nfreeman

Dude. Have we not learned by now that instant karma's gonna get ya?

Thanks. That's not a bad penalty a-tall. They'll probably get at least 2 good years out of Von, and maybe 3.

FWIW, Joe Buscaglia at the Athletic says the Bills can get out of the Von Miller contract after 3 years at pretty substantial savings, so it’s really just a 3-year commitment.

So I was curious about Florida's pick and I checked the NHL's website on the draft order rules. Bottom line is that assuming FLA wins our division -- and they are currently 6 pts ahead of TB, with both teams having played 62 games -- their pick will be no better than 29. If they make it to the finals, their pick will be 31 or 32. The Sabres are currently 7th-worst in the NHL with 19 games to play. They are 1 pt behind Chicago, with both teams having played 63 games. The Sabres are 7 pts behind Detroit, who have also played 63 games. I'd guess the Sabres will probably pass Chicago and end up 8th-worst. So, if someone jumps ahead of the Sabres in the lottery, Vegas continues to crap the bed and Florida does not make it to the Finals, we're looking at something like #9, #15 and #30.

Vegas lost to Winnipeg tonight 4-0 — that’s back-to-back shutout losses. I said in another thread that they really might miss the playoffs. It’s not impossible that the wheels are coming off before our eyes. Lose baby lose!

I’ll see the “don’t hand the starting job to UPL” ante and raise: there is a reasonable possibility that one of Levi or Portillo (or both for that matter) outplays UPL next fall in camp. KA should bring in a no-BS starting quality NHL goalie next year and let the 3 kids fight it out for the other slot with the Sabres. If there is a taxi squad and Anderson wants to return, he should be the 3rd goalie in Buffalo.

So it's been about 4 weeks since his 4-week injury -- has anyone heard anything about Rosie? With all of the Sabres' highly touted prospects, I tend to forget that Rosen was the 13th pick in the 2021 draft (technically 14th but AZ, maintaining their hammerlock on "most Mickey Mouse NHL franchise," forfeited their #11 slot, so he was the 13th player chosen).

This is reasonable, but I think KA had no interest in overpaying a cynical vet who would've come here solely for the money and kept an eye on the exit at all times. That would've directly conflicted with his pretty consistently executed goal of only bringing in guys who wanted to be here. Did anyone execute any deals that turned cap space into good assets this year?

It's starting to feel like a whole lotta nothin'.

Flames 1st period shots on goal in games immediately before and after Sabres game: 19, 16, 11, 9 (6 vs Sabres). Leafs 1st period shots on goal in games immediately before and after Sabres game: 13, 11, 8, 10 (6 vs Sabres). Again, I am excited about the signs of life we're seeing. That can be true at the same time as other things being true. One of those other things IMHO is that good teams generally don't get as fired up and focused against crappy teams as they do against other good teams. You are of course free to disagree.

When The Godfather asks for a favor…

I think “possibility” is probably more appropriate than “fact” here. Do you think high-end opponents generally bring their A games vs bottom dwellers? Do you think they bring the same level of focus and intensity every night?

Another highly enjoyable game with a lot to like from a bunch of different guys. Good for them.

Goal and a power play!

Y'know, I think I like the idea that others have posted about trading for Myers to be the vet top 4 RHD.

These are all fair questions/observations. I think the main reason I have this opinion is simply human nature -- even though the opponent wants to win and has motivation to do so, they simply do not bring the same focus and intensity against the bottom dwellers as they do against the top teams. The Sabres were a bad team having a bad season and had lost 6 in a row to close out February. When an upper echelon team knows they are hosting a team like that, it's natural to let down its guard and feel like they can just show up and grind out the win. As for prior Sabres teams' records in March -- of course they were terrible. The Sabres have been a joke of a franchise for a long time. The last years of DDB, Howie and RK were all utter debacles. As for the Vegas, Toronto, Calgary and Minny games -- those were all great wins, which I really enjoyed, and I agree that there was plenty of intensity in those games. Still, the Leafs, 4th in the NHL in scoring, had 6 shots in the 1st period, Vegas had 7 and Calgary, 6th in the NHL in scoring, had 6. Those teams didn't exactly hit the ice like the beach at Normandy. I think the Sabres look a lot better than in prior Marches, and I'm excited about a lot of what I see. But I won't really believe anything until I see them in 2nd or 3rd place in December, going into Boston or Pittsburgh or New York on a 5-game winning streak for a national TV game and coming out with a win.

Someone should come up with a witty term for this unfortunate circumstance.

I will support @PASabreFan on this one. As I’ve said many times, when the Sabres reach their annual bottom five spot in the dog days of March, they are not getting the other teams’ A games most nights. They just aren’t. And there is undeniably less pressure on the team when the playoffs are out of reach and mistakes matter less. PA has a knack for getting under the board’s skin, but i’m sure he enjoyed the wins over Minnesota and the leafs and the flames, and celebrated TT’s OT winner the other night, as much as anyone else here. He’s just not ready to pronounce the battle won yet.

Well, sure. He took a bunch of flyers and some paid off and some didn’t. At worst he got a 5th round pick for taking the Butcher flyer. Maybe he’ll get another low pick for him, maybe not. Either way he’s gone in a couple of months. It’s certainly not worth all the sturm und drang you are inflicting on everyone in multiple threads.

you are 100% correct, but no need to get worked up about it.

I was on a plane today and watched "Dune." Very good IMHO. Well worth it if you like sci-fi.

That was a really well played period of hockey.

I enjoyed the 1st 2 episodes of “Winning Time” on HBO, which is a dramatization of the Magic-Kareem Lakers era.

I think it’s possible, and KA should try, to both resign VO and keep looking for a forward with some edge. The Sabres have a ton of assets to use in trade. They don’t have to use VO. Of course, it all depends on VO’s contract demands.

Awesome.