Skibum

Is it me, or is this an especially active deadline day for the NHL? I checked in on the Trade Tracker, and was surprised at how much action went down today. Usually it's a big disappointment.

Win-win. Sabres get a much more promising player than the ones they traded away, and Pittsurgh gets Sheary, who played better when he was there. Not sure what Evan Rodrigues gets out of this, though!

At half his salary, I guess it couldn't hurt. I'm guessing at the very least he'll be a good vet to have in the locker room. I love Wayne Simmonds' game in his prime, but I think he may be past it.

This topic is already being discussed in the "Top 10 Hated Sabres" thread. Someone call a Mod.

The last 5-7 years have actually been far better than the 15 prior. Remember such luminaries as Jiri Novotny, Mika Noronen, Marek Zagrapan, Dennis Persson, Artem Kryukov, and Erik Rasmussen?

Wow, give MTL credit. They slapped a fresh coat of paint on Scandella and flipped him like a raised ranch with mildew damage.

OK, remember when they had Ryan O'Reilly and Evander Kane on offense and they still suckt?

Someone needs to get fired. This was billed as a make-or-break 10 game stretch, and the Sabres came out and crapped themselves. This team stinks, still, and I don’t see anything on the horizon that could turn it around. Cozens is only one guy, and he’s 2 years away. Eichel will force a trade by then, or be granted one by way of mercy. Waaaaah.

I'd be all for it if the return was big. I like Dahlin, but I don't see the generational talent level that would make him untouchable. Eichel flashed much more potential at the same stage. There is also a lot of depth on D in the organization at the moment, whereas the forward situation is absolutely grim.

On a more serious note, the state of the Sabres is especially frustrating because you know the Pegulas want nothing more than to build winning teams in Buffalo. I think they are really trying their hardest to get it done, and have certainly shown they are willing to pay for it. It just takes a little luck and good fortune, too, on several fronts, and they haven't had much of that luck on the hockey side of things. Then you look at the Bills, where a lot of things have fallen into place, and you see the proof that they can do it. I believe that as long as Terry and Kim own the franchise, they will eventually have success.

I'm not too optimistic. It seems like for every Olofsson in the Sabres pipeline, there are 5 Mittelstadts. High picks who just fizzle. There are just not enough good, young players with proven NHL-caliber ability. It's a lot of really bad outcomes with top prospects for a really long time.

Finally! I was getting so tired of them being third-rate.

A little goaltending duel tonight.

Settle down, two of those were empty netters last night.

The draft is not going to solve the problem soon enough. They are going to have to improve via free agency and trades; problem is that top free agents don't like to go to teams with entrenched losing cultures, and trading for good players requires having your own surplus of good players. The only viable option may be to trade away some very high draft picks for good players on tanking teams. I don't know how else the current Sabres are going to bring in difference-makers.

Half of the forward group has been basically useless this year. Aside from the top line, the only line that's clicked at all is the checking line. That's two secondary scoring lines that can't score, and a third line that's not supposed to score much anyway. Your $72 million dollar goal scorer has disappeared. You have a bona-fide superstar center and the clock is ticking to build a team around him. I don't see any significant improvements coming down the pipeline for at least 2 years, and that's if the prospects actually pan out. The head coach's visionary rhetoric is starting to sound like a lot of bloviated new-age lip service. Defense has improved dramatically, but half the forwards and half the goalies are flat-out bad. It's just not a good roster, and that's on the GM. He should be on thin ice.

Could just as easily have been an ACL or similar season - ender. At least he’s coming back in time for the.... oh, never mind.

By the way, Olofsson appeared to have wrecked his knee last night. That did not look good. If we're lucky, it's a sprained MCL.

Ha ha, you're right. I was looking at Hockey Reference and mis-read it. He finished 25th for the Selke once. I was wrong, this guy sucks! But really, he's better than most of the bums they're running with right now.

He's been very consistent at 40ish points per season and doesn't miss many games due to injury. He has a Selke trophy in his man cave. He's better than 8 of the current sabres forwards at a similar cap hit to Scandella. It's a start, anyway.

I hope they have a solid acquisition at forward lined up after this. Otherwise, this trade accomplished nothing.

Who the heck would trade anything for these guys? Bogosian is overpriced, injury prone, and looking kinda washed up, while Rodriguez has 0 goals and 3 assists in 24 games, as a FORWARD. You could maybe package Bogosian based on a history of competent play, but Rodriguez's next stop is more likely to be somewhere in the AHL.

The last three sequels were pretty much the exact opposite of the Prequels: Prequels: Great stories that obeyed the laws of the SW universe; spoiled by bad characters, bad directing, and bad scripts. Last three films: Great characters, solid directing and scripts; spoiled by terrible storylines that repeatedly violated the laws of the SW universe. If only George Lucas could have provided the essential narrative and turned it over to a director with vision and chops. That's the formula that helped make Empire the best of the whole franchise.

Fair enough, but I think it's worth a try. What's really missing is a guy who can carry the play on the 2nd line, whether it's a center or a winger. Olofsson is showing that he may be able to do that, and there's only one way to find out. Another option would be to put Olofsson with Skinner on line 2, and (gasp) promote Vesey or Sheary to line 1. Between Eichel's dominance and Reinhart's awareness and slick passing, it's possible that any NHL forward with a modicum of skill could hold down that third spot. Bottom line is there are just not enough pieces present to put together two productive scoring lines. It's a real bummer when the above options are all you have to work with, and at the end of the day, the existing lines are probably as good as it's going to get for now. Last crazy suggestion before I give up: Try Dahlin at Center #2. That still leaves 7 NHL D-men, most of them at least decent.

We might also see some Swedish Black Metal Magic happen between MarJo and VO on line 2. I look at it this way: Skinner played out of his mind with Jack and Sam last year. With the way Jack is playing this year, that line could be making pure hockey porn right now. And again, the second line in its current state is going nowhere. Swapping Skinner for VO isn't going to cost much scoring, because there isn't any scoring to give up. If you don't have a legit #2 C, you might as well load up the top line with the best guys you've got.