pi2000

Stick tap to Coach Granato for keeping the boys spirits up after guving up a goal early in the 3rd to go down 2. Past Sabres teams would've collapsed.

Stick tap to Coach Granato for keeping the boys spirits up after guving up a late 2nd period goal and a shorthander early in the 3rd. Past Sabres teams would've collapsed.

I thought plus/minus didn't...

It's an encouraging start to the season, but we all know they lack depth, and at this point of the rebuild it's OK. I, for one, hope he doesn't panic and sell off futures for a filler on D.

Mike Weber might watch. Most women may water many watermelons.

Still concerned about his lack of size. NHL shooters will exploit any and every weakness. Hope Portillo signs.

Are there still physical ads on the boards or no?

What I used to love about hockey was the different roles that needed to be filled in order to ice a winning team. It used to be you needed some skill, some grit, some defensive specialists, some size, etc. That's no longer the case. As a result of rules changes the modern game has evolved into a skills contest. This makes it much easier to build a winner by simply drafting guys who post the best metrics as determine by analytics, hence the explosion of data scientists in front offices across the league. Is the game "better" than it was 20 years ago? It's certainly more skilled.. but is that "better"? Depends who you ask. Personally I miss the physical game. Today, losing teams simply roll over and concede. What made hockey unique was the toughness required to play the game. Today's game is no different than basketball or baseball both massively successful sports, but nothing as entertaining as a hockey game used to be. Think about it, what's the only play in hockey that gets fans of both teams out of their seats? A fight. You can't tell me that's not entertaining.

UPL was positionally sound he made a lot of saves just by pucks hitting him. That said, he did not look confident and his rebound control was poor. He needs a full HEALTHY season in Roc to gain back some confidence and fine tune his game.

If Comrie puts up a goose egg they win. Do better.

Fire Granato. This is unacceptable.

If the goal is to build a perennial playoff team, then they're on the right path. Is that good enough?

Is UPL signed yet?

oVErPayDz I'll say this... here's a guy who's never played a full NHL season, who had a career high shooting % at an unsustainable +15% last season. If he regresses back to his career average of 10% he'll score 25 goals (based on his shot total last year). His 40% FOW% lasts season ranks 209th for all forwards who took at least 100 faceoffs. For a guy with freakish length you'd expect him to dominate the faceoff circle, rather he's the one getting dominated. A career minus player (-57) he was a -17 last season, putting him in the bottom half of the lineup for TRPM (-3). So we have a 25 goal scoring center, who can't win a faceoff, and regularly gets scored on making $7m/yr.

Do better.

They're better because their young core are a year older. Goaltending is still an issue, however.

Quinn, Peterka and Krebs really should start the season in Rochester. They still have a ways to go developmentally to be the players the Sabres want them to be. They flash offensively, but aren't capable of defending at the NHL level just yet... be patient.

I'd keep him the top 6 and give him ample PP time to boost his stats for a deadline deal. He'll be a valuable add for a contender looking to add a veteran presence who can contribute offense. He's been a good soldier, he deserves a chance at a Cup (if that what he wants at this point of his career). They can always sign him over the summer if he really "wants to be here".

They'll be better simply due to the young players developing and gaining experience. Do they make the playoffs? No. At best a 10 point improvement (mid 80's).

I always forget how young he is. He's only 1 year older than Samuelsson. That said, he needs to get better in his own end... which you can say for just about all young defensemen.

You simply cannot give him the C as he's on an expiring contract. KA needs to leave open the option of moving him at the deadline.

There's no reason from the Sabre's perspective, but he's a Canadian kid who's dreamed of playing in the WJC since he could skate. I'm sure he'd like to be out there with his buddies, representing his country with a very good chance to bring home a gold medal.

So basically TRpm 🙂

I'll allow it.

optics