left handed shot. If you get Kyrou he is probably taking over for Quinn which I am all for but the loss of Peterka now leaves a hole at left wing. You are left with Zucker, Benson and Greenway. Norris or Kulich could go to the left wing and maybe that is the answer. Thompson centering Kyrou would be a formidable combination.

His Buffalo stat lines were 192 games 26 goals and 45 assists. I guess Pittsburgh and Colorado love getting rid of players that go onto win Stanly cups since they did not want to pay him. He is a good player now. he was a marginal player on a last place team for us.

I really wonder where Florida would be without Marchand. As it often does playoff series come down to who has the most effective third line. The first and second lines cancel each other out. Florida counteracts the rush by trying to prevent it before it happens they are always pressing even away from the puck. The Oilers have a hard time breaking out. Florida is good about not turning over pucks in bad spots which would lead to more breakaways. The Oilers often have a hard time getting out of their own zone. When it's not going well for them they get hemmed in for long periods of time. Florida just has a more depth right now than the Oilers without Hyman in the Lineup.

I just can't see the Rangers being able to do this. They would need to take the following steps. 1) give up this years number 12 draft pick so they can get next years first round draft pick back. 2) Convince Utah to take the 3rd round pick they have this year instead of the second round pick they have rights to next year. 3) Give us an unprotected 1st round pick plus a second and a third next year. (do they think they are going to be better next year after dealing away all those players) ? 4) Find enough money to pay JJ around 9 million a year to prevent us from matching it. As a counter measure we could deal with Utah to steal the rangers pick and prevent them from even trying to do this. This could be fun!

A late first for Byram makes no sense in isolation. They might as well wait for an offer sheet and if that does not come you just pay him for another year or 2. Once an offer comes in above 4.7 you get a first and a third. It won't be this years but chances are it will be a mid to late round 1st. I really can't see Adams not getting a player back in a deal. He has been saying that all along.

My first quibble is that this stat is looking back all the way to his rookie season. It probably looks better in his time with the Panthers. It also shades the fact he has been a good playoff performer by eliminating those stats from this chart. I can't deny Bennett is a low percentage shooter but he makes up for that by being one of the leaders in shots on goal. He probably will get overpaid for his overall output but that's what happens when you are a clutch performer.

If the Oilers go on to lose this series I have wonder what they were thinking when they traded McCloud for a prospect. Every other team that is as close as they are to a cup chance trades future assets for players that can play now. The bottom half of the Oilers lineup is killing them. They just can not clear the zone. I know salary cap was a concern with the Evander Kane injury but If they had to move on form McCloud they could have traded for someone who might actually play games for them this year and into the playoffs. Not matching the Broberg offer for a draft pick falls into the same category. They could have traded him for a player but took a draft pick instead. You just can not waste your superstar years for assets that do not help you now.

I can agree with Bennett but as much as Tkachuk plays hard and is an agitator I don't view him as a cheap shot artist. He will push you, punch you and chop you but most of the time it is when you are looking at him. I don't see him railing people from behind like some guys do. I am sure it happens but Tkachuck is willing to stand up for what he does. No one needs to fight his battles for him.

I honestly don't know how to tell a good coach from a bad coach. By most peoples standards 90% of the coaches in the NHL are bad. A lot of the time all it takes is a goaltender to make a coach look good or bad. There are few good coaches without good players. I did dive into our coaches vs the points over/under predictions for the season as given by Hockey-reference.com. The over unders are published back to 2010-2011 season. Only 4 times have Sabres coaches beat the target since then. 2010-2011 Ruff O/U 91.5 finished with 96 2015-2016 Bylsma O/U 75.5 finished with 81 2021-2022 Granato O/U 68.5 finished with 75 2022-2023 Granato O/U 77.5 Finished with 91 Not sure if that is a true indication of coaching ability but thought it was interesting.

Looking at the Belmont at Saratoga entries today and noticed a horse named Malarchuck is entered in 5th race. 4/1 morning line. Being sired by Nyquist one would assume he is named for Clint. Salty race but he is pretty good horse.

I like the 60 second power play for delay infractions. I think I would include a failed review in that as well, but could go either way as less reviews the better. The fact that the power play starts in the offensive zone is enough for me. There was a clear high stick penalty committed by Florida about half way though the overtime. That should not have been let go. I was not going to stay up for OT number 2 if it got there. There is point where not calling penalties backfires.