Doohickie

Okay, let's start another thread! I think Tage will be be better than peak ROR when all is said and done. He will soon be far better than current ROR.

I'm saying that he is having honest conversations with his prospects and isn't revealing everything to the public. Those conversations may include gauging the prospects' desire to sign with the Sabres versus another team and he may even now be working on trading one or more of them, but until a deal is done, they are valued prospects of the Buffalo Sabres. What I *don't* want to see happen is these players getting away with nothing in return.

I will say, though, that after the Ullmark blunder, Kevyn has redeemed himself somewhat in his handling of the Eichel trade. The goalie situation is a similarly sticky situation, possibly even more complicated, and may take longer to resolve.

I think for Portillo and Levi in particular, how Adams deals with the goalie position this offseason will be a strong influence on whether one or both sign with the Sabres. I think there is a fine line leaving a clear path for one or both to get to the NHL (i.e., not blocking them), and neglecting perhaps the biggest position of need on the team right now. If he gets it wrong he could set the team back *and* lose both goalie prospects.

Pretty certain that the Sabres organization is consciously shifting to a practice of publicly respecting their players and prospects in the aftermath of the Eichel injury and trade situation to try to redeem their reputation. He will put forward the party line that each of these three prospects are anticipated and highly valued prospects of the Sabres. If a deal is eventually done, it will likely be spun as doing what was in the best interest of both the team and the prospect. But it's virtually impossible to know what Adams has actually said to each prospect, what that prospect has told him, and what the plan is for either bringing them to the team or trading their rights to another team.

Excellent. Feed the system.

Yeah, and Ullmark said he would sign, too. I hope Portillo comes through but won't beliee it until the ink is dry on his ELC.

Is there any feasibility in putting the ship on dry land as part of the museum?

And you do? That's laughable.

So who will be the ROR on this team? Mitts or Cozens? Or both? Or neither?

I hope the Sabres win a Cup in the next few years so we don't have to have that conversation about him being not good enough to get us over the hump. The polar opposite of Krueger, who had a total lack of ability to convey simple ideas in the most convoluted way possible.

How about this question: Is Tage better than Ryan O'Reilly?

I wouldn't worry about jinxig that; it's little more than a moral victory.

In a vacuum I would say Eichel is a better player, but the game is not played in a vacuum.

EVERY local game is blacked out on DTV CI, ESPN+, etc. You have to watch them on the local cable networks. Here in North Texas I wouldn't be able to see the Sabres play the Stars unless I had a Spectrum (or other provider of local content) account. Standard stuff.

Another thing that we've seen on this run is that the Sabres have been steadily improving possession in the offensive zone: Forechecking, regaining possession, cycling, moving low to high, involving all five skaters, finding shooters in the slot. You never saw that under Krueger, and rarely under Housley.

Funny thing is: He's much better along the boards this year too.

I hope he takes lessons from Tuch. There's a guy that can tip the ice with his body. I think his game doesn't depend on speed. He used to be very weak on the puck and along the boards; he's evolving into a monster in those areas. I'm not sure he'll ever be a top scorer but he could become a significant force.

I would laugh like hell if the cap situation forced VGK into a rebuild (i.e., keeping that one line on a team of otherwise prospects and JAGs).

I can think of a few: It'd be nice to see Casey score more. This year has been injury hell for him so you can't judge, but his last goal was a wicked wrister so maybe he's primed to break out. Cozens is a Terrier and a Harrier but I'd like to see him with a more physical presence, more like Tuch or Mitts. And yes, I want to see more scoring from him. Is he at his ceiling? I hope not. Asplund. I love his games, want to see more goals. He might have it in him. Krebs. He's fine. I just want to see more of him using his talent, and MORE SHOOTING! Quinn and JJ- let's see what they've got! A big jump by UPL to 1B status, moving into 1A as the season progresses. Defense is easy and we're already seeing it. Veterans Dahlin and Jokiharju leading a core of developing Power, Samuelsson, Bryson, Fitzgerald, Laaksonen, Johnson; all playing well, all fighting for those spots. If you consider that a handful of these players break out next season under Granato, most of the talent we need for the future may already be here.

Interesting because both feeds were listed on ESPN+

TNT with 5 goals vs. Philly this year. 😮

The Flyers right now are reminiscent of pre-Granato Sabres teams: They can bring it at times but really they're not that good. We were lucky to escape with a win tonight; the advantage was that Philly was also less than 24 hours removed from their last game. I think the Sabres had more stamina and consistently maintained intensity for more of the game.