Taro T

On the radio pregame yesterday they had an interesting interview w/ Granato. (Are there any other kinds with him?) He talked several subjects, but on the WCs he was asked if he'd be recruiting Sabres to play in it. His response was no, that's what the GM of the team is for. But he also pointed out how important the off-season is for young guys to do their healing/ weight training/ preparation for the next season, so pretty sure he's OK either way on guys like Mittelstadt or Samuelsson playing. If they go, they get extra experience in high level settings, and if they stay, they start recovering & building 2 weeks earlier. Very interesting answer. Also, personally am hoping Johnson gets invited & makes the team so he can have some quality discussion time w/ Don. And, who knows, maybe some of the others on that team might find Buffalo higher on their FA destination lists after getting to know him. Can't hurt, his being there.

Power definitely will be a gem. And right now, with being so far out of the playoffs they have the luxury of putting him in situations that might cost them games because the experience & getting the opportunities to help win games now will pay off down the road. As an example, he made a brilliant play on Tuch's goal in the Blues game and as equally bad a play becoming the 2nd Sabre below the goal line on Tarasenko's 1st goal. Was a big factor in the loss & Krueger would've given him heck for it, but for Granato it's a teaching moment.

That's true for two days. The rebroadcasts of both feeds are available after that buffer on ESPN+. Thanks for adding that. But the question was why DTV CI didn't include the Filly feed but ESPN+ had it. It's because Comcast Filly still doesn't play nice w/ satellite providers. (Not sure if the other 3 Comcast Sports - Chicago, DC, & SJ play nice or not.) And ESPN+ exclusive games drop off their menu of available rebroadcasts after 1 month (or possibly less). So, while you can see other games that were originally primarily distributed via other channels on that package for longer, ESPN+ Exclusive games have a more limited shelf life. [Edit: PS - if you have DTV in the Filly market, there is no local sports network available & you can't watch the game.]

Agree w/ the bolded. Also, he is way harder a worker than people give him credit for. He'll be fine after an off-season of healing up.

When the Sniders owned Comcast they DESPISED satellite TV. So, local Comcast Sports channels weren't included in the DirecTV Sports Package and when regional sports packages were bought by Comcast their deals w/ DTV weren't renewed at expiration. CI contractually was/is obligated to show all out of market games when there is a broadcast feed available, and in the US, except for the HNIC feed, they typically don't include the Canadian feed when US based teams play Canadian ones, so DTV CI gets the Phlyers feed for games against Canadian teams, but only against Canadian teams. So, if you are a DTV subscriber in Filly, you are SOL if you want to watch a Phlyers game on DTV. (Out of market broadcast blacked out, no Filly broadcast available.) They have no issues w/ other cable companies. And ESPN+ contract w/ the NHL is for both home & away local feeds (for US based teams, will have to check their lineup to see if Canadian feeds for cross border games end up there or not) that aren't carried on TNT, so Comcast can't black that Filly out. So, that's why you can get the Filly feed on ESPN+ or Spectrum or other cable providers but not DTV or Dish. (Presuming Dish still carries CI.)

Combination of his hockey IQ and his ambivalence at best of wanting to remain a Sabre.

Don't have time to transcribe all my notes, but some other things mentioned (for the most part in the order they came up): When asked about the RJ Night 2 comments stood out to me, 1. he mentioned that it gave the players a history lesson and 2. a disconnect had developed between the players & the fans and they need to get everybody back on the same page. He also mentioned how the players really embraced both that Nashville game & the Vegas game. He spoke about culture quite a bit. "You have to get it right with the right people & culture and you need that before you see the results (we're looking for)." And paraphrasing: we have to get the process of the game right then the results will come. He says this team has that culture. (This kid would agree.) He talked about the maturity some of the young players are displaying. Specifically, he spoke of Dahlin pushing back against top lines and how Cozens game is maturing (and they specifically told him not to worry about goals & assists at this point - they'll come as he plays the right way). He also spoke highly of how hard Samuelsson is to play against & how players will alter what they're doing to avoid him. Likes how mistakes that were being made earlier in the season have been corrected. But they still have a long way to go. The execution needs to be quicker. Was really excited about the murderers row coming up on the schedule both to see where they are and because it'd force them to improve. Their (management's) task is to figure out which guys will be the core & who will be the surrounding cast. He spoke specifically of having some of the vets this year for their leadership: Anderson "he's like another coach in practice;" Pysyk, Hinostroza, Okposo, and Girgensons. "Zemgus Girgensons is one of us." (Sorry, GA, just reporting not writing it. 😉 ) Spoke specifically how the young guys development can't be rushed - specially spoke of Power, Quinn, & Peterka. He & his development guys were trying to let Power & the others stay focused on their moment (NCAAs, WJC, Frozen 4, etc.) But he and Terry were going to the Frozen 4. (Remember, this event was post his knowing Levi was going back to school but prior to Portillo making his decision.) He's very excited for both. Spoke highly of Levi's habits and reactions since at least his mid-teens. Portillo was Michigan's MVP per the coach. They were going to speak to Johnson after the tourney. Said Coach Mosko called Huglin Minnesota's MVP. Spoke of how he didn't see a rush to get any of them out of school. Said Krebs started in Rochester to "let him catch his breath." And they kept him up because he was getting enough touches in Buffalo to be continuing his development. Gave his thoughts on how to make Buffalo a "hockey destination." A large part of it comes back to guys wanting to be in a hockey market & having no egos (goes for players & management). He was asked if player agents were seeing Buffalo as a good place to be & told a couple of positive anecdotes. Adams is "trying to be true to himself." Treat people well & be honest. Says this is a critical draft for the Sabres (well, duh 😉 ). Looking for players that are curious (in how to get better) & that are self aware. Singled out Power & Quinn as guys that are exemplary in both aspects. Wants the scouts to look for players that want to be better. Competitive w/ a high hockey IQ. "Always bet on the smart ones." (Not stated by him, but Ristolainen was never meant to be long here under his admin.) He also spoke of how he thinks late developers have higher hockey IQ's because they've had to rely on understanding the game to compete w/ guys that developed quicker. He isn't looking for ST make us better moves. Has to benefit the LT as well. He does want to add an established D-man. Said the strength & conditioning program is individualized to each player. And they have sports science team looking at each player each practice and each game. Said the Sabres hadn't earned having the fans fully back on their side yet but they're working towards it. Said Thompson moving to C was ENTIRELY on Granato. Said Skinner's resurgence was on Jeff & the coaches. Was really excited after last season's exit interviews because the young guys all wanted to be here & wanted to get it right here & knew it wasn't good enough. There were a few other things discussed, but that's the bulk of it. Expect most of this was already out there from other interviews. But hopefully there's something new among the various nuggets.

They may not have to, but the city skyline is on their chrome domes. Just sayin' ...

Would agree w/ the bolded. The team definitely has an identity of fast and if the youth continues to develop skilled should also be an accurate descriptor. But, though there are some small guys like Skinner, Bryson, Krebs, & even Fitzgerald that doesn't seem to be defining especially on a team w/ Thompson, Tuch, Power, Dahlin, Samuelsson, Okposo, Girgensons, & Cozens.

Hopefully Hoppe's article is not just technically accurate (R2 Rou2 hasn't signed in Switzerland YET) but that he'll actually re-sign. He's too small for 4th line duty & there's a serious log jam above that, but could see him being part of a trade package to a team that's tight against the cap w/ most of the players longer in the tooth. And if he ISN'T part of a trade package, he's been a high level AHLer & he can replace a guy that IS part of a trade package.

Correct. It was "that 70's Line." Maybe. Hard to say. Filly's been hot garbage since trading Giroux. (Not that they were good before that, but ... )

Thought it was just Connolly that the league said couldn't play in the playoffs if he didn't get activated in the RS because he hadn't played any games that year coming off his Schaefer fun. (Could definitely be misremembering.)

Th event was actually pretty interesting. Adams answered questions from Duff for about 45 minutes then took Q's from the attendees for ~ half an hour more. Will try to track my notes to give a more thorough update tomorrow, but some points that stood out were: Adams highlighting (it was actually a recurring theme) that when evaluating a player he looks for whether the player is someone you want in a game 7 and whether he wants to be in Buffalo. He wants any moves to make sense both ST and LT. He would like to bring in a RHD but would also like to add a F or 2 as well & a goalie. Regarding the goalie, he feels they're in good shape LT but need a "bridge" guy. He does plan to talk to Anderson after the season & if he wants to play again, he will try to bring him back. (My impression of his comments was that he'd be OK w/ Andy & UPL if he can't find the right deal for someone better. Hope that isn't an accurate reading.) He's happy w/ the analytics group, but would like to add 1 development coach & 1 scout. Talked about how he feels 1 of his strengths is having honest conversations w/ his players & others. If that's an accurate read, then his not being worried about the 3 big college prospects not coming out this spring is reasonable IMHO. He told us Levi was heading back to school (not news now, but a week & a 1/2 ago it was). There was a lot of other stuff he covered, but want to recheck my notes to make sure the items are accurately summarized. PS - The guy there w/ Skinner at the 1st one (the Zoom 1) was Mittelstadt, not Krebs.

Thanks again, Inky. Good time. Bad hockey, but a good time.

Actually, for a long time the Sabres home games have fallen w/ ~ a 50/50 Monday-Thursday and Friday-Sunday split. Including games scheduled on holidays usually skews it to slightly more weekends. Fridays don't help folks like you traveling 7+ hours, but they work for those of us w/in 2 hours of the rink. Can't realistically see the Canadian governments (federal down to locals) keeping the border effectively shut through another winter, but who knows. And pretty sure restrictions have been significantly relaxed already, but way to late to get people that were guaranteed the ability to renew their seats next year with no penalties to bother to jump through even minor hoops to attend games this "non-tanking tank" season.

But aren't Chechen soldiers fighting for Russia the equivalent of Puerto Ricans fighting for the US? Chechnya IS a part of the Russian federation.

e4

Can't believe he's behind them. But, if there are nibbles on any of them can see them staying in the lineup ahead of him. Also, can see Quinn going back down for "conditioning" to stretch from hitting his 10th game.

Miller was practicing today? Not Butcher?

You're likely right about the bolded, but the teams on those guys wish lists might not have the cap space to give them what they're worth, so that overpay necessary to woo them might not be as much as in a normal year. Plus, any guys they're looking for wouldn't be the high end top line/top pairing guys (hoping G, whether by FA or trade is an exception), but rather middle 6/ 2nd pairing types. Hate that they don't have a real goalie right now, because getting back to even winning 1/2 their games could go a long way towards convincing someone they are on the right track.

Were he not recovering from injury would agree. But he doesn't seem to trust his surgical repairs yet & bumping over to wing should ease his workload while getting back into the swing of things. Wouldn't be surprised to see him take the faceoffs though. Except for that one at the end of the Blues game vs ROR, he hasn't lost many since coming back. Also, it gives them an opportunity to see how ready for C at this level Krebs is.

Miller or Butcher?

Yep. Every single game is there. And they stay in the library for about a month (maybe a little less).

Not interested in having an out of town Hammister taking over. We dodged 1 bullet. No thanks to the possibility of another.

There WILL be goalies available. Adams won't have to give up Quinn, Peterka, & a pick to get a good one. And nobody said it has to be a Price brought in. They've got what is said to be a top notch analytics department & one of the best respected goalie coaches in the league. That Adams has done nothing in the immediate term to solve goaltending doesn't mean it's not possible for him to do something about it. Heck, grabbing Levi gives hope that he actually knows what a legit goalie looks like. IF he still does nothing this off-season, common sense says it's not a priority to him. And with attendance where it is, that'll be beyond arrogant, should it pass.