Taro T

The *'s mean the stat improved/decreased in actual count but decreased/improved in overall rank. (e.g., fewer total shots blocked but moved from 27th in the league up to 24th in the league.)

Here's to hoping. But expect that's a role he'd probably keep a hand in if he does bump up to PoHO (or whatever title). New GM'll work out the deal with another GM for trades and choosing who should be the 23 on the roster (w/ input from Ruff for the latter); but could see Adams still being a key principle in contracts.

Ruff's answers about UPL suggest that at a minimum Wilford is Dead Man Walking. Ruff's pointing out that the PP got better, and was significantly refocused to movement down the season, seems to indicate that Appert will be back. (Mother trucker.) Ruff also mentioned he thought Kulich was very good defensively as the 1C. Didn't focus on his play there for long stretches, but did focus on him more in the last week and especially the last 2 games; and he was SERIOUSLY overmatched and out of his element going up against the other team's top lines. Will admit he seemed to be better at it earlier in the year. But teams at the end simply started having guys fly past him and Juri was having issues getting into their way. VERY disappointed in Ruff's answers. Knew we wouldn't get anything useful out of Adams' answers.

His answer at the time they did trade for Byram was that he was brought in to be Dahlin's partner. He's also been pretty consistent since about saying he needs to find a partner for Power. At the B&GI w/ STHers after Ruff was brought in, Ruff said he expected Dahlin to play with multiple partners, but he mentioned Power and Samuelsson specifically. And this year, after Muel wasn't ready for top line duty, they ended up with Dahlin & Byram as a pair for a significant chunk of the season. Around the trade deadline, they started moving Byram around and never paired him back w/ Dahilin for any significant time. Adams was also evasive about what sort of contract he's looking to sign Byram to. Personally, am expecting the answers about Byram today were about the fact that there's a really good chance that Byram gets traded.

What if they're both at it?

So, you're saying he's average.

No Michael Peca fired announcement? 😞

Watched that game this AM. Other than the players names being different, seemed very much a replay of Tuesday night's game in Buffalo. They played well enough to have scored enough to win, but couldn't beat a hot goalie and when they did have the goalie out of position found ways to not get a shot onto net. The good guy's goalie played very well, but was outplayed by the TO goalie. Wonder if in the 2nd row of the 200's on the red line, there was an annoying Canucklehead kid and his dad both wearing TO jammies with grandpa along for the ride yammering how he'd really like to see OT all while the kid screams at a frequency just barely audible to non-dogs "Rochester you suck" over and over and over?

Am interested in Ruff's take on the season and how to move forward. Not nearly as interested in Adams' takes, though unless @Brawndo is right (and when isn't he?) he'll be the one making the moves to try to right the ship. Ruff was a straight shooter at the B&GI's. Expecting he'll be one again. Adams will say this is unacceptable and he himself has to be better and the whole organization needs to be better. He'll say he's willing to do anything at all to make things better. Though we have 5 years of history showing that there are things he ISN'T willing to do (he wasn't willing to weaponize cap space, which he will no longer have nearly as much as in the past; and he wasn't willing to use an offer sheet on an RFA; not expecting either of those to change). But would love to have Adams say that his role is changing. So, guess there is something to see if he'll say.

The same reason why they aren't sitting on at a minimum 4 extra 2nd round picks for being the intermediary in some Cap complying deadline day trades and off-season (other team) Cap dump trades. Likely they'd had better capital returned out of those moves were the owner and GM willing; and wouldn't it be great to have had an extra Savoie or 2 to convert into another McLeod or an extra 2nd rounder or 2 to land an extra Malenstyn without affecting their existing pipeline in any way shape or form. Oh well, what might've been.

Danke. And he's already into/through that 5-8 week of being shut down. Were they going to go the surgery route would hope they'd've already done it by now. So give him the typical month or so beyond that which players typically take off to get over the ordinary aches and pains of 7 months and 82 (or 50ish) games and come back fully healthy. At least until the next injury keeps him out for 15-30. Regardless of whether he actually can play a full 82, it'd be foolhardy for the Sabres to assume he'll play at least 75. He's not Mark Stone (doesn't seem to be nearly the player Stone is, though Norris is good), but the Sabres should be treating him like their very own Mark Stone.

You may already know this, if so, apologies for the repeated info, but back before Covid struck, the Sabres were having a design firm work up concepts for a MAJOR reworking of the MMArena. So, that pivot is more of a turning back towards where they wanted to be anyway.

Seems like something that shouldn't be chronic. Was hoping that his injury was something that rest would allow to heal. With no details about it, would expect it fits that bill. Hoping they're smart enough to plan the roster as if he isn't available, so that when he is available they're that much better that what they'd planned. Doubt they are, but at this point of the off-season, hope springs eternal.

Should they get past Syracuse, and they should, the Laval series could be epic. Pretty sure the Habs will be out of the playoffs by the time the Amerks and Rocket meet up.

No. They were abysmal when Dahlin was out. Leading 4-1 over the Avs; blew that game in less than a period and lost 9 more waiting for him to come back. They were bad when Zucker was out and were up and down when Greenway was out.

Even if both those 2 weren't saying it; there HAS to be change. But, since Brandon and a few others got let go from the Pegula Empire, there hasn't been much accurate info regarding trades and draft picks coming out of that Empire since. Chatter is just that; doubt any of it is sourced from within 1SHKIIIP.

Heck, Ruff hadn't done anything to warrant being a HC back nearly 30 years ago other than having been a Sabre Captain with a pretty relentless drive and a short stint as an AC in the NHL. It's possible that Peca would stink; but doubt it. He was an undersized guy for his role as a player and was one of the best defensive players in the game in his time who could still contribute reasonable scoring in the dead puck era. He both understands the game and is a leader. He also wasn't afraid to stand up for what he though was right, which is why he was dealt out of Buffalo as a player way back when too. Given that we seem to be locked into having Ruff back as coach, and all the baggage that SEEMS to come with the 14 years in the desert, and having seen the current staff's results in action; expect they could do a lot worse than Peca if they make changes.

In large part they will run it back. But they CAN'T (they really can't, right?) be planning on having a team that if everything goes right then they could sneak into the playoffs; so they can't just run it back. Goaltending has to be set. It's possible that UPL will regain a year ago's January form; but even Adams doesn't seem to expect that. In that GR interview he said he really believes UPL CAN BE a top 15 goalie. Top 15 isn't where he was there (it was actually better than that; he was like top 5 when he was in his all too brief grove); but it seems telling that the GM views that as the ceiling he's willing to expect publicly. It's possible that Reimer can do what he did down the stretch; but expect the odds are better that some regular from this board ends up winning the Sabres alumni's 50-50 draw opening night. Levi still is likely the future, but can't believe Ruff will go along with gifting him the starter's role heading into camp. So, they pretty much have to either spend player/prospect capital on a guy that has been a top 15 (or more ideally top 10); or spend capspace on a FA that'll be more of a crapshoot. Personally would trade UPL in either a different deal or in the deal for that guy that is reasonably proven and bring in a Reimer to back him up with Levi biding his time 1 more year; or would trade Levi in that package (that one would hurt, personally) and pencil in UPL as the backup. Would do what it takes to get another top 6F in house (ideally a C, but a W can do) and would also bring in another Greenway caliber player. Would also finally get a partner to play with Power. They may see Bernard-Docker as that guy; but personally would rather see more of a vet for that role. Expect Byram and Peterka will be pieces going out the door to make some of these other moves that are necesary; but not happy about losing either (Byram because Power will probably take 1/2 a season to get even to where he was and it likely means that Samuelsson is back with Dahlin next year; and Peterka because he's fun to watch). Lines would be something like: Kulich - New Guy - Thompson Zucker - McLeod - Tuch Benson - Krebs - New Guy 2 Malenstyn - Lafferty - Kozak Spares - Norris (when in, bumps Kulich to 2nd Line and McLeod and Krebs each down 1 line with Lafferty or Kozak odd man out) and Greenway who bumps New Guy 2 to 4th line and Lafferty or Kozak out of the lineup) and because one of those 2 will almost always be out, normal spare is Quinn or a kid called up from Ra-cha-cha. Samuelsson - Dahlin Power - New Guy Bernard-Docker - Clifton Spare - Bryson (yuck) Maybe give New Guy to Dahlin and slide B-D to 2nd pairing and Muel to Clifton pairing with bottom 2 pairings effectively 2/3 interchangeably New Guy 3 Luukkonnen With all new assistant coaches who can actually implement a defensive system and run a PP that isn't bottom 5; is that enough to get into the dance?

WHEN HEALTHY, sure, it'd be fine to have Norris on the top line. You know, we know, Adams knows, and Ruff knows they can expect to have him for ~50 games but can't EXPECT him available for 1 game more than that. So, they need to enter the season with a guy they aren't just hopeful that he can be adequate in that role when Norris is out but expect that he can actually be good in that role when Norris is out. (And notice, not IF Norris is out, but WHEN Norris is out.) They'll probably get close to 120 games out of Norris and Greenway combined; but they HAVE to build a roster that doesn't NEED either of them in it to be effective. It'll be a challenge because those 2 combine for a lot of salary cap; but it isn't impossible. They'll have Benson, Kulich, and Krebs in the 12 and none of them will be making much and they'll also still have Malenstyn in the bottom 6 along with Lafferty (he can't be as bad next season as he was the 1st 75 this year, right?) and somebody else not making much money. And courtesy of Norris' 30 or so missed games and Greenway's 20+ missed there'll be a lot of opportunity to tap into LTIR should the need arise. Trade Byram for a top 6W or trade some package for a top 6C and then either sliding Thompson to C when Norris is out or having some combination of Kulich/McLeod the 2C when Norris is out and you'd likely be able to still have an effective F group as you'd have Tuch and Zucker also in your top 6 and sliding Benson into the 2nd line for 30-40 games should still leave you OK in the top 6 and other guys could slide into there for a couple of games (maybe you'll even get lucky and have Greenway available when Norris isn't available). Don't really want to trade Byram (especially with Power's early season quality of play in question) but they can't go into the season with Norris pencilled in as the 1C for 76 or so games. Past history says he won't get close to that many games in. Bring in another vet for the middle 6 via FA or via trade of a 2nd round pick and then figure out what to do with the last bottom 6 slot those games that Greenway will be out or somebody else is out and your're ok there.

Would be perfectly fine with giving Peca a shot on this staff if Ruff wants him here. He CAN'T be any worse than the bozos they've had working for Granato and Ruff the past 4 years. Would REALLY like to see them add 3 or 4 highly rated younger coaches with them knowing that one of them will be Ruff's replacement after the season. (And yes, know THAT won't happen; but they should be able to find at least one and likely 2 that would be significantly better than "heir apparent" Seth friggin' Appert.) Hoping they clean house. Believe it's possible they'll clean house. Will believe it'll actually happen when they tell us they've actually cleaned house. (And Adams has shown a willingness to do so in the past. Granted, it wasn't of staff he'd had a hand in bringing in; but he's been the architect of a rather deep house cleaning already. And personally, don't see Adams getting punted this off-season. But what a rush it would be if that expectation isn't correct.)

Not thrilled at the thought of Reimer coming back next year UNLESS UPL has been traded and they've brought in somebody else to be the presumptive #1. Would still rather they get someone younger; but if Reimer wants to be back and he's CLEARLY pencilled in as the #2 behinds somebody that would be viewed outside SHK III Plaza to be a legit #1, he'd be a decent plan B or C for the backup role.

The 4 game losing streak came after the "early renewal" period. So, doubt THAT factors in much at all as to whether people renew or not. As for the compete (intensity) level; fix the coaching and you'll fix a lot of the compete issues. Moving towards the median on team age would help in that regard as well. Fixing the goaltending too would be hitting the trifecta. Know Ruff would like to see the 2nd item addressed, he's pretty much advocated for hit; expect he'd like to see the 1st and 3rd addressed as well though haven't heard him actually state it out loud.

Fair read. Another thing that was interesting at the B&GI's was Ruff saying (and am paraphrasing here) when asked about leadership from the players (in relation to 1 of the leaders getting traded and another being healthy scratched earlier in the year) that things look different from inside the organization than from outside and his preconceived notions on some of the players that he'd developed from playing against them were off. And he did mention how the team did have a lot of leadership, mentioning Greenway and Zucker by name as guys that helped the team's leadership group; personally got the impression that if he had it to do over again he'd likely have either just gone with Dahlin, Tuch, and Thompson as the captains (C,A,A) or added the other 2 mentioned to those 3.

Can't and won't speak for anyone else, but after Quinn got Peterka's 2nd goal called back for goalie interference and then Tuch got called for the trip with ~2:26 to go that the game was going to be a complete microcosm of the Sabres season. Came out of the gate much better than the opponent. Got kinda lulled to sleep in the 2nd period after building up a 4-1 lead in a game the opponent was ready to just quit especially had the Sabres scored on the PP to make it a 5-1 game; but instead they gave up about 4 glorious chances on their own PP and eventually gave up a shortie on it and then let Filly score right off the opening faceoff in the 3rd to make it a game. REALLY expected Filly to tie in, especially when the puck bounced to Michkov (sp?) in front of Reimer in the last minute; and then to lose in OT. But they hung on and Alex Tuch's special night didn't get ruined. (And, turns out Ruff got the 900th win of his career. Should've happend against the Loafs, but that night their goalie stood on his head when the Sabres weren't fumbling away chances that he'd've had no humanly possible chance to stop. Hoping THAT's all out of his system; the Loafs going on a deep run would really stink. F them AND ESPECIALLY their fans.) Cheered them on; but really hope some major changes to the coaching staff happen this off-season; a defensive minded / 2 way D-man is brought in to partner w/ Power should he get back healthy from the leg; a veteran top 6 guy come in (ala Zucker); a veteran middle 6 guy (ala Greenway) come in; and they bring somebody in to be the pencilled in starter. They can't go into next season with any of the 3 they have now just given the reins. (Hoping now that Miller seems to have more ties to the team/organization again that he gives UPL the number of his sports psychologist, couldn't hurt any.) AND that they figure out a legit plan for handling 1C when Norris is out the 30 or so games he's going to miss. Kulich showed this week that he simply can't be that guy at this point in his career against legit true NHL #1 lines.

Wadr, don't believe it was anywhere close to 50-50. Would say it was 3 or 4 -1 Loafs fans to Sabres fans. Though it was interesting to see ~1,500 or so empty seats. Not sure if it was because it was a Tuesday and folks had to work the next day so didn't want to drive down or some other reason; but it seemed to be the most empty the barn was for Sabres - Loafs in years. (And, its been a while since this kid's been to a weeknight Loafs game; so maybe it was a standard issue crowd. Always go to the ones on the weekend; and those are fully packed.) As for the "covert mission of ... diplomacy" am quite convinced everybody in our section was (at least all the Yanks were) definitely part of it as there was a grandfather, father, and 7 year old kid that were doing their darnedess to let the kid cause all their arses to be kicked but that didn't happen. The kid's screaming non-stop at the top of his lungs in a voice that was only about 2 octaves higher than Victoria Jackson's SNL personas for his team was annoying, but nothing out of the norm. (And hey, you have a ticket, cheer away.) BUT his spending the better part of the second 1/2 of the game screaming "Buffalo you suck" repetitively was starting to get a wee bit annoying by the end. Not surprising the dad was wearing the same Loafs jammies as sonny boy. Just shocked he wasn't wearing a hockey helmet up in the 300's to go with the jammies.