nfreeman

Not many chances but pretty tight and competitive so far. The arena is pretty nice. Good crowd too. A decent number of Sabres fans but fewer than at other road games I’ve been to at NJ and DC.

Good number of Sabres fans on the train.

My guess is that JJP sits. Runnerup is VO.

Not sure whether you were joking here, but this is a very real possibility. Mitts turns 25 in November, DG speaks highly of him, and it's quite possible that Mitts stays on Cozens' wing and continues to play well and improve through the rest of the season. I can definitely see KA deciding to make a TT-type move and extend Mitts while his value is perhaps a bit discounted -- of course at a lower price than TT got. I don't think I would give him an extension if I were in KA's shoes, but I wouldn't be surprised.

To be clear, my use of “maybe” in “he’s a jerk” was meant to indicate that the criticism he’s been receiving could relate to personal failings that he may have. Certainly he could be free of those failings. Based on the amount and number of sources of the criticism, I would guess that he has those failings in spades, but you are right that it’s just a guess.

Good call. He's an RFA after next season, so they have time to see how he continues to develop before they are forced to make a decision. This certainly could be the outcome, but it's far from certain that any of JJP, Savoie, Kulich, Rosen, Östlund, etc. will be good enough to displace Mitts, especially if he continues to develop. Separately: as to the OP, my view on Mitts, like on most young players, has been that although disappointing, the Sabres shouldn't rush to dump him until they are forced to make a decision due to contract status or roster pinch. Having said that, I have been pretty skeptical that he was going to develop into a viable NHL player -- and in that sense, yes, my mind has changed. He's improved quite a bit in his decisions and his strength on the puck even over the course of this season, to the point where is usually a net positive, and IMHO has played the best hockey of his career since being moved to Cozens' wing. He still frequently makes boneheaded decisions, and his goalscoring needs to improve, but I can see him continuing to improve under DM to the point where I am very happy for him to be Cozens' permanent LW -- and a few months ago I sure didn't think I would ever feel that way about him. I wouldn't expect the Sabres to give him an extension this summer, especially because he's an RFA after next season, but it's quite possible that he'll continue to develop and play well enough next year to earn one. And if that happens, Kulich, Savoie, etc will need to be pretty GD impressive to displace him.

I'll do what I can. And I need to get a Rico jersey. Tonight I'm wearing a white Tyler Myers jersey (a questionable choice, I know, but it was a birthday gift from my family, my son is wearing my Ryan Miller jersey, I can't seem to find my Pominville jersey and my only other one is an alternate red Stu Barnes jersey, which I really like, but I wanted to wear one of the current colors).

Well, I'm attending my first in-person Sabres game tonight since pre-pandemic. It will also be my first visit to the Islanders' new arena (it's much easier to get to the new arena than the old one is, as the new one is a 10-minute walk from an LIRR station, which is about a 30-min train ride from Penn Station in NYC, while the old one had no train accessibility). This is also the first meaningful Sabres game I've attended in who TF knows how long. Go Sabres.

...or maybe it's because MH has, for his entire adult life, been a jerk who treats other people poorly, and when you behave like that, sooner or later some of those people will take the opportunity to roast you. Surely you will admit that the number of people who have publicly criticized MH means something?

Perhaps she shouldn't have been encouraged, and kids certainly are treated with greater deference now than we were at that age, but that still doesn't excuse MH's behavior. Most adults in that situation would either ignore her or be nice. Only a small minority would go out of their way to shoo her away. Of that minority, I think a pretty good percentage are likely to be all-around jerks -- and in MH's case, there is corroboration from his former co-workers, to say nothing of the guy on twitter who was allegedly the girl's dad.

I am enjoying DD and Rayzor much more than in previous years -- no doubt due to the Sabres being a better team, but I also think DD and Rayzor have both improved. I'm at the point where I enjoy their work.

I think this is one of those situations where more than 1 thing can be true: - This, and Harrington's potshot at the kid PA announcer the other day, weren't firing offenses - Cancel culture can, and frequently does, go crazy, with destructive and irrational results - Harrington is an unkind jerk

I take it you didn't watch Game of Thrones? This was an all-timer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQttmDBqf5g

JJP is playing better than Vinnie and VO. It should be one of the latter 2. I'd guess VO sits but it could go either way. A related question is: whom does Greenway play with? I'm guessing he goes with Cozens and Mitts, with Vinnie either sitting out or taking VO's spot with Krebs and JJP. Either way, I'm looking forward to the next couple of games.

Welcome, but don't come rolling in here and calling people's takes idiotic. "Tone-deaf" is putting it mildly. Harrington, not always but too often, gives off a bitter, unkind edge. WTF is his problem here? Criticizing a child on one of the biggest days of that kid's life? I'll say it: it's time to give Comrie a chance at the top slot. He's gotten 5 starts since returning from injury and won his last 4. I agree with darthebriate that he should start on Monday vs Edmonton, and if they win, he should take Tuesday off and then get the following game. Without even checking, I'm quite confident that's not the reason you got suspended.

KA said, in his presser yesterday, that DG said "I know there is more to this player" and "I believe this is a really important player for us."

My grade is a B. I like both of the guys they brought in. They both address team needs, both add edge and toughness, which were deficiencies, and both fit the Sabres' timeline and are presumably good fits in the room. I think it's reasonably likely that Stillman displaces Bryson in the top 6 and very likely that Greenway displaces Vinnie in the top 9. An A would've required getting a top-4 D or top-6 F, in either case at a reasonable price. As I've mentioned previously, I wouldn't have wanted the Sabres to give up Kulich, Savoie or their #1 this year for any of the D who were traded this year (or any of the Fs, for that matter, other than Meier, and I don't think I would've wanted Meier either because of the contract he'll require). A #1 G would've been exciting, to be sure, but probably better on paper than on the ice -- I can't think of a #1 G who was acquired at the deadline in any season and who made a big difference for the acquiring team. I remember when the Sabres traded Miller to STL, his effect was much less than expected and there was a fair amount of talk from STL about the difficulties in adjusting on the fly to a new goalie. Also, getting a #3 back for Portillo was a good move.

This is obnoxious.

I generally agree with Taro’s lines above and would just add that the more immediate question is what the lines look like until Tuch returns, which could be a while. I’d guess: Skinner - Thompson - Quinn Mittelstadt - Cozens - VO Greenway - Krebs - JJP Girgensons - Jost - Okposo I think JJP has started to play stronger on the puck and more confidently in the past few games, so I think he’ll stay in. I could see Vinny playing instead of VO if VO doesn’t pick it up though.

From the Athletic: What the Sabres need is defensive might and plenty of it. That’s Greenway’s bread and butter and that’s continued this season even as his offensive game completely falls apart. Greenway was third fiddle on the GREEF line, Minnesota’s vaunted shutdown trio that terrorized opponents defensively over the past several seasons. Over the last two seasons, the Wild have allowed 0.12 fewer expected goals against per 60 with Greenway on the ice and just two expected goals against. ... Greenway is one of the league’s best forecheckers and this year leads all forwards with 6.9 recovered dump-ins per 60 according to data tracked by Corey Sznajder. ... Greenway is a solid middle-six player and one who should start producing more than he has this season. In the past, he’s been closer to a 35-point player and that’s not an unfair expectation for him in Buffalo’s high-octane system. That, plus his strong defensive game and forechecking ability is a nice addition for Buffalo. ... Prior to this year he showed a lot of NHL promise as a huge wing who skated quite well for a big man, had secondary skill and played hard. ... While I didn’t think another forward was Buffalo’s biggest need as one of the league’s best offenses, getting a forward with size and snarl is something they lack, both on their big club and in their farm system. Greenway has term and a reasonable cap hit. This is a gamble by the Sabres that Greenway will at least somewhat find his prior form and become a good complimentary player in their lineup.

So, Greenway is 6'6", 231 lbs and turned 26 a couple of weeks ago. Minny drafted him in the 2nd round in 2015, the same year that Eichel went #2 overall, and then replaced Jack at BU, where he played 3 seasons, starting in 2015-16 (all of which were better than Eichel's year there, even if it doesn't show in the stats). He was a pretty good scorer at BU, with 31 pts in 37 games as a sophomore, and 35 pts in 36 games as a junior. During his sophomore season, he played for the gold-winning US team at the World Juniors. The following year, as a junior, he led BU in scoring -- and BU won the Hockey East tournament (and Greenie made the all-tournament team) and made it to the NCAA regional final -- and he played for the US Olympic team in Korea. He turned pro at the end of his junior year, played 6 games at the end of that season with Minny, and then became a full-time NHLer the following year, playing 81 NHL games (and, interestingly, an additional 5 AHL games, which were the only AHL games of his career). This is his 5th season in Minny. He put up respectable scoring #s for a young third-liner in his 2nd, 3rd and 4th seasons, with 28 pts in 67 games, 32 in 56 and 27 in 62. If Donnie likes him and he plays with Krebsie and someone like JJP or Mitts, he could easily be a 15-minute-per-night, 35-pt guy who hits, defends, kills penalties and stands up for his teammates.

Whoa. Frankly I'm a bit concerned about these mood swings. Just found Canton on google maps. Looks very nice. Is it full-blown mountains where you are? BTW, you probably already know this, but the border crossing at Thousand Islands is quite pretty and there is a great duty free store there with a very good scotch selection. Putting it mildly! I'm really looking forward to seeing what Greenway can do, but we all need to acknowledge an important side benefit of this trade: now we know that if @gasabresiufan demands a certain trade persistently enough, KA will cave. We all have our breaking points. I really like this. Separately: this seems like a good trade, for the kind of player we need in the top 9, with plenty of potential, whom DG already knows, and at a reasonable price. I had no interest in trading Kulich, Savoie or our #1 this year for anyone who changed teams this week, including Chycrun.

Interesting. I've been a VO supporter, but really haven't liked his game since the lines changed and he was put with Krebs and JJP. But you're right that he might garner a decent return. I'd be pretty surprised if they traded Mitts though.

I think we're well past that stage already. Outstanding. 4 hours to go! I'll be pretty surprised if KA brings in anyone better than Stillman today.

I'm not aware of anything -- I was just assuming that the Kings had gotten some indication from Portillo that he would sign there.