Taro T

Can see the logic to it, and it is sound. Who becomes your odd man out if they bring in a legit 2W should Greenway not end up part of the package going back. If they did trade for Zegras (or similar primarily offensive W) and somehow the return didn't include Greenway as part of the package going back then either Greenway or Benson would seem to be the odd man out (at least until an injury gets them both back into the lineup). REALLY like Benson, and don't want to take him out of the lineup, but would expect either Zegras or Zucker to take that spot you have Benson pencilled into and the other taking the spot Zucker is pencilled into. So, either Benny or Greenway slides out as Benny doesn't have the size Ruff seems to want on L4 and Greenway doesn't have the speed he seems to want there. Does he keep Greenway in to make that L3 more "balanced" or does keep Benny in to give it a bit more offensive punch?

Assuming all stay healthy (which won't happen) agree with most of it, but personally would flip Tuch and Thompson ice time wise. Tuch will be getting more ice time when nursing a lead than Tommer will IMHO and expect they'll be pretty much glued to each other's hip when trying to score late. (Would be willing to relook at that should they get another top 6W who might take some of Alex's PP time away.)

The difference in the 2 situations being that with Quinn hurt, Benson had to beat out Olofsson to earn a roster spot as both were vying for top 9W. Barring injury, Helenius needs to beat out at least 3 of Thompson, Cozens, McLeod, Lafferty, and Krebs and Kulich. As those are the other guys vying for a spot in the C spine. They've said, and Helenius says that he's a C. A lot fewer jobs available and he'd have to beat out not just Krebs & Kulich but also a guy who's name is written in pen on the lineup sheet. It could happen, but wouldn't even want to have a buck on that while getting odds.

Why? IF things are working in Buffalo (a big if, yet to be determined) then why force these guys into NHL roles? We are officially out of "development mode" and in "win mode." And if things AREN'T working in Buffalo, there's a real good chance that you get your wish. They'll get some opportunity simply due to injuries. But how much more than a game or 2 they get will be determined by how the team is doing w/ w/out them in the lineup and whether they manage to force Adams into an uncomfortable decision where he has to choose what to do with the vet that lost his job. If the team is rolling in a playoff slot, these kids will have to really amaze to supplant somebody else that's contributing.

That stinks. But, yes, if the BS associated with the job has become too much, it is definitely time to look into other options. (Every job has BS associated with it; if you can no longer live with the BS there, move on. Life is too durn short not to.) Hopefully while you are looking for a better situation you'll be able to remember what it is you love about your current job and try to focus on that/those aspects of the job when you can. (Presumably there was something you loved about it; you took the job.) It'll help make the whole thing more tolerable.

Don't watch much college football. Watch some. Can't recall ever watching Wyoming. The pundits all were pounding how raw he was. It sure was coming across as he was "incredibly raw". You seem fixated on the statement that his being raw as a big part of why he wasn't this kid's 1st choice; not fully sure why that is when it was a perception that was very common back then. And, btw, compared to the rest of that QB class, he was raw. He was a JC transfer and played on a WAC team (and a middling WAC team to boot). He came pretty much "out of nowhere." That combined with the lack of serious offensive credentials on the Bills staff (remember, though Daboll had been on the Cheats staff for a few SB's he was WR / TE coach for them. His stints in the NFL in other locations were not impressive and a single year as the OC for Bama with all the talent and past success that program had wasn't all that impressive either. Daboll seemed a step in the right direction compared to Dennison, but he wasn't exactly an A-lister at the time and he was the OC for a HC with a heavily defensive background who had been modestly successful as a HC enacting a very low risk game plan. What screamed success at developing the raw kid. Again, had the Bills had a coaching staff that had a more established record at developing O would've been very happy with the pick.

Hoped the Browns wouldn't grab him and the Bills would find a way up to 2 or 3, but wanted Mayfield that year. Wasn't meant to be and it worked out very well. Being bright doesn't mean he wasn't raw. His mechanics have been significantly reworked since he came into the league. And, not sure how "raw" and "not having as much experience" aren't getting at the same thing.

Interesting reply. And kind of ironic; such a childish response coming from somebody pining for the '60's.

And for some of us that didn't want Allen to be the pick, it was the combination of HIS inexperience along with the Bills coaching staff's inexperience & focus on a running game that was the reason for that. Had Reid or someone else with the offensive chops of Andy been the HC, would've been all in on choosing Allen. But the combination of Buffalo having shown no clue how to run an offense (except during the brief Gailey tenure) for 15+ years along with Allen being incredibly raw; saw the makings of a serious cluster developing at One Bills Drive. Turned out that the coaches and Palmer were able to get Josh to come crazily close to his ceiling; but going off the Bills track record, that definitely didn't seem to be anywhere close to a given at the time.

Seriously? How well steeled are you going to get if your boss is PUBLICLY saying "well yeah, Phil is pretty good at this, but he really needs to be better at X, Y, and Z or his simply isn't going to cut it and we're going to punt his arse if he doesn't pick them up."

What possible benefit do the Sabres get by showing what the scouts that DIDN'T want to draft a particular player were saying about him? Do they really want a kid that is now in their organization to know that so & so doesn't believe he skates well enough or has a hard enough shot or whatever the case may be? Would be SHOCKED if they put the dissent in the public view for all the world to see. (And that would be the case for any team putting together a video like this.) You LIKE Girgensons? Mildly surprised at that, as you've been harping on getting the Sabres to dump him for years. Didn't hate them reaching on a goalie that year as much as some others hated it. The goalie prospect cupboard was pretty bare at the time especially considering there was a real risk that Portillo would walk. They have (and at the time had) a LOT of F prospects in the system and, as the Savoie trade demonstrated, they don't/won't have room for all of them. (Mentioned F depth, because it seemed most here wanted an F taken with that pick.) Yes, it was a weak draft, but by choosing the 1st goalie taken off the board, they absolutely got the guy they wanted when the cupboard was bare. (Now, whether they picked the right goalie still seems to be in doubt. But there is no doubt they got the goalie they had rated #1 in that class.) Had they made a similar move this year with as many young goalies in/at the NHL level and in the system; would've hated the move as much as everyone else hates it.

One reason to want him is he's really good near the net on the PP. Something Skinner wasn't overly adept at and really nobody else (except possibly Benson or Tuch) on this roster has come close to it.

Reports like this are why there probably is a pretty strong likelihood that the Sabres do end up trading a bit of their precious future capital for Zegras or someone similar. One more 2nd liner and the team suddenly seems to have some depth when injuries inevitably hit.

Yup. Pretty consistently one of the best 30 goalies in the league, but rarely in the top 15-20. He was an awesome backup and a poor man's starter.

The Fantasy Sports / Betting Line segments might not be an absolute winner ratings wise, but if those segments are sponsored (like beyond the normal advertising levels) then it still likely makes sense to run them.

Soooo frustrating, because they really could've horded some extra assets if ownership were willing to take on some salary while they were at the cap floor these past few years. And now that opportunity is pretty much gone.

There are several that agree with it. Most of us just don't seem to feel the need to shout it every hour on the hour. 😉

Haven't been in the dressing room since they upgraded it back in '12(?). Didn't know they were letting people in there, but probably wouldn't have mattered because ... We had our hands full and needed to go stop by the 'rents, so we just left after grabbing our loot.

You figured wrong.

The line of people to get into the sale area was long when we showed up 20 minutes before the sale was supposed to start and well after they'd already started letting people in. By the time we left, just before the sale was supposed to start there were at least 100 people in line waiting to get in. That's why we didn't look at skates, helmets, bags, nor a few other pieces of equipment and we didn't look at any of the water bottles nor stuff like that. We had our shopping list, filled it, and got out of Dodge.

Umm, as mentioned, DIDN'T LOOK AT SKATES. 😉 Sticks were $100. Which is a really good price for 1 piece composities.

So, @PromoTheRobot did you come in for the sale? There was some pretty cool stuff there. They actually opened up the doors by 10:30AM. We were there just a few minutes after that and people were already walking out with merch. With Adidas losing the NHL contract, there were a lot of blank pro pro weight sweaters. Unfortunately by the time we got into the sale almost all the Benson sized ones were gone. But did manage to snag one. (Will probably have to get Benson put on it, as he's probably the only one on the team that wears that size. 😉 ) Didn't look at skates, as just bought a new pair a year ago and at this kid's age, pretty sure that's the last pair that will ever be buying. There were a lot of gloves and a fair # of sticks. (Sucks that so much of the team are lefty shots. 😉 There were about 4 racks of lefty sticks and only 2 righties and most all those were EJ's. 😢 He uses a seriously stiff stick.) They had practice jerseys too with about half of them having a player name and # on them. A girl that was in the store earlier found a couple of Samuelssons but 'bout all that was left when we got in there were Amerks, Clague, Jost, and Bryson (apologies for the repetition). Son got some nice goalie sticks (they're crazy light) and a pair of pants. There was a lot of Amerks gear too. But we stuck w/ the Sabres stuff as there didn't seem to be a price break for going w/ Amerks gear. We just looked at the stuff we were really interested in because the line was stupid long by the time we left about 5 minutes before the sale was supposed to start.

Durn it. Was hoping they'd give him $60/yr fully guaranteed. Eh, he almost got 90% of that.

Don't forget Mittelstadt WANTED to sign here. He simply didn't get an offer. So, they've signed 6 of 7 and it was their choice to not go for 7 of 7. Only Olofsson didn't want to be back, of the recent younger guys. And that was a function of not fitting in for a nightly slot in the lineup; not because he didn't like it here. He didn't like the press box and couldn't earn his way out of it.

None of the anwers, the way they're written, is quite accurate. Yes, the Sabres will be OK in net. The big question is "will they be GOOD in net, this season." The answer to that is something like either probably or hopefully. Personally, expect that the goaltending will be good this year. But wouldn't have a whole lot down on that bet.