Doohickie

I picked 61-70 pts but I think he will win the Calder with that. By the end of this season he will be a top six center, possibly 1C.

The other thing too is that Kulich, Östlund and Helenius combined for one player's worth of output last year (81 games played between them). Assuming that last year's injuries (and Kulich's blood clots) are fully resolved and they can all play a full schedule, you're going to see them blossom. Contributions from that group will triple.

I think between Kulich, Östlund, Helenius and Benson you're going to see guys fighting for the minutes and opportunities created by Tuch's departure.

Bonus: Shannon's 10 favorite Sabres jerseys

We don't know ANYTHING to be honest. It's all conjecture. So to make a statement like "I honestly just don't understand why they don't get this done. Lose the damn trade. I just don't care." is just kind of unrealistic. You have no idea what was offered from either side or how far apart they were. You make it sound like it's easy, just push a button, but in reality you have no idea how hard either side tried. None of us do.

And that's why Jarmo can wait Chevy out. Even if the Sabres don't take the division, they're a good candidate to win a divisional playoff spot. Assuming that's true, Jarmo can wait until well into the season to make the Big Splash that will make the Sabres true Cup contenders.

But if Chevy is asking for Helenius and Doan, and has rejected UPL, Quinn and two firsts, it's not as simple as just getting it done. So @Flashsabre's response is appropriate. You didn't say how much you'd be willing to spend to "get this done." This would be an example of losing the damn trade to get it done. So UPL, Benson and Helenuis for Hellebuyck would be good for you because they made a move? If Chevy is holding out for players like that, that's why the trade hasn't happened yet. You don't care about losing the trade but Jarmo obviously does. He's not going to pay so much that it sets the Sabres back in other areas.

If this board can spell Lukunen Lukonen Lukkonen Luukkonen right, it can get.... ah, never mind.

I tried to laugh it off but sheesh at this point you're putting words in my mouth.

You know, I was NOT comparing them in terms of players. And if in fact if you go back to the post where I mentioned Pommer, there is a gif indicating IT WAS A ****ING JOKE. Just lay off.

COLTEN with an E

So all this talk of Rush and Linkin Park and stuff.... I'm going off on a different tack: R&B. This was the music that I heard only incidentally growing up as my racist (but not considered particularly racist at the time) family didn't really listen to R&B because, well, you know. There is some fantastic classic R&B out there. For instance, I can't believe little Gladys Knight can belt it out like she does on Midnight Train to Georgia.

It was good getting reacquainted with Kulich. He's got two scoring modes: A wicked wrister off the rush, and picking up the trash at the net front. He could be a big plus for the power play.

As a Sabres fan, this picture triggers my PTSD.

We were shuttling player on and off IR to maintain the max roster size, but really the youth was more than ready to play a larger role. This season they take center stage. Kulich was 1C at the start of the season. Östlund and Helenius shined when they got the chance. Quinn rounded out his game and if his puck luck reverts to the mean he'll fill a lot of the Tuch void. You call it hopes and dreams, I call it opportunity.

I've seen a lot of sports franchises move out big names and do fine the following season. I don't think this edition of the Sabres is so fragile that the loss of Tuch and Byram will eviscerate them.

Oh, they're desire to make bank is perfectly reasonable, but it still hurts when the leave to go somewhere else.

^ Now here's a guy who keeps his receipts ^

As a Buffalo fan surely you understand jilted lover syndrome??? We'll see how it plays out, but signing Krebs may prove to be the better choice.

Yeah, remember what a boost it was when we brought back Pominville?

My feeling is this team has been capable of making the playoffs for several years but they couldn't get out of their own heads. Now that the seal is broken, the division win may be a fluke but I think they'll make the playoffs. There is a certain mojo in the younger players that will overcome any negativity from the players who were here for the drought.

I think Puckpedia has it pretty well figured, with the exception that I suspect the second and third lines will flip early on (i.e., Helenius's will get more minutes than McLeod's line). Or possibly just swap the centers.