Sabres Training Camp 2026

[dudacek]

24 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

KREBS ON THE FIRST LINE? C'MON!

39/9/5, baby!

[DarthEbriate]

32 minutes ago, tom webster said:

It was Briere. He had surgery December 2005 after missing some time earlier in season. He ended up playing only 56 games that year.

Edit: Oh... wayyyy back. I thought you were thinking just the last couple seasons.

Briere definitely.

Also Dumont had one around the same time...  https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/sabres-dumont-out-8-12-weeks-1.533553  

Edited September 17 by DarthEbriate

[pastajoe]

50 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

THE OFFSEASON IS OFFICALLY OVER! WE MADE IT.

KREBS ON THE FIRST LINE? C'MON!

[Ctaeth]

52 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

THE OFFSEASON IS OFFICALLY OVER! WE MADE IT.

KREBS ON THE FIRST LINE? C'MON!

if tage is going tage, regardless of who he is lined up with... why not krebs?

[Doohickie]

Quote

the effort and compete is way hire than last year on day one

Quinn was competing at a level I've never seen from him

I've followed the Sabres since their inception.  The one thing I've consistently noticed is when the effort is there, they're a good, even great, team.  I think when the switch was flipped last December, the compete level was turned up to 11 and for the most part they've played at that level.  If they come out of the gate playing like that, we could be in for a great season.

Holding Zucker back and all the guys know someone's going to bump down when he returns to the lineup is motivating the players to not be that guy that has to bump down. 

Edited September 17 by Doohickie

[...]

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

Expected those pairings, at least to start.  Zellweger's played with Power before and Lindy seemed to really like having 2 all situation pairings and a 3rd shutdown (or break up and play when the all situation pairings needed a breather) pairing.  And Zellweger is the closest of the "lesser 3" to matching what Byram did.

Wonder how set in stone the F's are and if Helenius ended up where he did as a defacto placeholder for where they were going to slot Zucker into.  Will be interested to see how McLeod and Norris do playing together.  That could be the basis of a shutdown line that could pop in more than a few of their own (particularly with Helenius on the line with them) similar to the old Drury line.

The F's seem to have a lot of similarities to the '05-'06 Sabres:

Krebs - Thompson - Doan (Hecht - Briere - Dumont)

McLeod - Norris - Helenius (Kotalik - Drury - Grier; flip em')

Benson - Östlund - Quinn (Vanek - Roy - Afinogenov)

Kulich - Carrick - Malenstyn (Connolly - Gaustad - Mair)

Not exact 1 for 1's (Benson isn't analogous to Vanek; but most of the rest are and no, Quinn isn't a waterbug but he's kind of useless in his own end too 😉 ) but the flavor of what Ruff's cooking is there.

Interesting observation, and, I believe, 98.9% dead on (I think Quinn likely took away a lot from the playoffs). 

They basically will roll three 2nd lines and an energy line. 

Really like line 3. The top 2 I think are likely to be somewhat fluid.

The D pairings are exactly what I expected as well and those are probably set in stone for the foreseeable future. 

[JohnC]

The two players who will surprise people this season is Norris and Quinn. Quinn is going to be a 30 plus goal scorer, and if Norris can stay relatively healthy, which I believe he can despite so much skepticism about his durability, it will go a long way to fill the scoring gap from the departure of Tuch. I'm also confident that Power will be a standout anchor player for us. 

I doubt that the Sabres will be a 109 pt. team. That will be mostly due to the fact that a number of teams will be better for a variety of reasons, much of it related to health. Toronto, Florida and Jersey should be in the upgraded group. But that doesn't mean that the Sabres won't be a better team from last year. 

 

[Jorcus]

With Quinn if nothing else it's his contract year. A high output season will be very rewarding for him the way things are going these days.

[JohnC]

40 minutes ago, ... said:

Interesting observation, and, I believe, 98.9% dead on (I think Quinn likely took away a lot from the playoffs). 

They basically will roll three 2nd lines and an energy line. 

Really like line 3. The top 2 I think are likely to be somewhat fluid.

The D pairings are exactly what I expected as well and those are probably set in stone for the foreseeable future. 

Your characterization that we basically have three 2nd lines is a good description about how this roster is constructed. Ruff is a line juggler not only before games but also within games. It's going to be interesting to see how things shake out during camp and when the season starts. 

[_Q_]

Did Norris make it through practice?

[LGR4GM]

Jarmo press conference from yesterday. 

 

[pastajoe]

50 minutes ago, _Q_ said:

Did Norris make it through practice?

Yes, but then he slipped in the shower.

[tom webster]

2 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

whoa - i did remember correctly?!

and damn - briere got the surgery in december 2005 and then was part of the Cup run in 2006?!

Just checked. Played till 12/15, had surgery 12/30, returned 3/1. Didn’t miss a game after that.

[LGR4GM]

Lindy Ruff from yesterday:

 

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Jarmo press conference from yesterday. 

 

He hasn't made the big splash trades we've been hoping for, but he certainly knows how to set the tone.

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

I've followed the Sabres since their inception.  The one thing I've consistently noticed is when the effort is there, they're a good, even great, team.  I think when the switch was flipped last December, the compete level was turned up to 11 and for the most part they've played at that level.  If they come out of the gate playing like that, we could be in for a great season.

Holding Zucker back and all the guys know someone's going to bump down when he returns to the lineup is motivating the players to not be that guy that has to bump down. 

Meanwhile, in Columbus....

I like the mood in Buffalo much better!

[ponokasabre]

14 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

He hasn't made the big splash trades we've been hoping for, but he certainly knows how to set the tone.

Meanwhile, in Columbus....

I like the mood in Buffalo much better!

wow that is crazy

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, _Q_ said:

Did Norris make it through practice?

Yes. But he will sit out the next practice to recover.😎

[Taro T]

4 hours ago, dudacek said:

39/9/5, baby!

Hasek, Eichel, Ramsey?!?!?

🧐 

 

Edit:  Eh, nevermind, realize you were giving us their record with him in the lineup.

Edited September 17 by Taro T

[FrenchConnection44]

On 9/16/2026 at 3:01 PM, Fansince70 said:

I'm liking Crevier with Power; the former assuming a stay-at-home role that allows the latter to play more aggressive offensively and at the same time making that pairing a bit more nasty than Power-Byram was.  Could be dynamic.  

I also like this because those guys have such great length that defensively it can create problems for opponents on offense. 

[FrenchConnection44]

20 hours ago, pastajoe said:

Kulich is better at center.

Benson Norris Tage

Quinn Kulich Doan

Östlund McLeod Helenius

Krebs Carrick Malenstyn

I prefer this but Lindy apparently believes Tage is better at center. 
 

Does anybody have any actual data on this?

[GASabresIUFAN]

10 minutes ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

I prefer this but Lindy apparently believes Tage is better at center. 
 

Does anybody have any actual data on this?

I did see Krebs/Tage stat that when they played together the line scored 29 goals while only allowing 19.  That’s over 20% of our goal differential from last season.  I think probably a pretty good place to build a line from. 

I was a little surprised that Doan was with Krebs and Tage.  
 

What was also interesting is McLeod with Norris.  The lineup puts at least 2 centers on 3/4 of the lines.  Krebs/Tage; McLeod/Norris/Helenius, Kulich/Carrick.   Östlund alone on the 3rd line.  
 

I like the offensive upside of the Benson, Östlund and Quinn line, but worry that they might get manhandled some by bigger lines.  Not questioning their compete, just their size 

[FrenchConnection44]

6 hours ago, Taro T said:

Expected those pairings, at least to start.  Zellweger's played with Power before and Lindy seemed to really like having 2 all situation pairings and a 3rd shutdown (or break up and play when the all situation pairings needed a breather) pairing.  And Zellweger is the closest of the "lesser 3" to matching what Byram did.

Wonder how set in stone the F's are and if Helenius ended up where he did as a defacto placeholder for where they were going to slot Zucker into.  Will be interested to see how McLeod and Norris do playing together.  That could be the basis of a shutdown line that could pop in more than a few of their own (particularly with Helenius on the line with them) similar to the old Drury line.

The F's seem to have a lot of similarities to the '05-'06 Sabres:

Krebs - Thompson - Doan (Hecht - Briere - Dumont)

McLeod - Norris - Helenius (Kotalik - Drury - Grier; flip em')

Benson - Östlund - Quinn (Vanek - Roy - Afinogenov)

Kulich - Carrick - Malenstyn (Connolly - Gaustad - Mair)

Not exact 1 for 1's (Benson isn't analogous to Vanek; but most of the rest are and no, Quinn isn't a waterbug but he's kind of useless in his own end too 😉 ) but the flavor of what Ruff's cooking is there.

Were they paired on Team Canada or just on the same team? Just curious

[FrenchConnection44]

4 hours ago, JohnC said:

The two players who will surprise people this season is Norris and Quinn. Quinn is going to be a 30 plus goal scorer, and if Norris can stay relatively healthy, which I believe he can despite so much skepticism about his durability, it will go a long way to fill the scoring gap from the departure of Tuch. I'm also confident that Power will be a standout anchor player for us. 

I doubt that the Sabres will be a 109 pt. team. That will be mostly due to the fact that a number of teams will be better for a variety of reasons, much of it related to health. Toronto, Florida and Jersey should be in the upgraded group. But that doesn't mean that the Sabres won't be a better team from last year. 

 

I def think Norris can be exceptional. But he will have to stay healthy. I remain skeptical until he does by fingers crossed. 

I also agree that Florida will be much better. Esp with both Tkachuks. 

The one concern I have is the lack of a physical forward who can fight.  Carrick is tough but not a big guy. Don’t want to see him getting hurt again. 
 

I like all the players we have and all the forwards. But I do wish we had a badass up there who can play and intimidate. And be out there when Dahlin is (teams love to go after him).We shall see if that matters. I suppose it will be Carrick and Crevier as the enforcers. 

 

[SabresFan69420]

11 minutes ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

I def think Norris can be exceptional. But he will have to stay healthy. I remain skeptical until he does by fingers crossed. 

I also agree that Florida will be much better. Esp with both Tkachuks. 

The one concern I have is the lack of a physical forward who can fight.  Carrick is tough but not a big guy. Don’t want to see him getting hurt again. 
 

I like all the players we have and all the forwards. But I do wish we had a badass up there who can play and intimidate. And be out there when Dahlin is (teams love to go after him).We shall see if that matters. I suppose it will be Carrick and Crevier as the enforcers. 

 

This team stood their ground with the lightning last year and didn’t shy away from physical games throughout the season so I don’t know if we are really missing a dedicated goon

[dudacek]

32 minutes ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

Were they paired on Team Canada or just on the same team? Just curious

Team Canada partners in the WJC, I believe.