pi2000

A big reason BUF has some of the worst possession numbers if because they don't have a shutdown line. They routinely get outshot because they don't have anybody in the forward ranks (other than ROR) who can defend. You improve the 3rd line, get a UFA shutdown checking C who can win draws and suddenly their possession stats look drastically improved because Bylsma can match them up against top lines instead of sending ROR out every other shift to take face-offs in their own end.

Unlikely. Moving Reinhart off Eichel's wing would leave a void.. he already has 1 void to his left, moving Reinhart would hurt Eichel's production and significantly water down the top 6. And Reinhart is not nearly good enough defensively to match-up against other teams top lines.

In a Veseyian move, his signing with Buffalo was contingent on him playing out the season with the big club. It's a good risk for the Sabres to take... they have nothing to lose, let it play out and see where he settles in. That said, he has very little chance of making the team out of camp next season unless he does something magical this offseason.

So you what... just snap your fingers and play possession hockey and you win a Cup? The Kings led the league in Corsi% this season, where are they? The Lightning 5th, the Hurricanes 7th, the Flyers 9th.... all on the outside looking in. Meanwhile the Rangers are 25th in Corsi and they're in, the Wild 21st. ...and that's all on Dan right? And the lack of depth on defense and bottom 6 tank leftovers have nothing to do with it?

I'm sure the players would be too.

Yes, Golisano was only holding onto the team as a tax write-off, he had no interest whatsoever in fielding a competitive team and no interest in being a long term owner. He sold the team to Pegula in 2011 for $189mil..... but there was also an unnamed bidder who submitted a much higher bid which was contingent on moving the team. Golisano decided to sell to Pegula to keep the team in Buffalo. Without Pegula, the Buffalo Sabres are no more.

He won't be fired on Monday.

"Routine" as in two first round exits in 6 playoff appearances? in order: Cup win Conf Semi's 1st rnd (7 games vs 103 pt TBL team) 1st rnd (6 games vs 103 pt PHI team) Conf Finals 2nd round That's a 67% chance getting past the first round.... but his system sucks and he's lost the room, right?

Well, yeah. Why is it unreasonable to say that? If he didn't save them, who did?

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

Why do you say this? If they make the playoffs next season, do you expect them to make it to the conf finals otherwise Bylsma should be fired? bookmarked yep. It will be annoying to hear about this all summer. We'll sign player X or trade for player Y to improve the D and everybody will just be like "Woont madder cuz ya kno... BYlsma!" sure

the blind leading the blind

Why hasn't anybody brought up the possibility that with a revamped defense and improved bottom 6, this team takes a big step forward next season with Bylsma behind the bench. If that happens, which IMO is likely, what will all the Bylsma haters have to say?

To me it sounds like CJ Smith and his mid-western accent. Or McCabe tussling with Lehner... Lehner: "How many assists you have tonight Caber?" Caber: " off, shut your mouth and stop the damn puck once in awhile." fisticuffs.

They do, they're our leading scorers... after that, there's a huge drop off in talent/ability.

consider there are infinite parallel universes, in at least one of those universes BUF wins the lottery... unfortunately we don't live in that universe.

This thread is so far off-base. Pegula rescued both franchises, put a lot of money into them, look at Harbor Center, etc... did so much for the community, and people here lambaste him because the teams haven't won a Championship in the couple of years he's been owner. Gimme a break. It takes time, both franchises are moving in the right direction IMO, and they're still in Buffalo, you have nothing to complain about. Not even remotely true.

Could be, but I doubt it.... for a few reasons. 1) Much better goalies out there to choose from. Bishop, Bernier, Smith, Subban, Johnson, Darling, Varlamov, Howard, Reimer, Halak, Raanta, Mason, Fleury.... 2) Ullmark makes only $775k. Vegas needs to draft a minimum of $43.8mil worth of players in the expansion draft. That's an average of $1.5m per player. 3) They need to take a minimum of 3 goalies in the draft. I'll bet they take 3 exactly... 3 from the list I provided above. Ullmark is a B prospect, they won't be interested.

PG lost 4-2, Guhle's junior season is over in a first round upset. Too bad, woulda been a good experience for the kid.

What if the Bills had fired Levy after the bickering Bills debacle? You think Colorado regrets firing Quenneville? Seriously, less than two seasons removed from fielding the worst team in NHL history and it's the coaches fault they're not in the playoffs? Nothing's wrong, they are who we thought they were. A team with some young guns figuring out how to play consistent hockey, and some aging slow vets on the tail end of horrendous contracts who will be gone soon. This team isn't as far away as most think.

With 4 games left (TOR, MTL, @FLA, @TBL), I'm gonna say they collect 3 more points finishing with 79.... two less than last season. This puts them most likely in 25th place. If they go 0-4-0 they finish 26th. yay tank.

No. This is how hockey players clown around.

I mostly agree, but 50% is a bit aggressive. The bottom six are leftovers from the tank years and need to be expunged from the roster for this team to take the next step, but that won't happen in one offseason. I see maybe 3 new regulars in the bottom six including Fasching, Bailey, and Baptiste... maybe Smith, however, long term I don't see a future for him in the NHL. I believe Nylander starts the season in Rochester, and finds his way up at least a few times during the season. Rodriques belongs in Rochester. Larsson was acquired in the Pominville trade orchestrated by Darcy Reiger... that said I think Murray leaves him unprotected in the expansion draft, or tries to deal him, he's not a Murray type of player. 3 new d-men would be nice, but realisitcally 2 is most likely... Guhle, a UFA, and if Murray can somehow swing a deal for a top 4 guy, that would be a ideal, but I don't see it happening unless he's willing to part some of his prized prospects/picks. The challenge for Murray is how to shed the awful contracts of Moulson, Bogosian, and Ennis. I'm OK with Gorges as a 3rd pairing guy for another season.