Taro T

Believe Habs Loafs is a national game. But am also watching the Canes BJs game which is DECIDEDLY NOT national & they have the computer generated ads too.

The digital ads are definitely computer generated and not led's in the signs. And my question about whether it's national TV only or regional broadcasts too was answered. Regional are showing them too. Wonder how much of a price break the in rink actual advertisers are getting versus past seasons as their audience is much smaller now.

Absolutely. His play in his "small sample" is exactly in line with his results at every other level that the hockey department looks at. It definitely reduces the risk inherent in this deal.

Of course there's risk. Nobody has said there isn't. But there is also risk in management preaching there's a right way of doing things and then not following up on that themselves. And it isn't just the risk of Samuelsson getting a lot more $'s in a year. There is also a risk to the culture should management come across as merely giving character lip service as a virtue. And if management loses the room, they aren't getting it back. That risk may be small, but it isn't negligible. And combining that w/ how much more he might get in a year, the risk is worth taking. Again, IMHO. And, you don't seem to be lending that risk any weight at all.

Considering Dahlin had been trending down can see where Adams & Ras would not be on the same page for what his LT value was a year ago. Can also see where w/ where the world (& Sabres particularly) was at in regards to the shutdowns, non-hockey related reasons for why they might've been reluctant to give him what he wanted. Personally, had hoped they'd've given him an 8 year deal, but can see reasons why they couldn't get it done. In order to get a deal, both sides have to find a # that works for them. It's clear they see Dahlin as a huge part of the future. His not getting a LT deal shouldn't IMHO get chalked up to any more than bad timing. Had THIS been his 4th year, rather than his 5th, he certainly would have a LT deal in pocket. Again, IMHO. But their not getting a longer deal w/ Dahlin should NOT be a reason for not locking up Samuelsson & other young guys that have been identified as key pieces moving forward.

Again, what is the downside of this move? The Pegulas are out a few $MM should they or Adams decide to go in a different direction. If the Sabres were still owned by the Knoxes (or God forbid Hammister) it could have negative repercussions as they weren't billionaires and that kind of cake would still be real money to them. But that money is chump change to the current owners. It probably makes no difference to potential coaching or scouting hires, but that move definitely doesn't make it harder to bring good qualified people into the organization. Not seeing the downside personally.

Not unrealistic at all.

And Dan Dunleavy wakes up wondering when his stay in purgatory will finally end. 😉

Of course he needs to perform for this to be a good deal. Personally, expect he will. Also, when looking at all this, while everybody is focused on $'s / points, with a defensive specialist believe the more accurate / useful metric is $'s/ minutes. He's going to be getting 22-24 minutes regularly. If he were only getting 16-18 minutes/game, he probably wouldn't be worth the deal he got. But he's going to be getting a lot more ice time than that & that is huge. And combine his minutes w/ Dahlin's 24-26 minutes an Power's 22-24 (and hopefully eventually 24-26) that's locking down 68-74 minutes/ game. Tack on 3 PP's / game where they'll only have 1 D-man on the ice & the other 3D-men only have to cover 40-46 minutes/ game. 14-16 minutes/game for D4-6 can be covered by guys that are fairly inexpensive in most cases.

And Mike Peca got a huge deal from the Aisles because he was a Selke quality player that all teams need but is in very short supply. He was paid for his full game, not just the offensive aspects of it. And deservedly so. Samuelsson will most likely be Jay McKee & has a realistic potential to be a Mike Ramsey. The team has a ton of cap space, the cap is going up w/ at least 5 years left on his deal, & they are showing the players that they not only preach doing things the right way but will actually reward it. Jay McKee walking was a huge part of the Sabres failure to get by the Otters the last time those teams meant in meaningful games. Love this deal, not just for having the guy they project to being their shut down D-man for the foreseeable future locked down, but for the intangible value it'll have in the room. This entire day was about Adams & Pegula saying bust your arse, do things the right way, do your job well, & we will take care of you. All 3 of these announcements scream both that & we ARE a family.

Would be awesome if it were to happen this year. Would take soooo much pressure off moving forward even if they were to then take a small step backwards after that. Not expecting it. But didn't expect the Bills drought to end after 17 years as they entered year 18 either.

Well stated. 🍺

And, again, don't see how THIS deal was affected in any way by Johnson's status nor how this deal in any way affects Johnson's status. Samuelsson was NEVER going anywhere while in his RFA years & if Johnson or his daddy thought that he might be leaving then they don't understand this business as much as they let on. And your claim that THIS deal was affected by Johnson's status strains credulity. To say locking up Bryson for 2 years or bringing back Pilut MIGHT be based on the possibility of Johnson leaving is at least plausible. They're all vying for the 3rd/4th left side D role. But Samuelsson has locked up the #1 LD role for the ST & at minimum the #2 LD role for the extent of any ELC Johnson might be on. This deal was influenced as much by Johnson as Dahlin's next deal will be.

Not sure how the pairings go, but the 4 PK D will be Samuelsson, Lyubushkin, Jokiharju, & Dahlin. Likely paired that way as well.

True on both accounts.

To the bolded, do you expect Johnson's status in any way affected this deal? If so, how? Personally see Johnson's future as having exactly as much influence on this deal as Portillo's had on signing Comrie.

FTFY. 😉

Thanks for that. 2 interesting (IMHO at least) things from that thread. 1. The guy that was saying Kjell would have Mattias leaving ASAP seems to have deleted all his (or her) posts from that thread. Read into it whatever one will. And 2. The 3rd prize of this past draft at least according to 1 poster is the player the Sabres ended up with - Savoie.

Is everything OK at home? Are you getting enough sleep? Your digs were much more creative in the past. Maybe you're just having a bad day. Nobody can ALWAYS be on. Hope all is well. Truly. (No, that isn't some PA-esque backhanded swipe. Truly do hope all is well with you.) 🍺

Yep. He IS the right coach for now. Hopefully he's the right coach for then too. If he is, cool, he's locked up until then & presumably would be amenable to staying longer. If not, the only thing the Sabres are out is a few Pegula bucks. Not our concern.

To the bolded, absolutely. And with the cap set to go up significantly in 2 or 3 years, locking him up today at current prices would be a great way to do just that. IMHO.

It IS possible. And it will mean there's more money for mid level players especially after the cap jumps. But the cap being artificially depressed the last 2 years & very likely again next year makes predictions of just what the salary structure will look like post cap increase really difficult. The players that can hold off on signing LT deals for 2 more years will likely be big winners. But, if most/all the leadership in 2 years are locked into LT deals maybe the mid-tier guys that want to be here are willing to take slightly less to keep from making those earlier signed deals so egregiously out of place.

Regardless of whether he turns into Mike Ramsey, Mike Weber, or Mike Wilson; at the age he'll be when that next contract is signed both sides should know what he's worth & neither should expect to be cursing the deal when it ends. BUT, upon further review, maybe a deal could force the Sabres into a year or 2 too many. Thought he would still be in his late 20's at the end of this one but he'll be 30. Will stand by the original contention, but it isn't as definite as originally expected. ???

Don't really see it as a vendetta against ownership as much as the board contrarian must always be contradictory. And, it seems that if he can do it in a noticeable (flamboyant?, controversial?) way he gets more points on his scorecard.

Why wouldn't Asplund get a LT deal? He's their most defensively responsible "young" guy so the team should want him locked up LT and he likely won't turn into a 60 or 70 point player so he & the agent shouldn't have too much fear of leaving millions on the table should they sign LT.