That Aud Smell

I thought there were several intriguing tidbits in Lance Lysowski's article - especially the item about how core young vets resented Adams' reliance on Benson as an 18 year-old NHL regular. That said, I struggled to get through the thing. The piece desperately needed a strong editor's hand.

what makes you say that?

Guelli did a long stint in the NBA with Charlotte.

Ha! It also seems possible that they didn't ask for permission from the Flyers (and, thinking on it some more, maybe they didn't need to ("fair use")?).

I don't keep up with C-suite titles. "Chief commercial officer" appears to be a new term for "chief business officer" or something like that. I presume that the new CCO will have all things business in their "portfolio."

the quality on that ad is delightfully bad.

I hovered my mouse (*ahem*) over that gif and saw its file name - outstanding.

At some point, I stopped counting the plays where he just did some small thing that showed good anticipation. He's gonna be one of those guys -- steady throughout the year and then coming through big in big moments. I just hope that happens with the Sabres. On the other hand, seeing Samuelsson play live? Woof. With him too, I stopped counting the forced, panicked dumb-dumb plays. (Same goes for Bryson, but, given his term and salary, that's not as big a problem.)

I think it was a roughly even split? It's hard to say, though, because the Sabres were shut out. It's the scoring of a goal that gives you a sense of who's there supporting one team or the other. Those in our group were laughing at ourselves, as we all agreed that we were engaged in a covert mission of international diplomacy -- smiling and being friendly with those who appeared to have crossed the border to see the Leafs play.

I went to the game last night. I thought the Sabres played reasonably well. I thought the Leafs goalie was just terrific - great positioning, totally in control. That said, I also thought it was a fairly friendly affair. A few hits, but, in general, not a lot of heaviness to the game. I guess that's to be expected -- the Sabres are out of it, the Leafs are probably tapering as they approach the playoffs. The thing I enjoyed most: Watching how smart Benson plays the game. That guy's hockey IQ is probably the highest on the team. That said, he's not a regular top-6 forward (at this point in his career) on a playoff hockey team.

Poverty franchise.

This clarifies my initial confusion and introduces new confusion. I like it! Also, I really like Power and think he's gonna be a good one. The error in word choice was clearly mine -- "weirdly" weirdly made sense in my head -- but evidently it just caused confusion. I would have done better just to say "sadly."

Dammit - I don't quite follow. You cracking wise? The kid's struggled some on the back end, but, Lord, can he skate, pass, and shoot that biscuit.

Chad D on Twitter is inferring as much.

I'm waiting on a thorough treatment of the border crossing data here in Erie/Niagara. I've seen things informally reported that it's way down when compared with this time over the past few years (post-COVID, anyway). "Went down to Buffalo for a hockey game. And sure gas is cheap, but you can't even get all-dressed chips in that sh1t hole." Let alone a Coffee Crisp bar!

This is true. Which brings me back to having a sad over Owen Power reportedly being out in the ~6+ month range.

Even absent the recent developments in U.S. foreign policy, this has been a franchise teetering on the edge for a while now. Add the local effects of that policy to the mix and I very much view our Buffalo Sabres as confronting an urgent existential threat.

Aye yi yi - this team cannot afford an injury like this. Fooking awful news.

I don't intend to precipitate a political debate. I'm just addressing a fact: Fewer Canadians - perhaps a lot fewer Canadians - are crossing the border for a host of things happening in the U.S. - the Sabres' home games among them. If the considerable pro hockey/Sabre fan base in southern Ontario stays away, that is going to be a monumental problem for our hometown team.

Over the past 14 years of Sabre suckitude, Leaf fans have reliably, inevitably packed the arena on any day of the week. "Weirdly," of course, is being measured here against the past 25 years or more.

Check available tickets on Tickemaster. Leafs fans are weirdly staying away. This is a potentially ominous sign for the Sabres, Bills, the hospitality industries of WNY, ADK, parts of Florida, and so on.

This is absolutely bonkers.

man, i feel this. i almost never keep people's opinions straight (or recall them).