SabreFinn

The offseason is the key to success. There is a lot to be done during the summer. The contracted players need to take their summer practice serious and they need to get the right advises on what to work on. The GM needs to find and get the missing pieces, and that is a job much harder than summer practice as a player. There are some really big decisions to be made of some of the players on current roster also, Krebs, Skinner, Byram. And yes, I mentioned Byram again, the team is not in balance and they played better the weeks before trade deadline than they do now. Granato needs a long vacation. And new assistans. They will make the playoff next year. I still have the faith.

I Still do have trust in Kevyn and Don. The team that they took over was both tortured and abused and the worst ever seen in NHL. It had been pushed under the surface, pulled up and then pushed under again. Not many would even consider to take over a team like that. Four years is a long time in business and the lenght of the playoff draught is horribel, and most of the fanbase is upset and irritated. Still except for this year it has been progress (in some specific areas also this year). But with a young team the progress is not linear and to me another missed playoff was to expect, even if there is so much hope and expectations. It was not the best way with a rookie GM, a rookie coach, the youngest team and a team captain without much winning experience. But if that was what we got, then what can we do. When it comes to next season, my strong opinion is that if they are not in a playoff-spot at Thanksgiving, Granato has to go.

Think Byram has a thing or two to tell about eating also. What I 've heard MacKinnon is obsessed with eating also, watching and demanding everyone to eat right.

It seems like we got most of the pieces but we haven't got them to fit together. I Still have a good feeling about next year.

We now have a high class goalie, a mobile and talented defense, TNT is capabel of scoring 40 goals and I think a healthy and older Kid line is abel to cause damage. I believe our stocks on the UFA-market are rising and a second or third line UFA-forward see that they might be the missing piece in a succesful team. Even if that team are the Sabres.

I can't see anyone of them to take place on a Sabres roster next year, and there is no need to rush either. The holes we have should be filled with UFA:s or trades. But if a prospect is ready to take a spot at camp it would be great. Meaning if someone can show a good mature twoway play they should get a spot at the fourth line.

Might be Reinhart gets so much money in his next deal that Panthers have to let Lundell go. Maurice told the players came to camp and pushed harder than the coaches demanded, well, Lundell is that kind of guy. And Panthers definitely wont let him walk cheap and they will try everything to keep him. But it might be more suitable for them to replace him with a cheaper top prospect. If that is the case, I hope Adams give what they ask for him.

Funny you mentioned sauna, I am actually right now planning a new sauna for our summerhouse. Summer, sauna and swimming in the lake, it does not get much better than that. I forgive you for being unfaithful, a lot of Finnish products and brands are manufactured elsewhere also. I hope you get a good sauna and nice sauna-moments!

As a finn I have to agree with that!

I guess their equipment is warm and heavy. It is more common that goalies get dehydrated also.

I came to think of Elmer Söderblom, drafted by Detroit. They both played similar roles for Sweden in WJC and I think Söderblom was bigger and better. But at age 22 Söderblom is stiłl not an NHLer. So lets hope Wahlberg can find better ways to get to play in Sabres.

I am still not that convinced with the idéa of having three D earning big money, I do not like the balance in the roster. But if he can bring in a MacKinnon -like leadership and stay healthy and play the way he does, I will change my mind.

Colorado has been the fastest team in the league for some years. But that does not mean that every one on the team is fast and know how to play the Bednar -game. Their system demands a lot from the players and that's why they have problems to find a suitable 2C and 29 and 96 play huge minutes every night, minutes that probably cost them the cup. We are lucky to get a player that has that speed in him and that seem to fit in with us, I have nothing against a bit more speedy game, but to try to copy Colorado might make us a bit lost. But there is a lot to improve on the coaching, that's for sure. What I hope Byram will bring in is how to practice hard and the MacKinnon-way of being a pain in the ass and demanding nothing but 110%effort from teammates in everything they do.

I do not have big expectations. He gets AHL experience and can adjust his summer practice to be well prepared for training camp.

I really hope if trade him, we do it in another hockeytrade, and not for draftpicks or prospects. And yes we tread water. And I like Byram, he is great and I would love to have him on the top pair with Dahlin, if we not had to pay Power also.

I usually trust my gut and this is the feeling I get. Hard to explain it in any other way. And. If we got Byram, Dahlin and Power and we, for an exampel, get an offer on Byram in exchange for Clayton Keller or a sign and trade for Pesce, I do think we will more than just listen. And if mr Bo continues like this, we will get offers.

Read the post Broken Ankel wrote, could not have said it better.

I still do not for a second believe that Adams has plans on extending Byram. He gives him first pair minutes and a possibility to show what he really is capabel of and trade him when his price is high, probably for a cheaper solid RHD and 2 nd. At least I would do so.

The best for Krebs would be to go to a team like Sharks or Blackhawks to play bigger minutes with more responsibility.

And a 3C that can fill in for Cozens or Thompson when/if they get injuries.

The problem is that we do not get a good back-up if that is what we are going to do. We just get an even worse reputation. We need to get a good back-up for next season and the situation has to be competitive and if the back-up is playing better than UPL, the better is the one playing. The contract should be for one year, Levi will be ready after another year in Rochester.

There are missing pieces, and there are more of them after trade deadline than before, which is a shame since they were playing their best hockey this season. It is a tough situation for the players, even if they got a exciting and skillful player in return I think GM pulled the rug from under there feet. But they would not have made playoff anyway, so he did what he had to do. Some of you think our GM is really stupid. He might be a little stupid, but he ain't that stupid that he does make these trades without a plan how to fill the holes and try to improve the roster. I honestly do not think so. But we have to wait until offseason. I do not think he will try to do it with own prospects. I do not think we are going in to next season with five of six best defenders playing left. And not with Jeff Skinner on our first line. I think that he might pay a player 7m this summer also, but that player has to be better than Mitts, with higher ceiling and the player has to get Thompson going again.But I doubt he bring in veterans, it should have been done many years ago, now is too late, but the players he bring here need to be competitive. If he get muscles and grit I will be very surprised. And the coach will be fired if they are not on a playoff spot a week or two before Thanksgiving. Predictions. Next year we are playing division finals against Toronto. A boring spring is coming this year, but as someone mentioned already, there are still a lot of good hockey games out there.

Good thing is that we might have a possibility to claim Stephenson in offseason

It sounds strange.

Rumors say Ullmark used His NMC, so no deal.