pi2000

I'm going to say none of them. The top 6 are not going anywhere. The bottom 6 are untradeable. Same can be said for the defense. IMO all trade worthy assests have already been moved so they're stuck with 40% of their cap tied up in 6 untradeable contracts.

Everybody fretting about Matthews needs to understand this.... he's at his peak right now. It's all downhill from here folks, and once his ELC expires and he signs a max deal, he'll regress even more.

True. And consider this.... About 40% of the Sabres cap is tied up in 6 players; Moulson, Gionta, Ennis, Kulikov, Gorges and Bogosian... that's about $28mil. $28mil/yr for a total of 30 goals, 70 points and a -40 on the ledger. That's a beautiful tank squad.

This team is closer than most people think. The bottom six need an upgrade. That's easy to do. The defense needs some work tho, which might be another few seasons, but a few moves should put this team near the top of the Atlantic next season.

tuff lesson to learn for a young team. this is a failure of leadership.

Studies show that coming off a bye you have only a 20% chance to win. Studies also show that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to studies.

Duchene's talent is wasting away in COL. Under Bylsma's tutelage he would... well. nevermind.

I honestly think they start a run here. Some winnable games ahead. I'll say they win the next 4..... then lose the next 7.

a 3rd

My source tells me Ullmark called up because Lehner is not able to go.

Having level 4 USA Hockey coaching certification, any physical contact with any player is extremely frowned upon. We're talking min 30 day suspension, and the Jr Sabres most likely permanently relieve him of his coaching duties.

teams are 4-12-4 coming off the bye week, so this isn't entirely unexpected.

can't challenge, no TO left.

I applaud the idea Flagg. Before we get out our pitchforks we need an extended sample size of say 20 games or so, and then compare the data to the top teams in the league. IMO all teams will have very similar dump vs carry ratios.

There comes a time when top bantam age players must decide if they're going to play major junior in Canada, or NCAA. If they choose to play major junior they lose eligibility to play NCAA. Let's say they choose major junior. They'll jump right into the program at 16 years old and once there, they're committed until they age out or turn pro. If they decided to maintain college eligibitly and go the NCAA route, they'll go play junior A, most likely USHL, for a few years or more until the college program offers them a full-time spot on their roster. It's very very rare for a true freshman age kid to play a significant role on a college team. College's prefer to let their commits grow and mature in the USHL (or NAHL in some cases) before bringing them in full time as a 20-21 year old freshman.

Good trade. Eaves is a solid player, fast, plays hard, great playoff guy.

Exactly. It's a pipe dream folks, get over it, there will be no playoffs this season for the Sabres.... and it's not that big of a deal. They've grown a lot as a group and with the emergence of Kane and Lehner, and the continued development of the young guns. I'd rather them not make it and get a lottery pick, rather than being swept by Washington in the first round.

Avg age of NCAA players is around 22 years old. Avg juniors age is 18-19. McDavid was playing against kids, Eichel against men. If you put the top NCAA team against the top junior team, I think the NCAA team wins most of the time, just because guys are more physically developed.

I don't believe that will be the case. I'd say Murray is safe for another 3-4 years, regardless of what happens. If the team starts poorly next season with an improved roster... I'm guessing team speed, defense and scoring depth will be improved, then Bylsma goes for sure, and whoever else takes over should find success so long as they don't do anything absolutely stupid.

I'd like one of whatever you're having. Teams are a collective 4-12-4 in their first game coming off a bye week. The good news is BUF plays COL and ARI back to back, which should be an easy 4 points... but we all know they play down to their opponents when facing weaker competition, and coming off the bye these will be two tough tough games IMO. Even if they get 4 points, I'm still not entertaining any thoughts of playoffs, it's really just a pipe dream at this point.

you got me there. A -16 on a team with a -23 goal differential is not ideal.

Good deal for the Pens. Hainsey is a quality dman.

9-0-13 gets us in! wooo!

get rid of the instigator penalty