Doohickie

And really, that's what a lot of trades are: Benefit right now to a team on the brink of a deep playoff run, traded for a deferred benefit to a team that's not ready to go anywhere at the moment.

It was trading the current (that didn't want to be here anyway and wasn't going to be a Conn Smyther winner here) for a future that no one expected would be as good as he is this year plus a bunch of junk that was, as you pointed out, basically nothing. ROR wasn't going to turn the Sabres around, it was just too fupped duck at that point. But Tage is a big piece of the turnaround now. I won't say Buffalo won the trade, but at this point in time I'm glad Tage is here.

And besides: We traded our bad karma away... to VGK! 😄 😄

Ah yes... back to playing the odds. My source is more definitive. What was the question again?

I love it when a plan comes together. I mean really.... Kevyn does seem to know what type of player to bring in.

Well, among the nerds I was cool, but yeah, out in the general population.....

Is Johan Larsson Better Than Jack Eichel?

This whole world is a joke. Learn to laugh once in a while.

Excellent question. I think he still would have been moved to center but he might have ended up with Girgs and Okposo for linemates instead of Asplund and Olofsson and eventually Skins and Tuch/Olofsson. But even then, there's a chance he breaks out.

His given name is Samson. In an early interview he said that's what he prefers to be called. (Maybe his preference has changed since, but that's my recollection from the time.) And while we're on the subject, in an interview Granato said he prefers the informal version of his first name be spelled Donny, not Donnie.

I went to RPI in the 1980s. I saw Adam Oates, Mike McPhee, Darren Puppa play during that time. Anyway... not speaking to those guys in particular, but there's a reason an engineering school like RPI had a "sports management" school.

1) Team MVP - Okposo 2) Rookie of the Year - Muel 3) Comeback Player of the Year - Olofsson. Skinner is a good choice, but Olofsson came back from not just Krueger's malfeasance but also an injury that affected his shot. 4) Unsung Hero (player who doesn’t get enough credit) - Girgs 5) Top Forward - Tage 6) Team Norris - Dahlin 7) Team Vezina - Houser. He should have gotten more that a casual look with a start like he had. I'm willing to fight and if necessary die on this hill.

This notion needs to be killed with fire.

If they're both healthy I think it's actually pretty close, but with one of the most important abilities being availability, I would lean toward Sam who's been very durable throughout his career.

No. Just like Power can't play in the AHL playoffs. Players had to be on the roster on a certain date to qualify for postseason play. (That's why they administratively moved... Fitz, Muel and Krebs.... I think?.... to the Rochester roster a couple weeks ago, then moved them back to the Sabres roster; they can now play for the Amerks in the playoffs.)

fify

The fact that this is even a discussion leaves me gobsmacked.

Of course all these scenarios assume there is some way to fix the lottery and that it's actually being done. I'm not sure I believe that. (I mean geez, there's no way we would have had #1 OA twice in such a short period if that was the case!)

Nope. They had their run which was very respectable. The new darlings are the Kraken and they need help.

As for the second bit, I agree they still have work to do with respect to team defense, but the team as a whole is playing better defense than they had been, and we now have the horsed (and one Muel) to ride on the blue line. As they learn we will only get better.

I was thinking in terms of this season. They weren't with the team. (Jack technically was but didn't play.)

Best flow on the team is the one that was just signed. DAAAYYYYUUUUUMMMMM!

I could care less what the difference is.

About the first bit, I will say this: With the acquisition of Krebs and Tuch, and the ascent of Muel, I think the team finally has enough legit NHLers to fill out a roster. Prior to that it seemed like just about every game that was won was because our goalie outplayed their goalie (stole the game). Increasingly since then, but not quite consistently enough yet, the Sabres are outshooting opponents. I want better goaltending, but I also want a team that should win and goaltending doesn't have to be the biggest factor. For the second part, Granato always said the team needed to learn how to play offense first, that it takes more skill and timing and is more difficult. He's pretty much gotten the team there and oddly enough, it seems like by stressing offense, the whole team is working harder to get those rushes going which... is defense. But I do expect him to start focusing more on defense. When the Sabres are hemmed into their own zone though, with few exceptions (i.e., the most highly skilled teams), they are keeping the opposing offense out on the perimeter and have a controlled defensive structure until the point they can get the puck into their control and start a rush. So I think he's already working on the defensive side of the game. The best teams (recently Tampa Bay, Florida, Edmonton) can slice through our defense, but even against most playoff teams, the Sabres are at the very least holding their own defensively. Also with respect to defensemen, consider that we now have (at least in my opinion) three stud defensemen (Dahlin, Power and Muel), and pretty good fourth guy in Joki. Dahlin and Joki are entering their prime; Muel and Power are already very good but still have a ways to go to hit their ceilings. We have a decent pool of other guys in Bryson, Fitzgerald, Laaksonen, hopefully Johnson, plus anyone else they sign in free agency... I think for the coming season the cupboard is already stocked and the Sabres are likely to add another name or two (perhaps someone already on the team like Pysyk but who knows). Add to all that cap space and draft picks. Yikes guys, the future is bright.