Taro T

It's already there. Pretty sure he was actually hoping for an improvement to something more along the lines of a groin pull. 😉

In fairness to Botterill, a trade with almost ANY team at that time would be for a lower pick when they're both in the same round. (What were the odds that the team they'd traded with would finish dead last in 2019? Pretty slim at best.) But, yeah, it was a head scratcher why he wanted a worse pick a year later if it wasn't simply for the fact there was literally not 1 single player left on their board at that point that he felt was worthy of getting drafted. But then they used their 7th round pick; so they did believe there were players (or more accurately A player worth drafting). So, was the guy that thought Worge-Kreu was worthy of drafting, off taking a dump or grabbing a hot dog when it was the Sabres turn in the 6th? Or was he given a solid MID-6th round grade but was viewed as a reach at the top of the 6th?

Yep. And Edmonton got Armstrong to take a few levels of FA compensation off the table in '27 by taking his 3rd round pick in '28.

Why? If the 2 GM's want to trade a pick 4 years from now or even 10 years from now, why shouldn't they be allowed to do so? Going by the old rule of thumb that a draft pick loses 1 round of value for each year further in the future it'll be made. Makes this essentially a 6th in next year's draft which has almost no realisitic value. Whereas, Edmonton at least knocks a couple of potential offer sheets out of the Blues '27 quiver with this trade.

Who isn't?

And, btw, stated this earlier, but to clarify. Personally do believe there's a chance that Andreessen makes the 53 man roster especially with all the injuries they end up with at LB. But if he DOESN'T make the Bills, who knew him better than any other pro team did because he grew up and played college ball in their own back yard, and who have a tendency to have LBs resemble Spinal Tap's drummer roster, and also have seen him every single day in camp; then WHY would we expect another team to steal him from the Bills and keep him off the Bills PS? MAYBE Pittsburgh grabs him for their 53 man roster because they saw him for a full week and have most of a full game of film against them and maybe because of history Shoen and Daboll decide they want to pop him onto their roster essentially sight unseen. But why would anybody else do that for an UDFA out of a middling school that plays in the MAC who will have all of 3 NFL preseason games under his belt when they have to choose to grab him over any of the 1,200+ players that will become available in the next 2 weeks? Because he has 1 really good game's worth of film in the very 1st game he ever got to truly live his dream and be a starter on his childhood's favorite team? It's like every single year that we worry about guys the Sabres are sending down to Ra-cha-cha that won't clear waivers because they're so good, but we forget that those guys weren't good enough to make the roster for a team that just suffered its 13th consecutive playoff less season and that there are roughly 650 other players that just got waived at the same time that personnel departments have to sift through. (And, with all that said, watch him get grabbed by the Cowboys 2 weeks from now. 😱 D'oh!)

Personally, am expecting the Bills to make the playoffs. Until they aren't, they are the 4 time defending AFCE Champs. That counts for something IMHO. (And the rest of the division is starting to make the AFCE look like the AFCW. 1 real team, 1 meh team, and a couple that people ask "how do we get the divisions realigned to have THEM in OUR division." 😉 )

He MIGHT make the Bills 53 man roster because as you say, they've already got injury issues at the position. But, would be quite surprised if anyone other than the Stillers (reasonable chance they'd try to grab him depending on how well he looked in practice last week) or Jints (just because of their ties to the Bills) put him on their 53 man roster should the Bills try to PS him. And the post was in response to people that were concerned somebody other than the Bills will put him on their 53 man roster. So, whether he makes the Bills or not, wasn't really the point of the post. It was set up on the basis of the Bills deciding to try to stash him on the PS.

There's a long line of players that looked great in a single preseason game and were never heard from again. The kid was starting for the very 1st time for the childhood team he dreamed of playing for someday. Adrenaline MIGHT have been flowing that game. 😉 Expecting what caused him to go undrafted weighs heavier in the minds of other teams' personnel departments than a single preseason game does, especially one against a team that has "2 starting QB's". (And the old adage still holds true unless you're the serious exception like the Niners with both Montana and Young: if you have 2 starters, you don't have even 1 starter.) Again, IF he was also impressive in practice reps last week, could possibly see the Stillers decide to make a claim on him. MAYBE the Jints due to their knowledge of how the Bills scout and what sort of players they go after but not really expecting that.

If Price stays BF-LTIR, they'll still have a ton of space both years regardless what other moves they make. And doubt they expect to be actually good either year. Better, yes. Good, probably not.

Skinner being off the PP is a net positive. Only scoring 8 goals the entire year when he's the net front guy is attrocious. There's a reason no coach other than Granato has ever had Skinner regularly on the 1st PP unit. His passing is subpar. He doesn't tend to win puck battles. He doesn't set a screen well. Wouldn't be at all surprised if the 2nd unit goes to 2 D-men because Dahlin and most of the rest of the PP1 unit will be getting ~1:30-1:40 to start the PP. They can have Thompson and Peterka at the 1/2 wall with Tuch in the net front role leaving any of Cozens, Quinn, or Benson for the bumper role. The 2 that don't end up on unit 1 will be on unit 2 along with Zucker and likely Power and Byram. Could go off the board with Greenway as net front on either unit and McLeod &/or Kulich when he finally becomes an injury call up are also options on unit 2. Fully expect this team to be top 10 on the PP and even if they don't gel & Thompson has injury issues again they'll absolutely be top 15. We watched arguably the worst PP this team ever iced in over 50 years of play. The dead puck era PP was better than last year's abomination. Only Rolston's crew gives last year's one a run for its money. When the talent level gets factored in, nobody compares to last year's unit.

Having a functional PP will go a long way towards getting back into the pack. TB led the league with 71 PPG's. Buffalo was 30th with only 37. The median would've been 52. Just gettting those 15 goals that the average PP scored last year would've moved them from 23rd into a tie for 15th. Having a good but not great PP that would've netted them 60 PP goals would've had them 10th in the league in scoring all else being equal. The PP isn't going to be absolute garbage this year.

Depends upon how "the hire working out" is defined to determine whether it's ultimately successful. Personally don't believe Ruff was brought back to win a SC (not directly at least; as an advisor or PoHO, sure; but not as the head coach of THIS team as currently constructed and where they are in time). So, if winning a SC is the determination of success, it will necessarily fail. But, if "working out" is defined as establishing a structure within their own end, getting viewed as a club belonging in the NHL both to insiders and league observers, and making the playoffs; it legitimately could work out with only a couple of items necessarily breaking their way. And if working out also necessarily includes the apparent transition to Appert behind the bench 2-3 years from now; then it may or may not work out. Still not fully sold on Appert.

Was it rushed, or should it have happened in season last season? Might have a different look to the AC's and also maybe a player or 2 could've been on the block or already lined up with their ideal partner / linemates rather than figuring that out over the 1st month or so this year.

Plus, now Thompson (Tuch too if they want) can be PKers only when the team is desperate for a goal rather than every game PKers. Considering they both have missed time due to injuries sustained on the PK how many extra goals will that simple change be worth over the course of a season?

And once again the Sabres timing stinks. They have a full cupboard of prospects to get those 1-2 remaining pieces they need but they actually seem to have recessionary values in a high inflation (cap finally going up significantly) world. No use crying over spilled milk, but it still remains maddenly frustrating that the Sabres never weaponized any of their stupidly huge cap space from the Granato era. If prospects are only valued at 60 cents on the dollar, it sure would be nice to have 5 tradeable pieces rather than just 3.

Speaking as one who did not like the Mittelstadt trade, there is a logic to it. (Whether the logic pans out or not remains to be seen.) But Mittelstadt wasn't viewed as the 2C - that's Cozens role. And, though Mitts was likely the best 2 way F this team had, it is unlikely he'd ever be viewed as a true 3C. (Which isn't a bad thing, IMHO, having 3 - 1/2C's is actually a good thing and at the price tags for both Thompson and Cozens something the team could afford to have.) As frustrating as it is, and with exposing as much hubris as it does, Adams has been (and would add it appears with ownership's blessing) working towards making this team a perennial contender a year or 2 from now. And IF he's right about Byram (which is still possible) being a legit top 4 D-man (more specifically a 2/3) when he hits his prime and with Kulich, Östlund, and (formerly) Savoie (who's now been supplanted by Helenius) ready to be useful in that timeframe on ELC/1st RFA contracts then the team will net out to be better in that timeframe than it would've been with Mittelstadt and another Jokiharju on the roster. And, it is hubris to be more worried about a future 1-2 seasons away when his job should be on the line this season should playoffs not finally become a reality again. But he sure seems to be following the blue print Regier laid out way back when at the time suffering became not just a distasteful word but a way of life. But also, trading Savoie (or any of the at the time "big 4" prospects for what is needed in other areas has always been a significant part of the plan throughout the entire drought. They've been lousy for years and have accumulated high-ish end prospects that they simply don't/won't have room for them all. Under Regier, they never got beyond the accumulate future talent mode; under Murray, that phase was skipped in large part and might've worked had he gotten more time &/or he'd've ever seen players as humans and not horses; under Botterill, they never got beyond the accumulate future talent mode primarily because he wouldn't know a legit HC even if the guy bit him on the arse, he had no idea what a legit goalie looks like and couldn't figure out what to do with one when he lucked into one, and he loved swapping out edge of useful picks for 4th liners that he thought could be 3rd liners but tended to get played even higher than that in the lineup. And, now, we're watching a still relatively inexperienced GM take his 1st foray outside accumulate future talent mode. He believes he's accumulated 5 of 6 pieces necessary for a legit top 6 and has swapped out an incoherent bottom 6 for one with an identity. If he's lucked into the youthful goaltending he's maintained/obtained being ready while still youthful; then that hubris could be rewarded as this most likely is a playoff team with a repeat of the good versions of both his young goalies even if he never manages to land that 6th top 6F. And back to Savoie again. Not sure what part of trading from a surplus (especially a future surplus) for something the team lacks isn't a sound strategy. Heck, the good teams are always trading away future pieces to maintain / upgrade today's rosters even when the cupboards have been laid bare. The Sabres cupboards are still quite well stocked and as Thorny always says they get 7 or so more chances (only 2-3 of which are legit opportunities, but they still have those 2-3 legit opportunities) to restock it next summer too.

Figure the Stillers are the 1 team that could possibly try to put him on their 53 man roster. And that would be dependent upon how impressed they were at him in the joint practices w/ the Bills. Would be pretty surprised if somebody else wanted to put an UDFA from the MAC on their 53 man roster over everyone else they'd already brought in.

And on this one too. 1 more move might still be coming and that could adjust that opinion from option 2 to option 1. Hoping the goaltending holds up. There's a very legit chance it will, but it isn't a given. If it does, then the vote should probably have been for choice 1 too.

Didn't vote because neither option 1 nor 2 seemed quite right. Still expect there to be one additional trade for a 2W. Will add my 2 cents when we see whether it actually happens or not.

Went with 2, though my 1st choice didn't become available (not overly surprising) and the 2nd choice was NEVER going to happen here. So, considered going with choice 1 but stuck w/ 2.

True. But he did get juked out of his jock on one play. Surprised he didn't sprain his ankle on the play.

Wow, the windmill didn't throw you off at all? 😉

Saw her open for the Eagles 30 years ago on the Hell Freezes Over tour. Incredible show.

Before his suspension, he was actually on a pretty good iron man streak.