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No idea how they'd've done that w/out having a significantly altered design. (And it's a cookie cutter design; it's basically the Staples Center in LA minus 2 levels of suites.) But would definitely been nice to look out. (Most likely at the snow coming in off the lake pummeling the building during a dark, frigid February evening. Maybe they could've put more windows over on the south/east side where the main entryway already is. 😉 Just giving those in the 200's & higher up access to natural lighting would've been nice.)

Update. Just found out my wife was trying to kill us. Well, maybe not TRYING to, but just found out likely why my son & yours truly were having stomach issues the past week or so. Some of the candies she bought us for Easter were recalled for salmonella contamination! Yikes! But, on the flip side, am now very glad my doctor convinced me a year or so to take vitamin D (after years of giving me flack for having shockingly low levels of it). 😉 (Will credit the milder effects to the vitamin D even though the real difference in discomfort was more likely due to eating a lot less of it.)

The building could use a new coat of paint. Agreed. But the bowl is now blue & gold instead of Jennifer Smith's weird plum & lavender walls (or whatever the muted purples & pinks that were there are called) behind the blue seats. And, over near where the right escalator takes people up to the 300s there is a pretty big stand w/ a bunch of different craft beers and there are a bunch of beer kiosks all around up there for the more standard Blue & Coors Light & all sorts of seltzer. Beer is one of the few things that can be readily found up there. No idea where to go in the 300's to find wine or mixed drinks if they're even available up there. There's 3 main food stand areas each with 4 or so concession stands in the 300's - 1 at each of the tops of the escalators & a 3rd over by the red line on the camera side. Pretty sure there's a couple other full concession stands & then the cart vendors. They SHOULD be able to keep up w/ demand, but this year lines were long all season. Not sure why that was.

Knew who was responsible for what back when Golisano bought the team, but not sure who's responsible for what now. 99% sure the concessions are still run by Delaware North. But don't know which of the rest of the upkeep / facilities / security falls to the Pegulas &/or the county & the city.

300 level concourse is ridiculously narrow. (Thanks, Larry Quinn. <_<) Also, pretty sure there's only 1 elevator bank. (Can be a choke point for those needing "additional assistance.") Those are the only true "structural" issue that would cost real money to fix. Other issues: No hot water in many (all?) bathrooms. A few broken seats throughout. Many broken cup holders. Not really issues, but go towards the overall experience: The sound system leaves much to be desired. People in the 200's whine that they can't really hear it, and those of us that are directly in front of the speakers get blasted out of our seats. If you are in the 300's near the HVAC vents, the place is FREEZING. Not nearly as bad in the lower levels. This year it wasn't as big of an issue, likely because there were only 1/4 the people that would normally be heating the building up so it wasn't running as intensely. The WiFi is likely undersized which is probably why the cashless payment systems take a week & 1/2 to process a payment. (Only a slight exaggeration.) The food very often is cold/room temperature when you get it. When the food is hot, it is actually edible to quite good. The way much of it is served, it is close to inedible. Pretty sure there are additional issues, but that's a fair sampling in a nutshell.

Shouldn't you be working on a chart of some sort? 😛 At least 1 new logo you've got to add at minimum. 😉 Welcome back. 🍺

Interesting. Would expect the NHLPA to not go along w/ it as it's forcing players that could currently be eligible for UFA in the summer before a season to now wait until a whole bunch of teams are in cap trouble to try to sign w/ one & also because it's keeping a player that under the current system could be earning a living in the NHL to have to wait nearly 5 months to begin being gainfully employed. But it is thinking outside the box. 👍 And, your final statemenstatement your remedy likely won't ever happen. GM's can already protect themselves from this problem by not drafting NCAA bound guys in the late 1st or 2nd round. 🍺

What do you expect to see as far as changes are concerned? Teams currently get to hold a player's rights for 2 more years than if they were in the CHL. How many NCAA players actually play out their full 4 years of eligibility w/out signing w/ the NHL club that drafted them? (Legit Q. It seems to only be 1-2 guys any given year, is it actually a bigger problem than that, or is even that overstating it?) Certainly teams would like to lock up college players for even longer, but what are they going to give up to the NHLPA to get them to sign off on it? The 4 years of holding a player's rights vs 2 years already seems like a reasonable compromise. Now that the NCAA allows players to receive compensation for their images & endorsements, might there be some "wiggle room" from the NCAA to allow players to sign w/ a team while still maintaining college eligibility? Perhaps a player could receive a signing bonus, the bulk of which gets escrowed until the player leaves school? Don't know the answer. But it seems to be a fairly complex issue.

Twernt the frown, was the sideways "really?" glance. As in, are you really, seriously asking that question when every single person on this board knows that teams can't talk to other team's FA until this summer? Especially when just 3 words further in the post the phrase "to see if they'd come back" was used and a player that ISN'T already on Adams team couldn't, by definition, come back to it. (Barring, of course, those handful of guys who might be playing elsewhere at the moment that are in the last year of their deal & have already been eliminated from the playoffs & have been Sabres in the past; whom we both know were not the players who were being referred to.) (The reaction button was far less wordy. 😉 ) 🍺

Some would, & some wouldn't. MHO, a PM would probably be a more effective way of dealing w/ it, but don't know the full backstory either. Is what it is.

John was mentioned w/ the @ before his name in the post PA responded to, so there was a notification to him. Pretty sure PA's post was pretty soon after the one referring to him. If this is John's 1st time checking in, he would just see the notification now.

And yet Skinner remains. 😛

Liger posted a link uptrend. Pretty sure it's towards the bottom of the 1st page. And this is where Adams' Canes winning the SC with Gerber & Ward platooning might come back to bite us all. That tandem should not have been good enough, but w/ the Canes only losing 1 player the entire post-season & Cole ready to replace him when he did go down it was just good enough. Am still hoping the GTing gets worked out. But who knows. Hinostroza, Pysyk, Hayden, Eakin (not advocating for bringing either back, but they are FAs), every single goalie in the organization except RFA UPL.

There are LITERALLY broken seats in the rink. Not just broken cupholders, but actual seats. That said, this really wasn't the appropriate forum for that Q IMHO. Interestingly, or not, at the STH Q&A the question about the arena's condition came up. And Adams answered it pretty well. But then there were at least 2 more Q's about it. Which was very annoying, because there were still about 4 other Q's about the team he never addressed that evening because he ran out of time. Today, would much rather have had somebody ask if Adams has been talking to other FAs besides Anderson to see if they'd come back & if not, does he see having g those conversations/ when. (Obviously w/out putting him on the spot to name which guys.)

This.^ Adams seems to have a good handle on what to look for in skaters & people in general. Have yet to see anything that says he has a handle on how to fix goaltending in the present. Expect there's a legit possibility that the GTing may be Anderson & UPL (and told people that was something he hinted at in his STH Q&A) which won't be good enough in all likelihood for next season. Still hoping that's not the case. Really would be perfectly fine w/ a legit #1 on a 2-3 year deal, Anderson backing him up, with UPL & either Tokarski or Subban in Ra-cha-cha, but doubt Toker would go for that. Thing is, won't be nearly as ticked about it next year (but still will be bothered by it) as it's not likely being a mid-70's point team 1 more year will break the team. No data on what sort of a number it would do on the fanbase. At some point though, management has to give the kids the GTing that will give them a chance to win any given night. Hoping management sees that. Maybe the allure of "stocking the pipeline" 1 last time will just be too strong. And getting a GT on a 2-3 year deal fixes so darn many issues (including reaching the cap floor w/out messing up the overall salary structure & not blocking a prospect).

It did. 🍺 It seems you had a good Ramadan. Happy for you and yours.

Definitely got the "not really thrilled w/ this direction, but it is what it is" vibe from his answer. No slight smile anywhere in that answer.

As a sort of Columbo "oh, one other thing ... thanks to you for ..." He is apparently trying to walk the walk.

Power finding out that NHLers will pick off that pass that appears to be there after 1st look over the shoulder. It works in college, not at NHL. (Example of players being smarter.) (Another repeated theme) Need to be reating everybody the right way, right down to the interns. (So, he ends w/ thanking the reporters for their professionalism.)

He himself needs to know when to "get out of the way". Also, wants to be better at "being in the present."

The fans want to have fun & the Sabres have to give it to them. (Organization & him) Need to listen & be better.

Krebs has another level. He's hungry to get better. ST - what is the message to the fans? We're going to try to get you a team you can get behind. Still a long way to go.

How validating was the Vegas game & what they got from those 2 returning pieces? Vegas game was a playoff level atmosphere so it was a "great growth opportunity."

Always looking to improve. Will try to work on that personally over the summer if he can. (Repeating his long standing mantra) Not looking for quick fixes, so he expects to use all 3 #1 picks.

Beat you for once? That doesn't happen too often. 🍺