fiftyone

Agreed. That third line looks like a disaster to me too. I think avoiding something that looks like that is the reason that RK has the talent a bit spread out.

We're 3-1-2 in our last six games, capturing 8 of a possible 12 points. 6 of our 8 games this year have been against teams that are a combined 10-2-4. Last night's game was bad, but the sentiment in this thread doesn't seem to reflect reality for the season as a whole.

Agree on that much. Optics -- not so good.

People are making way too much of this "not coaching" thing IMO. I get it, if you don't like RK then this is about as good a one-liner that you can have to use as ammo against him, but c'mon. It's the team's first game in almost a year - play on instinct and get the feel of playing hockey again as opposed to getting grilled on the tiny details right off the bat. I don't think it's crazy or uncommon to the rest of the league. His biggest mistake was letting it go public.

Thoughts on NHL.tv vs Center Ice? If you get NHL.tv and want to watch on your TV, you can't do that without that app, is that correct?

Bah. I have ESPN+ so that's fine, but i'd unquestionably buy center ice early to hear RJ call it.

Assuming RJ is on the call today? Does anyone have any reason to believe he won't be?

Good question. I'm not sure that i've seen enough of all of them to be able to comment confidently, though Zegras and Cozens took center stage the last couple weeks to make that comparison a bit easier. To your point though, it doesn't seem that there is much separation. I'd say Zegras may jump up the board the most. We know that we think Cozens will be strong, and i've read good things about Seider. I think Hughes and Kakko will be fine, even with their underwhelming rookie years.

If you could re-do the 2019 draft today, what does everyone think the Sabres would do if both Cozens and Zegras were available at 7? Still Cozens? I don't know what i'd do myself, and somewhat of a crazy question after Cozens led Canada in scoring, but Zegras has kind of a different look to him IMO. Maybe not the presence on both ends of the ice that Cozens has, and surely the "flash" factor plays a role in potentially overrating Zegras, but you'd have to seriously consider both guys I'd think. Edit: Not meant to be a "Sabres suck at drafting" post -- just that I remember there was some conversation about this when we made the pick, and the WJC rekindled it a bit.

Admittedly I don't know much about Rieder's game, but what do we think the plan is for the 4th line? It doesn't seem to be a traditional "banger" line if Thompson/Cozens are possibilities there. Doesn't seem like it's going to be an offensively focused line if Rieder is part of it. Just a mashup of our best remaining forwards? Spots filled by PKers and high potential youngsters? A little bit of everything?

Thanks both plus NS. To the bolded, completely understood. I guess i'm trying to get a feel for how he comares to his own teammates because that's who we'll be comparing him to in the NHL for the next decade. Tough to do vs guys a year behind like Byfield and Perfetti, sure.

For those who have been watching, has Cozens been Canada's best forward (player?)?

All fair. I too wondered about Sanderson, seems like a good guess as to someone taken above them that they may have liked. Also wonder how close Perfetti and Rossi were to making them change their mind. Anyone know how many episodes there are going to be of this?

I know specific names are something they would never divulge, but I just wish we could hear what scenarios would have had to have played out for us not to pick Quinn? Who falling to 8 would have changed the pick? Or who was next if Quinn was gone? What was that offer for the 8th pick that he said no to on the phone? Good series, but opens up so many more questions.

Good episode. I also like seeing and hearing the inner workings of these kinds of things. Couple questions/thoughts: 1. They mentioned Irwin and Reider were guys they had done their homework on and they wanted to make offers to if they were there. I wish we had a little more info on that -- what about those two exactly did they like so much relative to what else was out there? 2. The involvement of Terry and Kim - how normal is that among the other GMs out there calling free agents, I wonder? Kevyn didn't show anything one way or another, but I wonder what his thoughts are as they chimed in during the call with Hall. Of course they own the team and can do whatever they want, but at what point does he think they are hurting the process as opposed to aiding it? 3. Like dudacek, would have liked to hear a bit more about other players they were after and talked to. Maybe even a bit of that last call with the agent, though I see why that was left out. Even noticed the whiteboard was edited out so we couldn't see what was written there.

Hasek. But those mid-2000s teams were when I really got into the team. Max was fun but frustrating like someone mentioned and Briere was always a favorite. But i'll go Brian Campbell (hence the name). The smooth skating offensive defenseman who could also hit RJ Umberger so hard that he had no idea where he was..

I know it's tough to read a goalie based purely on numbers because they're highly dependent on the team in front of them, but with that said - not much about Rittich's stat line makes me think he's the upgrade in net that we're looking for.

To me it's the totality of the situation that's somewhat disappointing thus far. Risking (at best) Kahun while potentially (at best) overpaying for Girgensons doesn't feel like a good start to improving the team.

I suppose that we should allow for the possibility that he actually isn't as valuable in the opinion of the professional talent evaluators as he is by a few on this board though, no?

I wonder if the decision becomes difficult if Drysdale is there -- someone who they probably expected to be long gone for much of this process.

For what it's worth, Draftkings sportsbook odds have Sanderson as the heavy favorite to go at 5. Better odds than Raymond, Drysdale, Rossi, Askarov, etc.

The Kane deal was announced at 2:30 pm, that doesn't mean the deal was negotiated at 2:30 pm. Actually, it's more probable that it was the opposite of what you're saying -- that it was negotiated earlier and JBot did shop the SJ deal around to other teams and he didn't receive a better offer.

Thanks everyone. Best place downtown to have a few bloody mary's before the game tomorrow morning with breakfast?

Thanks all. Plenty of options for breweries/pubs and food. What about nightlife? Anything in the area of the arena?

Thanks, appreciate it. I've heard about Duff's (which you did mention I see), Pearl Street, and Anchor(i think ?) for wings. Are those just touristy spots that aren't really as good as the Gabriel's and Thirsty Buffalo?